Vaela didn’t bother getting up from the ground again. She sat up with a groan. A short distance away, Adyr charged Jace for the fifth or sixth time. The details were fuzzy after getting thrown down so many times. Adyr jabbed at Jace with her staff. It met empty air–as it had every time. Jace glided past the tip and ducked. Only after his head dropped a few inches did Adyr initiate the side swipe he was already dodging. The staff whizzed over his head and he closed the rest of the distance. His blunt dagger hadn’t once been used to stab, cut, or hit. He had barely even needed it to block. Jace latched onto Adyr and pivoted, pulling her off her feet. He released, doing her the courtesy of not slamming her into the ground, and she tumbled onto her back.
Vaela winced and clambered to her feet. She retrieved her shield, but didn’t approach Jace. No way she was fighting him again. He’d made his point–he could kick all their asses, probably while munching an apple at the same time. Adyr staggered to her feet, lowering the staff into ready position with shaking hands. Vaela tightened her grip on the blunt sword. It was just practice, but Adyr was fully committed.
Timura still wasn’t here, but when she arrived, what would happen? Dirt stained Adyr’s tunic–evidence of her many defeats–but she crept forward all the same. Vaela sighed and leveled her sword at Jace. It wasn’t time to think about Timura. She couldn’t let Adyr do everything. And where was Surah?
Vaela edged towards Jace while looking around the arena. Off to the side, well on the outskirts, Surah crept away, shield balanced on his back like a shell. Several paces back, his staff laid in the dirt, long-abandoned. Well, he had warned her.
Vaela jabbed her sword in Jace’s direction. “Are you going to teach us anything or just throw us around?”
He rested his hands on his paunch. “Are you not learning?”
Yeah, yeah, the wise mentor act. She’d gotten enough of it with Hermit. “Cut the shit!” She turned her sword downward and stabbed it into the dirt. “What’s with you Created? Can’t any of you just talk?”
Hermit, shading himself in the shadows of the brothel, called out to her. “Hey, don’t lump me in with those lesser Beings.” She spun and glared at him. He stretched his hands over his head. Shadows swirled up from the ground, twisting around his body up to his chest. “I’m a Shadow Spinner–I let the Shadows do the talking.”
Jace pocketed his knife and walked up to Vaela. “And I use Touch. It’s much faster to learn with your body than with your ears.”
Vaela gritted her teeth. “Well, my body has learned a very valuable lesson about getting beaten.”
He smiled and raised his palms. “You’re right. I’ve demonstrated the superiority of Touch over Shadow. Let us begin in earnest.” He waved Adyr closer.
Vaela looked over her shoulder. “Surah! Get your ass back here. He’s gonna start actually teaching.”
Surah straightened and lowered his shield. “Ah… I was just outflanking him.”
“Uh huh.”
“Combat strategy. You wouldn’t understand.”
Vaela snorted and Surah retrieved his staff, dusting it off as he returned. Jace launched into a speech on measuring distance and maneuvering in a fight. For the next hour, they circled each other, practiced moving in and out, and worked on footwork.
Jace’s hands guided Vaela once again into her ready stance. He seemed able to sense her center of balance better than she could. He tipped her just a fraction towards her front foot and adjusted her shoulders. She sank into the stance and threw a few punches. He nodded in approval and she prowled to the side, keeping her weight distributed. She had to hand it to him–now that he was actually instructing them, he really was good at it. His words were sparse, but his adjustments and guidance were superb. A lot better than Hermit’s idiotic methods.
Jace paired Surah and Vaela off. Surah held a shield and sword, slightly longer than Vaela’s after Jace had demonstrated the impracticality of his staff-shield combination. To her great annoyance, Surah’s natural grace was unfairly conducive to fighting. She swung her sword and it crashed off his shield. He countered and she stumbled back. Before she recovered her footing, he stepped in and pointed his sword at her throat.
“Haha! I win. A point for me.” Surah lowered the sword, looking awfully pleased with himself.
Vaela shook her head and took her stance again. Too slow, she needed to recover faster after a strike. She raised her shield back into place and pointed her sword at Surah. If she raised it at just the right angle, his stupid smirk was at the tip of her sword.
She leapt forward with a thrust and Surah danced away, parrying her weapon. He circled towards her shield-side and she pivoted. His sword blurred towards her and she jerked her shield up. The shock jolted up her arm and she took a step backwards. Again his sword darted forward, clanging into the shield. She swiped at him, but the tip whipped in front of him, shy of his chest. She grunted and did her best to circle away and reset her stance. How was she supposed to hit him when he was taller and had a longer sword?
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Their swords clashed and Surah battered hers to the side. He swung at her side and she twisted, bringing the shield into place. His sword cut back in an arc without ever touching her shield. A feint! She flinched away, but the tip of his sword whirled upward and stopped in front of her nose.
“Aha! Another point.” Surah stepped back and shook his head. “I get why people do this now. It’s fun.”
Vaela tore the shield from her arm. Too slow again. She’d made improvements, she knew she had. Why wasn’t it working? She clutched at the vials on her side. No one else was using their Power. She swallowed the knot of disappointment in her throat. If she could just dip into some Shadow, then she’d show them. Or maybe Sight–she’d be able to spot what everyone else was seeing that she was missing. Her fingers strummed over the different vials. Which one? What would make her better?
The doors to the brothel banged open. Timura strode through them, a bag carried over one shoulder. She lowered it to the ground and crossed her arms. “I’m here.” She nodded to Vaela. “Did you tell them?”
Adyr’s face hardened, her lips pressed tight. Vaela walked to Timura and faced the group. “Timura’ll be training with us.” Vaela shot a challenging look at Hermit, but he shrugged.
Jace clapped his hands. “The more, the merrier!” He beckoned with his dagger. “Come. Timura, is it? Let’s see what you know.” He waved to a weapons rack. “Please, help yourself.”
Timura crossed the courtyard, her feet crunching through the dirt. She selected a staff about her height and approached Jace. The rest of them backed away as Jace and Timura slid into their stances. Timura tilted her body and sank her weight into her hips. Her stance–it looked well-balanced, centered. And the way she held the staff, so different than the awkward handling back in the Hoops arena.
Timura closed her eyes. The Shadows lengthened around her, like water spreading out from her feet, then receded back towards her. They crept up her body before fading, almost like they sank into her body. She opened her eyes and exhaled slowly. She sprang forward with a shout and stabbed her staff at Jace. He stepped out of the way and slipped past the next two strikes.
Such aggression. Vaela raised her sword reflexively. Timura moved with ferocity–but also a crispness to her movement. Her strikes had a snap to them. She wasn’t as skilled as Adyr–and Jace still outmaneuvered her with ease–but she was no novice.
Jace ducked a wild swing and his dagger whipped out. He slashed it at her side. Timura removed a hand from the staff and blocked the dagger with her forearm. It bounced off her flesh–Shadow crisscrossing under her skin. Jace stepped close and grabbed her. Before she could resist, he swung her off her feet and she crashed into the dirt on her right side.
Timura cried out and rolled to her feet. She shuffled back and raised her staff again. A thin line of blood appeared under the right sleeve over her shoulder where she had hit the ground. Vaela cringed, a sympathetic twang going through her. She must have landed on a rock–unlucky. Despite the injury, Timura charged in again. Her swings lacked the sharp motion as before and Jace handily dodged them. He breezed past her staff and caught her arm. His other hand held the dagger to her throat and she froze.
Jace smiled and nodded. He withdrew his weapon and stepped back. “Not bad. Not bad, at all.”
Timura’s shoulders heaved and she lowered her weapon. Vaela and Surah applauded. Timura glanced back, her eyes burning with intensity for an instant. They softened and she grinned with a shrug. She walked back to the edge of the courtyard and rejoined them. “When I woke up, I knew I had to get stronger. A lot stronger. That day, I spent every penny I had on combat lessons.” Her tunic was matted slightly where her shoulder bled and she pulled it away from the skin with a grimace. “Yeah, it hurt. Especially after the Meteor. I was covered in bruises. But the trainer didn’t let up. We went hard for three days. He even helped me learn to Channel my Shadow a little bit.” She rubbed her arm. “Not great, yet.” She bit her lip, then grinned at Vaela. “Not enough to block a mace, but I’ll get there.”
Vaela laughed and stepped forward. “No, you did great! I can’t believe how much you’ve learned already.” She pulled her shoulders back and straightened up. If Timura could improve that much, then she could, too.
Timura tapped her staff into the dirt. “After three days, I jumped on a horse and rode like the Twisted to catch up. Glad I finally got here.”
Hermit skirted around Vaela and clapped Timura on the back. “And we’re glad to have you, little Timmy!” He leaned down. “You know, for the record, I said we should wait for you to wake up.”
Vaela glared at him and Timura waved a hand in the air. “Oh, don’t worry about it.” She inclined her head to Hermit. “I won’t slow you down, I swear.” She stayed bowed down.
That’s right. Unlike the rest of them, she actually respected Hermit. He tapped her on the shoulder. “Rise, young shadeling. You’re wise to want to learn from me.” He jerked a thumb at Vaela. “Wiser than this one, at least.”
Vaela flipped a hand at him. “Yeah, but you are the world’s worst teacher.” He could keep his wisdom to himself.
He huffed and eyed her. “Well, Jace isn’t doing too much better.” He shook his head with a tut. “Some people just aren’t cut out for fighting.”
“Then WHY did you make me your Champi–uh…” Vaela shot a glance at Timura. Shouldn’t let that slip, could put her in danger. “Um, your ch-chanter. Your chanter…” Beside her, Surah swatted his forehead. Vaela flushed and chewed her cheek. “I, uh, I chant things for Hermit.”
Timura tilted her head. “Why?”
“It’s, uh, it’s to–”
Hermit stepped over to Vaela and patted her on the back. “It’s a sign of respect. Reverence, even. Dare I say, worship.”
Vaela swatted him away. “No.” She perked up and nodded to Timura. “It’s just a Shadow Spinning thing, you know. He’s handy with his little puppets, but no good at the talking. You’ve heard him.”
Hermit drew back. “I beg your pardon??”
“So I’m teaching the poor bastard some of my storytelling techniques. Chanting, singing, uh, pontificating…”
Surah jumped in. “Yeah, your basic moaning. Your sensual groaning. All the sex nois–”
Vaela pushed him back. “NO. No, not that. Just normal, uh, chanting.”
Hermit stepped away from her and poked her with his staff. “I’ll have you know many consider my sultry tones some of the best to ever grace Dome.” He shook his staff at her. “So I’ll relieve you of your duties. Best you focus your energy on getting hit less.”
Vaela reared up, but Jace clapped his hands. “Speaking of, back to training. Vaela, you and Timura can spar. And I’ve got a special lesson for you.”