Corin instantly felt warmth flow through his body. “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, but you do need to tell me when you’re in pain,” Selena reminded, smiling slightly. “You wouldn’t be able to train if you hurt yourself. How did you injure yourself? I thought you were studying with Kateline.”
“I was. I knocked a pile of books onto myself,” he lied.
Selena laughed, giving a full smile. “Don’t overwork yourself yet, apprentice. If you want, I can talk to Kateline about giving you less work, at least at the beginning.”
“It’s fine. It was my mistake. Master, would you mind if I asked you some things, before we trained?” Corin answered, hesitating slightly. Selena was in a strangely good mood, he noted.
“You’ve been working very hard. I’m sure we could take a few minutes,” she agreed, leaning against the pew. “What’s on your mind?”
“Where do you hail from?” Corin asked, looking at his master with curious eyes.
“I was raised in the monastery from birth,” she explained. “My parents came from Far North, though they left me here once they realized the military knew about my natural connection to Alvah. At least, that’s what Master Alvah—well, the old Master Alvah told me. Not that I mind, really, but why are you asking?”
“I was curious,” he answered, pausing. “I was reading and I found something interesting…. Master, I was wondering, may I see your restraints?”
“So that’s what Kateline started you off with. Not surprising, but this will take a bit of time,” she said. “I suppose the easiest answer is I don’t wear any.”
“What?” Corin asked. He instantly clamped his hand over his mouth. “I apologize, Master, I meant to ask what you meant when you said you didn’t wear any restraints.”
“If you’re learning about it anyways, you may as well hear it all from me,” Selena replied, sighing. “Each of the spirits has a different level of strength, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”
“Alvah is the strongest, isn’t he?” Corin asked, trying to recall one of the few lessons he had attended so many years back. “Then it’s Corona, Serac, Petra, and last is Zephyr.”
“Exactly,” Selena confirmed. “Although aside from Alvah, the others are the same when they’re out of their vessels. You know how we choose guardians, don’t you? It’s based mainly on the natural mana inside a person.”
“You need to be really naturally gifted to house a spirit, don’t you?” Corin asked.
“Yes, spirits that aren’t strong require lower amounts of mana to house properly,” she answered.
“Properly?” Corin asked.
“To properly house a spirit is to do it purely based on someone’s mana. The restraints are to make up for not having enough of it,” she elaborated. “People with mana lower than mine would lose their minds.”
“So, you don’t wear your restraints because you don’t need them?” Corin asked.
Selena sighed. “I’ll let you know one of the clan’s secrets. We trust you here—but you can’t tell anyone what I tell you, unless someone researching asks you.”
Corin felt a wave of guilt wash over him for his training earlier that day. “I promise.”
“I am not supposed to house Zephyr,” she stated, taking a deep breath.
“You’re not?”he exclaimed.
“You may have noticed,” she explained, “that my talents lie more with Alvah’s domain. Cyril’s talents, on the other hand, are with Zephyr. When I was younger, I was supposed to take over as Alvah’s vessel… but, Alvah would be too much for my body to handle without restraints.”
“So why do you not house Alvah?” he asked. “The books said there were five sets of restraints, one for everyone.”
“That may have been right for a bit,” she began, “but this is where the secret lies, and I need to say it again, you are not to speak of this to anyone. Not the other guardians, not your friends, no one, unless it is a part of your research.”
“I promise,” Corin said, watching Selena anxiously.
“I house Zephyr because no one else is powerful enough to house any spirit without restraints, and, starting about nineteen winters ago, at least that’s what my master told me, the restraints we do have haven’t been working.”
“Pardon?” Corin asked, raising his eyebrows.
“The sets had five pieces each, as you may have read,” she explained. “One for the neck, two for the arms, and two for the thighs.”
“But they don’t now?” He asked.
“I don’t know what’s causing it—no one does, it’s what we’ve been researching—but over the past nineteen winters, the restraints have been crumbling into ashes.”
“If they all are destroyed, how are we to keep the guardians sane?” he asked. “What is left of the five sets?”
“We don’t know,” Selena answered, sighing. “And we have four collars—one silver, two gold, and one ebony. We have the thigh bands and one armband for ebony, two armbands for gold and one thigh band, and only the thigh bands for silver.”
“The others just broke? This is dangerous! What happens when they’re all gone?” Corin asked.
Selena sighed. “They all crumbled during various moments, and they’ve only increased in speed. There is an actual reason I’m allowing you to research with Kateline instead of training—this is really important to our clan.”
Corin paused, finding it difficult to digest all of the information Selena had passed onto him. He wondered how much he could get her to explain. “…Did… did Aless’s exile relate to this at all?”
Corin flinched, watching as a dark look fell over Selena’s eyes. “That is forbidden to talk about,” she answered, “and for referring to Master Serac by his common name, take a few laps.”
Corin sighed, beginning to start a light jog, thinking Selena’s story over in thorough detail. How could the restraints be failing? They had existed for over one thousand years, so why now? Maybe tonight he’d make good on his lie. The clan’s curfew was fairly early, but he almost always saw many other members arriving far later than they should have, especially when Corin often wandered back many hours past the bell with Master Selena.
He would investigate the library sometime this week. He was used to harsh training—he was sure he could do it on less sleep.
Chapter 10
THAT night Corin found himself by the door in his barracks, anxiously waiting for the bell to ring and signify curfew. Master Selena had allowed him to take an early night due to Piers’s constant interference with their training. Most of the students didn’t respect curfew, and the bell really was more a guideline at this point, rather than something the students were actually expected to follow.
However, Corin still made a point of at least attempting to follow the bells, and he felt a little bit rebellious sneaking out of his room. When the bell tolled he gave a small smile, opening his door and slipping out, wandering between students rushing back to their rooms.
It was easier to blend in with the crowd, he noted with a smile, especially since he had access to sets of student’s robes to match every element except water, a fact that came in handy when he needed to hide. It proved to work to his advantage—no one stopped him in the halls as he passed through Zephyr’s barracks.
He began climbing the stairs, slowly, trying to attract as little attention as he could. So far so good, he noted with a smile, the only problem he could foresee was if he managed to bump into Master Selena. Corin was sure the others wouldn’t truly care, especially since he was only a few minutes off curfew.
Corin climbed to the top of the stairs and promptly collided with a large, solid chest. He immediately lost his balance, making an embarrassing squeaking noise as he did so. Oh Zephyr—falling down those stairs was so painful; whenever he did, he almost never escaped spending a week in the infirmary as a result.
However, before he managed to slip past the point of no return, he felt a strong arm grab his lower back, pulling him u
pright once again.
Corin flushed, seeing both Aless and Piers standing before him. Ah… that would explain the hard chest, he noticed. Corin bowed quickly. “T-thank you….”
Aless smiled. “It was no trouble,” he replied, before squinting. “Wait, Corin? Any reason you’re wearing Corona’s robes?”
“And walking outside past curfew,” Piers teased, laughing.
Corin flushed bright red, looking away from the two, feeling beyond embarrassed. “I… uh….”
Piers laughed. “Relax. We’re just joking,” he replied, turning to Aless. “Look, I actually do need to get some sleep, so I’m going to leave you two for a bit. I’m guessing you can handle any ‘discipline’ that needs to be dealt, dear Master Serac?”
Aless blushed, much to Corin’s surprise. “When will you stop being so disgusting?”
“When you stop being so gorgeous!” he replied, laughing and blowing a kiss as he walked down the stairs.
Corin looked between Aless and Piers. He had thought Piers had been flirting with Master Selena, but he couldn’t help but wonder when Piers said things like that to Aless. He really hoped it wasn’t the case. Master Selena seemed really fond of Piers, and Corin himself—
Corin flushed again, shaking his head. He had known the older man for a very short amount of time—he couldn’t allow himself to think like that yet.
He knew he was attracted to both men and women. He had discovered it at a rather young age, back when he was still living in Central. Another courtesan had a son a few years older than him, and they used to fool around a bit when he had been younger, even while Corin dated a few of the girls around the village. For him it hadn’t been a dramatic moment, merely something he already knew.
Corin used to enjoy watching Kateline when he joined the monastery, but eventually his interest in her had faded. Most of the other apprentices seemed to be interested in pursuing her, and he hadn’t been confident enough to work toward it with all of the other, much stronger men working toward the same goal.
He hadn’t been interested in many others in the monastery, especially since Master Selena worked him to exhaustion almost every day. Corin hadn’t really had a chance to notice anyone, but now that Aless was here….
Corin looked up at the older man. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” Aless asked.
“I’m breaking curfew,” he started, averting his gaze from the older man, “and I ran into Piers.”
Aless chuckled. “Piers is strong enough to withstand it, I’m sure. Though you don’t seem like the type to break rules.”
“I was restless….” Corin replied. “I was going on a walk.”
“Mind if I join you?” Aless asked, seeing an opportunity to become closer to the younger man. Despite having already steadied Corin, he kept his hand on Corin’s lower back.
Corin blinked. “Join me?”
“I already said I wanted to get to know you better. Selena’s already asleep, I’m sure, though if you don’t want to—”
“No!” Corin insisted, with far more vigor than he intended. “I mean…. Yeah, I’d like if you joined me.”
Aless returned the smile, turning around and gesturing for Corin to follow him. “We can wander around the monastery, if you’d like. Or outside, even. Curfew doesn’t exactly apply to guardians.”
“The monastery would be good,” Corin replied. He sighed, glancing at Aless. He had no idea what to say to the older man, despite his attraction to Aless, and he was so worried he’d come across as nervous or immature, especially since Aless himself was so mature and calm.
“So, is there anything you want to ask me?” Aless offered, beginning a slow loop around the main temple. “The other day I bombarded you with questions, I figure I owe you the same opportunity.”
“Uh…,” Corin began, “when did you join the monastery? Were you born into it?”
“Hmm…. I think it would’ve been about twenty winters ago, though it could be a little bit less. I was sixteen winters at the time.”
“Why so late?” Corin asked, before pausing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend—”
“No, it’s fine. When I was younger I was known to be a powerful mage, even before I joined the clan, and, well, Far West’s military noticed,” Aless replied.
Corin stared at Aless. “What?”
“They kidnapped me from my home and tried to make me help them in the war against the Far East,” Aless explained. “I met Piers there, and we escaped together. It was funny, in hindsight…. He didn’t speak very much Common, but I could tell he was unhappy. He was so loud, though, even then.”
“I… I’m so sorry that happened to you,” he muttered, looking at the ground. Piers and Aless had escaped themilitary together—of course they’d be close. He wondered if he’d ever manage to have that sort of connection with the older man, or really, anyone at all. There was nothing like a situation of life versus death to bond people. Corin immediatelywilled his brain to shut up, lest it continue to spout unreasonable jealousy.
“We all live with our pasts,” Aless replied. “Besides, Piers has been my best friend ever since. I used to just think of him as an annoying, loud little kid.”
“I’m… glad you two are so happy together,” he replied.
“Wait, pardon?” Aless asked, chuckling. “Together? I think you misunderstand. Piers isn’t attracted to anything without breasts, I’m sorry to say.”
“But… he blew you a kiss good night,”Corin pointed out.
“He just likes teasing people,” Aless explained. “I think he may be pursuing Kateline, in all honesty. He denied it earlier but hmm… I’m not sure on that one.”
Corin thought back to Master Selena’s reaction to Piers. He silently hoped that wasn’t the case—he did think Master Selena and Piers would make a good couple, especially since the guardian seemed to be the only one able to calm Master Selena.
“And what about you?”he asked.
“Pardon?” Aless asked.
“I… I don’t mean to overstep my boundaries but do you only pursue women too?”
Aless laughed, moving his hand to Corin’s back again. “No. I don’t pursue women at all. I don’t mind saying it, honestly. I’ve heard some people have had… bad experiences, to say the least. I didn’t tell anyone back in Far South, and West’s soldiers were too busy mounting each other to care.”
“And no one in the monastery cared?” Corin asked.
“I’ve never met anyone who’s willing to speak out against it…. Unless, you’re trying to say something,” he mentioned.
“No!” Corin insisted. “I mean… I dated men and women back in Central. I was just… surprised. I was from the slum, so no one really minded, but I had no idea what the clan’s stance on it was.”
Now that was interesting. He’d have to tuck that piece of information away for later. “We have more important things to worry about. It’s the same reason you don’t see any real brawls between the races. If anyone really cares, they can leave and join a militia.”
“Sorry…,” Corin apologized.
“Don’t be. There was no harm done,” Aless replied. “Anything else you wanted to ask me?” He asked.
“I can’t think of anything right now,” he replied.
“Hmm…. Do you mind if I ask you something, then?” Aless asked.
“S-sure,” Corin replied.
“Why do you continue to train with Selena? She seems very controlling,” Aless said.
“She’s been able to teach me more than any other guardian,”he explained. “She’s strict, but she’s also really nice to me. Whenever I improve even a little bit she praises me. I know she could have a better apprentice. We aren’t lacking talented students in Zephyr’s domain.”
Aless bit his lip. “I see,” he replied as they finished their loop, arriving back at the main temple’s door. “So, did I manage to cure some of your restlessness? Or would you like to take another lap?”
“I think
I’m fine now,” Corin replied, smiling. “Thank you for walking with me.”
Aless smiled, turning and giving Corin a peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then, Corin.”
Chapter 11
PIERS sighed, yawning from his vantage point. Out of all of the jobs he could be doing, the training, the cooking, the annoying of Selena, this one had to be the worst. He was a glorified babysitter, for Corona’s sake! The vessel of the spirit of fire was playing the role of babysitter wingman to a former exile.
It didn’t really matter at times like this that the aforementioned former exile was his best friend. He knew he had to tell Kateline and Cyrilabout Aless’s “private training sessions.” Sure, Selena didn’t need to know, and her knowing would’ve been more destructive than not, but the others should at least be aware that Aless was taking a strong pupil out of the grounds privately.
Cyril and Kateline didn’t think it was necessary to stop Aless from interacting with Corin, but they didn’t want to leave the duo unsupervised, and of course both of them were too busy with their research to do it themselves, but “Piers never did anything besides bed apprentices and annoy Selena.” Piers could admit it was important to watch, especially if Aless went feral from his restraints, but, in Piers’s opinion, it was boring playing watchdog for them.
Besides, it was not as if their training was particularly interesting. He chuckled in amusement a few times watching Aless get riled up over Corin’s lack of progress. For all that Selena was easy to anger, she was an amazing teacher for Corin, filled with rare patience for him.
Aless didn’t have the same skills in that regard,and after day after day passing of them talking, sparring, then trying—and failing—to get Corin to perform basic spells with little to no success was beginning to wear on him.
Piers watched in amusement as Aless’s expression soured, his mouth moving as if he was giving a command. Piers rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to chuckle. And Aless tried to tell him they were getting along great! Corin himself looked close to tears, unable to move the water even slightly.
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