Aether's Apprentices

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “My bloodline,” Yukiko said when Clover trailed off. “Part of it was, though they were still trying to recruit me the entire time.”

  “Because shadow magi are useful for information gathering and assassination,” Farin said. “But would they have still taken you?”

  “They have eurtik in their clan,” Yukiko said a little tightly. “They restrain them with servant pacts so they do whatever the clan wants.”

  “Nick tried to get me to trick Yuki into joining them,” Gregory said. “He even went so far as to promise me the handler position for her.”

  Jenn blinked in disgust— she hadn’t heard that before. Ling and Clover looked horrified at the idea of being chained to a clan they hated, and Farin’s lips pursed in thought as they started down the hall to their classroom.

  “Is that legal?” Farin finally asked.

  “As long as the person joining the clan is doing so willingly, there’s nothing to stop it,” Yukiko said, then paused. “Though I wonder how many were truly willing and how many were drugged.”

  “Drugged?” Clover asked with wide eyes.

  Gregory exhaled slowly. “Nick suggested a powder that could be mixed into a drink. It would make her susceptible to suggestions. They’d have a magus on hand to apply the pact once she’d agreed.”

  “That’s reprehensible!” Ling hissed, eyes narrow and ears twitching.

  “Disgusting,” Clover said, her tail much bushier than normal.

  “We went too lightly on them,” Jenn said tightly, her hands clenched tightly.

  “Has this been made public?” Farin asked.

  “It would do no good,” Magus Paul Erichson answered, having been following them for the last few minutes. “It would be impossible to prove, and you can bet that the Eternal Flame would fight it. It would drag their clans into an open war with each other.”

  “That’s why we haven’t tried,” Yukiko said. “The risks outweigh the gains... for now, at least.”

  Erichson nodded. “You are very good at balancing the risks and rewards. As much as the idea revolts all of us, there is nothing we can do to curtail it at this time.”

  “Sometimes, you lose men to wait for a better opportunity,” Farin said.

  “Exactly. Now, everyone to class. We have a busy day ahead of us.”

  All of them took their seats and looked at him expectantly.

  “Today, we will be having a game with another class,” Paul told them. “It’ll be a four-on-four match. Normally, you get to decide which four, but,” he looked at Gregory, “you’ve been banned from playing.”

  “I understand, sir. I’m sure that people worry I would use foresight.”

  “That’s what was said, yes. Even my word that you haven’t used it in class— that you’ve been winning and losing as much as the others— was brushed aside.” Paul’s lips were thin when he finished, clearly upset that his assurance on Gregory had been ignored. “Magi-killer agreed with the instructors who raised the objection to you playing.”

  “I understand, sir. Thank you for trying.”

  “The two who aren’t playing have different tasks. One is kept as a reserve. If you get a magi reinforcement, your extra will take the field. The other one, in our case, Gregory, will be the coordinator for the classes.”

  “Sir?” Farin asked. “What does that mean? Aren’t we playing them in the same room?”

  “No,” Paul replied. “Your men will be set, and any information you get on them will be added to your board.”

  “So even more than us keeping our reinforcements back?” Yukiko asked.

  “Yes, as when you do get pikemen, instead of keeping them off the board with a notation of where they are, you will have to have them on the board.”

  Ling nodded slowly. “Scouts will be needed... a lot of scouts.”

  “What about messages?” Clover asked.

  “You will hand the message to Gregory. If it gets intercepted… well, maybe you’ll still get it.”

  Jenn inhaled slowly. “Shared camps don’t need messages?”

  “Correct.”

  “Gregory will be speaking to their coordinator?” Farin asked.

  “And if they have a disagreement, their instructor and I will both be called out to decide what it means. Like war, this will be chaotic. What you think you know might be wrong, even more so because the pieces on the board are just the last information you had.”

  “We play until we are finished?” Yukiko asked.

  “There will be a four-hour break every night so you can all get some sleep and maybe a real meal.” Paul smiled. “You can give your commanders a rest, as well, but they’ll be unable to order their men during that time. You can leave standing orders with your men— they will act only if those orders are met, and morale will influence that. If the morale is low, I will bring in the other instructor, as they will decide what your men do.”

  “Need to do our best to keep them happy,” Yukiko said. “I would normally, anyway, but it’s even more imperative now.”

  “Who are we facing first?” Gregory asked.

  “The Han clan,” Paul replied.

  “Hmm... this might be tough,” Yukiko said.

  “Okay, I need to confer with the other instructor about the board. Each of you gets your own magi. No picking differently.”

  “Sir?” Farin asked.

  “Yes?”

  “What does that mean for me?”

  “You can play either magi type.”

  “I see. Thank you, sir.”

  “Gregory, you’re with me,” Paul said. “Let’s go see who your counterpart is and get this game started.”

  Chapter Six

  Gregory nodded to the slightly sour-looking apprentice. She glared back at him, clearly bitter over being in the role she was in. Seeing her unadorned, yellow kimono, he knew she was clanless.

  “Ben,” Paul nodded, “my class’ coordinator is Gregory Pettit. Pettit, this is Ben Ursage, a longtime friend and comrade of Magi-killer.”

  The man in the gray kimono gave Gregory a searching look. “Champion, a pleasure. The apprentice for my class is Gabrielle Mavic.”

  The apprentice’s lips thinned, but she bowed to Paul. Gregory smiled broadly as he bowed to Ben.

  “Did you have a preference for terrain?” Paul asked.

  “I would like them to have some variety, as they’ll need the experience for the next week,” Ben said and handed over a pad of paper.

  Paul looked at the map, then nodded. “Hmm, the river so far to one side is an oddity, but with the light forest next to it, it has potential use... A few hills to break clear sight. One side gets the heavy forest behind them and the other gets a small marsh they can camp behind? I’ll approve of this. Did you set your board already?”

  “We did,” Ben nodded. “I have a second copy already so Mavic can use it to help denote movements. That one is for your apprentice.”

  “Very well. I suggest ‘odds-evens’ for determining which of us selects which side.”

  “Granted,” Ben nodded. “Mavic, hold your fingers behind your back. Any number.”

  Lips compressing further, the apprentice did as she was told.

  Paul paused for a long moment, staring at Mavic. The apprentice shifted uneasily, looking away. “Odds?”

  Mavic pulled four fingers out, three and one. “Even, sir.”

  “Hmm, good,” Ben smiled. “We will be taking the wooded side.”

  “I do not blame you,” Paul nodded. “It has the chance to really hide forces.” Paul looked at the two apprentices. “Now, what will happen is that you two will meet after each turn to see if new information should be exchanged. For the majority, it will be plotting out where scouts are looking and if they find information. To make sure the instructors aren’t favoring their class, we’ll be switching classes during the game.”

  “I look forward to seeing how your class does,” Ben said, “and how they comport themselves.”

  “The same for
me. Seeing how students act tells much about how an instructor teaches.”

  Paul handed Gregory the map. “You are to keep track of your team’s men. This way you can see if their scouts find them, or if the scouts are seen.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  “Very well. Let us begin playing,” Ben said. He offered his hand to Paul. “I’m glad this is the warm-up. I would hate to see your class removed from the tournament so soon.”

  Paul laughed and shook hands with him. “The Han clan would hate to see their apprentices removed so quickly too.”

  The two men turned away from each other. Gregory fell in behind Ben, looking over the map he was holding and thinking of how his friends would deploy on it.

  “What do you think of the field?” Ben asked.

  “My friends will be exposed and scouting will be easy against them, but they’ll be safe from quick strikes. They’re behind in the early game, but I believe they’ll surprise you, sir.”

  “Of that, I have no doubts,” Ben said softly. “Egil has had nothing but praise for your skill with the naginata. Having seen the tournament, I can see a little as to why, but how much of that is your foresight?”

  Gregory didn’t reply.

  “Good. Keep the extent of your skills close to your chest. That will let you surprise people when needed,” Ben nodded. “I would have been disappointed if you’d told me.”

  Yukiko looked up with a smile when the door opened, but it faded when she saw Ben. “Sir?”

  “Ah, did Paul not tell you?” Ben asked. “The instructors oversee the opposing class to make sure no cheating happens.”

  “So Gregory doesn’t give us any information we shouldn’t have?” Ling asked.

  “Correct, as he will have more information than you should know,” Ben nodded. “Now, Pettit, show them the map and get the board set, along with deploying your forces. Which of you is sitting out?”

  “I am,” Jenn said.

  Ben’s lips pursed. “I see. Unexpected. I had thought the four clan members would take those spots.”

  “Farin is highly adept. He rarely makes the same mistake and is a valuable member of our class,” Ling said a touch coldly.

  Ben didn’t reply, clearly thinking as they moved to set the board.

  ~*~*~

  Gregory made notes on the pad of paper, but not on the map itself. It was easy for him to do with the map coordinates clearly marked on the map. The first few turns had nothing of note happen— Mavic and Gregory merely made sure that no scouts had spotted the armies clearly.

  It was over an hour into the game when the first real contact happened. Gregory shook his head at Mavic’s angry glare when she was told what the scouts had found.

  “They just happened to be running hounds? Really?!” Mavic snapped.

  “We should get the instructors,” Gregory sighed.

  Mavic spun on her heel, going to get Paul. Shrugging, Gregory headed back to get Ben. When they came back, Mavic expressed her doubts about what Gregory had told her. She fully expected Gregory to claim he’d never said what he had.

  Ben just nodded. “That is correct. Clover suggested that hounds would help deter scouts and give a clear indicator of what direction their opposition would scout from. Do you have the stats for the scouting force?”

  Mavic blinked slowly, then looked at her notes. “I… don’t. Excuse me.” She hurried away.

  Paul shook his head. “We’ll be right back.”

  When the two had left, Ben glanced at Gregory. “What was the contention?”

  “She didn’t believe they’d run interference first,” Gregory replied.

  “Sadly, the Han apprentices didn’t embrace her the way your clan did Farin. It’s odd considering he is… is it because he is Iron Hand, like your instructor?” There was a slight change in his sentence as Ben thought of a potential reason that Farin was being allowed to play instead of Jenn.

  “No, sir. Farin’s a friend, even if he is in a different clan. What Ling told you was the truth. If it had been Mavic with us instead, we would have accepted her just as readily if she’d been willing to learn.”

  “She is a bit… prickly. It’s sad— I think she might learn more if she had others willing to help.”

  “The class was broken into mostly clan plus others because of the tournament with Buldoun, wasn’t it?” Gregory asked.

  Ben’s lips twitched, but he stayed silent. The silence didn’t last long as Paul and Mavic were quickly back.

  Mavic stated the stats for the light scouting unit, then looked at Gregory. Gregory shook his head and gave her the stats for the heavy hounds. Mavic blanched and looked over her notes.

  “The scouting force was just torn to shreds,” Paul said. “Nothing gets told to the Han clan unless they run another team out to find the lost scouts.”

  “Yes, sir,” Mavic said softly, looking down.

  “Sir, may I?” Gregory asked Paul.

  Paul bowed his head. “This is between coordinators only and not to be shared. Go ahead, Pettit.”

  “Mavic,” Gregory said, “nothing that happens during this game is your fault. We’re just tools being used, as we don’t make decisions. When this game ends, remember to point that out if they start to blame you.”

  Head snapping up, she stared at Gregory in shock. “How did…?” She trailed off, her cheeks heating.

  “Because people often look to shift the blame to others instead of accepting their faults,” Gregory said. “The best thing you can do during this game is to keep track of what happens and learn from it. Have you ever considered hounds to deter scouts?”

  “No,” she admitted.

  “‘Lighthand’s Strategies’ has a section on scouts and how to disrupt them. It’s an advanced tactics book. If you have the time, look into it— it has a lot of useful ideas. Maybe during the tournament, you’ll be the auxiliary member. If so, maybe you’ll have advice that turns the tide.”

  Mavic blinked at him for a long moment before looking away again. “I’m sorry.” Taking a deep breath, she composed herself, then bowed to him. “I let rumors color my thinking. Thank you. The scouts are dead. Was that all?”

  “It is for this round,” Gregory smiled. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens next.”

  “Back to the classes, then,” Paul said.

  As they separated and went back, Ben looked thoughtful. Before reaching the classroom, he gave Gregory a look. “Egil is right about you... Good. I look forward to what comes next in this game.”

  Gregory wondered what Egil had been right about, but stayed quiet as he followed Ben into the room.

  “Your hounds found a scouting party and killed it. They’re wounded and returning as they should,” Ben said as he shut the door. “Gregory, show them where the scouts were dispatched.”

  Gregory was quick to point out the location on the table map.

  “They won’t know their scouts failed right away,” Ling said. “Our standing orders to our scouts will hopefully pay off here.”

  “We’ll see on the next turn,” Ben nodded. “I had my doubts about the hounds when you purchased them at the start but now, I see some wisdom in your move. You are using them to screen your army as long as you can.”

  “Yes,” Yukiko nodded, looking over the board. “The cost will be minimized as the game goes on, and it also helps protect us at the start, especially with Clover moving to the river. Having her reach it unseen is vital. Their scouts will be unlucky to find her men there if they try to move another unit that way.”

  Ben nodded slowly. “You’re playing dangerously with your starting funds, but I think I understand better now.”

  “Okay, upkeep is next,” Yukiko said. “Let’s send a pigeon to Clover and let her know the way is clear. That way, she can hurry the last bit to the river.”

  “Agreed,” Farin nodded.

  “Yes, she needs to get there and dig in,” Ling agreed.

  Ben watched them plan and work through the t
urn. He kept his face impassive, but he was chuckling on the inside. The Han apprentices might be bane wolves, cunning and quick, but they face a dragon with this group.

  Chapter Seven

  Gregory stretched as they finished their moves for the turn. Without solid intel on what they had and where they were, the game was taking longer. Their hounds had killed three sets of scouts, so Yukiko was expecting them to do reconnaissance in force next.