“Alright, let’s start with the basics,” Master Selena said. “Show me your defense once more.”

I nodded and followed her instructions. The hot wind condensed around my body and formed the defensive shield much faster this time, and I felt proud of myself. Glancing up, I saw Master Selena nodding silently to herself, walking around me and studying my stance from all directions.

“Not bad,” she finally said. “I see what Master Mikel said. You are truly a natural talent.”

I felt pleased with the comment. Selena certainly handed out compliments more easily than Mikel did, and compliments were always nice when you were learning anything new. I stood a little straighter and grinned at her. I got a grin in return.

“But,” she continued, “You have a lot to learn before you’re even ready to compete in the Crucible, let alone win.”

I felt myself deflate, sure that she’d engineered the two statements to have that exact effect. Her grin widened again as if to confirm my suspicions. Then she held out both hands and summoned a long staff in each. The staff in her left hand looked considerably more worn and made of lower-quality materials. She offered it to me.

“This was the staff I used to train as an Apprentice,” she explained. “It is inscribed by a Runist to make it easier to charge with aura.”

“What’s a Runist?” I asked, taking the staff in my hands. It was very light.

“Runist is one of the many specialties that a Reaper can have,” she explained. “It allows one to create special runes and glyphs that boost spiritual power. Their combat power is generally lower, but they more than make up for it with their support power.”

“Oh,” I said, remembering something that Mr. Jensen had said. “So it’s like being an Empath, then?”

“In the sense that they are both support specialties, yes,” she said. “But the effects of both are very different, both in principle and in practice.”

“Oh,” I said again. “What other specialties are there?”

“There are many,” she said evasively. “But we don’t have time to discuss them. I’ll explain yours when it presents itself, but for now, we focus on combat.”

“Alright,” I said after a pause. I’d half expected the response. “So how do I do that shockwave thing you were all using on me? It felt like my defense was meaningless.”

She grinned at me again. “Oh, you noticed that, did you? I’m sure you’ll also notice that it didn’t do much damage to you?”

“It didn’t hurt me at all,” I agreed. “Apart from the air knocked out of me, and my sore shoulders.”

“That’s the most common effect,” She said. “It’s a technique to crowd and control your opponent. Sometimes you’ll come across someone whose defenses are much much stronger than yours. That technique comes in handy.”

“And you’ll teach it to me?” I asked hopefully.

“No,” she said. “That technique is Master Mikel’s unique power. He can teach it to others, and he will teach it to you if you complete our training, but I cannot teach it.”

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“I see,” I said, not sure that I did. “So, I’m learning staff combat from you?”

“Yep,” she said as she took a step back. “Technically speaking, the staff is the most similar weapon to a scythe. So if you can learn from me, and hopefully contact your ancestor later, you can pick up the knowledge you need. It may be piecemeal, but it’ll be complete.”

“Cool,” I said, feeling more confident. “Alright, let’s get started.”

“That’s the spirit!” she said. “Alright, let’s start with the basic forms.”

Selena walked me through the basic staff stances, both aggressive and defensive. Apparently, there was a lot more power and forward momentum in the aggressive stance, which I expected. But both stances offered a multitude of defensive moves, or strokes, as she called them. Even more curious, the “defensive” stance focused not on increasing my actual defense, but on fluid movement.

I picked up the aggressive stance pretty quickly but had trouble with the defensive. I kept wanting to plant my feet when fighting, a habit I doubtless picked up from wrestling. That was all fine for an aggressive stance, which relied on a strong stance and forward movement, but it was harder for me to keep myself fluid and light. I could do it if I were focusing on my feet, but that took my attention away from the fight, and I knew that my feet needed to be able to move instinctively.

“You’ll pick it up in time,” Selena said. “Let’s move onto some basic combos.”

Oddly enough, these were easier to pick up than the basic stances were. Either I was more of an athlete than I’d thought, or the knowledge of the basic stances was assisting me. Either way, it was only ten minutes later that I showed an acceptable demonstration of the combo she’d taught me. It was just a lot of rapid strikes from left to right, intended to test and hopefully wear down an opponent’s defense.

Thrilled by my speed, she taught me the next level of combos over the rest of the day. By the time the sun was touching the horizon outside, I’d added high and low sweeps to my repertoire, and the tip of the staff she’d lent me was whirling and striking in a blur. This was awesome.

She finally called a halt after six hours of hard work, and I let the staff fall to the padded floor. I was breathing heavily and sweat was coursing over my body, but I was satisfied with my progress. She seemed to be pleased as well because she smiled encouragingly at me and put her hand on my shoulder.

“I wish I’d picked those moves up nearly as fastly as you did,” she said with a slight shake of her head. “I have no doubt that you’ll be ready in time for the Crucible. In fact, I think you might just have a shot at winning the thing.”

“What happens if I win?” I asked eagerly. “Do I get a pay raise?”

She laughed at that, a high peal of mirth that echoed around the large empty room. “Technically, yes. The reward varies each year, but it’s not uncommon for the top scorers to be promoted on the spot. Marisha is a prime example. After just two crucibles, the Council saw fit to promote her to a Journeyman of the first rank. Only a year later, she earned her place as an Adept. That was right before I became a Master, actually.”

“Really?” I asked. “Master Mikel said you were his most recent apprentice to earn Master, but…”

My voice trailed off, suddenly remembering that it was considered rude to mention a woman’s age. Selena tilted her head in confusion for a moment, then suddenly let out a laugh as she realized what I was getting at. It was the laugh of a person much younger than her, which only increased my confusion.

“I see what you mean now,” she said. “I’ve gotten so used to it now that I forget new people don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?” I asked, thrown by her jovial reaction to the unintended insult.

“I’m an Oracle,” she said. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but she held up her hand to stop me. “Yes, that’s a specialty. A rare one. It’s what allows me to see a few seconds into the future. The side effect is that the burden of such a power ages me a little faster than most. It’s only a little every year, but it adds up over time. I’m actually twenty-seven.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling my shoulders lift in relief. “That’s weird. Does every power have a side effect like that?”

“Most do,” she said with a wink. “But only the most powerful abilities have profound side effects. This is nothing, you just wait. You’ll see a wide variety of strange powers in the Crucible.”