Brisethi was finally encouraged to carry out her task lest the caretakers lose their hold on the support shields containing the spirit’s uncontrollable mystics. She felt the slight pressure of a shield cast upon her, the same as Etyne’s, from the caretaker beside her.
“Spirits guide you, Lieutenant,” said the caretaker as he left a folded Dominion flag on the nearby chair and closed the door behind her.
Brisethi inhaled deeply, taking a step into the cold room. She hadn’t seen a Resarian in their latest age since she was a child; the last she had seen of her father’s grandmother. She slowly approached the aged Dominion Veteran in her rocking chair, staring out the window at the falling snow.
“The Dominion should know better than to send a fire mystic to sever an ice mystic,” the old woman told her.
Brisethi cleared her throat. “It wasn’t entirely my decision-”
“I know, my dear, I know. I was once standing where you are at your age, eight-hundred and seventy-two years ago, wondering why we have such a cruel way to end our time on Falajen,” she replied. “And then I had to send my husband to the Sea over a century ago.” She stood from her chair and turned to face her. She was wearing her Dominion Navy uniform that hung loosely on what was once a sinewy and curvy body. Brisethi noticed that the highest rank she had achieved was Master Chief. Her dark hair had only begun to gray recently and thin lines covered her face. If she wasn’t Resarian, any other human would guess her to be a woman in her fifties.
Tears welled in the woman’s eyes at seeing the young officer. “What cruel irony that the spirits would send the mirror image of my daughter; hair of blood, eyes of storms - taken from me only forty years ago...I’m on my way to the Sea, my loves.”
“I-” her words were cut off as shards of ice flew toward her. She unsheathed her sword quickly and deflected only a fraction of them. The ringing of steel cutting at ice pierced the air the rest shattered against the caretaker’s shield upon her eerily resonating throughout the building. The shattered ice pieces falling to the ground echoed like chimes in a sweet melody. “Ma’am...tell me what to do,” she softly spoke, wondering why she sounded so calm when she would usually lose her temper at being attacked. Though her body reacted fiercely, her mind was at peace as if she could feel her very soul take over the event forthcoming.
The woman’s spirit wanted only to provoke her as ice formed at her feet. It melted instantly when Brisethi summoned flames around herself. She took a step forward through the slush.
“How?” she asked again while igniting her sword to assist in defending against her onslaught of sharp ice.
“It cannot be explained, just end it quickly!” the Master Chief shouted as she reluctantly allowed more spears of ice to form before her hurling toward the fire woman.
Brisethi continued igniting the rapier, flaming outwards to block the ice. Her quick movement of her sword deflected each life-threatening icicle. Tears of sadness stung her eyes and blurred her vision. She didn’t want to do this. She could tell that the woman was in pain, however, causing her to falter. “Master Chief, please! Guide me!”
A shard of ice didn’t melt in time as it cut through the cartilage of the tip of Brisethi’s ear, causing her to nearly scream from the pain; the shields of the caretakers had diminished. She felt the warmth of her blood drip down her neck as panic started to settle within her.
“Do it, Lieutenant!” the Master Chief pleaded before sending more shards of ice at her.
Brisethi filled the room with lightning, shattering the only window in the room as she leapt forward. She pinned the woman against the bars of the window that was now letting gusts of snow inside. She felt her spirit take over and guide her, pulling the Master Chief’s spirit from her vessel. Through the eyes of her spirit, she saw the corporeal link of soul and vessel. With one hand behind the Master Chief’s neck and the other holding the rapier’s hilt to her chest, she reached out to the spiritual bond and with a thought, used her lightning spell to sever the link. The Master Chief let out a final agonizing shout as her body became limp. She watched in bittersweet sorrow as her spirit ascended to the Sea of Renewal.
She dropped her rapier and instinctively unfolded the flag behind her to drape over the Master Chief’s soulless vessel. The caretakers were quick to retrieve the Veteran’s body to ready her for a proper, ceremonial burial. Brisethi could only numbly stare at the events taking place, deaf to the sounds around her.
“Lieutenant,” the male caretaker brought her out of her catatonic shock, handing her the rapier and a wet cloth for her ear injury.
Brisethi took her rapier he was handing to her and sheathed it at her hip. She thanked him for the damp cloth, holding it to her ear as he left her alone in the room once more. Her heart-wrenching task had been complete.
Admiral Tirinnis Sen Asel stood outside the carriage he’d taken to retrieve his daughter. He was dressed in his full dress Dominion Navy uniform to attend the funeral of the Master Chief his daughter had put to rest. Other carriages full of sailors arrived shortly after. Anyone who had served in the Navy over eighty years ago had known the Master Chief in some way or another.
“Dadi,” Brisethi spoke in almost a whisper.
The Admiral hugged his daughter to console her in sending her first spirit to the Sea of Renewal. “They told me you did well, ‘Sethi-tree,” he quietly told her with a hint of alcohol already on his breath.
“If this place is only for Dominion elders, where do civilians go when they lose control of their mystics and have no one to sever the link?” she asked upon breaking away from the embrace.
“Local law enforcement is usually called upon. And it isn’t always as humanely as severing the link by a destructive spirit - sometimes they are physically killed in self defense from a sword or pistol,” Tirinnis replied.
She was thankful to not have been witness to any such act during her short life.
Chapter IV
In order to gain an extra day of relaxation, the officers in training were given one day a week to volunteer at any various charity in need of assistance. Brisethi specifically avoided the VAL and found herself with Etyne twice a month either helping out in the stables or taking the short trip downtown at the local animal shelter. Every time they were downtown, they invited their significant others to join them in volunteering, Brisethi finally having resolved things with Joss, though she never returned to his home.
Since their first meeting, Joss had a hard time getting along with Etyne, seeing as how Etyne was the one leaving marks on his loved one. Similarly, Etyne disagreed with Brisethi’s decision to give Joss yet a third, perhaps a fourth chance. Whereas, Brisethi had little to talk about with Serythe other than music, since she was of the intelligent sort, only stating facts or political nonsense that Brisethi was quick to tune out.
Joss and Brisethi tended to the bigger, messier animals since Serythe wasn’t fond of getting dirty. Every now and then, Brisethi stared at each kitten and cat in their little cages, saddened that she couldn’t take one to her quarters at the Citadel.
“Soulless creatures,” Joss stated as he passed the cages.
“Did I ask, what you thought of them?” she quipped and took a senior cat out of his cage to cuddle with.
“All these animals are pretty vile and diseased-ridden,” Serythe added, then lectured Etyne about how animals could never comprehend the wasted compassion that humans give them.
He ignored her and instead stroked behind the ears of the old cat that Brisethi was holding. She whispered to him, “What bothers her so? What kind of human doesn’t like animals?”
He was about to reply when Joss walked up to regain Brisethi’s attention in an effort to disregard Etyne. “What happened to your ear?” Joss asked when Brisethi habitually pulled her hair back. He was quick to glare at Etyne who had also not yet seen her new injury.
She quickly brought her hair forward again at his interrogation. “Oh, this happened a few weeks ago,” she casually rep
lied, having not disclosed to anyone what had occurred at the VAL.
“A piece of your ear is gone and you’re casually shrugging it off? Etyne, you’re done!” Joss started to remove his coat in a threatening manner.
“Joss! He didn’t do it!” Brisethi shouted, shoving him to get his attention in the only way she knew how.
“If you want to take it out on me, by all means let’s do this - outside,” Etyne sternly remarked to Brisethi’s pesky lover.
Serythe only glared at Brisethi, wondering why Etyne had suddenly become as savage as Joss.
Brisethi resisted using her mystics in the shelter so as not to startle the animals. She followed Etyne outside with Joss on her heels. Once outside, she released her flames between them both.
“A shard of ice cut the tip of my ear off!” she shouted when they both became silent. “I had to sever a soul and hers was of ice mystics.”
Etyne finally understood why Brisethi’s usually chipper mood had been so sullen since her solo volunteer event. And when asked, she hadn’t been ready to talk about it. “‘Sethi, I had no idea you were burdened with such a solemn task,” he quietly said.
“You what?! Did I hear that right? You canceled our plans so you could go kill someone?” Joss’s temper was not subsiding.
It was Serythe’s turn to speak. “She released a spirit into the Sea of Renewal - an incredibly noble act - most officers are called upon to do so just as you someday may have to for a family member.”
“Exactly,” Brisethi nodded to Serythe, finding sudden respect for her amid her surprise at the other woman’s defense of her actions.
“It’s almost as if I don’t know who you are anymore, ‘Sethi. You’ve become so empowered by your own mystics, your training, and this fantasy dream of yours where you believe that our adversaries,” Joss gestured to the only half-Kiaran in the group, “want our friendship-”
“I am terminating this discussion,” Brisethi interrupted. She was intolerant of anyone who demeaned her best friend, even if at one time, it was Joss who was her best friend. “We are no longer the children you seem to keep thinking we are, Joss. We've grown apart with our own ideals of the world and the people that live in it.”
“You're right, ‘Sethi, your allegiance has changed,” Joss replied before walking off.
Despite the brutal words, Brisethi’s soul was crushed to see she had brought pain to Joss yet again.
-:- -:- -:-
The end of their fourth year in officer training finally arrived.
The class had just finished the sit-ups portion of their physical test and were about to commence the pushups portion. Just as was the case during the past seven exams in their four years of school, Etyne was her partner as usual as he readied to begin his count of her pushups.
“You have two minutes to complete as many proper pushups as you can. Everyone at the ready position - begin!” shouted the physical test proctor, Chief Bruer. “Ten seconds has elapsed!” he jokingly shouted.
At the one minute mark, Brisethi arms started to grow weary. She had already passed the medium standard grade but wanted to achieve the maximum score just as she had with her sit-ups.
“‘Sethi you’re at eighty,” Etyne muttered to her.
She took a deep breath through her nose before pushing out ten more. She wanted to give a final ten to make it an even one hundred, but she only had ten seconds left.
“Fuck!” she grunted when time was called and was at ninety-seven.
The class was given ten minutes to rest and hydrate before the three-mile run. Brisethi dreaded running. She preferred ice skating, but that wasn’t an option for the physical test. No matter how often she and Etyne ran together or with their class in formation, she always felt like her lungs wouldn’t take in enough air. Her mouth would often taste of copper and could never drink enough water beforehand. She’d never failed a run, but couldn’t push herself hard enough to achieve the best run time.
Her face flushed and struggling to inhale, Brisethi finished her run as the second to last person. She hunched over and signed her record, satisfied with her results. The class was given liberty for the rest of the day to have time to study.
“How can you not remember this?” Etyne tried not to show his frustration with Brisethi. He took a breath then spelled out the acronym that helped her match the requisite dates to events to nations, and she finally blurted out to him the answer.
She placed her head in her hands and leaned against the desk. The Citadel’s library was empty but for the two of them staying up later than usual, preparing for their final exam in the morning. She was confident that she would pass the physical exam, weapons exam, and strategic combat exam with ease, but she could not remember anything for the written test. She’d always had a hard time remembering uninteresting facts from a textbook and resented how easy everything came to Etyne. “Why can’t I be as smart as you?”
Etyne leaned back. “Because you’re not half-Kiaran,” he smirked.
“Get out of here with your engineered Kiaran brain,” she teased.
“We’re not engineered, we are engineers. And you are smart; you just have other things on your mind when you pretend to study. I know this text is boring, but someday you’ll benefit from it when you’re off making treaties with these nations.”
“Let’s move on to languages again, I’m good at that,” she grinned.
“No, you’ve perfected Kiaran and the Trycinean common tongue; we don’t need to waste time studying what you’re already fluent in.” He opened her science book instead and arched a brow.
Brisethi groaned. She realized that if she hadn’t gone through officer training with Etyne, she wouldn’t have had a proper study partner. She would have been alone every other night in the library trying to remember things by herself and failing miserably due to boredom. Suddenly she noticed that the past few months had involved so much studying that she never stopped to ask him about his personal life. He had never asked about hers, either.
“How’s your mum? How’s Serythe?”
“Great spirits, ‘Sethi, why are you digressing?” Etyne asked.
“I just want to know, Etyne. We never talk anymore, not even during combatives. We just meet and study and go to our separate stuffy rooms then back here to study more. You haven’t even visited me in weeks.”
Etyne sighed in frustration, unable to tell her why he stopped spending time in her room. “My mother is fine. I haven’t talked to Serythe in months. Honestly, I’ve been more worried about you, ‘Sethi.”
“Me?” she said incredulously, “what did I do?”
“You struggle on every written exam we take. You can’t fail this one. I need you to focus, stop with the jokes and personal questions and just pass because I won’t be here to help you next time if you fail and remain here another year.” His voice genuinely sounded concerned if not a tad strained.
For once in her four years at the Citadel, she was speechless. She found herself unable to respond to the man who was so clearly passionate about her passing the final officer’s exam. She didn’t know how she could ever repay him for the amount of time he had invested in helping her study. He had sacrificed so much of his free time to her instead of building relationships with his past lovers. Her throat swelled and she swallowed hard to keep from crying. Instead, she turned a page in the book in front of her and stared at equations that she vaguely remembered learning about. She wiped a single frustrating tear from her eye and finally found her voice.
“Are you fucking happy now? You finally made me cry.”
Etyne rubbed his face in regret for his sudden insensitivity. “I didn’t mean to-”
“Just stop talking,” she snapped. “I can study on my own. Go have a life, please. Leave me be.”
“Stop being dramatic,” he ordered and took the book from her. He wasn’t accustomed to treating her as harshly as he had, but it was needed in order for her to find her motivation and to focus. He had her write down the form
ulas for simple equations to break down the sample problems in the physics textbook. In her sloppiest handwriting she finally reached the solution, exhaling in relief and earning an encouraging word from Etyne.
-:- -:- -:-
Each officer was allowed to choose their own mount out of the dozens of unnamed horses awaiting owners at the stables of the Citadel before their first expedition as a commander, or when handed orders to an outpost. The horse they chose would remain with them until the end of their service. Just as Resarians lived ten times the length of other humans, the beasts of Sariadne also had extended lives due to the nature of their spirits. The difference between the Resarians and other creatures was that Resarians had learned to summon the Mystics from their spirits whereas animals had not.
Most commanders chose white pristine horses or uniquely spotted ones of all breeds to stand out from the plain brown and tabby work horses. But Brisethi had wanted the all-black warhorse the moment she laid eyes on him the last time they volunteered in the stables. Desperately, she prayed to the spirits he would still be there when it came her time to choose one.
“By the spirits, you’re more indecisive than a Lantheun woman at a parlour, Etyne,” she said.
“This horse is going to be with me forever, ‘Sethi. Don’t lie to me and say you won’t take as long when it’s your turn,” he replied.
“I already picked one,” she snapped back. “That is, if he’s still here,” she amended.
“Which one? I’m going to pick him,” Etyne jested.
“The gorgeous black one over there.” She gestured to a tall gelding with a broad chest and powerful legs.
They walked over to view him again. “He’s one of my top three so far,” Etyne replied, stroking the silky black mane. “If someone else chooses him before you, I’m going to be pretty upset that neither of us got him.”
Both had passed their final officer exams with ease the day before. Etyne excelled at the written exam, the weapons exam and physical fitness test, but had nearly faltered during the strategic simulation. Had Brisethi not been his partner, making the quick, life-threatening decisions and sacrifices of so many sailors and soldiers, he would have lost the simulated battles, and the war. Their team was the only team to pass the simulation. Unfortunately for Brisethi, her score on the written exam was so low, she wasn’t meritoriously promoted to Captain with Etyne. She would remain at the Citadel in administration duties until she earned her next rank.
Spirits of Falajen Page 22
