by Guy Antibes
A she?
Namori is the daughter of our sponsor. I’ve told you about her before.
Oh, her, Penny said. I’ve been busy too. This term, we have spent most of our time learning about the body. We even had to observe one of the common healers cut into a cadaver.
What is a cadaver?
Penny laughed in her mind. A dead human body. It was creepy at first until I was able to remind myself that whatever makes a person a person was gone, and the body is a shell. I never imagined there was so much inside. Everyone looks the same: heart, lungs, and organs.
Do you get grades?
I am doing very well, so you can tell Fasher that he did the right thing sending me here. I will be a much better healer after my two years here.
I thought you had to spend five or ten years to become an expert healer, Jack said.
Fasher had me set up for a two-year course of study for wizard healers. Fasher said it might be enough since I can learn more from both healers in Raker Falls. I’m enjoying myself a great deal as well, so much so, that I might consider another year or two.
Anything else to relay to Fasher or your parents?
Penny paused to think. Nothing right now. I am where I needed to be and have to go. Enjoy your training. It is taking a long time, isn’t it?
I now know enough to make a fool of myself speaking. Before I just made a fool of myself standing around. Study hard.
And play hard. Goodbye.
Jack sighed. Penny sounded older. There was no game playing in her comments, and the coyness she had shown on their first communications didn’t appear in this one. If she were lying, Fasher would find out. He never told Penny that Fasher could communicate with people in Dorkansee if he wanted to check up on her on his own. If she knew, Penny would have to tell him first, before he admitted it.
It was Fasher’s turn. He actually had an even harder time getting a spare moment with Fasher than his apprentice.
Fasher?
That is my first name. What is my last name?
Fasher was in a playful mood. Tempest, wizard healer of Raker Falls, Jack said. I just talked to Penny. She was doing well enough and had managed to get through a session where a healer cut into a dead body called a cadaver.
I know what a cadaver is. I suppose you didn’t know the term? You’ve seen dead bodies enough.
Caught me, Jack said. She is signed up for two years in Dorkansee? I thought the healing program was longer.
The basic work is done at that time, then it is learning more complicated aspects. Some gravitate into herbal healing, even for wizards. There are specialties, but Penny hasn’t found one yet.
Jack had to remember that. She said as long as she is enjoying herself, she might stay longer.
Enjoying herself means boyfriends, Jack. I hope you aren’t hurt by that, Fasher said.
Jack was surprised at the comment. Not at all. Even if I wanted to be romantic with Penny, it wouldn’t work through telepathic communication. She sounds different, though, more grown-up with less petulance.
That happens to everyone, even males, Fasher said. How are your studies?
We are being introduced to Masukaian martial arts. I think that will be fun. I am tired of studying the language all day, every day. We are all learning, even Helen and Tanner.
Everyone of you is smart, so I never had any worries. I pick my people well. Work hard so you can get to learn more about Masukai.
I will, Jack said. Say hello to Corina, and you can relay what you want to Penny’s parents.
I will. Corina says hello. Farewell. Fasher cut off the communications.
Fasher picks his people well, Jack thought. Everyone is smart, and that had to include Jack. Compliments were rare from Fasher, so Jack savored it until he recalled Fasher’s remark about petulance and even males outgrowing it. He recognized that as a barb. Jack sighed. As always, he would have to take compliments where he could.
Chapter Eight
~
“I am a visitor from Corand and am here to seek a room for the night,” Jack said in Masukaian, reading from a slip of paper that Haruno had given him. He translated what he read to Haruno in Corandian. They had now spent over six months of intense study and exercise.
He was the last to read the ten phrases Haruno had come up for each person in Jack’s group.
“You know enough to function outside the city, but your vocabulary is still too limited. I don’t see a reason to put off getting ranked now and continuing your studies in Yomomai,” Haruno said.
I agree,” Namori said. “It is time for an audience with my father. He will make the final decision.”
They were led back to Kiro’s chambers and asked to sit in front of Namori’s father. Jack sat at the end of a line of cushions. Everyone was arranged by age. Since everyone was talking in Masukaian, Jack still had to concentrate on following the speed of native speakers, but all of them had passed what Haruno had called the biggest obstacle. They had learned to think in Masukaian.
Kiro had Haruno give them each a page. This was going to be similar to the ten-phrase test, Jack thought, but what he received was an empty page. Servants brought small writing desks and placed them in front of each person.
“I want you to answer my question in writing. What are the three things that you intend on taking back with you from your experiences in Masukai?”
Jack stared at the empty sheet. He immediately thought of flippant answers, followed by the prosaic ones, secure the Battlebone, free Kiro’s wife, be alive so he could leave the country, but he knew Kiro wanted something more introspective. It would be a hard enough assignment for Jack, even in Corand.
Helen had begun to write. Jack looked around the room and finally became inspired enough to write. When he was finished, Haruno collected all the essays.
Grigar’s answers were discussed first. He wanted to recapture an exciting time of his youth, learn more about Masukai, and enjoy the food, once again.
Helen wanted to learn more martial arts skills, now that she knew what Masukai had to offer, learn about Masukaian customs, and complete her task.
Tanner’s sheet was exactly what Jack would have put down without much thought, retrieve the Battlebone, free Kiro’s wife, and lastly, live to tell the tale.
From what Jack could tell, Kiro nodded and didn’t frown as he read the replies. So far, so good, but now he came to Jack’s items. He did frown when he read the sheet and looked long and hard at Jack before he read:
There are a lot of things I’d like to take back with me to Corand, including the trinkets that Reginart Ephram asked me for, but those are material things, even my life is included in that list, but I have another list that I think is just as important.
1. I want to remember the willingness of Kiro Ganshi to take four strangers into his house and teach, feed, and clothe them for more than half a year. That gives me the hope that I might be a friend who would someday act as our host has acted.
2. I would like to take back the sense of honor and respect that is part of the Masukaian culture. At least, I know how to bow properly without deeply offending anyone, although I can’t be certain about that.
3. I want my memories of Corand to be bound with the services I will perform while I am in Masukai. There are complex (I don’t know if this is the right word) sets of obligations that are also bound into the Masukaian culture. I need to learn more about how those work so I can be better in dealing with people, something I am deficient in. If I do that, I can better understand myself.
The words sounded so sappy, now that Kiro read them back, but Jack had to think deeply in both Corandian and in Masukaian to come up with the sentiments. He couldn’t think of a better way to thank their host.
Kiro held out the paper and frowned. “The boy speaks of obligation and with good reason. Jack Winder has put me in debt to him without knowing, but it is what I have always thought of as a ‘warm’ obligation, one that needn’t be repaid, and one to be cherished. Yo
u might not understand how this works, but hopefully,” he looked at Jack, “you will gain the understanding during your sojourn in Masukai. I might add that. Unfortunately, the concept of honor and obligation are intertwined in Masukai and are often used as lever points for darker purposes. You need to be aware of that, even before you depart. That you can phrase this in Masukaian, ignoring the many errors you made in your writing, is admirable. I would not have thought that of you when we first met.”
Kiro finally smiled and thrust his hands out. “You have all passed,” he said, with his eyes lingering on Jack. I am confident all will rank when you are tested tomorrow at the magistrate’s office.” He motioned to Haruno, who brought in trays of food that sat on top of the study desks. “A final meal with me. I am called to the city of Aimaru, which is the closest I am allowed to Yomomai and will leave after we celebrate your achievements.”
Small tables were brought in for Haruno and Namori. The daughter sat next to Jack, and the steward ate his meal on the other end. Kori continued to conduct a court of sorts and kept the conversation going until he was summoned.
“I must leave. You may continue to eat.” He gave them a tiny bow that Jack recognized as perfectly executed, but then Masukaians had lots of practice all the time.
“You aren’t going to say goodbye to your father?” Jack asked.
Namori shook her head. “We have already talked about his visit to Aimaru. He will be meeting with those who may help us in Yomomai.”
Her comment didn’t invite any further discussion, Jack thought, so he remained silent.
“Your answers touched my father deeply. I didn’t think Corandians thought much about honor.” She glanced over at Tanner. “Your answers were full of honorable sentiments.”
“We are a different culture,” Jack said. “We have honorable men and…” He used the Corandian word for dishonor. “Our culture is more external, I guess, and Masukaian culture is more internal. We blurt out what we think, while Masukaians are more reflective before they say anything and think harder about what they’ve heard. I think that is my current thinking. I don’t know if I’m right or wrong, but I’ll continue to observe while I am here.”
Namori covered her mouth and giggled. “A life lesson from a young man. You have been taught well and are a shiny reflection of your parent’s love.”
It was Jack’s turn to chuckle. “All honor to my parents, of course,” he said because that was what a Masukaian would say. “That has been reinforced as I have traveled in other countries on other errands. I am what we call a work in progress.”
“Aren’t we all?” Namori said, indicating she understood the concept well. “Keep it up.”
A servant whispered into her ear. “I suppose my father isn’t quite done with me.” She rose and bowed to them before rushing out of the room.
Jack was drawn into the general conversation. Tanner looked across at Jack before he asked a question. “Haruno, what will the testing be like?”
“Kiro thinks Helen and Tanner should test for warriors and Jack and Grigar for wizards. That allows you four to travel as a unit. A foreigner as a single warrior would definitely be looked down upon. A single wizard less so, but as a ranked group heading for the capital, you would attract less attention, especially if you travel as protectors of Namori Ganshi.”
~
Haruno seemed to approach their testing casually, but Jack’s palms were sweaty when they walked up the steps of the magistrate’s office. Namori and Haruno brought up the rear as they made their way into the building.
“We want to be ranked,” Tanner said to the uniformed constable at the counter. Jack now knew the various uniform types for imperial functionaries and Taiyo officials. “Our sponsors are behind us.”
The official looked the foreigners over and beckoned Namori and Haruno to approach the counter. This time Jack understood what the official said. Haruno produced a stack of documents that he passed to the official. In typical Masukai-style, the documents were fan-folded and inserted into decorative cardboard covers. They were like old-fashioned flat scrolls Jack had used before. He had seen some with silk covering the cardboard on Kiro’s desk.
While they waited for something to happen, Namori repeated the ranking strategy that Haruno had described the night before.
“Every scale has ten to fifteen ranks. A five will qualify you as an independent warrior. For wizards, the scale is different. A three will qualify you as an independent wizard. Independence means you can ply your trade anywhere in Masukai. A lower level than that and you are restricted to your home city. I’m not sure how they will handle your foreign birth,” Namori said. “Passing the language and culture written tests should help mollify the authorities.”
The official called another constable to show them to a testing room. Evidently, it wasn’t unusual for citizens to be ranked in groups since the room contained eight desks. Haruno and Namori were not permitted to attend the testing.
“You will take this test, first. There will be others,” the constable said.
Jack looked at the questions. These were very easy. There were five written tests, each with increasing complexity. Jack thought he did fine on all but the last. He didn’t know all the words to the questions, but he guessed as best he could.
The others appeared to have just as much trouble as he was having, but they didn’t get any feedback from the testers. The desks were cleared, and the four of them were directed to a small training field in the back of the building where all but Grigar were tested using a sword, a small bow, a knife, a staff, and throwing stars. Namori had drilled them in all the weapons. Jack was actually the best with the throwing stars in training, but he didn’t know how he would perform under the pressure of being evaluated.
Tanner and Helen did better with the weapons, which was expected, except for the throwing stars where Jack showed his superiority.
The next set of tests was wizardry-based. The wizard who tested Jack and Grigar frowned when they used Corandian trigger words, but Jack did everything they asked. They handed wands that had cast grips slipped onto the ends. Jack examined the decorative swirls. The wands looked like fireplace pokers to Jack.
“Fire a wizard bolt at the target.”
The target was five paces away. Grigar was close with his bolt. The older wizard wasn’t very adept at offensive weapons, but he managed to burn a smoking hole in the paper covering a wooden board. Jack’s bolt hit the center, and a small flame climbed up the paper.
“Can you project a bolt farther?” the tester asked.
“Twenty paces,” Jack said.
Grigar winced. “Not me.”
The tester moved the board with a new target another five paces out. Grigar’s bolt scorched the paper, but the bolt hit the bottom of the target. Jack’s bolt did the same as the first.
“Twenty?” the guard asked Jack.
“Watch,” Jack said. He shot a bolt across the field and hit a stone pillar about forty paces away.
“Excellent,” the tester said. “What else can you do?”
Jack teleported to the other side of Grigar. “This. I can do other things as well.”
Grigar teleported to the other side of Jack. “I can too.” The wizard grinned.
The tester ran his finger along his collar before he wrote down the results. “That is enough for now.”
Helen and Tanner gave them both a thumbs up. The constables ushered them back to the classroom, where they were asked about Masukaian history and customs. They were stumped on a few things, but Haruno had done a very good job of anticipating the questions, Jack thought.
“You will be notified of your rankings later today,” one of the constables said. “You can return to Kiro Ganshi’s manor.”
Haruno and Namori grilled them about the testing.
“You will pass the minimum for the written part, I am sure. I was very particular about teaching you the basic subjects. If you were tested for scholars or public officials, we would have n
eeded to train longer. Warriors are not required to do more than read and write,” Haruno said.
They reached the Ganshi manor and rested for an hour. Jack was too nervous and went to the Bright Emerald Pavilion. He paced from one end to the other recalling the testing to see where he made mistakes. He consulted one of the history texts and discovered a few mistakes. Nothing was huge, but he wouldn’t have a perfect score.
Namori entered the pavilion with Haruno.
“The results are here.” She waved four small flat scrolls and ordered them to sit. They arranged their cushions on a circle. Namori handed the scrolls to Haruno. “I’m too nervous. You read the results,” she said.
Jack could see Grigar’s name on the outside of the one on the top. Haruno opened it up and showed the contents to them. There was one word on the page and a number. Wizard-Seven, along with some small writing and a big red seal.
Everyone clapped. Seven was high for a wizard’s rating. Jack was very happy, but now Tanner was next. Haruno looked at the rating and turned the page toward everyone. Warrior-Six.
“That is good. With this placard, you can go anywhere in Masukai. It doesn’t make you safe, but you can enter gated cities and towns and tell them you are looking for work if you are on your own,” Haruno said.
Helen was rated a seven. Tanner playfully pouted. “Archery did me in,” he said.
Jack’s was last. He could feel a cold sweat as Haruno playfully looked at it from all directions. “And now, let us see.” He unfolded the certificate and raised his eyebrows. “Two rankings. Jack is a wizard-warrior. Wizard-Eight and Warrior-Six. My, my. This ranking will earn you instant respect.”
“I could have tried for a wizard ranking,” Tanner said.
Helen punched him in the arm. “You are our hidden weapon, Warrior-Six. Jack is the same rank as you.”
“It was Jack’s throwing star performance,” Namori said. “It is a desirable warrior trait if what you told me was right.”
“It was,” Helen said. “Jack must have spent a lot of time throwing rocks at birds in his youth.”