Rose and Cathleen arrived at the archery range and headed toward the only person in sight. While approaching, Cathleen spoke up, “Are you Sergeant Peyton?”

The man was sitting on a wooden bench, carefully polishing an unstrung bow. Without looking up, he said, “I thought there would be more of you. Is Angelton sending you over in groups?”

Cathleen was surprised by Rose, who didn’t seem as sheepish without Nero or Nick around, as she took the initiative to reply, “I think he’s busy kicking a bunch of the nobles' spies out of the program. We’re probably all you're gonna get, assuming that you are Sergeant Peyton that is.”

Chuckling, the sergeant set the bow off to the side. It joined a pile of shining bow staves. Standing up, he turned to appraise Rose and Cathleen while they judged him in turn.

He was much taller than them, just over 6 feet. His eyes were so dark they seemed black. His bald head gave him a harsh visage that was probably intimidating to most people, but didn’t bother either Rose or Cathleen. His skin was so tan that he might have been black, which caused Cathleen to ask, “You wouldn’t happen to be from the North, would you?”

With a smile, Peyton replied, “No, I’m from just outside Dorchester. My mother was from Yaxley though.”

Cathleen smiled and asked, “How’d she end up down here?”

Peyton was used to every northerner demanding his mother’s life story, so he wasn’t offended. “She came south around 200 years ago I think. She always said that the world was too big to choose to spend it in the worst place imaginable. According to her, she chose to stay around here when she realized there was nothing threatening around. For her, it was paradise,” he said.

Cathleen slapped her hand against her thigh and started laughing. Rose looked insulted, but kept her mouth shut.

“Well, your ma isn’t wrong. I was here for the last beast tide, and I wasn’t impressed. Hopefully this one will be worth getting involved. You want us to introduce ourselves, or are you just going to read our files?” asked Cathleen.

The sergeant said, “You're Cathleen Averett, I’ve heard plenty about you already. And you must be Rose Vikander, I was briefed about you as well. You two have any questions for me before you show me what you can do?”

Rose shook her head and went to get a bow from the pile next to the sergeant. But Cathleen asked, “You going to be training with us, or just sitting on your ass and watching us work for a living?”

With a bright smile, Peyton summoned his bow from his pocket space. “I’d be glad to. Before you let your northern pride make you say something you’ll regret, you should know my pillar is ‘accuracy’. I wouldn’t recommend offering a wager, you’d lose,” he said, then walked off to the firing line.

Rose was stringing her bow, while Cathleen was picking a stave out of the pile. Both woman were watching the sergeant as he started training.

The archery range was 1000 ft deep, but there were wooden posts interspersed along the length. Each post was on a tiny cart, which allowed them to be moved around. Several arrows were already sticking out of several posts, the farthest around 960 ft. The posts in the distance were hard to see.

There were small wooden fences separating the firing line from the target area. Each fence created a little firing platform, with quivers, a small table, along with a bench. The moment the sergeant approached a firing platform, little red lights erupted in lines across the field, indicating that the field was now under fire.

Sergeant Peyton reached out to the quivers hanging off the fence and touched an arrow. Apparently, he didn’t like the height they were at, so he adjusted the fence. It rose a few inches so he wouldn’t have to bend over at all when he reached for an arrow. Nodding at his preparations, he looked out into the field.

Both Rose and Cathleen had paused in their preparations to watch their trainer. Sergeant Peyton felt their judgmental eyes on his back, but it didn’t bother him. If he was going to be their trainer in a skill like archery, he had better be able to shoot under pressure.

Taking one more deep breath, he firmed his resolve. As though a silent starting gun went off, he started rapid firing arrows. He’d draw from the quiver on the fence directly onto his bow, lift, fire, and repeat. Arrow after arrow shot downfield, one every second. He didn’t look like he was hurrying, his movements were smooth and controlled.

Rose was stunned, while Cathleen looked like she was proven right about something. It took around 5 seconds before the first arrow landed. When they finally started dropping, each one pounded into the same pillar. Arrow, after arrow, they peppered the post like a machine gun firing. Both of them were staring at the pillar being turned into a porcupine around 500 ft away. When the final arrow hit, the trance was broken and they turned back to look at the sergeant.

As he had fired the last arrow several seconds before, he’d already sat down and was examining his bow. So when Rose and Cathleen looked at him, he looked like he’d been done for ages.

Feeling their eyes on him, he looked up with a grin and said, “You all just going to sit there? I was promised a show while I sat on my ass watching.”

-----

Nero was excited to have an actual combat mage teaching him how to fight with magic. Perhaps he was a little too excited, as he jogged up to Specialist Howard and completely ignored the fact that the man had streams of fire and water flowing around him in patterns.

Nero walked over, stopping just outside the essence flows, and said, “Hello sir! I’m Nero Walker, and I’m here to learn how to fight with magic. How’s this going to work? Is there a class syllabus I should have gotten? Are you providing the textbooks? Or, based on the fire and water motif you have going on here, is this like a channeling the elements thing? Will there be a lot of meditation involved. Please say no. But if there is, I’m totally on board with it.”

Dismissing his spell forms, Howard stared at the little boy in front of him. At that moment, he hated the general and regretted ever joining the army. As the kid kept talking, Howard got more and more upset. Before he could lash out, his other student finally approached.

“Please excuse Nero, he’s just a big fan of blowing things up. Don’t worry, despite his first impression, he’s a natural mage. We were sent by Sergeant Wesker for combat casting training. I’m a center-point graduate myself, so I’ll probably be just observing. Although my primary branch was in Research, specifically Theoretical Essence Manipulation, I fulfilled my combat requirements with full marks. I also try to keep up to date with the current spell form updates, so if you have any questions regarding the current ‘optimal’ spell configurations, let me know,” Nick said with a proud smile.

Howard stared at the two idiots like he couldn’t believe this was happening. The little kid, Nero, was looking up at him with stars in his eyes. And the research nerd, Nick Salvatore, was trying to treat him like a colleague at a symposium. He couldn’t decide who he liked least, and took comfort in the fact that they’ll probably be dead in a couple of weeks.

With a sigh, Howard said, “I’ve been ordered to teach you idiots how to combat cast. I have no idea what you think you know. What I do know is, you’re wrong. Whether it’s your opinion concerning spell-forms, best practices, or something you read in a book, I don’t want to hear it. I’m going to teach you to fight mages, beasts, monsters, and men. You will shut up, and keep shutting up while listening to everything I say. If you have a question, raise your hand. If I don’t respond, it means that I don’t want to hear your voice, so put your hand back down and hope my mood changes. You don’t have any questions I want to hear, so follow me.”

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

Nero was still smiling, he thought Howard was perfect. But Nick looked like he had been completely gutted. Without waiting for Nick to recover, Nero jogged after Howard, leaving a confused Nick to watch the pair approach some benches along the wall.

After Nick caught up, he and Nero sat where the specialist was pointing. Nero waited patiently, while Nick grumbled about disrespectful children.

Hands on his hips, Howard started his lecture, “Fighting with magic is both extremely simple, and extremely complicated. We’re not going to cover war magic,” he paused as Nero’s hand shot into the air. With a sigh, he said, “What?”

Nero lowered his hand and asked, “What’s war magic? And how is it different than regular magic? How many different types of magic are there?”

Specialist Howard was completely confused and looked over at Nick asking, “The file I was given said that you, a big-time researcher, have been teaching him magic. What the hell have you been teaching him if he doesn’t know any of this?”

This time it was Nick’s turn to sigh. Nero's eyes darted back and forth, waiting for someone to answer his question. Nick said, “Look, I never really taught him anything. He went to the library and got some books. He’s been figuring everything out on his own. He’s only been casting magic for around a week. Arch-mage Jennings and I spent a few hours showing him how to use his center for casting, before that he was using ambient essence to create raw spell-forms. I don’t understand anything he does, so please stop looking at me like that.”

Howard crossed his arms and said, “Then explain to me why he is walking around with an essence shield active. It doesn’t seem to be stressing him, and that doesn’t happen without extensive training.”

Throwing his arms up in annoyance, Nick said, “Just ask him. I have no idea how he does half of the things he does.”

Nero was smiling, and chimed in, “I made a deal with Jennings. A couple of days ago, he spent the afternoon showing me how to form my mage-armor along with 3 combat spells, and in return I showed him something cool. But you're right, it was annoying keeping the shield up at first, but I got used to it after a few hours. It’s just like walking around with your abs a little tight. Now can you please answer my question about the different types of magic? Also, what makes them different? Are the spell-forms unique, or are they all based on the same parts?”

Nick was chuckling at Howard. The poor man looked like he had just seen a ghost. He stammered, “You learned to cast an essence shield from an arch-mage… in an afternoon.”

Nero nodded, getting annoyed that the man wouldn’t answer his questions. “Yes. And 3 combat spells. Now will you please just answer the question. Or at least point me toward a book that covers the subject. It’s a good thing you are all able to live to a thousand, because you take forever to DO anything. Teach me something, dammit!” Nero shouted.

Startled, Howard held up his hands in defeat. “Alright kid, calm down. Magic is categorized by its purpose. The underlying architecture of spells is all the same. But there are many ways to do the same thing. Spell creation is a difficult area of study. I said we weren’t covering war magic, because those are large spells that you couldn’t cast anyway,” he said, then tilted his head in consideration, “I should say that they’re spells you ‘probably’ can’t cast yet. But we should start at the beginning. Have you read any ‘introduction to magic’ books?”

Nero responded proudly, “I’ve read an ‘introduction to essence’ and a basic spell book on household spells. Three days ago I read some books with some spell-forms useful for hunting, and personal magic. I don’t feel comfortable creating a dimensional space in my soul just yet. But I was planning on giving it another look tonight.”

Frowning, Howard asked, “What does an introduction to essence have to do with casting magic?”

Nero replied easily, “Essence is magic, isn’t it? I’m pretty sure it was listed as a book for the class which was a per-requisite for the Center’s combat magic class. That’s why I started there.”

Shaking his head, Howard said, “NO! Well, yes. But no. Magic is the use of essence to perform a task. Essence is just the building blocks you manipulate with magic. You’re not supposed to use essence to cast! That’s crazy.”

Nick nudged Nero with his elbow, and chimed in, “I told you that you were doing it wrong.”

Nero shrugged, and said, “Whatever. That doesn’t matter anymore. I know how to create a spell-form with my center now. It’s way easier. Now one of the books I was reading said that I had to ‘control the essence’ and ‘deny my opponent’, what does that actually mean?”

Howard felt his hackles rise, and said, “Nope. You’re not going to be bouncing around anymore. Learning bits and pieces is stupid. Just listen for a while. Nick, you stand up and go over there. Nero needs to see actual casting being done correctly.”

Nick’s proud smile was back, and he hopped up to take his place opposite Howard. Nero fought the urge to mutter an insult, but kept the thought that Nick was the very definition of a ‘teacher’s pet’ to himself.

After taking their places, about 20 ft apart, Howard shouted, “Shields up!”

Receiving a raised right arm from Nick, Howard looked over at Nero and asked, “Can you feel the areas of control for both of us?”

Nero stood up, and concentrated. He moved until he took his place between them, but off to the side. They ended up forming a triangle. Nero looked over at Howard and said, “OK, I can see you both clearly.”

Howard raised his eyebrows and asked, “When you say ‘see’, you mean ‘feel’ right? It sounds like you are saying you can see the essence flows around us.”

Nero crossed his arms and said, “Yeah, I can see them fine. I know how to use a psychic field, I’m not an idiot.”

Nick chimed in, “Wait a second, you can recognize essence streams? What are your ‘soul-density’ and ‘mind-focus’ stats at? They must be over 50!”

Howard shouted in anger, “Don’t answer that! You ever ask a question like that in my presence again, and I’ll put you down so hard you’ll beg to never see me again. You hear me?”

Nick paled, and Nero jumped in, “It’s OK. Don’t worry, he’s my advisor. He just got excited about something. He doesn’t always think before he speaks. My situation is a little weird, and he’s been helping me try to figure stuff out. He didn’t mean anything by it.”

Even from a distance, Nero was positive that he heard Nick gulp in fear. Specialist Howard seemed to calm down, but he still repeated his warning, “I’d never step in between an advisor and his charge. But if he asks questions like that again, you come tell me right away. No one is entitled to your identity.”

Nodding, Nero said, “Got it. Now show me what you wanted me to see. I’m watching closely.”

Specialist Howard wove a basic spell-form Nero had never seen before. He did it slowly, so Nero could follow along. Nero watched as the parts came together to channel air essence, along with something that he didn’t recognize. He felt the air condense, and ionize inside the spell-form. With a ‘crack’, a bolt of lightning shot from between Howard’s hands toward Nick. It was so fast that Nero didn’t have a chance to shout a warning. For a split second, Nero panicked.

But Nero shouldn't have worried, as the lightning faded into nothingness the moment it entered Nick’s field of control. It hadn't gotten within 5 feet of him. Utterly confused, Nero muttered, “That’s not how electricity works.”

Howard looked over at Nero and said, “That’s what happens when uncontrolled essence structures interact with a foreign psychic field. That’s the primary concern for combat casting: How to get your spells through an enemy’s defenses. Whether it’s a shield, essence field, or an essence shield, a mage has to keep control of the essence he casts. Understand?”

Nero said simply, “Nope. That doesn’t make sense at all. You didn’t shoot essence at him. You converted essence into lightning, and shot that at him. Are you telling me that his psychic field can protect him from environmental effects? I have personally seen people killed by spells causing environmental effects, so I’m completely confused.”

Nick laughed and said, “I tried explaining it to you, but you wouldn’t listen. Show him your spells that you're so proud of.”

Nero bristled and said, “Fine.”

Walking over to the targeting range, he felt Nick and Howard following. When he was about 15 feet away, he firmed his shield, and cast one of his patented ‘essence-bombs’ next to a dummy. When it blew up, the dummy broke apart and shrapnel shot everywhere. His shield took some hits, but didn’t fail. Then Nero turned to another dummy and stamped a laser into existence. It burned a hole right through another dummy.

Turning around, he placed his hands on his hips and said, “There. Environmental effects in action. Two dead enemies.”

Nick just shook his head with a grin on his face. Howard looked at Nero like he was an idiot, and asked, “How the hell are you not dead yet?”

Nero stared back, confused. “Huh?” he asked while Nick burst into laughter.