Aether's Guard

by Schinhofen, Daniel

  “Which I dislike, but understand,” Gregory said.

  “I know, dear one,” Yukiko said, touching his arm.

  “Do you think they could follow more than one path, like we are?” Jenn asked. “That might help them grow faster.”

  “Even we shouldn’t be able to,” Yukiko said softly, moving to be next to Jenn. “Do you trust me?”

  Jenn glanced at Yukiko in confusion. “I’ve trusted you.”

  “Then trust me when I say there’s a very important reason that Gregory, you, and I can do what we do. It wouldn’t work for just anyone. I’m not even sure it will for Nessa and Daciana, and they’re the next most likely ones it could work for.”

  “Just us three?” Jenn asked with a curious expression.

  “Even her parents, who she shares everything with, don’t know,” Gregory said softly.

  “And we’ll tell you before next year begins,” Yukiko added.

  Jenn opened her mouth, but then closed it, nodding once. “After your marriage, you mean?”

  “Yes.”

  Jenn took a deep breath. “You will…?”

  “I haven’t asked yet, but yes. I am willing, if you’ve accepted the restrictions,” Yukiko said.

  Jenn nodded. “I accept. It’s the best I’ll be offered.”

  Lips pursing, Gregory knew he was again missing something he should see. “We’ll tell you after the wedding,” he said, trying to join the conversation.

  Yukiko and Jenn shared a knowing smile before Jenn looked at Gregory. “I’ll wait.”

  “Do you think we’ll win today?” Yukiko asked abruptly.

  “With you leading us, and Gregory using his foresight?” Jenn smiled. “Today is the day we win.”

  ~*~*~

  Meditating on the Peaceful Fist in the garden with the children had them smiling as they headed for the game with their instructors. “How are you today, gentlemen?” Gregory asked when they entered the room.

  “Good,” Lon grinned. “We have a plan of attack, and we’ll be sweeping our games played.”

  “Easy now, Lon,” Vexlin laughed. “They might have come up with something. We did get caught by their archers, after all.”

  “We win today,” Jenn said.

  Cal touched his furry ear. “I think we’ll have a good game.”

  “Agreed,” Yukiko smiled.

  “Either way, we’re ready to get it started,” Gregory said.

  “We left off with the upkeep from the empire,” Cal said.

  “Yes,” Yukiko nodded.

  Everyone took their places at the table, and Cal flipped the upkeep marker. “Upkeep underway.”

  “We’d like to intercede,” Jenn said. Picking up the cards in front of her, she pulled the one she wanted and laid it face-up on the table. “It appears that bandits found an easy mark: your supplies.”

  Lon chuckled. “It’s too bad that another bunch went for your pay chest,” he turned over a card of his own. “Seems we were both holding onto those.”

  Yukiko looked down at her counters, quickly doing the math for the pay to the men they had under them. “That will sting, but it won’t break us.”

  “No. You did well managing your war chest,” Vexlin nodded, “but this will put a damper on your ability to field more specialized units.”

  “Your men might need to forage, though,” Gregory said.

  “Yes. That’ll hit the morale of our troops,” Cal smiled. “We were, of course, keeping their morale near peak. A happy soldier is more willing to suffer the occasional hardship.”

  “We’ll move onto the resource dispersal stage, then, if no one else has any surprise to spring?”

  Gregory smiled. “Might as well add on.” He drew a card from his deck. “Good thing your morale was so high.” He flipped over his card. “Looks like one of your officers has been negligent.”

  Cal blinked. “Well, that puts a kink in our plans.”

  “Now we can move forward,” Gregory smiled.

  The three instructors exchanged a look. “We need a moment,” Cal said, motioning the other two to the door.

  “Take your time,” Gregory smiled.

  When they left, Yukiko turned to Gregory. “Already?”

  “They didn’t have an answer to it,” Gregory said. “They’ll pull back, and solidify their camps. It gives us a chance to take the mine that we’d been thinking about. They won’t be able to stop it.”

  “Is it cheating?” Jenn asked softly. “I don’t want to stop, but is Gregory using foresight cheating?”

  “No. I’d use it when we’re out in the field if we end up in a similar position.”

  “We do what we have to, if that’s here or elsewhere,” Yukiko said.

  Jenn nodded. “I understand.”

  The door opened up a minute later and the instructors came back in. Cal and the other two looked serious, more serious than they’d ever been.

  “If there’s nothing else, we can move onto the next stage,” Cal said, giving Gregory a hard look.

  “Nothing else from me, at least this time,” Gregory smiled.

  The gameplay went on, and as Gregory said, the instructors pulled their camps back and consolidated, letting them take the mine. That helped even out the loss of payroll and let Yukiko put other pieces into play.

  ~*~*~

  The game started to tilt back into the favor of the more seasoned side as it went on. Just as the next round of combat was about to be resolved, Gregory used foresight again— he had a trick in his hand, but he wanted to know if they could counter it. The round of combat filled his head as he stared at the board and a smile grew on his face.

  “Before we start with the math,” Gregory smiled, “I think it’s time for an unfortunate event.”

  Vexlin glanced at the board, wondering what could possibly be played to hamper the overwhelming force that was arrayed before the novices. He was answered a minute later when Gregory turned over the card he’d been waiting to play.

  “You had them forage for food not that long ago,” Gregory smiled. “Dysentery is bad by itself, but right now, it will really hamper your men. We’ll put it on the pikemen.”

  Cal’s face scrunched up. “That’ll break them when the horse comes in. Lon? Vexlin?” Both men looked over their cards and shook their heads grimly. “Krog’s balls...” Cal sighed. “It’s like you’re Aether-blessed right now.”

  “A bit,” Gregory admitted.

  “Dammit,” Lon said, showing Cal a card. “I don’t want to.”

  “Do it. We need to regroup after that,” Cal sighed.

  Lon tossed his card onto the board. “Tactical retreat. We’re pulling back… again.”

  Jenn’s eyes lit up. “Oh, good.” She quickly tossed a card onto the board. “Run them down.”

  Vexlin’s eye twitched. “It’s like they stacked the deck! That’s my job...”

  “I have nothing,” Cal said grimly.

  “No,” Lon sighed.

  “I would’ve played it,” Vexlin gritted.

  “Now we can take stock of what the battle did,” Yukiko smiled.

  ~*~*~

  As the game came to an end, Cal shook his head. “Aether was blessing you left and right today. We surrender.”

  “How did you do it?” Vexlin asked.

  “Sometimes, things just work,” Jenn smiled.

  Lon shook his head. “No, you had too many answers when we moved, or we had none to your plays. It was like you knew when the optimal time to move was.”

  Gregory chuckled. “Aether-blessed.”

  “Well, we congratulate you on not being swept,” Cal said. “Time to clean it up and pack it away.”

  “And time for some food,” Baylyss said as she opened the door, leading Elsa inside.

  “Won’t say no to that,” Lon grinned. “Last meal we’ll have from you. Is it only high sun?”

  “It’s past two now,” Baylyss said. “You were all engrossed in your match, so I waited.”

  “Pu
t it away after?” Vexlin asked, staring at the food Elsa was carrying.

  Cal laughed. “Fine.”

  ~*~*~

  The carriage arrived almost two hours earlier than they’d normally leave. They’d done another round of Peaceful Fist meditation in the garden with the kids, most of whom were exhausted by the end of it.

  Baylyss showed them to the door. “She’ll be sad that you won’t be here next week.”

  “We’ll be here for the morning, but we won’t be staying past meditation,” Yukiko corrected her. “We’ll be missing for the majority of the twelve days after that, at least. When the tournament ends, we don’t know what the clan has planned.”

  “I’ll make sure that Elsa and the others get their work done first, but if it’s okay, I will allow them to practice without you.”

  “That’s fine, Baylyss,” Gregory said. “Once we know more, we’ll let you know.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be wishing for your victory at the tournament, but more importantly, for your safety.”

  “Thank you, Baylyss,” Jenn said. “Are you going to bring the kids to see the fights?”

  “No, that would be too much for them. I will be informed about your matches, though. Dia has promised me that much, so I can tell the children.”

  “Until we return, may Aether watch over all of you,” Yukiko said, her eyes darting briefly to Gregory.

  Baylyss bowed formally to her. “May Aether protect you, and Vera bless your wedding.”

  “Please, will you bring the kids to that?” Yukiko asked. “My parents have already been informed to expect you and them. They’ll arrange to have some help for you so that you may enjoy yourself, as well.”

  “Very well,” Baylyss conceded to Yukiko’s wishes.

  Leaving the home behind, the three friends boarded the carriage. Jenn sat across from Yukiko and Gregory. “Next week is the last week before the tournament,” she said. “Time has flown by, but it feels like it was ages ago since the start of the year.”

  “Yes,” Yukiko agreed, taking Gregory’s hand in hers. “So much has changed.”

  Gregory chuckled. “Everything has changed, all of it for the better.”

  “I never expected to have friends like you both,” Jenn said. “I fully expected to be alone and using my fighting ability to be acknowledged. If not for the fight with Greg in the first tournament, it would’ve been that way.”

  “That did seem to change things,” Yukiko nodded.

  “He was respectful,” Jenn said, looking out the window. “No bragging, no gloating... just honesty, confidence, and the conviction that he’d be able to win.”

  “I should’ve lost,” Gregory said honestly. “If any one thing had gone differently, you would have easily won.”

  Jenn snorted. “I don’t know if that’s true, but if we fought now, with the same rules as then, I would win.”

  “Very likely,” Gregory said.

  “But this tournament includes weapons,” Jenn continued. “If it was just weapons, you would win, and it wouldn’t be in doubt. With aether involved, some of us will still have a good chance of winning, Yukiko included.”

  “The problem with her magic is that if she solidifies the shadows, they can be attacked and weakened enough to slip free,” Gregory said. “With us having left aether class, that weakness might not be well known, but I’m sure the more well-off clans will have informed their students.”

  “Nick’s, for certain,” Yukiko said, “but a suddenly misplaced step in combat can help me. I don’t have to hold them, only break their balance.”

  “She’s right about that,” Jenn agreed.

  “I’ve also been practicing a lot with shuriken over the last month. That might help me, too,” Yukiko added.

  “I don’t have your accuracy, but I can sink them into wood pretty well,” Jenn said. “If I hit with them, the opponent will be at a severe disadvantage.”

  “I’ll have to close the distance and use the naginata,” Gregory said. “It’ll make my life difficult. Even foresight doesn’t give me a clear path to victory. It merely lets me avoid imminent defeat.”

  “That’s…” Jenn trailed off. “Another group of thugs?”

  “What?” Yukiko and Gregory asked, moving over to look out the window.

  “The last side street… a group of ten men is standing around like they’re waiting for someone,” Jenn said. “Makes me wonder if another ambush was ready for us.”

  “They didn’t expect the carriage,” Gregory murmured. “Dia saved us a complication.”

  “We’ll have to thank her when we return to the clan hall,” Yukiko said. “I’ll let Lin know that we’re being targeted so the men are prepared for it.”

  “That would be for the best,” Gregory agreed.

  Chapter Forty-five

  The last week of their novice year went by with only minor bumps. Magus Marcia had a test for them on the last day, recapping the majority of what she’d taught them over the year. Gregory was pleasantly surprised at how much of it he remembered, only struggling with a couple of answers. Yukiko finished before him, not having any troubles, and though Jenn finished after him, she still was done before most of the class. She’d only struggled on the earliest material, not able to recall it as easily.

  Some of the other novices were busy; the challenges were being thrown around with a fervor. None of them ended up challenging Gregory, Yukiko, or Jenn, but there were a number of serious and critical injuries because the majority of fights involved training weapons.

  Gregory mused about everything that had happened over the last week while he got dressed in his best clothing. Yukiko’s parents had sent word to them that they wanted to have lunch at Stabled Hunger. Yukiko again reminded Jenn that she was coming with them, since her parents would want to meet her.

  I wonder how protective they’ll be this time? Gregory wondered to himself.

  Stepping out of his room, he knocked on Yukiko’s door. “Yuki?”

  “We’ll be right down, Greg. Jenn and I are coordinating.”

  “Okay...” Gregory replied a little hesitantly. Coordinating what? Oh, maybe they’re dressing similarly, like Ria and El…? Been a while since I thought about them. I should send them another letter. Distracted, thinking of his old friends, Gregory went down to the dining room.

  “Good morning, Novice.”

  Gregory’s head jerked up, yanked from his thoughts. “Elder! Welcome back, sir.”

  “You looked to be deep in thought. Did I interrupt?” Lightshield asked.

  “No, sir. I was just thinking about sending my old friends another letter, but I’ll wait until after the tournament so I can tell them about it.”

  “Ah. Keeping ties with your past can be good,” Lightshield said sadly. “It can also be painful.”

  Gregory took his seat across from the elder. “I’m aware, sir. I feel the need to let them know what’s happening to me, though.”

  “If it comes from your soul, then it will only lead you to the right choices,” Lightshield replied.

  Gregory sat still for a minute, wondering if the elder knew. Before he could reach a decision on that, Yukiko and Jenn entered the room.

  “Novices, it’s good to see you both. In similar outfits, even,” Lightshield smiled. “Interesting. I’m sure it’ll work out better than you both think.”

  Both women slowed their pace, exchanging a glance before bowing. “Thank you, Elder,” Yukiko said.

  “Since you’re all here, I would like to inform you of the various things that are going to be mandatory to attend during the tournament, as well as the post-tournament training time.”

  Velma paused in the kitchen. She had breakfast ready, but she didn’t want to interrupt the elder.

  “It’s fine. Bring them their food. They can eat while I talk,” Lightshield said, not even glancing her way.

  Velma’s eyes went wide for a moment, but she began to serve them. Once she was done, she stepped out of the room to let them
talk.

  “As I was saying, you’re required to attend dinner tonight,” Lightshield said. “That and the victory feast on the last day of the tournament are the only requirements I have set during this period. As you have family in the city, I would encourage you to spend it with them.”