The Path of Balance

***The Path of Balance***is a collection of sci-fi-fantasy stories containing social realism, family drama, and social issues. These connected short stories all focus on a cheeky martial arts student of an optimistic leader. They explore sibling bonds, letting go of the past, and a motivation to keep going. In "Struggles in Training", Hermed is doing a team exercise, when his little brother, Caider, refuses to work with him. Facing dozens of drones, Hermed struggles to fight them on his own. Their mentor Hestilea notices the brother's' conflict and plans to determine the source of their problems. In"Relax the Mind", Hermed struggles with his speed and precision training, because he isn't paying enough attention to his surroundings, but he's determined to complete the course without coaching. After several failed attempts, he seeks guidance from his mentor, Mirinai. Finally in "Let's Work Together", Hermed receives a mission from Mirinai to stop an out-of-control combat robot, Delta. She assigns him 3 other student cadets to help hunt and defeat Delta, but one of them is the hot-headed/overconfident, Trac. She doesn't trust Hermed with him not wanting her to screw up the mission.