Alaireia found herself reluctantly walking towards Ackhor’s quarters before heading to the training grounds as usual one morning. Even though Ackhor let her enjoy her freedom and had avoided summoning her for debriefing, Alaireia was aware she should have made a point to meet with him the moment she entered the Eka Fighting Camp. Instead she found herself hesitant, shying away from the one question he might ask. Her relationship with Ackhor went back years. He had appeared in the forests of Srinka shortly after the incident that took her family away. Instead of being put off by her frosty attitude, he’d provided the deadly weapon that led to her revenge. When the emptiness of loss set in, he distracted her from sorrow by showing her the glories and mysteries of the Western World.

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