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Lessons of Dynasty Part 1: Abecedarian	By : JohnDoe Category: +A through F > Exalted RPG Views: 470 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
- 5
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Chapter 5 – Fool For Love, Part 1

At dawn the girls rise for exercise and martial arts training. Udi, refreshed and effortlessly beautiful takes to the instruction easily and without complaint, but Reya is slow and sluggish. Studying late into the night has not best equipped her for a hard morning’s exercise, and the bald-shaved, Earth Aspected monk leading them through their morning drills, Mistress Ragara Hironi, seems to be especially hard on her, correcting the smallest mistake and not giving her a moment of respite as she runs the class through a harsh exercise regime followed by basic fighting techniques.

Several of the more athletic students, such as Kinesi, seem to thrive on the morning exercise, seeming energised and ready to take on the day. A stark contrast to the previous evening’s dry history lesson.

Hironi demonstrates the correct technique for a sweep, then arranges the students into pairs. For the most part, this is done matching students of similar builds and ability, but Reya is paired with Kinesi.

Knowing better to complain to the instructor, Reya gives Kinesi a pouty look, “Go easy on me?”

Kinesi bows at the waist and invites Reya to attack him. Reya does her best: she’s graceful, and a quick study, but Kinesi is bigger, stronger, and more practiced – she’d never succeed in anything resembling a fair fight. Nevertheless, Kinesi is a gentleman, and he drops his guard and allows Reya to put him on the floor.

Hironi is unimpressed. She marches over and pinches Reya by the ear, scolding her with an abusive tirade for cheating and not taking the class seriously. (She does not, however, direct any ire toward Kinesi.) The mistress lifts Reya, forcing her to stand on tip-toe as she screams into her face. The class stops mid-exercise to watch the monk instructor berate the first-year. Udi looks off into the distance, over the cliffs and pretends not to notice. Rowena seems half-way between terror and schadenfreude. Reya looks ready to break down and cry, her usual icy exterior thoroughly broken down.

“Ho there!”

Leaning heavily on his cane, Instructor Cynis Falen Ganan calls out walks out onto the exercise yard. His cane sticks in the broken ground, but he surges forward at a brisk clip despite the agony every step causes to his sorcerously broken body. He grimaces, refusing to break his stride over the craggy earth as he approaches Mistress Hironi.

Hironi stops mid-tirade and glares as Ganan as he approaches. He comes to a stop an arms length away from the shaven monk. Hironi gently lowers Reya to the ground, letting go of her ear. The assembled first years hold the breath as they watch the two masters square off.

“Master Ganan,” Hironi begins, her voice dripping with matronising condescension, “The first years are yours after breakfast. How may I help you?”

Ganan turns his pained grimace into a smile, “Mistress Hironi,” He gives a short bow, “I realise I’m new here, but as you said – these are first years. This is their first full day. The Dominie and I worked them hard yesterday. Yet, I heard your admonitions against this poor girl from the library,” He gestures behind him, “I was hoping I could convince you to take it easy on them on their first day. We’ve a test set for after breakfast.”

Hironi blinks with outrage, clearly taken aback. “Full day.” Hironi corrects abruptly, “Arrival and orientation yesterday was their first day. A half-day. To take it easy on them. Now it’s time to work.”

Ganan bows again, “Far be it from me to question your teaching methods, Mistress Hironi, but I really must protest. If you want to teach these fine students martial arts and improve their fitness, reducing one of their numbers to tears on the first day is not the best way to do so.”

Hironi makes an open palm gesture, “Hmm. Perhaps I should take your advice: my predecessor spoke highly of you, Cynis Ganan. He said you were the most gifted martial artist to graduate the Heptagram.” She pauses to see how Ganan will react to the backhanded compliment – the Heptagram is not known for producing master martial artists. Ganan simply bows a third time, and Hironi continues, “This was, of course, before your accident.”

With impossible to follow speed, she settles into Earth Dragon Form, eliciting gasps from the assembled students as her anima starts to glow white. Without another word, she makes a ‘come here’ gesture with her leading hand – a clear challenge.

Ganan sets his jaw, and bursts forward in a blur of speed. His cane catches Hironi behind the knees, despite the rival Earth Dragon Master shunting Essence into the Unmoving Mountain Stance, Ganan’s blow knocks her clean off her feet. Ganan follows through on the motion, bringing his arm round in a wide arc for a devastating hammer punch directly to the downed instructor’s face. The Immaculate screws up her face in anticipation of the blow. At the last moment, Ganan stops himself, his fist a quarter-inch from Hironi’s nose. Hironi exhales and opens her eyes, looking up at Ganan. Ganan slowly withdraws his fist, then clasps it in his free hand, and gives a martial artist’s bow to the downed Hironi. He turns, sets his cane back to the ground, and painfully limps back into the library.

“Damn!” Udi breathes.

“You can say that again!” Padar adds.

Hironi arches her back and flips herself gracefully to her feat, “Go back to your exercises!” She growls, and the frightened students go back to sweeping each other without a word.

****

Ledaal Ibelin tsks at Ganan through her teeth at him as he re-enters. The Mistress of Demonic Warding and Banishment is Ganan’s father’s sister, and his closest family at the school “I told you Ragara Hironi always torments the prettiest Mnemon girl to stop you making a scene nephew.”

Ganan shrugs, “There was no need for a scene. I showed the proper respect.”

“You’ve always been a slow boy for a supposed genius, but even you can’t fail to realize there will be repercussions.” Ibelin scolds.

Ganan blinks, nonplussed, “Hopefully she will improve her technique and challenge the cripple who beat her down to a rematch.”

Ibelin sighs heavily, “The Dominie likes you, you know. This appointment needn’t be temporary, you could build a place for yourself here, outside the Cynis brothels and drug dens. You belong here, Ganan – with Verro and me. But you have to build bridges, not burn them down: Bhagwei won’t keep you if you attack his staff.”

Ganan locks eyes with his aunt, “My years as a student here were the happiest of my life. And I am grateful for this appointment for me, auntie, and I hope that it isn’t temporary. But if this is how the staff are allowed to behave then the Dominie will have to dismiss me before my year here is through – because I will not tolerate it.” He stares in silence until Ibelin looks away, straightening her clothes, “I will have mother speak with Bhagwei if you are worried about this looking bad on you.”

Ibelin holds up a hand, “I’m quite capable of denouncing you myself, Cynis Ganan.” She walks away shaking her head.

Ganan proceeds to his classroom and starts laying out papers for the morning test as the students have their breakfast.

****

“Wait, you mean you weren’t kidding about a test!” Udi says as she enters the classroom, “What happened to taking it easy on us on our first day!”

Ganan stares at her until she shuts up and takes her seat. The other students look grim or unsure. Several students, including Riven, desperately flick through The Doom of Emperor’s, hoping to speed read some useful information before the test begins. Ganan glowers at them and the books are hastily put away. Even Rowena doesn’t seem, quite, ready for the test. Only Reya sits bright and attentive, back straight, and ready for the test – her calm composure restored and all thoughts of the morning’s unpleasantness with Hironi forgotten.

“The test will commence when I ring this bell,” Ganan addresses the class, holding up a small silver bell, “It will end when I ring the bell again. You will leave your papers on your desks and proceed directly to weapons training. Tonight’s reading will be the first three chapters of the Immaculate Texts (as arrayed in the Dsoni Canon), and A Leaf Upraised in Vigor: The Life And Deeds of Sextes Jylis as composed by Peaceful Reflection of Compassion. This is not,” Ganan stares around the room sternly, “An open book exam, or a group activity. Proceed in silence.” He rings the bell.

A gruelling hour passes, as Ganan stares at the class in stony silence. Panicked students fluster desperately at the assigned paper. Reya works diligently, but surreptitiously angles her test paper towards Udi who leans over to copy whenever she thinks Ganan isn’t looking. As unperceptive as Ganan is, even he is perceptive enough to notice her not-so-surreptitious furtive glances at her classmate’s work and he walks between the two girls, staring down mercilessly at Udi as she withers under his stony gaze. Reya’s stares horrified at his back: letting Udi cheat off her is as natural as breathing – if this is what was in store for them for the next seven-years, they were going to have a hard time. Udi looks down at her own paper and subtly turns away from Reya. Ganan watches for a moment or two more before limping back to the front of the class.

Another hour passes in silence, Danireya sets down her pen and begins proofing her answers: a glance around the room shows she’s ahead of the others. Rowena is sweating profusely, but her quill scribbles with the speed of a spreading wildfire as she lays down her text. Kinesi and Padar are scratching their heads in an almost comical display of confusion. After half an hour Ganan limps back to her desk and whispers in a low voice, “If you are finished, you may use this time to practice your martial arts exercises. Though I caution you against trying to help your classmates cheat at this test.”

Reya flushes red and hurries out of the room. A further half-hour later Ganan rings the bell, clearly catching the students by surprise – there are no ten-minute warnings in this class. Solu desperately tries to keep writing. Ganan picks a sharp flint off his desk and hurls it into the student’s hand, causing the boy to yell in pain and drop his quill, splattering ink all over his work.

“The test is now over. Proceed to your next lesson.” Ganan says sternly.

The students gather their things and leave for weapons training grumbling, and Ganan starts to gather the papers.

As the last student leaves, Ragara Bhagwei enters the room, closing the door behind him. Ganan sets an arm across his body and leads the other arm out behind him, giving a courtier’s bow, “Dominie,” Ganan greets.

Bhagwei starts gathering up the papers, once they’ve all been collected he hands them to Ganan without a word.

Ganan takes them and thanks him, he nods his head, “Master. Mistress Ibelin intimated that you would be… displeased with my conduct this morning.”

“Danireya’s paper.” Bhagwei holds out a hand, Ganan rifles through the papers and hands it over, Bhagwei flicks through it, “Yes… quite satisfactory: I see why this might cause a rivalry between yourself and Ragara Hironi. She’s quite gifted at history: I especially enjoyed the parallels she draws between Anata and Dee the Hook.” He returns the paper, “I expect the two of you to be civil in front of the students. And I expect you to not interfere in Hironi’s classes.”

“That might be difficult, master.” Ganan shifts his weight uncomfortably, “I understand that this isn’t the Cloister, and that Hironi is a capable Immaculate Master. But I also understand that she deliberately victimises students she is… attracted to… and that she challenged me to ritual combat to defend her teaching methods… and lost.”

Bhagwei smiles disarmingly, “And so why might that make my request difficult?”

Ganan nods again, “I will try, Dominie.”

Bhagwei clasps a hand on Ganan’s shoulder, “I have every faith.” He lets go of Ganan’s shoulder and makes to leave.

****

Meanwhile Udi reunites with Reya on the way to weapon’s training. Rowena, thinking it best to stick with Udi unless told otherwise, accompanies her and is rewarded with Reya’s genuine smile as the trio make their way to the next lesson.

“A three-hour test! On our first day!” Udi complains bitterly, “And no cheating! And more reading! I thought those first three books was the reading for the year! How’s anyone supposed to memorise The Doom of Emperor’s in one night?”

Rowena ventures, “I’m sure that’s just to gauge where we all are academically… It won’t be like that every day…”

“Hmm,” Reya says, “How do you think you did?”

“A lot better on the first half than the second half,” Udi grins

They look expectantly at Rowena.

“Well, as you know I’ve been reading the Doom of Emperors before coming to the Heptagram… so I think I did o-okay…”

****

Weapons training is overseen chiefly by Professor Cynis Bashura. The Tepets (Gerat and Versi) as well as Darknife and Kinesi, all excel at the armed combat drills. Reya also does surprisingly well – being much more familiar with armed combat than unarmed martial arts training.

Throughout the drills, Bashura has them change partners and the students swap hushed whispers about their teacher:

“I heard she killed a Tyrant Lizard, using nothing but a pair of shears and a gardening spell!”

“Once she had a drinking competition with Ma-Ha-Suchi! And won!”

“They say her hearth took on an entire army of fae, and she slew their cataphract champion in single combat!”

“I heard she sailed from Whitewall to Paragon in less than a week. Including her time on the traveller’s road!”

By the end of the lesson, Bashura’s legend has grown in the telling and the retelling of the rumours and the students are ready for lunch.

****

After lunch comes mathematics, followed by etiquette, then crafts – the students are given leave to craft a signature weapon for their weapon’s training. Reya makes good progress, sketching out a design and measuring out parts, but the only student who actually completes their weapon is Solu. After crafts comes dinner, followed by cosmology and spirit lore before free study.

Though none of the teaches have set as much reading as Shogunate History, there is a lot of homework to be done. More than can reasonably be completed in the free study period, leaving precious little time for the students to pursue any ‘free study’, rather than the directed learning set to them.

At the end of spirit lore, Harite asks Rowena if she’d like to study together.

“Uh, t-thanks for the offer… but I’m going to study with Reya and Udi,” Rowena answers, giving her friend a weak smile.

Reya and Udi are already leaving without her, forcing her to run to catch up with them.

“Good choice,” Reya praises, as the trio head down to the library together.

****

As they head down the corridor they hear a repetitive “thump-thump-click” sound coming up the hallway from the opposite direction. Instructor Ganan crosses their path, stomping heavily with his metal body, his cane clacking on the ground.

“Girls,” he nods tersely, not remembering any of their names except Danireya’s.

“Master Ganan,” Reya gives a short bow, “Good evening, we didn’t expect to run into you.”

Ganan snorts, “It’s a large library but it’s not that large. Going to study I hope?” And with this, his gaze falls on Udi, pointedly.

“We are just on our way now,” Reya radiates earnest innocence.

“Good,” Ganan responds gruffly, turning his attention to Rowena, “Because it’s almost as if some of you didn’t bother with last night’s reading. The story of Hesiesh is only a handful of pages long, but vital to your grounding on why we study what we study.”

Rowena flushes as red as her hair. She looks down at her feet and stammers something that sounds like an apology.

“I expect the highest levels of effort from all my students,” Ganan continues, and here he looks pointedly at Reya, “And not just the exceptional few.”

Reya feels her normally pale cheeks flush with colour, and she fights to keep her composure, “Well, after today’s test, I feel confident in saying you can count on us!”

Ganan cocks an eyebrow, “That remains to be seen.” He purses his lips, “Still, I do believe Miss Danireya will be a good influence on the two of you: if you can overcome dishonesty and laziness.” And he waves the girls on their way.

Rowena is too mortified to say anything as the girls leave.

Once Ganan is safely out of earshot Udi speaks, “So, he’s not just boring, he’s a pompous ass!”

“He is not!” Reya and Rowena respond in unison.

“He’s just particular,” Rowena mumbles at her shoes.

“As most Earth Aspects are!” Reya adds indignantly, “I should know, the number in my family!”

“M-may I b-be excused?” Rowena asks, shifting her weight uncomfortably, “I, uh, I… n-n-need to use the, the, the bathroom?”

Reya and Udi exchange looks, it’s obvious Rowena is lying. Reya shrugs, “I don’t see why not, though I’d prefer if you address me as ‘Miss Danireya’ when you’re asking me for something.”

“Or ‘Goddess’,” Udi add, “‘Goddess’ is just fine too.”

“P-please, Miss Danireya, may-” Rowena begins

“Just go!” Reya waves her off, “We’ll make sure you get a copy of the books you need.”

Reya and Udi continue to the library as Rowena peels off.

“You know she’s gone to tell on us, right?” Udi asks, seeming more amused than worried.

“Oh, won’t that be fun!” Reya smirks, and the two girls burst out into an evil cackle.
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Lessons of Dynasty Part 1: Abecedarian