by Andrew Rowe
The sight that followed was...awful.
The clothing around the swordsman’s uninjured arm rapidly decomposed, exposing bare flesh. Then, the dark-marked man sunk his nails into the skin, drawing blood.
And then the arm began to wither like a wilted flower, as if decades were passing with every heartbeat.
I wished I could turn my eyes away, but I couldn’t. My eyes were not my own.
Only when the arm was reduced to a shriveled husk did the dark-marked man pull his hand away, leaving the swordsman in a whimpering ball.
The dark-marked man’s eyes turned upward toward the attempted rescuer, then he spoke again. “You may flee now.”
It was a testament to the would-be rescuer that he even took one last glance at his fallen friend before he turned to run.
My own viewpoint lingered on the dark-marked man for only another moment before it spun, finding others already rushing off the hill and into the distance.
My eyes shifted again, finding the flagpole lying among the rubble — then turned away, as my feet began to move.
I ran.
The vision ended.
***
I sat silently for a moment after watching that fight.
<...That was...awful, Keras.>
I gave a slow nod, remaining silent.
I drew in a deep breath, closing my eyes.
I have.
Twice.
That eye monster had a much weaker version of it. I could recognize the similarities, but the scale is completely different. I’ve only seen sorcery of that type and magnitude from one person before.
Venlyra. One of the pieces of an ancient goddess of Rendalir, possessed by a shadow of her ancient enemy: The Sun Eater. And the power he wields is the dominion of ruin.
My hands tightened into fists.
<...Wait, what? No, that can’t be right. You said the Sun Eater was supposed to be defeated!>
He was. When I fought Venlyra, she was sealed in an ancient barrier, far from civilization. I’ve never seen someone marked by the Sun Eater out in the open before.
<...Are you sure that the Sun Eater is involved? Couldn’t that man just be using ruin magic from some other source, like the eye monster?>
Maybe, but I’m certainly not taking that risk. We need to look into this, right now. Before it’s too late for us all.
***
I went and found Lia again immediately, handing the crystals back to her. “A couple questions for you.”
Lia nodded. “Of course. How can I assist you?”
I handed her one of the crystals. “This one — the scythe wielder. Do you have any information on her?”
Her expression sank as she took the crystal, turning it over in her hands. “I knew her for many years. She was one of the other students here.”
“She was?” I blinked. “What happened?”
“Xiaofan is Meilin’s sister. She…was much like a sister to Ari and me, too. Grandmother took us all in when we had nowhere else to go. We began to grow apart when they completed their Judgements, and I…chose not to take one. Still, she was kind to me, at least until recently. She left for the Unclaimed Lands and when she came back, she was changed. Cold. Distant.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I hate to ask you this, but if you knew her…could you tell me more about her abilities?”
“She was one of Grandmother’s best students. Second only to Walter, really. Her Spellsinger attunement allows her to distribute spells through her voice, much like a lung-marked attunement might, but with a broader range. When she was in the Unclaimed Lands, she gained some other sort of power. I believe it may be a crystal mark from one of the prime crystals, but she refuses to talk about it. It seems to increase her physical strength and durability.”
That made sense. “Thank you. I’ll keep all that in mind.”
“You should avoid mentioning her to Ari. For him, the wound is still fresh.”
“Understood, thank you.” It was good to know about Xiaofan, but she wasn’t my greatest concern. I handed Lia another crystal. “This one — the one that shows the man who caused a tower to collapse into sand. Can you tell me who it was in there?”
“Liked that one, did you? He’s one of the favored contestants in betting pools right now. He’s a foreigner, like you are, but no one knows where he’s from. Calls himself...Hakadhi, I think? Sorry, it was a foreign name, and I’m not sure how to pronounce it.”
That sounded a little familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
I blinked. She was right.
Thanks, Dawn.
“I think it might be Akadi?” I offered.
Lia shrugged. “Can’t remember what the Diviner told me, and I didn’t see it written down. Why? Is it important?”
“Potentially very.” I took a breath. “I think he might be possessed by a monster from another world.”
“...What?”
That required a significant amount of explaining. You already know that stuff, so I won’t reiterate. Lia showed a suitable degree of skepticism.
“I...don’t know about all this. It sounds a little like, uh, made up?”
I sighed. “Please. I’ve fought one of these creatures before. Well, two if you count a karna, but they’re different.” I shook my head, dismissing that tangent. “Anyway, these people — or things — are dangerous. Like, terribly, absurdly dangerous. And their presence here could indicate more on the way. Can you get me any more information on this guy?”
Lia frowned. “I can try, but most foreigners don’t list an address or contact information, since they don’t have a personal residence in the city. I sincerely doubt it would be easy to track him down.”
I nodded. That was true for me as well, of course. “What about using that memory gem as a focus for divination magic to track him?”
She shook her head. “We could track the person who made the gem that way, but probably not someone who simply appears in the memories.”
I wasn’t an expert on divination magic, but that made sense to me. “Okay. Soulbrand’s wielder mentioned the name ‘Akadi’ to me. He might have a connection. Can you find him?”
“Again, I can try, but it’s the same problem — he’s not a local. And given that he’s a wielder, he almost certainly didn’t list any contact information.”
“This is worth looking into. Immediately, if possible.
Lia sighed. “I’ll go check records. Hold on.”
She came back a couple hours later, shaking her head. “Neither of them has an address or any contact information listed. I asked around, but apparently they’ve both been very private. Other people have tried to find where they’re staying, but they both appear to be living off the island.”
That made things significantly more challenging. “Okay.” I took a breath. “I can put in some leg work and ask around at taverns and such, see if anyone knows anything.”
Lia gave me a disapproving look. “I don’t think you should. What are you going to do if you find him?”
“Ask a few questions.” I found myself unconsciously shifting into a defensive posture.
“And what can you do if he says, ‘Oh, sure, I’m the spawn of a world-eating monster’? This isn’t exactly a good monster hunting environment, and you’re another foreigner. One who, might I add, is already arousing suspicions with your own unusual powers.”
I winced. She had a good point. Multiple, in fact. “I can’t just stand by and do nothing while that monster is out there.”
“If he is what you believe he is — and I’m not entirely convinced of that — he’s still participating in a tournament. He won’t want to get kicked out. He probably isn’t going to do anything drastic until the final rounds, at least.”
“I’m not sure I agree with that, and even if that’s true, i
t just means we have more incentive to act early and prevent anyone from dying.”
She nodded. “I concur. But I don’t think that means you have to do it personally. I...have some contacts in the royal guard. I can inform them, and have them deal with it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Contacts in the royal guard? Given Iron’s history...”
“I know, I know. It’s not as bad as it sounds.” She winced. “Or, maybe it is, depending on what you’re thinking. I’m loyal to Iron. Collecting information is my duty. Sometimes, that means making friends with the enemy.”
I gave her a hard look, then slowly nodded. “You think they’ll actually look into it?”
“Yes. Absolutely. I may, however, have to explain that the wielder of Dawnbringer is the information source.”
“Why mention me?”
“Being a wielder lends a certain level of credibility to an otherwise, frankly, implausible story. It does, however, mean that they may bring you in for questioning at some point — and that could put us all in a bad position.”
I frowned. “Questioning as in, ‘How do you know about the Sun Eater’ or questioning as in, ‘Approximately what temperature do you think this hot poker is’?”
“More the former, but admittedly the latter isn’t impossible. I do think they have more modern torture implements, however.”
“Oh, good to know they’re up-to-date, at least.” I sighed. “Go ahead and tell them. I can handle a hot poker or two if necessary. Just...tell them to be careful, too. These creatures are beyond the monsters I fought in the Unclaimed Lands, for the most part. And they have powers related to spirits and shades. Your guard friends should take precautions against possession.”
“I’ll relay all that.” Lia gave me a nod. “Is there anything else?”
I pondered that. “Do you have an address on file for Anabelle Farren?”
“I can check. You wish to send her a letter?”
I nodded. “If possible.”
“I’ll look into it. Anything else I can help you with right now?”
“Not for now, thank you. I appreciate the crystals.”
“Good. Go study the rest. Someone else can take care of this ‘Akadi’ problem.”
While that was probably technically true, I had a sinking feeling that it wasn’t going to work out that way at all.
***
First, I went and told Reika about the entire story. She seemed to enjoy it, but didn’t seem overly concerned. I don’t think she took the threat seriously.
Admittedly, I’m not sure if I would have taken “shadow people from another planet are invading and taking over human bodies” very seriously if I hadn’t seen evidence of it in person.
Even if she was a little flippant, I was glad I told her. It wasn’t the sort of thing I wanted to surprise her with in the middle of a fight — or worse, have someone else catch her off guard because she wasn’t informed about some basic yet critical information I could have easily relayed to her.
After that, I went back to my room to study more crystals.
Nothing compared to the last ones I’d seen. That wasn’t exactly a surprise, of course. Not many people could single-handedly take over (or steal, in the phantom thief’s case) entire towers like that.
Maybe I should have found opponents like them worrying, but my reaction was a little different. I could feel my heart beating faster as I imagined our coming battles and began to devise strategies to counter each of the abilities they’d demonstrated.
I tried to distract myself with the other crystals as much as I could, searching for anyone else of a similar level. Unfortunately, none of the other crystals showed sacred sword wielders, nor any of the other opponents that I wanted to see, like Lady Hartigan or the Green Guardian.
There was a benefit to watching the more general crystals, though.
Experiencing the memories of fighting from other people’s perspectives gave me valuable knowledge about the local fighting styles. Fighting against people in the tests had been useful, but being able to feel someone else’s movements gave a whole new type of insight.
Memories of a heavily-armored Edrian warrior showed me how she could shift her shroud to specific portions of her armor, deflecting heavy attacks with barely any effort.
The perspective of a Valian duelist showed me a style that involved moving as little as possible, trying to turn blows with minimal force and quickly riposte. I was familiar with similar styles from back home, but the duelist augmented his movements with Enhancement mana, allowing even a tiny motion to potentially deflect a blade.
A crystal from the perspective of an Edrian lancer showed me how he could use transference sorcery to hurl himself high into the air, then blast himself downward with incredible force. He’d use his shroud to both empower his strike and cushion his impact. The style reminded me of my old rival, Velas.
I watched that one more than once.
As we watched the crystals, Dawn and I gradually got a little bit better at communicating while I was using them, but it remained extremely difficult. I tried closing my eyes before using the memory crystals, and that seemed to help with her experience, but she still had difficulty seeing it.
We spent much of the night viewing the crystals Lia had available, then met up with Reika to get some much-needed sleep.
***
The next day, Reika and I met with Grandmother Iron to begin training with her.
“You’re capable fighters already, so I’m not going to treat you like children. My lessons will focus on educating you about local fighting traditions to better prepare for your opponents, as well as to correct any flaws I note in your style from your performance in training or tournament rounds.”
“Yes, Grandma.” Reika replied.
“We’ll begin with discussing what I believe each of you should work on. First, both of you appear to be suppressing your shrouds completely. While I can understand wanting to keep your power hidden for future rounds, suppressing it entirely is dangerous. You can show at least a Carnelian-level aura and no one will question it. Is there a reason you’re suppressing your shrouds entirely?”
I’d known this would come up eventually, but it was still awkward.
Ssh, Dawn.
I spoke up before Reika had a chance to. “We have our reasons for that. We’ll discuss it later and decide if we can share everything with you.”
Iron gave me a withering look. “If you expect me to help you, some honesty is going to be required in return.”
“I don’t like keeping secrets, but sometimes it’s necessary. This is nothing personal.”
She shook her head. “Very well. I’ll tolerate this for now, but you should know it will make your training more difficult.”
“We’re really sorry, Grandma. We’ll, uh, discuss things soon.” Reika looked abashed. Given her lack of social exposure, she probably wasn’t used to being admonished.
“Fine, fine. Let that discussion be over with.” Grandmother Iron sighed. “Individual things, then, and less secret ones. Keras, you don’t seem very familiar with the local fighting styles and attunements. Is that correct?”
I nodded. “I know a bit about them, but not a lot.”
“Valian education is so riddled with holes.” She shook her head. “Never mind. We will teach you what you need to know.” Iron turned to Reika. “You have been fighting unarmed.”
“Yep!”
“While I note that you tend to shapeshift, and thus wearing armor may be inappropriate, I would still strongly advise using a weapon. I recognize that Valian guardians often fight with their bare hands, but to do so without using a shroud...” She shook her head. “You’re at a terrible reach disadvantage, and you leave your arms and legs vulnerable. Anyone with a speed advantage will cut you to ribbons.”
Reika withered at the scrutiny. “I, uh, don’t like weapons very much. I tried a spear for a while, but it felt unnatural.”
“We w
ill have you try some other options. At a bare minimum, perhaps some greaves or sabatons to compliment your gauntlets. Vambraces as well, if they would not prevent you from changing shape.”
“I...guess a little bit of armor wouldn’t hurt.” She sounded hesitant.
“We will also give you some weapons training. Even if you choose not to use a sword in battle, you should be aware of how your opponents will. Then you will be better prepared to avoid and counter their moves.”
Reika gave a nod at that. “That’s fine. As long as you don’t expect me to use one all the time.”
“Very well. We will begin your training immediately. Keras, today you’ll be working with Walter, since he has some contracts with the same mana types you use. Reika, you will be training with me directly today.”
I had questions about what she meant by contracts, but they would have given a great deal away about what I didn’t know. I still wasn’t sure how much I wanted to say to Grandmother or her other students.
I’d been honest when I’d said that Reika and I needed to talk. Whether or not we’d confess our lack of attunements was a big decision, and one that could have serious long-term consequences for us.
For the moment, though, it was time to train with a new partner.
Chapter XII – Rondo of Swords
“We’re not training here.” Walter explained when I went to meet with him. “Follow me.”
He led me out of the Study of Iron and toward the main arena. “There’s one main stage for the arena that’s used for large events, like the preliminaries you participated in. Right now, that one is being used for secondary matches that aren’t a part of the tournament. You can sign up for those if you’d like. They’ll earn you money, but not points. It’s a good way to size up the competition.”
I nodded. “Is that where we’re going?”
“No. I wouldn’t mind watching you up there — or we could even try to get matched against each other sometime to get some practice on the stage — but for the moment, we’re going to one of the smaller side stages. There are thirty-two of them. They’re used for some events, but when they’re not being used for the main tournament, they can be rented out for private use.”
