Aether's Guard

by Schinhofen, Daniel

  “We’re here, Magus, because your class is informative. Missing it would be a detriment to us. We also do not wish to anger the Han clan,” Yukiko answered.

  Marcia’s lips twitched. “You think missing the class would impact how the Han clan views you?”

  “It might be seen as an insult to the one who heads the clan inside the academy this year,” Yukiko replied. “It’s because of those reasons that we’re here. Even if one wasn’t the reason, the other would remain, so we will, as well.”

  “Your father is a shrewd merchant, Warlin. I see you’re as savvy as he is. The truth is that the Han clan wouldn’t be pleased nor upset with your actions. However, as a teacher, it’s gratifying to know that my time is being appreciated.”

  “Kiss-ass half-breed...” Petak muttered.

  Marcia thrust her hand out instantly, which was followed by a surprised yelp. “Novice, do not interrupt my class because you’re jealous of another novice’s standing. If you wish to prove yourself their better, challenge them or beat them in the next tournament. Next time, I will eject you from this class. Understood?”

  “Yes, Magus!” Petak said in a near panic.

  “Good.” Closing her hand, she turned to the board, ignoring the dull thud and groan from the student she had just dropped. “Now, we had been speaking of compound interest…”

  Gregory picked up his pen and got ready to start making notes, his attention focused on the teacher. Yukiko did the same, but a small smile touched her lips as she listened to Petak continue to make pained sounds behind them.

  ~*~*~

  With class over, the couple got their stuff put away. Marcia watched them as the rest of the students shuffled out. “Pettit, Warlin,” she called out as they stood up, “what are your plans for joining a clan? The offer to join the Han Merchant Exchange is still open.”

  “We’re still weighing all of our options,” Yukiko said.

  “I do not envy you what the next few days will bring,” Marica said. “To have the wrath of the Eternal Flame and no one to aid you…? I’m sure you will see the shelter that can be yours in time.”

  “Thank you, Magus,” Gregory said, bowing to her. “Also, congratulations to your clan on the apprentices winning in the tournament.”

  Marcia’s lips thinned slightly. “We’d prefer to win again next year, as well.”

  “We’ll make a decision soon,” Yukiko said. “As you said, we’ll be needing aid. Allies, as well, if things go differently than hoped.”

  “That will depend on who you choose. We do have allies in clans not tied to us. If you choose one of them, we’ll be amenable to such things.”

  “Of course, Magus,” Yukiko bowed. “If you’ll excuse us?”

  “May your day be less eventful than this class was,” Marcia dismissed them.

  ~*~*~

  Making it back to the archive, the two of them greeted Rafiq on their way to their table. Their steps slowed when they saw Master Damon sitting at the table already.

  Looking up from the scroll he was reading, Master Damon stared at Gregory. “Novice Pettit, I would like some of your time.”

  “How might I assist you, Master?”

  “Your father was distinctly unhelpful. It seems he didn’t know your mother’s maiden name.”

  Gregory frowned. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t either.”

  “Yes. We will, however, discuss a few things. By doing so, it might help me narrow my search for her point of origin. If I can find out who she was, I might be able to find a starting point for your magic.”

  “I’m eager to assist,” Gregory said, taking a seat.

  “Novice Warlin, you need not stay for this,” Damon said.

  “If my betrothed is going to speak of his mother, I’d like to stay, Master.”

  “Betrothed? I hadn’t heard. Is it recent?”

  “Yes. It was after the tournament, sir.”

  “Hmm. Congratulations, but you must be aware that your clans will surely separate you?”

  “We’ll be joining the same clan, sir,” Yukiko replied, “once we decide on one.”

  “That will make one clan very happy, indeed. That isn’t the reason I’m here, though.” Taking out some paper and ink from a small hip pouch that was much too small to hold those items, Damon nodded. “We’ll start with language. Did your mother ever pronounce the following words differently than others in your village…?”

  ~*~*~

  Gregory felt drained when Damon left them a little over an hour later. Yukiko sat beside him, her hand on his under the table.

  “Are you okay, dear one?”

  “Exhausted. I never knew answering questions could be so nerve-wracking.”

  “You should ask Darkness if there’s a way to misdirect them to an innocuous magic,” Yukiko whispered, “to throw them off this trail. I don’t think Damon won’t stop until he unravels it.”

  Gregory nodded slowly. “I will, but I don’t get to speak with her until we go up a circle.”

  “That might be problematic,” Yukiko sighed. “Come on, we need to get going to aether introduction. That took all of our normal study time.”

  “Yeah,” Gregory sighed as he got to his feet.

  The walk to their next class took them across a good part of the academy grounds, and helped Gregory feel less drained the closer they got.

  “Novices, do you have a moment?” someone called out.

  Stopping, they turned to find the head of the Iron Hand clan approaching them. Bowing together, Yukiko spoke up, “How might we help you, Master Chen?”

  “I’d been hoping to speak with you about joining the clan again. All of my subordinates have failed to speak with you. Do you desire to be clanless so much?”

  “We do not, Master. Choosing the right clan is proving to be more difficult than we had thought.”

  “Understandable. Your skills in combat— both of you— were proven during the tournament. Even without magic, you rose to the very top, Pettit. That tenacity is something we value. Standing against the Eternal Flame, enduring the fire, and winning is also something to be very proud of, Warlin.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Gregory said.

  “I’m honored, sir,” Yukiko added.

  “Do you detest joining a clan devoted to protecting the empire?”

  “No, sir,” Gregory said before Yukiko could. “I just don’t think we’d be the best fit with your clan.”

  Chen sighed. “Very well. I had to try before the Eternal Flame sought its revenge. I wish you both the best with finding a clan.”

  “Thank you, Master,” they said.

  With Chen striding away, Gregory exhaled. “Everyone is warning us about what’s coming.”

  “We’ll have to be very observant and ready to react,” Yukiko said. “Maybe we should wait off to the side of the class for a few minutes? We’ve run into Nick and the others here before, and right now, it’d probably be best to avoid them.”

  “Good point,” Gregory agreed as they took a side path, away from the next class.

  Chapter Six

  Gregory and Yukiko watched the students leave the aether introduction class. Nick, Jason, Michelle, and a half dozen others walked out together. Their conversation wasn’t hard to hear.

  “Figures they wouldn’t show up early today,” Jason snickered.

  “Little bitch deserves to pay for what she did to me,” Michelle grumbled.

  “Oh, she’ll pay,” Nick sneered. “I made sure that some things are in motion.”

  Gregory frowned as he watched them go. “Assholes...”

  “I wonder if being part of Aether’s Guard will matter to them?” Yukiko said. “I doubt it will.”

  “For them, it might not,” Gregory replied.

  “I think that was the last of them,” Yukiko said when two more students rushed out well behind everyone else.

  Before they could step out of the shadowed area they had waited in, five people in emerald kimonos and two in cyan left the tr
aining area. Gregory and Yukiko exchanged a glance, both wondering if the other had a guess.

  “Hands-on training today?” Gregory guessed with a questioning lilt.

  “Possibly... the majority were adepts.”

  “Let’s go see,” Gregory said, leading them toward the class.

  More people in emerald robes sat at a table inside, sipping tea. When the pair came into view, their conversation dropped off. They bowed to the adepts that were present.

  “Good day,” Gregory said.

  “You’re the first ones to class,” Dunn said. “Missing your previous class?”

  “We haven’t been to history in months, sir,” Yukiko replied.

  “Have a seat, but don’t get too comfortable. Today is a hands-on day,” Dunn said.

  “Thank you, sir,” Yukiko replied.

  “I’ll get my notes ready, sir,” Gregory added.

  “I’ll still want you to try copying the others,” Dunn said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  As the other novices started to show up, the adepts got up from their break. Another three adepts joined the ones who had stayed behind, along with a single magus. When the bell for the hour rang, Dunn moved to the front of the class.

  “Today, you will be learning another technique for your magic with an adept or magus that has the same magic. For fire, you’ll learn what you saw during the tournament: the ability to throw a globe of fire. Wind magi will be taught how to use the environment to distract your opponent, and so on. Crafters, the adepts will join you to help you better understand your magics so you can use your aether in less stressful ways. Now, the grounds are marked out with places for each of you to learn. Separate and begin.”

  The single magus was staring at Yukiko. “Novice Warlin, when you are ready.”

  “Of course, Magus Aldum,” Yukiko said.

  “Warlin, there is no spot marked for you to learn, but the tree near the wall would be best,” Dunn said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Gregory watched the others for a few moments before he got to his feet. Starting with the crafters, he paused to listen to each adept instructing the novices. The adept teaching alchemy to one of the novices had a single green leaf embroidered on their kimono.

  “Now, this part is the tricky part— you need to infuse the leaf with aether,” the adept was saying. “It’s a finely balanced thing. If you give it too little, the potency is lost. Too much and…” Trailing off, the adept pushed too much aether into the leaf. The vibrant leaf glowed for a moment before it went up in smoke. “You lose the leaf, and have to start all over. This matters even more in later recipes. A failure like that in the later stages means having to start the whole thing over.”

  Gregory wondered if the same was true for recharging enchanted items. Thinking it over, he headed for Dunn. “Excuse me, sir? If an enchanted item needs to have aether pushed into it to charge, can it be given so much that the item would be ruined?”

  “In theory,” Dunn nodded. “In practice, it’s nearly impossible. You wear enchanted rings. Have you tried doing as you ask?”

  “No, sir. They recharge off the ambient aether.”

  “Ah. The answer we are taught is yes, but it’s improbable. When overcharging an enchanted item a little, the extra vanishes. The material of the item, along with its total capacity, can tell you a lot about how much you’d have to overcharge one.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Of course. Are you trying to do as the adepts are instructing?”

  “I will, sir. I was just watching the alchemist, which prompted the question.”

  “Very well.”

  Gregory spent the next hour going from group to group. He never had any luck with the magic being taught, but he did catch a few glimpses of aether strings. The adept teaching fire glared at him when Gregory paused to listen. Seeing the flame on her kimono, Gregory didn’t stay long with that group.

  Finally making it over to where Yukiko was working, Gregory smiled as he watched her manipulate the shadows. Her strings were easier for him to catch sight of.

  “It was an item? That explains a lot,” Aldum nodded. “A novice shouldn’t be able to do that. It caused a stir in the clan.”

  “I didn’t mean for it to do so, sir,” Yukiko said as she focused on a shadow that was slowly reaching out for a leaf.

  “As it is, the ability to shadow-bind and trip is what you should be learning now. Which magi taught you how to do those tricks?”

  “It seemed like the next natural step, sir,” Yukiko responded, evading the question.

  “Hmm. What is it, Pettit?” Aldum asked sharply when he noticed Gregory.

  “I’ve been instructed to watch each person and try to do the same, sir.”

  “Dunn...” Aldum sighed. “He wastes all our time. If you had the magic to do this, we would know already. Just stay back so Warlin can work.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Gregory smiled when Yukiko was able to deftly pluck the leaf from the limb.

  “Passable, but you’re taking too long,” Aldum sniffed. “If you joined the right clan, though, they would greatly advance your ability.”

  Yukiko’s neutral expression didn’t shift. “I’m aware, sir. I’m still considering all my options.”

  Aldum’s frown grew. “It’ll be such a pity to see your talent stunted. The wrong clan will surely stifle your chance to grow.”

  “I’m aware, sir,” Yukiko said, again doing her best to placate him without saying anything she’d regret.

  “I need to make my notes. Excuse me,” Gregory said.

  “Will you make me a copy, Greg?”

  “Of course,” Gregory smiled.

  “You know, if you were to both join… a clan…” Aldum said, his voice slowing as he tried to hint at his own clan without saying it, “I’m sure your magic could be found so much faster, Pettit. Master Damon may be knowledgeable, but no one person will know everything a clan might about Aether’s Blade.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, sir. I’m still weighing all my options.”

  “A pity,” Aldum tsked. “Warlin, back to work!” he snapped at her, as she had paused for a moment.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Still nothing, Novice?” Dunn asked when Gregory went back to his table.

  “No, sir.”

  “I’m sure Master Damon will find something in time. Have you started on a path, at least?”

  “I’m torn on which would be best, sir. What if the one I pick isn’t good for my magic?”

  “A valid fear, Novice. Even though it’s widely looked down on, the spirit path has no disadvantage with any magic. It just doesn’t have many it synergizes with, either.”

  “I will consider it. Thank you, sir.”

  “I’m glad to assist those under my tutelage.”

  “Sir,” Gregory asked slowly, “how hard is it on novices who don’t pick a clan?”

  Dunn thought about it for a while. “Very. The first year, you have four classes, but you don’t have four next year, as that time is spent with your clan. Next year, your only class is tactical analysis. You can request aether studies and physical conditioning if you don’t have a clan, though.”

  “Tactical analysis is to prepare us for third year?” Gregory asked.

  “Yes. That year is different. You’ll see when you get there.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Dunn gave him a nod before wandering off to check on others.

  Gregory began to take notes. He was a page in when he saw a gathering of aether strings start to form in front of him. Looking up, he found the fire adept staring his way. Gregory pushed himself backward just before the paper he’d been writing on burst into flames. The heat of it was intense— if Gregory had stayed sitting there, his hands would be badly burned and he would have minor burns across his front.

  “Adept Mawic!” Dunn shouted, advancing on the fire adept. “What happened?”

  “I was jostled by a novice when for
ming the spell,” Mawic said indifferently.

  Gregory stood up, dusting his kimono off. “Luckily, I wasn’t injured.”