Daniel took a deep breath, doing his best to ignore the stinging of sweat dripping in his eye.
“Come on now, Dan,” Oros said, moving casually in a circle around Daniel. “Where’s that fire that you had when you fought against Delmos?”
Daniel shook his head, attempting to clear it. He’s so goddamn fast. Daniel lunged forward again, swinging his sword diagonally. Trying to catch the Kryo.
Oros dodged, spinning and hitting Daniel in the side of the head with the flat of his blade. Daniel’s head flared with pain, and he fell to a knee. “Son of a….” he mumbled in frustration. He touched his head, and felt blood seeping from his scalp.
“Remember the forms I went over.” Oros said, “Stop swinging it like it’s a stick.”
“Got it,” Daniel grunted as he stood. Then brought his sword up, adopting one of the forms he was taught. Krate form was aggressive, much like the battle stance of a samurai warrior that Daniel could recognize. It harnessed the forward momentum of a strike, using arcs and slashes from either side while keeping one’s feet shoulder length apart.
“You do seem to favor that one,” Oros said, chuckling. “Very well, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Daniel lunged forward again, swinging his sword diagonally to his left, overstepping his foot forward to create power for his strike. Oros again dodged the same way he had before. Daniel thought maybe to see if he would adapt or fall for the same trick twice. As the Dae twirled to swing at him with the flat of his blade, Daniel ducked his head and reversed the slash as fast as he could, turning it to the right in a vertical strike. Oros moved like water, reversing his own sword and parrying Daniel’s. The movement was so smooth and efficient that he was stunned momentarily. Again, Daniel felt a painful strike to his head and fell to his knees.
“That was much better!” Oros said, enthusiasm in his voice. “Though, once you can access your Dunamis, you will be quite the force. Your strength is already far beyond that of a normal Dae.” He held out his hand, and Daniel took it, then stood.
They trained for another several hours. Going over forms and techniques with the blade. All the while, Daniel couldn’t shake the words Oros said about his power. He couldn’t access it. The thrum was there if he concentrated, a beat in his chest, but he couldn’t reach it. Daniel sat against one of the many trees surrounding the sparing circle of Oros’ estate. Drinking from a water skin greedily.
“You’ve improved greatly over these last few weeks,” Oros said, tossing a bundle of food wrapped in a cloth to Daniel’s feet. “We’ll go over your Dunamis more tomorrow.”
Daniel nodded, recalling the lessons of the Dunamis that had been given to him by a very enthusiastic Illya. Both she and Oros were excited to see him finally access his power. Expecting him to be what they called a Dae-Rah, or a user of flame. Merely because he stumbled out of the Rah temple when his power was awakened.
“So that’s how you move so fast,” Daniel said, leaning his head back against the tree trunk.
“Of course,” Oros said, sitting next to him. “Without the Dunamis, I doubt there would be a Dae alive who could match you, humans, in speed or strength. The fact that your bodies could achieve it naturally is very interesting.”
“Without the Dunamis, you mean?” Daniel did notice. How his strength, perception, and overall speed had drastically increased. Compared to what would be considered normal back home.
“I am faster than you are,” Oros said, taking a bite of his food. “And faster. But what would happen if you could master your Dunamis? The thought is frightening.”
“But you’re still willing to train us,” Daniel said bluntly.
“Of course.” Oros shrugged. “The Spirits sent you, why wouldn’t we trust them?” He adjusted himself and leaned forward. “That is the truth behind it, despite the command of our king and the high king above him. We have chosen faith. In the spirits, and of course, in you.”
Daniel nodded, letting the words sink in.
“Also, it is very important to find the rest of you,” Oros continued. “I fear any other clan or kingdom that were able to get their hands on your kind would kill them.”
“When can we leave?” Daniel asked.
“I have my agents scouring all of Eleutheros for any information,” Oros said, “We need to wait to hear their findings. Until then, we train. You get stronger, and we are prepared for whatever comes our way.”
“Sounds fair,” Daniel said, taking several moments to eat. “So, what’s going on with Avria?”
Oros coughed out of either surprise or choking on some of the food he was eating. “What about her?” he asked, after composing himself, though his face looked more serious.
“She hates my guts, for starters,” Daniel said. “And I noticed you’re not her biggest fan either.”
“Avria is…” Oros took a deep breath. “She is a fine ward, and extremely powerful.”
Daniel waited for him to continue, but instead, he took another bite of his meal, looking away. “And?” Daniel asked when he realized he wasn’t going to say anything else.
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“And, she is also one of the most frustrating Dae you will ever meet,” Oros said. “She and I were selected for pairing many years ago, in an attempt to join House Regios and Ignos by blood. It became clear that she and I didn’t like the other, and now eyes have fallen on her brother Delmos and Illya to fulfill that. Her dislike of you is a fine example of why we don’t see eye to eye. She sees you as a threat, and intended to kill you when you arrived. No questions beyond her direction, no hesitation. Your defeat of Delmos in the trial of Doxos has made you her enemy. She will not see you as anything more. Disgracing her family before my father and half the nobles in Vul De Rah is unforgivable.”
“I didn’t disgrace him,” Daniel said. “He disgraced himself.
“Do you think she cares?” Oros smiled, and shook his head. “That fact is irrelevant.”
“You know, Delmos came to see me?” Daniel said. “The next day, he found me and apologized. Right before, she literally threw him out of the room.”
“Did he? I didn’t know that.” He looked away, seeming to think hard about it. “That is very interesting. I’ll have to speak to my father.”
“Either way, I’ll keep my distance from her,” Daniel replied.
Several more hours passed as Daniel finished the day’s training session. He made his way back to his lodging within the Ignos palace. A large room on the highest floor, where honored dignitaries and nobles were usually stationed. The room itself was spacious. With a high ceiling, a large sitting area, and a massive bed next to a window. Daniel sprawled on the bed, faintly reprimanding himself for not showering first, as he was covered in dirt and sweat. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind and focused on Oros’ lessons. More so on the instruction of how the Dunamis functioned. As Oros described it, the Dunamis was the ability to manipulate the spiritual energy that was all around them. It was in everything and affected everything. Like gravity, it was constant, a natural law here. Each Dae was a type of filter. That changed the energy to their own unique power. This was why certain Dae could use different elements than others. And even wielders of the same element were different to some degree.
Daniel closed his eyes, focusing on the thrum of power within him. Since the Spirit-temple, he had felt it. It felt like an itch that couldn’t be scratched within him to varying degrees of intensity. Times like this, when he dwelled on it, it was almost unbearable.
Finally deciding to get up, he went and bathed. After, he put on some of the clothes that were left for him and had begun to debate whether or not to ask one of the servants to bring him food, or just go to sleep.
A sudden knock echoed in the room, and turned toward the door.
“Yes?”
“Sorry to disturb you, Daniel.”
Daniel recognized the voice. It was Illya.
“My brother wanted to see if you had a moment to meet with him in the study,” she said. “He said it’s urgent.”
With a grunt of frustration, he stood and opened the door. Illya smiled up at him.
Daniel followed her down the hall to a study. Books lined the walls, and tables and couches filled the center.
“Daniel,” Oros said, nodding to him in greeting.
Next to him was Avria’s younger brother, Delmos, who grinned and gave what Daniel thought was an exaggerated bow.
“Oros,” Daniel nodded in response, then looked at Delmos. “Good to see you, Delmos.”
“I assure you, Daniel, it’s not as good for you to see me, than it is for me to see you.”
Daniel looked at him, a bit confused, but walked over to sit on one of the couches facing them. “So what’s going on?”
“Two things, actually,” Oros said, pouring himself a bowl of wine. “First,” he gestured to Delmos, “I spoke with my father about this young Dae here. He suggested a rather interesting solution to his dishonor, and I agreed with him.” Oros smiled, clasping Delmos on the shoulder. “He will stay with us and assist in your training.”
“Oh,” Daniel said, unsure how to take the news. “That sounds… great.”
“Second thing,” Oros continued. “Is the status of several sightings of humans in the far eastern border of Eleutheros, within the mountains of Rok’tal. The Baa’Yega clan’s territory. Just East of their capital city, Vaa’Gavon.”
“Really?” Daniel asked, anticipation growing inside him. “Did they say how many? How long until we get there?”
“Hold on,” Oros said, holding a hand up. “It isn’t easy to just go into another clan’s territory. The Baa’Yega will not allow us to go in just for a stroll. There are several problems with this. Firstly, they are tightly bound to the Torre’ clan to their North. The current seat of the High King of Eleutheros, and you know how they feel about your people. Secondly, the political state of our house within the clan of Lokkon isn’t high at present. Again, because of our assistance of you.”
“So what? We have to wait? For how long?” Daniel felt his blood begin to boil. “If we just sit here, they could capture them and kill them, just like the one before. If that’s the case, I’ll just go myself.”
“You can’t,” Oros said, a firmness entering his voice. “Allowing you to leave alone would most certainly cause problems for not just us, but for you as well. Word would get out. As much as we try to stem the tide, spies are all over our clan. They would hunt you down, and you would, of course, defend yourself. Potentially killing Dae, proving the Espie-Dae right, and further plunging our House out of favor. We must approach this delicately.”
Daniel swore under his breath. He knew Oros was right. Tactically it would make no sense to venture out on his own, unfamiliar with the land, culture, etc. “Alright,” he said. “So we wait for the right moment.”
“Yes.” Oros said, “Until then, we train. We help you, Katrina, and Robert adjust to things here. And pray to the Spirits that things don’t get more complicated.”
“Speaking of Robert,” Daniel said, changing the subject. “Any news on his little expedition?”
“None yet,” Oros said, taking a long draw from his bowl of wine. “Though I can assure you, he is in good hands. Lord Veol is quite powerful, and his warriors are formidable.”
That brought a small measure of comfort to Daniel. Considering the circumstances, Robert’s insistence on returning to the Spirit Forest seemed as rational as you could get. But Daniel decided not to accompany him. Ultimately it was brought down to a level of acceptance and curiosity. He was more concerned with finding other humans, accepting the current state of his life, and of course, his growing curiosity about the Dae and their culture. They would find their way home, eventually. Maybe, he thought.
“Well,” Delmos said, finally speaking up. “My Kryo, Oros. Please let me know how I can be of assistance. As you know, I am currently not sitting on the highest level of prestige. So anything you need, I’ll gladly do. Those words were not memorized from my father either… so don’t ask.”
Oros chuckled, taking another drink. “You will train with Daniel. He seems to be having issues finding his Dunamis. I thought you could perhaps help him.” Oros turned to Daniel. “And I know you beat him senseless in your last confrontation, but I assure you. Delmos is a skilled warrior. You could learn a lot from him.”
“Yes, I was caught off guard,” Delmos said. “And was also… sick. And my armor was a bit too tight. And I stubbed my toe while entering the throne room.”
Daniel blinked at Delmos; he was sure the Dae was joking, but his face was completely serious. Until a small smile creased his face. Daniel started to laugh, then Oros and Delmos followed.