. Sun Shards : Part Three .

“The flame spirit is defeated by what?”

“The flame spirit is defeated by a net based on the flowing river, Yori-sensei.” The questions were getting easier, so Sun knew she was almost done with the final review for the day.

The village elders had chosen her for the retrieval of the Crystal Fire two years ago. Immediately following the announcement, she had been rushed to the small cottage just outside of town for training. Yori was the most powerful nature shaman alive. She had been trained by the previous master some fifty years earlier.

Nature shaman were women who had the ability to control the spirits of nature. They had the ability to form weapons, shields, devices, and many other things with these spirits. Often the form the nature shaman were able to create revolved around a particular skill. In the case of Sun, nets and webs were the form her powers connected to. Her master, Yori, created swords and knives using the spirits.

“Very good, Sun-kohai,” Yori, a middle-aged woman with bright red eyes, said. “You have learned much during your time here.”

In her youth, she had been chosen for the same task Sun had been. She, also, once had an unusual hair and eye color. Those in the village had dark hair—black and brown—and dark eyes – green, hazel, and brown. Yori had red hair as a youth, before it turned white from age; Sun’s hair was golden. Yori had red eyes; Sun, blue. This was the mark of a nature shaman. Not all women and girls had the power to control the spirits. Those who did were discovered not long after birth. They were trained to control their power as soon as they were able. It was, what seemed, a misfortune that the child that was chosen for the special mission, the child with the most potential, were three years of age at the time of her choosing.

“Yori-sensei,” Sun said, bowing as well as she could while sitting on her ankles. “Yori-sensei, may we take a break? My tummy is being noisy.”

Normally this question would be met with anger and an hour of training. Sun knew this, but asked anyway. She did not mind practicing and knew she stood a slight chance of a little extra sleep the next morning or an extra scoop of rice during supper.

Yori smiled slightly, an expression rarely used and was not seen by the small girl. “Tonight is your last night with me. You go to the Caves tomorrow morning.” Sun gasped quietly. “Hurry, child, wash up for supper.”

Sun ran from the room to fetch the rice she would need for their meal. Even though she had been told to wash up, it was her duty to cook the supper, as well. It was part of her training to use the spirits to cook and move the food.

Yori sat on her mat and listened to the young girl prepare. “She is much like you were, Yori-chama,” a man said from the shadows.

“She is full of spirit, that one,” Yori replied. “She does have quite a predicament set be for her, however. Her powers are better suited for housework and cleaning than they are for battle. Nets and webs, they can be formed into a defensive power, yet her control is not great enough to use it to it full advantage.”

Clove sat down beside the old woman. “You are afraid for her?”

A sly look on her face was the only emotion in her reply. “I fear that she could fail in her duty, only. That would be the doom of the world.”