he? Using the first piece of magic she had learned to reliably control she unsheathed Brightfang and ran her hand up one side of his blade to the guard while inhaling. Turning him over she ran the same hand down the other side while exhaling and pointing the tip of the blade at a small crack in the wall. Arcane energies sparked from the edge and a sudden razor thin gust of air rushed off the end of her sword; forcing a stone in the wall to move out a fraction of an inch. Sheathing her sword she knelt and pulled the stone out the rest of the way revealing a small cubbyhole. Lying inside was a silver cylinder a little smaller than her fist holding down a piece of parchment. “ Replace the pommel of your sword with this; it shall serve as a spell receptacle until you have used your blade enough that he can hold your magic for you. Eventually the affinity will grow and he will take on a life of his own. Meditate with him after you join the two and you will understand.” She carefully unthreaded the counterweight on the end of Brightfang’s hilt and attached her Sigil in its place. When it seated completely there was a minute ‘click’ and a jolt of Weave crackled through her body and her blade. Although she was a little frightened, Callindra cleaned off the hearth, laid a fire and unrolled her mat of tightly woven reeds to sit upon; the rituals of the past coming back to her with ease. Laying Brightfang across her knees with one hand on the Sigil and one hand on the flat of his blade she let herself slide through the Korumn Glarian had taught her and a new world blossomed in her mind. - “ We know you’re in there Sol’Estin, come quietly now or we’ll have to resort to force!” A man’s voice shattered Callindra’s reverie and she realized she had been sitting for hours. Rising stiffly to her feet she stretched in an attempt to work the kinks out of her legs and strode to the door. She felt her anger begin to rise; these people were the reason her master wasn’t here to meet her. It was THEIR fault and she was going to make them PAY. “ He’s not here.” She had opened the door and cast a disparaging glare at the man standing in the yard. Sheathing Brightfang with a flourish she went on “I think you’d better leave before he comes back though; unless you don’t value your pitiful life.” The man roared in laughter, “Those are some strong words from a little wench hiding inside.” He threw his cloak back and drew a thick bladed short sword, “Let’s see if your bite matches your bark.” Callindra stepped through the door and as the man approached whipped Brightfang from his sheath making the blade sing. The man rushed forward confidently, aiming a strike at her head. She contemptuously sidestepped his swing and carved a bloody line across his torso with ‘West Wind Blows.’ He snarled and turned to attack again, however she was too fast for him, her blade biting into his sword arm, ‘Lightning Strikes First’. Two more men came into the clearing, surprised to see their companion in combat with a young girl. “ Having trouble with that little chit Shojin?” Her opponent took two quick steps back; whirling his blade over his head and chanting but Callindra didn’t hesitate. She jumped forward stabbing him just above the knee ‘Kingfisher Dives’ and the spell scattered. “ You might be fast girlie, but you can’t hit all three of us at once.” The other two men began closing on her, each holding their weapons at the ready. “ Care to make a bet on that?” Callindra spun her weapon in a complex series of flashing arcs, first stopping pointing at one, then the other two men. Knowing full well she couldn’t handle all of them, it’d been a miracle that she had done as well against an experienced opponent this long, Callindra used her fancy weapon swinging bluff to move her back to the house. She kicked the door open and stood in the doorway, “Bring it on boys.” “ I’ve had