by S D Huss
There was an idea that the Hego himself had given Daniel special privileges to train with the common military, as a possible gesture of goodwill to the Spirit-Sent. The truth was similar, but not quite as they may have believed. Upon hearing of Oros’ suggestion for Daniel to train with the commoners, Hego Agron expressed great disappointment, and only allowed it because it put Daniel in a controlled environment. It seemed their society was one that relied heavily on a class system. Katrina couldn’t quite understand his decision to wait on becoming Oros’ squire, but this way gave him much more freedom to train and tend to his own needs. Besides, if Oros was anything like Avria in that training, he would be up to his neck in duties.
Daniel stood on-line behind the instructor. His mind was calm, but he could see the trembling hands of the whelps beside him. Soon there were enough young Dae brought in for a new class, maybe two hundred or so. The yellow cloaked instructors entered the holding barracks and, in the most austere way, began separating the new recruits into squads of eight, to compete in what they called the grinder. This was a series of obstacles and challenges set up in stations on the massive training field. The whelps did endurance tests, strength tests, and competitions of all kinds for many grueling hours.
“About time you put your damn back into it, demon.” Said a young Dae beside Daniel. His fists clenched and he looked forward trying to keep his voice below the detection of the instructor standing in front of them, who was yelling at the next group of whelps.
“Shut up back there!” The instructor called over his shoulder.
Daniel looked over to his left at the Dae who spoke. He was a tall and lean creature, with dark grey skin and pearl white hair. His eyes burned a bright yellow and he could see that this was a Dae of conviction. He gave him a scowl and turned back to face forward at the position of attention.
After several more hours of the grinder, Daniel made his way back to the holding barracks. He had been told by the instructors that they would evaluate all of the whelps, and separate them into small platoons for training, to start the following day. As he had special privileges, he could come and go as he pleased. His muscles ached from the exertion, and he went to lay down in his wooden bed for sleep while the others toiled further. He let out a sigh as he felt the coarse wool-like fabric on his skin, and spent the next two hours of precious sleep time staring at the ceiling.
His sleeping arrangement was vastly different from the other whelps. He was far removed from the others, placed in the corner of their large barracks with broad curtains of cloth that concealed him and granted privacy. Daniel preferred to keep it this way, even the most curious Dae still kept their distance, whether out of fear or reverence. Oros had offered to keep him in the palace, but Daniel refused; he was curious about their customs, after all. Seeing them up close, but from seclusion had been entertaining so far.
At that moment there was a scrape of boots on the stone floor of the barracks. He could hear several shuffling pairs of feet attempting to move silently toward his secluded little sleeping area. His blood began to pump with adrenaline as many different scenarios played through his mind. Daniel quickly shot up and slid his feet into his boots.
He could hear whispering now, as several distinct voices were hushed and chided one another as they approached.
Daniel crouched behind a small wooden chest where he kept what little effects he had. The curtain slid to the side and several heads peered inside.
“Where is he?” One of the faces whispered.
Another pulled the curtain all the way back and looked into the dark little space.
The figure that stood had dark grey skin and was difficult to see in the low-lit barracks, but Daniel recognized him as the Dae who spoke against him earlier that day in the grinder.
“The Espi-Dae aren’t going to like this.” The one holding the curtain whispered, fear clear in his voice.
Anger began to rise in Daniel’s chest at the sight of them. The Espi-Dae? That explained the unforeseen boldness. He figured those religious fanatics must have recruited them to capture him. Daniel in the moment looked at his hand, a faint glow pulsing around it. He had attempted to control his power, but the fire that coursed through his veins had proven to be quite elusive to him. Right now, however, he could see that it reacted eagerly to his situation. It was a beautiful feeling, the power of an element that waited for a command. The surge brought a small grin to his face as he stood to confront them.
“What the hell do you want?” He said in his most menacing voice.
The three Dae froze where they stood and Daniel stepped into view. There were several seconds of silence as they looked to see him in the dim light.
“Well?” Daniel said roughly.
The grey-skinned Dae sneered at him but made no move.
“Come on Kholek, let’s get him.” Called one of the Dae, looking to his grey-skinned leader.
Kholek looked over his shoulder at the silent barracks; wooden beds filled with sleeping whelps. Daniel could see that he thought this would be a silent apprehension, but now there was sure to be a fight.
“Keep your eyes open, ‘demon.” He said, pointing one finger at Daniel.
Before he could turn to leave, Daniel leaped at them and brought his fist down hard right square into the nose of Kholek. There was a wet crunch as the Dae whelp was knocked to the ground with a grunt. The two on the side were too stunned to react fast enough, as Daniel hit them both with a flurry of blows with his fists and elbows. They screamed at the onslaught and stumbled back to find their footing. One fell to the stone unconscious, and the other just looked on in fear, bleeding from his lip.
The several seconds passed, and tired heads began to turn in the occupied bunks of the barracks. Dim balls of flame brightened, lighting the large room.
Suddenly Daniel felt a hard kick to his stomach. The wind rushed out of his lungs and he stumbled back gasping.
Kholek stood slowly, holding his nose as blue fluid poured from between his fingers.
“You cro’kan humping bastard!” He yelled, muffled through his blood.
Whelps started to get out of their bunks and go towards the confrontation, and before long there was a sizeable crowd around Daniel and Kholek.
Daniel held his ground against the angry Dae, blocking his strikes with his forearms and assessing his opponent. Kholek was clearly trained in some sort of alien martial art, and the strange movements made Daniel struggle. He used long, arching swings that curled in, only to generate an impressive amount of energy for a powerful strike. Still, Daniel found his speed and coordination was more than capable of defending against them. After the awakening of the Dunamis, all three of the humans in Vul De Rah had experienced changes in their bodies. With each movement, Daniel could feel the power pulsing under his skin, but he could not understand it. Like trying to comprehend a language, and only getting bits and pieces as it is spoken. It started to become distracting and brought a cumbersome slowness to his defense. He was falling into the same trance he felt when he was at the Spirit Shrine. The sound of cheering and shouts began to muffle under the spell, the impact of the Dae’s fists on his arms and hands began to slow. - Shit… not now!- He thought.
Kholek increased his speed, pushing his left fist through Daniel’s defenses and catching him on his jaw. Pain jolted through Daniel's face, and his sight went dark for a moment.
Light flared in his eyes, and suddenly he could see the face of his adversary clearly. The moment of dizziness and vertigo was gone, now only pure and focused rage remained. The cheers of the surrounding Dae rose to a roar in his head, causing his ears to ring with the increase. The human now pressed his attack, bringing his hands up to block the follow-up strike from Kholek. This time Daniel redirected the blow with his right arm and turned his body with the Dae’s fist. The momentum brought Daniel’s left fist into his opponent's jaw, causing his head to snap back. Blue blood sprayed from Kholek’s mouth, and Daniel turned his body left, bringing the arm he blo
cked with down with a strike from his elbow.
Kholek fell to the stone floor, his face bloodied and coughing as the warm fluid found its way down his throat. Daniel stood above him, blood pumping hard throughout his body, causing his hands to tremble. The barracks fell silent at the quick and violent end to the fight.
“By the spirits…” One of Dae finally said. Murmurs resonated afterward.
“Get back!” Called the harsh and familiar voice of an instructor, pushing his way past the whelps that gathered.
The warrior stopped in front of Daniel, his facial expression one of disbelief and shock.
“What..? What happened here!?” He shouted, pulling a baton from his belt. There was a moment of hesitation when he looked at Daniel, a very quick and subtle one, but one that the human noticed.
Daniel opened his hands, knuckles stained with the blood of his attackers.
“These whelps attacked me.” He said, trying to calm his voice. “I don’t know why, but they came to fight…” He looked down to Kholek, who was now attempting to rise.
◆◆◆
Daniel next found himself standing before a Dae who sat behind a large wooden desk. After the confrontation in the barracks, he was brought by the instructor before the commander in charge of training. The Dae was a handsome but stern looking man, with pale grey skin and the pearl white hair he had grown accustomed to seeing on most of the creatures.
Daniel stood still and silent, trying his best not to look at the dozens of swords, weapons, and trophies that decorated the interior of his office.
“By the spirits… my damn luck.” The Commander said with a sigh. To his left stood the instructor who approached Daniel in the barracks. He now had a sword on his belt, and his hand rested tensely on its bone pommel.
“Why I ask… did the Hego find it in his infinite wisdom to put you in my charge? A creature.”
“A demon.” The instructor said, chiming in.
The commander paused a moment and glanced vexatiously at the instructor.
“This situation is quite serious… and to be honest, I’m at a loss on what to do. The Hego and prince Oros have commanded that we do not harm you in any way, but they expect me to keep you under control. All because the spirits”, he said, waving his hands dismissively. “have commanded that you remain unharmed.”
The commander sighed heavily and rested his elbows on his desk. “This all sounds incredibly idiotic to me. The king has commanded that we purify you, our Hego disagreed with him, and we here in the middle will pay the price for it.”
He pondered for a moment, folding his hands on his desk. “Perhaps we can find some way for you to learn our ways, but out of the main barracks. It was clear that young whelp and his companions were compelled to attack you.”
“Ahem.” The instructor coughed intentionally.
“And away from the other whelps…” Suddenly an ominous smile spread mischievously across the commander’s face. “Perhaps we will send you to the Proistem, our Officer course. It’s the nobles who put you in my charge, so let’s see how they like you training alongside their pampered, sniveling children.”
“Sir, the Proistem is already nearly thirty days underway. He will have missed a great deal of information.” The instructor interjected.
“Nonsense Mori, this is the Spirit-sent we are talking about, he will have no problem keeping up with those little snobs.” The commander’s smile grew, bleeding sarcasm.
“But there is no way Lord Regios will allow it. He takes the training of the nobles very seriously.” Mori said.
“The Hego put the responsibility of this creature with me, and with that being said, in my professional opinion, he will better serve with the nobles.” He looked at Daniel and stood.
“Don’t be anxious about it, monster, these nobles will treat you well. They are always looking for new and interesting ways to kiss the ass of the Hego. It will increase their station.”
Daniel was escorted out of the commander’s office by several guards and Mori, the instructor. The sky was starting to brighten, meaning he had missed out on a night of sleep. The events of the evening had been stressful, and now the future was uncertain. Daniel massaged his jaw, still swollen from the fight with Kholek. The young whelp was a skilled fighter. Feeling the tender bruise, Daniel thought perhaps without the changes he had experienced to his body, the fight might have gone differently. Looking at the dark stone path he walked on, he pondered again what this would mean. -Maybe I should have just stayed with Kat and the others- He thought. This whole ordeal was still fresh, though now they seemed more comfortable, the dangers of this world were clear.
“Consider yourself lucky, creature,” Mori said while in stride. “Whelps who fight in the barracks are strung up by their hands and left all night. Hah!” He barked a laugh. “After a well-deserved beating, that is. You may rest assured that we do not pull our punches, we train these little whelps into warriors of Lokkon.”
Daniel said nothing, just continued walking behind him. His eyes watching the stone and the stained edge of the yellow instructor’s cloak floating just above it.
chapter 18
Robert stood before the Spirit forest, familiar sights and smells teasing the senses as he remembered his startling awakening. The tall and bizarre trees were a bit frightening to see, but in a strange way, this place felt like home.
“Well…” Amynta said, walking from behind Robert. “This is the closest I’ve been to the forest. Usually, there is some warning from the spirits here, reminding us to stay away.” She stood next to the human, looking in awe at the forest. “I think they are happy to see you’ve returned.”
Robert nodded as he slowly approached the tree line. There was a feeling of peace coming from within, welcoming and warm. He got close enough to touch one of the trees and reached his hand out to feel the skin-like surface. -It’s soft- He thought to himself.
The bark felt as it looked, like smooth skin. The contact brought a chill down his spine, and he brought his hand away, instinctively shaking it and wiping it on his cloak.
“Now then!” a tall and muscled Dae said, walking to Amynta and Robert. This was the only warrior he had seen so far who had pale yellow skin. “Where shall we set up camp, my lady? I have a few suggestions if you are interested.” He asked Amynta with a wink that was less than subtle.
“Yes…” She replied timidly. Robert came to the conclusion that this was probably her first time being in charge of warriors. “Lord Veol, thank you for getting us here safely.” She said with a smile.
Veol bowed deeply to her and returned a smile. “You will sleep like a Queen tonight, my lady, safe and without worry.”
Amynta laughed gingerly at Veol’s comment. She was not used to the rugged and obvious flirtations that the warrior sent her way.
As the two traded flirts Robert stepped his boot into the treeline and began to enter the forest slowly. There was an immediate change in the atmosphere as the trees seemed to close in around him. The breeze brushed past his skin and he closed his eyes to breathe it in. For a moment all of his fears and concerns disappeared; he could smell the sweet scent of flowers around him, and hear the creaking of the branches above. He hadn’t noticed before how stunningly beautiful the forest actually was. Robert’s ears began to tingle as whispered voices of the spirits surrounded him.
“Our lost son…” One flared, louder than the others. “You have changed much since we saw you last.”
Robert was startled at the sudden clarity of the words. “What?” He asked the air around him.
“I am glad to see you are no longer broken…” The voice said again. “You are growing stronger… but where is your power?”
Robert hesitated for a moment, slightly confused. “What do you mean, broken?”
“Dashed upon the rocks you were… Red blood... pooling in your head. We saw you fall from the sky… it was not of the spirits.” The spirit manifested before his eyes, a lyth and tall figure; it looked alie
n but had the curves of a woman. “We saved your life, lost one… but more than just healing you… your body absorbed our power and you began to change.” The spirit floated closer to him. He could see its face clearly now, though she shined a pale green. The spirit had long features, eyes a bit too large and far apart, a long and thin nose, but still, she seemed a vision of absolute beauty.
The spirit halted before Robert and blinked her pale green eyes. She tilted her head slightly to look over his shoulder. “Come… Come… you are safe little Dae.” the spirit said to Amynta who stood half hidden behind a tree. “I will permit you to enter…” The spirit raised her hand and gestured her in. Amynta timidly began walking in, raising her cumbersome cloak to step over bushes and stones. As she entered, several warriors began to follow her. “No…” The spirit said sternly. “I will not permit any of the warrior caste here… They must wait outside.” Amynta paused for a moment, then turned to reassure Veol and his squad.