Beginning of a Hero (Legends of Windemere)

by Charles E Yallowitz

  “How are you feeling, Luke?” she asks as Kevin comes in and closes the door.

  Luke slowly reaches for a glass of water that is sitting on the table and takes a long, sloppy drink. He tries to talk, but his mouth is too dry and he has a horrible taste in the back of his throat. All he can do is hack and cough as he tries to drink more water once a nurse refills the glass.

  “You’re lucky that Aedyn, Theresa, and I were coming out to see what was making so much noise. We arrived just as you went down. Unfortunately, the Hellfire Elf escaped before we could get in range of it,” Selenia calmly says. She turns a chair backwards and straddles it, leaning her arms on the back. “Now, when you’re able to talk, I would like to find out what the hell you were thinking. Fritz was out cold for hours, you were on the verge of death for two days, and the entire academy is going on about demons. It’s a big mess that I expected you to avoid.”

  “Don’t pay her much mind, boy,” Kevin reassures Luke. “We’ve all been worried about you. Your charge was in danger and you jumped in to save her. That’s what any of us would do. I mean that when I say any of us . . .”

  “Don’t coddle him, Masterson!” Selenia demands.

  “This ain't coddling. This is being honest and he did what either of us would have done in that situation,” Kevin explains, putting a strong hand on her shoulder. She attempts shrug his hand away, but he grips her harder until she calms down. “It isn’t as bad as she makes it out to be, boy. The students are more concerned about you and Kellia than they are about a demon attack. Some of them are even looking forward to another attack because they believe it will give them a chance to show us what they’re made of. Though, I don’t think they will have to wait long. It’s been quiet for the past two days, but that could change at any point. Now, let the boy recover and then we can see what can be done about this mess, Selenia. Both of us have papers to file.”

  “What happened to Kellia?” Luke asks, his voice barely a whisper.

  “She was unharmed. More scared than anything else,” Selenia responds, smacking Kevin’s hand away as soon as his grip loosens. “I have her in a secret safe house. We’ve decided to take her out of danger since the Lich is obviously aware of her identity. It isn’t a decision for you to argue about. Kellia will be safer with me than out on academy grounds with you.”

  “It’s my responsibility to take care of her,” Luke insists. He pulls himself to the edge of the bed and tries to stand up. Aedyn moves to help him stay on his feet, but Luke manages to steady himself with a tight grip on the small table.

  Selenia gets to her feet and leans over to Luke. Her voice is surprisingly soft and maternal. “I believe this is out of your hands. I told you that I would intervene if you lost control of the situation. This is my academy and I will not have you putting my students in danger because of an unwarranted sense of pride. You can’t stand up to that thing again. It was only luck that helped you survive the first encounter.”

  Aedyn stamps his staff on the stone ground to get everyone’s attention. He looks very tired and it is obvious that the argument is annoying him. The priest takes a few deep breaths in an attempt to bring more color to his pale face.

  “Luke is fortunate to be alive. I will submit that as my professional opinion,” Aedyn explains, his voice raw and strained. “But he will not learn anything by you taking his mission away. This is an academy and I believe that it should be a place of learning before anything else. Luke is learning how to take care of things for himself without depending entirely on others, even if they are stronger than him. Through this, he will discover his strengths, his weaknesses, and his limits. You can protect Kellia if you like because it will make things easier for us.” He holds up his hand before Luke can argue. “Wait until I am done before you say something, Luke. I believe the problem of the Hellfire Elf and the Lich should be left to Luke. I believe he can win if he is not distracted by protecting someone other than himself.”

  Selenia grits her teeth, but doesn’t say anything. She glares at Kevin, who is grinning at the way she was stopped in her tracks. With only a nod toward Luke and Aedyn, she storms out of the room like she has somewhere better to be. Kevin chuckles to himself as he slaps Aedyn on the back. The impact nearly knocks the exhausted priest on his face and the old warrior swiftly helps Aedyn take a seat.

  “Only a handful of people in history have been able to subdue that woman with words. Welcome to the club, Karwyn,” Kevin good-naturedly announces. He takes a few seconds to observe the exhausted half-elves, eventually smiling with pride. “Now, you two take care of yourselves. I’ve got the usual work to take care of along with some special preparations. Duggan needs my help making extra weapons and armor in case things take a turn for the worse. Your classes have been suspended until this is over, Luke. Concentrate on the important things then worry about graduating from this academy. Now, I have to take care of the paperwork caused by you and this demon. When did my retirement become more work than my time on the road?”

  The half-elves are silent as Kevin leaves them in the infirmary. It doesn’t take long for both of them to collapse. Aedyn slumps in his chair, letting his staff clatter to the ground. Luke falls back onto the bed in order to roll onto his side and let his strength continue to slowly replenish itself. He goes back to mindlessly stroking the thin scar on his chest.

  “I wasn’t kidding, Luke. You are very lucky to be alive,” Aedyn declares, adjusting his robes and posture until he is comfortable. “The weapon that you were struck by was a Chaoswind. These are weapons forged from dark ritual sacrifices known only to demon summoners. The priesthood of Zaria has sworn to destroy every one of these weapons that they come in contact with. The followers of Durag have promised to aid them in this hunt. I never dreamed that I would have a chance to accomplish one of the great honors of destroying such an evil weapon. My superiors will be very pleased with my report even if I simply mention its existence.”

  Luke manages to whisper through his dry throat. “What do these weapons do that make them so dangerous?”

  “There is a demon’s essence encased in the weapon and this energy seeks to engulf any living aura that it comes in contact with,” Aedyn explains, taking a deep breath to clear his fuzzy vision. “The purer a person’s aura, the more pain the weapon causes as the demon essence tries to consume the pure aura from the inside out. I managed to stop its effect before it destroyed you and I apologize that I could not get rid of all of the damage. That scar will never heal.”

  “At least, I still have all my limbs and internal organs,” Luke states, picking up a long bundle that is sitting by the window over his bed. “What’s this?”

  Aedyn shrugs as Luke places the package on the bed. “A gift from Nimby, I believe. I don’t know what it is, though. I must go to my room and get some sleep. I’ve been chanting for two days straight to help you recover. If we are going to finish all of this soon then I need to recover my strength.”

  “Thanks a lot, Aedyn. I owe you one,” Luke promises.

  “I merely do the work of Durag. Get some rest,” Aedyn humbly says, getting to his feet and slowly heading for the door.

  After he unwraps the package, Luke can’t help but smile at what Nimby has left for him. Even in the dim candlelight, Luke can tell that he is holding the slender tail spike of one of the snake fiends that he had killed. Luke wraps the trophy up, putting it away before lying down on the cot and dozing off.

  *****

  Kellia grinds her teeth while she lies on the soft, four-post bed, staring at the wooden ceiling. A small table with two chairs sits against the wall, directly across from the only window in the room. On the table is a finely crafted chess set, which is frozen in the middle of a game where black is winning. Kellia thought it was a boring game anyway and she adamantly refuses to finish it with Kevin. Thankfully, the chessboard proved to be a big enough disappointment that Kellia was allowed to choose something else to occupy her time. The collection of weights and various b
oxing manuals litter the floor around the bed. Sadly, the workout equipment only kept her busy through the second day of her containment before she got bored again.

  “There has to be a law against this kind of treatment,” Kellia groans, stretching her arms. She rolls off the bed and wanders over to the closed window where she gently blows on a small sapphire embedded in the wall. A hazy shimmering briefly appears before her as the window opens without revealing itself to the outside world. Kellia enjoys the warm air with a deep breath as she looks at her classmates below.

  “Looks like Aedyn is done,” the heiress mutters when she notices the priest slowly leaving the infirmary. She watches as he stops to pat Stiletto on the head. The noble shepherd had refused to leave the entrance to the infirmary even when Selenia attempted to move him. Even now, the dog stubbornly remains at his post.

  Kellia turns away from the window, leaving it open to air out the room. “That mutt must want to gnaw my throat out.”

  “Why?” asks a childish voice.

  “Who’s there? I’m a dangerous person,” Kellia declares with a startled jump.

  “Fizzle too,” giggles the voice.

  “Fizzle? I know about you. You showed up in the cafeteria with Luke once,” says the heiress, relaxing slightly. “I’ve heard stories about you from some of the teachers too. You’re that drite who lives in Visindor Forest and mooches apples off the academy.”

  Kellia continues to look around in hopes of finding the invisible creature. Whenever she stops, she can barely hear the sound of fluttering wings. Her heart is racing after a minute of silence and she prays to every god that it is the friendly drite and not a cunning minion of the Lich. Her nerves on edge, she reacts on instinct when a small form lands on her head. Screaming, she throws the form off her head and backs away, gasping for air. She is still catching her breath as she watches the purple-scaled form of Fizzle materialize against the pillows of the bed. His body is upside down with his tail curled far enough over his body that it touches the top of his head.

  “That un-nice,” Fizzle whimpers.

  “So is landing on a hunted girl’s head without showing yourself,” Kellia gasps while she falls to her knees. “Be thankful I didn’t put you through the wall.”

  “Fizzle apol . . . apple . . . sorry. Fizzle not mean scare.”

  “Then, why are you here?”

  “To check on Kellia.”

  “What’s to check up on? I’m incarcerated in a room defended by trapdoors, false doors, minor wards, and illusions. People outside can’t see me unless they are a powerful caster, like you appear to be, and know where to look,” Kellia complains as she stands. In exasperation, she throws herself onto the bed, narrowly missing Fizzle. “The only positives to all this is that I get out of going to class and I’m not being held responsible for any homework that I miss. Not that any of my classes have homework since I chose all physical courses this semester. Well, there is Fritz’s class, but that’s a lost cause. If anything, I’m bored out of my mind.”

  “That bad. So, why Luke dog hate you?” the drite asks.

  “Luke nearly died trying to save me from that demon. He had no reason to save me given all the times I’ve broken his nose and called him names,” Kellia answers, trying not to become upset. “On top of that, for all my talk, I ended up freezing when it came time to fight. I’m no warrior and this disaster proved it. I’m nothing more than a tomboyish heiress who is responsible for Fritz being hurt, Aedyn exhausting himself, and Luke nearly getting himself killed.”

  Fizzle gently flutters over to her shoulder, cautiously landing softly. “Yes. You to blame.”

  “Yeah,” Kellia sniffles.

  “So Luke. So Fritz. So Lich. So father. So Selenia. So demon. So Fiz-” continues the drite until Kellia gently closes his mouth with two fingers.

  A spurt of rainbow smoke erupts from his nostrils, hitting her in the face. She immediately lets go of Fizzle and rubs at her eyes while the room awkwardly shifts around her. The walls appear to melt while skeletal hands worm their way out of the floor. One of the bedposts shatters to reveal a black, serrated blade that quickly flies toward the heiress. A pair of explosions behind her draws her attention before two sabers slam into the black sword. The phantom weapons batter each other, sending showers of sparks onto the bed. Kellia curls up into a ball, hoping the vision will disappear as soon as her eyes are closed, but the sound of metal on metal continues.

  “Make it stop,” Kellia pleads when she feels the skeletal hands grip her arms and legs. A high-pitched squeal cuts through the air and the illusions crumble into harmless, rainbow dust.

  “Fizzle sorry,” the drite says while being hugged tightly against Kellia’s chest.

  “Even my hallucinations believe that it’s my fault,” she cries, tears falling onto Fizzle’s face.

  “They not right. All to blame. You only one fac . . . fact . . . thing,” Fizzle explains, struggling with his limited vocabulary and scrunching his face in frustration. “Luke choose save you. That Luke fault. Demon choose hurt you. That demon fault. Kellia choose sleep in fight. That Kellia fault.”

  “I didn’t fall asleep. I froze,” Kellia snaps, a current of loathing in her voice. “That’s worse considering I’m here to learn how to be a warrior and a leader. Neither of those roles allow for locking up in terror.”

  Fizzle pats her on the head with his tail. “All freeze when young. Luke freeze in forest during secret visit. Fizzle save from spider. Wait! That secret. No tell Luke.”

  “There are giant spiders in Visindor?” Kellia asks suspiciously.

  “No. Spider this big,” the drite replies, making a circle with his tail. The circle is no bigger than Kellia’s pinky toe.

  “He dove into a fight with a demon, but needs to be saved from a simple bug,” Kellia says, laughing loudly. “That can’t be right.”

  “Why not? Everyone is afraid of something,” states a voice from the doorway. Kellia looks up to see Theresa Marley walking in with a tray of cookies and a teapot full of water. The calico is dressed in leather armor with daggers strategically placed around her body. She smiles as she pulls out a red dagger and places the tip against the teapot. A burst of red light from the dagger causes the teapot to whistle urgently.

  “I know, but it doesn’t mean that it makes sense. Spiders are harmless,” Kellia argues as she sits up.

  “Fear is not supposed to make any sense. If it did then we could easily rationalize it away whenever it appeared,” Theresa kindly explains, sprawling across the foot of the bed. “You have many fears when you’re young. You are only aware of some of these fears and must face them several times before you defeat them. Your reaction to the demon was entirely natural and probably saved both your life and Luke’s life. After all, Luke showed no fear and ended up in the infirmary with Aedyn casting constant spells on him. If you had joined in the fight and been injured as well then a choice would have had to been made as to which of you would live and which would die. Aedyn would not have been able to save you both. To ease your mind, you would have been the one to live in that situation because you are Duke Solomon’s heir. A kingdom’s future takes precedence over a heroic lineage. So, tell me, heiress, would you have felt better if Luke had died saving you instead of being hospitalized?”

  “That’s ridiculous since it didn’t happen that way,” Kellia states

  Theresa rolls onto her back, stretching so that only her head and feet on touching the bed. “Then, stop acting like it did.”

  “Luke alive. Luke learn. Luke go on,” the drite happily interjects.

  “I suggest you do the same, your highness. You have many protectors at this academy whether you like it or not. It will be the same when you assume the throne, so get used to it,” Theresa says, an edge to her voice. “Now, I will be having unexpected guests in my room within the hour. I trust you will behave yourself until my return.”

  Kellia glares back at Theresa. “Why are you so angry at me?”

&nb
sp; “Lady of many teeth mad at self,” Fizzle blurts out.

  “So to speak,” Theresa admits, hissing at the drite. He scampers under a pillow, leaving only his snout and the tip of his tail sticking out.

  “So, you are annoyed at yourself and you take it out on me,” Kellia angrily snaps. “Aren’t people like you supposed to be role-models for my generation?”

  “It appears you are becoming your old, smart-mouthed, sass-spewing self,” Theresa declares, faking a bitter smile. “To think that I lost sleep over a novice performing my job for me.”

  “To be honest, your expertise is in mortal assassins and thieves. Neither of us expected demonic assassins,” Kellia politely argues, her concern for Theresa growing. “Don’t beat yourself up over it or I will have to hire someone to attack me in order to make you feel better. I can’t have my bodyguard moping about in self-loathing while I’m trapped in a hidden wooden box. Besides, we can all agree that you arrived in time to scare the demon off and stopped it from killing anyone.”

  Theresa bows as her smile softens. “You are very kind and forgiving, your highness. I will return when my business is concluded. Keep her safe and make sure she finishes her tea, Fizzle.”

  “Yes, teeth lady!” Fizzle hollers from under the pillow. He crawls out once Theresa closes the door behind her and the sound of her footsteps fade away.

  “I’m going to bed, Fizzle. You don’t have to stay here if you have somewhere else to be. It isn’t like anybody can get in here,” Kellia claims, lying down and closing her eyes. She is briefly surprised when she feels the blanket get pulled out from beneath her and placed over her legs.

  “Fizzle sleepy,” the drite yawns. He curls up next to Kellia who gently puts her arm around him and falls asleep.

  *****

  The courtyards are filled with the sounds of students yelling and the banging of wooden weapons. It is as if the incident with the demon had never happened, but even the least aware member of the faculty notices a change in the atmosphere. There is an undercurrent of curiosity and tension among the students. Many students have been caught sneaking onto the walkways to watch the carpentry class fix the damage to the wall. Some of the braver students have even tried to get into Visindor Forest during night hours. With classes still in session, the population of Hamilton Military Academy acts as if it is an ordinary day of academy. Yet, when the distractions are gone, the curiosity of the students is nearly audible.