Marko followed the headmaster out of the barracks and towards the orphanage’s administrative building. The day was overcast; Marko hoped it was not an ill omen for his upcoming meeting. He saw one of his fellow students with a bandage wrapped around his head walk out of the building as they approached. Marko realized that he had likely just finished an interview with the Inquisitor himself. He wondered what the Inquisitor thought about Maurice’s malicious blow to the boy’s head.
He snapped out of his daydream as he walked up the stairs. He paused briefly as Baltar waived him through to the headmaster’s office. He noticed that the headmaster did not enter his own office, but closed the door, leaving Marko on his own.
“Marko Kunich I presume?” Marko saw a man dressed completely in black. He had a clean shaven head but a black short beard peppered with gray. The man did not wait for an answer and said, “Have a seat, young man. As I am sure you are aware, the Empire has seen fit to task the Inquisition to investigate the death of Mr. Maurice Deniau. My name is Inquisitor Fabre. I am in charge of this investigation. If you are unfamiliar with the Inquisition let me illuminate our services to the Empire. Once I begin the inquisition with you, I will know if you are lying to me. I will also know if you are not answering a question completely. If I believe you wrongfully caused the death of Mr. Deniau, then you will be remanded to a higher authority for sentencing. If you lie or withhold information today, then you are committing an offense. The Emperor gives the Inquisition the authority to administer justice immediately in those situations. Do I make myself clear?”
Marko gulped as the implications the Inquisitor made became clear. “Yes, sir. I will answer truthfully and completely. I was just defending myself.”
The Inquisitor studied Marko for a minute and said, “Well, that is what we are here to determine. I have here a stone. You are to hold this while I perform an incantation. You will continue to hold the stone until the inquisition ends. You will know it ended when I remove the stone from your hand.”
Marko took the stone and looked down at it. He had never seen anything like it. The stone was a golden brown but he could almost see completely through to the other side. There was something in the stone, but it was impossible to make out any shapes. Marko looked up when the Inquisitor began what sounded like a hum. As he studied the man, he realized that he was in fact whispering a series of words but they made no sense. As with the mage he had met on the road, Marko began to see a colorful mist leave the Inquisitor’s mouth and snake towards the stone. This time the mist was black. It engulfed the stone Marko was holding and began to crawl up his arms. Finally Marko could see the black mist lightly covering his whole body.
“The inquisition has begun.” The man said.
“Marko Kunich, did you kill Maurice Deniau?”
“Yes, but it was in self defense.”
“Self-defense, you say? Wasn’t it Maurice Deniau that shoved you down on the ground that same morning during an exercise run?”
“Yes, but I did nothing to cause him to shove me.”
“Nonetheless, it gave you a reason to be angry with him during the sparring match, didn’t it?”
Marko wondered how the Inquisitor knew about the shove, but then he remembered he had been interviewing other students. Marko wasn’t surprised that at least one of them had seen what happened.
“Yes, I was angry because he shoved me. He obviously did it on purpose, since he taunted me afterwards. That did not influence my actions during the match, though.”
“So then, tell me what you think happened during the match.”
Marko went on to give the Inquisitor a detailed account of the match. The Inquisitor stopped Marko several times for clarification and questioned what Marko was thinking at a particular moment. Those were the hardest questions to answer. Marko did not want to answer incorrectly yet at the same time it was very difficult to remember specific thoughts at the time.
After one particularly long pause after a question, Marko noticed that the black link between the Inquisitor and the stone dissolved. He watched as the mist around him dissipated immediately. Marko put the stone on the desk in front of him.
“What are you doing?” asked the Inquisitor. “I told you to hold the stone until I removed it from your hand.”
Marko quickly took the stone back and stammered, “I am sorry! When you broke the link with the stone, I thought you were ending the Inquisition. Please what other questions can I answer for you?”
The Inquisitor looked startled for a moment and then quickly recovered. He stared at Marko for several seconds. “Nothing,” he said aloud. “Absolutely nothing.”
“Marko, I want you to look closely at that stone you are holding. Try to look into the stone. Tell me what you see.”
“Sir, I know there is something in there, it’s just too cloudy to make it out.”
“Just as I suspected,” he said rhetorically. “Anyway, that is not why we are here.”
The Inquisitor opened up a small wooden box on the desk. He pulled out a sturdy metal chain with a wooden circle dangling at the bottom and placed it around his neck. He stood up and looked Marko directly in the eye.
“Marko Kunich, by the power of the ordained Inquisition I find you not negligent in the death of Maurice Deniau. This judgment is final except by the direct intervention of the Emperor himself.”
The inquisitor reached into a pocket on the right side of his robe and pulled out a small metal disc. It was green. He handed it to Marko. Marko looked down at the disc, not much larger than a coin. It was not painted, but Marko could not tell how the color was applied to the metal. His father had never shown him that kind of craft. On one side was an etching of the Imperial eagle. He turned it over and read the name “Maurice Deniau” etched on the other.
“The green signifies your innocence. If you received a red one, then you would have been judged guilty. If anyone blames you for his death, all you have to do is to show them that judgment medallion. If they still charge you or speak of your guilt behind your back, they will be code breakers in the eyes of the Emperor. No citizen can challenge the Inquisition. You will be required to bring those names to the attention of the Inquisition. Young man, you are free to leave. Do you have any questions?”
Marko stared down at the medallion again and said, “Thank you sir. I am very relieved. Well, I guess I am just glad you did not reach into your left pocket, then.”
“An Inquisitor only brings one medallion to an inquisition. Why that is the case, I cannot tell you. Maybe someday you will know. Now go. I am sure Headmaster Sorrell wants his office back.”
Marko got up quickly and was out the door in less than two seconds.
Chapter XIV: Examination
The semester began to set into a routine for Marko. He began to like the contrast of learning through lectures and as practical demonstration. During the next few weeks, several guild representatives came into the orphanage to lecture about their career field. Several of them gave a completely different feel for the field than the Teacher who had lectured on the subject.
The two remaining representatives to visit were the ones he was most interested in: the Imperial Army and the Merchants Guild. He had pestered Teacher Brasilav to give him more information on the Merchants’ representative, but he said that they usually don’t choose someone until the day before the lecture. He mentioned that very few graduates from the orphanage get selected by the Merchants, so typically a low level guild journeyman conducts the lecture.
That was a completely different scenario from the Imperial Army. Many graduates, it seemed went into the army. Marko felt confident that his “dream training” would serve him well. He had left all his fellow students in the Steel class far behind. On third day of that week, the courtyard bell rang shortly after lunch for a general meeting in the huge, front courtyard. When Marko walked out of the commissary with his friends, his eyes nearly dropped out of his head. There were at least two squads of infantry lined up in form
ation! Their uniforms were perfect, with the Imperial eagle proudly displayed on the front of their leather armor.
A wooden podium had been dragged out to the center of the courtyard with two people standing on it. Marko instantly recognized Headmaster Sorrell, but he wasn’t wearing his blue tunic. Instead he had on a set of armor complete with a steel chest plate with the same eagle on it. There was a gorget around his neck, but Marko could not see the design on it from where he was standing. He had never seen an Imperial infantry officer before, but the headmaster’s uniform looked much like the one his father used to wear. The gorget marked him as a former senior officer. His father told him that gorgets were for majors and above.
The man next to the headmaster was obviously an officer too, but much younger. By his uniform, Marko guessed that he was a kapetan. He saw two lieutenants standing next to their squads. They too were standing at attention.
“Students. We are honored today to receive Kapetan Vuk and two squads of 2nd Company, 1st Battalion. As many of you know, I retired as a Majer of 1st Battalion. It is my honor as headmaster to announce 1st Battalion as the selectors of our graduate assessment this semester.”
“Members of the 2nd and 3rd squads are here today to assess our whites for selection into the Imperial Infantry. Sergeants will be coming by to pair you up with a soldier. Each student will be issued a practice blade, but each soldier will be using steel. If you do not think you can properly defend yourself, you may decline the assessment. There is no shame for you or the school. We have sixty-four whites in attendance. Our quota to the Imperial Army is forty-five. Hold your head up high and do us proud!”
The headmaster took a step back and the kapetan ordered his troops into action. Lieutenants and sergeants began walking around the group of whites and moving them into small groups where they were paired up with a soldier. Teacher Rakan and an assistant handed each white a practice sword. The rest of the students moved around the courtyard to get the best view possible. When everyone was paired up, Marko counted that fifty-five whites agreed to go through the assessment. The others, he noticed, were the smallest of the group. A couple of them had noticeable limps. They remained in the courtyard with the rest of the students.
Marko was impressed with the skill and control of the soldiers. They seemed to challenge each student’s ability without landing any serious blows. He even saw one soldier pull a strike that he was sure would have connected with a student’s shoulder.
Out of the corner of his eye, Marko noticed a peculiar thing. Baltar was also sparring with a soldier. His red tunic stood out amongst all the whites in the courtyard. From what he could see Baltar was holding his own. In fact, he thought Baltar showed more skill than most of the whites out there.
“Look, there’s another red,” said Tiber next to him. Tiber has just come back to the school. He had to work his father’s farm, while is father was ill. “The headmaster must be hedging his bets on filling the quota.”
“That makes sense,” said Marko. “When I first met the headmaster, he said something about already missing his quota.”
Marko turned to look at the headmaster who was talking to the kapetan. They both turned around and looked directly at Marko; like they could read his mind. The kapetan called one of his sergeants over and spoke to him briefly. The sergeant looked over at Marko too, but with confusion on his face. He shrugged and began walking over to the two boys.
“Which one of you is Marko Kunich?”
“I am, sergeant,” Marko spoke up.
“Come with me, then. It appears that I will personally be sparring with you this morning.”
Marko followed the sergeant in a daze. There were only two reds taking the assessment and not a single brown. Why was a gray being selected?
They stopped in an open area right in front of the podium. Marko noticed that the headmaster and kapetan both looked on with interest.
“Here you go.”
Marko turned and saw that Teacher Rakan was holding a practice sword to him. “Just remember your training, and you will do well.” With that he gave Marko a wink and walked away.
The sergeant cleared his throat. “All right, gray. I want you to spend a few minutes defending my attacks. If you become too tired or are injured in anyway, say “Yield!” immediately. That does not mean you failed. Rather it is to make sure you do not sustain any series injury. Are you ready?”
As soon as Marko nodded his head, the sergeant began attacking him with a series of strikes. His technique and control was flawless. Marko wondered if the sergeant was in fact a weapons instructor in the army.
After a few minutes, the sergeant stepped back. “Ok. You have basic competency in defense. I am going to change the types of attacks and pick up the speed. Remember, you can yield at any time.”
Marko nodded his head again and the sergeant attacked. Both Marko and the sergeant began to sweat as they moved much more quickly. A couple of times Marko came close to backing into the podium. He knew he would be hard pressed to block or dodge the attacks if the podium cut off his options. He made a point of recovering to his left, away from the podium, whenever he had the opportunity.
Suddenly the sergeant stopped his attacks. He heard his name being shouted across the courtyard. “Marko…Marko…Marko” He looked over and saw Tiber, Ivan and few other grays shouting his name. At first he thought they wanted his attention. Then he realized they were cheering him on. He had been so focused on defending against the attacks that he had not heard them.
“Your defensive skills are more than adequate. We will switch roles now. You will be attacking and I will only defend. You are expected to deploy any attack form you have been taught. Do not worry if you do not score a hit. Rarely does that ever happen against a soldier. The point of this assessment is to reveal your form, control and stamina. If you are ready, attack me.”
Marko nodded his head and considered how he should approach this phase of the fight. He decided that he would start with the basic forms taught by the orphanage. He attacked the sergeant and saw that he deployed many of the same defensive forms that Marko had just used. Marko never came close to scoring a hit and only rarely met the sergeant’s sword with anything other than a glancing blow. This attack will tire me out well before him, Marko thought.
He decided to change tactics. Marko did not increase his speed but did begin deploying attack forms Stranac taught him. Although his practice sword was longer than the short sword he practiced with, he was able to get the point of his sword at the correct spot of the attack most of the time. He was rewarded several times with a loud Crack when his sword met the sergeant’s after a hasty block.
What if I deploy unarmed forms? Marko noticed several attack forms that the sergeant did not block well. I need to finish this soon. My arm is about to fall off my body he thought.
Marko stepped forward and lunged with his sword. The sergeant swept his sword down like he had done before to try to pin Marko’s sword to the ground. Only this time, Marko released his grip on this sword and continued to move behind the sergeant. He brought his foot down on the sergeants left calf forcing his knee to the ground. Marko spun quickly and drove his palm down on the sergeant’s back.
The sergeant went face first into the courtyard. To Marko’s admiration, the sergeant never lost the grip on his sword. He rolled on the ground and came quickly up to his feet.
“Point to the Orphanage.”
Marko looked up and saw the smiling face of Headmaster Sorrell looking down at him. The kapetan stepped forward and said curtly, “Concur.” He looked sharply at the sergeant. Marko turned to look at his opponent. “Unorthodox. I wasn’t expecting your style. You weren’t taught that here, were you?”
Again, Marko thought about his dreams. “No, Sergeant. My father taught me unarmed as well as steel combat. He was retired from the Imperial Army, Eagle Regiment.”
The sergeant gave a smirk and said, “Training even after retirement. He honors the Eagles.” The sergeant ab
ruptly brought his sword handle up to his chin in a salute and walked away.
Marko…Marko…Marko. He turned around and noticed that his friends had begun their chant again. Marko…Marko…Marko. This time most of the grays, browns and reds joined in the chant. It appeared that his match was the center of attention. Marko was embarrassed until he realized that the headmaster did not say that Marko had scored the point, but the orphanage. His point was a victory for all of the students. Marko did the only thing he could think of in response to the honor that was being shown him. He slowly picked up his practice sword, turned towards his fellow students and copied the salute he had seen the sergeant perform. The school erupted in cheering. This has been a good day.
Chapter XV: The Opportunity
The rest of the day and the following were a blur to Marko. Students and even Teachers were regularly coming up and congratulating him. He was not sure how he felt about his newfound fame. He was proud of his score in the assessment, but he thought he had been lucky. The sergeant did not know that Marko had unarmed combat skills. Had he known, Marko was sure he would have defended himself better.
The Reluctant Mage: Book One in the Zandar Series Page 8
