Energy is a fundamental force of reality. It’s presence or absence in an object will determine its nature. However, it’s an unstable force influenced by the thoughts and emotions of those it surrounds to the same degree they influence it. This makes manipulating it intentionally an act of extreme control, to manipulate energy reliably we must control not only our personal reality, but also our thoughts and emotions.
While a skilled individual can create wonders and disasters with ease, an untrained child can cause startling devastation if precautions are not taken. Regardless of the term your culture places on energy it is important to always treat it with caution for it is a tool with limitless potential to aid or destroy balanced on the possibility of a stray thought.
True masters of energy manipulation like those who have attained godhood through their own efforts are capable of focusing the entirety of their thoughts on a single mental concept in an instant and providing the will and energy to make it real without extraneous thoughts, without external aids attaining such skill takes centuries and is why novice energy manipulators are discouraged from investing any significant power into their work as the energy involved can behave unpredictably in response to subconscious thoughts, if such individuals must attempt more demanding works aids such as spells and rituals are the preferred method to prevent themselves from over drawing their body’s energy reserve to lethal effect.
Andras Frostson “Fundamentals of Energy Work”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I looked at the group of soldiers that were quietly gathered in orderly lines in front of me as I stood on the slightly elevated platform. Without orders they had formed up into tidy blocks while the available members of the First Tactical Battalion had taken up positions around the edge of training area.
Much to my delight John had met me at dinning hall early when I’d woken up wearing the pin I’d given him along with a set of chainmail Synbel eventually confessed Marisa had asked him to procure from my armory. I’d thoroughly checked it to ensure it fit and was worn properly and to make sure it didn’t have any problematic enchantments. He’d raised an eyebrow when the dinning hall had fallen into silence as soon as I stood up from breakfast and hadn’t voiced any complaints about joining the First in a morning run to the training field and had taken a position at the back of the open arena without prompting when we entered and watched with a slightly amused grin as Oros and his team had started waking the recruits by unceremoniously throwing them out the door into the field.
“Let this be your only notice,” I said in a crisp tone. “The bell that will ring at set intervals for you each day. The first ring is your notice to wake up, the second will mark the end of your breakfast and time to assemble, the third will call you to dinner from your allotted free time. It will ring twice each time. If you miss a meal that’s your fault, if you miss morning assembly, well” I gestured to Davina at the side of the platform. “We are not drill sergeants like your used to. My goal is to make you warriors that can act and make decisions independently or with your unit in the midst of cataclysmic events, not a bunch of grunts. Nearly all of you should have gotten a taste of Davina’s healing yesterday, be assured our idea of discipline will make that feel like a papercut.” I paused to observe the group letting their imaginations magnify the threat.
“As I said yesterday you will be trained based on your expertise, any one of your instructors has eons of experience in their field. That means you will have centuries worth of experience and knowledge crammed into your heads in less than a decade. It also means we have to ensure you have the ability to use it. We also need to break a lot of your misconceptions. Since none of you have left the training area yet we’re going to start the day with a small tour. You’ll see where your families are living from a distance, see Frosthome Keep where you will barrack once you’re done with training, and see some other notable locations. Of course, this is training so we will do this with a tradition you should all be familiar with.” I pointed down the entry hall that had been warded to prevent use last night. “Outside that archway are packs. Each of you is going to grab one, and only one, and we are going to ruck through this tour. I’m going to set a slow pace for you and your instructors will be carrying their own packs alongside you and ensuring you keep the pace. We’ll take a break for lunch after that, and then it’s off to a favored tradition of the First- establishing the pecking order and some new exercises for all of you. Don’t worry you’ll get your choice of weapons for that.” I nodded to the group as I hopped down from the platform and pushed through the group. “Oh, and there will be coffee and tea for you at the first break stop.” I announced as I noted the number of sleep blurred eyes around me. “Now, fall out, the chest in your barracks have your new uniforms I suggest you wear the coats unless you want to freeze on the run. You have ten minutes to dress and assemble outside, anyone late will be motivated to be quicker. Keep slacking and Exzo will give you more dissection demonstrations. Your time starts now.” As soon as I finished the soldiers’ broke ranks quickly returning to the rooms they had been thrown from. I looked to a single soldier already dressed in the simple blue and white uniform standing with the feigned relaxation I’d had made for the recruits and then towards Davina and sighed before walking over to him.
“Name soldier?”
“Chief Master Sergeant Hector Watts, United-.” He stopped the reflexive response when I held up a hand.
“I asked your name not your rank. This isn’t an interrogation I just wanted to clarify things with you. I’m well aware the sort of night you had Hector and you’re not in trouble. We are a different sort of military than your used to and have different rules, I also have very specific rules for my soldiers of a more relaxed nature than your used to. You can have relations with anyone you want as long as both parties are consenting, it doesn’t interfere with your duties, and given you and your families just got shanghaied into this scenario I want anyone currently attached to avoid disrupting things too much. The First Tactical values respect and a simple No from any of you will stop them. Beyond that I don’t care what you do with your personal time.” Hector blushed furiously enough I thought his hair was doing to catch fire.
“Sir I,” I held up a hand to stop him.
“Relax, I’m in no position to judge other’s proclivities or interest. I just want to ask you to pass it around the other recruits. Balancing your free time and duties is your responsibility and any warrior under me that has problems is free to bring their grievance to me, Synbel, or Drystan. I also want you to understand it’s perfectly okay to share any advance knowledge that’s shared with you, the First may be many things but none of them are loose lipped, quite the opposite in Davina’s case as I’m sure you experienced.” That earned a deeper blush from the man and a forced smile.
“Are you saying I should tell them what was being done when they were getting patched up yesterday?”
“That’s entirely up to you, personally I would leave it as a pleasant surprise for them to figure out on their own.” He nodded and frowned for a moment.
“Sir, how bad will it get?” He asked with a note of concern.
“You’ll be getting some first hand knowledge of that later. Trust me when I say your first few weeks of training here will make your time in the pipeline seem like an afternoon stroll and is necessary to prepare you. I fully expect at least half of you to fail out before your finish training. Or at least think you’ll fail, one way or another your all going through hell and coming out the other side.” Davina appeared beside me at that moment.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes ma’am. The, Commander?” She nodded to confirm the title was appropriate, “Was just confirming the rules you told me last night.”
“Cadfael would be my preference. I was just having a polite chat with a new arrival.” I patted Hector’s shoulder as I walked past him towards the exit. “Oh and Hector? The First Tactical is home to a variety of people with very diverse shapes, I’d strongly suggest you let the others know not to fetishize them for their forms. It can lead to some very awkward moments. I imagine a scalie can experience worse things than a night with a dragon, but not everyone is as accommodating as Davina.” There was a sputtered attempt at protest as I walked away accompanied by a bunch of raucous laughter from the First Tactical that had been close enough to hear the warning. As soon as I left the training arena, I nodded to the soldiers that had already arrived and collected my own weighted bag and waited as the stragglers arrived and hefted their bags as well and then gestured to the First Tactical members that came out carrying noticeably larger bags.
“Alright men, first leg is going to be a warmup. Final word of warning- if you think you see something moving in the trees ignore it. We’re in a big group so the local predators should leave us alone but some will attack if you stare at them and I really don’t want to have to drag your bodies back to be pieced back together.”
“What sort of predators?”
“You ever met a Kodiak? We have things hear that can eat a couple in their sleep. So, unless you want to finish this run with brown pants just ignore any movement you think you saw. Keep your questions till after the run, we’ll explain the plants and animals later if you really want to know. Now keep it down and follow me.” I turned and ignored the path to Frosthome that had been broken through the snow and instead headed through the three feet of untouched snow.
Three hours later I called a halt atop the second hill we’d crested to find a dozen campfires burning with kettles bubbling on stands above them, the crystal like trees around them glowed with an inner blue fire. Synbel cam trotting up with a cup in hand.
“Your late sir, I expected you an hour ago.” I nodded and looked behind me as I took the offered cup from him.
“Most of them don’t realize what’s happening yet. There was a lot of stumbling at the beginning. If not for disorientation the trees cause I’m sure they would have figured it out already. Although I have to ask what did you load their packs down with?” I asked as I watched a few drop the packs with a heavy thump that tossed clouds of snow in the air.
“Leftover building supplies from the training hall. Mostly the metal stock Tyr and Hephestus provided.” He said off handedly as he poured a cup of tea for himself from a nearby pot. Drystan had taken over directing the trainees and helping them identify what was in each burbling kettle. I eyed the pile of massive packs and considered the density of the metal in them.
“That’s, two, two and a half tons by Earth’s measure? Davina and Exzo did better than I expected fixing them up yesterday. Do me a favor? Replace the tableware in the training hall with some of the studier materials. Marisa will kill me if they break all the plates and mugs.”
“Hmm. Should we change the plan for the afternoon to strength control?” He asked and I replied with a head shake before taking another sip of warm coffee.
“No, that will come with time. They have the seeds of the necessary mental discipline but those need to sprout fast. Will Ferith be finished on time?”
“I don’t know. I tried getting a status update and got hit with a lightning bolt before I even got near him. Shot through my shields and blew my ass halfway to your front door.”
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“That’s a good sign, it didn’t do any significant damage, but I’ve told you to work on your shields. Sounds like he’ll be done with the setup before we get back though. And our guests?”
“I received word Kerion would be here by noon our time. The other’s set word they would wait until your recruits would benefit from their knowledge.” I nodded and finished my drink before handing him the cup.
“PACKS ON!” I shouted and watched the men scramble to their feet and struggle to pull the straps of the immense packs onto their shoulders. “Good, we have two sports left to see before this ruck is done. Now let’s move out.” I turned and set off at a quicker pace than before ignoring the groans behind me as I led them down the hill and up another. The full lap around the valley to show them, from a distance, where their families lived with dire warnings about go anywhere near the place before they were approved, and then to the great carved steel doors of Frosthome took less time than the first leg of the trip although the mildly hypnotic effects of the ice trees with their pulsing cold fire sap probably made it seem much longer to them. There had been nods as the men passed around binoculars to observe the town and confirmed when they spotted friends and family moving around and working, and a moment of stunned silence as they stood before the enchanted doors of Frosthome set into the mountain side with the detailed engravings of sigils that gave off an intimidating pressure. By the time they had stumbled up the hill to the training hall again and collapsed to the ground around the entrance they were all covered in a heavy sweat and completely exhausted.
“Congratulations you all just ran about two hundred kilometers in five hours carrying more than double your body weight. Take an hour to recover, then meet me in the arena. Yesterday you were flailing around against each other with our preferred weapons, today I’m going to give you all a chance to try a fight against any member of the first tactical- including myself- with the weapons of your choice.” There was a collective sigh of relief as the soldiers started to drop their bags again, “Those are your bags now, take them to your bunks, then you can get to the mess hall for food and drink. You’re going to be doing that same run with the instructors tomorrow and every day until your told otherwise.” There was a wave of surpassed groans and they began carrying their burdens back into the training hall. John looked at me as he stood with his bag still on his back.
“Two hundred kilometers in five hours? I thought you kept the pace slow for me.” I arched an eyebrow at him.
“I don’t coddle or lie to people when I train them. They spent most of yesterday doing some fairly major damage to each other with melee weapons. Every time Davina or Exzo patched them up they made minor adjustments. You however spent a night eating a drinking food I made with the intent of restoring and strengthening you and Marriam. It had a similar effect, which is why you probably don’t realize your backpack weighs enough to crush a car or small building. Everyone here including you can outperform the best Olympic athletes like they were toddlers.” He frowned as he thought that through.
“Surely we would have noticed?”
“Hardly, this isn’t the first time I’ve done something like that to someone. I warded your room to suppress your physical abilities or you would have likely launched yourself through the wall getting up this morning. Once everyone started moving the limitations would have gradually worn off without you noticing it and allowed your brain to rapidly adjust. Of course if anyone had a strong burst of emotion they probably would have broken the wards so it’s a good thing most of the local predators have learned to recognize my smell and aura and avoid it.”
“I see though so far this training of yours seems otherwise mundane. And I can’t help but notice that there are only about eight hundred men here.”
“I may be a divine power but I’m not omniscient and neither are my people. We had to limit the size of the groups which is why after we abducted some eighty thousand people, I arranged for them to be split up and trained in different locations. The ones here were determined to have the best aptitude, the rest ended up on other planets since I’m somewhat attached to this one and that many novice energy manipulators could have shattered the planet by accident. As for being mundane? That was their warm up. Next, they will get humbled. After that’s where their real training starts.” Something in my tone or expression made him take a step back at the last comment. “Don’t worry nobody will die, and Marisa has a gentler way to teach you what they are going to learn. But a trial by fire will do them some good. Come on, I can feel Marisa up on the observation deck, and” I paused for a moment extending my perception through our bond to sense Marisa’s surroundings “Yes, Marriam is there as well though she seems engrossed in a book.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
As we reached the top of the steps Marisa was setting out cups and sandwiches and idly humming to herself.
“I’m glad to see your not torturing the soldiers.” She said as settled the last plate on the small table she must have brought up herself.
“That’s on the schedule for this afternoon. Synbel and Drystan have been debating who’s going to fight them, I was actually hoping you might be willing to turn the training ground into a maze. A slight display of your ability should establish some respect for the future, and it might ease the blow.” I poured myself a glass of water and nodded towards the field below us.
“Wait that’s what you meant by establishing a pecking order? I understand your First Tactical is powerful but surely taking on eight hundred men alone is to much even for them?” John asked as he sat down and looked between us.
“Honey, I’ve spent most of the day reading history books. If these are even half true either of those men could destroy Earth without trying or using a weapon.” Marriam said as she closed and set the book to the side, I glanced at the title and pushed down the wave of emotions.
“True which is why for this bout I told them to motivate rather than demoralize the soldiers. I notice your not reading history at the moment?” She glanced at the book and smiled.
“No Marisa suggested I should learn magic first before diving into more academic interest. I must say this author seems like a talented teacher.” I nodded and picked up the slender book.
“My son was far more patient and talented than me in that field, I’m not very good at breaking things down quite so simply and succinctly. If you’d like sometime, I can ask someone to get his original notes and manuscripts from storage for you.”
“Was? Oh, I’m,” I waved her words away.
“Don’t be, it’s an old pain and I’m not one to avoid topics just because they hurt. If anything, I think Andras would be happy to know a born scholar was enjoying his work. And please, books should be used and I’m afraid my library has been neglected for to long. Hopefully you can put both his work and my collection to good use, and feel free to ask questions if you don’t understand anything. I can’t promise to answer every question but I can try my best and at least explain why I won’t give an answer when necessary.”
“Knowledge is dangerous, as the saying goes?”
“Very much. Both to have and to share in some cases. It’s why some of my books are locked away, and why even moving the keys to access them is so difficult as I’m sure Marisa explained.” She nodded and I held out my hand over the table with my palm down gathering energy. “Even simple things like this can be dangerous if you don’t have the proper abilities” The mass of energy I’d gathered drifted to the table and coalesced drawing the moisture in the air together and forming small statues of ice depicting the four of us present. That got John’s attention and he leaned forward to examine the small sculptures.
“Impressive.” He said with a low whistle.
“Experience has it’s benefits,” my ears twitched as a low clamor echoed across the arena and I grinned. “Ah, it seems Synbel just opened up the armory containing the recruits old weapons.”
“Seems cruel not to tell them guns won’t work against the First.” Marisa said as she pushed sandwiches onto everyone’s plates.
“Of course, it’s cruel. Most military training is by any standard cruel. But I’m also wanting to motivate them. You were motivated in learning by lack of choice, you could have taken my offer to go home and forget about all this, or simply chosen to stay behind and be protected but you choose to push through an learn because you didn’t want to be helpless. Your combat experience before this was strictly martial arts, they have been trained and taught to think of fighting with firearms.”
“Why does that make such a difference?” John asked as he swallowed the bite of sandwich he’d been chewing. I glanced at Marisa and she nodded.
“Because if someone has enough rudimentary skill to form a shield anything not backed by someone else’s energy is mostly ineffective. Take the gifts Cadfael gave you last night. They will shield you from any weapon short of a nuke, and even then, I’m not entirely sure they wouldn’t block it.”
“They would stop the blast; radiation would be the real problem. I had to deal with a kitsune near Fukushima before the seals started crumbling and the radiation had screwed up the ambient energy enough, I had to keep constantly tweaking my shields and constructs to block it out. Granted once you were away from it the damage can be repaired but for the time being I have to assume fallout like that has some peculiar interactions with energy. For most other conventional munitions though a simple rigid shield is enough to block them. Even with older weapons like swords and axes you have to be able to push your energy into the weapon in order to do anything to someone that can protect themselves with energy.” I pointed at the volume Marriam had been reading when we arrived. “The later chapters of that book explain the basics of using energy to defend yourself but using it in actual combat takes practice and experience. It’s why we usually start teaching energy manipulation when someone is a child rather than an adult. But well, you’ll see the difference it can make in a little bit.” I took a bite of my own sandwich and moved to the observation deck’s railing holding the plate to give Marisa some personal time with her parents while I mentally reviewed the last two days. There was a slight vibration from the silver bracelet on my wrist and a sheet of notebook paper appeared in front of me. I frowned for a moment and then read through the short report.
No new wars. Existing ones have ended in ceasefires
Your proxy has activated the contingency twice. Will need to recharge it soon.
Barriers are currently being treated with suspicion and blockaded by soldiers.
Lake Maracaibo barrier attacked late last night, casualty numbers unconfirmed for political reasons, please advise.
Proxy has been effective in reducing panic but more information has been requested and proof of soldier’s condition requested.
-Gülten
I frowned and mulled over the message. If anything I was surprised more nations hadn’t attacked the barriers though learning the Secretary General had already shut down two regions was unsettling. I mulled over the request before pulling a simple Bic pen and paper from the pouch at my side and wrote out a short reply.
Monitor conflicts for the time being.
Synbel will dispatch charged crystals for resupply shortly. Allow Ms. Younes discretion in handling attack and casualties and informer her someone can speak to the soldiers next week, but stress they would need to come here and the implications of such a trip.
-Isa
I folded the page and tapped it against the bracelet letting the constructs worked into carry the letter to the last sender and observed the solders that were forming up now dressed in their preferred uniforms and plate carrier vest. Most were carrying with automatic weapons and carried grenades and side arms. Drystan came out wearing a loin cloth and carrying a large axe.
“Marisa? It looks like they are ready to begin. Would you mind giving them a maze to use for cover?” There was a pause in the conversation behind me and Marriam excused herself gathering her book as she headed down the stairs while John walked up beside me to watch the impending fight. Marisa stepped up on the other side of me and closed her eyes with a deep breath. I felt the ripple of her power spread out and a moment later vines and trees began to sprout from the arena floor in a complex twist of open halls, alcoves. The soldiers gapped at the suddenly changing environment before eyeing the plants warily.
“Alright this is a simple exercise. It will be considered finished when your all incapacitated or one of you makes Drystan bleed in any way. The maze is here to give you some cover and maybe give you a fighting chance. Medics will be on standby to patch up and remove anyone incapacitated from the field. Oh, and try not to shoot each other. You can start when you’re ready.” I watched as they quickly split into groups and began moving through the maze with professional caution. Drystan for his part just jumped over the maze with a loud shout as his skin darkened and appeared to become more jagged and rock like before landing in the middle of the maze. A few of the soldiers had fired at him mid jump but the bullets had bounced off harmlessly.
“Is that what a shield looks like?” John asked curiously.
“No, he’s just being an asshole. Drystan is the grandson of the Prime Elemental of earth which gives him a leg up when it comes to manipulating that element. He just turned his entire body into stone, which means even if by some miracle they do hurt him he won’t bleed. Someone must’ve annoyed him at lunch because he’s toying with them right now.” We watched in silence and true to my expectations it proved to be a blood bath. Drystan simply ignored the gun fire and only bothered forming a shield the few times they used grenades or explosives and would barrel through each squad swinging his axe while whistling merrily as he left severed limbs in his wake.
“I can see why you said guns wouldn’t work. They are doing everything they should and he’s simply shrugging off anything they throw at him like it doesn’t matter.” John noted looking a little green as Drystan ripped a leg off as he ran past an unlucky soldier and tossed the limb into the air towards another group.
“Yes, I’m starting to think it would have been better to have Synbel or myself down there. I’m afraid his approach might traumatize most of them if we aren’t careful.