Hail's Disciple

by A. J. Morton

  Kai bowed courteously. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lady Krysta. I do hope that my presence will be a boon to all of you.”

  “Yes…” Krysta responded. “With that out of the way, let us proceed to discuss the next Disciple that must join our ranks.”

  I lowered my head. “The Disciple of Umbra…”

  “Yes, Xander,” Krysta nodded. Everyone looked at her tensely. “Her name is Adriana Nihil, the daughter of Empress Nox Nihil of the Umbran Empire.”

  “The daughter of the Empress?!” Travis stopped his foot. “No way! No way in hell!”

  “I’m afraid we have little choice in the matter, Travis…” Krysta looked at Travis gravely. “She will be one of the valuable pieces we have on our board, if not the most valuable. Besides… If she is not with us, she will fight against us.”

  “Then we’ll just kick her ass then,” Travis fumed. “She. Is. An. UMBRAN! She can’t be trusted.”

  “Travis, I’ve seen down that road.” Krysta sighed. “Every possible future where we don’t have all nine Disciples leads in disaster. If we don’t speak to her, she kills us. She is a skilled fighter. She can kill all nine of us including Ana without breaking so much as a sweat. We need her. Whether you like it or not, Travis, she is joining us. She has to.”

  Travis clenched his fists. I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I know exactly how you feel Travis. Most of us probably feel it too. But we need all nine Disciples for this plan to work.”

  He looked down. I could tell he knew what had to be done. But whether he was willing to do it or not was an entirely different question. I moved in front of Travis, facing him. He raised his head to look me in the eyes.

  “Look at my eyes, Travis. Who am I?” I asked.

  “Y-You’re Xander Faust, my best friend.”

  “No, Travis,” I replied. “Who am I?”

  Travis thought about it more deeply before nodding his head and coming up with the response I wanted. “You’re a Glacian.”

  “Right. A Glacian,” I said. “I am a Glacian. And there are some people who would see me killed just for being one. People who would outcast me, hurt me, and fear me just for being who I am.”

  “Yeah, I know that,” Travis scratched his head. “But what does that have to do with… Oh...” He finally seemed to understand.

  “That’s right, Travis. Right now, you may be justified, but your mindset is only slightly better than that of one of those people.”

  Travis contemplated this for a few moments before nodding. “I… understand…” He submitted. “What’s the plan, Krysta?”

  Krysta smiled a bit. “I’m glad you’re on board, Travis. Now onto business.” She proceeded to explain the plan to us. “Adriana may be the daughter of the empress of the Umbran Empire, but her mother has given her rule over the nation of Terra, which was recently taken over by the Umbrans.”

  I looked to my left to see Travis clenching his fists, his eyes burning with resolve. “So… It’s finally time.” He muttered.

  “I use the word ‘rule’ rather loosely though,” Krysta continued. “She spends most of her days within the confines of her castle grounds, doing absolutely nothing. Her security will be off the charts, which means that there is only one way in. Walking in through the front door.”

  All of us just stared at her, completely lost. “What do you mean through the front door?” Ana asked Krysta what we were all thinking.

  “For sport, Adriana has people both Terran and Umbran duel each other,” Krysta explained. “She doesn’t mind where people hail from. All she wishes for is entertainment. The reward for the strongest of the duelists is a private audience with her. She will grant a single request, no matter what it may be. She would even offer her own body as a reward.”

  “So, if we compete and win, we can have her join us?” I asked.

  “Essentially,” Krysta said. “However, I can only have a single one of you enter the competition.”

  “Huh? Why is that?” Streltitzia asked.

  “Think about it,” Krysta replied. “This is dueling. She only rewards the strongest, so if all of us entered, we would have to face each other. A massive waste of time, wouldn’t you agree?”

  So, this was to be a solo mission. “Who should be the one to go?” I inquired.

  “Funny you should be the one to ask,” Krysta answered. “I was thinking that you would be our chosen duelist, Xander.”

  “Me? Why me?”

  “Above all else, Adriana wishes to see duels the likes of which she has never seen,” Krysta said. “She has seen people from just about every nation fight. Except for one. She has never seen a Glacian fight before. So being able to see one do battle right before her very eyes would almost certainly put you in her good graces.”

  “I see…” I scratched my chin. “Understood. I’m your man.”

  “Very well then. That concludes this meeting. Xander will be executing this mission on his own. The rest of you, minus Zephyr, may return to your quarters for the time being.”

  Zephyr nodded and took off, Krysta taking care to tell him which direction Terra was in this time. And we set off to our newest destination.

  The faraway Dominion of Terra.

  * * *

  The Dominion of Terra lay just to the north of the Aquan Peninsula. It had but a single city, a massive haven within a desert. It was the only landlocked city in Ubiaxus. Fitting, really. We landed on the sands just outside of the city.

  I made my way to the castle grounds at the center of town. I wore a black cloak with a hood, so as not to reveal my Glacian heritage just yet. I was not to reveal myself as one until the duel.

  As I walked through the streets, I took in my surroundings. There were merchants lining the streets, both Terran and Umbran. People moved past me, chuckling and chattering. The peace struck me as odd. Most of the Umbrans I had seen before were full of malice and bloodlust, but the ones here seemed content. It was both unsettling and comforting at the same time.

  Eventually, I made it to the castle gates. Two Umbran guards stood at the front, protecting the gates. When I made my way to them, they stopped me.

  “Halt!” The one standing to my left said. “What is your business here?”

  I carefully repeated the words Krysta told me to say. “I wish to compete for an audience with Lady Adriana Nihil.”

  The guard to my right grabbed my arm, sizing me up. “Hmm… You seem pretty scrawny. You don’t seem like you’d give Lady Nihil much of a show…” He sighed, shrugging. “What’s your name, kid?”

  “Xander Faust.”

  “Well… We haven’t had many duelists lately. It’s your funeral, kid. Follow me.”

  He turned around and opened the gates. I followed him through the entrance. We walked for just a few seconds before we made it to the castle dueling grounds. Two men and five women stood in a line before a single lady sitting on a golden throne. I filed in at the end of the line.

  “Ah, I see that you have found another one,” The lady on the throne said. She wore a luxurious black gown and had her pure black hair curled. As she swept her eyes across the room, an expression of pure delight appeared on her face. There was no doubt about it. This was the one I was looking for. Adriana Nihil.

  “Yes ma’am,” The guard bowed before her. “His name is Xander Faust.”

  Adriana nodded. “Thank you, my good man. You may return to your post.” The guard bowed again and left the room. Adriana’s gaze swept over all of us once more. “Hmm… That should be enough to entertain me,” she said. “Now it’s just a matter of who I shall have go first… Hmm…”

  I cleared my throat. Adriana turned her attention towards me. Once I had her attention, I knelt before her and spoke. “Your majesty, may I please offer a suggestion?”

  She smiled at me, amused. “Oh? This is a first.” Adriana smiled. “I will hear you out. What do you wish to suggest… Xander, was it?”

  I nodded. “I would like to do battle with all
of these duelists at once.” I turned over to the rest of the duelists, who were staring at me with their mouths agape. “The one of them who can even scratch me can have the reward. But if I manage to defeat all of them…” I smirked. “I will receive a reward large enough for all of us combined.”

  It was Krysta’s plan. The reason why she postponed my meeting with Adriana today was because she knew that all of today’s duelists would be weaker than me. If I had come here on any other day and tried this, I would be taken out almost instantly. Now it was just a question of whether Adriana would accept my proposition.

  Adriana smiled, laughing. “Oh, my! In all my years! That sounds simply BRILLIANT! I agree wholeheartedly! I like this one!” She composed herself, her expression suddenly becoming sober. “Although… I must ask… From where do you hail?” Adriana was suddenly staring daggers at me. “Why do you wear that hood and hide your face?”

  I removed the hood from my head. The men and women to my left gasped. Adriana herself simply seemed awestruck. “Oh, my word! I never expected for a Glacian to bless these halls!” She exclaimed. “Another change of plans! All of you, shoo!” She shooed all of the duelists out of the room except for me. All of the other duelists shuffled out of the room, glaring at me as though they meant to murder me.

  “Now that we are away from prying eyes…” Adriana addressed me after all of the other duelists had left. “I wish to speak to you… Disciple of Glacia.”

  I blinked. “How did you-”

  “The entire population of the Island of Glacia was destroyed.” Adriana interrupted me.. “I received word of that from my mother just a few days ago. But the strange thing about that was that the Disciple was nowhere to be found. It only makes sense that the Disciple would be you, the last remaining Glacian.”

  So, she knew about the Disciples and had figured out that I was one of them. From the elated look on her face, I couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing. I flinched as she stood up, stepping down from her throne. “I have yearned for this moment!” Adriana raved. “A Disciple! A good fight to be had! How exhilarating! I’ve been so bored!” She began to glow with a black aura. I stepped back from her slowly, not quite sure what to expect.

  “How about a new game, Xander Faust?” Adriana asked me. “You clearly came here because you want for me to join you. So if you are able to defeat me, in a duel, I shall join you without a fuss! So! Do we have a deal?”

  I searched her eyes for any sort of ulterior motive, but I couldn’t find any. All she wanted was a good fight. She didn’t even ask to receive anything if she won the duel. Something about this made me nervous though… It didn’t seem like Krysta had predicted this outcome at all.

  I dismissed these thoughts. “Very well,” I said. “Let’s do this!” If it was a fight she wanted then it was a fight she would have.

  She began to twitch with excitement. “Yes! This shall be absolutely lovely!” She summoned a scythe wrapped in darkness. The light around her began to fade away. Soon, the entire room gave way to shadow.

  The two of us stood alone in a black void, just a single white light shining high above us like a spotlight. Other than that, there was nothing, just the two of us standing in the darkness. “Welcome to the abyss! Nothing will interrupt us here!” Adriana smiled at me. “Now we shall begin!”

  She suddenly rushed at me with her scythe with blistering speed. She hit me with the blunt end of it before I could even react. She knocked me off my feet effortlessly. “And you better not hold back either. I sure won’t.”

  Chapter 11

  I didn’t even have enough time to stand before Adriana struck again. I rolled to the left, barely dodging her slash.

  I was in a bad spot. Without anyone at my side to defend, I couldn’t use the full extent of my power. Adriana, meanwhile, seemed to have full access to hers. For now, all I could do was fight with my daggers.

  Adriana’s first attack was a warning strike. Now she was attacking me nonstop, swinging at me mercilessly with her scythe. It was the best I could do just to keep dodging her.“Is that all you’ve got?” She mocked me as she continued slashing at me. It was the best I could do to d “I thought that Glacians were supposed to be strong. Give me a good fight or else!”

  I managed to dodge the final strike in Adriana’s barrage, only to get hit in the chest by a blast of dark energy from the tip of the scythe. I winced as it knocked me back to the ground.

  She walked towards me, frowning. “Is that all? I thought Glacians were supposed to be the most powerful mages in Ubiaxus.” She stopped, swinging her scythe over her shoulders. “I thought that you’d at least last about five minutes.”

  “Sorry… to disappoint…” I said through gritted teeth. A black circle appeared on my chest where Adriana had struck me. I felt indescribable pain, like something was digging deep into my skin. It was the best I could do to stand. “What… Did you do to me?”

  “Allow me to answer that question with another question,” Adriana replied. “What happens when you banish the darkness?”

  “It makes... light?”

  Adriana nodded. “Yes. Light and darkness are a perfect contradiction. It’s what separates them from the other elements. If you get rid of one, it creates another. There is no in between.”

  “Yeah? And what does that have to do with-AGH!” I circle in my chest pierced through my final layer of skin. Slowly, the circle began to turn white. “What’s… happening to me?”

  “As I said, banishing darkness creates light. The same applies to the abstract realm that the Dyad governs. So, if I get banish the shadows within your heart, your desire to defend will shine brighter than ever,” Adriana answered.

  All at once, the pain in my chest disappeared. The circle of light was still on my chest, but the pain that it brought was gone. I found myself unable to move. And when next my mouth opened, I found that the words weren’t my own.

  “So… A forced trance… Interesting,” Glacia said. She had taken control of my body again, just as she had back in Lumos. “I would like to dismiss this as an accident, but that seems too good to be true.” She shot Adriana a harsh look. “So, what do you want… Umbra?”

  Adriana seemed taken aback for a moment, before she laughed again. “As I expected. Nothing gets past you, Glacia. What tipped you off?”

  Glacia reached out into the abyss of darkness around us. “This darkness isn’t normal. It’s empty. Devoid of any light at all, despite the one you’re shining down on us. Only the goddess of darkness herself could create darkness this perfect. You’re no Disciple. You’ve put the girl in a permanent trance.” I felt my face twist into a scowl. “That and you were always fond of your games. So I’ll ask you again. What do you want, Umbra?”

  “Oh, I just wanted to be able to hear the anguish in your voice as I tell Xander here all of the lovely things that you’ve kept hidden from him,” Umbra replied. “And see if any of it will dissuade him from proceeding with your little plan.”

  Glacia tensed, clenching her fists. “No, you won’t.”

  She summoned Aegis Glacia, charging at Umbra. Umbra dodged the strike and, in a single fluid movement, cut the shield in two with her scythe.

  Glacia paused, looking at the shield, which had melted into a puddle on the ground. Umbra chortled at her. “You didn’t honestly think that would work, did you? I specifically banished the shadows obscuring you. But that didn’t change the fact that you still have nothing to defend. You’re powerless.”

  “Glacia, what’s she talking about?” I asked from within the confines of our mind. “Let her talk or tell me yourself. What are you hiding?” For the longest time, I had known that there was something that Glacia was hiding from me. I was done wondering. I had to know.

  Glacia remained completely silent. Umbra smirked at her. “By the look on your face, I can tell that the boy wants to know your secrets too. Very well. So do you wish to tell him or shall I?”

  “I will…” Glacia said muttered.
“There’s no point in hiding it now, I suppose. I would rather he hear it from me than from you.”

  “Very well,” Umbra said. “You may speak to him privately if you wish. But he must know of the price that will come with saving Ubiaxus. He deserves to know.”

  Umbra waved her hand, getting rid of the bright circle on my chest. And the second she did, I could feel my mind moving back into Glacia’s white room…

  * * *

  Glacia’s room was different this time. There was no table. No seats. No cups of tea. Glacia simply stood in front of me with a grave look in her eyes.

  She began immediately. “I’m sorry for all the lies, Xander. I truly am. I should have told you the whole truth a long time ago.” She was staring directly at me, not looking into the distance anymore. “That ends right now. It’s past time you know what you’ve signed up for. I swear from this moment, only words of truth will come from my lips.”

  “When first we met, I told you that you were a Disciple. One who has inherited my power and the embodiment of my essence. But this is but half of the truth. I have not told you just how much of my essence you have…”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “I know I have plenty of your essence. Isn’t that where my strength comes from?”

  “I haven’t just given part of my soul to you. I have given you all of it. The same applies to all of your friends as well. The moment you and I forged our contract, you lost all trace of your mortality.” She stared at me with a grim expression on her face. “You are not a man anymore, Xander. You are a god. The god of ice. That is the power that now lies dormant within you.”

  “I’m… A god?” I scarcely believed the words coming out of the goddess’s mouth. But still… I knew that they were true. She had fully joined my mind with hers. The wall between her thoughts and mine was gone. I knew that every word she spoke was true.