Aether's Apprentices

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “But you stopped using foresight a little over halfway through,” Yukiko said.

  “Yeah. My aether was getting low,” Gregory admitted.

  “You slowed some. You were not as sure about each move,” Jenn said, “which means you were just using your skill with the naginata at that point.”

  “Which is impressive,” Dia added. “Now, you asked about going to deliver messages, right?”

  “Please, Dia,” Gregory said.

  Dia looked out the window and smiled. “Very well. We’ll make it back in time for physical training, even with that stop.”

  “That’ll be good,” Jenn smiled. “We miss training on the days our games run long.”

  “Yes. They may be running longer in the coming weeks,” Dia said with a knowing smile, “but we shall see what Magi-killer decides.”

  Glances were exchanged, but none of them spoke up as the carriage rolled down the street.

  Chapter Four

  Gregory gave Clover and Ling a curious smile. “Didn’t expect you two to be here.”

  “Magus Erichson waived class since we were missing half of it,” Ling said. “We just finished the Peaceful Fist with the others. How was your day?”

  “Time for your snacks,” Dia interrupted them. “Come inside and discuss it over the repast.”

  They agreed and trooped inside to have their meal.

  Steva laid out their snack, which looked like more food than they could eat, until the instructors joined them.

  “So, how was it?” Ling prompted Gregory.

  “Interesting,” Gregory replied. “We answered questions and, in the case of the armor, had to demonstrate our fighting styles.”

  “Nightsong is peculiar that way,” Magus Leah Riftwalker said. “I recall getting my armor made.”

  “Yes. You took a lot of pride in showing off,” Bishop said with a neutral expression.

  “As if someone didn’t break the record for physical enhancement apprentices,” the redheaded magus replied with a smirk. “I had to do my best after that.”

  “I think Lenon tried to one-up you, which is why she got so angry,” Bishop replied, wearing a fond smile as she clearly thought back to that moment.

  “He shouldn’t have tried to burn them all to ash like that,” Leah snorted. “Oh, he gave it a good go, but talk about a three-second wonder.”

  “You would know,” Bishop coughed, clearly poking Leah.

  “Yes, I would,” Leah said without a trace of anger. “I like them hot-blooded.”

  Clover giggled, then covered her mouth.

  Leah gave Clover a wink. “It’s fine. Puns are good humor.”

  “No, they aren’t,” Bishop said.

  “We’ve had this argument enough,” Dia said mildly.

  “We have,” Bishop nodded.

  “How did you do?” Daciana asked the trio.

  “Bishop’s record was beaten,” Yukiko said. “Jenn broke it.”

  Bishop’s eyebrow went up. “Really?”

  “Yes. Elliot told her that she beat it by nearly double the time,” Gregory said.

  Now, both of Bishop’s eyebrows went up. “Did she? Hmm... Maybe I’ve been too easy on her, then.”

  “I did my very best and was exhausted afterward,” Jenn said, hoping to mitigate things.

  “Yes, as you should have,” Bishop nodded.

  “What about you, Yuki?” Nessa asked.

  “She did amazing, of course,” Jenn grinned.

  “Nightsong was impressed by the shadow blades,” Yukiko said, looking at Inda. “I used what I thought would work best. I was nearly empty of aether at the end.”

  “They worked well for you?” Inda asked.

  “Elliot, Nightsong’s aide,” Gregory explained, “said that no other shadow magi of her rank could have done a tenth of what she did.”

  “Interesting,” Inda said with a small smile, one long rabbit ear twitching slightly. “We can work harder, then.”

  Yukiko’s smile was a little strained. “Of course, Sensei.”

  “And you, Greg?” Victoria asked.

  “Elliot had no answer,” Jenn said.

  “He didn’t?” Grandmaster Hemet Herstat asked with a pensive look, stroking his long white beard with one hand.

  “Is that unusual?” Ling asked.

  “Elliot is an elephas eurtik,” Hemet replied. “They have a special kind of memory.”

  “Oh, I know this!” Clover said, having just finished a bite. “Ancestral memory. When they’re born, they have the memories of their forebears. Supposedly, the memories become dim and it takes time for them to bring them up if they’re from more than three ancestors back.”

  “That is correct,” Hemet smiled at the excitable young woman. “Well done. Not many know that about them.”

  “Thank you!” Clover beamed.

  “And he didn’t know what to make of Greg’s display?” Victoria asked.

  “He didn’t,” Yukiko nodded.

  “Considering that Gregory can fight Egil to a standstill, that doesn’t surprise me,” Gin said with pride in his tone.

  “Magi-killer?” Magus William Rockcrusher asked with curiosity. The part-mole eurtik gingerly scratched at his head with his claws.

  “Yes.”

  “With what weapons?” William asked.

  “Naginatas for them both,” Gin replied.

  All the instructors looked at Gregory with respect and curiosity. Leah was the first one to speak, “With foresight, that—”

  “Without foresight,” Gin said. “We haven’t had a fight between them that used foresight.”

  Gregory laughed nervously as the older magi stared at him again. “He’s a hard fight. I’m sure that even with foresight, he’d win.”

  “Outside of the Emperor’s guards, are there any as skilled as Magi-killer with that weapon?” Master Samuel Eageleye asked, his golden eyes focused on Gregory.

  “Not that I know of,” Gin said. “Now, since we are almost done eating, we have training to do.”

  ~*~*~

  Unarmed and weapons training flew by for Gregory— he kept an eye on Ling and Clover, encouraging them here and there to help keep them moving. Both would nod and push harder, intent on doing their best.

  After training, it was supposed to be time to separate for bathing. All of the instructors though, aside from Hemet and Dia, wanted to spar with Gregory after what they’d heard about him during their snacks. Gin made all the matches weapons-only, with no aether to be used, and Gregory was thankful for that.

  Gregory only lost a single fight, against Samuel. The part-eagle eurtik used a bow and, without foresight, Gregory had a hard time with him. He managed to knock a couple of arrows away, but the first one that got past his defenses hit his shoulder. The fight ended shortly after. Leah, William, and Rhea all lost to him in quick order, and each was impressed with how skilled he was.

  Bishop sparred against him when they were all done. She gave Gregory his hardest fight, but he still won. Without her aether to infuse her to greater speeds and strengths, he was able to eventually make it past her parries.

  The bath was mostly quiet, for which Gregory was thankful. He answered the few questions that the others asked, surprised that they were mostly about where he’d come from. He was happy enough to tell them about Alturis.

  They had dinner with minimal conversation as the younger magi focused on eating and replenishing their aether. When the meal came to an end, instead of going to the war room like they’d been planning, they retired to the large suite.

  Taking seats at the table, Daciana was the first to ask, “What was it like?”

  Clover nodded vigorously. “Yes, I wanted to know, too.”

  “And we wish to know how your days were,” Jenn said. “It was your first full day with the clan.”

  “I guess we can start,” Ling said. “When we got to class, Paul was there, but he sent us right back here. He did say that tomorrow will be busy and that we should be prepar
ed to be there longer than we’ve been there before. I believe that we’ll be starting in on the tournament that Magi-killer told us about at the start of the year.”

  “That makes sense. We’d need to get it done to know who else is going to Buldoun,” Yukiko said.

  “Once we came back here, we had some free time. We asked Bishop to walk us through the Peaceful Fist. I trained with Hemet, and Clover trained with Magus Alvis.”

  “Rhea. She prefers to be called Rhea, like the grandmaster likes to be called Hemet. Said she would get confused with her father if she went by Alvis,” Clover interrupted.

  “Hemet helped me learn things about enchanting I hadn’t known before. The way he explains it makes it seem so easy... I wonder how I failed to see it.”

  “Oh, same with Rhea,” Clover nodded. “She is smart and patient…” Blushing, Clover looked at the table. “She said she’ll find a way to channel my enthusiasm better going forward, as I broke the lesson a few times today.”

  “That enthusiasm is a good thing,” Gregory told her. “You and Daciana have that in common. Differently, but the same unbridled energy that makes us smile.”

  Daciana grinned. “Clover is fun.”

  Clover smiled, glancing at Daciana. “Thanks.”

  “After the lesson, we did the Peaceful Fist again with our juniors,” Ling went on.

  “We helped lead them,” Victoria said. “I think you’ll both have the routine down in the next few days, though.”

  “We hope to,” Ling replied with a tight smile. “Then, you made it back here,” she finished, looking at Gregory.

  “Our day was very similar to theirs, but we had economics class to get through,” Nessa said. “We’re doing well in it, but Adept Benoc is very dry and refuses to repeat himself.”

  “I don’t like him,” Daciana said.

  “He doesn’t like us, either,” Victoria said. “Moreso, now. He was very distant today.”

  “Bitter that you didn’t join his clan,” Jenn said. “It’s not too surprising, but as long as you study the material, you’ll be fine.”

  “William doesn’t talk much, but he’s focused on teaching me,” Daciana said. “He was impressed when I told him how I used the barrage in the tournament. He’s started teaching me earth spikes.”

  “Samuel told me to be very careful about repeating the trick I used to get to the finals,” Nessa said softly. “He’s killed people that way by not stopping in time. After I showed him what I was capable of, he just nodded and started me on feeling the wind. He says that so many different things can be accomplished if I understand the wind instead of just forcing it to do what I want.”

  “Hmm... Inda still has me feel the shadows to understand the difference between each patch around me,” Yukiko told her. “It might be similar.”

  Nessa looked hopeful. “I’m doing my best, but that’s good news.”

  “Leah was sad that I could only manage the one small rift, and that’s only if I had my earring charged or I was full of aether,” Victoria said sadly. “She did say that most of my contemporaries don’t consider the defensive capabilities of our magic enough. As soon as the solstice is over, she plans to push me hard. I don’t understand why the solstice matters, though.”

  Gregory chuckled. “Because you’ll advance then.”

  “What?” Clover asked with hopeful eyes.

  “The clan has a number of events during the solstice,” Yukiko said. “One of them is feeding us additives that force aether growth. It’s dangerous, so it’s only done once a year. Last year, we all grew two ranks.”

  All five of the new members digested that information with hope and longing.

  “Two is unusual,” Jenn said, tempering their hopes, “but one is nearly a given, from what we understand.”

  “Wait, you never told us about what you did today!” Daciana said suddenly.

  “We didn’t,” Gregory laughed. “I’ll explain…”

  Chapter Five

  Gregory gave Ling and Clover a grin as they walked toward tactics class together. “You’ve been smiling more this morning.”

  “Yeah!” Clover beamed. “We’re all a unit now. Clan and friends.”

  “I agree with her,” Ling nodded. “We’re happy that we’re part of the clan and, if not truly equal with you, we’re at least closer.”

  “That’s true,” Yukiko smiled. “I’m happy that my friends are with us more often, too.”

  “Friends make it better,” Jenn agreed.

  “I wonder what we’ll be doing today?” Gregory mused. “If he felt the need to call off class and warned them that we’ll be here longer, that means we should expect over a full day.”

  “Which is why Velma packed us snacks,” Jenn said. “It was a good idea to mention it to her, Ling.”

  Ling’s smile grew and she bowed her head. “Thank you. It seemed prudent. I find my attention shaken by hunger during the longer games. Your storage ring makes having food on hand trivial.”

  “I like how we thought to bring Farin something to eat, too,” Clover said. “He’s been good. Not like Chucky.”

  Gregory nodded. “He’s been quick to learn, and eager to do so. If the Iron Hand hadn’t taken him in, I was going to suggest him to Dia. Maybe it’s for the best this way, though— he’s been really happy since he joined them.”

  “Good morning,” Farin Wood called out, breaking away from his clan members coming down a different path. “I know what we’re doing today.”

  “Erichson told you?” Gregory asked with disbelief.

  “No,” Farin chuckled. “They told me.” He motioned to the other Iron Hand apprentices he’d left behind. “They had a match against another class.”

  “Ahh, must be a chance to get us used to how the tournament will run,” Yukiko nodded. “That makes sense. It also means we’re a day behind the others.”

  “Was it all six?” Ling asked.

  “No,” Farin said. “Only four of the six played. They were going to tell me more, but Erichson told them to stop.”

  “He must want to explain it to us himself,” Jenn said. She glanced at Gregory for a moment. “I think I have an idea as to why.”

  Gregory considered the implication. “That would cut it down to five, not four.”

  “Oh, because of foresight?” Clover asked. “That might give you a way to cheat…” She paused for a moment. “But you never use it against us.”

  “I can’t learn if I cheat,” Gregory replied. “Every win you’ve had against me has been your skill eclipsing mine.”

  Ling and Clover both looked happier as they walked. Jenn and Yukiko exchanged a small smile when they saw how happy they were.

  “And me?” Farin asked.

  “You, too,” Gregory nodded as they entered the building. “Oh, and Farin? Thanks for not being a pain like Chucky was. We’ve been very glad to have you in the class with us. Seeing the same drive to learn and excel in you makes it easier to strive.”

  Farin smiled. “I should say the same to all of you. When I was with Shun’s group… well, it wasn’t good. Magus Harrison did his best, but I couldn’t get clear answers to my questions. Anytime Harrison had to pause to explain things, he had to reprimand someone because they would complain about how slow the clanless are.”

  “Yeah, that’s Nick,” Gregory snorted.

  “When I joined your group, I was a little leery,” Farin admitted as they climbed the stairs. “The rumors about you three being elitists and hating others are floating around, but that first day in class, I had doubts about them. The next time we had class together, you gave me a book to help me learn faster. Since then, I’ve made sure to tell the others who mentioned the rumors how helpful you were. It caused a few debates, but after some back and forth, they had doubts about the rumors, too.”

  “Thank you,” Yukiko said. “The rumors would have been Nick’s group. If you can’t beat someone head-on, try to undermine them. It’s a common tactic.”

  “And y
ou three keep beating them,” Ling snickered. “There’s a reason why they hate you, more than just their normal prejudices.”

  “I remember when you used to line up with them during the first half of the novice year,” Clover interjected. “Then I saw the separation and figured it was because of…”