Two fighters clashed on the deck of a floating wooden ship. To those that could see it, a comet of white energy streaked around the boy, just above his skin, leaking into the air, yes, but less than it had before.
The girl meanwhile was armored in a collection of coppery shards, shielding lethal points on her body. The mantle was weaker than it could be, but it was stone nonetheless.
Corrin ducked under a heavy swing of Emryn’s sword. He felt its weight as it cleaved the air where he’d been only a moment earlier, missing him by a hair’s breadth. If this had been the first fight, he would have attempted to capitalize on it, assuming her weighted wooden sword would be too heavy to bring around for defense, but he knew better. Emryn was much stronger than a normal person—her physical strength was greater than his or Wyn’s, and to her the sword was light as a feather.
His feet danced across the deck as he avoided two more strikes, relying on his superior speed to narrowly avoid each blow.
Dodge.
Counter.
Thrust.
His sword flashed, Corrin grinned. Emryn deflected, grinning back. She was a warrior too, no doubt.
The earth channeler thrust towards his head and he brought his own blade up from the left, knocking it aside. He’d overparried though, leaving him open as she swung wide around his open side with one hand—or so she thought.
Corrin took a sharp breath as his left hand left the hilt. He turned the tip downwards, twisting it around just in time to catch her strike. His left hand slammed against its flat just below the point of contact, reinforcing the weak defense and knocking her one-armed strike aside.
Her eyes widened at the unorthodox maneuver as his sword circled back up and swung towards her shoulder, aiming for one of the gaps in her coppery mantle.
Emryn’s aura flashed as the pieces consolidated, solidifying into a hard shell just before his eyes. His sword slammed into the armor and bounced off as though it had hit stone.
Shit.
She lunged forward. He tried to bring his own mantle to bear, but it slipped through his mental grasp, defiant and uncaged. Her shoulder slammed into his chest and everything went black.
It was likely only a moment later his vision returned, now filled with the clear blue of the cloudless sky above him. Already he could feel his aura gathering where he’d been struck. He healed fast, but that was going to bruise.
“I’m convinced,” Corrin groaned, rubbing his chest as he recovered his breath. He turned his head to the side, the afternoon sun was too damn bright. “This ship really does have a comfy deck.”
“I didn’t mean to hit you so hard,” Emryn apologized, she always did that after winning. “I thought you’d block with your mantle.”
“Don’t rub it in.”
Reiss laughed from his seat on the side of the deck. “I believe that makes the score three to zero. No matter what anyone says, humans suck at multitasking. You can’t focus on aura control and fighting at the same time. Even Emryn is better than you, and her mantling is terrible.”
Corrin sat up, wincing. The pain wasn’t just physical; his channels throbbed, sore from overuse. “Yeah well I’d never mantled before yesterday, that’s to be expected isn’t it?”
“True! But you’re not going to accept that excuse when Ayden defeats you in two weeks are you?”
Corrin clicked his tongue. He wouldn’t, not after all his boasting, nothing would embarrass him more than losing now. Still, sparring with Emryn had made him realize how large the gap was.
For all her timidness, the girl was strong—even after kicking his ass three times, the only sign of exertion she showed was a heavier breath. It wasn’t a matter of swordplay—if anything he was actually a tad more skilled in that sense. No, it was pure power. She had more aura, and more importantly, she used it more effectively. Each swing of her sword had enough force to fell a small tree, and without an effective mantle, Corrin spent most of his time desperately trying to dodge.
“You did do better that time,” the earth channeler smiled, holding a hand out to pull him up. “And I didn’t expect the half-swording at all.” The cute girl’s smile was like a balm on his chest, even if she was the one that had caved it in in the first place. He took the hand and staggered to his feet.
“I took three hits to go down instead of two,” he chuckled. “But I guess that is an improvement. Not much practice for you though.”
She shook her head. “Ayden’s a spearman and Reiss uses a bow. I don’t get many opportunities to spar with someone more skilled than me with a sword. You’re forcing me to rely on my mantle—that’s what I need.”
He recalled his waster bouncing off her skin as though he’d hit a boulder. “And you’re supposed to be bad at it?”
“The chick cannot tell the height at which the sparrow flies.” Reiss walked over from his resting spot. “Most earth channelers live and die by their armor. It’s a very stable aspect, so even a weaker one can usually hold enough mana to shroud their entire body. That’s important in compensating for its sluggishness, since it's more difficult to use a dynamic mantle like yours when your mana is slow. Unfortunately, Miss Emryn doesn’t have enough control to actually maintain a full mantle, hence the shards instead. If you were a bit more adept in your own channeling, you could find plenty of ways to damage her through the gaps, and she has to actively defend against attacks instead of just trusting them to her armor without thought.”
Emryn shrunk, rubbing her wrist with each new criticism. “I’m working on it…”
He patted her on the shoulder. “I know you are, this isn’t a criticism, but our friend here is quite uninformed."
“You’re telling me.” Corrin rubbed the bridge of his nose, he felt like his head was going to explode with everything he’d learned just since the morning. “So, any other tips for mantle control?”
Reiss shook his head. “Other than what I've already told you, practice. That’s all there is to it at this point, control is a muscle you must train through use.”
“Do you think I can beat Ayden in two weeks?”
“Not a chance,” Reiss smiled apologetically. “But then again, Tor is a spirit knight. I’m just a moderately skilled archer with too much time on my hands.”
“Well I—”
“I’ve returned as promised!” A voice boomed out across the deck. Corrin turned to see Tor approaching, his imposing figure instantly recognizable even if he hadn’t spoken. He was carrying a huge iron pot at his side, holding it as though it weighed nothing. “How’s the training going?”
“It is going well, Corrin is making steady progress,” Reiss said.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Tor glanced at Corrin as if to confirm.
Corrin gave a ‘so-so’ gesture.
Tor nodded, his face conveying a message. Not bad then, keep it up.
The spirit knight plopped the pot, a foot wide and twice as tall, down onto the wood. “That’s good to hear, in that case, I brought food.”
He lifted up the top of the pot and steam wafted out. Even from across the deck, Corrin thought he could smell something delicious inside. He crossed the distance in an instant, stomach raging at the feast ahead, he hadn’t eaten since before sunrise, and it was now past noon. Tor didn’t stop him, laughing as Corrin looked into the pot. It was a simple stew, but after hours of training and sparring, it smelled heavenly.
“Where are—” he looked around for a bowl, or a spoon, anything really, but there was nothing.
Tor snapped his fingers. “Always something.” He held out a hand, focusing. Corrin wasn’t channeling to his eyes, but when sand began to coalesce above his palm, he was able to guess. Something like a ladle formed, but it wasn’t smooth at all, and the knight clicked his tongue, disappointed. It crumbled back to sand and formed again three more times before he seemed to give up.
“Anybody want to eat with a rough spoon?” He looked around. “Didn’t think so, I’ll be right back.”
He shot off at a jog towards town, each stride covering no less than 5 of Corrin’s.
“He’s so fast, even with earth mana,” Emryn murmured.
Ayden walked up, jostling Corrin out of the way as he put himself between them. He didn’t look at Corrin though as he did it, his eyes were on the knight. “It’s just raw power. His mana output is incredible. He’s faster than any wind channeler I’ve ever met. What about you Reiss?”
The veteran wind channeler looked at the stew longingly. “I certainly can’t move that fast, and I’ve never met an earth channeler faster than me. You’re right, his fundamentals are on a completely different level.”
“Well Corrin?” Ayden turned to him begrudgingly. “You actually fought him right? What’d you think? How’d I compare?”
Corrin hesitated a second, surprised Ayden was even talking to him. He thought back on Tor’s hammer throw, then his leap to the pillar, causal actions taken earlier that day. They meant nothing to the spirit knight, and yet… He shook his head. “It wasn’t even a fight, he didn’t take it seriously for even a second. You want to know what he’s capable of? I can’t tell you, because I don’t know.”
Ayden scowled, but he didn’t try to argue. He turned his head to the east, looking out over The Grass Sea. He didn’t say anything after that.
Tor returned soon after with bowls and spoons, passing them out and scooping some stew for himself. He sat cross-legged on the deck, and all the adventurers save for Ayden sat far away from him. Corrin too plopped down next to the spirit knight, eating ravenously for the first few minutes, too hungry to talk until he’d finished two bowls. As he worked on his third, he finally slowed enough to speak. There were countless questions he wanted to ask the spirit knight, but one burst out before all the others.
“So who’s the strongest person you’ve ever had to fight?”
Tor’s chewing paused for a second, he looked at Corrin, then up into the sky thoughtfully. “Strongest is tough I think. My hardest fight was probably about ten years back, this Nladian death channeler I ran across while out on patrol. Nasty bastards—death channelers I mean—they’re usually easier to defend against, but if their attacks actually land… Well thankfully they’re even rarer than ash channelers.
As for the strongest—I got into a bar fight with this moon-ranked ascender up in Ord, and let me tell you those tower climbers are no damn joke. I had to pay for the damages out of pocket and the military docked my pay for six months.”
“Tower climbers… As in the Tower of Heaven?” Ayden asked the question a moment before Corrin could, his eyes sharp with interest.
Tor nodded. “Aye, though apparently they get pissed if you call em’ that. Prefer the term ‘ascenders’”
“What was the fight over?” Corrin asked.
“Couldn’t tell ya, I hardly remember it,” Tor shrugged.
“Did you win?”
The knight’s mood soured. “It was close.”
Corrin snorted at that. At the same time though, he was enraptured. There were people even stronger than Tor out there, it was almost impossible to imagine. But with each story he told, the knight painted the picture of an entirely different world, only available to the truly strong. There were things that he could do, places he could go and people he could meet that Corrin could never hope to experience as he was. It was a hidden world within his known one, and he wanted to be part of it.
Of course, he wasn’t alone in that. Ayden hung on every word about adventurers, asking more about the Tower of Heaven, the Valley Hidden in The Sand, and any other famous dungeons he seemed to be able to think of, though Tor had only seen those two in person. Still, he had countless stories—battles, disasters, hunts, a life on par with any story Corrin had ever been told. The knight had done more in the last two years alone than Corrin had in his entire life.
Well, except maybe meeting a demon, but Corrin was still keeping that to himself for now.
An hour passed in an instant and the knight stood with a sigh. “Alright, much as I’d love to keep going, we don’t have all the time in the world. Ayden, back to work. Corrin, show me your mantle.”
Corrin nodded, pulling ash mana from his body onto his hand. It wasn’t much, only enough to essentially form a bracer, but that was the most he could effectively control. It still leaked, but using less mana made the job easier. His control itself had gotten better too, mostly thanks to a realization he’d had thanks to Reiss—ash mana didn’t like to stagnate. It would respond to Corrin’s will, but some things were more ‘in its nature’ than others. His aura for example, was easier to move than it was to halt, and knowing that improved his effective mental grip. As he formed a gauntlet of mana, he didn’t hold it still, but rather directed its tendency towards motion instead, willing it to spin around his arm.
“Switch arms,” Tor said.
Corrin’s eyes widened, trying to pull the mana to his left now instead. The spin of the mana jerked, coming to a grinding halt as he slowly, forcefully dragged it to his left, eventually getting it to continue to spin.
“Not bad, but you see the problem right?”
“It’s easier to hold while it’s moving, but that movement is harder to change, especially if it’s faster.” Corrin held up both hands, moving it around them both. If he kept it on a constant path looping through both arms it was easier, but then each arm would be exposed for intervals while it moved.
“Right. If a full mantle’s out of reach—and for you right now, it is—you’ll need to find out how to make the most of what you’ve got. Some people gauntlet their off hand, then they can use it like a shield, or as a projection point for techniques. Just something to think about. For now, keep working on your control. When you leak half that much mana, we’ll move on to the next step.”
Tor turned to leave, then he paused. “Corrin. Let me make something clear to you. Those that will enter the academy this year have been training their whole lives for this. By the time they enter, even the least of them will be able to fully mantle. They will have techniques and combat skills beyond anything you’ve ever seen before. Not only must you compete with the most talented young channelers on the continent, but you must do so while playing catch up. Don’t forget that.”
With those final words, he turned and left.
Corrin looked around the deck. The adventurers, even Ayden, had slowed in their training as the food settled in their stomachs. But then, Tor was right, they weren’t his goal. They were a roadblock, or perhaps a test, both for Tor and himself. His resolve hadn’t been wavering, but the thought hardened it further. His eyes met Ayden’s, and the spearman scowled. Corrin didn’t flinch.
Two weeks. He sat, closed his eyes, and began to channel.
***
Wyn wasn’t tired—he had spirit fire to prevent that—but the day had been a bit taxing nonetheless. It almost seemed like Nereus considered the little information about bonds enough to cover a day's worth of assistance. While he’d learned plenty about grass, that wasn’t what he’d been hoping for. Wyn found it a lousy trade.
As the sun began to set, the mage had let him go, telling him to go eat and rest up before the next day. Wyn wasn’t sure if he was going to go back. It gnawed at him—Corrin was growing stronger, yet he was still standing still. Could he trust Nereus to lead him forward?
Maybe, but of all the paths towards his goal, there was one that only he could walk. Since the morning, after their talk about bonds, a few pieces had fallen into place for Wyn, and he was ready to start solving the puzzle.
He needed to talk to Kei and Ven about their plans to stay in Estin. He needed to eat too, they’d skipped lunch. He could do both at the same time. But before all of that, he had a different objective. He’d taken a rope bridge across to one of the pillars, mostly empty except for a small shrine. It was a place of significance, one where people could come and pray to the spirits, though it was empty now, and only he stood atop it, standing in front of a small stone offering bowl.
He looked into the air where a purple spirit flitted nervously about. Perhaps she’d picked up on his intent, not that it mattered. If she was going to be his partner, it was time they got on the same page.
He spoke, clearly, projecting it into the air. They were far enough away that no one would hear him, and while he could have had the conversation mentally, he felt this was important.
“Eia. Let’s talk.”