Nikolas Vorick had never found much value in religion and had never witnessed to his satisfaction convincing evidence of the divine. Until today.
Perhaps there is a god after all, he thought. And I am He.
After a time, practical matters overcame his delight, and he picked through the piles of bodies, draining the last of them for every ounce of power to fill the cepps that clothed him. He could sense the coral plates had not yet reached their limits and grew frustrated with himself for becoming caught up in the joy of the destruction and failing to completely drain all his victims. Some had lost their energy now, their power spilling out into nothingness as they died, and he cursed himself for his inattention. Still, he had turned at least eighty to dust and partially drained many of the others who had fallen. It was enough.
He hoped that the armor retained the magic as well as normal coral cepps did. He would not often have the chance to do this sort of thing. Perhaps he would need to create those opportunities. This had been fun.
He walked back to his army under a much lighter load than when he had left them. A slight rubbing of a coral plate in his back caused irritation, and he channeled power into the silk undergarment to strengthen it. He lifted the visor on his helm, then spoke to Jahmai, who stood in stunned silence along with the rest of the soldiers.
"You have five hundred men. They are down to two hundred," Vorick said. "Finish it. Rescue my town and my mine."
My town. My mine. He loved the sound of those words. Yes, they were his. Nothing would stand in his way now. Soon it would all be his.
The men were slow to move, having witnessed something that belonged in legend, or perhaps in scripture. Vorick noticed their inaction, yet didn't repeat himself. Instead, he raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to give Jahmai a look of impatient expectation. The captain snapped into action, shouting at the surrounding soldiers to carry out their minister's orders.
Vorick put Flay back in her scabbard, removed his gauntlets, then barked back at Jahmai. "And get me something to eat."
Part Three
The Humble Guardian stood on the hill, surrounded by a thousand foes. His mighty men had fallen in the fight, and only he remained. Separated from his Oracle, he lamented his imminent death only because he would no longer be able to protect her. Squeezing his bare toes into the soft earth, he wondered how many of the enemy would fall before the soil would be wet with his own blood.
Oracle, Guardian, and King by Jehosephat Marque - 605PB
26
Guardian
The Cavern
Twenty-Two Days after Announcement
Nara woke early, although morning could be hard to discern in the constant illumination of the cavern. She walked out through the tunnel to make sure that the sun had risen. She smiled as it greeted her, still low in the sky. She stood for a time, watching the breeze on the high branches of the trees, thinking of what would come next in their lives. They couldn't stay here forever, and an urgency was taking root in her. An urgency to find her sister. To learn more about magic. And to use it.
Anne had spoken of how some people were broken, and that was how magic leaked out. But the world was also broken. The rich preyed on the poor. Children were given gifts that were used in war. Used to kill. It was all wrong.
Dei seemed silent in all of this, but Nara didn't have to be. With Mykel by her side, could she change things? If she could find her sister, who might also have magic, they would be even stronger. They could make a difference. They could matter.
She walked back inside and found had Bylo already risen and was practicing the protection rune on the stone table. Anne stood next to him, watching.
Nara approached closely enough to hear, but remained behind the stone pillar, out of sight.
"Almost ready," Bylo said to Anne. "Soon."
"Okay," Anne said. "Soon it is."
"I'll need more ink," he said.
"And you'll have some," Anne said.
Mykel was going to get his tattoo. There was comfort in how Anne was guiding them, working for their protection, like a good friend. Or a mother. Nara wandered away from the pillar, crossing the cavern slowly to sit in the bed of fire weeds and wondering what it would have been like to have a mother. Or perhaps a grandmother. What would her life have been like if she had known a woman who made sacrifices for the benefit of those that she loved? Who cared for Nara like Bylo always had?
Her thoughts moved to the plants about her, how they gave up their seeds to power the light runes, and through the light, brought life to the entire chamber. Such a small creation, these weeds, but they gave so much life.
She gently touched a weed. The petals retracted slightly, and the action surprised her enough that she pulled away quickly, impacting another weed with the back of her hand. The weed she struck curled its petals rapidly in response, making a sound that was almost like a squeak. Pain? At the same time, several leaves on its stem stiffened and shot out to the sides, impacting neighboring weeds. Those weeds then contracted their own petals and shot out to the sides with the leaves on their stems, like the first, but to a lesser degree. It created a ripple effect among the bed of weeds, like the wave in a pond when a stone impacts the water.
Hurting one weed resulted in damage to so many others.
"I'm sorry, little weed," she said to the first one.
With the petals closed, she could no longer see the white fluffy seeds in the center of the blossom. They were locked away, as if the flower was protecting its treasures rather than sharing them with the world.
Nara swept her hand over a wide swath of the weeds. Many of them released white seeds, which were caught up in the air and drifted toward the ceiling, but the traumatized blossoms released none.
She blew air across the blossoms, and the undisturbed weeds let loose an even greater quantity of seeds than when she had swept her hand across them.
"Wow," she marveled aloud at the sight of the seeds floating upward.
She heard a sound and turned to see Anne approaching.
"They close up when you are harsh with them," Anne said, "but if you're gentle, they let go of their treasures."
"And if you blow on them," Nara said, "they release so much more." She blew on a blossom to demonstrate, and it loosed a plentiful puff of seeds. She turned back to the pained ones. "I wonder how long they need to recover from the shock."
"The same is true of people," Anne said. "When we are in pain, we bear little fruit. We often retreat into ourselves and are of little use to anyone."
"Or we spread the pain to others like this one did." She pointed to the weed that she had struck with her hand. Its petals remained tight, its leaves still stiff and out to the sides as if it was unforgiving, or perhaps, still afraid.
"Yes. But when they are ready, and shown love, even the wounded can forgive, forget, and bless others with their treasures." Anne said. "I'm going to teach Mykel. I could use your assistance."
Nara wondered what help she could provide in teaching someone how to fight. "You're going to hurt him, aren't you?"
"He'll be uncomfortable, yes. That's part of growth, isn't it?"
Nara said nothing.
"Your choice." Anne left her alone.
Seeing Mykel train, sharing the joy of his learning and the sense of victory he would have in acquiring new skills was appealing. He had wanted to learn these skills for a long time. Didn't every boy dream of becoming a soldier and fighting in battles?
But the pain.
Nara stood, finally resolving to be with him during this time. The walk across the cavern came with trepidation, however. The closer she was, the more she felt his pain. She felt it even more with Mykel than with other people, perhaps because of their friendship and the time they'd spent together.
Other people didn't experience sympathetic pain the way she did, but didn't they still feel it, in a sense? Didn't a parent suffer when a child was hurt? Didn't friends or lovers share each other's burdens—physical, emotional,
or otherwise? She would try to endure it, for his sake.
When she came upon the training area, Nara found Mykel standing in a wide stance, arms held out in front of him, hands bladed, with fingers straight. Gwyn was next to him, a mirror image; both were following Anne's directions.
"Keep your hands high, but not in front of your eyes. You need to see what's coming your way," Anne said. "Keep your feet apart, providing a strong base. Shuffle them as you move, never cross them. Too easy to lose your balance. And don't wear shoes, Mykel. Not ever. Your bare feet give you a better grip of the earth, better balance, and a foundation for faster action."
Nara watched Mykel squeeze his feet against the stone floor, and she sat down. She took off her own shoes in solidarity with him, resting her soles against the cool surface of the stone, hoping to share in the experience.
Anne stepped closer to Mykel, one hand on her walking stick to support herself. "Time for some fisticuffs, young warrior."
Mykel grinned, and Nara could see his eagerness.
"Bend your knees more. Yes, that's the way. This deep stance is called earth stance. Solid, a great base for some actions, but slow to move or react. You can't lose your balance easily, but neither can you quickly attack. Now, you'll learn air stance."
Anne tapped his left foot with her stick. "Move this one back, bent, supporting most of your weight. Keep your arms out in front, bent at the elbows, hands bladed high and ready to react, palms forward."
Mykel followed her directions, and Gwyn mirrored Mykel's movements.
"Your front leg is bent as well, your heel is high, and some of your weight is borne on the ball of your foot. Light. Quick to react, to spring forward, to block, kick, or step aside. Light as air."
As Mykel moved his right foot, his hands relaxed.
"Hands up!" Anne said. "Always up! Ready to protect your face."
Anne gestured, and Gwyn moved to stand in front of Mykel.
"And no healing until you're told," Anne said. "Defend only; don't counter."
Gwyn punched him in the nose and Nara immediately put a hand to her own face, her eyes tearing up with the sympathetic pain. Slow to react, Mykel had taken the blow squarely, painfully.
"Air stance!" Anne yelled. "Hands up. Dodge the next one!"
He put his right foot forward, on its toes, left leg bent slightly in support, squaring his shoulders again, but getting the stance wrong. Anne moved his foot and adjusted his shoulders. Gwyn jabbed again, but this time Mykel stepped to the left with his support leg, dodging her attack, his left hand brushing against her fist to guide it away from its intended target.
"Good," Anne said. "Keep going."
For the better part of an hour, Gwyn punched Mykel. Sometimes in the face, sometimes in the gut. She tripped him and kicked him and elbowed him in the ribs. He tried to remain in air stance the whole time, and every once in a while he dodged or blocked the blows. Most of the time he just suffered.
At the end of the session, bloodied and broken, Mykel was permitted to take a break. He came over to Nara, his hair and brows wet with sweat, his shoulders slumped.
"I'm not feeling much like a warrior right now," Mykel said.
"I think you're doing great," Nara said. "But you should rest."
"I'm going to lie down in the grass for a while."
Nara smiled, grateful for the respite herself, as she didn't know how much longer she could endure Mykel's discomfort. Anne came over to sit next to Nara while Mykel walked toward the grass.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm okay," Nara said, but it was a lie. Feeling Mykel's pain was horrible, and she didn't see the point of all this training. Why did people fight? They should be building things, cooking, traveling, eating, and laughing. Not hurting one another.
"Want some help?"
"What do you mean?"
"Flare the earth rune, and at the same time reach to the ground below. But don't shape it. Just reach."
Nara did as she said, closing her eyes and flaring the symbol she had seen in Bylo's book, the symbol that had helped her command the earth. She reached out through the smooth, cool stone beneath her feet and sensed many of the things that the earth touched. Mykel's bare skin against the earth made him easy to detect, but she could also identify the roots of the trees, the grass, and, in the distance, the fire weeds. "I can feel his footfalls. And more."
"Yes," Anne said.
"Mykel. His feet walking across the stone. He's tired. I can tell that he's tired."
"Yes."
"How do you know all this, Anne?"
"Well," she said, chuckling. "You live a few centuries, you pick up a few things."
Nara smiled.
"When you reach through the earth, it should diffuse the pain for you. Make it more bearable, as if it is sharing the burden a bit. It won't take it all away, but it should help with the headaches as well."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
A short time later, Nara joined Mykel on the grass near the fruit tree, lying down with care so as not to disturb him.
As her head reached the grass, Mykel stirred, looking over at her.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"I wasn't sleeping. Can't seem to calm down."
"Thinking about?"
"Dimmitt. Sammy. And how long we can stay here."
"I'm worried too," Nara said.
"When Bylo gives me the new tattoo—“
"We will go," Nara finished. "Yes. I want to find my sister, if I can."
"Okay," Mykel said. "Dimmit. Sammy. Then your sister?"
"Yes. Hopefully, Bylo will be okay with it."
"Does it matter?" Mykel asked.
"Yes, it matters. I care what he thinks. But if he says no, I'll probably go anyway. Still coming?"
"Of course," Mykel answered. "I'll never leave you, Nara."
She reached over, and her fingers found his hand. She clasped it firmly, her head turning to look up at the cavern ceiling as she smiled. "I know you won't."
"What will you say to your sister if you find her?" he asked, still holding her hand as they now both stared up at the cavern ceiling.
"I really don't know."
When the next training session began, Nara's bare feet were on the stone, reaching out to Mykel as he squared up against Gwyn. Nara felt him through the earth. Through her magic.
"Okay, now you know what happens if you're slow and let yourself get hit," Anne said. "This time, you'll learn counterattacks. Pull your punches. Gwyn can't heal like you can. And keep air stance light and tight; every time you get sloppy, you get hit."
Mykel nodded.
Anne taught that air stance was not merely a defensive posture, but allowed transition into offense once the attacker committed to closing the distance. With good balance and light feet, the posture allowed control over the engagement, giving Mykel his choice of several responses to his opponent. If his enemy came at him with a haymaker, he could stabilize his position with a deep bend of his knees, dodging the blow and pushing forward with his support leg to drive his elbow into the ribs of the unbalanced combatant. If the enemy led with a front kick, he might block the leg, crush the knee with his elbow, or simply push her off balance. If his opponent led with a roundhouse or wheel kick, Mykel could drop below the attack and take the attacker off her feet with a foot sweep, or use a low kick to break her shin.
But Gwyn was so fast that he rarely managed any of these things, and he got hit again and again. Due to her connection with the earth, Nara felt the pain lessen, but she knew it provided no salve for Mykel. Unless…
Eyes still open, she reached out to him, but instead of just sensing his movements and emotions, she sent her strength to him. He must have felt something because a look of surprise crossed his face, and Gwyn managed to land a front kick in his gut when he failed to react.
"Nara," he said, doubled over in pain, trying to stand back up.
"Sorry, Mykel."
Gwyn gave them an odd look, but Anne smiled.
"No, it's okay," Mykel said. "Do it again."
The second hour of training welcomed many more bruises and a few broken ribs, but Nara was able to keep the connection to him, lend him some of her strength, and mute the pain on her end at the same time. Even though she was standing more than twenty feet away, in a sense, she was fighting by his side. The pace of his movements picked up; her efforts were clearly empowering him.
Even though Anne had told him not to, Nara sensed Mykel flare health to repair a bruised thigh that had received one too many roundhouse kicks from Gwyn's lightning-fast feet. When Gwyn swung a kick for the injured thigh again, Mykel anticipated the attack and left air stance, interrupting her with a lunge forward. It closed the distance and placed him inside her guard to perform a double-punch to her gut and sternum. She flew back more than ten feet under the strength of his blow.
Anne clapped. "Well done. But you cheated."
Gwyn, breath knocked out of her, got to her feet.
"Sorry," he said, offering a hand and helping her up.
"It's okay. I deserved that," Gwyn said. "I was picking on you, but you are learning fast, Mykel. You were born to this."
"Thank you."
"I mean it," she said. "Even without your healing, you have a talent for this. I've never trained with anyone who learns so fast."
"I may have had a little help," he said, looking to Nara and smiling.
Nara gave a sly grin, and Gwyn returned a puzzled look. Then both Nara and Mykel laughed.
"Time for a break," Anne said. "Please get Bylo, then come find me."
Nara found Anne in the back of the sleeping alcove, staring at a darker section of the wall. There were no runes illuminating the area, yet Anne stared at the blank section of rock, motionless. Was she remembering something?
The Godseeker Duet Page 22
