by Dante King
The ground rippled, and I was flung from my feet as a Ground Strike went past. I jumped back up and turned just in time to see the human swinging a two-handed sword at my legs. I jumped over the attack and punched his right arm as I landed. The nerve strike numbed that arm, leaving him with only one hand to manage the unwieldy weapon. Another blow sent it flying from his grip. I brought a knee up into his stomach, and he sank to the ground.
That left only two initiates, both women—gawky Choshi, the leader of the group, and a lizardwoman with yellow scales and a heavy quarterstaff. Seeing their companions so badly beaten had clearly made them cautious, as they stood back, watching to see what I would do next.
I decided to start by using their own tactics against them again, as well as taking a chance to test my new abilities. I slammed my fist down in a Ground Strike. A wave of earth rippled toward the initiates, and both jumped as it neared them. The lizardwoman was a little too slow and was knocked over, but Choshi landed beyond the wave, ready for more.
Digging further into my bag of non-lethal tricks, I called forth the power of Smothering Mist. It only took her three seconds to realize that she couldn’t wave it away and would have to move, but those three seconds were enough. I closed in, grabbed the spear from her hand, used it to trip her, and then placed the blade in the center of her chest. She smiled at me and nodded, relinquishing her place in the fight.
That left only the lizardwoman, who had got back to her feet and was coming at me with her quarterstaff. I called forth just enough Frozen Armor to cover my forearm and raised it to block the first blow. Most of the ice shattered beneath the strength of her hit, but it still took the momentum out of her swing, and I was able to seize the weapon. When she jerked sharply back, I let go, and she slammed her own weapon into her shoulder. She winced in pain and struggled to adjust her grip, but it was already too late. I kicked her legs out from under her, and she fell to the ground, the staff abandoned.
Slow clapping filled the air. I looked up to see Tahlis standing in the doorway of the temple.
I joined him in the doorway as the initiates struggled to their feet. I hadn’t wanted to act like a bully by beating them to a pulp, so I’d pulled a lot of my punches, but they were still sore and nursing bruises.
“Do you always get your guests to beat up your initiates?” I asked Tahlis.
“The ability to fight is everything in this valley, especially now.”
One by one, the initiates came to stand in front of us, heads bowed.
“Thank you, Swordslinger, for showing us how little we know,” Choshi said. “And thank you, Master, for allowing us to study with you again.”
“Who said I was doing that?” Tahlis asked. “Maybe I arranged this lesson for my own entertainment.”
“We’re sorry, Master. I did not mean to presume. We should never have abandoned you, and it would be an act of justice if you were to reject us now.”
“And…” Tahlis’ tone was mischievous.
Choshi looked up at him. “Really, Master? We’re doing this again, now?”
“Always!”
“Fine.”
She took a deep breath. When she spoke again, the others joined in, their voices raised in song.
“Master Tahlis is the smartest lizard in Gonki,
“Handsome brave and charming and the whole wide world can see,
“No one can be skilled as Master Tahlis is today.
“Every morning, we’re so glad for him, we shout hooray!”
On the word “hooray,” they half-heartedly punched the air.
I couldn’t help but cringe. The guildmaster had turned his initiates into schoolchildren. The youngest couldn’t have been a day younger than 18. Tahlis was either completely full of himself, or insane. In fact, he was probably both.
Tahlis grinned. “I’ve missed this. Remember, every morning. Now, come into the temple. We’ll eat and talk.”
As we followed the initiates through the doors, I leaned in and whispered to Tahlis.
“Do you really make your initiates do that every morning?”
“Only until they grow a spine and learn to say no,” he replied. “Fun, isn’t it?”
I looked at him sidelong. Sometimes, Tahlis’ humor was as baffling to me as his teaching techniques. This was a very different sort of guildmaster from the serious and contemplative Xilarion, Guildmaster of Radiant Dragon.
We gathered in a room above the main chapel, along with my traveling companions and Ganyir. We all sat with our legs crossed on the time-worn wooden floor around a low table in the middle of the room. Kumi and Vesma had fetched food, mostly dumplings and spring rolls, and we ate together while the initiates updated us on events in Hyng’ohr.
“It’s gotten really bad,” said Choshi. “There are priests of the Cult of Unswerving Shadows everywhere, telling people that they must submit to them or die. They teach that Emperor Talekon is a false ruler, and they place idols to evil gods in the shrines. Some of the things the cultists want us to believe are cruel; some sound completely insane, but if we ask questions, we’re punished.”
She lifted the edge of her tunic and showed us a series of whip scars across her back.
“It’s not always the priests who dish out the beatings,” she continued. “Sometimes, it’s the clan guards, and sometimes, it’s people from our own guild who have joined the new regime.”
“The only one who doesn’t seem crazy is Mahrai,” said Drek the dwarf, his tone grim. “But she does nothing about it.”
“Mahrai?” I asked. “She seemed pretty damn crazy to me.”
“You’ve met her?” Choshi asked.
“Briefly. Can’t say I was all that impressed.”
“She came to Hyng’or with Saruqin. She sits at his right hand, but some say she isn’t as cruel as she seems.”
“Does anyone still stand loyal to me?” Ganyir interrupted, looking down at an untouched plate of spring rolls.
“Many people, my lord,” Choshi said. “But they don’t dare rise up without a leader. A few small groups have tried to stir resistance, but they’ve always been made examples of by the priesthood. Some of their bodies are still hanging in the square, buzzing with flies and picked over by the crows.”
Ganyir rose to his feet. For a moment, I thought that he was going to speak to us, that this was his moment to take charge. Instead, he turned and walked silently out of the room. The initiates watched him, their eyes wide and brows furrowed.
Tahlis slapped the table, drawing all eyes to him. “Things are going to change,” he said briskly. “We have the Immortal Swordslinger on our side now, and you’ve seen what he can do. Just as important, you six have come to us—the beginnings of an army of resistance. You might not feel like much yet—snake’s tits, you don’t even look like much to me—but you have the potential to become so much more. Together, we might have a chance to take Hyng’ohr and set this right.”
The initiates smiled. For all the shit he gave them, Tahlis clearly believed in them, and they responded to his encouragement. If he thought recovery was possible, then they could start to think the same.
Fig, the tubby human initiate, turned to look at me. “What do you think, Swordslinger? When do you plan to retake the city?”
“We need to prepare before we go into battle. There are some powerful Augmenters inside the city, and we need to be ready to face them. Fortunately, we have an advantage over followers of the Straight Path. The cheap and easy way will always appeal to them because it’s direct, but it has results that won’t hold up when trouble comes. You, on the other hand, have the dedication to put in the time and practice, and that’s what you need to do now. Spend some time studying and practicing and meditating, preparing yourselves, body and mind, for what lies ahead.”
The initiates continued staring at me, as though they expected me to say more.
“I’ve seen your courage today, and that’s not something everyone has,” I continued. “Now, it’s time to buil
d on it.”
“Practice and meditation,” Tahlis said as he clapped his hands together. “An excellent idea, Swordslinger. And where better to do it than in the Vigorous Zone down in the valley? And you can collect more cores. To expand your impressive array of talents.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I could go along for the ride.”
“It will also give these young initiates a chance to brush shoulders with the Immortal Swordslinger. Maybe some of that skill and power will rub off on them, eh?”
The initiates looked at me with expectant eyes, and I could hardly refuse after I’d just kicked their asses and made a speech about preparing them for war.
“When do we leave, Tahlis?” I asked.
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare to presume to teach these young rascals anything,” the lizardman said. “You’ll be taking them out, not me.”
Choshi shared a concerned look with the other initiates. “Why not you as well, Master?” she asked. “It’s not that we don’t believe the Swordslinger is a great Augmenter, but wouldn’t you be better suited to teaching us earth techniques?”
“Training isn’t only about learning the techniques,” the lizardman replied. “It’s about learning to apply them in different ways against different foes. Who better to teach that than the Swordslinger? The Immense Blades aren’t his only strength.”
The initiates nodded before bowing their heads.
It was hard to argue with Tahlis’ logic.
Apparently, it was time for me to move on from being a student and become a teacher instead.
Chapter Eight
In the blazing heat of the midday sun, we headed down the mountain steps from the Sunstone Temple to the dried-up valley below. Choshi and I took the lead while the other students followed along behind. We carried our weapons as well as bedrolls, water, and enough food for a couple of days. Tahlis had been clear that he didn’t want us coming back until we had harvested plenty of cores and learned something about our abilities in the process.
As we walked, I started learning about my new pupils. If I was going to teach them, I needed to at least know their names and talents. If the lessons were to really sink in, I needed to establish a deeper connection.
First, there was Choshi, the default leader of the little band. Tall, gawky, and freckled, she seemed uncomfortable in her own body. But her desire to do the right thing drove her to speak up and take action no matter how difficult she found it.
Zedal, the lizardwoman, was the most competent fighter in the group. Like Tahlis, she was a Wild and had grown up with the struggles that came with it. She’d learned to fight out of necessity more than choice, yet she seemed to enjoy it. Her desire to master her own abilities reminded me of myself, and I was confident I could get through to her.
Fig, the shortest and most portly of the humans in the group, was another matter. He was good-humored and enthusiastic but didn’t take anything as seriously as the rest. Even as we headed out after lunch, he was constantly chewing on pieces of dried fruit from a pouch on his belt.
Fig spent a lot of time talking with Elorinelle, the elf, with whom he shared his supply of dried fruit treats. Elorinelle was the only one who carried a missile weapon, a traditional composite bow made from layers of horn, wood, and sinew. But while she was happy talking about archery, including her success in competitions, the thought of shooting people clearly made her uncomfortable.
Drek the dwarf had no such qualms. Of all the initiates, he was the most enthusiastic to get into action. His eyes lit up when we talked about returning to the city and taking on the cult. Now that he knew we would be hunting cores, I could barely keep him back from running ahead and getting started on his own. From what Choshi said, her interventions had been the only thing that kept him from tackling the Unswerving Shadows head on and getting himself killed back in Hyng’ohr.
Finally, there was Onvar. Average looking in almost every way, he only stood out because of his long, red hair and his constant squinting. He was precise in every detail, his robes immaculately arranged and his equipment spotless. If any of the others misspoke, he was the one to call them out on it.
As we walked down the steps, the initiates told me in more detail about what had happened in the city.
“It was the inner disciples who drove Tahlis out,” Choshi explained. “They were committed to the Steadfast Horn Guild, but they didn’t think he was doing things right.”
“They were frustrated,” Onvar chipped in. “You could see it every time they looked at him, all stiff and with their faces scrunched up.”
“He’s right,” Choshi said. “Though I didn’t understand it until after everything happened. They didn’t like Tahlis’ word games, his strange jokes, and his mischievous behavior. They were ready to turn against him already when the Unswerving Shadows started whispering in their ears.”
“What changed then?” I asked.
“They started confronting him,” Choshi said. “Mostly about how he wouldn’t teach them the proper ways of earth Augmentation, though they talked about training regimes as well, how the guild’s money was spent, what initiates did with their time. But even when they talked about us, it seemed like it was really about them.”
We reached the bottom of the steps and headed out along the road, toward the heart of the Vigorous Zone. Dust rose around us, and crows circled overhead. I spotted a hyena following from a safe distance, appearing to stare at us from time to time between sand dunes or rock pillars.
After a few miles, we reached the sand-sunken village where I had first encountered Tahlis. Seeing it in full daylight instead of the shortening dusk, I made out more details of the people who had once lived here, from the half-buried grain silos to the broken remnants of fences that had marked out the surrounding fields.
“This is where I grew up,” Fig said. “My whole family lived here before Saruqin and Mahrai ruined the valley.” He pointed to the desert behind the village. The dried branches of trees could just be seen protruding through the heaps of sand, their bark pale and knotted. In other places, the withered husks of palm leaves rattled in the hot wind.
“Those were our fruit trees. We grew palms, dates, grapes, even apples. The soil was so rich and varied, you could grow plants that never would have survived together anywhere else in the world. Every meal ended with something sweet and tasty. Now…”
He looked at the date he had been about to pop into his mouth, and his expression became sad. He put the dried fruit back into his pouch and tied it shut.
The pattering of feet made me look around. A pack of birds were heading out of the sands of the Vigorous Zone. Each one was around six feet tall, with powerful legs and wings that looked too small to give them flight. Beady eyes peered out past wicked beaks on heads that bobbed up and down on the end of long necks. Their gray-brown feathers fluttered as they ran, while deadly talons gouged the ground beneath their feet.
“Plumed snatchers,” Choshi said as she brought her spear around.
“You’ve fought them before?” I asked.
“Yes. They’re where we get the cores for Sandstorm technique.”
“Not all of us have that yet,” Onvar added.
“That’s something we should fix.” I drew my sword and readied myself, smiling at the prospect of gaining a new technique.
The initiates also drew their weapons, but as Elorinelle nocked an arrow to her bow, I could see that her hand was trembling. Several of the others also looked nervous. Having faced these monsters before wasn’t enough to give them the confidence they needed.
“Think about how you use your powers,” I said as the plumed snatchers approached. “When I’m using Untamed Torch, I’ve got different options.”
I held out my hand and launched a wide, dispersed burst of flames that made all the snatchers rear back. Before they could recover, I changed the flow of the Vigor through my body and fired again. This time, it was a narrow, focused fireball that hit one of the creatures in the leg. It screeched an
d fell to the ground, feathers smoldering.
“For beating targets, the second version was more effective,” I said. “See if you can do something similar with your Ground Strikes.”
The initiates crouched, and each one raised a fist above the earth. As the plumed snatchers started running again, there was a thud of blows against the floor, and ripples of dirt ran out from the initiates. Some of the Strikes were still broad waves like those we’d used to fight each other, but some were more concentrated and knocked a couple of the snatchers off their feet.
“Work together!” I called out. “That’s the best chance of combining your powers to get the kills.”
Then, the first of the snatchers were on us.
I flung up an Ash Cloud in the faces of the leading snatchers. Two veered away and crashed into each other, then fell in a tangle of wings, legs, and feathers. One charged straight on through, indifferent to the darkness, and emerged with its feathers smeared in soot. Before it had a chance to work out what I was doing, I swung the Sundered Heart Sword and sliced off its head.
The earth trembled as the initiates kept pumping out focused Ground Strikes while others raised their weapons in defense. Drek charged the nearest bird and swung his heavy club as he bellowed a guttural battle cry.
Another two birds appeared around the side of my Ash Cloud and rushed toward me. This time, I launched an Acidic Cloud, aimed at their legs instead of their heads. As the biting pain of the acid hit, the creatures reared back, but the green gas was all around them. One stumbled forward, and I ran it through. The other fell into the cloud as its acid-weakened legs gave way under it, then screeched and writhed on the ground. Just outside the cloud, I took a moment to carefully aim, then launched a series of Stinging Palm thorns through the creature’s eye into its brain. It gave one last twitch before it went still.
Around me, my new students were engaged in a fierce and chaotic battle against the beasts. Each initiate seemed to be focusing on just one thing. Some, like Drek, were attacking the snatchers in hand-to-hand combat, battering away at them with more zeal than sophistication. The others were hammering away with their Augmenting. Their Ground Strikes were becoming more focused and effective, but there was no variety in how they fought, no switching between techniques to throw opponents off. The snatchers were starting to learn the patterns. They hopped over waves of dirt to save themselves and get closer to the Augmenters.
