Midshipwizard Halcyon Blithe

by James M. Ward

  A few days later, Halcyon leaned on the forecastle bulwark looking down at the open center deck below. It was just seven bells of the morning watch and usually he should be in his bunk sleeping by now. Later in the day, his duty called for blast-pike practice, and he wanted to see the dragonship's marines go through their paces during their morning drill with that same weapon. He'd hoped watching them might give him pointers he could use in his own practice session.

  Chief Fallow directed the blast-pike drilling of all the men on the ship. He was the Arcanian navy champion with the blast-pike. Hal also noticed Lieutenants Anderson and Jillian Durand down there throwing spells at marines while the troopers tried to block the magical attacks.

  "Mr. Blithe, what is the twentieth navy Article of War," barked the captain, startling the young midshipwizard from his concentration of the action below.

  Halcyon whirled and stood at attention. "Sir, the twentieth navy Article of War states, 'All spies, and all persons whatsoever, who shall come, or be found, in the nature of spies, to bring or deliver any seducing letters or messages from any enemy or rebel, or endeavor to corrupt any captain, officer, mariner, or other in the fleet, to betray his trust, being convicted of any such offense by the sentence of the court-martial, shall be punished with death, or such other punishment as the nature and degree of the offense shall deserve and the court-martial shall impose.' Sir."

  "Letter-perfect, that was well spoken, Mr. Blithe," the captain said. "I notice you watching the marines practice with their blast-pikes. It isn't the most elegant of weapons. Certainly, it doesn't have the style and multifunctionality of the saber, but Arcania can be proud of how the blast-pike performs in battle. Are you nervous about your session this afternoon?" There was a stern look on the captain's face, but Halcyon thought he noticed a friendly gleam in the captain's eyes.

  "Sir, I have never used the weapon before and want to do as well as possible. I thought watching them practice would help me understand the weapon better," Halcyon nervously answered his captain.

  The captain leaned over the rail and looked down at the marines at work. "I remember my first practice session with the Arcanian blast-pike. It didn't go well. The weapon is serviceable, but sabers are better.

  "Blast-pikes are a weapon unique to Arcanian navies. The rowan wood of the staff grows only in the high mountains at the center of our island nation. The enchanted metal for the blast-pike weapon head comes from clans of sprites on the east side of Arcania.

  "Skilled use of the pike allows someone with no magical talent at all to block spell attacks made at them, as the wood and metal of the weapon absorb the spell if positioned properly.

  "I have a bit of advice I would like to impart to you, Mr. Blithe. Our Senior Chief Petty Officer Fallow is remarkable in his use of the weapon. I've noticed he often tries to get in close under the blade of his opponent to try all sorts of expert maneuvers. When you practice with the weapon, choke up on the shaft so that the back half of the weapon is at your side and no more than half the weapon is in front of you. As I remember, you are the seventh son of a seventh son, aren't you?"

  Still at attention, Halcyon had no idea why the captain asked him that question. "Why, yes, sir, I am. Is there a problem, sir?"

  "No, no. I just think our good chief is in for an interesting surprise this afternoon." Captain Olden turned, chuckling to himself. Over his shoulder, he said, "Carry on, Midshipwizard, carry on."

  Blithe found himself uncomfortable under the attention of the captain. He didn't know quite how to take what the captain said. He would certainly try to hold the weapon as the captain advised. He looked down at the rows of marines using the blast-pike; many of them held it just as the captain had suggested. He could hear Chief Fallow talking about fighting Maleen shapechangers.

  "Nasty monsters, those Maleen shapechangers, I'm told. I haven't faced one in combat yet. I've heard a lot of talk about dealing with them. The blast-pike is the perfect weapon for opening up those devils." Fallow was at the center of a large circle of marines. He held the pike lightly in his two hands.

  "If you know you're fighting a shapechanger—" Chief Fallow stopped for a moment and leaned his body on the standing pike shaft. "Don't any of you lugs ask me how to tell if you are fighting a shapechanger. If you face an enemy that has more eyes than it should or has claws instead of hands, you're probably fighting a shapechanger. If you are ever in doubt just believe you're fighting a monster and maybe you'll live a few heartbeats longer.

  "If you are fighting such a monster, arm and leg strikes won't hurt that type of foe a bit. Swing for the monster's neck or jab into the monster's body."

  Fallow followed both of these instructions with demonstrations of the proper swing and the proper jab.

  Halcyon thought he'd rather have a blast-pike in his hand if he faced a shapechanger, rather than a saber. Come to it, he'd like to be behind the barrel of a blast-tube if he was going to get his wish. His brothers and uncles had never once talked about fighting and killing one of those creatures in a battle.

  Fallow ordered all of the marines to pair off and begin sparring with each other.

  Then he noticed the marine that could only be Corporal Denna Darkwater. She was a large, well-muscled woman. At the moment when Blithe's eyes fell upon her, she used the butt end of her blast-pike to smash the chin of her fellow marine in the course of a mock battle. The man fell to the deck, knocked out by the blow. Darkwater didn't even look concerned. She picked up a small bucket by the railing and threw its water in the face of the unconscious marine. He didn't react at all to the water, but his chest was heaving up and down. He wasn't dead.

  Noting the condition of her last adversary, she looked around for another sparring partner. Halcyon saw several marines move to other parts of the deck to avoid her gaze. Finally she found an equally large marine and they began a bout with the pikes.

  He watched her through the entire practice. When it was all over, he went to his bunk and had a tough time getting any rest. Parts of his body were already starting to ache from the blows he knew he would receive. It didn't help that a frustrated Hackle barked at some of the other midshipwizards, but thanks to Tupper and Halcyon, all of the others knew their Articles letter-perfect. Even through Hackle's complaining, Halcyon was able to finally fall asleep with a smile of partial success on his lips.

  Five bells clanged the afternoon watch and Senior Chief Petty Officer Ashe Fallow stood in front of the lieutenants, lieutenants junior grade, and midshipwizards. He was dressed in padded armor from head to foot. A heavy metal helm covered most of his head, but didn't hide the glare he was using on the officers in front of him. At that moment, rank didn't mean a thing. They were all supposed to dance to the chief's tune. He knew this, and his glaring expression told of his glee at the situation.

  An eight-foot-tall Arcanian blast-pike spun lazily back and forth in both of his hands. He held it up for all of them to see.

  "This is the finest weapon on the face of this earth. During practices, the razor-sharp metal of this pike head magically dulls itself so that it won't cut into your flesh. The metal does raise a nice bruise, however." He smiled almost evilly at all of them when he said this last. "Arcania is justly proud of its navy and the men who use these pikes. You all need to know how to use them. As Commander Wily is fond of saying, the Maleen love to close with their foes, board them, and attack hand-to-hand. This weapon takes away their troops' advantages in height and strength.

  "Look at the spike; it's perfect for punching through armor." He twirled the pike as if it weighed nothing and lunged with the weapon. Fully six feet of it was in front of the chief. All those encircling him well imagined that spike cutting into the flesh of a foe.

  "Observe the V-shaped blade, perfect for hooking a foe or chopping a neck." There was a log behind the chief, and he whirled, chopping the ten-inch-thick log in half, only to whirl again to face Halcyon with the weapon as if the chop took no effort at all.

  "I have y
ou all in a circle," Fallow said, looking around the group. "I want you to observe what others do as I spar with each of you. While I'm speaking imitate my moves; get set!"

  The group was in the largest circle possible at the center of the open deck. Some of them were back as far as the port and starboard railings. There was about four feet between each officer.

  Off-duty crew lined up along the forecastle, as the chance to see an officer bashed in any way presented an unusual entertainment no one wanted to miss. Many others looked down from the rigging among the sails.

  Chief Ashe turned his body sideways and presented a thin silhouette. He also held the pike vertically in front of him. "Merand, lightning-bolt me!" First Class Midshipwizard Alvena Merand appeared startled by the order and the tone of voice; that didn't stop her from reaching out with one hand and throwing a powerful stroke of lightning right at the chief. The bolt crackled loudly from her hand, striking the pike in front of its wielder. The weapon clearly absorbed the potent magical energy, as the chief's body didn't even twitch when the magic hit his pike.

  As Halcyon stood in the same pose as the chief, he could well imagine the usefulness of the weapon in a magical battle. That bolt he saw the midshipwizard hurl would have burned and knocked over an unprepared foe.

  "Ah, she throws a mean bolt, our midshipwizard does. As you can see, it means nothing when she's faced with a foe who knows how to use a blast-pike," Fallow said.

  Out of the stairwell from the middle deck strode Corporal Darkwater with her blast-pike in hand. All she had on for padding was thick leather armor on her arms and chest and a metal chest plate covering her front and back.

  Dart nudged Halcyon. "You're in for rough seas, my lad, sink me if it isn't so. Keep your distance from her if you can, my bucko, that's a mean one she is."

  Darkwater walked to the center of the circle and looked right at Blithe. There was an evil grin on her face. She was assessing him with her stare. He could see her looking him up and down, judging his strength. He tried to keep a bland face, but he'd never been appraised like a piece of beef before. His entire body tensed up from her gaze.

  He tried doing the same to her.

  Darkwater was tall, almost as tall as Halcyon. She twirled the heavy blast-pike just as the chief did, but she did it faster. Her eyes were almost black and her gaze never left Blithe's face. Her hands were heavily callused and her arms and legs were unusually thick. Her face was long, and even her neck was thickly muscled. Unlike that of most Arcanian women, her hair hung tight and short to her head. He noticed that her eyebrows were unusually thick.

  Fallow shifted to a guard position with his pike, and everyone but Darkwater imitated him. "We have a tradition on this dragonship allowing our best marine to spar with the newer officers. It gives the marines a chance to practice some more and it allows officers to learn to deal with deadly opponents. Mr. Blithe, I believe you are the newest of our officers, front and center, if you please."

  Sweat poured off of Blithe as he stepped into the center of the circle. His hands were wet around the shaft of his pike. It felt unusually heavy in his grip. He'd been warned by his mates just how bad Darkwater was going to be and seen evidence of it with his own eyes that morning.

  He didn't have the good advice of his relatives to fall back on, as they hadn't talked about practicing with blast-pikes. He took a calming breath and tried to hold the pike as the captain suggested and he'd observed earlier. He knew she was going to get as close to him as possible, trying to fist him unexpectedly. He practiced in his mind what he would have to do to avoid that blow.

  Five feet away, Darkwater started twirling her pike as if it weighed nothing. First, she would spin it with one hand, and then the other.

  "Nothing fancy, Corporal. Just trade blows with our Mr. Blithe. He's a Lankshire man; expect him to give a good account of himself. Begin!" Ashe Fallow ordered.

  With the word to start, Halcyon shed his nervousness. He lost sight of the ship and the people around him. His world focused down to Darkwater. Getting knocked unconscious was the worst that could happen to him, he thought to himself. That was nothing to be afraid of, especially in front of his shipmates, he kept telling himself.

  He took a step forward with his pike at his side. It was what Darkwater was waiting for.

  She rushed him and easily batted his pike head with her own weapon. With only one hand on her pike, she took great pleasure in striking at him with her free fist.

  Expecting the blow, Halcyon turned to the side. The fist struck his thigh.

  Totally off balance and surprised by his move, the corporal was caught off guard when Blithe thrust both his arms forward; his pike shaft smashed the corporal in the face, knocking her backward.

  Blood gushed from the split lip and Darkwater angrily looked back at Halcyon. "Good one," she said, but she didn't sound happy.

  Halcyon would have offered her his hand and apologized, but the corporal wasn't interested in his pity. She charged him again. Her look was murderous. She wasn't practicing anymore; she wanted to do real damage to him.

  Blithe took a step back and held his pike just as the captain suggested. Quite by accident, the butt of his weapon struck the deck.

  All Halcyon had in mind was to keep the pike head between his body and the corporal's. He also didn't want her to be able to bat aside his weapon as easily as she had before. He gripped the blast-pike as tight as he could to stop her from doing that again.

  "Corporal, calm down!" the chief shouted, but she wasn't listening.

  Screaming like a banshee, she rushed him and once again tried to bat aside his pike.

  Blithe was holding his ground and his broad shoulders and arms were almost as large as Darkwater's. In his firm grip, his pike head didn't move an inch from her parrying attack.

  She ran herself right up onto his point. The inertia of her rush lifted her up on his weapon. Her entire body rose over his head on the pike as her forward motion and weight did all the work. She came crashing down on the other side of Halcyon and hit the deck hard. She lay flat, barely moving. There was a grim smile on her face, even when she showed herself to be unconscious.

  The watching crew shouted in glee and began cheering, "Huzzah!"

  The pikes of the rest of the circle of watchers beat repeatedly on the deck in praise of his lucky action.

  All Halcyon could do was look on in worry. He could tell she was breathing. At least his attack hadn't killed her. He didn't really know exactly what he had done; it all happened so fast.

  "Bucket, Surehand," the chief ordered.

  Dart picked up one of the several buckets of seawater around the circle. He dashed it in her face and all she did was groan. "Sink me if our good corporal doesn't seem to have gotten as good as she's given all these years. Chief, I don't think she's getting up for a while," Dart remarked.

  "You idiots up on the forecastle come down here and carry Darkwater to sickbay. Get a move on." When the chief barked an order, men moved. Six of the largest seamen picked up Darkwater, showing great difficulty at the task, partly because she was heavy and partly because they were laughing so hard.

  "Let's get back at it, shall we? Blithe, that was a well-considered set of moves. You obviously knew she was coming to take your head off. That sideways tactic showed cleverness. Come forward and we will try that..."

  "Chief." Officer Wily walked into the circle with a blast-pike in his hand.

  Everyone stood at attention.

  "Sir!" Chief Fallow said as he came to attention.

  "At ease, all," Wily said, smiling to the group. "I heard you mention my name at the beginning of the practice and saw our Mr. Blithe best the fierce Corporal Darkwater. I have a fancy to spar a bit with you if you don't mind."

  Halcyon got out of the circle, not wanting to get in the middle of such a battle, wondering who would get the best out of the match.

  Fallow kept a respectful tone, filled with concern. "Sir, you don't have any padding on. If you want to joi
n the group we would be honored, but maybe you want to equip yourself."

  Wily just smiled. He waved his hand in front of his chest and snapped his fingers. Instantly a red glow covered his entire body. The more experienced spellcasters in the group gasped in awe.

  Blithe gave Midshipwizard Boatson a questioning look.

  Boatson pointed at Wily, whispering, "That spell is called a Drusan shield. It takes most spellcasters two hours to cast it on themselves. Our Mr. Wily is so talented at magic use, he could do the spell in seconds. You should be impressed."

  "Chief, I'm ready to trade blows when you are?" Commander Wily seemed confident as he stood there with his blast-pike in one hand. At seven feet tall, he towered over the chief.

  Halcyon thought he noticed an odd glint in the chief's eyes.

  "Bouting rules or a free-for-all, sir?" said the chief as he started circling around the commander.

  "Oh, let's make it a free-for-all. I know you're much better when all the rules are suspended. Let's have at it, Chief." The commander went from relaxed to dangerous as his pike came up to face the chief's.

  Commander Wily kept up a dialogue as the pikes whirled at each other in a blur. "You all should consider yourselves lucky to be taught by Ashe, here. Chief Fallow is amazing with his pike. I've been watching him work you men for months now and he's impressed me every time I've observed him."

  In those few words, Halcyon saw the pikes strike each other at least seven times and both men circled the other twice. It almost seemed to Halcyon like Fallow was irritated that the commander could talk calmly while they dueled. Fallow seemed to move faster and faster, as if he was trying to take advantage of the fact that the commander couldn't have his entire concentration on the duel if he was talking as well.