"YAME!!" The master's voice rang out through the entire dojo. It made the wooden slide doors shake and the snow slide off the roof. Snowflakes floated to the ground in a giant snow storm. Not even the sharp concentration of a monk could cut through the snowy winds and freezing temperatures.
Inside, two students, both dressed in ancient Equestrian practice armor, known as raiku armor, stepped up to the master. The master looked over his two students with a careful eye, making sure neither one of their set ups were forgotten, missed, or changed. Seeing no flaw, the master nodded. The two students nodded back and stepped to the middle of the dojo, marked by two white markers. The two students faced each other, awaiting the master's go. The master stood and raised his left hoof. The two students bows at each other in respect, then both pulled out their wooden swords, carved out of the finest trees of the Kaiju Mori (Everfree Forest). Their wooden swords faced the opposer. Neither student nudged.
The master swung his hoof down, signaling the initiation of the match. Both students stepped up, swords still pointing at the opposer. Both students stomped their hoof on the ground, imitating a step forward in an attempt to make the opposer flinch and give them the opportunity they need to strike. Finally, one of the students flinched as the hoof slammed the wooden floor. Behind the mask, the other student smirked and rushed forward, never letting his sword point anywhere but at the opposing student. The other student raised his sword up and attempted to hit the flinched student on the top of the head, missing by inches as the student stepped back, the sword only hitting the grip of the other student's sword.
Realizing its mistake, the student stepped back as well to prevent the other student to take advantage of it. Successful, the two students were in another standoff, neither one of them moving for minutes. Finally sick of waiting, the other student charged forward, attempting to hit the student's head. The student simply moved to the side and slammed the sword down on the other student's wrist, making it drop its weapon, both shaming the other student and earning the point. The rest of the students, sitting off to the side, clapped in congratulations. Both students stood straight and bowed. They then sat with the other students, both receiving compliments and congratulations. One of the students removed the helmet, letting her curly white and blue mane pop out and wiped her horn and under her forehead, both of which were covered in sweat.
The master walked up to both students, showing disappointment in the eyes when speaking to the opposing student, but praised her confidence and determination nevertheless. He then walked up to the blue-maned mare, now with a look of happiness and pride instead of disappointment. The mare smiled back at the master, who stood in the middle of the room and praised every single student's work for the day and dismissed them to dinner and sleep. Early morning, the beginning of more training. The everyday cycle of every young zekahn, or warrior, in training. All students yelled "Arigato, sensei!", thanking the master for his wisdom. All students picked up their armor and training weapon and left the dojo. But, before the blue-maned student could leave, the master stopped her.
"Trixie," said the master in a ever-soothing voice. "You have studied long and hard, and it shows. That was the performance of a true zekahn. I am proud of you." That compliment made Trixie smile greatly. The kind master returned her smile. "Keep practicing, and keep studying, and you shall become the zhen of the zekahn."
That was greatest compliment Trixie has ever received. Being the zhen of the zekahn is almost like being the lord of Equestria. Trixie could not do anything other than to smile once more and bow before him.
"Arigato, sensei." She said, and she left, leaving the master in the dojo to meditate. Despite the massive amount of praise from her masters in the dojo, Trixie was a rather lonely unicorn. She used up most of her time studying the ancient art of the zekahn art of war and whatever time she wasn't using studying the art, she was practicing it. As explained, she never had much time to socialize or find friends. But she did not regret it either. She cherished every paragraph, every sentence, every word written in the ancient scrolls as her own child.
Trixie ate alone at the feeding hall, in the east wing of the large dojo. But it was not uncommon to her. Like stated, she never had any friends. And as a result, she got used to it. She preferred it that way. It kept her from distractions. Just her and her books. Just the way she liked it. As she ate her daisies and tulips, she heard a creak coming from the floor, as if somepony was stepping on it. Trixie turned around and was face to face with Nakayama, a student in Master Hiyorusa's class, which reached about what is known as the drum warfare of kintai. The name is misleading, however. It is not a instrument. It is a offensive class teaching zekahns about offensive warfare. They are supposed to be the toughest by strength.
Trixie sighs heavily, folding the page that she is on so she does not lose it and closes the book. "What do you want, Nakayama? Can't you see I am busy?" She points to the book on the table beside her meal. Nakayama just laughs and picks up the book.
"What are you doing? Reading?" He laughs mockingly at Trixie, but she's heard it enough times for it to be a greeting for her.
"Put it down, Nakayama. You probably cannot read it to begin with, so you have no use of it." Trixie joked, her false sense of humor landing her in trouble once again. And that is one of the few things Trixie always regrets. Nakayama was furious.
"How dare you! I come from a long line of warriors! You are from nothing! You have no family! You have no say in the matter!" He yelled, trying to make a comeback at Trixie's remark. Other students began to gather around the two. Trixie never had a family. She was found, filthy and alone in a small village of Ponbilla. She was attacked by peasant thieves after stealing food from them during the winter. She was able to hold her own for a while, but she was eventually knocked down. But before the thieves could kill her, her master entered the scene and chased the thieves away. He cleaned off filly Trixie, fed her, and took her in as his daughter. She has no clue of her past, nor does she herself want to know.
Trixie was not about to lose a verbal battle against Nakayama of all ponies. "Well, if I did, I am sure they would not be complete brutes like you and your family are." Snapped Trixie. Nakayama lost it. He ran up and tried to grab Trixie's kimono by the collar. Trixie smirked and just pushed down his hooves as they were stretched forward and tripped him, making him land face-first in her food. Luckily, she was quick enough to levitate the book up before the crash landing. Nakayama stood up and faced Trixie, his face covered in daisies and tulips from her dinner. He was so enraged, he could have cooked the plants on his face. Trixie just laughed at his face. Nakayama threw a careless punch at her, which was caught by Trixie. She twirled his arm around, making it go behind him and was unable to move it.
"L-Let go of me, bruha!" Yelled Nakayama, struggling to get free. Bruha is a offensive word, used to describe only the lowest, filthiest ponies in the population. In other words, nothing. Trixie just scoffed and held her grip. Then, over all the voices of the students, one rang and drowned out the others. "NANIO YATTERU?!" All eyes were directed towards the eastern wing entrance, where Master Ryo and Hiyorusa, both with disappointed faces, were walking towards the crowd. All the surrounding students backed off, allowing the two masters to pass and walk up to the fighting ponies.
"Trixie… Nanio yatteru…?" he asked, with more of a sad tone then a angry one. Trixie's ears flattened and she looked down slightly, knowing she had failed Ryo.
"M-Master Ryo… I… I am sorry… I have failed you…" she apologized, trying her hardest to mentally hurt herself. Ryo just shook his head slowly.
"Daijyobu, Trixie-chan… Demo doshite?" he asked, asking why she did what she was doing. Trixie looked at Nakayama, who was getting yelled at by Hiyorusa. Trixie, having a kind heart, did not tell the truth for Nakayama's sake.
"I-It was my fault, master. Forgive me…" She begged, then bowed shamefully. Ryo and Hiyorusa then talked for a few moments, giving Trixie and Nakayama a chance to look at each other in hate.
"You're going to get it, bruha…" Growled Nakayama under his breath. Trixie just rolled her eyes away from him and kept looking at Ryo and Hiyorusa, still talking. After a while, the two masters walked up to the two ponies. Nakayama was forbidden from eating at the same time as Trixie and Trixie was forbidden from training zekahn for a week. Week, might as well be a month, or a year. Trixie already felt light headed, but she stood strong and just bowed at the respect of her masters decisions. Nakayama did the same, but any pony could tell it was not out of respect.
Not surprisingly in the slightest, Trixie stayed up long after it was the time of rest for the other students, reading the advanced moves of zekahn, again. She did not care how many times she re-read it, she found it very interesting and intriguing. She could not, however, let the other masters know that she was awake, so she left only a single candle lit for her to read with. It was difficult, but she has done it countless nights, so tonight should be no different.
Trixie was so pulled into the scrolls, that she never noticed that the candle had almost burnt out completely. She only realized after the room grew dark and she could not read anymore. She sighed and stood up. The candle no longer serving as warmth, she could feel the cold winter winds flow into her room. Her kimono served little to keep her warm and she shivered, cupping her hooves with her elbows in a attempt to keep warm. It did nothing, but as she finally decided to get some rest and laid on her mattress-bed, she heard a bang coming from the main dojo gates, crafted from ancient wood and reinforced with metal decor and rings. The banging came again. Whoever was there was using the metal rings to make the banging louder, and it did. The halls echoed, as it does with every other noise, from student voices to the wings of the smallest insect.
Trixie, suspicious, grabbed her personal blade which she welded from before the day she was taken in by Ryo. Trixie teleported to the snow-covered rooftop of the dojo and snuck to the spike ledge, overlooking the gates and the frontal gardens. The snow storm was still strong, making it difficult to make out who was banging at the gate. She awaited for the masters to answer it and see what would happen. She shivered with cold as she waited, snow flakes landing and staying on her kimono, some evening going down her back through the gap in her collar, make her squeak slightly with every touch of the snow. Finally, Master Hiyorusa opened the gates and talked to whoever it was at the front. As the two talked, Trixie noticed that two more ponies joined them, both of them looked like they were wearing one piece clothing, but it was so difficult to tell, it was as if their entire color of clothing matched the snow they were walking on.
Trixie looked behind her out of paranoia and spotted a few more ponies, all wearing the same clothing, running around and eventually entering the dojo. Trixie's eyes widened with fear at the realization of what was happening. The dojo was under attack, but not by normal ponies.
"Kage senshi…" she mumbled under her breath. Shadow warrior. Some referred to them as ninjas. although that is their name only in some parts. Kage senshi is their original and true name. Trixie swung her head back down at the master, who was now being attacked by the three ponies at the gate. Trixie gasped in horror, but quickly reacted and slid off the spike, landing on her hooves and drawing her blade, ready for her first real battle, and with kage senshis no less. Trixie's blade gleamed in the moon's light, that began to shine through the snow and clouds. The blade was decorated with an embedded insignia of the Eien no Hebi clan. The clan of the Eternal Snake.
Trixie gripped the blade and ran at the attacking kage senshi. She ran up to the one holding onto Master Hiyorusa and swung her blade down, cutting off one of his hooves. The kage senshi screamed in pain as his blood spurted out, melting the snow around where it landed. Trixie kicked him in the side, making him lean down in pain as she kicked him across the head, slamming him against the gates, killing him. The other two jumped back in surprise. Trixie remained in her battle-ready stance, waiting for the other two kage senshis to make their move. They remained still, waiting for the other to make a attack. It was just like during training matches. Trixie just smirked at how untrained and unorganized they were. Finally, one of them charged at Trixie, his sword raised up. Big mistake. Trixie just charged back at him, slicing him across the stomach, which he left unguarded. The kage senshi gurgled out blood through his mask as he fell to the ground. The last one was clearly showing signs of fear, as he was shaking violently, but not from the cold.
Trixie smirked again and pointed her blade at the last kage senshi, who already dropped his weapon and was on his knees.
"Such little honor," said Trixie in a mocking tone. "At least stand up so you may die with half the honor you could have died with." The kage senshi stood up and Trixie immediately brought her blade down on his head, slicing it off in one well-placed slice as the body slumped to the ground. Trixie bowed at the dead kage senshi's body and turned her attention to Master Hiyorusa, who was watching.
"Daijyobu desuka, sensei?" she asked, concerned for the master's safety. Hiyorusa simply nodded and looked towards the dojo, which reminded Trixie about the other ponies she saw run into the dojo. She ran into the building, where kage senshis and the dojo students were locked in combat, the kage senshi appearing to win. Regardless of which side was winning, countless bodies from both sides were laying on the ground in pools of blood, most of them with at least one missing limb or a open gash somewhere, some of them still clutching onto their wounds or their weapons. One student was stabbed through the heart and into a wall, where he still stood, the sword being his only way of staying up. His wooden sword had nearly gone through his slayer's head, keeping it lodged in. This made the two look the way they did when they both died. The sight of the students, so young and strong, thrown away at the hands of the kage senshi. Trixie tried to hold back her tears and ran through the vast dojo to see if any pony was still alive, most of her concern for Master Ryo, however.
As Trixie ventured further into the dojo, the sounds of screaming, colliding steel, and cracking wood got significantly louder and louder. She finally arrived at the master's chambers. Before her sat the sliding wooden door, decorated in gold and illustrations, now covered in blood and scratch marks from both hooves and steel. Trixie could hear struggle coming from the chambers. Trixie tried to slide the door open, but it wouldn't budge. She yanked on it with all her might and she heard a loud crunching noise, along with a slight tear. She flinched.
At first, she was afraid she might've torn her kimono or the door. Then she looked down at the sliding door and saw the body of a student, his hoof caught in the door. The crunching was the sound of his arm getting dislocated and the tearing was some of the bone going through his skin, along with some of his kimono being torn.
Trixie wanted to help Master Ryo, but she knew she had to honor this student's body so his soul may rest in the Kin Ki, or the Gold Tree, a sacred and religious object of the clan. She kneeled down at the body of the fallen student a muttered a few phrases, then put her hoof on the student's heart. Seconds later, she got up and finally slid the door open.
Behind the door was Ryo's chambers, only it was dark and she could not see. Trixie adjusted her eyesight to the darkness, eventually letting her partially see in the darkness. She could make out a figure, slumped over in a corner with something coming out of it. Trixie's eyes grew wide with worry and struggled to find some way to illuminate the room. She could have used her horn, but in the clan, magic was unknown and forbidden. She was the only unicorn in the clan.
Finally, she located a match and a lantern, and the two objects lit the room immensely. It was as Trixie feared. The figure was indeed Master Ryo, a sword gone through his body. Emotionally clouded, Trixie ran for her master and tried to budge the sword out. By that time, she could hear hoof steps outside and the door sliding open behind her. She expected kage senshis to confront her. But instead, she heard yelling.
"MASTER RYO'S BEEN KILLED!!"
"Her! She did it!!"
She knew they were talking about her, but she was too saddened and crushed to say anything back. All she wanted to do was remove the weapon that killed her adoptive father. Not too much longer later, she could feel herself being pulled away from Ryo and thrown into a prison carriage. She knew, now that everypony thought she murdered the leader of the Eternal Hebi clan, she would be considered a bruha and shamed away from the region. The nearest one was the farmer's land, where no pony of high bound honor would go to.
Not too much farther out later, some zekahn warriors pulled Trixie out and tossed her to the ground, where they circled her like vultures, ready to devour a corpse. They all were armed with wooden swords, along with their usual battle swords hanging at their hips. Trixie knew what was coming. One of the zekahn warriors helped Trixie to her knees, and kicked her in the back to make her bend over at her knees. The warriors then pulled out their wooden swords and began to mercilessly slam them against the bruha's back, badly hurting it with each hit. This continued until she finally slumped over and blacked out, where she was driven to the edge of the region and dumped there to die.
