Wielder's Awakening

by T. B. Christensen

  “The Empress thinks she’s safe in her great city surrounded by her poorly trained soldiers, but she’s in for a surprise. She’ll realize her mistake soon enough. When that wielder leading the rogue army starts to throw his-”

  “Now you don’t still believe that the rogue army is led by a wielder?” Luthor interjected. “There’s just no such thing as wielders!”

  “Yes there is, and you are going to find that out when Rankdra falls just like Beking did!”

  Traven quit paying attention as Tom joined Luthor in trying to convince Wenry that there were no such things as wielders. Traven kept quiet on what he thought. He wasn’t sure if all of the stories were true, but he couldn’t dismiss them as easily as Luthor. Blaize had confirmed certain things from the rumors, and Traven himself possessed two might stones. There was some truth there. Time would tell whether or not the rumors were actually true. As amazing as it would be to see a real wielder in battle, Traven didn’t want to be fighting against him if the rumors that circulated in the barracks were true.

  When dinner was over, the three veterans invited Traven to a game of cards. He declined the offer so he could get to bed early. He had been getting up earlier than usual in the mornings so that he could get in extra practice. With the extra matches at the end of the normal day’s training, he always found himself incredibly tired. He left the others behind and went to the bunks. Once there, he quickly washed up and slipped under the thick covers of his bed. He dropped off to sleep almost immediately.

  Morning, as always, came too soon. Traven got out of bed and quietly put on his clothes in the dark. All around him he could hear the slow breathing and the snores of the other soldiers who were still fast asleep. He grabbed his sword and silently left the room. He continued down the hall and past the sleepy-eyed guard. The cold air of late winter slammed into him as he left the barracks and made his way to the nearest training field. He tossed off his cloak and shivered in the morning breeze. He was always cold when he started his routine, but by the end he was always plenty warm.

  Traven stretched and started out slowly, allowing his muscles to warm up. He soon had his routine in full swing as he calmly went through his exercises. After about half an hour Blaize made his way out to the field and began to practice alongside him. Traven enjoyed Blaize’s company. After they were done working out, they would talk for a while before beginning the day. It was about the only chance that Traven ever had to speak with Blaize. As a general, Blaize was always busy doing something. When he was free it wasn’t really proper for him to associate so much with a regular foot soldier. Nobody, however, said anything about them practicing early in the morning together. Almost all of the soldiers were still sleeping, and they could care less about what went on.

  Traven finished his routine and watched Blaize finish up while he sheathed his sword. His routine was now almost the same as the large warrior’s but with one sword instead of two. Blaize finished his routine almost immediately after Traven and walked over to join him. The cold breeze was very refreshing as it ran over their sweating bodies. Traven covered a yawn with the back of his hand.

  “You know, Traven, you look wasted. You shouldn’t be getting up so early.”

  “I don’t like to, but I need the extra practice,” Traven replied as he muffled another yawn. “Did you hear that I beat Captain Kalthor yesterday? Three down and three to go!”

  “Four to go!”

  “I’m not going to try to beat you again. I just want to beat the others. If I keep on getting up extra early, I think I will be able to beat the others before we march. And then Luthor says that I will gain the title of blademaster!”

  “You spend too much time with Luthor,” Blaize said, rolling his eyes. “He is too free in his praise for your skills. You are very good, but you are not a blademaster yet.” Traven looked down. “How many times did you have to fight Captain Kalthor before you beat him?”

  “Five times,” Traven muttered.

  “Exactly! Four times too many,” Blaize said harshly. He then took a breath and continued in a friendlier tone. “You probably don’t realize this, but I watch all of your matches with the blademasters. That’s how I knew you beat Captain Kalthor yesterday. I’m usually not in the crowd gathered around you, but I make it a point to watch from somewhere.”

  “You’ve seen all of them?” Traven asked, raising his gaze from his feet.

  “Yes I have, and I know what your problems are. You don’t need more practice. Your muscles know what to do before you do it. Getting up earlier than me is just robbing you of needed sleep and your muscles of needed rest. You can only work your muscles so hard. They need rest. What you lack is concentration and patience.” Traven listened intently as Blaize continued. He knew that it was one of the rare moments when Blaize opened up and passed along special wisdom. “As far as your form and skill, you already match the blademasters. One of your shortcomings is that you look so hard for the opportunity to strike and win that you give your opponent an opportunity to strike you.

  “You need to be patient and wait for the opportunity to come to you. Keep your guard up and wait for the right moment to win. When it presents itself, you must act lightning quick. If you miss it, patiently wait for another opportunity. If you are good, you will last long enough to have many opportunities. Don’t try to rush them. They will come to you. You have lost many times because you are being hasty. You nearly lost again to Captain Kalthor yesterday because you were looking too hard for that moment. You forgot that he too was watching you for that moment.

  “You have to always concentrate, Traven. If your opponents are inferior, you can make a few mistakes and not have to worry. But to be a blademaster you cannot make those mistakes. While your skills match those of the other blademasters, your concentration does not. When you fight another blademaster, slip out of concentration for a moment and the match is over. You have to clear your mind and focus. You shouldn’t feel the desire to win or feel the fear that you will lose. You shouldn’t feel fatigue or pain. Your mind must be clear of everything else. You must focus on your opponent and your goal. Nothing else matters. When you learn to do that, then you will truly be a blademaster. And I shouldn’t say this because you get enough praise from Luthor, but I think you have the potential to be one of the best blademasters.”

  “Thanks, Blaize,” Traven said grateful for the criticism and the praise. Blaize always had a way of finishing on a high note.

  “So will you trust me and stop getting up so early in the morning?”

  “If you say so,” Traven responded, clapping Blaize on the shoulder. “You haven’t given me any bad advice yet.”

  “You got that right,” Blaize said with a grin. They then headed back to the barracks to get ready for the day. “Oh yeah, one more thing,” Blaize said as he headed down an opposite corridor to the officer’s quarters. “The Commander General and the Princess are going to be stopping by in the afternoon, so be on your best behavior.” He finished with a wink, “And try to control your emotions if you run into the Princess again. She’s engaged now!”

  Traven shook his head as Blaize trotted off down the hall chuckling to himself. He still liked to bring up the time that the two of them had run into each other months before. Traven didn’t think it had been that amusing. He did hope, however, that he would get a glance at her when she visited. Just because she was engaged didn’t mean she was no longer as beautiful as the first time he had accidently stumbled upon her. He dismissed the thought and returned to his bunk. He was in a good mood. Blaize had praised him highly and helped him out once again. He would try to remember to follow Blaize’s advice in his next match. He would also definitely remember to sleep in an extra half hour in the morning!

  29

  Kalista and Gavin pulled up along with their escort in the barracks courtyard. Waiting for them was the large General Blaize. As they dismounted, Kalista pushed back the hood of her thin cloak, allowing her golden hair to tumble out across her should
ers and back. It was not as cold as she had thought it would be today. Spring was definitely on its way. As they had ridden across the fields to the barracks, she had noticed that almost no snow remained. Soon the blossoms of spring would burst forth. The coming march to Candus should not be too unpleasant. After the normal greetings, General Blaize led them into the front room of the barracks.

  “As we were crossing the field, I noticed that all of the soldiers still do not have full uniforms,” Gavin commented as they continued into the barracks.

  “We do have enough uniforms ready, but we are waiting to issue the new ones until just before the march,” General Blaize replied.

  “Good, good,” Gavin said, nodding his head in approval.

  Kalista let her thoughts wander as Gavin and the general discussed what needed to be done before the march to Candus. She looked around at the stone walls of the barracks while holding tightly to Gavin’s arm. They had decided to wait until the summer to be married. The rogue army would be crushed by then, and they would be able to have a peaceful wedding. Kalista was excited for her marriage but maybe not as excited as her father. He had been a lot happier since they announced their engagement. He had even agreed to allow her to march to Candus with Gavin after only a few pleas.

  Gavin and the general stopped as a group of soldiers marched across the corridor in front of them. Kalista watched as the small troop passed. Most of them were middle-aged, but there were also many that were younger. At the back of the troop was the youngest looking of all. He appeared familiar to her, and after a little thought, Kalista realized who it was. The red armband triggered her memory. It was the same young man who she had seen at the winter ball and when she had last visited the barracks months earlier. She thought it strange that their paths crossed once again. After the troop passed the corridor, General Blaize continued leading the way.

  “That is one of our more advanced units. Many of the soldiers in it are veterans and have quite a bit of experience.”

  “What of the younger ones? One of them in the rear looked like he could not be any older than the Princess,” Gavin questioned.

  “Some of the younger ones lack a little discipline, but their training is going well. All of the younger soldiers in the advanced groups can handle a sword adeptly in battle,” the large general replied. “And the young one at the rear is one of the best swordsmen in the whole army. He will be a blademaster soon!”

  Gavin raised his eyebrows at the announcement, obviously surprised that one so young could already be a blademaster. Kalista not only noticed Gavin’s surprise, but she noticed that the large general had made the statement with more pride than usual for a general complimenting one of his soldiers. She would have sworn that he said it with almost fatherly pride.

  When they had finished touring the barracks, General Blaize led them out the side of the building and past some of the training fields. Kalista watched as a long line of soldiers fired arrows at targets that were set back a considerable distance. Almost every arrow ended up in the bull’s-eyes. The general commented that these happened to be the best archers in the army, which also meant they were the best archers in all of Kalia.

  “General Blaize, did you know that the Princess is quite an accomplished archer herself?” Gavin stated. “One of the best in Kalia for certain.”

  “Is that so,” the large general said, looking at her. Kalista could see in his eyes that he was weighing the truth of what Gavin had said.

  “What is the matter, General? Do you think that your Commander General is lying?” Kalista challenged.

  “Why do you say that, my Princess? I said nothing.” Kalista grew even more upset at the denial of what he had been thinking.

  “All right, I will prove it to you!” And with that Kalista headed down on to the archery field. “We will have an archery contest!” she announced for all of the archers to hear. As they realized who was addressing them, they all dropped to a knee. “Master archer,” Kalista said to the archery instructor. “Pick your three best archers to shoot against me.”

  “I beg your pardon, my Princess, but I don’t think . . .” the instructor stopped in mid-sentence as he noticed the look that Gavin was giving him. “Yes, my Princess.”

  Kalista took a bow from one of the archers and watched as the instructor called out the names of three of his best archers.

  “General Blaize will explain the rules for the competition.”

  The large general smiled with an amused look and began to set out the rules of the contest. At General Blaize’s command, four targets were set up side by side. Each archer would have five arrows. The archers would take turns shooting all five of their arrows in a row. The archer with the lowest rate of accuracy would be dropped from the competition, and the remaining archers would continue as the targets were moved back to a farther distance. This would be repeated until the winner was the only one left.

  As the first archer began shooting, Kalista noticed that a crowd was already beginning to gather at the side of the field. She would show all of them that she really was the best archer. Men always thought they were so superior. She would show them. Two of the three archers landed all five arrows in the bull’s-eye while the other had a stray arrow in the second ring. Kalista smiled as she pulled back the bow and let her first arrow fly right into the center of the bull’s-eye. Her smile grew larger as the crowd hushed with wide eyes.

  * * * * *

  “Hurry everyone! They’re having an archery match. The Princess Kalista is shooting against the archery masters!”

  Traven watched as the younger soldiers dropped their swords and ran after their excited comrade. The older soldiers smiled and followed a little more slowly. Traven sheathed his sword and joined them. This would be interesting to see. He was also happy for the opportunity to see the Princess’ beauty once again. He wondered if the master archers would lose on purpose so as not to upset the Princess.

  By the time he reached the archery field, there was already a large group gathered. Traven watched as the arrows were pulled from the four targets. One of the archers walked away with his head down as three of the targets were moved farther back. Traven watched as the two remaining archers took their turns. The first left all of his arrows in the center of the target while the second had an arrow touching the thin black ring around the bull’s-eye. He could tell the archers were not going to let the Princess advance another round.

  Traven soon realized how mistaken he was as the Princess began her turn. One arrow after another landed in the bull’s-eye. He stood with his mouth open along with the other newcomers at the back of the crowd as the soldiers in the front clapped, nodding their heads. The arrows were retrieved and two targets were moved back. The Princess announced that the targets were still too close and ordered them to be moved back even farther.

  The remaining archer took his turn first. He released his arrows slowly, taking his time. All five of his arrows ended up in the bull’s-eye despite the long distance to the far away target. He smiled and stepped back from the shooting line with a bow for the crowd. The soldiers clapped as the master archer backed off the line, and the Princess moved up to take her shots. She also took her time and calmly sent arrow after arrow into the bull’s-eye. Traven’s eyes widened at her accuracy. Even with the great distance to the targets, he could see that her arrows were closer together than those of the master archer. All of the other soldiers, however, waited in suspense as Blaize walked the long distance to the targets to examine the arrows.

  Blaize returned, and after stretching out the silence, announced that the Princess Kalista was the winner. The crowd erupted in cheers as the master archers bowed to the Princess with new found respect. The Princess beamed and graciously accepted the bows. The soldiers were about to leave, but the Princess stopped them with a raise of her hand.

  “Who is next?” she asked in her melodious voice.

  The crowd quieted down as the soldiers looked at one another to see who was daring or stupid
enough to accept the challenge. All of the master archers wisely declined to accept the offer. Traven was sure that the challenge was going to go unanswered, but then a young haughty soldier looking for glory broke away from the crowd and picked up a bow.

  Traven turned from the match while shaking his head. He couldn’t believe that someone would challenge the Princess after seeing her skill with the bow. He also couldn’t believe how good the Princess was with a bow. He hadn’t imagined someone so beautiful to have such surprising other qualities. He had heard many soldiers say they envied Commander General Gavin because he held her love. He decided that he envied the Commander General even more now.

  Looking around at the empty training fields, Traven noticed a bow lying solo, clearly forgotten by some soldier in all of the excitement. He reached down and picked it up. He hadn’t held a bow since he was young when he used to hunt with his father. He tested the string and wondered if he could shoot at all anymore. Looking around, he found several arrows that were stuck in the ground. He walked over to them and pulled one out. He fitted his arrow and looked down the shaft. It did not feel like it would be too hard to shoot decently even though it had been so long. Traven decided to try and looked around for something to shoot at. His eyes came to rest on a tree that was not too far away. He picked out one of the knots in the tree and casually let go of the bowstring. He blinked in surprise and smiled as the arrow came to rest in the knot. It was nice to know that he was still a decent shot if he ever had the need to use a bow again.

  “Wait! He wants a chance too!” someone yelled from the crowd.

  Traven somehow knew that the soldier was referring to him. He began to feel sick as he felt eyes on his back. Slowly turning around with the bow still in his hand, his fears were confirmed. The whole crowd was staring at him. Traven stood speechless as the crowd opened up, creating a clear path to the Princess. A young soldier clapped him on the back and began to help him down the path. Traven tried to protest, but nothing came out. He wanted to turn and run, but his shocked body continued to move slowly though the center of the crowd. In the distance he could hear shouts of encouragement and shouts of ridicule.