Prominent Iron Lotus Disciple Held for Questioning

[bctnwn]

The Hlint Herald
Sunday, June 4, 1378
 
“Prominent Iron Lotus Disciple Held for Questioning”

Gre’ Mantis has been detained by local Hlint authorities under suspicion of lewd and lascivious behavior. Witnesses reported that on the evening of June 4th a woman was heard screaming profanities near the courthouse in the middle of the night. When authorities appeared on the scene the entire west side of the courthouse was covered with obscene graffiti. The only woman in the vicinity at the time was Gre’ Mantis, a disciple of the Iron Lotus Order. She was immediately taken into custody and held for further questioning.

Maintenance crews were immediately dispatched to remove the graffiti from the courthouse.

[bctnwn]

The Hlint Herald
Wednesday, June 15, 1378

"Gre' Mantis Released After Questioning"

Gre’ Mantis was release today after in depth questioning regarding the incident on the evening of June 4th. Circumstantial evidence and inadequate motive were sited as the reasons for the release.

“We did not feel that Miss Mantis had a motive or intent to commit these acts. Her involvement was deemed circumstantial. We had numerous good citizens speak on her behalf, and based on their testimony we could not believe Miss Mantis had anything to do with this event.” – Hlint Magistrate

“In their kind justice, the Magistrate has given me the benefit of the doubt and exonerated me of this mischievousness. I am grateful of their wisdom and the good citizens that spoke on my behalf.” – Gre’ Mantis

[bctnwn]

After her run in with the authorities, Gre' took the opportunity to recenter herself. She returned to the Order for further training and to relay her experiences. She learned that Master Wu (of the Mantis form) had been assigned missionary duty and must resign from his position at the Order. As a result, the Order has chosen that she replace him as Master of the Mantis Form. She accepted dutifully and with honor. "This will require you to do much more teachning at the Order. However, as time permits, we want you to continue your individual training and continue to be our eyes and ears on the outside. This has been valuable information for us." -Master Lao

[bctnwn]

As part of Gre’s continuing mentoring role at The Order, and her recent promotion to Master of the Mantis form, Master Lao had commissioned a special suit of armor for her. He had engaged one of the top tailor’s and fellow Monks in Layonara to custom build a suit of armor specific to Gre’s measurements and form. Unbeknownst to Gre’, this would be presented to her at the annual Rights of Summer celebration at The Order. The Right’s of Summer celebration was an annual event full of combat demonstrations, rare and exotic delicacies and formal acknowledgements. It was an event looked forward to by all. This year Gre’ was surprised when she was called up in front of the Elders and presented the unique armor. She was humbled, and immediately equipped it. She put on a demonstration of the Mantis form that lasted two hours. It was cheered by all. Gre’ was astonished at the new armor. It fit like a glove and made special consideration for the movements involved with the Mantis form. She knew immediately that the tailor had a deep and thorough understanding of her form. She could never ask who it was under the circumstances and she recognized that it would be rude to even wonder. Never the less, she departed wondering who this master craftsperson was…

[bctnwn]

Gre’ never thought this day would come; years and years of the morning ritual; imbibing countless toxins from the myriad of poisonous plants, animals and reptiles of Layonara. In the early years, this was met with violent reactions. Some days, she could not even get out of bed. But Master Loa insisted—“what does not kill, makes us stronger”. There were many days Gre’ would have rather died and some days she thought she had. Only to wake to another column of vials arranged neatly on her nightstand. As the douses increased over the years, the affects slowly dissipated. Finally, she had built up her resistance to a point that the poisons no longer affected her. Even douses that would kill a man twice her size, went down with warmth and focused her Chi.