Aether's Apprentices

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Farin rose to his feet again, this time looking grim. “Yukiko, good luck.”

  “We’ll do our very best,” Yukiko replied. “Cheer for us, even if we can’t hear you.”

  “We will,” Gregory said, giving her hand one last squeeze.

  Ben stood as they left. Stepping out of the room after them, he found Elder Cho coming downstairs. “Elder, do they require me?”

  “No, this is almost over. Tell the others on this floor to head down.”

  “As you decree, Elder,” Ben replied, bowing as she passed him.

  Gregory saw Clover and Ling at the table they’d used previously and went to sit with them. “How is it going?”

  They were surprised to see him, but Ling responded, “It’s going to be close. What are you and Farin doing down here?”

  “We were told to come down by the elder,” Farin said, taking his seat at the table. “Yukiko was called into the game and the instructors are taking over the coordinating, besides Roshana. I think they want to make sure Gregory isn’t involved now.”

  “Yeah,” Gregory exhaled. “It’ll be cleaner this way.”

  Elder Cho walked down and spoke with Grandmaster Pan, showing him notes for a few minutes before she went back upstairs. Pan turned to the board and rearranged the pieces, then turned to the room.

  “The Kroggian forces are closing on the defender’s camp. Another magi arrives at the start of the next turn, which will put them in play on the same turn that the Kroggians get close enough to start the attack. That will prove disastrous or useful, depending on who they chose.” Pan paused as he saw Farin and Gregory. “They chose Yukiko Pettit, a shadow magi. Opinions?”

  “They’ll lose,” Nick said brusquely. “Another magi just before an attack is foolish. It gives the Kroggians a bigger boost to their units.”

  “But a shadow magi,” Hayworth countered, “as all should know, are skilled with information gathering… and assassination. It’s possible they will sacrifice her before the attack begins to strike at the two commanders. She might be able to remove one before they kill her.”

  “A magi on a Kroggian commander is not good odds for most magi,” one of the Han clan said.

  “But for a shadow magi, it improves,” a Yamato Shipping apprentice countered.

  “That is true,” Pan said, cutting off further conversation. “If she can get the surprise on one of them, she will have good odds for the game. If both are together when she attacks, she will not survive and possibly fail in her task. We will find out on the next turn.”

  ~*~*~

  When Elder Cho came back down next, the room went quiet, as everyone wanted to hear what happened. The conversation between Pan and Cho was near silent— even the closest apprentices were straining, but unable to hear anything. When Cho backed up, she gave the room a long look and turned for the stairs.

  Pan went to the board and began rearranging the pieces. When he finished, one of the Kroggian commanders was missing, as was the shadow magi. A commotion started in the room until Pan cleared his throat. The sound echoed in the room, amplified by his wind magic.

  “As you’ve all seen, the shadow magi did as we thought she would— she managed to remove one of the commanders. Furthermore, she didn’t die. She left, critically injured, instead. She is no longer on the field. That delayed the attack on the magi, giving them one more turn to prepare defenses.”

  “How did she manage to use her magic to get there, attack, and get away?” Jason asked. “The shadow magi do not have that much aether to work with.”

  Pan turned to Jason. “She used a potion left by the alchemist before they left the board. That leaves a very limited supply of alchemical help left now.”

  “Short boost, but in the right place at the right time, it can do what she did,” Ben added from where he was standing with the other instructors. “I’ve seen it in action.”

  “Sir, what do you rate their odds of winning this?” Hayworth asked Ben.

  Ben looked at Pan, who nodded. Ben moved closer to the board, looking over the units, then frowned. He shifted to the other side of the board and looked at a lone unit sitting by itself. He started to laugh before he shook his head. “Good. How many of you questioned this?” He motioned at the unit sitting in the heavy woods, just out of sight of the Kroggian force, but where they could watch the battle.

  “A single unit is worthless right now,” Fureno snorted.

  “And that makes me worry for your men,” Ben said icily. “Anyone?”

  “We were told it was a light cavalry unit at half force,” Hayworth said.

  “Did none of you question how an empire unit at half force could sit here so calmly?”

  That question got frowns, questioning looks, and outright contempt.

  When no one answered, Ben sighed. “There is a magi with this unit, a magi who isn’t showing themselves.”

  “What?!” The question came from multiple people.

  “He is correct,” Pan said. “I was told a magi who had removed their insignia was with the unit. None of you questioned it.”

  Clover raised her hand, and Pan nodded to her. “It’s Jenn, sir. She is sitting there waiting for one of a few things to happen.”

  “Do you know the conditions?” Pan asked.

  “We strategized tactics for Krogga after the instructor’s battle,” Clover said. She was speaking slowly, clearly aware of everyone watching her. “She will advance if the Buldoun mercs cut down the Kroggians enough that she feels she can get a surprise rush on them. If they don’t do enough and the defenders fail, she will put her magi uniform back on and advance slowly with a flag raised.”

  Pan blinked at her. “Single combat?”

  “Yes, and she will ask to fight the commander under Kroggian law.”

  “Physical enhancement against a Kroggian commander?” Pan looked thoughtful. “That is a very close fight.”

  “She’ll ask to fight it in the arena, sir,” Clover said.

  Pan stared at her before he laughed. “That is why the shadow magi assassinated Magi-killer.”

  That got the room talking, and that intensified when Yukiko and Egil came downstairs. Yukiko took her seat beside Gregory with a smile, and Egil went to stand beside Pan.

  “You’ve all been told. It was a daring move, one that caught myself and Magus Erichson off-guard. Not only did she manage to take out my commander, she was able to flee, critically wounded, but alive. The morale of Krogga fell from that attack. The next turn will see a lot of action.”

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Egil was proven right almost an hour later when Elder Cho came downstairs. She paused at the base of the stairs, then went to the middle of the room. “I shall tell you what has transpired.”

  The room went silent as all eyes focused intently on the elder.

  “Erichson’s unit— using almost the entirety of his available cards— attacked the entrenched position. They met two units of Buldoun mercenaries under command of an empire armsmaster... incidentally, one that was modeled on Magi-killer.”

  Egil laughed. “I like it.”

  “The mercenaries fled when they lost half their men and the armsmaster was killed. It was then that the empire units met the Kroggians in a counterattack. At this point, the invaders found that the magi they believed to be in the fortification was not there.”

  A small murmur went through the assembled crowd.

  “This prompted the commander to pull his men back. They had inflicted enough losses on the empire that the troops quit the field. Thinking he’d won, the Kroggian was about to claim victory when a single unit of empire cavalry rode close enough to speak. They opened under the flag of combat, recognized by Kroggian law. The magi in charge of that unit challenged the commander to single combat. The commander accepted, but asked it take place the following day so he had a chance to recover from his battle with the armsmaster. This was agreed to, with an additional addendum— it will be apprentice-versus-instructor in the arena in t
wo hours.”

  The room grew loud as everyone began to speculate on the fight.

  Cho looked at Pan, who clapped his hands. A thunderclap echoed throughout the room, causing those with eurtik blood to wince and clutch their ears.

  With order restored, Cho continued, “As this duel is to simulate a fight on the field, it will have a couple of conditions. Firstly, Magus Erichson is not allowed to use aether. Now, his many years infusing his body with aether will have given him enough power and strength to give a good idea of what a Kroggian commander can do in battle, so pay attention. Secondly, the duel will take place with real weapons. We will have healers on hand to help save them if possible, but death is a real possibility.”

  “Ma’am?” Hayworth asked, raising a hand.

  “Yes?”

  “Why did she take this path? Wouldn’t her unit have been enough to ride over the remaining remnants of the Kroggian force?”

  “Can anyone tell me the answer?” Cho asked.

  A few heartbeats went by before Ling raised her hand.

  “Go ahead.”

  “I think it’s a few things,” Ling said as she stood. “The Kroggians just won a battle, so that would bolster them. There is clearly a magi on the field, which would also embolden them. Even reduced, it would be a hard fight with only a single unit of cavalry. There is also the fact that the Kroggians have firm belief in their honor duels. If she asks for a truce on the duel and wins, the Kroggians will make sure that is passed along when they return home. The empire would have at least a few years of peace.”

  “Correct. Now, recall the entirety of the tournament,” Cho said firmly. “The empire just underwent an upheaval of magi-versus-magi as the clans fought amongst themselves openly. The Kroggians took advantage of that and invaded. A truce for years would help the empire rebuild the magi that were just lost. If she loses, the Kroggians will still have to return home, as their force was devastated. The bad side to this is that some villages and towns will get pillaged as they leave, and the commander— having beaten a magi in single combat and conducted a successful raid— will be on their path to becoming a champion.”

  Both Yukiko and Gregory were still thinking about the fact the duel would involve real weapons and that death was a very real possibility. They had faith in their wife, but in combat, anything could happen.

  Magus Klim and Klein Armit came down the stairs and went to their respective groups. Klim glanced at Gregory’s group with a thoughtful look, and Klein gave them a nod when he went by them.

  “Meet at the main arena in two hours,” Cho said. “Tell your clans if you wish, but all of you must attend. Armsmaster Magi-killer, you will officiate the fight.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Egil replied.

  “Good,” Cho said, then turned toward Grandmaster Yunlo.

  Yunlo gestured and the three powerful magi in the room vanished. As they left, the various groups started to leave, with the Eternal Flame being the first ones out the door.

  Gregory stood, but didn’t head for the door— he just turned to the stairs and waited while the others stood with him. The Iron Hand clan was also waiting and, surprisingly, so was Swift Wind.

  Hayworth looked over at Gregory. “She’s more audacious than I thought she was... Or is it a last desperate gamble?”

  “No,” Yukiko answered, her eyes on the stairs. “It was discussed before. We hadn’t known it would involve real weapons, but she agreed and we believe in her.”

  Harrison was the first one to appear on the stairs. Seeing his juniors waiting for him, he crossed over to them. “We will discuss it on the way back to the clan hall,” he said brusquely.

  The Swift Wind clan was at the door before Paul and Jenn came down the stairs. They walked side-by-side and were talking.

  “I thought you’d back off when I demanded steel,” Paul said.

  “It was unexpected, but I will end up fighting for my life, eventually. This will help me be prepared for it, and I know that healers will be on hand. If you could use any aether at all, I would have gambled on the attack, instead.”

  “That would come down to soulless numbers,” Paul snorted. “While the game does help you understand strategy, it doesn’t capture the intangible of a real battle. This is better.” Paul looked at his clan, then Aether’s Guard, where Farin still stood with his group in class. “Farin, until this is settled, you are with them.”

  “Yes, sir,” Farin replied crisply, snapping to attention.

  “Magus Klim,” Paul said, looking back to his clan, “gather the clan and meet me at the arena.”

  “Yes, sir,” Klim replied before turning to the apprentices beside her. “Back to the hall. Move it.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” they replied in unison. They turned as a single unit and marched out of the room.

  Jenn had been looking back and forth between Gregory and Yukiko as she approached them. She appeared calm, but her lovers could see the tension and worry she was trying to hide.

  “You’ll win,” Yukiko said softly.

  “We believe in you,” Gregory added just as softly.

  Jenn swallowed and paused in front of them. “I will survive and do my best. I was worried about what you would say.”

  “We will all face death at some point,” Gregory told her. “We have a few times in the tournaments already. The fight is balanced, or even favors you. Don’t hold back, dear one. Don’t take his head off, but fight for your life.”

  “Your life is the most important thing,” Yukiko added. “You can win if you don’t hesitate to do what you need to do.”

  “Jenn?” Clover called her name with a subdued tone. When they all looked at Clover, she hesitated, then stepped over a little. “Can I hug you?”

  Jenn blinked in surprise. She smiled and she grabbed Clover, hugging her. “You never have to ask me, Clover. Just please make sure I know you’re the one coming to hug me so I don’t hurt you.”

  Clover hugged her back. “We don’t need to win, but we do need you. We’ll believe in you, too, but please… safely?”

  Ling nodded in agreement. “You being killed would be a tragedy. I don’t want to lose a friend. We’ve seen you fight and are confident in you, but be safe.”

  Farin watched them— seeing not just clanmates, but honest friendship— and inhaled slowly. His clan didn’t have many real friends; they had comrades, brothers-in-arms, or similar, but nothing like this. His fellow apprentices had begun to welcome him more and more, but even between themselves, they didn’t have this kind of companionship.

  “I’m worried for you and for Magus Erichson,” Farin said when the two women stepped back. “You’ve both been kind to me. No matter who wins, I’d like you both reasonably healthy at the end of it.”

  Jenn faced him and bowed formally. “I’ll do my best, but I’ll strive to win, hopefully at the cost of neither of our lives.”

  “That’s all I could ask for,” Farin nodded.

  “We need to tell Dia,” Gregory said. “Let’s go.”

  As they left, none of them saw Roshana, who had paused on the stairs to listen to them. When they left, she looked pensive as she finally came down the stairs. With a shake of her head, she hurried to the arena, intent on getting a good seat.

  ~*~*~

  The clan, including the instructors, were seated above one of the tunnels in the arena, and the Iron Hand had the other tunnel entrance covered. Yukiko and Gregory went with Jenn down to the preparation area to wish her well.

  “We’ll be with the clan, cheering for you,” Gregory said, stepping back from hugging Jenn one more time.

  “I’ll see you after I win,” Jenn smiled. “It was nice of the academy to have some armor waiting for me.”

  “It means he’ll also have armor,” Yukiko said. “This will take even longer and be harder to do without you both crippling or killing each other.”

  “I’ll do my best to make sure neither of those happen.”

  All three turned to the stairs that le
d to the arena and saw Mindie standing there.

  “I can breathe easier now,” Gregory smiled. “Thank you, Mindie.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Yukiko said. “You’ve always been here for us.”

  Mindie looked from one to the other, her face heating slightly, as her lips creased upward without thinking about it. “Please fight carefully. I will do my best, but I hope that I’ll only need to heal you a little.”

  “I have to fight to win,” Jenn said. “If I do less, then I’ll not be as sharp and will likely take more injuries.”