Conscripted, p.28
Conscripted, page 28
The blade couldn’t have penetrated more than a quarter of an inch. But it still caused an eerie red glow to spread underneath Sedge’s shirt and cover his chest area.
Sedge dropped to his knees as Vlad pulled the blade out as quickly as it entered. The shorter kid collapsed, his face hitting the dirt with a sickening thud. My breath hitched in my throat as I stared at his unmoving body.
“Holy shit– Did he just fucking kill him?!” I shouted in bewilderment.
Chapter thirty
I genuinely thought Sedge was dead. But several of the other students looked at me as if I had gone mad, quickly letting me know that I had, once again, said something stupid.
Inari walked over to his limp form, kicked him over like he was a log, then placed her palm on the wound.
“Waterblades cannot deal the same amount of damage that a Fireblade can,” Tan explained from behind me, raising a hand to his face to hide his amusement at my outburst. “However, while they still can fight, it can also heal. This is where the water element has the most value. Besides, Vladimir was obviously not trying to kill him.”
Well, alright, fine. Could have fooled me…
A bright, vibrant dark-blue aura covered Inari’s hand as she rested it on Sedge’s chest. It was far deeper in color than Sedge’s weak excuse for water magic had been and glowed with a much greater intensity. The deep blue aura was followed by tendrils of clear, glistening water, which spread from her hand into Sedge’s chest and quickly covered the angry red wound. It only took a few moments for his skin to return to a normal hue, his strained breaths evening out as she released him and glanced up at Trini.
“Take him to a tub so he can do the rest on his own.”
“Yes, Dame Inari,” she said hastily. I looked on as she and his other girls worked together to pick him up and carry him off. With the duel finished, Vlad’s group left as well, likely headed to freshen up after the morning’s events. Soon enough, the only trainees remaining were me, Ria, and Jessa, standing there with the Dominatrix from hell and Lord Tan the scary.
“Healing can be performed using the water in one’s body,” Tan explained as everybody split up. “Or in the air. However, it is much more efficient when in a pool or tub of water. Especially for someone who is still learning to use their power like Sedgwick.”
After watching Trini and the others carry Sedge inside, Inari strode over and stood next to her husband. However, rather than putting on the dominatrix act she had used with us, her posture shifted, and she bowed her head to him calmly in subservience.
“Command me, my lord,” Inari said in an uncharacteristically low, calm tone. In all honesty, the complete and sudden switch from dom to sub weirded me out a little.
“Test him,” Tan instructed simply as he folded his arms over his chest and looked over at me in interest.
“Lift the front of your shirt,” she commanded, speaking as though she was about to ask for an order of fries and a Coke with that. Her eyes never met mine; they stayed glued to her husband, unwavering and still.
I did as she asked without hesitation, quickly lifting up the front of my shirt and exposing my stomach.
She turned away from Tan and began studying me as if I was a piece of meat on a cutting board, placing a faintly glowing hand just above my belly button.
Then, I felt a cold pulse of energy spread through my stomach. The feeling wasn’t at all similar to what Demos’ woman had done to mend my injury on my first night here. Where that had been like a cool breeze on a hot day, this was more akin to bathing in ice water while being hit with a subzero arctic gale in the dead of winter.
It hurt. I winced while gritting my teeth as I fought to maintain my composure, wondering if she was doing this on purpose for having to touch me at all.
As I pushed down a shiver, I watched as a flash of realization struck the leather-clad woman, her eyes widening slightly as she drew in a sharp breath of surprise. Whipping her head around to face Tan, she exclaimed, “It is true, husband!”
“By Enion above,” he said as he reached a hand up to stroke his chin. A look of contemplation spread across his face as he angled his head toward the ground, retreating to his thoughts for a moment as he considered the implications of Inari’s discovery. “This… changes everything.”
“What does?” Jessa blurted out, thoroughly bewildered by the scene unfolding in front of her. As I turned to the clueless blonde, I felt Ria lean even closer into me, as if none of this surprised her in the slightest.
Tan was quiet for a moment, glancing at Jessa, then Ria, then me in consideration. Finally, he seemed to make a decision as his eyes returned to Jessa and hardened. “Jessa, you will return to your cell. You will tell no one of what you saw here or what you may suspect. Do you understand?”
I watched as the color drained from Jessa’s face under Tan’s relentless glare, feeling a little sorry for her as she nodded and turned around, trudging back to the birthday cake-shaped castle like a zombie.
I figured that Tan had put two and two together and realized that Jessa wasn't fully inside our little circle of trust just yet.
When she got far enough away, Tan finally relaxed, his shoulders drooping slightly as he returned his gaze to the ground below.
“I am sorry I doubted you, old friend,” he mumbled to himself. “I couldn’t fathom that such a thing would be possible with the darkness wrapped so tightly around our throats.”
He closed his eyes as if in prayer, keeping his head bowed stoically. After a moment of silence, he opened them again, glancing up at me with a solemn expression. “Demos was right to tell you how important it is that this secret is kept. There are many who would use or study you for their own selfish gain.” He paused for a moment as he turned his gaze to Ria, offering her a small smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. “He also told me of you, little one.”
His smile wavered slightly as he breathed a small sigh.
“And of the story of your mother.”
With a sharp inhale, Ria pressed herself all the way against me, her body going stiff as a board as she looked back at Tan. Instinctively, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her against me gently.
“Now, I really want to know more about you,” I said with a small smile as I glanced down. Ria’s face flushed a subtle pink as she buried her face in my chest.
Man, how did this happen so fast? How did you burrow past my defenses and start to feel so… natural?
I glanced up at Tan in question, gesturing down at Ria with my eyes.
“That is her story to tell you,” Tan said with a smile. “Besides, I know only what I must. You will have time later today to exchange such stories if you wish. Come, let me explain some things to you before that time comes. I will share the few things Demos asked me to inform you about before I arrived.”
With my curiosity thoroughly piqued, we began walking towards the castle, Ria staying firmly beneath my arm as we went.
“I will train you in Fire for the week. Unfortunately, due to this being entirely uncharted territory, we do not know how quickly your powers will grow. Demos and I hope that, if we push the Fire first, it will appear in your eyes when it fully manifests, allowing us to maintain our cover story.”
“How does it work?” I asked. “With the eyes, I mean. If you have multiple affinities, what color do they glow?”
He shrugged. “Only one person other than you has ever achieved two affinities, as I am sure you know by now. It is said that, when he obtained the affinity of Earth, Munns’ eyes remained the same as before. I was a boy at the time of Pael’s fall, and the story of Munns and his triumph spread widely, even in Balboa. When it occurred, it brought us much hope.”
He paused, his expression darkening as he recalled something I would likely never be able to comprehend.
“Until he died in the Dungeon of Death,” he murmured solemnly. “Which had the opposite effect on morale. More than anything else, I believe that his death and massacre that accompanied it led to the downfall of our societies. He pushed too far too soon.”
He shook his head free of whatever vision he had summoned to the forefront of his mind, then stared right through me as he continued. “No matter, even if it is but a glimmer, we now have hope once again. However, we will not spread this hope until we are certain that it will grow properly, nor will we rush. Understood?”
“I understand, Lord ZhenKang,” I said resolutely, trying to be as respectful as I could.
“Fellow blades refer to the title, then their given name,” Tan mused, his eyes far off as he spoke. “It is an old carryover from these western kingdoms. In the eastern kingdom of Balboa, my home, we had different customs, you see. You would call me Master, for instance, as I am now your teacher.”
“I take it you know where I am from?” I asked as I pointed a finger at myself.
“Only that you do not hail from any of the four kingdoms,” he replied with a shrug, his eyes glinting with curiosity as his gaze met mine. “I must admit, I am curious as to where it could be, as I have never heard of another place where humans have settled. The Wyldlands, perhaps?”
He raised an eyebrow in question as he considered me, stroking his chin as he went through possibility after possibility in his mind. I hesitated for a moment before responding.
“He told me not to tell anyone anything, but he also said that you could be trusted.”
“Bah!” He waved his hand as if shooing away a fly. “I suggest you keep your secrets for now. While I will treat you as any other student in public, we can save trust for when it is earned between us in private.”
I nodded as I stifled a small smile at his antics, placing Tan into a higher level of my trust circle from those words alone.
“Do you know what I am? Where I’m from?” I asked curiously as I looked down at Ria.
She shrugged, maintaining her silence as she remained firmly glued to my side.
“No, answer me this time… please,” I pleaded gently. I felt the vibration of her chest against me as she let out a short sigh, then her voice as she began to speak.
“I… feel things. It’s hard to explain,” she said. Her voice was soft, but confident. “When things happen, things that I have experienced feelings about, it is as though I always knew they would happen, or that I experienced them long before they occurred. But until I see it or live it, it’s just that: a feeling that can push me one way or the other.”
“But after you see it or experience it, it’s like, what? Déjà vu?”
“Yes, exactly. Like I lived through the same thing at some point before,” she said. I wasn’t sure if the words “déjà vu” had been translated to their base meaning, or if the same term existed in this world’s language. Ultimately, I guess it didn’t really matter, as long as they understood me. “Or that some part of the knowledge was always there, at the very least. It is as though I am only able to realize that I knew something after the occurrence of the event in question. It’s... very hard to explain. Sometimes, I can ask this… internal guide some questions, and it responds by giving me memories of feelings I had before to guide me. Like, I knew I would have an affinity for one of the elements before I approached the crystals. I also knew that you would—”
She froze and stiffened against me, ending her explanation abruptly as she glanced up at Tan and Inari.
“What?” I asked softly.
She shook her head, pressing her face against my chest. “Not for them.”
“Okay,” I said back, tightening my hold around her shoulders comfortingly. “When you’re ready, you can tell me. I won’t push.”
Head-bob.
Seemingly in response to me holding her closer, I went still as I felt Ria wrap her arms firmly around my waist, squeezing me tightly with a small sigh.
It felt wonderful.
“Tomorrow,” Tan said, interrupting our moment with a knowing nod and an amused expression. “You will begin training with the sword and in meditation. After your power comes in, we will see which weapon is meant for you. Until then, we will start with the rapier or perhaps a saber for now, as those are the most common weapons used by our kind.”
“Meant for me?” I thought aloud, his choice of words sparking my curiosity. “Like a specific weapon is what I am destined for or something?”
“That is something you will discover when your power comes in. I will not say any more for now,” he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest with an unreadable expression.
Okay, cryptic as fuck.
“Okay, but I have to admit, I don’t know anything about swords,” I replied sheepishly. “I… don’t have the slightest bit of experience with them.”
As I spoke, I felt a sense of shame spread through my chest. My years of hero stories had told me that I should already be a black belt in seven forms of martial arts, that I should be a master of thirty different niche weapons that hadn’t been used on Earth in over a hundred years, at least.
Unfortunately, I was only me. Average, mortal me. A little smarter in some ways, a lot dumber in others. But other than being a halfway decent shot with a pistol and knowing how to use a baton or pressure points on someone resisting arrest, I knew jack shit about anything that wasn’t twenty-first-century common American-based weaponry.
“That is not a bad thing, nor anything particularly uncommon,” Tan responded casually, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Few who come from outside the nobility have any experience when they first arrive here. It just means that you won’t have any bad habits to do away with. We will train into you all that you need to know. Over many, many long and tedious hours of study.”
He offered me a wide, toothy grin as he finished, the corners of his eyes crinkling with mirth.
Oh, yay. Tedious study, joy.
“Consider this. My wife here, as well as her sisters, still cling to our lost kingdom’s ways. However, all the other Blades of the Order use the dueling swords common of the Western Kingdoms. Do you know why?” he questioned as he pointed to his blade.
Despite my curiosity over what he meant by “lost”, I stayed focused on the topic at hand.
"Honestly, I don’t know the difference between most of them,” I said as I pointed over at Inari. “The Dame’s is a katana, I think, but I couldn’t tell you what yours is. Rapier is the word that comes to mind. I heard you mention the word saber, but I don’t know the difference between them.”
He nodded, seeming satisfied with my answer.
“This is a saber, a dueling saber to be precise,” he said as we passed by the entrance door, but stopped before going inside. “And yes, you could call hers a katana, though it has other names in my people’s tongue I prefer. I was trained in its use when I went through the Balboan academy, and still use its smaller sibling in my off-hand.
He pulled out his dueling saber from its sheath at his hip, and displayed it before Ria and me. It gleamed with a spectrum of glistening, rainbow-like colors as the sunlight reflected off of the blade, glinting with a bright and metallic shine. It looked more like aluminum than the iron spear tips I had seen the guards carrying around at the Aloham palace.
It had a sharp edge on one side, ending in a deadly, razor-sharp point. On the other side was an edge similar to the first, but this one only traveled halfway down the blade before flattening out.
The blade couldn’t have been more than half an inch thick at the base, was much smaller near the tip, and was less than a penny’s edge in width. Below the base of the blade was its handle, which was guarded by the same shield-like hand guard as most of the other sabers I had seen. It was made of the same metal as the blade.
“In the west, however, the Hexinblades prefer this type of weapon. Since my kingdom is no more, I now protect and teach what is the last of our species using the western style, and pair it with my modified Dao,” he said as he put his hand on the shorter sword resting on his other hip. “The dueling saber was not considered a serious weapon of war until the shadows first swarmed, and Hexin himself came into power.”
“Why is that?” I asked, my eyes on the sword in question.
“Before the Scar spewed forth the shadow hordes, most of the fighting between the nobles in the west was ceremonial. Either for points or to first blood. Most of their weapons did not have a blade, only a sharp point like you saw Sedgewick use today. The late Hexin preferred the saber like this, which has a blade on one side and is half-bladed on the other.” Tan ran his thumb down the edge of the blade, tracing it. “It is not like the traditional war saber; it is much thinner, meant for speed, swiftness, and most importantly, flexibility. The shadows…”
Tan paused as if reliving a memory before he shook his head and returned to the conversation.
“Where was I? Oh yes, the shadows swarm you. They attack with overwhelming numbers. Our power gives us an advantage over any ten of the beasts, even at the F-rank. Against the shadow-men, maybe five to one if their forms are based on trained swordsmen. Even more if they’re based on individuals who are untrained. So, you must be careful and know what it is you are fighting.”
So, they actually copy people? Shit.
I couldn’t help the cold shiver that raced up my spine at the thought.
“Regardless, as strong as they can be,” Tan continued. “Against an F-rank blade, they are but children, at least individually. They have no magic and can only work with the skills they copy from the dead, alongside their increased strength. The reason as to why the shadows are so difficult to defeat is that they rarely attack alone. During the First Great Expansion, it is said that the races combined to form armies of tens of thousands. Yet still lost to the enemy.”
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“Because the shadows came with a hundred thousand of their own.” I was hanging onto his every word at this point. “We only won the early battles when their numbers were few, or when we stood on a wall and focused on defense.”
Holy shit. How was anyone supposed to fight something like that?
