PART II - SPEARMASTER XINCHAINE
“Have you noticed a rather high number of melded skills amongst your recruits?” Pelidri asked as he and Xera left the Bladedancer area. “I myself have only two, plus off-class ones I’ve studied over the years, and you know what tier and how old I am. I’ve even had a worm since I was Silver. Strange she received that Sigil skill at Iron as well. A Bladedancer doing Sigil work? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“We have indeed recently become aware of the frequency, and we’re looking into it. Thorn has a theory he is looking into, but it may strike many as quite outlandish. Given what we’ve been seeing, especially this term, outlandish may actually have some merit, though.”
“Oh? Should I wait and talk to him directly or would you be able to summarize?”
Xera led them over to where the Paladins were practicing, those that were resting jumping into action at seeing the Commandant and Arkan observing. Casually, they watched the recruits, not really paying much attention, as Xera relayed the condensed version of the theory regarding Symbiotes talking to each other and exchanging skills and ideas. They mentioned it was Callie that kicked the whole idea off, but skipped that she could apparently talk to her worm, focusing simply on what they were seeing here and what Thorn had found when he eventually started to look through the records. Xera knew the Arkan would probably learn of Callie’s Symbiote conversations, but didn’t want to put her so center to the discussion at the start.
“Again, this is all theory, with no real controlled study, so make of it what you will. Thorn is likely the camp expert when it comes to Symbiotes, however. Well, he and Master Healer Tasi. You’d need to have a long talk with Thorn to dig into it more, and I warn you he’ll academic out on you quite a bit.”
Pelidri chuckled lightly as he stroked his beard in consideration, half-watching Koda and Jitta sparring with each other, the latter projecting a dome of semi-transparent light from her shield to block the Bearkin’s blows. “You know …” he finally began, gesturing to the two Paladins, “if there is any truth to this theory, you might be able to turn, say, a Warrior with a worm into a partial Paladin, with enough extended exposure to each other.”
Xera blinked in surprise. They had been a little dubious of Thorn and Callie’s idea of doing exactly that to fill out the ranks next term, but now the Arkan had immediately leapt to it on his own. “Thorn suggested that, as well,” Xera finally said. “He’d like to add a few straight Warriors with Symbiotes next term, just to see what might happen. We’ll need to find a good Warrior trainer for their base skills, but his hope would be that they might pick up a few things from at least the Berserkers or Barbarians, or perhaps even the Paladins and Bladedancers.”
“It would indeed be an intriguing experiment. You’d need enough Warriors to have a proper test group, without too many that they overshadow the Advanced classes. Maybe … a half-dozen?”
Thorn had been estimating they’d need to fill out the ranks with about twice that for the next term, plus or minus a few, depending on what worm hunters and ultimately who the recruiters found. Xera was starting to wonder if Thorn’s idea might actually have some merit. Plus, if the Arkan had come to a similar conclusion on his own, that would help the program quite a bit, politically that was. No matter what, they needed the bodies, but if it actually worked…
“Well, you must let me know how the experiment goes, Commandant. I’ll be most-interested to learn of your results, and I’m curious to look through your records as well. Could you see that they are delivered to my cabin?” Without waiting for a reply, he turned and looked onward. “Shall we go meet your Shamans?”
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“I’d like to introduce our lead Shaman trainer, Cheena, who is nearly Platinum. She was not here last time you visited. You already know Captain Maugra, who is Platinum herself and our other Shaman trainer.”
“Arkan,” Maugra acknowledged, placing her hand to her chest and nodding in acknowledgement.
Pelidri seemed at first slightly confused by the lower-tiered trainer being the lead, but then made a connection as he remembered the Goblin from the previous summer. “Maugra?” His eyes almost bugged out, and he finally spluttered, “You must forgive me, I do not wish to be rude, but you seem much more spry than the last time we met.”
The Goblin glanced at Xera, unsure how to respond.
“Without going into detail,” Xera interjected, “we came into possession of some unicorn blood, and it was used on two of our oldest trainers. In turn, they agreed to a term of service and a reactivation of their commissions. It was that, or lose their lifetimes of expertise to retirement.”
“Unicorn blood? Xera! You know that …”
The Commandant held up their hand to forestall Pelidri. “There is more complexity to the decision, but I have come to believe this will serve the war effort. In the interests of time and privacy, may we discuss it in more detail later? I can fully brief you on the totality of the circumstances.”
“I see. Was this taken from the foal? The Beastmaster’s Companion, that is?”
“It was from the foal’s mother, regrettably. She was killed during a combat mission, and we were able to harvest it from her body. The remainder, as well as other parts, will be distributed back through the supply chains.”
“I see,” Pelidri said again. “I am regretting that we didn't have time yesterday evening to speak. I had obligations and was simply exhausted from the trip, and now I must insist that we do so tonight,” He still had a bewildered tone in his voice, but understanding Xera’s need for a more detailed discussion.
Xera refocused their attention back to their trainers, moving on. “Trainers, would you care to introduce your students?”
Quickly, Cheena and Maugra lined up the four Shaman recruits, Cheena introducing each of the Goblins by name, Lhawni having come over from the Bladedancer area. Pelidri actually took a moment to praise Lhawni directly, almost gushingly so, for the way she took command of the scene earlier when she was tending to Jesca. For someone with only a few weeks of formal training, he found her confident, focused, efficient and most importantly, commanding. Chown and Swopik in particular beamed at the praise for their fellow Goblin, excited to see one of their race make an impression. Goblins tended to be somewhat overlooked when it came to such accolades.
“Finally,” Cheena said, “This is Xinchaine, Daughter of the Sunset Valley Tribe. She is a volunteer and has come to us as a trained Spearmaster, now excelling in her new role as Shaman. So much so, in fact, that she was the first of the four to reach Silver, achieving that this morning.”
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“Congratulations, Shaman Xinchaine,” Pelidri said simply.
“Thank you, Arkan,” Xin said stiffly, her tail twitching slightly with the praise.
“A little pink-haired gossip informed me you received a new flight form, as well as a melded skill?”
“Ah, yes, the pink Little One is my cabinmate, and she does tend to be … always around,” Xin said, no animosity in the answer and surprisingly diplomatic in the tone of her response. “I have actually received two new melded skills,” the Lizardkin added, stiffening even more and beaming proudly.
“Would you care to demonstrate your new capabilities?” Xera said, gesturing to the training ring.
Quickly the three Goblin recruits retreated to the side as Xin moved to the center, Maugra next to her, while Cheena continued on to apparently prepare something.
“I am told my new form is called a Phelnix,” Xin said. “I am not familiar with this type of creature, but my cabinmate Tazrok knew of them. They apparently come from mountains beyond the great plains, far to the south and west.”
“We have not yet tried to fly,” Maugra added. “We will start to work on it slowly this afternoon, lest she injure herself too severely while learning.”
“Quite understandable,” Pelidri said.
With a gesture towards Xin, Maugra took a step away.
Forgoing any preamble, Xin focused momentarily and her shape wibbled into her new form. While none would know the comparison Callie had made, the creature did indeed look similar to a miniature pterodactyl, with long, leathery wings approximately one-and-a-half meters from tip to tip immediately obvious. With the wings folded, they functioned as a pair of front legs, although you could get an immediate sense that this awkward walking method wasn’t something this creature preferred, instead being much more capable in the air. Xin’s new sharply-angular head had a long mouth filled with dozens of small, sharp teeth, as well as four large ones that protruded at the front like canines. Along the top and back of her head was a long fin that functioned to assist with control while flying, or, more importantly, when diving at fast speeds.
“Most impressive!” Pelidri cheered at the new form. “I’ve never heard of one of these creatures, but see this is indeed a most-excellent flyer.” He turned to Xera. “I always love it when Druids and Shamans get their new forms for the first time. So exciting.”
“Thank you, Arkan,” Xin said as she resumed her people form. “I am quite eager to learn to fly.”
“This is all set up,” Cheena called. While Xin had been showing off the new animal form, the trainer, with a little help from Chown, had moved several hay bales into position and hung a large piece of cloth on it that was painted in the same manner as what the Rangers would use for target practice.
Maugra gave Xin a gesture towards the Arkan, indicating she should take lead on the explanation. She added a bit of a ‘go ahead’ nod for encouragement, before stepping far out of the way.
“One of the new melded skills I received is called Spectral Spear,” Xin began. As she spoke, she held out her clawed hand and a ghostly-white form of a spear appeared in it. The weapon seemed to be intricately detailed, despite the wispy substance, with decorative curves and shapes seemingly etched into the glowing smoke-like mist. If it had been real, it would be exquisite in craftsmanship. In the blink of an eye, Xin spun as she pulled her arm back, before throwing it into the target, where it hit nearly center, piercing through.
Xin again brought her arm back, readying it to throw as a second spear formed. As before, the spear hit center mass, maybe a centimeter away from the first. Xin spun, calling up a third spear, this time using a slightly-awkward underhand throw to put the weapon into the target with as much force as the first two. The Lizardkin continued, summoning another half-dozen in succession. She twisted and spun, putting on almost a Martialist-like dance as each new spear was formed, thrown, and lethally impaled into and through the target, some even seeming to split previous ones. As she continued her demonstration, a small crowd of recruits and others slowed and finally stopped to watch, dumbfounded at both the new magical skill, but also the unerring beauty and perfection of Xin’s movements.
Finally, the spear in her hand began to crackle with electricity, as Xin added an effect from her Elemental Weapon skill to it. With one final perfect throw at the target, flashes of lightning danced over and around it, causing multiple wisps of smoke to rise from the ends of the target’s innards as there was a small clap of thunder, some straw going flying from a small explosion at the point of impact.
Xin made a single, final leaping spin, her tail making a whip-like snap, as she landed facing Xera and Pelidri. She came to a stiff attention, another Spectral Spear forming and held upright at her side, where it glowed with a bright, white haze. She wasn’t even breathing hard, in spite of the amazing athleticism she’d just demonstrated.
“I would have used fire, but I was warned not to burn anything down,” Xin said matter-of-factly. “It would have been more impressive.”
A few scattered applause from onlookers, as well as whoops of encouragement from the three Goblin Shaman recruits, rippled across the area. Xera stood there slightly amazed, having never really seen Xin go all-out in spear mode, and quite impressed. Pelidri seemed a little more reserved, but still wore a huge grin on his face.
After a long moment, the Arkan began to slowly clap. He did so maybe a dozen times. “In the Cillisine army,” Pelidri finally began, “we have a regiment of elite Spearmasters, quite renowned for their skill and lethality on the battlefield. You, my friend, have shown both a skill and a perfection that would rival many of them. You do those that trained you proud, and there is no doubt the enemy will suffer under your wrath.”
Xin beamed at the praise and comparison, as did Cheena and Maugra, who had both stepped up to join her. Xin was already arguably the most-skilled of the four Shaman recruits, at least offensively. Thus, it was easy to forget the non-Shaman combat prowess she had brought with her from home. In fact, really the only demonstration of any capabilities from that previous life came from the bunkerball field, where her uncanny accuracy had been a big part of the team’s success. Now, it would be impossible for anyone to forget.
The spear demonstration over, Xin dismissed the ghostly weapon she was holding, which disappeared into a puff of white mist. At the target, which was now nearly destroyed, one by one the other spears exceeded their summon time and began to also fade away.
“Tell us of your other new melded skill,” Xera ordered.
“It is quite simple, and unfortunately healing related,” Xin began. “It is called Suppress Pain, and as suggested, allows me to temporarily block any pain a person may have. I can either do this generally, or focus it on an extremity, if needed.”
“Like the Combat Healer skill?” Xera asked, eyes going wide with surprise.
“It seems that way,” Maugra said, “at least in effect. We were planning to seek out Trainer Winnu, or perhaps the Faun, to compare the descriptions of the two before working with it much. I know the Combat Healer skill is called Block Pain, so we suspect Recruit Xin’s may not be quite as powerful, based simply on that name difference”
“Still, an invaluable new skill,” Xera said, “and a capability Shamans do not normally receive. Use it well, Recruit.”
“Why did you say ‘unfortunately’?” Pelidri asked, ever observant and having picked up on Xin’s choice of words. “As the Commandant said, this is an incredibly useful new skill.”
Xin rubbed the spines on the back of her neck, seeming almost ashamed. “I much prefer using my combat skills, rather than waiting around for someone to get hurt while doing nothing, to be honest, Arkan. It is quite surprising I would receive this new skill, for that reason.”
“Despite that,” Cheena quickly and defensively interjected, “Xin is quite the capable Healer, even if not her first choice of role. All of our recruits are, in fact.” She gestured to the three Goblins to include them.
“Healers are quite critical on the battlefield,” Pelidri said. While he was specifically addressing Xin, almost in a lecture, his comments were aimed at all four recruits with a tone that told them to listen closely to what he was saying. “In combat, there is nearly always some other way for someone to attack and do damage to the enemy, but without healers, that line can quickly crumble and fall. I’m sure your trainers have said as much. Even if it is not your preference, it should be your primary focus. You understand, correct?”
“Yes, Arkan!” the three Goblin Shamans replied quickly and in unison. Xin’s identical response came as well, but it was a little slower, and tinged with a bit of frustration, or at least unhappy resignation.