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A series of stones had been placed in a line, each a different spacing from the next. The drill was simple: to charge the line and use footwork to weave between them. The first pass was the simplest—it was a weaving drill—but it was the next that became more difficult, as the body was made to swing haunch-wide; then the third pass was the hardest, as different stones were called out by a voice and the runner was meant to stop and duck or reverse, only to continue again.

Aiesha did not find it particularly difficult, however she was distracted, and could not do sufficient enough work to progress from that second level to the third. Frustration burned inside of her, and no amount of practice with her steps could cull it. Finally she became incensed by her failure and too frustrated to continue, and the lesson concluded as had become common: without advancement. Her heart raced, her emotions risen to a fever-pitch.

She withdrew from the drill and paced the central gulley of the training area, where it was most open and away from others.