by S. Nileson
“Tests?”
“The other disciples are not aware of it yet, but within the next week you will all be tested and ranked, consider this an opportunity to see how well prepared you are to venture outside of these walls.” She waved her hand and gestured to Archer that the audience was concluded. He obliged and left unceremoniously.
You have done well raising this boy, Servak, Ganis thought as she sipped on her drink.
4
Ascilla came rushing into Archer’s chamber. Her extreme agitation caught Archer’s immediate attention, and he quickly shifted his focus away from the tome he was studying and stood up, leaving the wooden chair wherever the back of his knees pushed it.
“What is it?” Archer asked. His voice was muffled and coarse with hours of silence.
“Dragon eggs…the Countess has two dragon eggs hidden in her cellar.” She quickly closed the door and shut the old grey curtains, stirring the aged dust settled in them.
“One does not simply come across that which is hidden. You were snooping, Ascilla, where you shouldn’t have. This will not bode well with the Countess.” Archer hummed and brushed his eyes as he often did since his arrival in Katabasis, a habit he picked from his mentor. “Why is this cause for concern?”
Ascilla walked erratically around the room, turning whenever an obstacle blocked her path. “My oath to the Ichneumon Order is to kill any dragon I come across. I must destroy these abominations somehow, but I also need to bring you safely to Fort Pax. I am conflicted and don’t know what is expected of me.”
“Are you sure what you saw were dragon eggs?”
“I’ve seen drawings before. There is no doubt.”
Archer hummed yet again and firmly held Ascilla when she was close enough to stop her dizzying motion. “What would happen if you don’t destroy them?”
“When the Ichneumon Order finds out they could banish me from their ranks. I can’t afford to leave on such terms.”
“It’s settled then. We are never to speak of these eggs again.”
“The Order surely knows.” Archer felt her strong heart beating ever from his palms resting on her shoulders. “We have spies everywhere.”
“There’s no guarantee that they do. Even if they did, their laws are not enforced here in Katabasis.”
“But they are outside. There is no escape.”
Archer did not know how to respond. Whenever he argued against Ascilla’s concern she would somehow conjure another argument that rendered it false. At last, he decided that it was best for Ganis to handle the issue. “I am sure that Ganis has a reasonable explanation.”
“She who tore my wings off!” Ascilla burst in anger. The mention of Ganis’ name enraged the Walkyrien who seemed to Archer deeply engrossed in the tradition and code of the Ichneumon Order.
“What choice do you have?”
She stared at him angrily, now her fury directed at Archer, and stormed out of his chambers.
Realizing where Ascilla was heading, Archer rushed after the Walkyrien and towards Ganis’ hall. He never thought it would be so easy to convince her to trust in Ganis’ fairness as he had learned to during his discipleship. Perhaps, he thought, she wishes to provoke the Countess.
As soon as the seated Countess spotted Archer, she said, “Your companion should not be meddling in the affairs of others, affairs that do not concern her and are well beyond her understanding.”
Ascilla was standing no more than ten paces away from the Countess, appearing to be ready to lunge at her once more. This time, however, she had no weapon and was well aware that any attempt was doomed to failure, for she was driven by passion, and not cold logic. “I demand you destroy the eggs,” she said.
“You’re in no position to make demands,” Ganis calmly responded.
“Forgive her, Countess, for she is oathbound,” Archer humbly said. He walked towards Ascilla and positioned himself close enough to be able to hold her back should she attempt an attack.
“I know of your oaths and codes,” Ganis said. “I know you have pledged to destroy dragons wherever they are. I also know that since the Second Civil War of Man your order had not encountered a single dragon, and the only one you have taken note of was Teeban who has been under Servak’s protection and now is under Malus’. This is your very first encounter with your current dilemma and you do not really know how to approach it. Let me tell you two things, Walkyrien, about the nature of your predicament. First, to have a chance of killing a dragon you should remain alive long enough to at least attempt the feat, and to approach a dragon alone would be suicide. Second, in Katabasis only my laws apply, any crime or breach of your law committed here is to bear no consequence. A violation of this pact will earn anyone my personal guarantee that I will find them and execute them in the most painful of methods.”
Feeling that Ascilla had long shut her thoughts from Ganis’ influence, Archer added, “Your oath is to kill dragons wherever you encounter them, right?”
Ascilla looked at Archer, the fire in her eyes lessening, and nodded.
“Is there any part of it that states for you to do so before they hatch?”
“No,” she said, her voice quivering with uncertainty.
“Could you recite it for me, Ascilla?”
“I, Ascilla of the Ichneumon Order, pledge to protect Nosgard from the threat of dragons by slaying those who cross my path. I do so to save lives and maintain liberty and peace.”
“Ascilla,” Archer said, “There is no proof that destroying the eggs will help preserve liberty and peace.”
Ascilla took a deep breath, her fury lessened yet not extinguished, and rushed outside of the throne room. Archer looked at Ganis, nodded and left, intending to leave Ascilla to her thoughts and head back to his own studies.
5
Every year, since Ganis began training disciples, tournaments were held in Katabasis Keep, for some it was a test to determine who would continue to the next portion of their discipleship, and to others it was a simple competition to entertain and satiate their competitive needs. Not all disciples participated and many knew that early participation could be fatal or, even worse, humiliating. The year in which Archer participated, in the courtyard which was so often occupied by Ganis’ Deadguard, the stage was set for one such tournament.
New recruits were building a palisade in which the contenders would compete, and others looked to the drapes and flags used to decorate the courtyard. Amidst the ruckus of construction and preparation, some of the competing disciples trained, readying their minds and getting accustomed to the arena.
Archer was amongst the students in the courtyard, training with his last mentor whom he had not gotten the chance to exchange many words with. The disciples of Katabasis, he came to know, were not a talkative folk. Most preferred to listen than to speak, for they were eager to keep whatever advantage in knowledge to themselves, to wield as a tool if and when the occasion ever arose.
Sanguin, Archer’s third and last mentor, was an Alvian of small stature, slightly smaller than Archer, and always frowned at the slightest presence of light. Thus he often wore a darkened cloth on his eyes to limit his discomfort. Archer knew nothing of his new mentor or of the past that necessitated him to make use of this dark cloth. He intended to inquire about it later yet never got a chance to.
Ganis arrived at the scene, curiously observing Archer throughout his discipleship, and dismissed Sanguin, taking his place as Archer’s sparring partner. After presenting her with a ceremonious bow, as habitual in Katabasis before sparring, he assumed a combat position, his hands high and ready and his legs well apart to leverage his weight when striking or dodging.
“Show me what you learnt,” Ganis said, placing herself slightly to Archer’s right and maintaining a relaxed posture indicating no preparation for self-defense.
Archer charged at the Countess. He struck at her twice with each fist then attempted a kick. None made contact and he was dumbfounded by how sure he was before making the att
empt. Amongst his colleagues, he had noticed over the past few months after getting his runes, he was considered fast when battling unarmed. He heard that Ganis was powerful, both in influence and physical prowess, but never did he imaging that the gap between their abilities would be so vast. Ganis, without assuming any combat position, dodged Archer’s attacks with ease.
He prepared for another attempt and was stopped when Ganis said, “You are a very poor fighter.” She circled around him as she usually did. “Your form is acceptable, your speed is impressive, but there is no harmony between both. Hopefully you would be able to survive the trials.”
“I need more time,” Archer said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“An eternity of training here will do you no good. What you need is not time, but experience, and there is no better place to gain it than here, tomorrow during the trials. The other disciples never show their full potential unless it matters. In training, most disciples noticed, it was better to show others a particular false weakness that would have them attempt to exploit during a consequential trial. Tomorrow you will face some disciples with which you have trained or seen train. Forget everything you know about them when you stand here with conflicting interests, because they will certainly try to trick you and use your false knowledge about them against you. I would suggest you approach your challengers with strategy and not brute force.”
Wanting to give Archer no additional advantage, Ganis turned around and walked away, gesturing Sanguin to return to Archer and resume their training. Archer’s body moved reflexively as his mind dwelled on Ganis’ lesson. He kept taking notice of Sanguin’s motions and reaction, studying his opponent and devising a strategy to defeat him should they both face each other in the trials. There was no guarantee that Sanguin, being an older disciple than Archer and his mentor, would not to be pitted against Archer during the tournament, and that, Archer thought, explained why so many disciples were eager to have mentees; to have an opportunity to study a potential challenger carefully and prepare for the day in which they would face them in the arena.
6
In Katabasis knowledge about disciples was traded like common goods. It was a quality which developed naturally amongst the disciples which Ganis made no effort to suppress, in fact she encouraged it. The art of trading knowledge in itself was a tricky one, for there was no guarantee that the acquired information was accurate or true except for the disciple’s credibility, which was almost entirely lost once they had planned to pass the trials and proceed to their next portion of their discipleship beyond the walls of the grim keep, a step shrouded in mystery to all those who remained in Katabasis.
Archer, it had become commonly known because of how cheap it was to gain information about new recruits, was considered to be among the weakest contenders. He was slower than the others and led to believe that he was not. He was far less experienced than them and he had not grown fully accustomed to his runes yet. None of the others considered him a threat and none spent too much time or effort studying him. This ultimately came to be a great advantage, especially when he overheard two disciples trading information about a certain Shola and assumed that the practice was common. What truly remained a mystery to the other contestants was Archer’s motivation, and the influence it had on Archer’s resolve.
Under a dark sky filled with circulating ravens, thirty seven contestants gathered in the arena. Most other disciples present in Katabasis gathered around to watch the trials and prepare for the day in which they would be amongst their competing colleagues. Ganis sat on a throne of bones in a balcony facing the courtyard, her Deadguard nowhere to be seen. She wore not her usual crimson robe, but her precious red steel armor which Thalia had crafted during the later years of the Utyirth Expedition. The scabbard attached to her side was empty, for the place of Eos had never been filled since their departure. Few knew the story behind her outfit and even fewer knew that she valued it far more than anything she had ever possessed. To wear it suggested that the occasion meant much to her. That was known only by two in Katabasis other than Ganis, Shola and Thalg, the Alvians who later came to be known as the Twin Elements, heroes of Nosgard.
During the first trial the participants were split into two uneven groups and pitted against one another. Archer kept a keen mind upon his surroundings and where he fell in it. While simply avoiding being attacked by choosing easily defendable positions among his team, he saw a pattern of bursts of engagement. Each team, without plan or preparation, had pinpointed weak targets among the other team and charged at them first, eliminating them by knocking them down and pulling off the colored cloth tied to their belts. As the contest continued Archer’s suspicion about his information being traded amongst the other disciples was confirmed, for he found that when the other inexperienced disciples in his team were eliminated he was the center of attention. He countered such attacks by placing himself near small clusters of his allies and eventually succeeded in diverting their attention long enough to have his team emerge victorious.
Ganis focused on Archer’s action more than she had on any other disciple and was impressed by how well he wielded the knowledge she subtly exposed him to. The disciples Archer had heard shortly before the contest, those who had traded information, had been manipulated to do so by Ganis in a time and place where Archer would be able to eavesdrop. She had carefully orchestrated the incident to remain secret to all but herself.
The following rounds continued in a similar fashion to the first, each adding additional tools and hurdles for the contenders to rely on. The one before the last had an opportunity for them to discuss a strategy of approach and lay a plan of attack to gain not individual cloths from other members, but a flag for the entire team. The two teams split themselves into groups of offense and defense, each emphasizing differently on the weight of both divisions. Archer convinced his companions to have a heavier weight on the offense, claiming that it would put pressure on the other team to remain in an intended zone away from their flag. Having the Twin Elements on his team, Archer’s emerged victorious. The strategy, it had become apparent to him afterwards, was of little consequence as his team was vastly superior. The lack of participation by the others for the planning indicated so as they focused on studying Archer for the next and final round.
Four remained for the final test, the Twin Elements, Archer and another lucky Parthan disciple by the name of Fortunates. The contenders were split into two teams in a trial where the team with the last standing member within the arena would be declared victorious. Twenty other disciples brought large buckets of water and discarded them in the arena, turning its ground muddy. Archer stood by Fortunates ready to face the Twin Elements.
The contest was swift yet exciting. Once the bell signaling its beginning rung the Twin Elements, using Archer’s strategy from the previous round, charged and pushed Archer and Fortunates into a defensive position in which all they could do was dodge and parry with their wooden staves. Thalg and Shola pushed their challengers into a muddy corner, which they had decided earlier would be the area of contest.
Restricted by the palisade behind him, Fortunates had little room to maneuver his bulky staff and failed to parry one of Thalg’s strikes which knocked him unconscious. Archer remained cornered, facing two foes far superior to him, and regained his composure quickly after realizing that he stood alone. With a series of feints and strikes he managed to temporarily break free from his corner and enter the center arena. While not landing a single strike, he succeeded in stalling the advance of the Twin Elements and protecting his flank by an artificial wooden wall which had been erected earlier in the middle of the arena.
The Twin Elements humored his attempt and, certain of victory, started to toy with Archer and observe his reactions, earning them many cheers from the crowd and Ganis’ intense attention. With one more trick up his sleeve, Archer surprised Thalg by grabbing his staff during one of his mocking blows and jerking it twice, once away and once towards him. The feat sent Th
alg tumbling in the mud. He stood up with a smile and commended the effort, proving Archer’s assumption that Thalg would be enraged by the taunt wrong. He had hoped that a humiliated Thalg would charge mindlessly and grant him a brief and slim opportunity to knock him out and even the odds.
His brief shock proved futile as Shola struck him unconscious while he considered his next move, assuring Thalg and Shola a victory. When Archer regained consciousness he found Thalg, Shola and another disciple known for his medical knowledge hunched over him.
“He’s conscious now,” Helius, the medical disciple, said. Slowly and surely Thalg and Shola helped him up, showing a new sign of respect and appreciation for Archer. They dusted his muddy clothes and each in turn shook Archer’s hand.
Smiling, Thalg said, “You’re not so hopeless after all.”
“He did fight well. I hope that one day we will meet again on the field side by side,” Shola added, patting Archer on the back.
The time for Ganis’ declaration came and the crowd went silent, all eyes in Katabasis’ courtyard focused on her sitting in her bone throne. “For this year’s contest I declare Thalg and Shola Disciples of Katabasis and ready to embark on their next task which is to be determined by none other than themselves.” She turned her eyes towards Archer and added, “What say you, disciples, of Archer’s performance?”
The crowd roared in a cheer favorable to Archer’s nomination and was brought to a sudden halt when Ganis raised her right arm, palm facing them. “Archer, you asked me a question when we first met and sought an answer which only you could give. Have you found your answer yet?”
Archer looked at the dark sky, the two disciples who stood next to him, each in turn, took a deep breath and said, “The answer is ‘thought’, Countess.” He thought many a night about his question, ‘when was a tree not a tree’, and found it one day when studying a tome containing theological writing by a long-dead scholar. The scholar had written much about thought and how it was influenced by the experiences of the individual. The scholar’s conclusion was that there were ultimately two different worlds, one of the mind and one of the tangible. Thus there were parallels of everything one knew physically. In Archer’s mind his notion of a tree was slightly affected by his long relationship with them, especially for one in his trade, and it certainly held a different meaning for others. The tome, Archer realized months after having read it, held the answer to Keshish’s question eons before it was posed.
