Chapter V
The Serpent who Devours his own Tail
Luca woke at the crack of dawn, as he always did.
Following years of training, he opened his eyes without moving or making a sound, taking in his surroundings. He lay in the bedroom Tranom had taken him to, on the floor in his sleeping bag.
Emila was not there.
"She must have woke first," he muttered, as he climbed up from the floor. Through the mana tether, he could still feel her presence, like a faint buzzing in the back of his head. She was on temple grounds, just not anywhere near him. Nor far enough away to cause him any harm, for which he was immensely grateful.
Still, his body ached. The hard ground he had slept on, even with the sleeping bag's small comfort, had been bumpy and rough. He honestly would have preferred even the bare ground outside before the floor of that bedroom. Were it not for his strong opinion of chivalry, he would have reconsidered Emila's offer to take turns using the bed.
"If she wants to be stubborn, then so be it," he said to himself. "If the floor was as uncomfortable for her as it was for me, perhaps she will give up this defiance in time."
But somehow, he doubted that.
After going to the kitchens and getting something to eat, Luca wandered the grounds until he found Dori.
The old man stood at the edge of one of the small sparring rings, wearing the same tattered rags as before. Within the ring, a pair of students were busy sparring. One of them, Luca recognised as Rael, Allma's young assistant. The other was a boy with short, dark hair whom he did not know.
"Ah," Dori said as he approached. "Glad to see you're finally up."
"Finally?"
Dori blinked. "Ah, pay it no mind. My apprentice Ash is often awake before the sun even rises. I forget sometimes that most don't do that."
"Speaking of this apprentice of yours, where is he?" Luca asked. "You said yesterday that you wanted to introduce him to me."
"Yes, I did," Dori replied. "I've been having some trouble finding the boy. He's quite moody at times, and he generally prefers to keep to himself. I suppose he'll show up when he chooses to; no sooner, no later."
"I see," Luca muttered. It seemed odd. Yesterday, Dori had been quite eager to introduce Luca to this apprentice of his. Yet now he dismissed it with a wave of his hand.
"So you said you wanted me to teach you a few things, eh?" Dori said, turning on his cane and marching off. "Well, let's go."
"Where to?"
"To one of the private sanctums. Tranom and his apprentice Brand are waiting there for us. Tranom tells me that you and Brand had a little encounter yesterday. I'd like to see this in more depth."
"Great," Luca muttered. He was filled with an odd sort of anticipation. Part of him dreaded the thought of another encounter with that Brand guy. At the same time, another part of him was looking forward to it. Somehow, Brand was able to bring out his competitive spirit... a side of himself that he usually kept well hidden.
"Hey, what happened to that girlfriend of yours?" Dori asked him suddenly.
"She's not my girlfriend," Luca's replied dryly.
"Yes, yes," Dori muttered, brushing his words away with a quick wave of his hand. "Still, where has she gotten to? Did she leave?"
"She wasn't there when I woke up. But she's still here somewhere. Likely seeing the sights, or something like that."
"I'm surprised to see you apart."
"She can live her own life. She's not tied to my arm."
Dori gave him a strange look, but said nothing.
They arrived at a large building on the outer edge of the temple. Dori moved past him and pushed open the large doors that towered over him, demonstrating surprising strength for someone so old. Inside was a cool chamber illuminated by several torches on the walls. Tranom leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, while Brand was stretching in the middle of the room. Beside Brand on the floor was a sheathed scimitar. No wooden training weapons could be seen.
"We're using actual weapons?" Luca asked Dori.
"A good part of combat is restraint," Dori said. "Before one can learn how to wield a weapon to take a life, one must first learn how to wield one and not. Those heavy training swords are for younger students who have not yet acquired that degree of finesse. Giving you one of those things would be a waste of time. You've been carrying Siora around long enough to know how to use it."
Siora, Luca thought as he looked down upon his father's blade. He had never known the blade had a name.
"You're already well-trained, yet you lack in certain aspects," Dori continued. "What I wish to see is a match as close to a true fight as possible. This will be the best way for me to determine what skills need improved, if any at all."
"Are you ready, my apprentice?" Tranom asked Brand.
With a sharp look in his eye, Brand picked up the scimitar and tossed the sheath aside. "Yup."
"Very well," Tranom said. "The rules for the match: no magick, no heavy injuries, and no foul play. Victor is decided when the other is disarmed, or surrenders. Fighting is to cease immediately if blood stains the floor, an instructor calls off the match, or there are any interruptions."
"Go ahead, son of Lodin," Dori said with a grin. "Show us what you can do."
Luca looked back at the old man for a moment, thinking there was more to this than he was picking up, like some joke the other three people in the room got that he didn't. Their faces confessed nothing.
He turned to face his opponent, and drew his own blade from its sheath. He assumed a combat stance.
"You don't have to hold back," Brand told him. "And I don't plan to."
And then Brand attacked.
He moved with surprising speed, closing the distance between them, and swinging his scimitar down in a simple stroke that would be easily blocked. In fact, he was likely counting on it. Too obvious... he wanted Luca to block it.
Instead, Luca moved to the side and countered with a stroke of his own. Brand easily blocked this. They exchanged a series of quick blows, none of them breaking through the opponent's guard, and then they each stepped back, and Brand reassessed the situation.
Luca took advantage of this momentary pause to close in and assume the offencive. Brand countered his attacks expertly, though Luca could see at this point he was still being cautious.
The battle had them dancing around the small room. Brand's scimitar met Luca's sword with a powerful amount of force, and his temporary offence was over. He fell back, and Brand pressed forward, his blade weaving about in masterful strokes.
When Luca felt his back hit the stone wall, he parried one final swing, and held Brand's sword. Using his right leg, he kicked Brand in the stomach.
As his opponent grunted in pain, he used this precious second of distraction to roll to the side.
Luca admitted to himself that Brand was good. Better than Luca, actually; at least as far as swordplay went. Luca would have to use other strategies if he planned to win. Tranom had forbidden the use of magick, so he could not blind his opponent that way. Likewise, a ban on foul play prevented the use of moves that could get one out of a life-or-death situation, though he would not have used those in a competitive match anyway. To win, he would need to either disarm Brand, or bring him to surrender.
Brand had recovered and was now closing in on him, bringing his blade down in merciless swings. Luca did his best to block and avoid, but already he could feel himself tiring.
Frustration began to grow. Luca felt weak, being incapable of matching Brand's swordplay. He thought of his similar weakness against Zinoro, and wondered how he could possibly have his revenge against the Acarian king if he couldn't even beat a student.
Luca fell back again, and thought of his available options. Other than changing his combat style, there wasn't really much he could do.
Brand continued his assault, moving on light feet and dancing with his blade with all the grace of a true master. His opponent was cl
early a prodigy. Luca wondered why he was even still in training, when he was leagues above his peers.
As Luca parried yet another strike, he was surprised he had managed not to get hit at all so far. Not wanting to test him luck, he took a step back...
A mistake. Brand's sword momentarily slipped through his defences, and Luca felt a sharp pain across his thigh; the very same spot the arrow had hit him.
Luca bit down on his tongue and fought away the pain. Brand, not noticing any change in him, took a step forward and continued his attacks. Luca parried this blow, holding the far edge of his blade with his free hand for extra strength, and he pushed Brand back with all the strength he could muster. His opponent fell back a few steps with a look of surprise, while Luca took a few careful steps away from him, his jaw tight as he forced the pain in his left leg out of his mind.
Expecting Brand to close in and attack again, Luca was a bit surprised when he didn't.
"Well, you're pretty good," Brand said to him from across the room. "Want to call it off? I'm sure Master Dori has seen all he needs."
Luca shook his head. No. That would be the same as giving up.
Brand shrugged. "Whatever you say, man." He then returned to his ready stance, and slowly moved towards him.
No, Luca had decided he was going for it all. This was a matter of pride to him; he couldn't let himself show such weakness in front of his father's teacher.
Luca held his blade before himself for a moment, and tossed it into the air. The blade came down and he caught it, this time holding the sword the other way, as one would hold a knife.
Brand's eyes widened. He could tell something was different now.
Still ignoring the pain in his left leg, Luca charged towards Brand. His opponent, not knowing what to expect in the change in fighting style, switched to a defencive stance. And that was his mistake.
Luca moved through the air, swinging his sword in a spinning motion. Brand blocked the attack, but as his feet reached the floor, he crouched and swung the reverse-held sword at Brand's feet. Brand had to jump in the air to avoid the attack.
"Who taught him this?" Tranom muttered to Dori. "Some trick of Lodin's?"
Dori did not reply. His eyes were focused on the fight before him.
Luca continued to moved in single, fluid motions. He darted around Brand and swung his blade in a vertical stroke. This time, the weapon did connect, leaving a long slash across Brand's back, and drawing a few drops of red blood.
Brand did not cry out. Instead he spun around, and slashed at the spot where Luca had been standing a moment ago. But he was already in another spot. He continued his attack, and though Brand successfully managed to block the next string of attacks, he was clearly having trouble keeping up with his unpredictable movements.
Sparks flew from his sword at the next exchange. A drop of sweat rolled down Brand's olive-skinned face, and hit the floor, joining a few drops of blood.
"Alright, that's enough!" Tranom called out. "You two will kill each other if you keep this up."
Luca stepped back, as did Brand. They were both sweating, and short of breath. A moment passed as they stared at each other, tension between them.
Then, they shook hands.
"Man," Brand said. "That was incredible. You should have just fought like that from the beginning. What was that?"
Luca couldn't help but grin. "Well, it's a fighting style my father created. He called it Jiuv'ol'xolic, or the 'leaf in the wind'."
Lodin had borrowed many of the moves from dancing techniques unique to the southern parts of Samgo, but he didn't trust Brand quite enough to tell him that.
"Well whatever it was, it definitely worked," Brand laughed. He touched his back, where his shirt was cut. "You got me. I guess that makes you the winner."
"Not quite," he insisted, as he sheathed his blade. "You had me in defence for most of the fight. You were clearly the better swordsman."
"Hmm..." Brand said, smiling. "Well, I suppose I'll take that as a compliment."
Dori approached them, the sound of his polished wooden cane striking the stone floor interrupting their banter. "Well, well. You two'll have plenty of time to talk later. Brand, why don't you and your master go to the healing chamber? Luca and I have a bit to discuss."
"Aye," Tranom agreed. "Come, my apprentice. Let's leave them be."
"Alright," Brand said. He started off, but then he seemed to remember something, and he went back to his side. "There's something I want to ask you about. Could you come see me when you're done here?"
"Sure," Luca told him with a shrug.
"Thanks." And then he and Tranom were gone.
Dori reached into his ragged cloak and produced a flask, which he took a quick drink from before he spoke. "Your family will be the death of me, you know that?"
Luca wasn't quite sure what to say, so he didn't say anything. Dori paced back and forth a few times, then he stopped and faced him.
"You have skill," Dori said to him. "Raw talent, I should say. Not many here are good enough at swordplay to manage to wound Brand. So congratulations on that... he's the temple's top student, and with good reason. And I will also say that it wasn't a bad idea of you to hold back at first, keeping your true fighting style secret until you had an idea of your opponent's skill. It was cautious... and caution like that could easily save your life."
Luca knew what was coming next just by the way Dori was speaking. "But...?"
However, Dori didn't continue. He changed subjects, asking, "How is your leg?"
There was a small cut through his trousers, and a bit of red staining it. The bleeding wasn't particularly bad, but it stung to the touch.
"I've had worse," Luca said.
"It looked quite painful when it struck."
Luca frowned. "I was hit by an arrow not very long ago in that very spot. An Acarian fired it at me... during the attack that took my father's life. That's why it hurt... normally such a shallow wound wouldn't even slow me down."
"Was it the physical pain that hindered you, or a phantom pain... the pain of your father's death?"
Luca looked up at Dori. The old master watched him intently, leaning on his cane and scratching at his unkempt beard.
"In a normal battle, that wouldn't have made a difference."
"Ah, but this was a normal battle," Dori said. "Or at least it was as far as you were concerned. Brand was right; I had seen all I needed of your swordplay at the point where he offered to make an end of it. Your insistence to continue told me more about the person you are. I could see the pride behind your eyes; Brand had drawn your blood, but you could not be content with things until you did the same."
Luca found himself scowling. Dori was too right for his comfort.
"Your abilities are sufficient, as I suspected they would be," the old man continued. "This goal of yours... getting your revenge on Zinoro; if it came down to something as simple as your swordplay against his, I'd have faith you could beat him. That is not the problem."
"What is the problem, then?"
"It is that you lack the maturity to be the swordsman your father was. You are too angry, too impatient, and you have too much to prove. You are the kind of person who would rush right into a dangerous situation without thinking of the consequences. Following that kind of logic, you'll dig yourself an early grave. And it won't make a difference whether you can fight or not if you get yourself killed before you can even get to Zinoro."
"You're saying I'm not cautious enough?" Luca demanded. "Just a moment ago, you were commending me for being cautious."
"Caution to preserve your pride, versus caution to preserve your life?" Dori said rhetorically. "Which do you think your father would rather you have?"
Luca was silent.
"I can see you're eager to leave, so I'll say one last thing," Dori said, moving closer to Luca and looking him in the eyes. "Think back to when your father was killed. Why do you think he refused to fight back against Zinoro, even when his son'
s life was on the line?"
Brand pulled the replacement robe on, and tossed aside the one with the slash in its back. He thanked the healer who had mended his wounds, and left the healing chambers.
His master, Tranom, was waiting for him outside. "All patched up?"
Brand grinned. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Excellent," Tranom told him. They started to walk. "You did well today. To face both sons of Lodin in a row, and to emerge from both fights with only a single scratch... You're much better than I was at your age."
"You flatter me, master. But really, Luca was the one who won that match."
"In a true fight you would have beaten him," Tranom said. "You deserve the praise. Now, you know the emissary from T'Saw will be here in a week or so. I have no doubt you will be chosen for this mission. After all, you're the temple's top student."
"King Zaow's mission..." Brand muttered. "How many students are being chosen?"
"Three. While Luca is not a true student of the temple, I have no doubt he will be one of them. The spot was previously reserved for his brother, but the outcomes of your matches will show which of Lodin's sons is the superior fighter."
"I'm fine with that," Brand said. "I'd much rather be on the team with Luca than Ash. Hell, I'd pick anyone in this temple before Ash."
"I had a feeling you would say that."
"Who do you think will be picked for the third position?"
"Of the third, I am less certain. There are several potential candidates. We can't be certain until the emissary announces it. Even you and Luca's positions are uncertain, though I would bet money on you both being picked."
"I suppose only time will tell," Brand said. As they passed the training chamber from before, Brand noticed Luca emerging, looking rather pale. "Excuse me, master."
Tranom nodded, and departed into the garden. Brand went over to Luca's side, who did not notice him approaching until he was just before him.
"You alright?" Brand asked him.
Luca nodded. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. What is it?"
"Come with me, it's too crowded to talk about it here." Brand placed his arm over Luca's shoulder and led him away from the others to a more remote area. Luca was rather irritated at the contact, but he said nothing. His curiosity had been piqued.
When they were at last alone, Brand looked Luca closely in the eyes and spoke to him. "I'm putting together something secret," he said in a quiet voice. "Tonight, several students and I will be going out into the forest that borders our temple. There have been reports of a special beast making a nest there; a monster not commonly seen in these parts. We're going to go out and hunt it. I was hoping you could join us."
Luca's eyes brightened. It was clear to Brand that the prospect of a good hunt intrigued him. But he did not immediately agree.
"Would that be allowed?" he asked. "I thought the gates closed after sunset."
"We are given a generous amount of freedom here," Brand told him. "Technically, we are not supposed to go out after the gates close; you're right about that. But the gatekeepers will let us through. I'm the temple's top student, and you're the son of Lodin. They'll turn a blind eye for us."
"If you say so. And what is this beast that you're so eager to hunt?"
"I'll tell everyone once we're on our way. I like to keep things suspenseful. So what do you say?"
Luca looked down at his left leg for a moment, and considered. "I could use a good hunt. Very well, count me in."
Brand grinned and he pat Luca on the shoulder. "Excellent. Meet us at the gates an hour after the sun sets."
Going on a hunt will help, he told himself. It will. It will help him get his mind off what Dori said. He told himself that like a man pleading for his life.
Luca walked through the grounds of the temple, doing his best to memorise the layout of the place. The many students, all dressed in the same white robes, gave him the occasional glance, but for the most part the excitement his arrival caused seemed to be dying down. Despite how relaxed and laid-back everything in the temple seemed to be, the students actually appeared to take their training quite seriously. The training rings were always occupied, with a pair or two waiting on the sides for their chance to spar. A circular path ran along the temple's outer edge, which students jogged through. He spotted a weight room, a pond to swim through, and closed sanctums in which to meditate and strengthen mana.
He was impressed. Allma Temple was so secretive, that stories of what went on within its walls ranged from the outlandish to the nightmarish. In reality, it was a place full of decent people who took their training seriously, but had a good time and didn't overwork themselves. Were it not for his other plans, he might have considered staying there for a few years, and training as a student himself.
But there were things that needed done.
As Luca made his way around the temple, meeting a few people here and there, he kept an eye open for a certain girl with black hair. He expected her to be wandering around the place, much as he was. Eventually they would bump into each other, she would laugh and tell him about her morning, while he patiently listened.
He was a little disappointed that it never happened.
Some time in the afternoon he found himself back at the bedroom Tranom had given them, and he went inside, thinking that he might find Emila there. Her travel belongings, left there the previous night were still there, but she was not.
It was strange, not seeing her at all. Luca had grown so used to her constant presence, that it felt odd that she was not constantly beside him. There was something unhealthy about that. He wasn't lonely or anything. He didn't feel any overwhelming urge to run to her. If anything, it was like spending a long time sleeping on a certain bed, and then waking one day in a sleeping bag in the woods... or waking up in Saeticia one day after spending several months in Arimos.
Luca decided to get some rest before night came, so that he would be at his best when it came time to hunt this monster Brand spoke of. The bed was inviting, but his previous oath would remain untarnished; he was not going to use it while he shared the room with Emila. His sleeping bag would be just as good. However, his sore back disagreed with that promise.
Perhaps he would wake up in the evening and Emila would be there.
He closed his eyes and several hours passed. He rose, and turned on the lights, for the room had grown too dark to see in.
Emila was not there.
Emila was, however, waiting at the gates of the temple, along with Brand and two other students.
As Luca drew near, she gave him a fleeting glance, before looking away, casting her eyes down. He knew what that look meant: that there was something bothering her. Something she wanted to say, but wasn't sure how.
Brand on the other hand, greeting him enthusiastically. He told him how glad he was Luca had come, and other things Luca only half listened to. He introduced him to the other two boys in their company. One he had met already: Allma's squire, Rael. The other was a young man whom he had only seen briefly earlier in the day: a boy with short black hair named Davik.
"So... will you tell us what this monster we'll be hunting is, Brand?" Luca asked him.
Brand clasped his hands together and a big grin spread across his face. "Ah, yes. The creature we will be searching for... the deadly ouroboros."
Everyone exchanged confused glances.
"You're joking," said Rael. "An ouroboros in these parts? You never see them outside of Mainyu"
"What's so strange about that?" Brand asked. "Mainyu is Torachi's southern border. It's just a trip north over the mountains, and you're right on our doorstep. Sightings do show up every now and then. But usually the local hunters from the neighbouring villages take care of them. I've been told by the gatekeepers that the merchants who bring food carts to the temples have been seeing an ouroboros in the woods. It will take a few days before the villages hear about this, so we have a chance to get it before they
do."
"And what's the point of this?" Rael asked. "If the locals are going to take care of it anyway, then why should we bother?"
Brand looked at Rael for the briefest of moments, then said: "Why not? It's a hunt. A good hunt. Why let somebody else take care of it, when we can have the fun ourselves?"
Rael frowned, and looked away disapprovingly. Davik simply shrugged, and Emila was impassively silent. Luca, however, placed his hand on his sword's hilt, and gave Brand a sure nod. It was a confirmation that he would follow him, seen often on the battlefield, that only two warriors could fully appreciate. He returned the nod, and an unspoken pact was formed between them.
Brand turned to the others - with the exception of Luca - and spoke to them. "If anybody wants out, now's the time to say so."
"I'm in," said Emila without a moment of hesitation.
"Me, too," Davik added, though a brief moment of doubt was visible in his eyes.
"I guess I'm in, too," said Rael. He did not look Brand in the eyes when he said this.
"Excellent," Brand said, clasping his hands together. "Then let's go, before the night grows any older."
And with those uplifting words, they set off.
Brand led the group, confidently marching forth, his scimitar sheathed across his back. The rest of the group followed behind him in varying states of certainty, in the order of Rael, Luca, Davik, and Emila.
Luca wanted very much to talk to Emila, to ask her what she had been doing all day, and why she was coming with them on this hunt. The absence he had been feeling all day was not lifted by her surprise appearance here. But he could not do that, especially in front of three other people whom he hardly knew. They were on a hunt now; personal matters would come later.
Still he allowed himself to turn his head and steal a glance. Emila was walking with her bow in hand. He had seen her take out the bow a few times during their trip from Forga, but he had never actually seen her use it. Interestingly, he noticed she had no quiver.
She noticed him staring and she gave him a small smile. He turned back around.
Luca couldn't possibly return that smile.
"W-whoa!"
Rael cried out as he tripped on a stray vine and fell forward. Brand spun around and grabbed his arm before his hand hit the ground. With a groan, Brand pulled Rael back up to his feet.
"That was close," Brand said with a sigh of relief.
"What do you mean?" Davik asked him.
In response, Brand kicked at the foliage where Rael's hand would have landed. There was a strange flower-like plant hidden there. Brand's kicking had woken it, and the flower opened up, revealing several rows of teeth, in a mouth large enough to fit a human limb and deep enough to swallow it.
"A leg eater," Rael muttered with a heavy frown. "How in the world did you notice it was there?"
Brand shrugged. "I just did." He drew his sword and drove it down into the leg eater's mouth. The thing shrieked in pain, thrashing about and biting uselessly at Brand's scimitar. Green ichor stained the blade and the ground around it. Brand twisted the sword and the leg eater made one last pathetic sound, then it moved no more.
Brand pulled his sword out, and wiped the blade on a cloth he produced from his pocket. "Watch where you're going, okay? They like to plant themselves near roots and places where things trip easily."
They paid more attention to where they went after that.
After some time, they made their way deep into the forest and came to a large clearing. Brand stopped here, and turned to face them.
"Alright, the ouroboros shouldn't be very hard to find," he told them. "If anything, it should find us. But it would be preferable if we could surprise it instead. Now it doesn't have legs like other monsters; it slithers across the ground by moving its body left and right. This leaves a pretty distinctive trench shape in the ground. Keep an eye open for that."
"We could split up," Davik suggested.
"No," Brand said immediately. "A party of five trained fighters will have no problem with an ouroboros, but there's no way to split up without sacrificing our defences. A group of only two would be vulnerable. The last thing I need tonight is to return to the temple with the bloody clothes of a dead student."
He said that last sentence firmly, staring directly at Davik with a look that gave no room for argument. Davik didn't look particularly pleased about this, but he didn't press the issue.
"We'll check the lower part of the woods first," Brand continued, pointing off to the east. "That's the place where we're most likely to come across the ouroboros. Any objections?"
There were none.
"Then let's go." And with that, Brand marched off.
There was something different about the way he now spoke, Luca thought. A degree of his carelessness seemed to be gone. No, not carelessness. From the moment they had left, Brand had been nothing but careful. The incident with the leg eater had been proof enough of that. Whatever was bothering him, it was something else.
As they went on, the path grew increasingly wild, and with the limited visibility of the night, they were having a hard time keeping their footing. Davik seemed to be having the most trouble, as he fell behind to the back of the group. As they made their way down into the lower part of the forest, a few bushes rustled and a few small creatures scurried away from them into the night. No goblins, or any other monsters that would dare to attack them, appeared, which bothered him. So Luca brought this up.
"Hmm," Brand muttered. "No doubt because of the ouroboros. The goblin population tends to drop whenever they appear; easy prey, after all."
"Still, we're not exactly being quiet," Luca said. "Surely, something this deep in the forest would have come by now."
"We work pretty hard to keep our monster population down around here," Rael explained. "It's a good way to test the abilities we learn."
They reached the edge of a small cliff, which led down into a small valley, through which a shallow stream ran. The ground below was treacherous and covered in a thick layer of leaves, but they were able to make their way down rather easily. As they reached the bottom of the steep hill, the clouds parted to allow the moonlight to shine through. The valley was illuminated by silver light.
A memory worked its way to the forefront of Luca's mind. He remembered waking, not even two weeks ago, in that dusty room in the inn of Forga. He remembered Emila opening the door, and how she looked illuminated by the silver moonlight.
He turned around to look at her, wondering if she would look the same now.
He froze.
There was fear in Emila's eyes. Davik stood behind her, one hand clasped over her mouth, the other holding a sword, the blade of which was pressed up against her throat. Her bow was on the ground some distance away.
Luca immediately reached for his sword.
"Don't," Davik said. "Draw that blade and she dies."
With a great force of will, he did not draw his weapon. Davik's voice had drawn the attention of Brand and Rael, who turned and saw what Luca was seeing.
"Davik..." Brand hissed. "What is the meaning of this?!"
"Here's what's going to happen," Davik said, ignoring Brand's words. "All three of you are going to slowly unbuckle the sheathes of your swords and set them on the ground. Then you're going to take a few steps back."
"Davik...!" Brand growled.
"Do it!" he said, pressing the blade up to Emila's neck. "I'll kill her, I mean it."
Luca could feel a faint tingling against the skin of his own neck, as he saw a single bead of Emila's blood roll down Davik's sword. He did not hesitate. He undid the buckle of his father's sword and dropped it on the ground.
"Good," Davik said. "Now you two do the same."
Brand undid his own sheath and set the scimitar down on the ground. Rael hesitated a moment more, but he did the same.
"Good," Davik said. "Now take a few steps back."
"C'mon," Brand said to Luca, as he placed his hand on his shoulder. He took a ste
p back, and Luca did the same.
Luca never took his eyes off of Davik.
"Davik, why are you doing this?" Rael asked him after they had taken five steps away form him.
"I guess you wouldn't know, would you, Rael?" Davik said. He took his hand off of Emila's mouth and held her by her arm. With the sword still pressed up against her neck, he led her forward until they had stepped over the weapons. He kicked a few leaves over them.
"Not everyone knows about it, but I keep my ears open," Davik said to Rael. "The emissary from Sono is on his way here, to take the temple's three best students to T'Saw. Acaria is becoming a problem, and Zaow wants a hero like Lodin to beat him. Well, I mean to be that hero. Not Luca here, and certainly not that damn brother of his!"
Emila gasped.
"Davik!" Brand exclaimed.
He chuckled. "What's it matter now? It was a stupid rule... he was going to find out sooner or later."
"What the hell are you saying?" Luca demanded.
"Ash! You know, Dori's apprentice? He's your brother. The second son of Lodin. The one he abandoned in order to train you. Everybody here at the temple knows about it, but Allma set forth an order that nobody could say anything of it to you, save for Dori or Ash himself. Not that they would; Ash is a pathetic weakling, and Dori's an old drunk."
"Enough," Luca spat. "I won't have this conversation while you're holding a blade up to Emila's throat. Let her go first."
Davik laughed again. "Not a chance. You see, there's two ways this is going to work. The first option is that you cooperate with me. You three stay here, and get eaten by the ouroboros. The girl and I will go to the top of the valley, and watch you die. After that, I'll let her go. She can go on with her life, and I will go on to be the hero that saves Sono from Acaria."
"And the other option?" Brand asked in a flat voice.
"You could try to find some way out of this," Davik said. "And I kill the girl. Her blood will seep into the ground and the scent of it will wake the ouroboros and its spawn, who are sleeping right under your feet. With my earth magick, I can escape from this valley in seconds. You three, on the other hand..."
"You think nobody will suspect you if you come back alone?" Brand demanded.
"Accidents happen all the time," Davik muttered. "Especially to those who sneak off after hours to do dangerous things. It'll be a tragedy, for sure. But I'll be a hero to the temple, for slaying the monster that took your lives."
"You honourless cur!" Rael shouted.
The boy smirked, but a slight twitching betrayed his nervousness. "Not all of us can make it in this world with honour. Not all of us are born with the natural talent that Luca and Brand have... You're just an unfortunate casualty, Rael. Just like this girl here. It's just Brand and Luca whom I meant to die today. It was the perfect opportunity... the overconfident pair stole out on a hunt hours after the gates closed. How could I pass it up? I need to get them out of the way, if I am to have any chance of being chosen as Sono's champion."
"Some hero you are," Luca spat, his mana rising up in spite of himself from the sheer anger he was feeling. "Holding a girl hostage. Murdering those who pose a threat to you through trickery and deception...!"
"Shut up!" Davik shouted. "Cut off the mana, or I'll kill the girl right now!"
Luca forced the energy to subside. It resisted for a moment, almost as though it was fighting against him. And indeed, he felt the overwhelming desire to use his magick to rend Davik into a thousand pieces. But he couldn't do a thing while he held Emila. So he forced his mana down until he couldn't feel it at all.
"That's better," Davik said, letting out a sigh of relief in spite of himself. A bead of sweat ran down his face.
"It doesn't matter what you do now," Luca said to him. "You crossed a line by threatening her. I will kill you for this. I swear it."
"You misjudge the situation," Davik said. "Right now, there isn't anything you can-"
It was at that moment that Emila made her move. With her left hand, she grabbed Davik's sword, which was millimetres from her neck. She pushed back against Davik, forcing the surprised boy backwards. As his back hit a tree, Emila drew up her free hand, revealing a dagger formed of ice mana. Davik cried out when he saw this, and he let go of his sword and tried to run. Emila thrust the dagger back as best she could, and it drove through Davik's right hand, pinning it to the tree behind them.
Davik screamed in pain. Emila jumped back, tossing Davik's sword aside and scrambling away from him. Blood dripped from between her fingers.
Luca rushed to her side. "Emila! Emila, are you okay?"
She was trembling, but she nodded.
"Luca, here!" Brand said, tossing him the sheath that contained Siora. He caught it in midair, drew the blade, and tossed the sheath aside. His eyes locked onto Davik, who wore an expression of pure terror.
"L-Luca, no!" Emila called to him.
But there was no stopping him, He marched slowly up to Davik, who struggled uselessly to free his hand from Emila's ice-dagger. He looked down at him for a moment.
"Pathetic," Luca said.
He reached down and picked Davik's sword up from the ground, and he tossed it into his lap. He jumped a bit when it landed on him, but he had simply given him his weapon back, rather than drove it through him.
"I swore I would kill you," Luca said. "I never break an oath. But I'm also not a coward like you. So I'll give you a chance to save your life."
And then Luca swung down his sword through Davik's wrist, severing it from the hand that was nailed to the tree.
Davik screamed in pain and rolled away from the tree, clutching the stump where his right hand had once been.
"Get up and fight me," Luca told him, with no trace of mercy in his voice.
"Luca, please don't do this..." Emila pleaded to him. But her pained words were as the wind's whispers to his ears. He heard nothing. He was not a person at this moment, but a killing force. His target was the one who had deceived them and threatened to hurt the girl whom he owed his life to. Nothing would stop him now, not even the one whose honour he claimed to fight for.
Davik struggled to his feet. Blood flowed freely from the wound Luca had given him. Without quick medical attention, he would die from blood loss. Medical attention he couldn't possibly get out here. He had already killed him. But he wasn't going to simply let him bleed out in the woods. He had a code of honour he would not break, and part of that was giving enemies a quick death over a slow and painful one. That meant Davik would receive mercy that he didn't deserve.
Davik held his sword with his left hand, which was clearly not his good one. He attacked Luca three times, with clumsy strokes befitting a child more than the trained warrior he had claimed to be. Luca met each blow with ease, noting the fading strength in each swing. After the third, Davik barely had enough strength left to lift his sword. He would be going into shock soon... that was all Luca could get out of him.
Luca ended it then. He swung his father's blade in a clean stroke, cutting open Davik's throat. There was the briefest moment of shock in his eyes, before he fell to the ground, blood pouring out onto the leaves.
Emila gasped, and turned away from the death before her.
Davik's body had already vanished, leaving behind only the robes he had been wearing.
Silence took the valley. Several minutes passed. The scent of blood hung in the air.
Finally, Brand stepped forward, picking up Davik's clothes and folding them up, sighing heavily as he did. "I'll let Justia know what happened to her student. C'mon, let's get back."
"What are you going to tell them?" Emila asked.
"The truth," Brand said. "There's no need to cover up what happened, nor would I wish to."
"What about the ouroboros?" Rael asked.
"It would have appeared," Brand told him. "In fact, it should have shown up the moment his hand was stabbed. I think he was just bluffing the whole time. Either the ouroboros' nest is in a different part of the fo
rest... or it really was just a rumour. Either way, I don't think any of us are up to going after it now."
Indeed, nobody was.
They slowly made their way back, and once he had made sure Emila was alright, and that she had healed her hand up, Luca walked beside Brand and spoke to him.
"What he said about Ash being my brother... is that true?"
Brand hesitated, but he answered honestly. "Yes. Ash really is your brother."
"And you all knew this?"
"We did. But we were forbidden to tell you, by Allma's orders."
"But why would Allma make such a rule?"
"We do not question the word of Allma. It is not our place. We merely follow." Brand said it like a mantra. There was a clear undercurrent of hatred in his voice that Luca did not fail to notice.
Setting aside the why for the time being, Luca's mind turned to the implications of this. This Ash kid - Dori's apprentice that he had wanted Luca to meet before - was his younger brother, someone Luca had assumed long dead. He wasn't sure what to think of this yet, but at least he now understood why his father had wanted him to come to Allma Temple.
"Are you alright?" Emila asked him once they had returned to their shared room. She was sitting on the bed, while Luca was on the floor, stretching.
"Me?" he said, a bit surprised. "I'm more concerned about you."
She smiled a bit, and looked away meekly. "I'm fine. I guess I was just surprised at how you reacted. You were so... enraged at him."
"He was going to kill you."
"Yes, but still..."
"If you die, I die. We're connected, remember?"
"Of course I remember," she said. "That's how I was able to get away from him. I used your mana to create that ice shard."
He looked up at her in surprise. "That was you? I thought my mana just swelled up because of how angry I was."
"Well, it was just an idea I had," she said. "I didn't think it would actually work, but thankfully it did. I just needed a little bit, so I took it from you, that way he wouldn't notice what I was doing. He thought you were up to something, not me."
"Still, you shouldn't have done that," Luca told her. "It was risky. He might have panicked. He might have killed you."
Emila thought for a moment, then she looked down in shame.
"You're right," she said. "I'm not just responsible for my life anymore. I'm responsible for your life, as well. I never thought I..." She trailed off.
She seemed a bit upset, so Luca sat up and moved to the side of the bed. He placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, the important thing is that we made it, right? You heard what Brand said, it was all just a bluff. Just be more careful in the future, okay? I can take the hits, but you can't."
She looked at him for a moment, like she wanted to protest, but she couldn't seem to find the words. So instead, she sat back, resting her head against the wall.
"Luca, I have to tell you something," she said. "Earlier today, one of the students told me about your brother. They said that the rule was that they couldn't tell you about him, but they could tell me. Since I'm not a student, the rule didn't apply to me, so I could tell you if I wanted to. I wasn't sure what to do. All day, I wandered around the temple, unable to make up my mind."
He laid back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "Were you going to tell me?"
"I really wanted to. I felt that you had the right to know. But... when I spoke to Brand, he said that your brother is... not a very good person. He said that Ash once killed another student, and that perhaps Allma passed that rule of silence because of that. He said that most of the students hate Ash, and that the only thing keeping Allma from banishing him is Dori's insistence on training him."
Luca didn't know what to say.
Ash! You know, Dori's apprentice? He's your brother. The second son of Lodin. The one he abandoned in order to train you.
His father had abandoned one of his children, preferring to raise one over the other? He just couldn't believe Lodin would do that. There must be more to the story.
"Dori clearly wanted you to meet him," Emila said. "He was trying to introduce you yesterday, remember? Maybe the rumours are wrong. I don't really know. It's not my place to make decisions about this, because this is your business. Family business. That's why I was having such a hard time deciding if I should tell you or not. Brand felt that Dori would eventually tell you... 'when the time was right'."
"Well..." Luca said slowly. "I guess I'll go pay him a visit tomorrow morning. I'll go meet my brother."
He got up and turned the lights off. Emila said nothing else, she just laid down on the bed and was asleep in minutes.
Luca remembered their argument from last night, and how she refused to use the bed unless they took turns. He, on the other hand, had refused to use the bed because that would leave her sleeping on the floor some nights.
Yet here she was, caving in after only a single day. Or perhaps... this meant she would try to use this to get him to take turns with her now. Which he wouldn't do, of course. And yet, having them both sleep on the floor was no solution, either. It was simply a stalemate met out of their mutual stubbornness.
If only there was another way they could do this, some way where they both could...
No.
Not a chance in hell.
He'd take the floor himself, the rest of his life, before that.
Luca sighed, and climbed inside his sleeping bag. This shouldn't have been bothering him. She was on the bed, he was on the floor. This was what he wanted. He had won. End of story.
What was really bothering him was how close she had come to being hurt today. How nearly Davik had killed her. Back in that forest, with that sword pressed up against Emila's neck, all he could think about was Arlea.
And in the end, he had not been able to help her. It was Emila's own cleverness that had saved her life. He wasn't able to do a thing.
The sound of her gentle breathing was the only sound in the room. It was so quiet, so peaceful.
He hated how worried about her he had been.
Bacorium Legacy Page 6