^

Sena found herself wandering the ship after their meal. It would be time for them to start their routine if they were home. They would've had their studies after their early meal and then they'd be given a break to play or hunt and then they'd either help with gathering food for the late meal or they would take time to make clothes, weapons, or art. Nei-nei and Saskei followed Sena as she peeked in a few of the rooms and found that the Wraiths all seemed to be laying around rather than starting their routine. Sena peeked in at Rem who was laying on his bed looking up. He saw them and sat up, pressing a quick button on a black device he pointed at the wall before getting up.

"Do you need something?" he asked.

"No." Sena decided, stepping away from the doorframe.

"The journey to Gaia from Nyxis is long. We will likely spend three weeks on the ship." Rem told them, as he stepped towards them into the doorframe.

"Can we start our training?" Saskei asked, making recognition appear on Rem's face before he smiled.

"The meal was your early meal." He guessed. "It was our late meal. Many of us will probably sleep. Your training will begin tomorrow."

"Can we play kahball?" Nei-nei asked, sounding exasperated. Rem's eyebrows raised.

"Do you have a ball?" he asked, sounding intrigued.

"Yeah," Saskei answered as Sena nodded in agreement.

"Let me show you where you can play." Rem said with a smile lighting his pale face. He had removed his hood and Sena could see that his white hair wasn't long or dreaded like theirs, but cut short. It had longer pieces at the top and tapered down to his skin around the sides and back. He led them down some long hallways on the large ship until they came to a wide cavernous room with a squishy blue floor and a grey metal wall that arched with the shape of the ship. The huge drum-like lights above them went on automatically flooding the room with white light as bright as the white moon of Asteria. Rem manually turned them off and he felt nostalgia in him when he saw the bioluminescent patterns on their skin glow a pale blue in excitement.

After the Spriggans had retrieved their glowing green kahball, they stripped their cloaks off and Sena was glad to take her goggles off to play in the comfortably dark room. Rem was only going to watch and they convinced him to join Saskei to even the teams. He locked the door from the inside so nobody on the ship would inadvertently turn the lights on and they ran around for a few hours until they got tired.

^

"Sit." Rem instructed the three young Spriggans, when they joined him after their early meal after they had spent half the sleeping hours playing kahball and talking. Rem had convinced them to try to get some rest for another four hours so they could start transitioning to the different time. Sena and Saskei were relieved when it was finally time to begin training. Nei-nei had enjoyed laying around in the comfortable bed, but like the others, she struggled to sleep for longer than a few hours and eventually joined Sena in her room to talk.

Rem had brought them to a small room with only a dimly glowing light along a ledge high up on the walls. The pale wood floor seemed heated and a few windows revealed the black of space sparkling with far away star systems. There were a few well-hidden doors on one wall beside the door they had entered through, but the room was bare besides those.

"The first thing you must master is meditation. In order to use your Mana, you need to first feel it." Rem told them as they sat down cross-legged facing him. Sena could tell Saskei was annoyed that they weren't going to get to fight or duel and instead had to meditate. It wasn't common for their people to meditate, but they had read about other cultures and knew races like the Undine of the planet Hemera habitually meditated.

"Relax your mind. It helps to close your eyes. You need to focus on your breathing, but let go of any stray thoughts." Rem said in a soothing voice. Sena took a deep breath, wondering what Mana was and how she could feel it. Everyone knew Mana was a power Wraiths and Meso-knights had the mysterious ability to control, but Sena wasn't sure what it actually was. Maybe it was some sort of energy in the universe.

Saskei struggled to shut out the sound of Sena's quiet breathing next to him and he felt like he could feel Rem's eyes on him which made it harder to quell his annoyance about such a boring way to start training.

"Saskei." Rem addressed him, making Saskei huff.

"Yeah?" Saskei answered, sounding annoyed to Sena as she opened her eyes to see Rem's silver eyes analyzing Saskei with a passive look on his face.

"Your feelings are too turbulent. You need to let go in order to meditate effectively." Rem told him in a calm voice.

"I'm trying. I'm just bored and maybe we could meditate later." Saskei grumbled, making a small smile grace Rem's thin, pale lips.

"Meditation is the first step to more intense training. If you can't control your mind, you won't be able to control your body." Rem insisted with a smirk at Saskei and Sena's exasperated expressions.

"I can control my body fine." Saskei mumbled, making Sena and Nei-Nei laugh. Rem was still smiling.

"Meditation is crucial to becoming a Wraith. Some take years to master it, but Haunters need to master it quickly or they'll never be able to become Wraiths." Rem explained. "Now start again and try to feel the energy around you. Don't interfere with the energy, just feel it." He pressed a button on a small black remote and the room filled with a deep humming sound similar to music or even chanting though Sena didn't hear any voices, just a vibrational thrum of some kind. It did help relax them and Sena focused on letting her mind fill with the sound and harmonize with it.

^

After what felt like hours of sitting and breathing, Sena didn't feel any closer to feeling Mana. She was half-asleep when Rem finally had them get up and start a different exercise. He showed them a strange sequence of movements almost like a fluid dance. He told them when to breathe in and when to breathe out as they positioned their arms, shoulders, and torsos as they slid their feet into different stances. Saskei preferred this to meditating and gladly participated. Rem realized that they all had excess energy and that was why meditating had been too difficult for them to start with.

Sena followed Rem's movement, sliding her right foot forward with her arms outstretched before waving her arms in a circular movement and bringing her hands into fists before bringing her fists to either side of her waist. Then the door hissed open behind them and Rem paused, looking to Malfis, who stood in the doorframe in just a black tunic and baggy black pants.

"How's the training going?" he asked as he leaned on the doorframe with his muscular arms crossed and his face unconcerned.

"Fine." Rem shrugged, abandoning his stance. The three Spriggans abandoned their stances as well to turn to Malfis.

"Perita and Jahlel are preparing a midday meal. I wasn't sure if any of you wanted something to eat." Malfis said, looking to Rem.

"Spriggans don't tend to eat a midday meal." Rem said, turning to the three children, who looked a little confused. "Are any of you hungry?" he asked them. They each just shook their heads and he turned his silver eyes to Malfis.

"That's what I thought." Malfis shrugged before he left.

"Oh, look!" Saskei said in excitement as he went to the window. "It's another ship." He said in awe as the bulky brown and grey metal drifted by their ship at a steady pace. Sena and Nei-nei joined him to analyze the ugly mass of metal adorned with a few strange symbols on its side along with blinking lights and mirrored windows. The big round cylinders at the back had a blue glow erupting from them that seemed to leave a trail of light behind the slowly moving ship. The ship was oblong with a blunt front and to Sena's surprise it didn't seem to have any wings, just a few small protuberances shaped like triangles near the back. It reminded her of a whale rather than a bird.

"It's really ugly." Nei-nei laughed.

"It's just a transport ship. Looks Salamander." Rem said, speaking of a dark-skinned race from the planet of Ares in the Rheon system very far from where they were. "We'll be picking up speed soon when we're out of this Sector. There's a jump gate up ahead to take a more direct route to our destination." Rem explained.

^

The three Spriggans were overjoyed when Rem gave them a break from reading the confusing ancient texts and brought them to the large training room where they had played kahball the previous 'night' and handed each of them a heavy metal rod with light illuminating designs from the round surface of the shaft. They each stood facing him when he drew his clear crystal hilt magnetized to his belt which immediately grew a bright blue glowing blade as he brought it up into the air. Their eyes lit up with excitement and the small spots of luminescent skin on their faces were aglow as they smiled to each other. Rem taught them how to hold their 'swords' and then they practiced different strikes and forms. They took to it much easier than they had meditation, which was common of most Haunters. They were chosen based on the power of their personal Mana, which Wraiths were trained to be able to feel. Most Haunters were able to become Wraiths, but a few never mastered their Mana and their crioslannas didn't glow because of it. Those Haunters were discarded by their masters if they weren't able to master their Mana by the age of sixteen. Many went back to their home planets without their crioslannas in shame, but some became Disciples, a group of followers that worshiped Wraiths and pledged to serve them on the Wraith home planet of Nemesis. The Wraiths tended to disregard the Disciples, but some were permitted to serve on shadowcrafts, the type of ship they were now flying in. Rem felt bad for Disciples as most were failed Haunters that still yearned to master their Mana and ascend to become a full Wraith. Disciples studied all the teachings and texts of the Wraiths and served the Wraiths in council as well as performing household tasks, but most Wraiths ignored their presence. Few were allowed aboard the shadowcrafts.

The Spriggans were still practicing, following along with Rem's movements when some of the other Wraith's joined them including Perita and Kai-Ren. Kai-Ren tried not to look at the Spriggans since he couldn't tell if they were looking at him since their eyes were obscured by the dark goggles. He was worried they'd catch him staring, even though his mind kept tricking him into thinking they were staring at him. He was a year older than them and wearing the same tight black ribbed suit under the thick black cloak.

Perita smiled to each of them with her pink eyes seeming to stick to their pale bare feet. The wraiths had already had a whole argument about the fact that none of the shoes they had would fit them and Rem argued that they'd be more comfortable without shoes for the time being anyway.

Kai-Ren was a slender boy with tan skin and short black hair. His round blue eyes gave away his unsureness as he looked to Perita for instructions about what they'd be doing. Malfis stood at the doorway beside the yellow-eyed wraith named Maru-Kane.

"Let's arrange the balancing poles." Perita spoke up, looking at Rem.

"Sure." He answered, motioning to the three Spriggans to step towards the far side of the room. Kai-Ren and Perita stepped back towards the door along with Vediro who took to standing near Malfis in the doorway with his arms crossed. Sena watched as Rem turned to a black screen on the wall and tapped it making it glow. On it were diagrams and boxes like a page in a book, but as he pressed on certain boxes with his fingers, the images on the screen changed and Sena was fascinated by the unfamiliar technology. Her people had little use for technology on their planet, but had many books and knowledge of certain devices. Though she knew about computers and spaceships, she'd never used any technology before boarding the Shadowcraft.

Out of the floor rose many round poles that reminded Sena of tree-trunks though they were all perfectly round and straight. They rose at varying heights and Rem only glanced back before pressing a few more images on the screen that changed the heights of some of the black poles.

Perita had Kai-Ren take a practice rod as she leaped up onto one of the poles gracefully after letting her cloak float to the floor from her slim shoulders. Her black tunic was tight around her petite frame and she wore tall fitted boots on her agile feet. Sena analyzed her pale grey skin that was dull against her pink eyes. Her hair was a surprising silver and was cut short around her angular face. Kai-Ren shrugged off his black cloak before stepping up onto a short pole and then higher onto another one facing his Reicher. Kai-Ren looked awkward to Sena where he stood in his tight uniform almost unsteadily on the poles.

To Sena's amazement, Perita held out her hand and one of the metal rods moved through the air quickly into her grasp causing it to light up when it touched her delicate hand. The Spriggans were riveted as Kai-Ren and Perita began dueling. The odd, muffled sound of the rods making contact surprised the Spriggans as the two dueling swung at one another while balancing on the tops of the poles. To Sena, the sound didn't quite match the feel of the heavy rods. It sounded more muted and mechanical than the loud bell sound she would've expected from metal hitting metal. Perita danced quickly from pole to pole and Kai-Ren was plainly struggling to balance as he parried her attacks with focus on his face. Perita seemed light like the force holding her to the ground didn't affect her the same as it did the others. Saskei wondered for a moment if wraiths could fly, watching in amazement as she leaped higher than he thought possible and flipped over her Haunter to land perfectly on a pole behind him with her rod swinging back and catching Kai-Ren in the side. The force of the blow set him off balance and he started to fall, when Perita grabbed his arm preventing a painful collision with the taller pole near him. He had gasped in surprise from her sudden swing and with her help he was able to brace himself against two poles.

"Learn to predict your opponent's moves and don't look at the poles. Feel them." Perita told Kai-Ren as he righted himself and she relinquished his arm.

"Let the Spriggans try the poles. I'm curious about their agility." The Salamander spoke up when he saw the young Siren reluctantly right himself.

"Good idea, Maru." Vediro approved. Sena looked over towards them and Malfis was smirking at her. Another wraith had joined them in the large doorway, standing by Maru. It was the Naiad, named Rengai. He looked friendly and not at all as intimidating as the other males even though he seemed to have an athletic body just as muscular as Vediro's. She guessed it was more to do with the look of his calm face.

Perita smiled and nodded as she helped Kai-Ren down from the poles. Saskei and Sena leaped up to two poles side-by-side with excitement making their asteric spots luminesce. Nei-nei was close behind them. Malfis was pleased with their agility already. None of the three showed any sign of being unable to balance. Since they often climbed trees and rocks on their planet, they were used to balancing. Sena bounded to another pole before leaping up to one of the highest ones after Rem handed them each one of the heavy rods. She held it in her one-handed grasp as she brought it up at the ready despite its annoying weight making her arm strain.

"The pain is off." Rem stated to the room, making the three Spriggans turn to him in confusion as his eyes went to them. "You can use all your strength and speed and your opponents will not be harmed even if you hit them." He explained reassuringly. Sena didn't quite trust that was the case when she could feel the weight of the rod. How could technology stop the heavy metal from harming her friends?

Saskei was the first to swing at her with an exclamation of effort and she blocked it with a gasp before Nei-nei bounded over to strike Saskei from behind. Sena let him take his sword back to block. She tapped him with her rod and it off balanced him making her laugh as the two turned to her to strike. She avoided both strikes by pushing one foot off the side of one of the higher poles and she managed an awkward half step as she miscalculated how far the pole she meant to land on was, but she regained her balance on a higher pole after redirecting her momentum up so she didn't slide off. She swung at Saskei with full force, knowing by the smile on his face that he'd be ready and she wouldn't hurt him. He blocked it but the force made him step to the side onto another pole to maintain his balance. Nei-nei leaped toward the pole next to Sena and swung her sword to hit her, but Sena was able to block it and then swing again. Nei-nei blocked her half-hearted attack. Sena could tell they were each holding back so they didn't hurt each other and none of them were familiar with wielding a sword so their strikes and blocks were awkward and choppy. Sena knew their movements could be smoother if they were really willing to hurt one another.

"You're holding back." Malfis' deep voice called after Sena brought down her rod over Saskei's head and hesitated in fear of hurting him. He took advantage of her hesitation and his rod hit her in the ribs. She gasped in surprise, but wasn't so much surprised that he got her, she was surprised she only felt a touch of force and not the weight of the metal hitting her like it should've. Saskei's eyes were wide and she looked back at him with wide eyes herself. She could see the shape of his eyes reflecting the light above them through his goggles. Nei-nei had paused as well and was looking at Sena in concern, but Sena let out a sigh and nodded that it didn't hurt. She saw Saskei's eyebrows arched in concern, but when she nodded, they rose in surprised disbelief.

She attacked back with full force and speed, using the pole she was on to catapult herself into him. He let out a cry of surprise when she was able to hit him in the neck after he blocked two of her strikes and then stumbled back as he lost his footing on a pole. Sena dropped her rod to grab him before he could tumble off the pole and she nearly tumbled with him, but he caught them both when she slowed his momentum enough for him to find his footing. Sena was sword-less when she saw Nei-nei out of the corner of her goggles swinging at her. She ducked off to the side before searching the floor below the poles for her rod and wishing she could use her Mana to bring it to her hand like Reicher Perita had. Saskei took up her place to fight Nei-nei off and they both struggled to stay on the poles as their rods made heavy contact. Sena slipped down between the poles when she spotted her rod on the floor and then looked up to where the others were still fighting. She leaped off the side of a pole and used her other foot to leap off another before coming up behind Nei-nei with her rod held to her neck as Nei-nei struck Saskei in the side before losing hold of the heavy rod and dropping it.

"Shiy-ai." Nei-nei cursed, making Sena laugh before letting her go and throwing her rod at Saskei who was looking down after Nei-nei's. Sena didn't hear the surprised, worried gasps from the others until she heard the clunk of the rod hitting Saskei in the face, making him grunt in pain. If it weren't for his goggles, it would've hit him harder across his eye socket. She felt remorse seize her when Saskei recoiled and covered his head.

"Saskei! Sorry-" Sena cried, covering her mouth as her body shook in worry.

"Are you okay?" Rem's voice was serious and it only made Sena feel worse.

"I'm fine." Saskei answered with a weak laugh as Perita moved to help him down with surprise still evident in her expression even though it was mostly concern. Sena's lips were pressed into a thin line and her eyebrows were furrowed as she resisted the urge to let her tears escape. She could feel the sobs in her chest making her breathing erratic. She started extricating herself from the poles when she found a large dark-skinned hand held out to her near the edge and she looked to see the Ourek had a smirk on his face. She took his hand and he lessened the force of her landing down from the tall pole as Nei-nei slipped out from between the poles on the floor with both her rod and Sena's. She could tell Nei-nei was upset about it too and they both turned to where Perita and Rem were bent over Saskei.

^

"Sena, I'm fine." Saskei insisted when she followed them to the med rooms where Perita was dabbing the blood on his forehead and Rem stood in the corner with his arms crossed. Sena was still fighting tears and sobs as she went to his side where he sat on a strange leather thing that curled around his back to hold him in a sitting position. Saskei managed a reassuring smile and took her hand. He could tell she was all upset.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" she uttered, feeling worse at the sight of Rem's serious expression even though the Ourek didn't seem in the least bit bothered by what happened where he stood looking into the small room from outside the opening.

"You couldn't have known. The bohken's safety mechanism is deactivated when you let go of it." Perita's calm voice comforted her as she focused on putting small white strips across the split skin on his forehead.

"Figured." Saskei muttered, making Perita's expression show a hint of surprise with her small eyebrows furrowing slightly. Sena cringed at the bruising around the cut and her heart was still pounding like she was going to get in trouble even though it was an accident. They always got in trouble at home when someone got hurt and this was one of the worst injuries she'd caused; that metal rod was heavy. Her arms still ached from swinging it around and she had thrown it at him. Saskei squeezed her hand to reassure her more, but she worried he was in pain. She knew he had to be in pain. Every time she looked at him again the bruising on his pale forehead seemed more severe. The deep red of his blood bloomed underneath his skin and it had begun to swell too causing a tender lump.

"Are you dizzy at all?" Rem questioned, when Perita stepped away throw away the bloodied white squares and wrappings from the white strips. He took her place at Saskei's side.

"No." Saskei shrugged, but Sena could tell he was trying to protect her from getting in trouble by making it seem like he wasn't really hurt.

"Tell the truth." Malfis spoke up, sounding foreboding and making Sena hold her breath. "Sena won't be in trouble. You will likely face worse injuries in training and if you hide the symptoms, you could have permanent damage if we aren't aware of the severity." He sounded serious and had abandoned his smirk.

"How is your vision?" Rem probed seriously, making Sena hold in a sob as she struggled to get herself to breathe quietly with her spasming lungs.

"It's fine. I'm not dizzy, it just hurts, but it's fine." Saskei insisted stubbornly his voice sounding lower to Sena as he answered them with determination. Rem took a deep breath like he was relieved. He turned for a moment to hit a button near the opening and the lights went out. Only the dim light from the far away hallway was lit from beyond the large darkened medical wing and Rem turned back to Saskei before having him remove his goggles. Sena could see Perita's eyes swivel unseeingly as she seemed to be listening but not able to see in the darkened room. Rem took out a small black cylinder from a drawer and clicked a button, illuminating the end of it with a soft blue glow like the glow of Asteria, the blue moon on their home planet. He pointed the light at Saskei's left eye and Saskei blinked in confusion. He moved it to the other eye, telling Saskei to sit still and look into the light, before double checking the other eye.

After he put his goggles back on, Rem switched the light back on and everyone turned to him for an answer.

"His eye is fine. The goggles gave some protection." He announced to the others. Perita looked relieved and Malfis looked unconcerned. "You will tell us if you have any bouts of dizziness or any change in your eyesight." Rem demanded, giving Saskei a stern look. Saskei just nodded in response and Sena looked at the floor in guilt.