Phase 1: Rise of the Orphan Blade
Chapter 1: The Crimson Vow
Part 3: The Kirin's Test
Every step I took with Taming Jiwa at my side felt like a question, one I wasn't sure I could answer. I'm Rentap Buana, sixteen and still figuring out what that name means, carrying a blade that chose me and a vow that wouldn't let me go. Blood Island had already shown me its teeth—pirates in the mangrove maze, a keris pulsing with starlight—but it wasn't done with me yet. I want to share with you what came next, not the polished tales of heroes, but the sweat, the doubt, the moments when I learned what it meant to be bound to something bigger than myself. This is the part of my story where I faced new teachers, a trial that tested my heart, and a truth that made me question everything I thought I knew.
Kadir's clearing had become my world, its coral stones worn smooth by my footsteps, its jungle hum a rhythm I could almost understand. I'd found Taming Jiwa in that coral cave, its seven waves gleaming with jade fire, and under Kadir's gruff guidance, I'd started learning Storm Claw, the second layer of Astra-Nusantara Silat. The mantra—Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim—was weaving into my strikes, jade energy waves flickering when I got it right. But Kadir's words from that last evening by the fire stuck with me: Blood Island's not done with you yet. There's a trial coming. I didn't know what he meant, but the keris's pulse, steady as my own, told me it was close. My ribs still ached from the pirate's kris, a fading scar now, but the blood I'd spilled in the maze weighed heavier, a reminder of the path I'd chosen.
That morning, Kadir woke me before dawn, his staff tapping my hut's bamboo floor. "Up, Rentap," he said, his voice sharp but not unkind. "Your real training starts today. The others are here."
I sat up, Taming Jiwa across my lap, its glow soft in the pre-dawn gloom. "Others?" I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes. My old kerambit, rusted and blood-stained, lay in the corner, a relic of the boy I'd been.
"Suri, Rahim, Laila, Tengku," Kadir said, leaning on his staff. "Kerisforge Clan's best. Each will teach you what Taming Jiwa demands—stealth, strength, spirit, tactics. You'll need all of it for what's coming."
I gripped the keris, its warmth grounding me. Kadir had mentioned them before, but meeting them felt like stepping into deeper water. I wasn't ready, not after a month of stumbling through Storm Claw, but the island didn't care about ready. I dressed quickly, the keris sheathed at my side, and followed Kadir into the jungle, the sea's roar fading behind us.
The clearing was different that morning, lit by torchlight, the air thick with anticipation. Four figures stood waiting, each distinct, their presence heavy as the coral stones around us. Kadir gestured to them, his eyes on me, measuring. "Meet your mentors, Rentap. Listen well, or you'll regret it."
Suri was first, a woman with eyes like a hawk, her hair braided tight with jade beads. She wore a Kerisforge tunic, but her belt held a dozen small blades, each glinting with purpose. "Stealth," she said, her voice low, cutting. "You'll learn to move unseen, strike unheard. Taming Jiwa is no good if you're dead before you draw it."
Rahim was next, a mountain of a man, his arms scarred from battles I could only imagine. His tunic strained against his frame, and he carried a parang, its blade etched with kirin scales. "Strength," he rumbled, his voice like rolling thunder. "Not just muscle, boy. The strength to stand when the world breaks you."
Laila stepped forward, older, her silver hair loose, her eyes warm but piercing, like she saw my soul. She held no weapon, only a coral staff topped with a starlit gem. "Spirit," she said softly, but her words carried weight. "Taming Jiwa's soul is Sufi, bound to Assyafiee's mantras. I'll teach you to hear it, to wield its heart."
Tengku was last, lean and sharp, his face half-hidden by a scarf, his eyes glinting with a strategist's cunning. He carried a fan, its edges gleaming like blades. "Tactics," he said, his voice smooth, dangerous. "You'll learn to outthink your enemy, to turn their strength to ash. A blade's only as good as the mind behind it."
I stood there, Taming Jiwa heavy at my side, feeling like a fish among sharks. These weren't village elders or sparring kids—they were Kerisforge Clan, legends in flesh, and they were here for me. "Why?" I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it. "Why all this for me?"
Suri's eyes narrowed, but Laila answered, her voice gentle. "Because the island chose you, Rentap. Because Taming Jiwa did. You're not just fighting for Blood Island—you're fighting for the Sky Nexus, for a balance older than the stars."
I swallowed, the keris's pulse syncing with my racing heart. Kadir clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Enough talk. Training starts now. Survive it, and you'll face the trial."
Suri took me first, leading me deep into the jungle, where the trees wove a canopy so thick no light broke through. "Stealth isn't just hiding," she said, tossing me a black sash. "It's becoming the shadow, the breath, the nothing. Taming Jiwa can cloak you, if you learn its rhythm." She vanished mid-sentence, her form blurring into the vines, anime-style, a faint jade shimmer marking her path.
I tied the sash over my eyes, as she instructed, gripping the keris. "Find me," her voice echoed, now distant, now close. I stumbled, roots tripping me, the jungle's hum deafening. The keris pulsed, and I whispered the mantra—Ya Rahman, Ya Rahim—letting its warmth guide me. A faint vision flickered, a kirin's silhouette darting through the trees, and I moved, Storm Claw blending with instinct. My steps grew lighter, my breath silent, until I sensed her—a heartbeat in the shadows. I swung, the keris's jade wave cutting air, and Suri appeared, catching my wrist.
"Not bad," she said, a smirk tugging her lips. "But you're still loud as a boar. Again."
Days with Suri were brutal—crawling through mud, slipping past traps, learning to meld with Taming Jiwa's pulse until I could vanish into the jungle's embrace, my strikes unseen, jade waves cloaked in shadow. She taught me Veil Tide, a Silat form that wove stealth into Storm Claw, each move a whisper, each strike a ghost.
Rahim came next, his training in a cliffside arena where the sea's spray stung my eyes. "Strength isn't just power," he said, tossing me a coral-weighted staff, twice my weight. "It's endurance, will, the fire to keep going." He swung his parang, the air cracking, jade waves bursting like thunder, anime-style intensity shaking the ground.
I struggled, the staff dragging me down, my strikes weak against his. "I can't," I gasped, after hours of failing, my arms burning, Taming Jiwa heavy in my grip.
"You can," Rahim growled, his scar-twisted face unyielding. "The keris chose you because you fought ten men alone. Find that fire, boy." He struck, parang flashing, and I dodged, Storm Claw guiding me, the mantra roaring in my chest. I swung the staff, a jade wave erupting, small but fierce, cracking the coral at his feet.
Rahim grinned, rare and wide. "There it is. Keep it burning."
His lessons forged me—lifting coral, running cliffs, striking until my hands bled. He taught me Iron Surge, a Silat form that channeled Taming Jiwa's strength, each move a mountain, each strike unyielding, jade waves growing with my resolve.
Laila's training was quieter, in a coral grove where the ley lines hummed, the air alive with Nusantara mysticism. "Taming Jiwa's soul is your guide," she said, her staff glowing softly. "Assyafiee's mantras bind you to it, to the Sky Nexus. Listen, Rentap."
She taught me to meditate, the keris in my lap, the mantra a river in my mind. Visions came stronger now—a kirin soaring, its jade scales gleaming, or Assyafiee, his eyes kind but fierce, chanting under a starlit sky. "What do they mean?" I asked, after a vision left me shaking, the keris's glow bright as dawn.
"They're memories," Laila said. "Taming Jiwa's soul, showing you its path. Trust them, but don't chase them. They'll come when you're ready."
Her lessons were Star Whisper, a Silat form that wove spirit into motion, each strike a prayer, each jade wave a pulse of the Sky Nexus. I felt the keris's soul, not just its power, and my mantra grew steady, my heart opening to its call.
Tengku's training was a game of minds, in a jungle clearing rigged with traps—vines that snapped, roots that shifted. "Tactics win wars," he said, his fan flicking open, jade-edged blades glinting. "Taming Jiwa is a tool, but your mind is the weapon. Outthink, outmaneuver, survive."
He set me against puzzles—ambushes, decoys, mock battles where he vanished, striking from angles I couldn't predict, anime-style speed blurring his form. I failed, again and again, until I started listening to the keris, its pulse guiding my choices. "Good," Tengku said, after I dodged a trap and countered, my jade wave cutting his fan's path. "You're learning."
He taught me Sky Fang, a Silat form that blended Storm Claw with strategy, each move a feint, each strike a trap, jade waves weaving deception. I grew sharper, seeing patterns where I'd seen chaos, my mind as honed as my blade.
Weeks passed, each mentor carving me into something new. Suri's stealth made me a shadow, Rahim's strength a rock, Laila's spirit a flame, Tengku's tactics a blade. Taming Jiwa was no longer just a keris—it was my partner, its pulse my guide, its jade waves stronger with every lesson. Kadir watched, his staff tapping approval, but his eyes held a warning: the trial was coming.
It came at dawn, on a cliff overlooking the sea, the sky streaked with fire. Kadir stood with the mentors, their faces grim. "The Trial of the Kirin's Fang," Kadir said, his voice heavy. "Taming Jiwa demands proof, Rentap. Prove you're worthy, or it'll reject you."
I gripped the keris, its pulse steady but fierce. "What do I do?"
Kadir pointed to a cave mouth, carved with kirin scales, glowing faintly with jade light. "Enter. Face what waits. The island will judge you."
I stepped inside, the mentors' eyes on my back, the sea's roar fading. The cave was vast, its walls pulsing with ley lines, the air thick with mysticism. A roar shook the ground, anime-style, jade energy crackling, and a beast emerged—a kirin, not the visions but real, its scales jade and starlit, its eyes burning with ancient fire. It wasn't just a creature—it was Taming Jiwa's soul, Assyafiee's echo, testing me.
I drew the keris, Storm Claw ready, the mantra in my throat. The kirin charged, its claws raking coral, jade waves exploding. I dodged, Veil Tide cloaking me, and struck, Iron Surge powering my blow, a jade wave cracking its scales. It roared, faster, stronger, its tail whipping, forcing me back. I wove Star Whisper, the mantra steady, visions guiding my strikes, and Sky Fang, feinting to draw it in. Blood dripped—mine, from a claw's graze—but I fought, every lesson alive in me.
The kirin paused, its eyes meeting mine, and I felt it—Assyafiee's soul, judging my heart. "I'm here," I said, voice raw. "For my vow, for my people." I struck, Taming Jiwa blazing, a jade wave shattering the cave's floor. The kirin bowed, its form fading into light, merging with the keris, its pulse stronger, warmer, accepting me.
I stumbled out, bloodied but alive, Taming Jiwa glowing. Kadir nodded, the mentors silent but proud. "You're ready," he said. "Kerisforge waits."
I looked at the sea, the keris in my hand, and felt the island's pulse, my vow, the Sky Nexus calling. The trial was over, but the fight was just beginning.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Please do enjoy your reading.
And do you mind to share your thoughts/feedback 🫰
©®Qatadah_Ali