--- 7 Years Ago (three years later) ---

I breathed out slowly, and opened my eyes. Sami smiled. "And how was your sleep, Little One?"

Sami was, in loose terms, my foster mother, and also my Shaolin teacher. Which was confusing, because she was definitely an Indian Woman. She also taught me several of the Indian Martial arts, hidden in dances, and even Capioera, a Brazilian dancing/fighting style. She was also my philosophy teacher, surprisingly, but she really did know her stuff.

I learned Boxing from her sister, and I learned swordsmanship from Sami and also a teacher from Japan, an elderly man named 'Toa', whom I actually liked. He was patient, and didn't get angry at me for screwing up, simply told me to do it again until I was right.

I snapped to attention. "I was not sleeping, ma'am. I was meditating. I wondered on the subject of fire, and limitations." I said calmly.

She hummed and sat down across from me. "Explain."

"Fire is heat, heat is motion. If I can create motion, why, then, cannot I create fire? It is because my body cannot make that level of motion. This angers me. I do not enjoy being unable to do something. But I meditated on my anger, and dispelled it. The body has limits that the mind does not. And so I must Focus on my minds abilities." I sighed.

She hummed again. "You think too aggressively of your place in existence. Life is not binary. There is not 'possible' and 'impossible'. You are still thinking of yourself as separate from the fire. All motion is one." She nodded slowly.

"And you think too placidly. Motion is a system, yes, and everything adds to the system. But I cannot add enough motion to create fire. This is a limitation. It is something I 'Cannot' do. It is 'impossible'." I said rebelliously.

She smiled. "I will forgive your insolence. For all your intelligence, you are young, and you have a hatred for systems, and yet you agree that they exist."

"I live to destroy them." I said simply, my eyes defiant.

She laughed. "I think you believe you do. You will find your purpose, one day. I believe this."

"What makes you think my purpose isn't to destroy the corrupt systems?" I asked.

She smiled. "No being's purpose is purely to destroy."

"Your Hindu gods have several being's who's purpose is just that." I countered.

She shook her head. "Their purpose is to give the gods adversaries."

"Your story is flawed." I smirked.

She raised an eyebrow. "I am aware you do not share my religion. We have agreed to respect each other's beliefs."

"If you bring fate into a discussion, you started it." I shrugged.

She hummed. "I suppose. My apologies. I know you do not like me telling you your life's work was an action that leads to your true purpose. You believe it demeans your effort until now."

"I do. I also understand that you do not, and you mean no malignant intent by your statement. I attempt not to be offended. Now, what will we train today?" I asked.

"Your stance is very weak, still." She hummed.

I smiled. "I train my mind habitually, not my body. These three years with you and others is not nearly enough to make my soft body into a Warriors Weapon. I enjoy the attempt, though."

She laughed, easy going as always. "Truth. That is your first perfect truth, I believe." She smiled at me.

"Don't get used to it, teacher." I smirked.

"Mm. I believe you are beginning to trust me." She said happily, leaning forward conspiratorially, even lowering her voice.

It was my turn to laugh. "I trust everyone, it's the demon inside them I don't trust." I said simply, and settled into my first stance.

"Surprisingly Wise..." She raised both of her eyebrows, eyes widening with happiness.

"Not my wisdom. I read it somewhere, I think." I shrugged.

She nodded. "I see. Good, honesty. Then, ready yourself."

My legs were swept from under me before I could blink.

--- Present ---

I blinked slowly, groaning in pain, and a cool hand was placed against my forehead.

"Calm yourself, little one. You are safe now." A gentle woman's voice I didn't recognize spoke next to my ear.

I reflexively relaxed, and my vision cleared. A nearly naked woman sat in front of me, and I quickly looked away, which wasn't the best idea.

My neck stretched, and I felt something creak. She hissed and flicked my ear, straightening my head. "I just sewed this! Ay! You will kill yourself!!" She admonished me.

"... Sorry..." I said softly in the language she spoke in, an odd version of Swahili, mixed with what sounded like Farsi and Mandarin. I quickly analyze her word structure and created grammar rules, theorizing possible vocabulary, and cross referencing the words I'd already heard, checking my theory and fining it mostly accurate.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You speak Whispering-Sand? Good. Now stop speaking, you'll stretch your throat."

"Ca-Cat..." I looked around with my eyes, avoiding her body.

She hummed in approvals. "Yes, indeed. You killed the Beast Cat with your bare hands! The Emperor's Eye says he sees Great skill in you. As soon as you are well, you both travel to the Emperors Palace!" She seemed happy.

I internalized that, and looked around again. 'Village setting. Empire. Version of Swahili and Farsi and Chinese?? Hmm... Am I in ancient India? No, time travel is completely absurd... What about a different dimension? Yes, that might account for it, or I might be dreaming. Well, if you die in a dream, it's theorized that your heart stops in real life, so let's just survive, for now...'

She mistook my searching Gaze for a form of greed, and nodded wisely. "Ahh, you want the pelt and bones. Well, the teeth are being melted into a dagger for you, except this one." She laid a soft leather strip around my throat.

On the end was a wicked eye-tooth from the Leopards jaws. "Where?" I asked quietly.

"It was in your throat. It saved your life, stopped the blood. It is lucky. Good talisman for you." She nodded sagely.

I hummed in agreement.

'So I'm not dreaming... Dammit... Inter-Dimensional travel hasn't been proven... That means I can't get back if this is real... Fuck me...'

She hummed, and traced a pattern on my forearm. "What is this, by the way? You're conscious now, so I can ask." She asked.

I looked down, and there was my first tattoo. I smiled. "My Skin Story... You don't have those?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I've never seen it."

"It is my life, given form on my skin... When I die, the gods will read the story of my life on my skin, and judge me on my deeds and mistakes." I smiled. "At least, that's what my mother told me when she drew it."

"Your mother did this?" She asked incredulously, tracing the beautiful tribal art.

"The woman I consider my mother figure, yes. She did not birth me, that woman is long dead, but she did take care of me when I needed it, almost like you. I was... Differently wounded." I said.

I was gaining much ether control of my throat, now. I could talk more and longer, as long As I wasn't too loud.

She hummed. "I see. Like when I took in my third. But... The story, I don't understand it. What does this strange writing say?" She asked, tracing a small quote.

'Fiat Justitia, Et Pereat Mundus'.

"Ah... That's... One of my sins. It actually says 'Let there Be Justice, Lest the World Perish'. Basically what it really means is, 'Give me Justice, or I'll Destroy the World'." I rubbed the tattoo slowly.

She hummed. "So you wanted to destroy the world?"

"I didn't destroy the world. Just a big piece of it's economy." I said, closing my eyes.

"Really? I never heard of that..."

"And I never heard of your emperor. We're from two very different places, ma'am." I said softly.

"Like alternate realities?" She asked calmly.

I looked at her, surprised, and she smirked. "What? Because I believe in luck charms and I live in a village, I'm an idiot? I studied magic and science just like every other healer, at the college in the capital." She smirked.

I laughed weakly. "This'll be a lot easier, then. I was scared I was stuck here..."

"So, these marks, how are they made?" She asked.

"You really don't have Skin Stories here?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not that I know of. We have Branding, which I suppose is close."

"Alright... Let's see... It's basically ink, placed onto the skin to stain it. It's more complicated than that, but my throat is sore, and I'm tired, so I'll just sleep now... We can talk more tomorrow, if you're interested... Okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "Okay... I'm Sandi. And you?" (Sah-n-Dee)

"... I've been called 'Little One' for so long... Ten years, maybe? It's hard to remember my birth name... Ah. Caleb. That's my name. Caleb Johnson." I smiled.

"Johnson? You're a noble?" She asked, leaning away from me.

"Not really, why? Is that bad, here?" I asked. "I'm more... Merchant nobility, or something like that. Where I come from, nobility was all-but obsolete, A dying breed. But you have an emperor here... It might be useful for me to be recognized Nobility, here..." I yawned a little, and hissed when one of my stitches tugged my skin.

She shook her head. "I just didn't know. I was surprised. You don't have the hands of a noble." She touched my calluses.

"Mm. I've never had an easy life. Trained for ten years with my caretaker in the ways of the mind. Now I learn the ways of the body... Or I did." I said.

She smiled. "I suppose magic is next?"

"Hmph. Magic is simply science we don't yet understand." I shrugged.

She laughed. "Truth. We do understand our 'magic', and it is cleverly designed science, but we continue to call it magic, because it's fun, and it freaks people out that I could flutter my fingers as kill them. Poof! Gone."

I smirked. "Devilish... I like it. Mm... I'm really going to sleep now, okay?"

"Alright." She pulled my blanket up, and patted my shoulder. "Sleep well, Caleb, Son of John."

--- 2 years ago ---

I finally pinned my teacher/surrogate/mother-figure/friend. "HA!" I laughed. Sami raised an eyebrow, smiled, and I panicked. "Oh, f-"

I flew back into the wall, and fell, groaning. "When you finally do pin me, you relax. Do not relax. Ever. Constant vigilance." She frowned slightly, narrowing her eyes, which would seem like just a tiny bit of disapproval, but for Sami(sah-me) Vosta? That meant she was positively fuming.

I sighed. "Yes, ma'am." I stood slowly, and cracked my neck.

She smirked. "Did that hurt?"

I laughed. "I've been a bad influence on you, eh?"

She laughed as well. "Ahh, you're right! You are such a bad influence..." She shook her head faux-sadly. I grinned and settled into my form again. She waved me off. "No. We have something that must be done."

"What's that?" I asked.

"We're getting you marked. You're finally ready for your first Story." She smiled.

I grinned. "YES!" I cheered.

She sat me down at her inking bench. "Now. What do you want it to be? It has to perfectly describe your sins up to now, and your good deeds as well. Think hard." She warned me.

I smiled. "Fiat Justitia, Et Pereat Mundus. Let There Be Justuce, Lest The World Lerish' I burned giant, stone bridges, to get justice for the corruption of a few. This is my greatest shame, and my greatest accomplishment." I said.

She nodded. "Alright. Bite this." She handed me her belt, and then started pricking my skin with a thick needle, pouring red ink into my forcibly opened pores. It mixed will with my brown skin, and I powered through the pain through sheer grit... And several whimpers.

Hey, being stabbed repeatedly hurt. She had to stab all the way through all 7 layers of skin, in order to make sure the tattoo never faded.

Eventually it was done, and I wrapped my skin in gauze, and relaxed.