The institute was positively crowded. Adam and Vivienne had not been here for regular classes since that first time six months ago. They had become quite used to the sparse amount of people that would show up on any other day.
Feeling a little overwhelmed by all the people and the noise, they made for the entrance. Right before they entered the building, someone actually bumped into Adam! Vivienne quickly supported Adam's back, preventing him from falling down. The man who bumped into him curtly said: “Watch where you're going.” Before quickly disappearing into the crowd.
Vivienne hmphed out: “How rude!” Before continuing in.
Adam and Vivienne went straight to the receptionists in charge of the storage rooms. Adam needed to exchange the tool for his book. Alyssa was actually working in this area today. Going up to Alyssa, who was surprised to see them today, they exchanged familiar greetings as Adam made to pull out his badge. Adam's face started to turn white as he patted the various pockets he had.
Alyssa put her hand to her mouth in a little shock. “Oh my, Adam. Did you forget your badge today?”
“I'm sure I had it.... maybe it dropped when that guy bumped into me?”
Adam started to panic a little. He had never once misplaced his badge before. He remembered how he found the badge and the box on the first day after he got back from the institute. He had been able to actually feel their location. He had not used this odd feeling since that day, since he always carefully placed them away in exact spots.
He knew there was a range limit, since he couldn't 'feel' where his book was on that day. But he didn't know what that limit was. If someone picked the badge up and walked away with it, would he still be able to find it before it got out of range?
Seeing Adam start to panic, Alyssa tried to calm him down: “Don't worry Adam, the badge isn't that important. No one else can use it, and we can issue you another.”
Vivienne also tried to console Adam. After he manage to calm down a little, he was able to concentrate on that bond between him and his badge. He was hoping he would still be able to find it. Just a few seconds after he tried this, he felt an odd sensation go by them, a few meters away. It must be his badge! Someone had found it and was walking towards the stairs up to the second level.
Adam pointed over and said: “I think they have it.”
Vivienne was baffled by Adam's words. Just as she was going to ask him what he meant, he walked out of her grasp and was heading towards a group of aristocratic looking people, who appeared quite arrogant, that were heading to the stairs. Vivienne called out: “Wait Adam!”
Adam was too fast, however. There were very few people that walked around in the area by the stairs, as it was an area for those who became candidates. With his walking stick, Adam was able to walk with confidence to catch up to that group of people, whom he couldn't see.
Just as the group was about to reach the staff members by the stairs, Adam called out to them: “Did you happen to pick up a badge from the ground earlier? It should be mine.”
The group consisted of three men and a boy. The most prominent member of the group was clearly the boy's father and they had brought two body guards with them. The father of the boy sneered at Adam: “You think we would pick up trash dropped by commoners!? Off with you boy!”
Adam was quite startled by this rebuke. The man then turned to the boy and said: “Go ahead and show them your badge Diedric.”
The boy proudly flashed his badge at the two receptionists guarding the stairs. The badge gave off a faint red glow. The one guarding the stairs frowned at this. One of them extended their hand asking: “Can I see the badge quickly?”
The boy unthinkingly handed the badge over. The man then directed a question to Adam: “Hey, Adam. Can you come over here?”
This man was familiar with Adam. While they were not personally acquainted, he had often been stationed at these stairs when Adam went by. Vivienne carefully came up behind Adam and was confused about the current situation. The arrogant aristocrat yelled at the guard who was asking Adam to come over: “What is this nonsense about!? We showed you the badge, now give us passage!”
The guard simply snapped his fingers together. The group of aristocrats had been unknowingly surrounded by a bunch of receptionists who now pulled swords seemingly out of nowhere. They all pointed their swords at this small group. The guard then said in a calm manner: “Quiet.”
He then gestured for Adam to come closer. A little startled by what was going on, Vivienne started to guide Adam over. Adam was also bewildered by the situation. He had heard that man shouting and then there was the sound of a bunch of swords being unsheathed.
This had become quite the spectacle for everyone on the other side of the main floor. They could not clearly see what was going on, but it was clear that a group of people was being surrounded by receptionists with swords drawn!
After Vivienne brought Adam forward, the guard gave Adam the badge. “Please show us the badge.” the guard said.
Adam flashed the badge forward like normal and it lit up with a small white glow. The guard then gave the aristocrat a hard look. “I thought you said you don't pick trash up from the floor. This badge is clearly Adam's! Do you dare explain yourself?”
The man's face turned red. “This is an outrage! I am Lord Harold! I demand that you lower your swords! I don't know what this nonsense of this badge actually being that brat's is about, but I wont have it!”
The guard became angry as he rebuked: “The entire world recognizes SILU's sovereignty! You have no authority in this building! You are to be arrested for attempting to force a non-candidate's entry and the possibility of stealing a rightful candidate's badge! You shall be held in our facilities until our investigation is concluded and we reach a decision about your punishment!”
Harold's face turned an even deeper crimson in rage. Just as he was going to rant some more, he felt the forceful pokes of sword points at his back. The man instantly turned white as he looked at his body guards. They had long given up, knowing the odds of their survival if they challenged such a large group of armed men. Harold could only bite his words back and follow the receptionists to a holding area.
After watching Harold being drug away, the guard turned to Adam with a laugh “He must be a small time noble with no idea how we do things around here. He should have known there was no way to fake entry. How did you know he had your badge, though?”
Adam returned a puzzled look. “I think it has to do with the blood binding. If I think about it, I can feel it's location if it is within a certain distance from myself.”
Surprise dawned on the guards face. “You are actually able to do that? Most candidates only feel a small sensation from the binding. Even I can't feel anything from my own badge.”
“You're a candidate?” Adam asked quizzically.
The guard gave a slightly bitter laugh. “I used to be, but I failed in becoming a spiritualist by the time I was ten. The badge I'm talking about is actually one we use to recognize official staff members. It's pretty much the same as your badge, though.”
Vivienne gave an apologetic look towards the guard. She felt that Adam may have touched on a sore spot for the guard. He simply gave a forgiving wave as he asked: “So are you going to head up now?”
“Not right now, I still need to get my book” Adam responded.
“Well hurry along, classes will start shortly.”
Adam thanked the guard and hurried back to Alyssa to grab his book. Finally exchanging the spirit essence gathering tool for the book, Adam and Vivienne finally went up the stairs to the classrooms. Reaching the second floor, they found that the noon meal had already finished and most everyone had gone to the third floor. After they got up to the third floor, instead of heading for classroom one, which was on the left side after coming up the stairs, they went into the first door on the right which was labeled as classroom two.
Just like the first class Adam went to, as soon as they walked in the door, all the chatting went quiet as everyone curiously stared at the two. There were only a few candidate here who spent their first class with Adam. Some of them started to remember him and talk to the others about it. Adam had not shown up for regular class for five months, now he was finally back!
The class room was over half full. Almost everyone chose seats towards the front, so the desks that were left open were mostly towards the back of the classroom. Vivienne led Adam to the nearest open desk before finding a spare chair to bring over. Vivienne noticed one major difference about this classroom, compared to the first. Along the wall, there were small bookshelves filled with reference materials that the candidates could access before class started.
Vivienne tried to ignore the stares and the whispers as she went about, while Adam was feeling a little nervous being under the spot light again. He was eager to get class started, as everyone would pay more attention to the teacher than him. Also, of course, he wanted to learn more about what he had to do to move the spirit essence to reinforce his soul.
Before Vivienne had even put the chair she had found down, the teacher walked through the door. This teacher was an older man that looked to be somewhere in his forties. He was surprised to see Vivienne. But, when he saw Adam, realization dawned on his face.
“You must be Adam and Vivienne! My name is Sebastian.” he said.
Unsure of a better response, Adam replied: “Hello, sir.”
Sebastian grinned. “Cathryn has been bragging about you. I hope you can show me what has got her so impressed during class!”
Adam was at a loss for words. He had no idea that Cathryn was bragging about him to others, nor how he could show Sebastian how he impressed her. Sebastian turned to the rest of class and said: “In case the newer candidates did not hear, my name is Sebastian. I will be teaching this class! I will go over some basic lessons for the first half hour of class, then we will get straight to your questions while I give you some demonstrations!”
Sebastian seemed to have a straightforward and energetic personality. It got all the young candidates pumped up and wanting to get into the thick of it. The basic lessons that Sebastian went over were mostly just reminders of the first class, just to make sure no one forgets the most important parts. It was quite quickly time for questions and demonstrations.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Sebastian made it so that only the candidates who were here for their second class could ask questions first. This way there wouldn't be too much confusion when candidates who had been coming for a few months started asking complicated questions.
Adam was unsure if he fell into the category of this being his second class. While it was his second regular class, he had already taken more classes here than most ever would. Luckily the first question that was asked was what Adam wanted to know.
The candidate who was chosen first asked: “How exactly do I move the spirit essence I gathered to strengthen my soul?”
many of the candidates started smiling to themselves. Even Sebastian showed big, slightly regretful smile. “This is a question almost everyone asks when they first start. Unfortunately, there is now way to tell you how to accomplish this! Moving spirit essence is more of a feeling than an exact method. Everyone describes what they feel when they move spirit essence differently, so even if I tell you what I feel, it would not be useful to you! The way we use spirit essence can be exactly the same, but the way we each individually control and move spirit essence can be vastly different!”
The newer candidates were all stunned, even Adam was. He had been hoping things would get a little easier after he completed the spirit formation. However, it seemed, he would still need to continue working the same way as before. Try anything and everything he can think of to try and progress.
There were many other questions throughout the class, but Adam didn't pay much attention to them. The thing he paid the most attention to was the demonstrations that Sebastian gave. Adam tried to intently feel the spirit essence fluctuations, in a hope to find insight in moving spirit essence.
In the end, Adam did not really gain anything from class. After class ended, everyone started to file out and head back to the second floor for dinner. Adam and Vivienne were waiting for most everyone else to leave so that it was easier to make their way down. Sebastian decided to come over and chat a for a minute.
“I noticed that you were paying more attention to my demonstrations then the answers I was giving out.” He started talking to Adam.
Adam was a little startled by the sudden start of a conversation, but quickly collected himself. “Yea, all that theory and stuff is useless unless I can move the spirit essence in my soul. I was hoping that I could gain an insight of how to do that by paying attention to what you were doing.”
Sebastian laughed out loud. “You are a smart fellow, aren't you? I guess Cathryn was right, you just might make it to being a spiritualist! Still, when you read up on the theory, you might get a certain feeling from it's description that helps you. But it is still good to follow your own way.”
Since the class room had already been left empty, Adam and Vivienne said goodbye and parted ways with Sebastian at that point. Leaving and heading to the stairs, Cathryn actually came out the door to the first classroom as they were going by.
Cathryn was quite surprised to see them. Adam had never had the reason to attend regular class yet, unless... Vivienne greeted Cathryn first and Adam followed her lead. He had no idea who it was that came out of the classroom until Vivienne greeted her.
“Adam, did you by chance..?” Cathryn started out with a cautious question.
“Yup, I completed the spirit formation just yesterday!”
Cathryn let out a joyous smile as she said: “Congratulations, I know it was hard getting there.”
“Thanks! I thought everything might get a little easier after this, but it seems I still have to figure out how to move the spirit essence on my own!”
Cathryn chuckled at Adam's reply. “Yes, well you still are able to take supplemental classes with me, so together we might figure something out to help you.”
After exchanging a few more words, Vivienne and Adam said goodbye and departed from Cathryn. There was still a small time until dinner was served, but it was nice to find some good seats first. They had not eaten the luxurious food of the institute since that first day, six months ago.
After eating the meal, they went back to Madame's. Adam took the book home with him this time. He no longer needed the spiritual tool and perhaps the book did have something in it that would help him.
Adam started another long process of experimentation. While he was taking a break from gathering spirit essence, he would ask Hansen, Helen, or Alfred to read from the book for him. He didn't pay much heed to most of the information contained inside. If it was too complicated, he just skipped it. He would only pay attention to something if it grabbed his interest or if he thought it would help him.
As Adam slowly gathered spirit essence inside his soul, he began to note the rate that it would escape from his soul. Sometimes it would be fast or slow, but it normally averaged out. Thinking about it, Adam started to gather spirit essence during the rest of the day if he had a moment to think. He might not be able to concentrate for very long, but over the course of the whole day, he accumulated a fair amount. This allowed him to concentrate more on trying to control the spirit essence, than to gather it, while he was at the wall garden.
Adam also became quite used to that faint melodious sound that the spirit essence made when it inhabited his soul. He had always forgotten to ask about it. These sounds have always been present with spirit essence, so he was not overly worried about it.
Months passed by and Adam was starting to feel the pressure. Soon he would be turning ten and he still did not have a good method to control the spirit essence! Even with Cathryn's help, he just couldn't figure it out. There were some days where he felt something odd going on with the spirit essence he had accumulated, but it always happened when he was busy with something else! He could never figure out what it was doing or why. He could also never recreate the affect on his own. He just had to wait for it to happen and hopefully figure out what was going on.
Adam was doing sword exercises in the morning. There was only one month left until he turned ten. He was currently 'sparring' with Hansen. They had finally moved on to full contact sparring, but Adam could not properly participate in that. Hansen would sometimes call out sword movements for Adam to preform while Hansen guarded against it. Other than that, it was the usual bashing against Adam's sword.
Adam was a little dissatisfied about this, but he knew it was already more than what any other trainer would give Adam. Surely Hansen was the only person in the city that would actually try to train a blind person how to use a sword.
In between Hansen's strikes, Adam would form the spirit essence gathering formation in his mind. It had become second nature for him to make the formation, and it was quite easy and fast now. He still watched himself and would stop when he felt 'full' of spirit essence, but he always kept as much spirit essence in his soul as he could.
Adam's form started to turn rigid as some of his thoughts turned towards the looming deadline of becoming a spiritualist. Hansen stopped and yelled at him: “What are you doing, getting distracted again? Remember, you need to stay calm! Breath and we will start again!”
Hansen had long ago taught them a method of breathing that some swordsmen use. It was good to use in a fight and could help calm yourself down as well. Adam had been using this breathing technique quite a lot recently, as his stress was building up.
Taking a deep breath, Adam felt fresh blood circulate through his body, as he calmed down, before he resumed his sparring stance. As they continued the spar, Adam tried to put all his concentration into it and tried to forget about everything else.
Just as Hansen was using a few swift strikes, Adam could tell the spirit essence in his soul was acting odd again. Adam had no time to stop and check what was going on, though. If he dropped his guard now, he was sure to get hit by Hansen. Adam could only concentrate on receiving the rain of blows that Hansen was giving.
Suddenly, Adam had the oddest sensation, then the faint melodious sound, that had been his constant companion, deafened. The quiet felt odd, in addition to that weird sensation quickly started to solidify itself. As the sensation solidified itself, Adam felt that he could... feel the world! He could tell where the wall of the dormitory was behind him, he could sense that there was a bush nearby. He could feel a person in front of him swinging a thin object. He couldn't tell where the windows in the wall were, he couldn't figure out where the thistles of the bush actually were, he couldn't detect any features about the person in front of him, or the object he was wielding, but he knew they were there and where they were!
Adam of course knew that the person in front of him was Hansen. The thin object he was swinging was the wooden sword he used for sparring. A rush of excitement went to Adam's head. Instead of waiting for Hansen's sword to strike his own, he moved to intercept the sword.
When Adam moved to actively block his sword, Hansen momentarily froze. Adam had never taken the initiative before. He couldn't, he was blind! But it didn't stop there! After Adam met his sword in the air, he started to press the attack!
At first, Hansen thought that maybe Adam was just striking out to release his stress. But, Adam had intentionally started to go for Hansen's openings, in an effort to hit him! It was as though Adam could see again! Hansen started to get serious and fight back. Adam met his blows and dodged when needed. These were not actions a blind man could take.
The other boys, who had been sparring, stopped when they heard the intense thocking of wooden swords growing from Adam's side. They were stunned to see Adam move as though he could see.
After Hansen met Adam's attacks for a few rounds, he decided to end it. He struck Adam's sword in a way that it was knocked out of his hand and fell to the ground. Hansen then let out a deep hearty laugh: “While I can understand it, you lost your cool Adam! Tell me, are you some how able to see again?”
Adam felt deeply giddy as he nodded his head. “It's weird. It's not exactly seeing as I know that you are there? I know there is a person standing where you are, but I can't actually see them. I could tell how you were swinging your sword, so I could fight back!”
Adam then went to pick up his sword but stopped. He could feel the ground under his feet, but he couldn't discern where the sword was on the ground.