Song of A Northern Sorcerer

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Staring out over the city of Sunspear and the bay below from his private chambers within the Tower of the Sun, Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne, quietly pondered the latest oddity that'd been presented to him. Namely in the form of the Northern vessel that was anchored within the bay. Despite what many may have thought, Dorne did not hate the North nor the wolves. Not like they hated the stags and lions at any rate. If anything, the people of Dorne understood the Northerner's reason for rebelling against the crown. And Eddard Stark's actions at the end of the Rebellion with his demands that Gregor Clegane and Armory Lorch stand trial for murder and his subsequent leaving when the demand was denied heightened the people of Dorne's opinion of the man. That wasn't to say that they would ever be considered friends. But the North were one of the few people left in the entirety of the Seven Kingdoms that could safely dock at Sunspear without fear of reprisal.

"My Prince, Prince Oberyn has arrived," his ever-faithful bodyguard Areo Hotah announced, his deep rumbling voice carrying easily across the distance that separated the two.

"See him in," he commanded, not turning around from his view of the bay. "And then make sure that there are no unwanted ears nearby. I will be having private words with my brother."

"Yes, my prince," Areo drawled, his heavy feet telling of his quick retreat from the room.

What little peace he managed to find was quickly blown away as the doors to his chambers opened forcefully. "Brother, I hope that you know that you pulled me away from a most wonderful time I was having with my delightful Ellaria and a few of the new girls in the city."

"Your urges can wait, Oberyn." Doran stated, turning and facing his brother. The pain in his knees flaring slightly but not enough to prevent him from moving. "We have matters to discuss."

Quirking an eyebrow, Oberyn's gaze flickered towards the port, namely the northern ship anchored in the bay. "Yes, I suppose we do. I don't suppose you'll tell me why you haven't demanded that northern ship to leave our shores lest they want to taste our spears?"

"No, I haven't. And neither will you, Oberyn," Doran stated forcefully. While intelligent and skilled beyond belief in combat, subtlety was often lost on his younger brother. And the best way of dealing with him was often by being blunt. "That ship brought Wyman Manderly to our shores. And he is staying in the Tower of the Sun until our dealings are done. And you will be civil towards him during his stay."

Oberyn didn't bother to hide his look of contempt at the name. While his brother was of the similar mind as the rest of Dorne regarding the North, he still held them responsible for the death of their sister and her children. "So, the only man in the whole of the Seven Kingdoms who can rival the fat flower in terms of girth has decided to waddle his ass down to Dorne. No doubt at behest of his wolf masters. And you are allowing him to not only stay in Sunspear for a time, but in the Tower of the Sun. The very same tower where Elia, our sister, was raised alongside us. Why?"

"Because I said so, brother," Doran countered harshly, meeting his brother's cool gaze with a look of his own. "And you will respect my decision."

Doran held his brother's eyes, unwilling to look away. Shortly enough, Oberyn broke their lock and turned his head away. "Very well, brother," he conceded, albeit reluctantly. "So then, tell me why the fat mermaid has come to Dorne."

"His purpose is twofold," Doran explained. "The first was to deliver a gift to Dorne. The second was to establish a trade agreement between the North and Dorne."

Oberyn's face turned quizzical. "A gift? What kind of gift could the northern barbarians offer us?"

"Something we have sought after for years, brother," he answered, motioning towards a table along the wall of the room where a lone chest sat. "Compliments of the Starks."

Frowning, his brother made his way over to the chest and lifted the lid. When he spied what laid inside, he froze, just as Doran had done when he first laid his eyes upon the hands and the signet ring that lay within. "That…ring has a manticore on it, brother," Oberyn said, his voice low. "The sigil of House Lorch."

"And those are the hands of Armory Lorch," Doran continued, answering his brother's unasked question.

His brother stayed unusually quiet as he stared down at the severed hands that'd been gifted to them. A small piece of vengeance delivered by a House they had little love for. "Who?"

"A new vassal under the command of House Stark who fought against Lorch and several of his men on his own during a Trial by Combat after Lorch was found raping a mother and her young daughter by the Northerners." Doran replied, taking a seat as his gout began to flare to point where he could no longer ignore it. "A new vassal, who just happens to be a sorcerer of no small power."

That got Oberyn's attention. If there was one thing that could get his brother's attention outside of carnal delights or a good fight, it was the arcane. "A sorcerer?"

"Yes, according to Lord Manderly, and I find that he has little reason to lie." He knew what he was about to say next would not be taken well by his brother, but he had no choice but to withhold the information from his brother to prevent him from doing something rash. "For I have also heard a tale of this sorcerer from one of our spies."

Predictably, Oberyn spun around to him, his eyes alight with anger. "You – You knew that Lorch was dead?!"

"I didn't say that," he replied, skirting around the truth. In truth, he had heard the tale that Lorch had met his demise, but he didn't trust a single source of information with something so vital. But before he could get confirmation, Lord Manderly had arrived with the hands of the man to confirm his death, and everything else that Doran had heard. "I heard of this sorcerer. How he has sworn allegiance to House Stark. How this single man stormed Pyke by himself and managed to bring the krakens to heel."

Pacified for the moment, Oberyn's posture relaxed. "Perhaps I should head north to secure this supposed trade agreement and to see the truth for myself."

While Doran was interested in learning more about this sorcerer as well, mostly with how he would affect their long-term plans, he was not about to send his brother to do it. "No, you won't. At least not now." Doran said, ending his brother's hopes to learn more of the arcane. "I have a different task for you to perform."

"And what task would that be, brother?" Oberyn asked.

Adjusting his legs and rubbing his knees, Doran brought up the next piece of information that Manderly had confirmed for him about the sorcerer. "Something that I feel you will be well suited for. I need you to travel across the Free Cities of Essos to try and find any tale of this sorcerer so we might discover his origin."

Taking the chair across from him, Obery poured himself a glass of wine and took a small drink. "And why would you believe he hails from Essos? In the old days, it was not uncommon for those with the blood of the First Men to possess magic. Not so unlike our own Rhoynish ancestors and their water magic."

"Because the man has the look of a pure Valyrian," Doran said, making Oberyn pause mid-sip. "A fact which has not endeared him to the Usurper, but the fool was unfortunately able to overlook his hatred for all things related to the dragons after he witnessed just what the man was capable of."

Setting his glass down, Oberyn peered off into the distance deep in thought. "The Free Cities are vast, brother. It will take me some time to search them all. And while his looks might point towards the Free Cities, would it not be better to start at Qarth or Asshai?"

"Perhaps, but for now we will start with what we know about the man," Doran said. While Asshai and their Red God were a possibility, he doubted the man was from Qarth as it was unlikely that a Warlock from the House of the Undying would ever leave. "We don't need to know his whole history. Just any clue as to his origin will suffice."

Nodding, Oberyn finished off the last of his wine. "Well then, I guess I will be off on the first ship to leave for Essos. Ellaria has wanted to venture through Essos again. And I'm positive that I can find certain things to keep the both of us entertained while searching for any information on this sorcerer."

"Good," Doran nodded. "And there are two more aspects about the sorcerer that might help you narrow this search. While Lord Manderly was vague about the man's potential origins, I can conclude that the man was either a servant or a slave early in his life. And the second, and much more telling aspect about him, is that he is blind. And he wears an ornate cloth to cover his scars."

"A blind man?" Oberyn questioned. "A blind sorcerer, who has the martial prowess and arcane power to kill Lorch and his men in a Trial by Combat, and then lay siege to Pyke nearly by himself? This man is becoming more and more interesting with each word you speak, brother."

"That he is. I will continue to subtly question Lord Manderly about the man during trade talks. And there is one more task I ask of you while you are in the Free Cities." Pulling out a scroll from the inner lining of his robes, he held it out for his brother to take. "This is for your eyes-only brother. Yours and the intended recipient."

Picking up the scroll, Oberyn quickly opened it and read its contents, his eyes growing wider with each passing line he read. "Are you sure about this?" Oberyn asked as he rolled the scroll up and tucked it into the interior of his vest.

"There is always a chance when you play the game of thrones, brother." Doran stated. "But with this sorcerer now in the game, we have to be even more cautious with how we play our hand. That is why that is not a full agreement. Not yet at least. Should the sorcerer prove to not be as big a threat or if he can be swayed, then it will become such."

"I see," Oberyn nodded. "Well then, if that is all, brother, I will be off. I wish to say goodbye to my daughters before Ellaria and I head out on our adventure."

"Safe travels, brother." Doran nodded. "And may you find success in both of your endeavors."

Leaning against the arched window in his room within the renovated Broken Tower of Winterfell, Nox watched as light flurries of snow slowly drifted down from the sky to the ground below. 'Two years,' he thought, as the snow fell past the window. 'Two years I have been living this new reality of mine. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would find myself stranded on a preindustrial world. Yet here I am. But even then, this experience has been something else entirely.'

Reaching out with his senses, he didn't stop the swelling of pride within him as he assessed the ancient stronghold of House Stark below him. Despite the heavy snowfall that'd started barely a few months after their return from ending the rebellion on the Iron Islands, many of the projects Nox had been hoping to get started had gone off relatively smoothly. Or perhaps, it was because of the heavy snowfall, that could put even a blizzard on Hoth to shame, that he was able to help the Northerners achieve so much in such a short amount time. After all, what was there to do as the snow drifts climbed more than halfway up the walls of Winterfell?

After their return from the war and with the threat of winter weighing upon them, Nox had moved to personally oversee the final phases of construction for additional small glass garden within the walls of Winterfell, at nearly square acre in size secondary glass garden tucked nearby the homes of Winter Town and the windmill and blast furnace situated just beyond the outskirts of Winter Town. Getting the glass gardens finished in time had allowed the farmers and gardeners within the Stark lands to prepare the soil enough that they were able to begin planting seeds before the first snow reached them. While most of what was grown was native to the land, the seeds that Nox had within the small survival bag had proven a huge boon to the people. The fruit, vegetables, and grains that he provided grew faster and larger than anything the northerners had seen before. When asked about them, he made up a tale about how these plants were the mainstay of the food production of his home and had been chosen as such due to their size and quick germination period. Of course, he didn't tell them that each of those plants had been heavily genetically engineered to grow so large and so quickly, let alone in such harsh conditions. But even if he did, he doubted that anyone would be able to understand the explanation.

While the additional glass gardens and the blast furnace were the two primary changes to the land before the first snow, they were not the last. Merely the most important to get the other projects that could be started during the wintertime. But before they could make anything, they needed the raw materials necessary. Primarily iron and other metals to be smelted in the forge to create the steel. The solution to that problem came from perhaps one of the last places Nox expected. An old journal belonging to Lord Rickard Stark, Ned's father, recently discovered by Maester Luwin that'd been misplaced in the library by the previous Maester of Winterfell. In it, the former Lord of Winterfell noted the possible discovery of an iron vein in the mountains near Winterfell. But before he could order a crew to scout the area, he received word that his son Brandon had ridden to King's Landing and demanded justice for his kidnapped sister. And that was the last entry in the book.

Ned had understandably been furious that the journal belonging to his late father had been misplaced for so long. And when he inquired as to how such a thing happened, Maester Luwin had no answer to give. Not unless they were to bring Maester Walys back from the dead and ask him. But regardless of how the book got lost, they now had it. And so, before the snows could set in, Ned had sent out nearly two hundred men with mining equipment to not only scout the area noted, but to begin mining as well. The vein the men discovered apparently went deep, and not only was there iron, but they also discovered a copper vein nearby as well.

With the blast furnace operational and with a newly discovered vein of iron and other metals that laid within the mountains near to Winterfell, Winter Town was able to supply the smiths and craftsmen of the North with a decent amount of high-grade steel before they were forced to close down the mine due to the snow making such operations near impossible to complete.

While he would've preferred more steel to work with, and more raw iron would be arriving via trade vessels in the future, Nox had more than enough to set the smiths of Winterfell to work. The first project thing he had them make were the parts necessary to make a prototype printing press. The theory and make up behind the press were easy. What was not easy was the careful crating of the individual letter blocks that would then need to be carefully arranged on the printing plate. It'd taken him months into the winter, but eventually he managed to get the press assembled and have enough letter blocks crafted to give Ned and Luwin a demonstration as to what the device was capable of. While Luwin was not necessarily impressed by the speed of which it took to assemble a single printing plate, he quickly changed his tune once he saw just how fast the press could print paper once it was set. The best of scribes could write maybe two to three pages an hour, whereas the press could print nearly twenty in the same amount of time.

The second, a much easier item, that Nox set about making were metal springs. Once again, the blacksmiths were more than a little confused as to why he wanted them to make a coil of thin metal, but after the first few were made Nox showed them how they could be attached to a carriage to create shocks. The smiths immediately stopped questioning whatever he told them to make after that. And with more than a little bit of ingenuity on behalf of the smith Mikken, they were able to create smaller, more compact springs to which Nox showed them how to create the first spring mattress.

With those two inventions, the smiths of Winterfell were working almost night and day in order to create as many parts for the press and springs. While they didn't have enough yet to begin trading, there soon would be. And Nox was positive that both would be highly sought after throughout the realm and bring in no small amount of coin.

Not that coin was necessarily a problem now, not with the amount of glass they were producing. Lord Manderly had gone above and beyond when he went to Dorne to begin trade negotiations, and now the North was receiving almost more sand than they could process. At first, the glass makers of Winterfell focused on creating glass panels for future glass gardens. But within a relatively short amount of time they had a stockpile of glass enough to build at least two more acre-sized glass gardens with some to spare. With such a surplus, the glassmakers had turned to the excess and started to experiment. And without him even needing to drop the suggestion, one enterprising glassmaker created a glass blowing technique. And now they were making glassware and ornate glass pieces. The first shipment of which had already headed south to King's Landing with a spring mattress and, judging by the raven they'd received a short time ago from the King, the items were very well received. Especially amongst the nobility. And now orders and promises of gold were flowing into Winterfell with each new raven that landed.

Hearing the door to his chambers open, Nox let himself smile as he felt the familiar and comforting presence that'd just waltzed into his room. "Nox, I have the reports from the laborers of Winter Town as well as the glassmakers and smiths here in Winterfell. Maester Luwin has passed on a raven from White Harbor about the latest shipment of iron ore and sand. And Lady Bethany has finalized her recommendation for two students to enter under advanced tutelage."

Pushing away from the window, Nox turned and faced Nyra properly. The woman before him now was almost unrecognizable from herself before his arrival. Over the past two years, he'd spent almost as much time with her as he had with Jon and Robb, his acolytes. Under his guidance, she'd learned how to read and write as well as gaining a firm grasp of mathematics. As his projects evolved and became more and more complicated, he started to rely on her to handle some of the more mundane tasks, mostly writing reports and organizing shipments. And she had excelled at every task he'd given her. In a relatively short amount of time, she found herself relieved from her duties as maid in the great keep and reassigned to be his personal assistant. A transition that caused no small amount of rumors to begin circulating around Winterfell.

"Start with the raven from White Harbor." Nox said, making his way around his makeshift office and to the desk where numerous books lay open.

Nodding, Nyra set down the arm load of parchment she was holding onto her own workstation before sorting through them and selecting one. "According to Lord Manderly, the ships sent to Essos have returned with two thousand pounds of raw iron ore. And the ships from Dorne and Dragonstone should be passing by the Vale soon. Each of which should have a thousand pounds of sand and other ingredients onboard."

Nodding to himself, Nox began running calculations through his head as to how long the raw materials would need to arrive here at Winterfell. Unfortunately, with the White Knife frozen over the cargo would have to be transported by land, through the snow. Which would more than double the amount of time it would normally take for them to arrive. "Send a message to Winter Town and tell them to begin preparing the blast furnace for the arrival of the ore. Lord Stark wants this next batch to be used to craft weapons and armor rather than parts."

Picking up a quill from an ink pot, Nyra made a few quick notes before turning to the next missive. "The glassmakers' quota for glass panes for the month has been met and they are ready to begin shipping them out."

Flipping through his own notes, Nox found his notes from the last meeting he'd had with Ned about the glass gardens. "Lord Stark wants this shipment to be sent to White Harbor so that they can begin construction of their own new glass gardens. We'll use the transports that are carrying the iron ore and sand to send the glass to White Harbor." Nyra nodded, making more notes as he talked. "How many students has Bethany recommend for further tutelage?"

"Two," Nyra replied, flipping her paper over yet again to read the report from Bethany. "A young girl from Winter Town whose mother is a…well that's not important. And a glassmaker's son as well."

Bethany had validated his trust in her and her daughter several times over since arriving in Winterfell. The ex-noblewoman had taken no time at all in setting up a small school room within the confines of Winterfell and a second in Winter Town. She then began teaching two days a week, once in each set up classroom. At first there were very few children and even fewer adolescents that went to her class. But within a month's turn or two, word of her teaching how to read, write, and how to perform basic math spread and her classes filled to the point where she had to add an additional class in Winter Town just to keep up with all of the students she had.

"I'll trust in her judgement then," Nox nodded. "Set up rooms for the both the boy and girl here in the lower levels of the tower, near to Bethany's chambers. And be sure to remind them of the limits here in the tower. And set them to task with creating printing boards."

Nyra nodded and quickly began to write out the request to receive the necessary furnishings from Winterfell's steward Vayon Poole. After having completely restored the Broken Tower to its former glory, Nox had immediately set about carving out sections of the tower for specified uses. The lower levels were to be the future site of the dormitories that would house the students of the Winterfell college while the middle levels contained a small library and lecture halls. The top four layers of the Tower however were reserved solely for Nox. And the only ones allowed entry were Lord Stark and his family, Maester Luwin, Steward Poole, and whoever else Nox allowed entry too. The topmost layer was Nox's own personal chambers, while the level just below, where he currently was, was his office. The next level down was a dedicated training and mediation chamber, while the level just below that were to be where Nox would house his future Force acolytes. But as his only acolytes were Jon and Robb at the moment, both of whom had rooms in the great keep, the only other occupant in the upper most levels of the tower was Nyra. Which of course did absolutely nothing to quell the rumors circulating about the two of them.

"Is there anything else, Nox?"

"No," he replied before holding out his hand and summoning his cloak and lightsaber to him from across the room. "Please see to it that the orders are filled out and submitted to Poole for Lord Stark's approval by the evening meal."

"Of course," Nyra nodded with a smile. "When have I ever let you down, Alim?"

His name leaving her lips brought a smile to his face and a swelling within his chest. "Well," he said, walking up to her and slowly wrapping her in his arms. "There is a first time for everything."

Lightly touching his lips to hers, Nox let himself go as he held her in his arms. Despite what the rumors of Winterfell said, their relationship, at least the physical aspect of their relationship, was still new. And it wasn't quite to the point where they were sharing a room. Not for a lack of her trying though. But the pain of losing Ashara had cut Nox deeply. It'd taken him a long time to heal. And while his heart still ached when thinking of his lost love, it was nowhere near as painful now that Nyra had slowly made her way into his heart.

"Enough," she breathed, breaking their kiss and forcing him to take a step back. "If you keep doing that, then I won't let you leave your room. And you have a training session with Lord Robb and young Jon to attend. Don't want to leave your acolytes on their own. Especially not today. Word is you're going to putting the boys through sparring practice today. And you know how much they have been looking forward to this. I bet they're both already in the godswood waiting for you. And the Greyjoy lad who's taken to following them around like a lost pup."

Pulling back from her, Nox pushed his emotions and wants down and let himself seep back into the pull of the dark side ever so slightly. It would not do to be soft. Not today. "I doubt that they will be feeling the same once they realize just what they will be going through."

Leaving Nyra to her work, Nox began to descend from his chambers. Her didn't make it very far, however. For as he was passing by his private meditation and training chamber, he felt a very familiar presence coming from within. It wasn't the presence that made him stop, he'd given her permission to use his meditation chambers when needed, but rather the feelings of frustration, anger, and more than a slight amount of amusement that was coming from within. Deciding that whatever had happened needed to be addressed sooner rather than later, Nox ducked into the room.

His meditation room was rather spartan, having only had a short time to set the room to his liking and lacking several things he required. A single window provided the light for the room, which was mostly empty save for the six large round stones he'd levitated up into the tower that were arranged in a hexagon pattern in the center of the room. Besides the stones, the only other objects in the room were three wooden training dummies of various design made of ironwood along the far back wall. And it was against one of these dummies that he found Asha, practicing a few of the hand to hand combat techniques he'd shown her.

Standing just within the entrance, he watched the young woman move through the steps he'd shown her, her arms and legs connecting the various 'limbs' that were attached to the dummy as she ran through the kata. Waiting until she'd finished, Nox cleared his throat loudly, making her start slightly as he approached. "When I said that you could have access to these rooms, I did not envision that you would abuse the privilege so thoroughly."

Asha merely snorted at that. "Just needed to hit something after dealing with that woman."

Shaking his head, Nox immediately put together the source of her anger. While his relationship might not have been the best with Lady Stark, mostly due to her belief that the Force was magic and therefore a creation from the Seven Hells that should be either purged from the lands or avoided like a plague, he at least was able to keep a civil tone with the woman and the Septa Mordane thanks in no small part to his years of practice amongst the Sith. Asha had no such practice. And she had no problem telling the Septa and Lady Stark exactly what she thought of them both and their views on what was 'proper' for a woman. "And by that woman, are you referring to Lady Stark or the Septa?"

"Septa," Asha snorted. "Although I'm sure by now she's gone and told Lady Stark exactly what I told her. And that cold fish will no doubt want to have words about my 'unsightly' behavior."

Shaking his head, Nox stopped a few paces short of her. "And what happened exactly?"

Knowing he wasn't going to let it go, Asha stepped away from the dummy. "She made a remark on how if I didn't start behaving properly as a 'lady' of my station should, then she was going to switch my ass raw."

"And what did you tell her in return?"

At this, Asha hesitated a moment. "I told her that if she comes within ten paces of me with a switch then I was going to shove my axe up her withered, crusty, unused cunt."

"Impressive word usage." Nox nodded. "But altogether, unwise. We've spoken about this before have we not? That while your anger does you credit, there is a time and place for it. And that this not here and now."

He could almost taste Asha's shame. "Yes…Master."

"Yet the lesson has not sunken in apparently." Nox remarked, stepping away from her. "Perhaps, I have been too lenient in your training then and I must make my point more…forcefully."

Force lightning arched from his fingertips, slamming into Asha and sending the young woman to the ground, crying out in agony. Her screams would've undoubtedly raised an alarm had Nox not been actively using the Force to make the room completely soundproof. Holding her under the torment for a few seconds, Nox ceased his attack, leaving Asha gasping on the floor as she tried to recover. "Stand. And remember, you are the one who asked for this."

Nodding her head, Asha slowly rose back to her feet and pulled on her slight connection to the Force to fight through the pain coursing through her body. It hadn't taken Asha long to put together the meaning behind his cryptic comments back on Pyke when he'd first encountered her. And after witnessing Jon and Robb lifting rocks with the Force, she'd immediately approached him and demanded to be trained as well.

Unfortunately for Asha, she had two aspects working against her when she was compared against Jon and Robb. The first was that her Force connection was far less potent than the two boys, or indeed any of the Stark children. While her tenacity and ruthlessness would've allowed her to survive the Trials of Korriban for some time, she would've never been able to become a full Sith. But this wasn't Korriban. And with such limited resources at his disposal in terms of acolytes, he couldn't afford to be picky in who he trained.

The second aspect that was working against her was her sex. While the North and the Iron Islands could be more liberal about a woman's place in the world, unfortunately Lord Stark was not of the same mind. Not entirely. Oh, Nox was sure that in time he could convince him, and he would have to due to Arya being potentially just as powerful as Jon. But the shadow of his sister and her 'reckless ways' still weighed heavily on the mind of the Warden of the North. And that was without Lady Stark pressing her views on what a woman's place was.

So, in the end, while he had agreed to train her, he was doing it in secret. Away from the eyes of Starks and everyone else. Although he was pretty sure that Ned knew what was happening. The man had honed his ability to sense aspects of people through the Force though the years. And he had to have known that Asha's power was growing steadily.

He had intended to train her like he was Jon and Robb, but she had nixed that quickly. She didn't want him to take it easy on her. If she couldn't be as powerful as he, which he had bluntly told her so, then she wanted to be as strong and skilled as a Mandalorian. It was an ambitious goal. And one that confirmed his thoughts on just who should be the one to take over the Iron Islands in the future. So, he'd agreed to her request. And while he was still teaching her both aspects of the Force, he was not taking it easy on her.

"Good," Nox nodded approvingly as she fought through the pain. "While I am teaching the boys, you are to stay here and meditate. Use your anger, your fear and your drive to grow stronger to help you delve into the Force. And by the time I return, you will be do three rotations of the stones. Understood?"

Asha's eyes widened before flickering to the hexagon of stones in the center of the room. He'd carefully crafted each stone in a rough copy of muntuur stones. While none were as heavy, they were still a good training tool. "Yes, Master." Asha nodded, making her way to the center of the room and kneeling between the stones.