The Red Sword by Kevin Diep (black female authors .txt) 📕

Irelia smiled at the card. A warm sensation flowed through her body at the feeling of becoming a swordfighter.

“Go into the Mentor Room to choose your mentor to give you trainings.” The old man said, pointing his fingers at a big room with the letters “Mentor Room” Imbedded on the top. Runt nodded thanks towards the old man and headed towards the room, with Irelia a footstep behind him. As they walked, Irelia began analyzing the building. Huddles of people were seen on benches, or chatting about beside cafes. There were sword fighting gift shops, blacksmiths, and repair stores. About everything was crammed into this building-every that was sword-related. Irelia’s gaze came upon a shop that looked as if they were selling armour-or what looked like armour. As Irelia and Runt headed closer towards the Mentor Room, a surge of memory shot your mind, like a bullet.

What did they called them again? Irelia asked herself,struggling to remember what the unique fighting armour was called. It was…...oh!

Cybersuits! The special type of armour that every sword fighter was required to wear. It has special technological power to give immunity to sharp pains from swords. Cybersuits come in different materials. Some durable ones cost an arm or a leg, but others are as cheap as plain air, but will wear by just a tiny scratch. Irelia remembered her mother wearing a black,leather Cybersuit when her mother was in her room.

Weird. Now that Irelia thought about it, it was weird to see her mother having a Cybersuit. She’d always thought that her mother was a blacksmith and never a sword fighter. Or so I thought.

As Irelia and Runt approached the Mentor Room, Irelia spotted several people in the room, sitting on chairs, smoking, and talking to one another. Different types of swords were scattered on the ground, some big as crocodiles and others small as mice.

The small ones are daggers. Irelia flashed back the memory of her mother teaching her about swords. The long ones are longswords.

“Ahem.” Runt cleared his voice softly, ready to speak to the mentors, but the mentors heard him already.

“Oh hey, there!” One of the mentors exclaimed. The mentor had a short beard, blue sparkling eyes and a friendly smile on his face.

I might grow to like him. Irelia thought eagerly, as she gazed at the other mentors. There were several more of them, some looked at the two newcomers with evil eyes, but others welcomed them with a warm nod. The bearded mentor gave a curt glance at the two cards, turned his head towards the other mentors, and said “We have two new sword fighters.” The other mentors struck from their relaxed pose and got up from where they settled down. The mentors came to a straight line and gazed at Irelia and her brother, side by side.

“You each shall choose which mentor you want to mentor you.” The bearded mentor said. “But first, let’s introduce ourselves.” The mentor casted a glance at the other mentors, then back on Irelia and Runt.

“My name is Zytaria.” The bearded mentor said. “To my right is Ona and to my left is Gordon.” Ona, a decently beautiful woman smiled at me and Gordon, a strict-looking man just stared at Runt. Behind Gordon stood another man and Irelia wondered what his name was. Gordon seemed to read her mind.

“He’s Rute.” Gordon answered Irelia’s question. “A new mentor.” Rute nodded at Irelia as she kept on staring at the short, young mentor.

“Before you choose your mentor,” Zytaria blinked Irelia out of her thoughts. “We shall test you to see if you have any experience in sword fighting.” Irelia’s blood suddenly stopped cold, frozen in place. She has never sword fought before. Suddenly, a huge worm of fear started nibbling at her stomach. She wasn’t prepared for this journey. Not of the supplies needed for the journey, but of the basic skills required to begin the journey. Zytaria’s eyes grew slightly wider, as he gazed at Irelia.

That was probably the cue for me to show him some of my techniques Irelia thought bitterly. The old man turned his head, and after seeing a wooden sword in the distance, he padded over it, took it by the handle, and gave it to Irelia. Irelia gulped, as the pressure of the sword made her lower her sword in a sudden, then, gaining balance as it rose again. Irelia stood there, frozen in place. She tried to move, but her body won’t allow her.

“Well? Mov-” Suddenly, as if someone pushed her, her body jerked. She raised her sword and slashed it in the air, turning her body around as she did, then did a cross-slash. Irelia’s body did other wild movements that she has never done before. Her eyes went wide, as she did a backflip, then landed with a slash in the air. She stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what had just happened. Her sword stayed in her hands, from the position it was in after she slashed it the last time. The mentors were frozen in place, too. Runt sat there, hands open with his jaws gaping as wide as a hippo's. There was silence for a long time, until Zytaria clapped his hands.

“Very well done, young one.” Zytaria said, a gleam of amusement sparkled in his eyes. “You are a really talented sword fighter.” Irelia stood there, not knowing what to say.

I’ve never had any sword fighting training, and…. Irelia’s train of thought led to an unusual one. Maybe, I have powers? For once, excitement fluttered inside her body. What if she was a hero? A new continent of power, maybe. A...chosen one?

Then, Irelia snapped. She immediately shook her head. Of course not! She thought, modestly. But then, how did I perform those techniques back then?

“Your turn.” Gordon said, staring a cold gaze at Runt. Irelia heard Runt gulp as he slowly walked up towards the mentors. Irelia handed him the sword she was holding, and Runt took it. Irelia felt his hands shaking as he got ahold of the sword. Irelia started feeling bad for her brother. She knew that he had never had any practice with a sword before, so he must be really nervous right now. Irelia decided that she has to do something to keep Runt from showing his “skills”. But what can she do?

“He can’t present!” Irelia eventually blurted out. She couldn’t think straight. The other mentors looked at her, as if she was nuts.

“Why is that so?” Zytaria asked, raising an eyebrow. Irelia looked back at him with nervous eyes. Her mind ran, searching for an answer, until she came upon one.

“He hurt his arms the other day.” Irelia stammered. Runt blinked in surprise, but drooped his arms, as if they were really injured.

“If that’s so, then we’ll skip him.” Zytaria said, but had a glimpse of doubt in his eyes, then he and the other mentors rose their heads high, as if trying to gaze up into the sky to look for clouds.

“Now is the time for you to choose your mentor.” Zytaria said, then looked into Irelia’s eyes. “You shall choose first.”

Why me? Irelia thought curiously.She still could not decide which mentor had interested her the most. She was obviously not going to choose Gordon, the menacing old one. Irelia felt Gordon’s gaze lay on her, as a chilling shiver ran through her body.

Ona seems okay. Irelia thought, as she gazed at the beautiful mentor. Ona smiled at her when she saw Irelia looking at her. And Rute seems nice.

“Ummm….” Irelia began, gazing from mentor to mentor, then was cut off by Ona.

“I want her.” She said. Her voice was nice and calm, like a stream flowing gently flowing across a small riverbed. Zytaria looked at her in concern.

“You’re not allowed to do that.” Zytaria told her. He gave Ona a ”look”, then turned his head back to Irelia.

“Now choose who you want to mentor you, and don’t take too long.” Zytaria, now looking more agitated than before, stared at Irelia like an owl towards prey. Irelia’s mind ran as fast as lightning, until she had finally decided who interested her the most.

“Rute.” She said, and Rute’s eyes widened in surprise. A smile started to grow on his face.

“Really?” He asked, excitement crackling in his voice, like a child before going to play at a park. Irelia nodded her head, as she saw Rute smile bigger. His smile then faded, as he gazed at Runt.

“It’s your turn to choose.” Rute told him, as Runt bit his lower lip. He was obviously nervous, still deciding which mentor suited him the most. Irelia was more than sure enough to know who Runt was going to choose.

Obviously Ona. Irelia simply told herself. Ona was a young and cute mentor, and Irelia felt Runt having a crush on her.

Since when they were babies, Irelia has always had the extraordinary power of reading her brother’s mind. Irelia never told anyone of this power, not even her brother. She had always kept this a secret, but somehow, deep in her heart, she regretted it.

Runt’s gaze became more steady, aware of who he will choose. Then, with a strong voice, he said. “Gordon.”

Irelia opened her mouth in surprise. She was dumbstruck. Why hadn’t Runt chosen Ona? And to top it all off, why did he choose Gordon, the scourge of the mentors?

“Very well.” Zytaria said, shaking Irelia out of her confused thoughts.  “You guys shall be training for a month, after that, you’re to set off on your journey.” A pang of sadness glimmered in Zytaria’s eyes. Irelia suddenly felt sorry for him. Zytaria must’ve hoped for her or her brother to choose him as a mentor.

“We will begin our training tomorrow.” Gordon said, gazing at Runt with serious eyes. Snorting, he trudged away from the others, vanishing into a dark side of the Mentor Room.

“You guys can go book a room to stay for the night.” Rute said, looking at Irelia and Runt. “It’s across the Mentor Room, at a big sign that said ‘Inn’.” Irelia turned around and saw the large letters right across. There was a man standing at a counter, fiddling with some tools. The man wore a heavy, brown jacket, and on the desk was a little sign and printed on it was “service.”

Waving good-bye to the mentors, Irelia and Runt began walking towards the Inn. After reaching it, the man gazed at Irelia. Irelia flinched at his sight. The man’s gaze was dreadful. His look was full of evil and intensity. A little shiver ran down Irelia’s spine.

“H-hi, can we book a room for two for the night?” Irelia’s voice was shaky and unforgettable, she couldn’t peel her eyes of the man’s face. There was a horrific scar on his left cheek, series of red blood was splotched on his face and his nose seemed as if it was going to be ripped off by the end of the minute.

The man simply nodded, and gave Runt and Irelia each a key to their rooms. Irelia looked at her key. There were small letter imprinted onto hers, each bold and unreadable. Irelia had to shove her key to her face in order to make out the tiny words. Irelia read each letter carefully in her mind.

Room: B2

Spotting a stairwell right beside where the man stood, Irelia gazed from the key to the stairs then back again. Irelia stepped onto the staircase, noticing that all the stairs were crooked and uneven. The staircase was definitely really old, and each step seemed as if they were 5 inches tall As she climbed the tiring, ancient steps, Irelia heard Runt poke her back. Irelia spun around to see Runt lowering his head in embarrassment.

“Thanks back there.” Runt murmurred. Irelia blinked, remembering how she saved Runt from getting humiliated at when they were showing off the mentors their skills.

“No problem, we are family, aren't we?” Irelia managed a smile as she trudged on the endless well of