Aether's Apprentices

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “You’re related?” Gregory asked.

  “My great-grandmother is from the Shun family. She didn’t have magic and was married to a merchant to make the family a profitable relationship. I was the first of my family to be a magi, but it obviously comes from her line.”

  “Because it’s fire,” Gregory said. “But… I’ve heard,” he quickly hedged what he was about to say, “not all magic comes from the mother’s line. Sometimes, it’s just what your soul yearns for.”

  Walun’s lips pursed and he looked thoughtful. “I wanted to burn away all my attachments to… well, that didn’t work, as I’m clearly a fire magi.”

  “But you use it differently,” Gregory said. “Fire touch instead of balls of fire. You used that to make people submit. You never went for the worst you could have... never grabbed the head or neck.”

  “Shun does that, and worse,” Walun said tightly.

  “Not being like them just makes me like you more,” Gregory chuckled. “So tell me, why did you come for my friend?”

  Walun swallowed and met Gregory’s eyes. “Is she seeing anyone?”

  Gregory blinked slowly for a moment, then grinned. “Not that I know of, but knowing what a woman is doing is something even foresight has trouble with.”

  A smile tugged at Walun’s lips. “My father said something similar, about how a woman’s mind is a mystery to even the gods.”

  “Wait… you aren’t just interested in her to spite Shun, are you?” Gregory asked suddenly, glaring at Walun when he asked.

  “No,” Walun said quickly. He coughed and looked away. “She’s just…” He exhaled a rough breath. “I should go.”

  “Or you can join us for today,” Gregory said, mellowing when he understood what Walun couldn’t say. “We’ll see how they feel about you being at the table. Your clan might not approve of your interest. You know that, right?”

  Walun rubbed his hands on his kimono. “They might not... I just wanted to find out if I have even the remotest chance.”

  “She’s dedicated to the clan,” Gregory cautioned the younger man. “Be aware of that.”

  Walun nodded, taking a deep breath and giving Gregory a shaky smile. “Thank you.”

  The two men entered the archive and were greeted by Rafiq. “Novice, Apprentice, good morning to you both.”

  “Morning, Rafiq,” Gregory said. “I’m fine with the book I’ve been reading.”

  Walun took a slow breath. “Archivist, is the book I was reading still available?”

  “Yes. I can have it brought to you,” Rafiq told Walun.

  “He’ll be with us this morning,” Gregory said.

  “Hmm… it’s not often that two clans study together,” Rafiq said.

  Walun’s smile became stressed. “We’re not studying as clans…”

  Rafiq nodded slowly. “I see. The books will be prepared. Good studying to you both.”

  “Thank you,” Gregory smiled. “Come on, they’re this way.” He nudged Walun.

  Yukiko was the first one to look up, and her head tilted slightly upon seeing Walun with Gregory. “Dear one, do we have a guest?”

  Walun swallowed under the curious gazes of seven women.

  “He’ll join us for today, if no one objects,” Gregory said.

  “He didn’t come to challenge me?” Daciana asked, giving Walun a piercing stare.

  “No,” Walun said quickly.

  “Hmm, but you listened to Shun...” Daciana nearly growled.

  “No,” Walun said more firmly, a hint of anger to his own voice.

  “Wait,” Gregory said, stepping in. “Walun doesn’t like Shun.”

  “But during the fight, he listened to him,” Daciana said tightly.

  Walun exhaled. “No. I almost walked backward just to spite the ass, but we had to fight regardless of what we wanted.” His cheeks heated and he looked away from Daciana. “You fought well.”

  “You wanted me to introduce you,” Nessa said suddenly. “That’s what you tried to ask me before our fight.”

  “Yeah...” Walun admitted, his face heating again. He snorted softly and looked up. “You both beat me. My clan was disappointed that I lost. You two shook up everyone with how well you did. I knew you two could fight... I watched during training, but I had no idea what you could do with your magics.”

  “Sit,” Victoria said softly. “At least stay and talk with us.”

  “After Magi Squares,” Yukiko said. “When we break away, you can all chat.”

  Gregory took his seat. “Have you done Magi Squares, Walun?”

  “Yes, I’ve been using them for…” Walun trailed off when he saw the paper Gregory suddenly had in front of him. “What is that?”

  “It’s advanced,” Gregory chuckled. He pointed to the page before Daciana. “That’s what they’re currently doing.”

  Walun looked at Daciana’s paper and nodded. “Yes, those.”

  “I have an extra,” Nessa said, sliding a blank grid to Walun. “Make one. We pass them to the left today.”

  Walun blinked, then looked around the table. The only three that had the advanced puzzles were Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn. “Okay. Thank you for inviting me to study with you.”

  “You’ll be welcomed back, if they invite you,” Gregory told him. “If your clan objects, we’ll ask you to stop. We already have trouble with the Eternal Flame, so we don’t want to anger Swift Wind, too.”

  Walun nodded and pulled ink and pen from his belt pouch. “I understand.”

  ~*~*~

  Gregory was surprised that Walun wasn’t with the novices as they left the archive. “Did something happen?”

  “No,” Nessa said. “He had to meet his clanmates for breakfast.”

  “Was he respectful?” Ling asked.

  “Very,” Victoria said, “even if he did constantly sneak looks at Daciana.”

  “I don’t like him that way,” Daciana said firmly. “I have my mind made up on who my mate will be.”

  “We’ll be finding a way to break the news to him,” Nessa said quickly to change the topic.

  “We’d like to keep his clan as allies,” Yukiko said.

  “We think we have a way around that,” Victoria said, “though it might get trickier for the long term.”

  “We need to head to class,” Daciana said quickly, walking off in haste.

  “Later,” Nessa told Yukiko as she jogged after her friend.

  “During the bath,” Victoria added before she also followed them.

  “I guess that would be girl talk,” Gregory said. “He told me he was interested, but I didn’t know what to say. I had no idea if Daciana had someone she’s interested in or not.”

  “She does,” Jenn said. “We should start walking, though. We want the table well away from Nick.”

  “We’ll figure it out, dear one,” Yukiko told him.

  Clover and Ling watched the others— they stayed quiet, but clearly had been listening. Seeing that the other two wanted to change the subject, Ling asked, “How do you think the game will go?”

  “Gin and Egil will have a plan as Krogga. The question will be if Paul can mesh with them or if they’ll have trouble between them,” Yukiko replied.

  “Paul will be fine,” Clover interjected. “He’s always studying, right? He’s very knowledgeable, too. He was always ready to help Egil before they separated us into classes. They had a chance to talk strategy after class yesterday.”

  “I think they’ll win,” Jenn nodded. “I wonder how bad they’ll make the Eternal Flame look?”

  “Wind, fire, and physical for their magi...” Gregory said. “It’s possible Ashon and the other one combine for a fire storm effect. That’ll hurt even Krogga’s army.”

  “But it would take all of their aether and keep them out of it for a long time,” Clover countered.

  “We’ll find out,” Ling smiled. “I look forward to this. I’m going to be taking many notes.”

  “We can compare them during our mo
rning study session,” Yukiko said. “Comparing what we each saw or suspected will be helpful.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Gregory agreed.

  “Pettit!” Hayworth called out as the group got closer to the tactics’ hall.

  “Hayworth,” Gregory greeted the Swift Wind apprentice.

  “A question,” Hayworth said. “I’ve heard they’ll be keeping you from the tournament. Is that true?”

  “Yes. There’s thought that if I win, there would be doubt if I used foresight at all.” Gregory shrugged. “It’s fine. I’m not upset, and I understand the reasoning.”

  “A pity,” Hayworth sighed. “I’d been hoping to see what you could do.”

  “Maybe we’ll have a game in the future,” Gregory said. “I had no idea you wanted to play against me.”

  “You’ve made me reevaluate my position on some subjects. I wanted to see if you were skilled with command, as well.”

  “He is,” Yukiko said. “He wins and loses equally to us, and you might get to face us.”

  Hayworth looked at the women and his lips twitched. “Yes. Strangely, I’ll look forward to it. How different things can be in just two years... If we don’t face each other, I’ll be looking forward to seeing your games during the Buldoun event.”

  Jenn laughed. “We’ll be there. Best of luck for your team.”

  Hayworth bowed his head. “Shall we?” He motioned to the door.

  “Of course.”

  As they entered the hall, someone was waiting for them. “Excuse me, Apprentices,” Harrison said. “Hayworth, join your table. I need to speak with them.”

  Hayworth hesitated, then walked off.

  “How can we help you, Magus?” Ling asked.

  Harrison was silent for a handful of seconds before he exhaled. “Will you deliver a message to Bishop for me?”

  “Of course,” Yukiko replied. “Verbal or written?”

  Harrison pulled out a sealed scroll case. “For her hand alone.”

  Seeing his bare hand touching the case and nothing wet on it, Yukiko took it. She touched it to her obi, letting it vanish. “I’ll give it to her when I see her next, Magus.”

  Harrison exhaled slowly, then he bowed his head a fraction. “My thanks.”

  “Our pleasure, sir,” Gregory said.

  Harrison walked toward his clan, and the group went toward the table they’d used before. Gregory wondered what Harrison had written, but sighed, knowing that he’d likely never know.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The rest of the class filed in, taking their seats with their groups. Second to last to arrive, Egil, Gin, and Paul walked in together, marching in sync. The three made it to the table and turned to face the open doors as one.

  Nearly a minute passed before the Eternal Flame entered. Nick led the apprentices in before Elkit, Ashon, and Barlz walked in. Barlz motioned and the doors boomed closed behind them. Nick and Jason guided their groups to their tables while the three older magi continued down to the middle.

  They don’t strike as much of a commanding presence as Egil’s group did. They’re not in sync, which makes me wonder if they’ll be able to work as well together... Gregory thought as he pulled out paper, ink, and a pen to take notes on the game. He wrote down a quick note about presentation when arriving to the game.

  “Magus Elkit, as the commander of your team, please collect your men and position yourselves on the board.”

  Everyone froze as the voice was one that most never expected to hear.

  “Grandmaster,” Elkit said tightly, “are you here to oversee the game?”

  Grandmaster Pan stepped forward from the back of the room. “With the future of this instruction on the line, it was decided that if a challenge came, one of the council would be the judge.”

  Barlz bowed to Pan. “I’m honored, sir.”

  “I look forward to what you will do,” Pan replied to Barlz. “An open map has many advantages to a wind magi.”

  “It does,” Barlz smiled.

  Elkit glared at Barlz before saying, “Had we known that you or one of the others would be the judge of the game, we would have informed you ahead of time, sir.”

  One of Pan’s eyebrows raised. “We knew that a challenge would come before the tournament began. It was obvious to all of us. Also, this is going to be a single-game challenge not a three-game challenge, so do your best. Now, collect your men and set yourself. Magi-killer, do likewise.” Pan went down to the sunken table, then turned a slow circle as he looked over the apprentices. “This is a learning experience, if you pay attention. Some of you might well need this instruction in the coming years.”

  “Grandmaster,” Elkit said with a smirk at Egil, “they are playing Krogga and have stated that the map is inside Krogga. As such, we’d like to use the appended rules from ‘Invasion Instructions.’ In it, Grandmaster Deam stated that any invading force would contain three advanced units, nine basic units, and enough supplies to feed the army for three months with a war chest to match.”

  Pan nodded slowly. “Those rules are valid.”

  “Are all appended rules and approved books allowed?” Paul asked.

  “Yes,” Pan nodded. “I might need to see them to verify, though. I’m certain some of you have knowledge of the game that I do not.”

  “I’d like to point out, then, that in those same rules, there’s another rule that needs to be adhered to,” Paul said. “Invading forces must spend double the money or wait an additional three turns for any reinforcements to arrive due to travel time.”

  Pan smiled as he nodded. “Yes, I do recall that. It is right near the end of the appended section.”

  “I’d also like to call Krogga’s Command to light,” Gin said. “I believe the rules were added by Elder Pender a hundred years ago— any force invading Krogga would be facing a vast army, as Krogga pulls all able-bodied people to defend their home. He thought that this should be reflected by quadrupling the defending force.”

  Pan hesitated. “Show me.”

  Gin smiled as he motioned to Paul, who suddenly had a book in his hand. Opening it to a marked page, he handed the book to Pan. The grandmaster looked over it, then nodded slowly.

  “That rule is correct,” Pan said. “Well, that balances out the armies.”

  Elkit’s teeth ground together as he glared at Gin.

  “And one more rule,” Egil said, “from the same book. Erichson, would you go to the right page for me, please?”

  Erichson flipped to another page that had been marked, then handed it to Pan.

  “A note that if three or more magi are with an invading force, that will draw a champion to the battle,” Egil said.

  Pan read it over and nodded. “Yes, but it does say the champion wouldn’t make it until the tenth turn.”

  “That is correct,” Egil bowed his head. “Thank you. We’ll begin placing our men, and I’ll mark the champion as starting his trip.”

  Gregory finished making his notes and looked around the room. Besides his friends, only two dozen other apprentices were taking notes. He nodded when he saw Hayworth was among that number.

  “Very well. Place your troops,” Pan commanded. “Once you are ready, we will begin the first turn.”

  As the troops were being placed, Gregory made sure to mark where each was set, using the map coordinates in his notes. He also made sure the three landscape features were clearly notated.

  Pan looked over Elkit’s forces, nodding when he saw what they had in play. “Using your advanced units to field three adepts— wind, fire, and another wind. Interesting.”

  Gregory had already written them down, using their emblems to know what each was. The other forces were mostly cavalry for Elkit’s side. They’re going to try pushing in quickly, Gregory thought.

  Looking at Egil’s side of the board, he frowned, as he had to think about what was represented there. Pikemen and archers are good to deal with the cavalry, but with the magi on the board, they’ll get slaughtered. Whe
n Paul handed Gin the troops to place, Gin staggered them across the entire length of their side of the table.

  Egil made a note before going over to show Pan. Pan read it, then nodded slowly, looked at the board, and smiled. Egil went back to the board and set the command tent down. It was on the northern side of their lines, away from where Elkit’s team had placed their troops.

  Pan turned to face Elkit. “Are there any other rules or surprises that you need to inform me about?”