Her Blood On Your Hands: Part 2


 * This story is from Old Age Canon. Some of the lore may have changed.

Previous: Her Blood On Your Hands: Part 1, Continued: Her Blood On Your Hands: Part 3 "You're to be known as Sao," Iskoali told Nuly one morning. "That's what your superiors are going to be told, and that's what you're going to tell them yourself.  You are no longer to be known as Nuly Veriolu.  Only Sao.  Understand?" Nuly threw a confused look towards him as he lifted from his chair. After thinking about it for a few seconds, she could understand the reason for the removal of her birth name.

"Yes, sir," she said, devoid of any reluctance.

"Until you're given your alias, you're to be known by that name only.  I cannot stress that enough." That same serious stare grew in his eyes, a profound emptiness that intrigued her. It wasn't that hard for Nuly to swallow, and for what was ahead, she didn't have much of a choice.

"Yes, sir," she said again with a nod, "Only Sao." And as the light of the sun drew a line across the horizon, Nuly and Iskoali were off into the desert, guided by a leather clad sergal called Wol. He was simply introduced as their escort to Nuly's new camp, having not spoken a word since they had met. They jumped and weaved past rocks and dry shrubbery while small animals scurried from their path, the bottoms of their feet slapping against cool sand and dirt.

Their destination was many rekusus away, west of Camp Villido. Large boulders started to come into view, and as they hurried past them, larger rock formations manifested into sight. The rocks grew into massive foothills, and Nuly soon found themselves in a canyon. She was largely fascinated by the imposing brown, red, and yellow rocks that surrounded them, their footsteps reverberating off their walls. The three of them slowed as they met narrower passages, the rock walls closing in on them while they ventured deeper into the maze of rock structures before it opened back up. After moving over dozens of foothills, the group then rested, their cloaks protecting them from the sandy gusts of wind.

Morning had long past, and the day was still in the throws of it's afternoon. Canteens of water quenched their thirsts, strips of jerky settling their stomachs. After returning to their trek and many more rekusus, they came upon a natural barrier of large rocky hills. Before they went any further, Wol held up a piece of blue glass against the sunlight, and on the peak of one of those hills, a flash blinked back at them. They were then permitted to move forward.

After moving up the steep sides of the hills, with armored sergals watching them, they were met with the sight of a valley camp below. A wooden and metal gate ran along the perimeter of it, the darken shapes of guards inhabiting their posts. They approached the tall gate to the camp, and were soon met with a voice.

"Name, soldier!" one of the guards blasted at them.

"Wol!" their guide replied loudly.

"Business!"

"Admission!" For a moment they waited there, the dry air filled with a silent tension, but it was broken as the gates opened outward, their hinges creaking loudly. Wol led them inward to the camp's yard where several pairs of sergals were sparring with each other on fabric mats. Some were dueling with spears, some with blades, while others fought hand-to-hand. All weapons were practice variety, fashioned from wood and technically non-lethal. Grunts, growls, hisses and the impacts of wood on wood filled Nuly's ears while the smell of smoke entered her nostrils. She once again found herself to be one of the only northern sergal to be seen, but was surprised to see a few nevreans instructing and taking part in the practiced melee.

In the center of it all was a grand keep, composed of both metal and wood as the gates were. Large fabric shades were proved above the doors, shielding them from the sun as the three carved a path towards the entrance. The guards by the door checked them for any weapons. Afterwards, they were met with even cooler shade as they entered the building.

The interior was well maintained; the wooden floor was smooth albeit all the scratches and dirt it had acquired throughout it's years of service. Decorated carpets of red, blue, and yellow were also added to the floor. Along the walls were racks of spears, swords, and crossbows while some laid on wooden tables and chairs.

Wol led them up a few flights of stairs before stopping at a large door with more armed guards posted on either side of it. "Squad leader Iskoali is here with his recruit," he said to the guards and one entered the room. A moment passed and the door opened again to admit them. And with that, Wol retreated, disappearing down the stairs and out of sight.

The room was a large one, filled with bookshelves and weapons posted on the walls near painted artwork and the stuffed trophy heads, skulls, and bones of animals and old enemies. By one of the windows, a sundial gave the time. In front of a desk, a female sergal eyed them across the room. The entirety of her fur was a dark brown, almost black in the dimness of the room. She wore a leather skirt with a gray sleeveless fabric top. Two silver earrings dangled from her elongated right ear, while her left was just a stub.

"General Suklin," Iskoali greeted her, "thank you for receiving us.  Apologies if it's much later than you expected." He saluted her, his right hand slapping against his left shoulder. Nuly saw his example and followed it.

"Not at all, squad leader Iskoali," she saluted him as well. "In fact, I had suspected you would be here by nightfall.  You've done well."

"Thank you, General." He bowed politely at her complement. Nuly then found the general's eyes had moved to her, and she immediately straightened to attention. She also found it appropriate to salute her a second time.

"Name, soldier," Suklin demanded.

"Nu...Sao, ma'am!"

"Sao," the general repeated, getting a taste of word in her mouth. "Undress.  I want to see if your superiors were right about you." Once again, with their eyes on her, she unclothed to present her northern body to them. Like Yurgie, General Suklin surveyed Nuly carefully, scanning her entire body, squeezing muscles, running her hands through fur, and taking in her smell. "Hmmm," she hummed to herself. "I was cautious when Yurgie had written to me, saying she had found the perfect candidate for infiltrating the Shigu ranks," she relaxingly stated. "But I think she was correct," she then came into Nuly's view. "You would seem to be a prime candidate for our training, at least physically."

"Does that mean," Iskoali began, "you will accept her into your roster?" With another quick glance at Nuly, Suklin told him.

"I think she will do well with us, Iskoali," she said with a smile. "Not many northerners come our way, especially during these times, but we know when we catch sight of a good recruit.  I'm glad Yurgie can say the same, she did well suggesting this one.  I'll be sure to give her my thanks." Nuly felt a strange sensation come over her. Instead of feeling like a soldier, she felt more like a bargaining item being given to a new owner. Maybe that's how it's suppose to feel, she thought to herself.

"It's good to hear that, General Suklin," Iskoali said happily. "Thank you."

"Sao," Suklin barked, still eyeing Nuly with her sharp gray orbs.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Have you pledged your oath of loyalty to our clan?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"And are you aware of the difficulty you are sure to encounter with our training?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"And are you aware of the hardships you will have to endure as an undercover Reono spy in the heart of Shigu territory?" She was trying to invoke terror in her, but Nuly couldn't feel any such emotion in herself.

"Yes, ma'am!  I believe I have what it takes to stop Clan Shigu." General Suklin lightly laughed at her statement.

"I like your optimism.  Keep that strength you have in your heart forever," she tapped a claw on her clothed chest, "and you will find hardly anything will stand in your way."

"Thank you, ma'am." With another subdued smiled, General Suklin thanked Iskoali for his time.

"Good luck, Sao," he said before he left them, the tapping of his claws against wood sounding down the hall before they dissipated into nothingness.

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Difficult. By god, it was difficult. Fifteen rekusu runs to and back to camp in the morning. Sparring with spears, swords, daggers, knives, chains, and, most of all, hand-to-hand during the afternoon. Nuly found herself thoroughly humbled after learning never assume an opponent's skill by their size after sparring with a female nevrean, finding her feathered limbs hardly visible as they competed against each other. The marital arts she had learned from her mother was different from theirs. Their style was focused more on disarming and pacifying opponents without the use of too much energy. She would have to start from the beginning to learn their technique.

As the sun settled into the distance before night, they were tutored by a variety of teachers, each one with a vital lesson to be learned. One taught mapping territories by sight, copying enemy maps, shorthand, while another enlightened them about the many pressure points and blood vessels in the sergal body. "Here," he had said, pointing to a oddly detailed drawn representation of a sergal body, moving his finger on the drawing's neck. "Cut here, deeply, and if you did it right, your opponent will bleed out and become unconscious within a few minutes." She took note of the many points that were on the neck, under the armpit, and on the legs.

The camp, which was named Camp Hilitolo, was in many ways a far better camp than the previous one Nuly had been at. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were three pieces of raw meat and some plant food. The trainers, even though harsh and unrelenting, were more precise and educated. Even the recruits seemed more disciplined considering Nuly had caught very few nasty comments said at her back. Another plus was roomier barracks when taking in account the fewer number of soldiers.

"Apprentice Sao," someone said off to the right of her. She looked to see a male, his fur color as bright as the sunlight he was standing in, observing her. "General Suklin summons you to her chamber," he told her. Nuly followed him into the officers' keep, leading past it's doors and up it's stairs to General Suklin's office. She guessed it was squad leader Iskoali, but she couldn't pinpoint the reason he had come just a month after she had begun her training. Possibly just to check up on her progress here, she reasoned, but she was proven wrong where the guard opened the door.

After saluting Suklin, she immediately noticed something about the sergal the general was chatting with. She was northern. She was a few heights taller than Nuly, her fur a faded blue with a belly of white. Her cobalt eyes regarded Nuly with a hunger gaze, a half-smirk drawn on her face. "Sao," Suklin said, beckoning her to come closer to them, "this is Aduli Molivas." Nuly saluted the northerner. "No need for that," Suklin retorted with a smile, "she's of no official rank."

"But the gesture is much appreciated," Aduli told her before presenting her an open hand. Nuly accepted the gesture, noticing the strong muscles in her hands and the callous pads on her palms. Her eyes stared deeply into Nuly's, but she tried not to show any emotion, mimicking Iskoali's blank stare.

"Regardless," the general stated after their handshake ended, "she will be treated with the respect you show any of your superiors as Aduli will be teaching on becoming a Shigu soldier.  She will inform you on their ways, their acts, and rituals.  She will also teach you about their culture."

"It's good to meet you, ma'am," Nuly said, noticing Aduli still hadn't taken her gaze from her. She also saw that her eyes wondered up and down her frame, like Yurgie's and Suklin's eyes when they inspected her. She felt even more uncomfortable with this unknown sizing her up like this.

"The feeling is likewise," Aduli said with an almost friendly tone, her accent dissimilar to Suklin's. "Tell me about yourself,"  she insisted, and Nuly looked to Suklin who proved her with a nod of affirmation.

"My name is Sao.  I'm eighteen years of age and I'm from Clan Juigio which is now part of Clan Shigu.  My family and I came here four years ago to escape General Rain's influence.  And now my family are proud members of Clan Reono." Aduli's smile grew in size after she finished.

"Your accent," she stated lightly, "it's perfect.  It's natural and sounds well.  It doesn't sound changed even after the years you've been here.  That's good.  Really good, in fact.  Takes a lot of work and focus to counterfeit an accent and it's good to see we don't have to go through that process." She bite down on a claw lightly, her eyes unwavering from Nuly.

"That's good to hear," Suklin said, sounding pleased with her statement. "And Sao," Nuly returned her attention to the general, "there's to be a change in your daily schedule.  Tomorrow you will begin your lessons with Aduli.  Considering Aduli needs your full attention, you will be withdrawn from your other classes.  You will be given notes on those classes' lessons and we will expect you to read and remember them.  You do know how to read, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Excellent.  You will meet her everyday at her quarters, second floor to the left and the second to the last door.  Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Nuly then saw Suklin's expression change quickly. "And you still understand your oath of secrecy, right?  You are not to tell anybody of your lessons with Aduli.  You are not even to mention her name or whereabouts anywhere or to anybody else on this camp.  Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Do you remember the punishment if you disobey your oath?"

"Punishment ranges from twenty slashes to a charge of treason!"

"Good," she nodded pleasingly. "If any of your other superiors ask about anything regarding your lessons or who Aduli is, tell them to see me.  Now get back to your squad.  Breakfast is almost over."

"Yes, ma'am." And she was gone, down the halls and stairs, and back out into the sun and heat. For the rest of the day, Nuly would still see Aduli staring at her, eyes unblinking with an interest she wasn't fond of.