-Director-
[A high-up position, in charge of directing those beneath them to accomplish their goals.]
On Kuro and Oroske’s fourth day in Quarry - their third day having been largely uneventful, full of dead ends and some grocery shopping - started quietly. The two had woken early, but apparently Ensaru got up even earlier, he was already out of the house by then. They were in the middle of breakfast when Oroske pulled his pendant out from under his shirt, glowing and pulsing slightly. That must be what it looks like when someone is trying to make contact, Kuro realized.
It glowed more brightly and the same emblem variant appeared as on their second night in town. Danfis was calling directly, it seemed. His voice carried through after a second, “Oroske, Kuro, good morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” Oroske said in a questioning tone, “What’s going on?”
“There have been some developments,” Danfis began, “I’d like you, Oroske, to come back to Tsumi’din to be briefed on the new information. You will be back in Quarry by the end of the day. I’m also going to reach out to the other team and have one of them come, though probably at a different time.”
Oroske leaned back in his wooden chair, thinking for a moment. “Very well, are you okay if I leave you here, Kuro?” The apprentice gave a quick, single nod. “Alright, should I have Kuro do any investigating while I’m gone? Or should he just be on standby for now?”
“I don’t see why we couldn’t have him out in the field on his own, so long as you think he’s capable enough on his own.”
Oroske looked to Kuro, who shrugged. “Eh, I’ll leave it up to him then. I should be able to get back to Tsumi’din within the next couple hours.”
“See you soon, then. Best of luck, Kuro, and safe travels, Oroske.” Danfis said just before the light flickered to standby mode.
Oroske sighed, rubbing the spots between his nose and eyes. Finally he stood and spoke, “”Well, as I said, I’ll leave it up to you on what you do. You remember the places we discussed yesterday?”
“Yep.” Kuro said, still sitting, mouth full of food.
“Good. If you do go out to investigate, hit them up first. I think you’re good enough at this point that you can go on your own. I should be back before it gets dark out.”
Kuro swallowed, then spoke, “Sounds good. Be safe.”
Oroske smiled, “You too.”
Oroske went up to their room to grab something, then left. This was a first for Kuro. He’d worked solo before, sure. But Oroske was always nearby, observing him. It always felt like his mentor was a safety net for him to fall back on. And now that net was removed. This both excited him, and made him incredibly nervous.
He ate in silence, acutely aware of Ensaru’s little entourage of housestaff bustling about the place, and considered what he wanted to do with his day. It’d been months since he had a day to himself. Ultimately, he settled on training. For now, at least.
After he finished his food, he caught one of the staff and asked where he could find an open area to train in. They pointed him to the back of the house, a small yard with neatly trimmed grass. There were some planters at the edges, with flowers past their prime, many already starting to wilt for the cold season. A small handful still had bright, vibrant colors, but even those looked like they were on their way out. He stepped into the middle of the yard, and took a moment to consider what exactly he wanted to work on.
It hit him quickly, and it seemed the obvious choice in hindsight.
He traced a quick line, and with a red flash, the spear he bought the other day appeared in his hand. He hadn’t had a chance to really try it out, seeing as they were non-stop moving from place to place, and constantly around other people.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
He spun the spear around, trying out various flourishes he’d seen other spear users use. He was used to spinning a scythe, and the difference in weight distribution threw him off. His movements were clumsy and very rough. After dropping the spear in a failed maneuver for the fourth time, he picked it up, and decided to try some basic movements for actual combat. This spear was, after all, designed for poking, not swinging.
He switched periodically between two handing it and one handing it, learning what kind of range and power he could get out of the weapon.
He was considering ways to change up the straight-forward nature of the spear, and make using it in combat more interesting and varied, when the door to the house opened. “Eriln said I would find you out here,” Ensaru’s voice said from the door. “She told me Oroske left. What’s going on?”
Kuro turned around in a snap, dismissing his spear back into his Demon Sheath. “Oh, Director Ensaru,” He gave a belated greeting as he walked over to the older man. “Oroske was called back to Tsumi’din by Danfis. He should be back tonight, he said before dark.” He looked behind him at the yard, where the grass was visibly disturbed by his practicing. “I hope you don’t mind me using the yard to practice.”
Ensaru smiled, “Not at all. It’s been too long since this yard was used for something other than hosting tea parties. Oroske used to train out here often. It’s good to see it be used for that purpose again.”
“Oroske used to train here?” Kuro asked, then remembered that his mentor had stayed here in the past for some time.
Ensaru nodded, “Yes. Many years ago, now. Has he told you the story at all?” Kuro shook his head. “Well, I doubt he’d mind much. I can’t tell all the details, there are things from around that time I don’t know myself.
“This was back when he was freshly graduated from your Clan’s apprenticeship program, or so he says. Something had shaken him, and his faith in his family, to his core. I don’t know what exactly it would have been, he’s never told me, but I think he was forced to do something he didn’t want to do. I’d worked with him once before, with his mentor, and his first apprentice - I still don’t get how that works.
“He showed up at my door one day, disheveled, covered in dirt, hair and face a complete mess, and asked if he could stay here for a while. I was, and still am, very grateful for the help he and his companions provided me before, so I accepted. A ‘while’ turned out to be nearly a year. During that time, I trained him in various things. I taught him new fighting techniques, new varieties of magic, even a bit of business management and bookkeeping.”
This caught Kuro’s attention. He was always interested in seeing new ways of fighting, and was keen to learn as much as he could about magic. The mention of business and accounting went in one ear and out the other. “What kinds of fighting and magic techniques did you teach him?” Kuro asked.
Ensaru sat down on the porch, bare feet sinking into the grass. Kuro followed suit, sitting cross-legged on the ground. “Well, for fighting, there wasn’t much I taught him, to be truthful. It was less about the actual physical element of fighting, and more about the mental aspect. I taught him how to get into his opponent’s head, figure out how they’ll respond to certain stimuli, understand their fighting style, and most importantly, their reason for fighting in the first place.
“Magic, on the other hand, there was much more to teach. It was impressive how effective he was in combat with such an elementary understanding of the mechanics of magic, and with no knowledge on the mind games people tend to play when fighting. His raw strength and talent overwhelmed most of his opponents. He even gave me a bit of a hard time the first time we sparred. I started from scratch with him, starting with the absolute basics of magic theory and aetherology, and once that was done I began instructing him in advanced applications as well as the more difficult and advanced elements and aspects.”
“Where did you learn all these things?” Kuro interjected, before adding, “If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Not at all,” Ensaru assured him, “My teacher was an instructor at the School of Towers, and at the time he was one of the best mages in the school, if not the world. I myself did not attend the academy, but instead was under his tutelage after he retired. He taught me a lot, and if I’m honest I just copied his teaching style when it was time to teach Oroske.”
Kuro nodded, then gestured for him to continue his story.
“My last lessons for him were probably the hardest, but I think they’re the ones he needed most back then.” Ensaru looked up to a sky clouded by several stone bridges, “I had to teach him to move on, and accept loss. I feel like I should reiterate, I don’t know what exactly happened, all I know for sure is that shortly before coming to me, many members of his family died. And so, it fell to me to help him move on from that loss. It was hard, especially for him. I haven’t asked how he’s doing in that regard in some years.”
“It sounds like you have some experience yourself,” Kuro said after a moment of quiet, tracing Ensaru’s vision.
“Naturally,” the older man said, a small, almost sad smile on his face, “When you get as old as I am, you’re bound to have experienced all kinds of loss and grief. If I’m honest, I almost feel desensitized to it at this point.”
There was a moment of quiet, as though paying respect to those departed.
“What kinds of advanced magic did you teach Oroske?” Kuro broke the silence.
Ensaru looked back down. “Oh this and that. Most of his studies involved his own Aspect.” Ensaru stood up, and gestured for Kuro to follow him inside. “Veros. The Aspect of the Soul.”