“You don’t think Daius knew that the Seer was lying? Do you?”
“I think the Head Teacher knew exactly what he was doing. Theo was a very powerful conduit and the only advantage that the Head Teacher had over him was his knowledge of the Unspoken. The Head Teacher may look gentle, but is a true beast on the inside.”
CHAPTER 23
At morning call, Kosai hurriedly got dressed and headed over to the mess hall. Breakfast consisted of eggs with minced spinach. After making quick work of his meal, he rushed over to the arena. He hurried his morning routine more than usual because he needed to ask Zenith another question, one that he thought of just as he fell asleep. He sat cross legged in the dirt, put his hands on his knees and began to meditate.
The sky was grey. A cold wind blew off of the water, bringing with it a small shower. Zenith had wrapped himself with his tarp like a robe, tied the rope around his waist and was looking out at the coming storm.
“I wager it will be here this evening. Looks like a bad one too,” he said, not looking at Kosai.
“The Circle of Power that you showed me, can it be carved in a talisman, or a stone floor? You carved one into a wall.”
“A talisman is possible, though dangerous if you lost possession of it. Placing a large circle, like the one you did yesterday, impressive as it was, is in practicality, useless. If you would have attacked Mearto, she too would have been protected from harm. There is a project I want you to start on however. Follow me.” Zenith turned away from the shore and headed inland. Kosai followed and again, the forest transformed. The beach and all of its sounds, including the storm, disappeared. They walked a little ways inward to the clearing. The altar that had burned during his last deep meditation was gone.
“You still need to destroy me to become a full conduit. I figured we could begin by building the altar. Mearto taught you to focus on the energy coming into your body when you have made a connection to the Faye. To build the altar, you must look past that connection and focus on where the Faye comes from.”
“The earth,” Kosai said softly.
“Focus on that energy and will up a stone altar. I can’t explain it any better than that.”
Kosai closed his eyes and focused on the stream of energy flowing into his body. He looked past the opening. He felt that he was disappearing in a wave of power. The energy of the earth tossed him forward and back, carried him in one direction and then many directions at the same time. His knees began to shake and Zenith held him by his arms.
“I said to focus on it, not become it,” he said. Kosai opened his eyes and took a step back. Two images instantly came to his mind, one of a small circle of power and another of the vial that the Dark One carried.
“The vial you gave to my mother, you put a Circle of Power on it. It is etched in the glass. That is why no one has been able to kill him. It wasn’t a simple token of affection; it was a real protective charm.”
“And that is why I do not advise you carve a Circle of Power onto anything portable. Even though it was small, the glass, the wooden cork, the leather strap, all came from the earth, and in a small way, still maintains the connection. The talisman can only be broken by a word of the Unspoken. Consequences can sometimes far outweigh the initial action. All that is in the past and now it is your duty to put a stop to my mistake. I wanted you to build an altar, but I think we will soon be out of time. This lesson wasn’t without total failure. What you have experienced is the Faye, not as it flows through you, but as it is. If you can control yourself in its massive current, you will be able to sense things before they happen.”
Mearto placed her hand on Kosai’s shoulder, ending his mediation and communion. Six other teachers stood around him in a circle.
“Have you told them?” Kosai asked quietly.
“No, I thought I would leave that to you,” Mearto said. Kosai nodded, stood, and faced the other teachers. “From left to right are Alkine, Chaerell, Faeris, Emalee, Jacqueline and Wysen.” Kosai knew their names, but felt assured seeing their faces.
“You are the teachers who voted that I should come to this school and prepare to defeat the Dark One,” Kosai began. “But that was not my only intention.” Kosai told them about his mission to find the betrayer and gave a short synopsis of his time at the school. He explained how the Seer was in league with the other teachers and the council in betraying the trade routes. The teachers were not surprised. Some nodded their heads, as if they had guessed that the betrayal was within their own walls, others looked at Kosai inquisitively. “Today, the Captain is interrogating Aldair, Beoran and Thuane of the Three Brothers,” he continued, “and if their stories line up, he will charge the members of the council with treason, impeach them, and hang them. It is our goal to remove the Seer and those that side with him before that happens.”
“You’re asking us to rise against our own mentors,” Jacqueline said. “These are people we have known for longer than you have been alive and not once have I suspected them of any misdoing.”
“Open your eyes,” Faeris said. “It was clear to me. Yes, we do have a history together, but their actions are killing others. I have one concern however. How are we to remove the other Teachers, including Daius? Who would take his place? He has no assistant and none of us know any of the words of the Unspoken.”
“It is my belief that the Head Teacher will side with us,” said Mearto. “Though he is against us at his heart, he will not allow power to be taken from him. When we charge the Seer and the others with treason, I think it would be wise to leave the Head Teacher out and let him believe that we have not suspected him in anyway.
“You all voted against Kosai becoming the next Assistant, but the vote stood. Kosai will become the new Assistant today, and after we remove the Seer, he will begin to learn the Unspoken. This will keep the Head Teacher comfortable with his position, and eventually, we will be able to charge him as well.”
“And what about the special training session, was this it?” Wysen asked in his shaky voice. Kosai recognized him as the teacher that visited with Theo and Daius when he discovered the other prophecy, and the reasons Theo wanted him dead.
“No,” Kosai said. Wysen smiled mischievously. “I doubt that the Seer and his allies are going to allow us to remove them from this school peacefully. I want to be useful in the process and I am asking, as the Assistant, if you would all attack me at once. I have a plan on how to best make use of my limitations.”
Kosai removed his shirt again and placed it over the banister. He looked at the blue stripe running down the side and thought about the Captain’s favorite piece of advice.
“The pain is good for you, it will make you stronger,” he said to himself. He thought back to when he sparred with the Captain and received the coupling portion of that advice. Pain is a good teacher, but a poor master. Kosai shook the thought away and walked towards the center of the arena. Mearto motioned for the teachers to surround him in a circle.
He closed his eyes, took a breath, made the connection to the Faye and felt its power flowing into him. When he opened his eyes, he clenched his fists. Fire erupted on his knuckles and quickly covered his forearms. “Don’t hold back,” he said.
He heard a crack behind him and sidestepped, seeing a fire ball shoot past him. He turned to face the attacker. He punched forward, sending his own fireball in Faeris’ direction. Just as he launched the fireball, there was a bolt from Mearto. Kosai willed up a wall and ran left towards Alkine just before it shattered. Alkine hollered in panic and spun in the dirt. Wind shot out from him in all directions, creating a small sand storm. Kosai used the cover and slid his feet forward, pushing further into the wind.
When his foot met Alkine’s, he punched forward, striking the teacher in the ribs, and then swung a back fist into his jaw. But before Alkine went down, Kosai felt a cold stab in his back. A black rope slithered through the dirt and wrapped itself around Kosai’s arm, and another around his neck. Kosai
tried to fight free, but he was too late. The brown cloud of dirt turned black and Kosai passed out.
“You barely lasted a minute against all of us,” he heard Mearto say. Kosai opened his eyes and saw some of the teachers standing around him. Alkine stood next to Mearto, but there was no bruise or welt to the side of his face. Kosai looked at him curiously. Suddenly, a dull throbbing pain erupted on his mouth. He assumed that Mearto slapped his face to wake him.
“How did you do that?” he asked Alkine.
“The moment you stepped in my storm, you failed. I had you believe that you were actually attacking me, when really you were just standing there like a punching bag. Don’t always trust what you see.”
“Again,” Kosai said. Mearto placed a hand down to help him up, but he brushed it aside. “Leave me alone, I can get up myself.” He staggered up on his own and walked to the center of the arena. “Again!” Kosai said louder and with more command… and then froze.
A memory came to him of Deakon sparring with Lieutenant Nuevon. He had jump kicked the lieutenant and missed. Before he hit the ground, Nuevon struck his shoulder into the Deakon’s gut. He could see the frustration and immaturity in his face. Another memory, when he was laid up in the medical wing, unable to move, completely reliant on everyone. He would still be there if it wasn’t for her. He was put there because of his arrogance. During his Awakening, he would have drowned in the ocean, but Mearto saved his life and helped him become a Forced Conduit. He was standing in the arena because of the help from others.
He looked at his arms, his legs and his chest. Though he was the Wolf of the Capital Barracks, he realized he was not as strong as first thought.
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, ashamed of his behavior and realizing that in the arena, he wasn’t the wolf of the Capital Barracks, he was Kosai, an arrogant untalented young man who overestimated his own ability.
“That is what we wanted you to learn,” Mearto said. “Not a single one of us, not even the Head Teacher, would be able to defeat all of us by himself. Humility and patience are some of the best lessons you can learn.”
“Patience…” The word stuck in Kosai’s mind like a glob of molasses. It seemed to be the answer for everything at the school and now, Kosai was ready to begin believing it.
CHAPTER 24
Aldair and Thuane stood in shackles outside the Captain’s office, with four guards surrounding them. Each guard was in full dress and armed with a long spear. Aldair, already tall and pale, had purple bags under his eyes and his proud tall posture was bent with guilt. Thuane’s arrogant, distant smile was replaced with a frown. Sweat speckled his forehead and upper lip even though the morning air was slightly cool. The door to the Captain’s office opened and a guard came out.
“Enter,” the guard said. The guards turned on their heels and escorted Aldair and Thuane into the office. There were two chairs. The Captain sat in his chair with a note in front of him.
“Sit,” the Captain ordered calmly, gesturing to the chairs. The two were taken by the arms and forced to sit by the guards. “It seems during our last meeting that I was asking the both of you the wrong questions, and I blame myself. You two, and your friend Beoran, would have been the richest men in the country, possibly in all history.”
“What do you mean?” Thuane asked nervously. Aldair shot him a cold glance.
“Beoran has explained the whole thing to me. How he received the contract from the Council on the monopoly of trade routes, contracting a portion of the government contract to transport a comparatively small amount of goods, hiding the letters in the grain stores and cloth. It was all very clever.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Thuane said again. Aldair shook his head but the Captain disregarded it. “You have no proof of it. Say that there was a contract. It would have been burnt in the fire.”
“As well as everything else,” Aldair said. “Don’t you get it? I may still have the entire inventory on record, and you may have all the finances penned down in your school, but all of the contracts, all of our agreements, everything from wagon manufacturers, to suon breeders, are gone.”
“And we can rebuild,” Thuane said. “We have the resources. You just give up to easily. It was quite the tragedy to see Beoran’s life go up in smoke, but I don’t think this has been the most difficult trial the Three Brothers have faced.”
“Beoran confessed. He told the Captain everything. You heard it right out of his mouth!” Aldair shouted, his pale face turning read.
“I don’t believe him. Beoran was confused, desperate too. I think he would say anything to ensure his next meal, not that it would do him good to go without a few meals if you know what I mean.” Thuane patted his belly and laughed nervously.
“Guards, release Aldair for a moment,” the Captain said. The guard to Aldair’s right took a key from his belt and inserted it into Aldair’s right shackle and then his left. “Now Aldair, I believe you have something for me.”
Aldair reached in his shirt and pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to the Captain. The Captain unfolded it, held it in front of him and began to read aloud.
“‘Aldair, the contracts have just been finalized with the Council and it seems our threat worked as well as could be expected.’” The Captain paused and looked at Thuane. Thuane was growing pale.
“Anyone could have written that,” he said. The Captain continued reading.
“‘They are expecting the uprising to be soon, and after it has failed, we will have full access to all trade routes and transport services. There is a group within our company that is planning on breaking off, but we will deal with them as we have with the others. Beoran has the contract, and each council member has sealed it in their own blood with the mark of the Dueling Serpents. Congratulations Aldair. To our fortune and succes, signed Thuane.’ Oh, and it is signed with the same Serpent mark in blood. May I see your thumb?”
One of the guards turned Thuane’s hand upwards, showing a scab in the center of his thumb.
“Do you remember that letter?” Aldair asked Thuane. He turned to the Captain. “Councilor Steran, Councilor Simmons, Councilor Kevyn, and Councilor Aleal were the ones we worked with in organizing the monopoly.”
Thuane was silent and pale; his hands shook slightly on the armrests.
“Before Lieutenant Nuevon left for Linnouse,” the Captain said, “I gave him a letter addressed to Aldair. He was ordered to give it to him on his arrival and that Aldair should come quietly. In that letter, I promised him that if he were able to provide evidence that the Three Brothers knew of the Syndicate’s uprising, and donated the excess inventory to supporting the people of Noiknaer, all would be forgiven. I chose Aldair over you because I knew, from his character and understanding of the situation, that I would have his full cooperation, while you, Thuane, I knew would deny everything.”
“How dare you!” Thuane yelled. “You swore to be loyal to the Three Brothers. You signed a pact in blood, your own blood.”
“And who is going to conduct the punishment. It was an arrangement between the three of us. Beoran has already betrayed us and is at the Gates as we speak. You will be there soon while I will be assisting the Captain in maintaining order.” Aldair turned to the Captain and bowed low. “Thank you Captain. I am in your service.”
“Good. Where are your grain stores? Are they here in Noiknaer?”
“Some are here in Noiknaer in our distribution center, others are in Linnouse, but most is in Port Rasmú.”
“Do what you can to get as much grain here as fast as you can. Perhaps the enticement of food will subdue the people.” Aldair bowed again and left with two guards escorting him. “You two,” he said pointing to the guards that were over Thuane. “Take him to the Gates. Then go tell Nuevon that we need him and twenty senior guardsmen to meet in full dress out front immediately. Twenty is just enough to raise suspicion, but not alarm. We’re going to pay a visit to the Co
uncil immediately.”
The two guards saluted and pulled Thuane out of his chair and shoved him into a march. Thuane scowled but said nothing as walked out of the office.
Kosai’s sword was in a box behind his desk. He opened the box and held the curved blade in his right hand, and unsheathed it with his left. His arm was still in a cast from his encounter with the Dark One. He could not grip the handle firmly enough and he winced as he swung it gently in front of him. His arm twitched in pain and the blade began to shake slightly. Cautiously, he switched the blade to his right hand and the sheath to his left, sheathed the blade and placed it on his left side.
The Guard organized quickly and stood in a four-by-five block with Nuevon in front. All stood at attention when the Captain walked down the stairs. Each guard held a spear in their right hand, a saber on their left hip and a shield on their back. Their torsos were protected with a white padded shirt and chainmailt. The Captain took his place at the front of the Guard and turned to address the group.
“Today, we are removing a portion of the council from power. We have discovered that they are the reason many of our own caravans have failed, and by extension, why many of the people have died from starvation. Resistance is not expected. We will march to the Gate and then turn on West Road. We will march south to Market Street, changing formation to two by ten, and then spread again to four by five when we reach the Pavilion. We will then break back into the two by ten once inside the Capitol building. When we are close to the Council room, the ten more senior members will break off and make their way to the Council seating area. The rest of you will line up behind me. Understood?”
“Yes sir,” the guards said.
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