While everyone on the team was enthused by the training–especially as they began to see results and improved coordination–they agreed Ethan couldn’t shirk his focus on the duel. As such, the second day since the team had come together found him back at the palace, sparring with Prince Calevaro once more. As promised, he’d been in the same room, at the same time, and had merely greeted Ethan before moving toward training weapons.
“Actually I have my own,” Ethan said, then summoned the Many Faced Blade as a chain sickle. Ethan had stopped at one of the town’s smiths to have measurements taken, and this morning he’d picked up the custom sheath for the sickle, and padding of the weight on the other end of the chain.
Calevaro watched quietly as Ethan applied the safety devices, then looked curiously at the weapon. “I am not familiar with that design.”
“It’s a bit exotic even in my world, but uniquely versatile, and can be very effective against another armed opponent. I also have twin short swords, but at my skill level they’re not ideal for duels.” Those insights were courtesy of Tomo and the skill book he’d used from Tomo’s master.
The prince nodded. “Wise to train with the weapons you’ll be using against your real enemy,” he said.
“What does Thavin use, by the way? Do we know much about his power set?”
“A polearm, with which he’s quite skilled. He also has the Sand and stone Affinities, but he’s managed to keep his third Bond secret–impressive given the number of duels he’s been in.”
The two men centered in the training circle. Despite Ethan using a proper weapon, the prince was content with a single wooden sword. Ethan knew the man would typically wield a pair, but wasn’t insulted–there was no way he was a match for Calevaro in martial prowess alone. He was looking forward to trying his new techniques, however.
The style was called nexjutsu, seeming to be an extension of the kenjutsu Tomo’s samurai master had brought from Earth. It was designed as an extension of the original art, factoring in what eventually became superhuman physiology. It even left helpful gaps, with notes on how to integrate different ability types, demonstrating that the style was taught to multiple Hunters, and not just used by the creator himself.
For now, Ethan was back to doing as he originally had with the martial knowledge rune Valanor had provided–trying to make muscle memory align with purely theoretical technique. As such, when Calevaro came at him, he kept it simple, using the sickle to parry, keeping the chain in the right position, and getting used to moving in the correct way.
As before, the prince began with slow, intentional attacks that suited Ethan perfectly. With each block and deflection, he became more used to how the weapons interacted, and his motions became less stiff. Still, the primary purpose of the exercise was to train Ethan’s spirit, and so gradually Calevaro increased the pace, needing the battle to feel real.
The two men moved back and forth across the miniature arena, kicking up sand and circling one another. The dull thuds of their blunted weapons colliding, and the rattling of Ethan’s chain created an odd symphony. This time Calevaro didn’t need to pause to demonstrate the purpose of the exercise, and so they continued much longer than before, their Dawn rank bodies allowing them to spar without rest for nearly an hour.
Ethan would occasionally shift his vision into the Astral, just long enough to spot his Spiritual reflection likewise assaulting Calevaro’s. As he’d been taught by his sessions with Tomo, he tried to focus on his connection to that seemingly independent Astral figure, trying to build his awareness. He’d been doing so almost all the time now, but with little success.
This was the first time he’d felt real progress, as it wasn’t entirely dissimilar to his connection with [Hydra’s Reflection]. He was aware that on some level he was both himself–in the physical world–and also this representation, in the Astral. As the fighting continued–Ethan struggling and Calevaro dispassionate–he tried to better understand the sensation.
While he didn’t make much progress–he was continually reminded by Tomo that this training wasn’t quick–he did see something unexpected in the Astral. The longer they fought, the less of a brutal melee the clash between their spirits became. Though they started with vaguely defined fists, smashing at one another, that had changed.
After fifteen minutes or so, Ethan noticed that the two spirits were more clearly defined, matching their physical counterparts more closely. By the half-hour mark, they actually seemed to be fighting like warriors rather than barroom brawlers, even using martial arts and obviously skilled technique. Finally, just as Ethan and the prince were beginning to wind down, he saw that the two had actually brought out weapons, and their fight was bordering on a true reflection of the physical world. Ethan tried to remember how his Spirit ‘felt’ at that moment, hoping to guide it back to that stage more quickly in the future.
At last Calevaro backed away and nodded, replacing his weapon on a rack for that purpose, then moving toward his normal table by the window. He dismissed his armor and gestured for Ethan to follow, who did so, likewise switching into more comfortable clothing. He accepted a drink gratefully, and leaned back in the comfortable chair. There was a pause as the prince seemed to inspect him, then he finally spoke.
“When will you escape?” Calevaro asked. The question, asked in a near-whisper, seemed to fall like an anvil, and it took all of Ethan’s willpower to calmly finish sipping his juice, buying time to speak.
He looked into the prince’s green eyes, finding him as frustratingly unreadable as ever. How the hell do I handle this? he wondered. We’re a similar rank, so I might be able to manage a lie or two, but…
“Before or after the duel?” the prince clarified, still in a neutral tone.
Well, here we go. “I have no plans to escape,” Ethan said carefully. Mostly true. Plans for revenge? Yes. But he considered escape to be an eventuality, not something he’d managed a specific play for…yet.
“I would suggest waiting until after I return from the Forgotten City,” Calevaro said, then took a sip of his own drink. “At that point I’ll be leaving Viridus. For you to have any value in the role my family wishes, you’ll need to leave as well.”
Ethan just stared, still overwhelmed by the suddenness of the topic. Calevaro continued, still casual. “If you try to leave before then, my father will try to have you killed–he won’t let Flagras go, and there’s a very limited number of directions you could choose to run. After we leave, however, you can wait until the appropriate moment, and disappear at your leisure.”
That was…disturbingly reasonable. “Why are you saying this?” Ethan finally asked.
Calevaro shrugged slightly. “My father is a king, and a Twilight one at that–more powerful than any in his kingdom. On some level he truly believes he can tell a stranger to sacrifice himself and have his will obeyed. He also likely believes that by not executing you, he has essentially bought your life.”
The prince didn’t seem bothered by Ethan’s glare at that, and continued as before. “As you go out into the world and start to understand the attitudes of the truly powerful, you’ll see that my father’s is far from unique.” He took another sip from his drink. “My sister is a different matter.”
“Indeed,” Ethan managed, barely containing his hatred for the woman. Again, Calevaro ignored it.
“She is less…naive about the feelings and motivations of someone like yourself. She has been trying to bind you with other things. I suspect that’s why she made Valanor watch over you, on your journey for your final Bond. She knows his mind, his past, and his pain, and wouldn’t hesitate to manipulate him into caring for you. I imagine she suggested you be put into his care, even before he did. One more string to tie you to us.”
Ethan struggled to control his rising fury. “Does Valanor know?” he asked in a quiet voice.
“No. Valanor is…what he seems. I consider him a friend, and would have intervened if I believed he was being truly misused. He really does need someone to protect, and you need protecting. He’d die for you, and I suspect my sister is incapable of understanding this was likely a misstep on her part.”
Ethan felt some comfort at that. Valanor seemed to lack guile, simply being trapped by the shackles of his own sense of duty, and it was good not to be disabused of that. Still…this was a lot.
“So that’s your father, and sister, what of the Church?” Calevaro was in a sharing mood for some reason, Ethan may as well get all the intelligence he can.
Oddly, the prince smiled. “I told you my sister binds you, and by more than just Valanor. She has made arrangements with the Church. She’s not pious by any stretch, nor are many who sit on thrones, as the Church stands as one of the few institutions that rival their power. Ellie is taking a different tack.”
“How so?” Ethan asked with narrowed eyes.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Viridus is too small for her. The Church encompasses the whole world. She sees opportunity everywhere, and here she sees a path beyond our borders.” His tone seemed disapproving as he continued.
“Ellie has made some kind of deal with them. I don’t know many of the details, but she has tied herself to them strongly, and is advertising that fact. Trying to make herself synonymous with the Church’s power. I suspect she managed this by selling them the idea of a Chosen Assassin under her thumb…one broken by the Deep Cell, and traveling the world by her direction. Doing the Church’s will.”
Ethan shot to his feet, knocking the chair down behind him. He started moving around the room, not sure what to do, but the fury inside him needing an outlet. Calevaro sat calmly, still sipping his drink. Finally Ethan spun on him.
“Why? I asked and you told me about your father, and your sister. I’m asking you. Why are you telling me this?”
Calevaro looked out the window for a moment before answering–no, he’s looking at his own reflection? “I’m more like my father and sister than perhaps I would like. But my brother Kent…he was more like mother. I love my brother very much. I keep asking myself what he’d think of this situation.”
He turned to look at Ethan. “Kent loved Flagras. I think I know how he’d feel about my sister using the Noble Guardian as a tool for murder and politics.” He shrugged slightly. “If it’s in my power, I won’t allow that to happen.”
“But you’ll let me take your place in this duel?” Ethan asked, his anger and spite lashing out.
Again, Calevaro seemed unbothered. He stood up, then moved to stand opposite Ethan. “We must continue training, Ethan. I understand your rage, but you mustn’t allow it to control you. You knew what my sister was, just not the extent of her ambitions. There is still a way out of this for you, and it can be as simple as walking away. Do what you need to do until then. Bide your time, then go.”
He nodded once, then strolled away, leaving Ethan burning with emotions. Could I really just walk away? He looked down at the burned scar on the back of his hand.
No.
***
The rest of the team hadn’t arrived yet when Ethan reached Selina’s home, which was by intention. He’d wanted to speak with her alone, as he’d been putting off this conversation for some time. He knew why, of course. He’d embraced denial as strongly as he could, while still being someone who prided himself on practicality.
That amounted to focusing on living, accepting his medical knowledge had been destroyed, but not letting the flood of emotions that went with it drown him. Now though, he realized he’d held that back as long as he could. It was time to see a specialist.
He knocked this time, even using the front door. Selina answered fairly quickly, having predictably been in her living room reading. Becoming a Hunter was changing her, but in some ways she was very much the same. Although now Tibby the lepus was curled up on the couch where Selina had been sitting. The white rabbit looked at Ethan suspiciously, as it always did, but he ignored it.
“Ethan!” Selina said. “You’re very early. Is everything all right? Oh, come in. Then talk.”
Ethan forced a smile as he did so, unconsciously rubbing his scarred hand as he prepared himself for bad news. He couldn’t help but think about patients he’d made wait in the hospital, and how brutal that sense of powerlessness could be. Still, he needed to know.
“Hi, Selina. Everything is…well, most things are alright. But I’m here to speak to you as a Runemistress.”
She raised an eyebrow at him curiously, then gestured for them both to sit. Tibby scrambled out of the way to avoid being close to him as Ethan slumped onto the couch. “What is it?” Selina asked.
Here goes…“My hand. My ruined skill rune…I was hoping you could look at it. I mean, I guess you did look at it; you must have while you were unsealing everything. I guess…I guess I want to know the diagnosis.”
The Runemistress’ lips tightened and she looked predictably uncomfortable. She’s clearly not as used to giving bad news as most doctors. Finally she moved to join him on the couch, taking his right hand when he gave a reluctant nod. When she started speaking, she did so as if talking to the rune itself.
“The device that was used on your rune was crude…but thorough. It works on two levels. First it destroys the flesh–the physical side of the magic. Then it pushes deeper, tearing and burning through the mana pathways inside you–the Astral side of the magic.”
“So what does that mean for…recovery?” he asked.
She let out a long sigh before answering. “A complex question. The mana pathways can heal. Maybe even will heal–especially once you reach Dusk rank. Part of that process involves rebuilding significant portions of your physical and Astral selves. You could likely even get a new rune at the same location someday.”
“And this rune?” he asked, sensing he knew the answer.
“It’s complicated because it’s a skill rune. Are you aware of how they work?”
“Only partly,” he answered.
“Well, the magic of the skill stone isn’t duplication, it’s transference. That means it actually takes the skill and knowledge that was bouncing around, poorly ordered in your mind, and shifts it to the rune. The knowledge would be accessible, and isolated, and the magic can draw from that knowledge as a template for magical effects.”
She leaned back. “It’s why craftspeople use them so much. If you’ve forged a thousand swords and aren’t really progressing anymore, then all that’s left is the time-consuming activity. But if you ‘show’ the magic how to do it, it’s capable of skipping the work entirely. Even better, that skill grows along with your magic, far beyond what you could do physically. I imagine your skill worked something like that?”
“Yes,” he answered in a low voice. “Anything I could theoretically have healed on Terra, I could do here. More, really, as it seemed to skip over all of the dangerous parts and apply the natural recovery steps as well–as if everything had already worked perfectly.”
“If you say so,” Selina said, clearly not understanding the implications. “Well, the problem with a skill rune is that the knowledge is actually gone from your mind. It was in the rune, which was destroyed. So even if you ‘heal’, the knowledge…well it’s probably still lost.”
“Probably?” he asked, trying to not grasp at the thin wisps of hope.
“I’m only saying probably because there isn’t a lot of data on this process. People only very rarely have this done to them, and usually as a terrible punishment. I don’t know if it’s ever even been used on a skill rune before. What would be the point? If a blacksmith did something terrible, better to have him do his craft for the realm as punishment.”
“So…what do I do?” Ethan asked.
“I…I don’t know Ethan. Do you really want the knowledge back? Do you want to go back to being an enemy of the Church?”
He looked at her meaningfully, and her eyes widened with understanding. “Oh…you’re still an enemy of the Church. Of course you are, they did this and…of course you are. I’m sorry Ethan.” Her eyes narrowed then. “But Ethan, the Brightsouls–”
“Are a necessary step. Supposedly it keeps the Church from pushing for my death. Look, Selina, I don’t want to involve you in this more than I have.”
“The Church hates Nator, and refuses to heal us,” she said quickly.
“...What?” Ethan asked, blinking in surprise.
“I’ve told you before that we have a complicated relationship. It’s worse than that…in the past they even Hunted us. But more recently we’re just…not really welcome. Some will allow Nator into services, but never to heal. It’s part of why I don’t mind helping you. I don’t believe the things they say.”
Ethan looked at her for a long moment, then reminded himself he’d been trusting her more than anyone else for a long time. “I think they need something in the Forgotten City,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what, but it’s the real reason I’m willing to join Savilar’s team. I need to get in there, and see for myself.”
Selina leaned back, considering. “That’s why you dragged me into the book storage,” she said. “You were trying to figure out what they might want?”
“As well as confirming that it’s more than just the tradition we’ve been led to believe,” he said.
Selina was quiet for a long moment, before she shook her head. “Well, this all began with you asking about your rune. I’m sorry I can’t do more to help you with that. As for this business with the Church…I’d like some to think, if that’s okay. I promise your secrets are safe with me, but…well I like becoming a Hunter. I like the direction my life is heading, and I don’t want to risk that.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Ethan said. “It wasn’t my intention to bring you into this…I just thought you deserved the truth. And I won’t sabotage the team either, not for my own ambitions. Right now my plans are opportunistic at best, but it’s all I have.”
He stood up. “Team training is in a few hours, and I’ll be back as usual. But you said you need time to think, and I’ll give it to you. Thank you for…for telling me about my rune.” She smiled slightly at that, and didn’t speak as he strode out of the small home.
“You show great trust in Runemistress Selina,” Tomo said, appearing as soon as the door closed.
“She’s earned it. Especially after showing me that tracking rune. Besides, she’s smart enough that she’d likely have figured it out on her own when she’s less distracted, better to show trust now than betrayal later.”
Tomo nodded. “I think she was wrong about something, however.”
“Oh?”
“I was unaware of how skill runes worked. They were never of particular interest to my former master. But if what she was saying was true, I think there’s an element she doesn’t understand.”
“Don’t leave me hanging,” Ethan said, stopping on the street to look at the demon.
“I cannot promise this, Ethan Bishop, but I understand the Astral better than most truly physical beings; I’ve lived in it for centuries. Magic only works by channeling magic from the Astral, and through runes into the physical world. I think the Runemistress’ interpretation of the skill rune was incorrect–the information could not have lived entirely in the physical world.”
“You’re saying…?”
“The magic needs a reflection of its purpose in the Astral, to control how, and in what quantity it is channeled into the physical. That’s why runes exist in both worlds. And while it was destroyed in this one…nothing can be destroyed in the Astral, merely transformed.”
Ethan stared at his Familiar, almost afraid to ask the obvious question. “Are you saying the knowledge that was taken from me…it’s still there?”
“In what form, I cannot say,” Tomo replied, “but somewhere in the Astral, is everything that was taken from you.”