Chapter Six: Astil & Anni
Sword training. I’ve been waiting for this since I woke up. I haven’t even had time to train. I ate breakfast, and came down. Both Astil and Xavier came with me. Xavier decided he didn’t need to study. We came out to a park next to the Academy, still on Zenyth grounds. There are about fifty mages-in-training here today, and a mage who is obviously the teacher. The park is bare of trees, with short grass all around. It is almost twenty paces long.
The mage is currently speaking to us mages-in training, and I’m listening intently.
“I am Frin, and I am the Swords Master here at Zenyth. Most of you have attended a couple of these practices. But there is one of you here who has not been here before. Zade Helstorm, can you raise your hand, please?”
I raise my hand.
“Zade is a new mage-in-training,” Frin says, “He only arrived two days ago, correct?” I nod slightly. It was closer to a day, but whatever. “May I ask how much you have used the sword.”
I nod. “I have been practicing my whole life.”
“And how good would you say you are?” Frin asks.
“Above average,” I boast. I think I’m a lot better than average, but I don’t want to completely overestimate myself.
Frin smiles. “Alright, then. You should have no problem sparring with one of your fellow Academy students.”
I hesitantly respond: “I guess.”
“Alright then,” Frin says happily, “Lokgurt, if you please.”
Lokgurt comes up besides Frin. Lokgurt is a muscular man, probably twenty, with blonde hair, and a defined jawline. He looks hungry for a fight. He also looks clumsy, at least to me. Should be easy.
Frin and the students form a ring around us. I hold my sword out, positioning myself offensively. So does Lokgurt.
Frin shouts at us.
“This match is only until first blood. You may start whenever you want.”
Immediately, Lokgurt stabs at me, but, like I thought, he’s clumsy. I sidestep the lunge and trip him. Having poor footing, he falls, and I scrape his arm with my blade. He bleeds a little. That was easy.
Frin starts to clap and speaks to me approvingly:
“Good job. Now it’s time for you to fight me.”
All of a sudden, I’m feeling uncertain. Can I beat a sword master? I don’t think so. I shrug. It can’t hurt to try.
“All right. I’m ready.”
Frin laughs uproariously. “Sure you are.” Then he attacks me.
I immediately try to dodge, but he’s quick. He lunges at my waist, and I put my sword in the way, a little too late. He knocks the sword out of my hand. Then he nicks me. It all happened before I even blinked.
“Wha—”
He smiles. “I guess you’ve got a lot to learn then.”
I’m smiling too. “I guess I do. I’m happy to learn.”
Frin smacks his hands together. “Alright, today, we’ll practice your lunges. Remember what I taught you. Half of you will be on attack, half on defense, then you will switch.”
I pair off with Astil, and soon he’s lunging at me, trying to score a hit. Frin is walking around the park, congratulating some and criticizing others.
We work for hours, mostly on lunges and blocking lunges. Even I needed to learn some things from it. Frin tells me my stance is a little wrong. I need to shift more to the side I’m using my sword on. After the lesson, he comes to talk to me.
“I can see you’re mostly ahead of the others,” he tells me. “I would like to teach you personally. Meet me every Seventh Day at six, starting next Seventh Day. There will be other students there, but few. You will learn more there than here.”
I bow. “Thank you, Mage Frin.”
He chuckles. “You don’t have to do that,”
I nod, then go after Xavier and Astil, who are waiting for me.
— — —
I learn more about Xavier and Astil the next couple of days. Astil has two brothers and a sister, all older. He has a brother named Artemis in the Vanguard, which I’ve figured out is like the elite army of Magefell. His other two brothers are blacksmiths and his sister is still in his parents’ house.
I’ve also learned how shy he is. One day, while we’re eating at lunch, a petite, blonde girl comes up to Astil and tries to talk to him.
“Hey, you’re Astil, right?”
“Um….yeah, I think so?”
I chuckle. “You think so?”
Astil glares at me. “Shut up,” he whispers.
The girl looks confusedly at us. “I’m Anni. I was wondering if you’d like to hang out with me next Fourth Day. Are you free that day?”
I’m nodding at Astil enthusiastically, and he blushes. I can tell that Astil is immediately struck by her beauty. But I also know he'll be too nervous to say anything. And if he does get the courage to say anything, it'll be no. I need to step in for him. To help a friend out. He needs it. He tries to speak, but fails, so I answer for him.
“He would love to. Meet him after lunch here.”
“Thank you….”
“Zade.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Same.” Anni leaves, ponytail bobbing, waving at Astil. He looks awestruck. Xavier is too busy laughing to speak. So am I.
Now, anytime me or Xavier mentions Anni, he panics, and refuses to talk. Fourth Day is getting closer, and he’s getting more nervous. He’s talked to Anni only a couple times since, if you can call it talking. Mostly, Anni does the talking, and Astil listens, or squeaks. It’s adorable, really.
I’ve learned a lot about Xavier too. He told me and Astil about how his mom used to beat them up mentally, until doctors told him she was sick in the head. After that, Xavier and his family had to leave his mom in a hospital, and she’d gotten out two years later, and much better. He loves his mom, and it’s easy to tell.
He also has moments of depression, just like me. I see it sometimes, but I don’t know why. He keeps his secrets close to his chest, unlike Astil.
I spend most of my free time with Astil and Xavier, and it’s been great. I’m starting to really like them.
— — —
Training has been moving, I guess. I’m still practicing making my core into a flame. I've been doing that for three days now. I can do it nine times out of ten now. Master Thul tells me we can move on when I can do it ten times out of ten. I haven’t read the chapter in the book yet, but I need to. Nothing in the book has changed yet.
Xavier and Astil can do a lot more things with magic, but I’m doing things differently. By persevering in doing one thing over and over, I’ll know things better. I’ll have quality, while they have quantity. It’s a fair trade, in my opinion.
I’ve also had to start wearing gloves, because I’m learning to keep the flame going for as long as possible. It disappears if I stop concentrating for too long. My current record is five minutes. Master Thul wants me to get to at least ten minutes. I think it’s doable.
— — —
I decide to go to the market with Astil and Xavier on Sixth Day. I’m getting tired, which is why this break is needed. According to Master Thul, it’s well deserved. Astil and Xavier are exhausted too. We decide to just go to the market and have fun. We leave after lunch. Just before we leave, though, Xavier and I have a talk.
“I’ve been thinking, Zade,” he tells me, “Astil is definitely going to forget to dress well and get something for Anni on his date.”
“Right!” I exclaim. “I was thinking that too. We can’t really do anything about his clothes, because we don’t have time to buy it, but we need to get the gift.”
He slaps me on the shoulder. “Exactly. Don’t forget.”
“I won’t.”
Astil walks over to us. “What are you smiling about?”
I try not to laugh. “Nothing, absolutely nothing.”
Astil cocks his eyebrows, but doesn’t question us further, and we leave for the market.
— — —
We arrive one hour later. We let Astil guide us, considering he’s lived here his entire life. He knows most of the shopkeepers, waving hi to them, and even sometimes striking a conversation. I smile at Xavier as we wait for over five minutes while a middle aged woman asks Astil how he’s doing. He seems to feel uncomfortable around her, and it’s a lot of fun for Xavier and me. As the woman finally lets him go, we tease him.
“Hey, darling,” I say, smiling wickedly, “how you be doin’ down at the ol’ mage school of yours?”
Astil glares at me. Xavier butts in.
“Who be your friends, duckling? Be they from the mage school too?” We start laughing, and even Astil smiles
“My family stayed at her inn once,” he tells us, “and since then, I can’t pass by her without her trying to talk to me. I barely even know her.”
“But she sure knows you, duckling.” I respond.
Astil wisely ignores me and we keep walking. We pass by Ember On The Waters, and I can see the innkeeper through the window. I tell Astil and Xavier to wait, and I go to talk to her. She recognizes me immediately.
“Hello, Zade. Here to ask about your girlfriend?”
I sigh. “No, I’m here to ask about Jade.”
Mistress Anan is obviously confused but responds. “Jade stayed the night after you left, and last I heard she was on the ocean heading for Erenfeld. She’s safe.”
“Thank you kindly, Mistress Anan.”
“Don’t mention it. Just one thing: What did you mean Jade isn’t your—”
I’m already out the door and talking to Xavier.
“What was that about?” Xavier asks.
“A friend came with me here to see me off. I was just checking to make sure my friend had left, and was safe.”
“What’s his name?”
I grit my teeth. “Jade.”
Xavier snorts. “So it’s a girl! Hah, I’m sure she really is just a friend.”
“She is!” I shout indignantly. I don't really want to think about it now. She's beautiful but I don't have a crush! Plus, it doesn't matter anyway! She's gone, so even if I did have a crush, I should move on. But I don't, so I don't need to.
“Hey, no need to get pissy about it. I’m sure she feels the same way about you.”
I glare daggers at Xavier, while Astil is too busy trying to be inconspicuous, but failing, as he starts to laugh.
“I’m going to kill you, Xavier. You’re lucky I don’t have any dirt on you.”
Xavier puts on a face of mock innocence. “Me? Dirt? Never. I’ve never done anything wrong in my life!”
I don’t press the issue as we keep walking. He obviously won this round. We’ll see if he wins when his apple juice has a love potion in it!
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We pass by a grocery store, and Astil stops to compliment the owner, while me and Xavier tour the place. The shop is full of foods that I love: meats like venison and beef, also bread and cakes. It all gets my stomach rumbling. There is also a lot of food I don’t know: Dragon’s Fire (which looks like a cross between a cake and overly spicy sandwich), Grapes (which look like a sort of purple fruit), and Jumping Jax (a sort of candy that ‘jumps in your mouth’ or so they say). It all looks great, and I can’t help but buy some of each, talking to the owner on the way out.
“You must be Astil’s new friend,” he exclaims. “I always thought he was too shy to make them.” Astil blushes.
“Yes, sir. My name is Zade.” I tell him, smirking.
“My name is Argyl. It’s a pleasure.” The owner says. “Pass by anytime you want, and I'll give you a discount. Any friend of Astil’s is a friend of mine.”
As we leave, I turn to Astil.
“You know, being your friend has some benefits.”
Astil smiles, and Xavier snorts.
We keep moving through the market. I’ve been here before at night, and somehow it’s more busy in the day. There are thousands of people in the market, buying everything ever invented. It should be an introvert’s worst nightmare, but I love this. It feels like the city is alive. There are no streets in the market, so no carriages. The carriages are only allowed outside the market, so people have to leave them to come here, which allows more space for people. People keep bumping into me, which sucks. Astil warns me about pickpockets, and everytime I get close to someone, I keep my hands in my pockets. It wouldn’t do to lose all my coin.
Us three take turns carrying the bags we have for the items we buy. Eventually, we pass by Dove’s Fashion, and I can’t help but pop in to talk to Reg.
“How’s it going, Reg?”
“I be good, Zade. What be bringin’ you to the market today?”
“Oh, just spending time with friends.” I point out Xavier and Astil to him, who are busy poking each other for some reason.
“That be great, Zade! In case you be wonderin’, your order ain’t ready yet.”
“I know, Reg. I was just coming to say hi.”
“Really? Thanks, Zade.”
I cock my head. “No problem, man.”
A customer comes into the store, and Reg has to attend him, so I leave discreetly.
We find a perfume store soon after, and Xavier leans in and whispers to me:
“I think Astil will need some of that.”
“I know. I’ll take care of that. You take care of the gift.”
He nods. “Got it. I’ll distract Astil now, and you distract him after.”
Astil leans in. “I can speak in whispers too.”
I nod and ruffle his hair. “I know. I’ll be right back. Just need to get something. You can keep walking.”
Astil is very confused and a little disappointed, but lets Xavier lead him away. Once they’re out of sight, I walk into the store Fresh and Beautiful.
Immediately, a portly woman with way too much perfume on waddles up to me. “What will a young man like you need today?”
“I need some cologne or perfume for a friend. He has a date.”
She nods thoughtfully. “Alright, I have a few ideas.”
She leaves the room, and comes back with five bottles.
“I want you to try all of them. Pick your favorite.”
I try the first one, and it’s a little weird. Not bad, but smells a little like wet wood. The second smells like a rainy day but in a good way. It seems interesting. The third smells attractive in a way, I think. But it is a little too strong. The fourth bottle is a little like if a new book was made into a perfume. Good for me, not Astil.
But the fifth one, not that one is gold! It smells like a piece of heaven. I haven’t smelled anything like it before. The woman sees my eyes open, and smiles.
“You want that one, The Golden Child. You can have that bottle for one gold sphere, or a smaller bottle for three silver spheres.”
I take the smaller bottles, which should still last a long time for Astil. I turn to leave.
“I forgot to ask, what is your name?”
“Zade.”
“My name is Missi. Come again soon.”
I don’t think I will, since I will have no reason to, but I don’t tell her that. I only leave.
Soon, I catch up to Astil, and Xavier leaves, while I entertain Astil.
“Why do you smell like perfume?” he asks.
“No reason,” I respond, making sure he doesn’t see the bulge under my cloak.
He narrows his eyes at me. “What are you hiding?”
I ignore him. “Oooh, is that Anni over there?”
His face whitens, and he looks around. “Where?”
I laugh. “Relax, dude.”
He glares at me. I’m getting tired of that glare.
“Don’t scare me like that!”
I snort. “That was a scare to you?”
Astil nods. I shake my head.
“Unbelievable.”
“What?” he asks.
“You’re scared of a girl.”
Astil nods again.
“Yup.”
“She’s so nice, though. How can you be scared of her?”
“You haven’t had a full conversation with her.”
“Neither have you,” I point up.
“Shut up. She’s scary, and that’s the truth.”
“Whatever.”
We fall silent, and soon enough, Xavier returns, bag in hand. Astil tries to look inside, but Xavier refuses, closing the bag completely. Astil loses it.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE Y’ALL HIDING?”
Me and Xavier look at each other.
“You’ll see,” Xavier answers. Astil doesn’t look happy, but thankfully, once again, doesn’t press the issue.
The rest of the day goes fine. We finish our break and go right back to work. It’s fun and challenging.
— — —
The rest of the week goes fine. I can now do the Finger Flame (that’s what it’s called, apparently) ten out of ten times. I’m feeling good about it.
It is the seventh day since I arrived here. I am loving my time here, surprisingly more than I thought. Xavier and Astil are helping me learn more. It’s dinner time now, and I’m eating dinner when something unexpected happens.
Astil is telling me and Xavier about how nervous he is for his date. It is Third Day now, so his date is tomorrow. I’m happy for him, but he looks like a jittery bug. I wonder if he just drank too much coffee.
As we’re talking, one of the High Mages comes up to me. I don’t know him personally. I only know him by reputation. He's a strong defender of his views, specifically of being in the Cult. He's also known for being strict and somewhat cruel. I can tell he's a stern figure just by looking at him, and, knowing he's in the cult, I immediately dislike him. His face is impassive. I wonder what he wants to talk about.
“Zade Helstorm, Mage-In-Training, come with me!”
I have no choice but to follow. His word is technically law for me, since he is a High Mage. I regretfully look at Astil and Xavier.
“See you later, guys.”
They both respond the same way, and I grab my sword and buckle it on. Xavier looks like he knows what’s happening. I don’t but I guess I’ll find out. I nod at the High Mage, and we’re off.
We travel through a dark corridor, one I haven’t seen yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was some hidden hallway that only High Mages or guests can see. I try to strike up a conversation as we walk.
“So, what’s your name?”
“You may address me as High Mage Eldor if you must.”
“And I must. I always know everyone’s name. That way, I always have someone to blame if I do anything wrong. I can say ‘Oh, High Mage Eldor did it’ or something like that.”
“Are you always obnoxious like this?”
“Only when I want to be, which is pretty much all the time.”
He scowls. “Then can you at least shut up for the rest of our journey?”
“So you're calling this a journey.”
“Can you just SHUT UP?” he screams.
“Yes.” I pause. “No. I get bored if I don’t talk. Isn’t that weird? I don’t like talking to new people, but if I’m not talking, I get extremely bored.” That’s not totally true, but he doesn’t know that!
He grumbles but is forced to listen to my ‘incessant bickering’ as he decides to call it. I don’t know what’s happening. Usually I try to be annoying, but not this annoying. I think he just rubbed me the wrong way.
We turn, and now we’re in a different hallway, bathed in golden light. For some reason, the light doesn’t touch the black corridor we exited. I also can’t seem to find where the light is coming from. I keep walking, noticing the bookshelves on the shelves in the hallway. They’re locked up, as if they’re dangerous. Is that even possible? I want to reach out and touch one, but High Mage Eldor glares at me pointedly. I hurry along, and soon enough, we have arrived at a door. The door is a simple wooden one, with no lock or knob. I wonder how it opens.
“Strawberry Apple Banana Pudding!” High Mage Eldor says.
“Huh? No, thank you.” The door slides open. “Oh, that was a password. My bad.”
High Mage Eldor walks in, and he’s chuckling. I guess my embarrassment is funny. I strut in after him, and gasp.
The room is beautiful. Bookshelves lining the walls. A window, with a view to the rest of Zenyth. A beautifully embroidered desk with the Zenyth symbol, which is a black Z surrounded by a flame and a stream of water. The chair next to the desk looks like a throne embroidered with gold.
High Mage Eldor smiles at my astonishment. “Please sit. We have much to discuss.”
I look around and find a simple wooden chair. I take it and sit across from his chair.
High Mage Eldor starts to speak to me. “I trust you have been acquainting yourself well this week?” At my nod, he continues. “Normally, I don’t spend this long before I get to know the students, but I had a lot to do, so I couldn’t get to you before. I am here now. Tell me, how did you Awaken?”
I glare at him. “I’m sorry, but I don't want to say. Obviously, you do not ‘want to get to know me’. You say you get to know all the other students. Aren’t there hundreds? You can’t familiarize yourself with all of them. Get to the point, please. I have things to do, and places to be. I can’t afford wasting my time telling someone my life story.”
His eyes narrow. “As you wish. I want to tell you about myself. I Awakened when I was eight, very young for a mage. I was shipped straight here of course. That was forty years ago.”
“Really? You don’t look a day over thirty.”
“That’s kind of you, but please don’t interrupt. As I said, I was sent here to Zenyth. I was told to choose my book, and one jumped out at me. It said something weird. Something I’d never heard of before. I know you have. It said ‘Dautha?’”
I gulp, and my mouth dries up. He’s trying to recruit me, isn’t he?
“I’m sorry, I don’t want anything to do with that.”
“I haven’t asked you anything yet. I chose that book because it was strange to me. I made it my life’s work to learn about Dautha. It’s taken me my whole life. I’m the world’s leading theologist on Dautha.
“Look, let's cut to the chase, Zade,” he continued. “I know you’ve heard of Dautha, and I know you don’t like the idea of belonging to this cult or whatever you call it.”
“You’re right I don’t. How do you know? Also, can I please leave now?”
“No, you may not. As for how I know, I just do. Listen, Zade, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Dautha blesses everyone who joins with special gifts. I can do wonderful things only because he gave me those gifts. I can do wonders that would leave you breathless.”
“Prove it.”
“I can’t. You haven’t agreed. Needless to say, I am giving you the best opportunity for becoming a better mage. To take your rightful place as a part of the divine. Don’t you think that the rulers of this world have had their time?”
“I don’t really care for politics,” I say.
“Still, look at where the world is. We’re on the verge of war. Even within Magekind.” This was news to me. “Those who don’t believe in Dautha have been trying to kill us believers for years, and it’s coming to a head. We lost one of ours today, and I had to bury him myself. Do you know how much that hurts, Zade?”
“Yes, I do.” I feel bad for him, but only a little. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to join. I don’t believe in Dautha, and I don’t want to. I truly feel for you, and I don’t think your intentions are evil. Maybe they are, but I do think you’re trying to make the world a better place. This is just the wrong way to do this. I'm sorry. I’ll see myself out.”
“Very well,” High Mage Elrod tells me. “The door is over there. You should come back when you have a change of heart.”
“I won’t.”
“Fine. If you have a change of heart.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
I leave, wondering if I’ve made an enemy. I think I have.
— — —
It is the end of the week. I’m about to go to sleep, when I hear a ding coming from somewhere. I look around my room. Where is that noise coming from? It happens again, and I see it. It’s the book! For some reason, it’s making noise. I open it and see what happened.
The part that says my level is gone, it only says Level Up! now. Then the old level bar reappears, this time saying Level: 2. Otherwise, it looks the same. I’m excited. I’ve leveled up.
I go to bed happy. I’ve had a good week. And I’ve leveled up. I can’t believe it.
I LEVELED UP!