Magi's Path

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “You are welcome. Make the master proud,” Indara said softly.

  “The same rules apply, Pettit,” Bishop said, going back to where she’d started the previous fight. “I want to see what made you so formidable.”

  “As you wish, Bishop,” Gregory said, moving to stand opposite her.

  “Bow to the audience,” Inda began.

  The moment Inda told them to fight, Bishop blurred forward, her blade slicing the air with a whistle. Gregory wasn’t there— he was already to the left of her katana and starting an attack of his own.

  Bishop’s eyebrows went up, but she managed to abort her attack and pull her blade back to deflect Gregory’s. “Interesting.”

  Gregory didn’t speak, letting the flow of combat find him. They clashed time and again, the naginata almost always in motion. Bishop had superior speed and strength, but she came to quickly realize that Gregory had perfect control over his weapon and knew how to use it.

  Leaping back, she deflected a parting thrust from him. “Is that all foresight?” Bishop asked.

  “No,” Gin chuckled. “Most of that is innate talent with the weapon. Did no one tell you he fought Egil Magi-killer to a standstill with a naginata?”

  Bishop’s lips pursed. “Egil? Hmm... what weapon did Egil use?”

  “The naginata,” Gin laughed.

  Bishop’s face became a mask. “Did he, indeed? Well then, shall we see what Pettit can really do?”

  Gregory hesitated when Bishop came in, as his foresight was uncertain about what would happen next. Pushing it away, he went with just raw ability against her. The next few seconds, Gregory was on his back foot, barely able to keep up with Bishop’s enhanced speed and strength.

  “Sad,” Bishop said. “You’re still impressive with that weapon, but without your ability to see forward, you aren’t nearly as tough.”

  Gregory grimaced and gritted his teeth when she grazed his arm. How can it be so easy to stop foresight? He lamented in his own head as the practice katana just missed his shin.

  Time slowed to a crawl as Gregory shifted to block the next attack, but his mind raced ahead to what the next few likely scenarios would be. Foresight came back to him. It was still hazy, but with less fog, and there were two distinct options visible in it.

  What felt like a soft kiss on his cheek told him that Darkness was helping him before her voice touched his ear, “Push more aether into it, dear one.”

  Gregory did what she told him, dumping two, then three times the aether into his foresight. The fog vanished and the future opened up to him. With a feral grin, Gregory growled as time sped back up.

  Bishop frowned when Gregory suddenly grinned like a hungry wolf and a growl left his lips. She had a brief second of wondering what he was going to do before she found herself suddenly being pushed back, hard.

  Katana moving as fast as she could, she was barely able to stop Gregory from hitting her. Her eyes widened slightly when she realized that he’d overcome her ability to hold a meditative state. That realization shattered her meditation, and Gregory felt the draw on his aether slacken.

  Bishop infused her skin to be armor and let him connect with her raised arm. The wooden naginata snapped over it and she slammed her katana into his chest, pulling back as much as she could at the last moment.

  “Stop!” Inda shouted, rushing to Gregory.

  Bishop stepped back and frowned. “Krog’s bollocks... I broke three of them.”

  Inda pushed Gregory’s kimono off his shoulders, baring his chest to everyone. She had a container in hand and was swiftly rubbing a salve into his skin where a bruise was just starting to color. Gregory inhaled sharply as her light touch sent fire shooting through his body. Indara was beside her sister a heartbeat later, pushing a potion into his mouth. Gregory swallowed, and the pain started to fade.

  “Greg?” Yukiko asked with an edge of worry.

  “He’ll be fine,” Inda said from where she worked. “The salve is already working, and the potion will speed it up.”

  “It shouldn’t have been needed,” Bishop said, angry with herself. “I went too far. I hit him like I would Harrison... I’m supposed to be better than that.”

  “Like Egil, you lost yourself to a challenge,” Gin said, having gotten to his feet. “Like Egil, you hit him harder than you should have and injured him. But tell me— what do you think now?”

  Bishop looked back to Gregory. “You broke the meditation I had.”

  “Used most of my aether,” he panted. “Draining to do, but yes.”

  “No single apprentice will come close to him now,” Bishop said simply, “if he’s given time to reach them. Yukiko and Jenn will need to be trained hard to give him the time needed to do what he can.”

  “I will be training them as a unit,” Gin said. “I’ve even enlisted some aid in that regard. They will push themselves to learn. They all want to be the best.”

  Inda and Indara helped Gregory get his kimono roughly back in place, and then to his feet. Gregory exhaled slowly, but deeply, the pain fading with each breath. Yukiko and Jenn were right there, ready to help support him if needed.

  “Pettit, I’m sorry for my mistake,” Bishop said, bowing her head to him.

  “No lasting harm done,” Gregory replied. “Thank you. That push was what I needed to see what I had to do to defeat the block. Just, maybe next time, not three ribs? And call me Greg, please? Like Jenn, I’d like to be a friend and maybe less of a practice dummy.”

  Bishop gave him a twisted smile before bowing her head again. “Very well, Greg.” She looked toward Yukiko. “Shall I call you Yukiko?”

  “Yuki,” Yukiko said. “I’m not sure how I feel about you right now, but he believes in you, so I will, as well.”

  Bishop blinked and chuckled. “Honest. I’ll do my best to show you who I am. This clan is my life and, as you three are the future of this clan, you three are my life. I might have to hurt you all a little, but I will only do what I have to to make you stronger and ready for the others.”

  “Acceptable,” Yukiko replied, bowing her head. “May I spar with you now?”

  Bishop raised an eyebrow, then laughed. “After what I just did?”

  “Even more so. My wife and husband have tested themselves against you. I want to do the same to see if I am still equal to them.”

  Bishop’s face grew serious. “Very well, Yuki. I’ll fight you, but be warned— I have fought and killed shadow magi before.”

  “Understood,” Yukiko said as she went over to where the practice wakizashi had been left. As she picked up the blade, she looked back at Bishop. “You won’t use more aether than an apprentice, right?”

  Bishop snorted. “I won’t make that mistake again. Not today, at least.”

  “Thank you,” Yukiko said. She paused next to Gregory to kiss his cheek. “Baths after this?”

  “Yes,” Gregory agreed.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  At breakfast the next morning, Gregory glanced at Dia and Bishop, who were talking softly. “Dia, how long have you two known each other?”

  “Decades,” Dia replied.

  “Then why did Bishop ask for your name as if she didn’t know you when I was brought into the dormitory?”

  Bishop chuckled. “So you wouldn’t think she might give you preferential treatment.”

  Dia shook her head. “She was observing the fact that keepers have no clan as well.”

  “Well, yes, there is that,” Bishop smiled. “Today is your last day of freedom. What do you three have planned?”

  “Visiting our friends, and then training,” Yukiko said. “Would you be willing to spar with me before dinner?”

  “Didn’t have enough last night?” Bishop asked.

  “I learn best through doing,” Yukiko replied. “I want to find a way to stop you from pulling free so easily.”

  “Your control over the shadows was surprising. Not many apprentices have such strength and control,” Bishop said. “Honestly, tho
ugh, it’s a matter of power. Even toning down my aether, my channels are so well-developed that it’s hard to dampen my power down that far. I believe that if you keep training, few would have the ability to break free of your bonds right now. Jenn would be able to, but it would tax you both if she struggled in such a way.”

  “We did in the last tournament,” Jenn grinned.

  “You didn’t say yes or no,” Yukiko pointed out.

  Bishop chuckled. “I will give you a match.”

  “And me!” Jenn was quick to add.

  “And you,” Bishop agreed. She looked at Gregory. “Not you?”

  “I don’t want my ribs broken again,” Gregory said wryly.

  Bishop’s eyebrow went up. “That’s fair, but don’t you want to test yourself again?”

  “I would like to, yes,” Gregory replied.

  “Very well. Two hours before dinner,” Bishop said.

  “Breakfast is ready,” Velma said, bringing over their food.

  ~*~*~

  “Good morning, Apprentices,” Simon greeted them. “Welcome back to the archive.”

  “Thank you, Simon,” they replied.

  “Your scrolls and books are waiting for you.”

  “Thank you again, Simon,” Gregory replied.

  Making it over to the table, they had paper and charcoal pencils out in no time. They were just finishing making a pair of Magi Squares each when the novices joined them.

  “Morning,” Nessa greeted them as she sat beside Yukiko. “Are you all leaving the academy again today?”

  “Yes,” Yukiko replied. “We found out we won’t be getting set days off like you three will. We’ll end up with a week off at a time, a total of five of them for the year.”

  “The worst part is that they might not all be at the same time for us,” Jenn said.

  “That’s dumb,” Daciana said. “Why wouldn’t they give them to all members of a clan together?”

  “They might,” Gregory said. “It’ll be up to the instructor. It’s not just our days off, though. Even our normal days will be variable.” He took a moment to explain what they’d been told.

  “That’ll make it difficult to train together,” Victoria said. “We’re going to do as you did during your novice year. We’ll spend the morning here before class, miss history to study here again, and then do more training after physical conditioning.”

  “You might find it hard for a few weeks,” Gregory said. “The first few weeks, I was wiped out after physical conditioning. We barely ate before passing out.”

  “It was difficult,” Yukiko agreed.

  “I can understand that. It’s been tough the last few days, and that was with me just learning how to fall,” Victoria sighed.

  “I told you we’ll start teaching you the basics today,” Daciana chuckled. “You’ll wish you were still falling by the end of it.”

  Gregory laughed softly. “Yeah, the falling was easier to learn, but the rest is more interesting.”

  “We might not be here to study with you in the mornings,” Jenn said. “It’ll all depend on our class. Even then, there are things we want to study that can only be read on the next floor.”

  “We can’t go up there, can we?” Nessa asked.

  “It’s for apprentices and above only,” Gregory said. “If all three of us are together, we’ll be here with you. If one or more of us isn’t, though, we’ll likely be up there.”

  “Understood,” Daciana said, clearly unhappy about it.

  “We’ll make you proud, and be ready for the clan to invite us in,” Nessa said.

  “Why is the second Magi Squares different from the first?” Victoria asked, having been looking at the two in front of Gregory across the table from her.

  “This is the level above the ones you’re doing. We’re starting them today,” Gregory told her. Seeing the other two novices also interested, he pushed the paper to the middle of the table. “The five-by-five grid goes from one to twenty-five, instead of the three-by-three grid that goes one to nine. The extra complexity will help us train more.”

  “We need to wait on doing those,” Nessa said, staring at the more difficult puzzle. “The number of variables is a bit too much right now.”

  “But we’ll get there,” Daciana growled softly.

  “We expect you to,” Jenn said, softly patting Daciana on the shoulder, “next year, just as we’re only just getting to them. There is striving, and then there is being foolish.”

  Daciana nodded. “I hear you, and will wait.”

  “Let’s begin,” Yukiko said. “Pass the pages to the right.”

  ~*~*~

  “Daciana sure does push for doing more,” Gregory said as they walked to Gin’s.

  “She’s intent on getting where she thinks she needs to be,” Yukiko said.

  “Though she was quick to back down when Jenn talked to her,” Gregory added.

  Yukiko and Jenn exchanged a glance before Yukiko cleared her throat. “That’s because Daciana takes after her father’s line.”

  Gregory’s brow furrowed. “Her eurtik blood?”

  “Wolf eurtik follow a pack ideal,” Yukiko said. “She holds to that.”

  “Because she wants to be in the clan, and Jenn is clearly higher in it than she is,” Gregory nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “Yes,” Yukiko agreed, giving Jenn another look.

  “Does she want to join the clan herself, or is she just doing what her father wants her to do?” Gregory asked.

  “Oh, she wants to join the clan herself,” Jenn said. “She has her own reasons for doing so.”

  “That’s good, at least,” Gregory said. “She does seem to lead that group.”

  “For now,” Jenn said. “I think Nessa will take that spot before the first tournament is over.”

  “In a fight, I’d take Daciana,” Yukiko said. “She’s going to be ferocious. For planning, Nessa is the better of the two. I don’t know where Victoria will fit in, yet.”

  “I think she’ll fit in with them… she may be between them in temperament,” Jenn commented. “It’s possible she’ll be the one to lead them by the end of the novice year, if she stays with them.”

  “True. She might decide to go to another clan by then,” Gregory said.

  Yukiko looked thoughtful but didn’t gainsay him.

  “They’ll be upset that we won’t be by every week,” Jenn said as they got closer to Gin’s.

  “Elsa will keep them moving,” Yukiko said, putting aside her other thoughts. “Having a week off at a time, though… we could ask Dia and Gin if we can stay at his home during those periods.”

  “That would be good, except we might need to catch up on our other training during those weeks,” Gregory said. “We should still ask, just in case.”

  “We should,” Jenn agreed. “Let’s not tell Elsa and the others, in case we can’t.”

  “Yes,” Gregory nodded.

  “Agreed,” Yukiko added.

  Gregory knocked on the door when they arrived.

  “Welcome to the Watashi residence, magi. Would you care to come inside?” Elsa asked as she gave them a smile.

  “Why thank you. We would love to,” Gregory greeted her back.

  “I will make sure that the children assemble in the yard,” Elsa said, shutting the door behind them. “Is there anything else you require before that?”

  “No, that will do,” Yukiko said.

  “Very well,” Elsa replied, giving them a low curtsy before she left at a slightly hurried pace.

  “She did much better that time,” Baylyss commented as they were putting on slippers.

  “She does seem to learn quickly,” Yukiko said.

  “Very quickly,” Baylyss agreed. “How are you today?”

  “Good,” Gregory smiled. “Were they well-behaved once we left?”

  “Very. They talked about your gifts after you left,” Baylyss smiled. “A few of them traded figures to have a better-matched set, though none were as matc
hed as the two you gave Elsa. Those two, when facing each other, appear to be halves of a whole.”

  “It was why we chose them for her,” Jenn grinned.

  “Yes, it did seem that way,” Baylyss replied. “The others were random?”

  “Yes,” Gregory replied, a hint of worry in his tone.

  “They didn’t notice,” Baylyss told him, “besides Elsa, that is. Once she saw how well-matched hers were, she stayed quiet. She didn’t want them to be upset that hers were more special.”