“Thank you, Dia.”
“You are welcome. I have a question of my own, if you don’t mind?” When Gregory nodded, she exhaled another smoke ring. “Do you believe that Aether will return?”
Gregory blinked, staring at her, and she turned to meet his gaze after a few seconds. “I do, Dia. I deeply believe that Aether will return.”
Dia smiled and turned away from him, looking at the moon as she blew another smoke ring. “I do, too. Many used to deride and mock the clan for our belief... then, we became what we were before you three joined us. Now, novices declare they wish to join us before the tournament, and we may even have more apprentices asking to join before the year ends. It feels like our dedication to Aether is starting to come to fruition... May he smile upon the clan and reward those who have kept faith in him.”
“I’m sure he will,” Gregory said softly.
Dia shook her head. “Here I am going on while I’m sure your wives are waiting for you. Go— tell them about resonance and sleep well.”
“Thank you, Dia.”
“You are welcome, and thank you for giving me hope that the clan will thrive again.”
Gregory bowed before going back inside. Dia truly believes... her eyes shine with hope when she speaks. Will I ever be enough to meet her expectations, or will she scorn me if I do step forward and declare myself one day? With that thought in mind, he went to find Jenn and Yukiko.
Chapter Forty-four
Weeks flowed by for them. Their routine had shifted slightly— instead of studying books as often in the archive in the mornings, they spent at least half those days dedicated to trying to expand their ability to plan for different outcomes. Mixed results came from their attempts, but each felt like they were improving. They set aside the Peaceful Fist so they could use basic meditation to try and find their resonance.
Gregory noticed that they almost never left at the same time as other groups of apprentices. Commotion in the hallway outside of their class indicated when others were leaving. That lack of interaction gave them the benefit of minimizing the chance for other students to issue challenges to them. Gregory wondered if that was intentional on Paul’s end, or if it was merely happenstance.
The late nights came more often as the games started to be more complex, with three or four of them playing a game at a time. They were never on the same side, and always had free-for-all battles that made them keep track of multiple opponents. Ling proved to be adept at quick attacks before her army would pull back and defend. Clover was more chaotic, but she always had an exit from an encounter, making it hard to pin her command unit down. Farin was slowly and steadily improving in all areas of the game, but he lacked a signature style like the other two.
Gregory won and lost as often as the others did, so no one ever complained that he might be using foresight. He did see the others frown when he had a counter for something they planned— every time that happened, Gregory would take a minute to explain how and why he had his answer for them. Most of the time, though, he didn’t have an answer for their surprises, and they wouldn’t even question it.
~*~*~
“I feel like we’re on the cusp,” Jenn said.
Yukiko nodded. “I’ve felt like I could almost feel my resonance the last two days. The mind path is getting a little easier day by day, too.”
“It’s just like when I was trying to see all the different futures for Dia,” Gregory said. “I’m not trying to hold more than two branching paths at a time right now.”
“Hmm, maybe that would help,” Yukiko murmured. “I can hold three, though I find it difficult to see the different options for all three when I do.”
“I was trying for four, but... it was impossible to see that many clearly,” Jenn admitted. “I’ll limit it tomorrow and see if it works better to focus on less.”
“Between that, resonance, and our class, we haven’t had much time for other training,” Gregory said.
“True, but our late nights in tactics class is saving us from more challenges,” Yukiko said.
“There is that,” Gregory admitted as they reached the tactics building.
“I wonder who will be fighting today?” Jenn questioned as they headed for the stairs once they’d entered the building.
“You and Ling will be, since you were both out of it last time,” Gregory said. “No one has sat out two games since we started multiplayer campaigns.”
Yukiko nodded in agreement. “I’m going to say Farin and I will be the ones out. One of us three has always been sitting out. He wants two of us in each game.”
“Oh, that’s a good point,” Jenn nodded.
“Good morning,” Clover said excitedly when they entered the room. “We did it, we did it!” She broke into one of her small, silly dances as she chanted the words.
Seeing the medallion around her neck with a single yellow glowing ring, Gregory smiled. “Congratulations to you both.”
“Thank you,” Ling said, touching her medallion. “I don’t think we’ll be the slowest growing in class anymore. Farin might be in that number, though.”
“He was at ninth rank, last we knew,” Clover said. “Maybe he’ll be at tenth soon?”
“That would be good,” Yukiko said. “He’s kind, considerate, and hardworking. I even think the Iron Hand might extend an invitation to him in the future.”
“Because he’s learning quickly?” Ling asked.
“And he rarely makes the same mistake twice,” Jenn said. “I’ve only caught him at it once.”
“If you repeat a mistake, you weren’t paying attention the first time,” Farin said, coming into the room with a small smile. “Thank you for the kind words. I just want to succeed, and I’m doing all I can to make that happen.”
“You made tenth,” Gregory grinned, seeing Farin’s medallion. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you. I’ve finally tied… ah, no, it seems I haven’t. Congratulations to you both, Ling, Clover.”
“Thank you, and to you, as well,” Ling said.
“Thanks!” Clover beamed.
“You’re all here,” Paul said, coming into the room and shutting the door. “Good. We’re going to move on from what we’d been doing. Since you’ve all done so well, I’ve talked with Magi-killer, and he agrees with me that you can start on team games. However, these will be unlike any of the games you might have played before,” he said, looking at Gregory and his wives. “We’re trying to get you ready for what you will encounter once you’re outside the academy walls. To communicate with your fellow teammate, you will need to share a command space or use messengers. If you send messengers, you need to write down the message, and they will not get it until the messenger reaches their camp.”
“Does that mean the messenger can be intercepted and killed, or similar?” Yukiko asked.
Paul’s lips turned up, and he nodded. “It does, indeed.”
All six of them thought about different ways to break down communication between teammates.
“We’re going to start out with teams of two,” Paul told them. “Yukiko and Clover, you two will face Ling and Jenn. You may choose any commanders, but you both must agree on a nation. Gregory, Farin, set the board— plains, each side will have a grove and hill. They can be separate or combined, your choice. It will be neutral ground, so no home bonuses for either side.”
“Yes, sir,” all six said as they got the game ready.
~*~*~
The sun wasn’t far from rising as they left the tactics building. Having said their goodbyes, Gregory, Jenn, and Yukiko made their way back to the clan hall.
“Nice of him to give us today off,” Yukiko said.
“If we played another game right now, it would likely be three days without sleep,” Gregory said.
“Bath, food, and then training?” Jenn asked. “We’re staying awake until tonight, right?”
“Yes,” Yukiko nodded. “I’m sure Gin will be happy that we’ll get a full day of training in.”
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“And us,” Gregory added. “We can train after that, too.”
“Should we stop by the archive?” Jenn asked. “I’m sure they’re wondering what happened to us.”
“They should be leaving in just a moment,” Yukiko said. “We can meet them as they leave.”
“It’s on the way back, so we should,” Gregory agreed.
~*~*~
They made it to the archive and had only been there a minute when Daciana, Nessa, and Victoria came out of the building. The novices stopped when they found them there.
“We were wondering what had happened,” Daciana said.
“Long game. It just ended,” Yukiko said. “We were on our way back to the clan hall.”
“Goodness,” Victoria said, then frowned. “You don’t look tired, though.”
“We used our aether to stay refreshed,” Gregory said. “You’ll learn how to next year, like we did.”
“We’ll wait until then,” Nessa said, staring at Daciana.
Daciana looked away from her. “I didn’t say anything.”
“She knows you,” Victoria laughed.
Daciana nodded. “Yes, she does. That means she can help me make fewer mistakes.”
“Which I try my best to do,” Nessa said. “We need to go, though. Class is going to start.”
“Have a good day,” Gregory said. “Less than a month away now.”
“I’m counting the days,” Daciana said quickly.
Nessa snagged her arm. “Come on.”
“Get some rest soon,” Victoria added before following the other two.
Watching them go, the apprentices smiled.
“Clover and Daciana together would either be very entertaining or madness-inducing,” Jenn snickered.
“I’ll agree to that,” Gregory chuckled.
“It would never be dull,” Yukiko added.
~*~*~
“Welcome home,” Dia greeted them when they made it back to the clan hall. “How did the game go?”
“My team won,” Yukiko said.
“Mine lost,” Jenn shrugged. “It was different.”
“Teams? Hmm... I didn’t expect that until after the tournament,” Dia said. “Magi-killer is clearly not done making changes.”
“The difference for us was communicating between teammates,” Yukiko said.
Dia grimaced. “That’s not fun, but it does teach you to expect problems.”
“As I found out,” Jenn sighed. “The shadow magi waylaid my messengers three times.”
Yukiko smiled broadly. “Almost as if they’re good at killing a single target. I do recall someone setting a trap for them.”
“Of course I was going to,” Jenn snorted. “We had no chance with you waylaying them all.”
“Almost caught my commander. You put me out for most of the game once you did,” Yukiko said.
“Didn’t do enough,” Jenn said.
“I’m glad you’re not bitter about the loss,” Dia said. “I’ve known enough people who get that way.”
“That isn’t how we are with each other,” Gregory said.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Dia said. “I didn’t mean to delay you from breakfast.”
“We’re going to bathe first,” Yukiko said. “After breakfast, we’ll be trying to find our resonance until it’s time for Gin to train us.”
“I’ll make sure to notify you before it’s time to train, then,” Dia said.
“Thank you, Dia,” they said and bowed to her.
Chapter Forty-five
Gregory stared at his aether flame, ignoring the sparks slowly drifting away from it. He could almost feel a connection to it, but something just wasn’t slotting into place. Time slipped by as he kept reaching for the connection.
What am I missing? Gregory asked himself. There has to be something I’m missing...
As he continued to stare at the flames, Dia’s voice drifted to him, It’s about knowing your strengths, weaknesses, desires, and fears. The flames shifted, and Gregory’s throat closed as he watched the fire take shape.
A body lying among some trees— a ripped, shredded, and bloody ruin. Strawberry-blonde hair was soaked in blood as sightless eyes stared into nothing.
Gregory’s heart sped up as he looked at his mother’s body. “N-no…” The word was a whisper as he stared at the flames given life.
The body shifted and changed as he watched. He felt his heart slow as his mother faded away. It stopped entirely when he recognized the new body that lay there.
Pale hair, turned red by blood. Cyan eyes, staring into nothing. Kimono, shredded and barely covering her. Deep, bloody wounds crisscrossing her body. Beside her, another body— smaller, but more firm, and just as dead, lifeless, and mangled.
“NO!” Gregory roared, surging to his feet and reaching for Yukiko and Jenn.
The body became flames that leapt at him, coating his arms and legs, burning, searing, and seeping into him.
Panting, Gregory went to one knee. “Fear… yes, that is what I fear. Every other fear is mild compared to that.”
The burns he felt faded, and he slumped to the ground. He continued to stare at the flames. “It’s not them dying like she did... just them being taken from me,” he told the cavern.
The flames shifted again, and Gregory inhaled slowly as he waited for the next horror. All that happened this time was that the flames became him, as he was on his age day. He was thin, painfully thin; tall; gawky; and weak.
“We’re nothing,” his double said in a feeble voice. “We’ll never be anything. How can anyone think we’d be worth anything at all? Slow, stupid, weak... even our own father hates us.”
All the insecurities he felt rose up inside him. How could Yukiko ever love him? Or Jenn? Why would Bishop or Dia ever accept him as Aether reborn? The novices were just cajoling him about wanting to join the clan while they laughed behind his back.
“No...” Gregory said, gritting his teeth. “I am good enough. I am loved and wanted. My friends believe in me and trust me!”
His double exploded into flame and engulfed his head. Gregory’s eyes boiled into blindness, his ears turning to ash. His tongue became a blackened stump as the flame cut off his scream, searing his throat as it rushed into him.
Falling back, Gregory panted as his throat healed. Sound came back to him next, the pop and crackle of the flame soothing him. Blinking tears away, he looked up at the ceiling of the cavern.
“Yeah, I’m insecure, but I’m getting better...” Gregory muttered. “It’s a work in progress. All of life is.”
“We never stay down, do we?”
Gregory jerked upright to find another copy of himself, but this one was vastly different. This one had short hair cut close to the scalp, scars on his hands and face, and lines near his eyes, belying age.
“No.”
“We never back down, either,” his older self said. “We just want to show the world that they’re wrong— wrong for mocking our dream, wrong for hurting our wives, and wrong for being so close-minded.”
“It needs to change,” Gregory said. “The whole world needs to accept that everyone is worth just as much as the next person. That any dream is worth supporting.”
“Stubborn, but are you stubborn enough to force the world to bend to your ideals?” The older Gregory’s haunted, green eyes locked on his.
“Yes. I will force the world to bend to my will.”
Snorting, the older copy stood up. “Best of luck, kid. You damned well better be prepared for pain; physical, mental, and emotional.”
“I—”
The copy stepped forward, grabbing him, pulling him into the air, and hugging him. The flames burned hot, and Gregory could feel his skin melt away, then his abdominal muscles turn to jelly under the heat.
Shivering on the ground, naked and dying, Gregory stared at the ceiling again. Stubborn? Yeah, that’s probably my greatest strength, he thought. Too stupid to know when to quit, as Gunnar used to say.
Sitting up, Gregory found himself not in the cavern, but in the opulent bedroom he knew well from his time with Darkness. Jenn and Yukiko lay entwined, naked, and watching him a few feet away. The far corner was shrouded in shadow, and a low moan came from it when he glanced that way.
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