The Student

by Darin Niemann

  He sighed as he finished, then shook his head as if to fling the thoughts from his mind. “Now go, I have spent too much time conversing and not enough working. Leave the book there on that pile. Oh, I almost forgot. Try this one next.”

  He handed me a new book, which would most likely be the next focus of study for my class. He left without a backwards glance, carrying a stack of tomes away to be placed on the shelves.

  I set the old book down where he had indicated and left the library. Thoughts bounced around in my head as I walked, but one in particular stood out. Knowledge leads to power. An interesting statement, to say the least. I would have to ask Enelo about what the librarian had said; not tonight, though. I still had to practice my swordsmanship tonight.

  Idly, I wondered if this ‘training’ was all some sort of trick or fool’s joke that Dante was playing on me. He seemed like the type to do such things. It was a marvel that a person with his bearing had become a blademaster. I would hardly believe it if I hadn’t seen him in action before.

  I was nearly to the training grounds when Iselle strolled out of a side hallway and noticed me. She approached me with a nod of her head. “Kayne.”

  I dipped my head slightly lower than she had to show respect. “Iselle.”

  She smiled at me. “I have been meaning to seek you out. I have a proposition for you. And Prince Erik, of course.”

  Intrigued as to what she was planning, I obliged. “A proposition? Of what sort?”

  “As everyone knows, the Fall Festival is in a month’s time, right after the first classes of school end.” I nodded in recognition as she continued to speak. “I think that the three of us together would make for an interesting festival, wouldn’t you say?”

  I sighed, “I will ask him, but wouldn’t a prince have obligations on such an important day?”

  At my question, her smile turned into a full grin. “Even nobles need a break from the nobility every once in awhile.”

  Inclining her head once more, she walked past me and I watched her disappear down yet another hallway. Even after living here for a while now, I still didn’t know where half of the halls lead to. I mostly stuck to the ones that connected my classes and room. And, recently, the one I was currently on that lead to the training grounds.

  Thankfully, there were no more interruptions before arriving at the training grounds. If I had been stalled any longer I would likely have been too sleepy to care about practice. As it was, I firmly decided to do all one-hundred strikes. At the very least, Dante couldn’t say that I gave up.

  Chapter 11

  Sweat was running down my face and into my eyes, but I was almost done. Ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight… I lifted the sword high, then brought it downwards to strike. Over and over again I repeated the motion. All I could see was the sword and my target. Ninety-nine. One-hundred. Just as I struck for the last time, I heard the sound of clapping off to my right. Wiping the sweat with my shoulder, I turned to see the blademaster himself, Dante, standing there with a smug grin on his face.

  “Well done, lad. I half expected you to have simply quit. I am impressed.”

  I glared at him. “You said you would be back in two weeks time.”

  “Indeed I did.” He replied, still wearing a full grin.

  “It’s been over three since I last saw you!”

  Amazingly, his grin grew even wider with each word I spoke. “Indeed it has. Which makes me doubly surprised to find you still at it. Most would have stopped at the two week mark, if not before then. Anyway, with my return we can continue your training.”

  I walked over to the nearest weapons rack and replaced my training sword.

  “It is late and I have a test to take in the morning.” I made to leave, pretending that I cared little for the praise of the blademaster.

  Dante called out to me as I left.

  “Rest well!”

  As I walked away, I couldn’t help but smile. I was looking forward to tomorrow’s training session with the swordsman. I hoped that it would be more than just double the number of swings.

  The morning came swiftly with my mind full of thoughts on practicing new sword techniques. It gave me energy, but I had to stay focused. Before training, I had a test to take. It was my last test of the term. The others had gone smoothly but this was Master Willard’s class. All I could really do was to hope for a fair test. Although, knowing my teacher, it would not surprise me in the least if he somehow found a way to place me at a disadvantage. I sighed.After all, today would be my last class session with him; for that, I was grateful.

  I arrived early, as did most of the other students in the class. On most days, some of my classmates would throw a few smirks and glances in my direction. Today though, it seemed that most of them were too worried about the test to pay much attention to me.

  The tension in the room was obvious as I took my seat. Personally, I wasn’t too worried. I had prepared for this with the books that the librarian had recommended and a couple late night discussions with Enelo. The only factor that I had no control over was Willard. He didn’t like me, to say the least, but would that affect the test scores? I could only hope not.

  Master Willard entered the room with a large stack of papers, wearing a smug grin as he looked around at all the nervous faces. When his gaze landed on me, his smile faded. My confidence must have shown, because now the teacher was back to his usual irritable self.

  Willard began passing out papers to each student as he gave instructions.

  “You have until the end of the normal class period to finish this test.” He ignored me as he passed my desk, but at least he had given me a test.

  “Anything you do not finish will count against you. When you are done, set your test on my desk and quietly leave the room.”

  Handing out the last of the tests, he proceeded to sit down at the front of the room. He looked at us, then the clock.

  “Begin.”

  As I worked, I realized something interesting. To prepare for the test, I had read both the books from the class and the books that the librarian had recommended. This granted me a unique viewpoint that the other students did not have. Some questions would be difficult to answer using the class books alone, whereas others might be difficult if only using the books given to me by the librarian. I had nearly no trouble thanks to the information gained from both sources.

  There were only a few questions that made me stop to think, but I quickly thought of a solution. For the entire test I completely focused on my work, not interested in those around me. When I finished and went to hand in my test, I noticed that I happened to be the very first to complete it. The master gave me a look of disbelief and spoke quietly.

  “You cannot possibly be done. It is scarcely halfway into the class period.”

  I laid my completed test on the desk, leaning in ever so slightly, “The librarian sends his regards.”

  With a smirk adorning my face, I left without looking back.

  I stretched in relief as I entered the hallway. It felt extremely good to finally be finished with that awful teacher. An invisible weight had been lifted from my shoulders as I had finished the test. With the rest of the day open to me, and no studying to be done, visiting Enelo was my first priority.

  Living away from Enelo had been quite lonely at first, as I missed our conversations; those that were serious and those that were trivial. I suppose it was a good thing that school kept my mind occupied on other things. Lost in thought, I nearly ran straight into Max and his brothers. I quickly ducked into a side hall and pretended to study an old portrait hanging on the wall as they passed.

  The painting seemed to blend into the wall with its dull and lifeless colors. If not for Max and his brothers, I would never have stopped to look at it. The aged man in the painting had been portrayed sitting in a plain wooden chair, with a book nestled in his lap. For some reason, the book caught my eye and I noticed something small etched into it’s cover. It appeared to be a symbol of a
raven.

  Just then, Max let out a loud laugh, causing his friends to laugh as well. I turned my head slightly to see if they had seen me but they were already nearing the end of the hallway I had just came from. As they turned a corner and disappeared from sight, I heaved a sigh of relief. This whole issue with Max had to be dealt with, and soon, but how? For weeks now I had been worried about another run in with them and it was beginning to frustrate me. I didn’t have the personal strength to win in a straight up fight. If I could somehow get Max alone, I might be able to pull it off. Then he would be furious and want revenge; it was a never ending cycle. I needed a way that would end the conflict for good, once and for all.

  I placed my thoughts aside for later, as I would have to think more on that subject to come up with a solution. I didn’t want to let my worries of Max ruin my visit with Enelo. Before leaving the school grounds, I stopped by my room. Inside, I found Erik writing a letter at his small desk. He turned towards me as I entered.

  “How did the test go?” He asked.

  For a moment I cast my gaze downward as if avoiding his question. Unable to contain myself any longer, I grinned widely.

  “I was the first one done.”

  He laughed. “You didn’t fool me. If you hadn’t left full of confidence this morning I might have fallen for it.” He wrote another sentence in his letter before continuing the conversation. “Kayne, now that we have a bit of free time why don’t we visit the market? I hear that a few special stalls are already set up in preparation of the festival.”

  “I would, but I am visiting Enelo today. Perhaps tomorrow?” I asked.

  “Tomorrow it is, then.” The prince replied before turning back to his desk. I picked up some of my strewn about belongings before leaving for Enelo’s place at last.

  ~

  As Enelo’s home entered my line of sight, I smiled. Even though I had visited regularly throughout the first school term, I still missed the place. More than that, I missed Enelo himself. Knowing that he would be in his study, I proceeded straight there, bypassing the kitchen and dining area with barely a glance. Sure enough, he was preparing some concoction on the table. I saw a bit of cloudleaf and even some bloodroot. Interesting. I studied the desk a bit longer before I spotted a small vial of strasilla extract.

  “Mixing up some deathsand’s bane?” I asked, curious as to why he would need it.

  Enelo, aware of my presence, finished up his work. “It never hurts to be prepared, especially with all the influx of people for the festival.” He dropped the last ingredient into the vial and mixed it with a stirring rod. “I try to keep a vial of this around, in case of emergencies.”

  Deathsand’s bane was used to treat deathsand fever, a rare fever usually found in deserts. It was possible that a person could carry the contagion to Erelith if they had caught the fever before leaving the desert. It wasn’t extremely contagious, but if left untreated the fever could lead to death.

  Enelo capped the mixed substance and placed it on a shelf with other similar vials, each marked with a name on the front. With that he turned to me and smiled.

  “I take it you are done with classes? How were the tests?”

  I grinned and told Enelo of the librarian and the books the old man had recommended. We talked for some time about the differences of the various teachers and their favored books. Enelo said that back when he had taught at the school, the man was a professor that had recently stepped down. He remembered the man for his eccentric ways, but had never known him as more than an acquaintance.

  Furthermore, I toyed with the idea of telling Enelo about my nightly training but decided against it. I wasn’t sure if he would approve of it and, not wishing to disappoint him, I stayed silent on the matter. For many hours, we talked over various happenings, mostly about Enelo’s work, but also some of the other interesting things happening around Erelith. Apparently there was some trouble with the mines located in the northern mountain range, but most of the details were kept secret from the common folk.

  When we became hungry, Enelo brought out a bit of bread and cheese to nibble on. I truly felt at home, sitting there conversing with Enelo. Even though I may spend future weeks away at the Academy, this would always be my home. Having a place such as this went beyond my wildest dreams as a lone boy on the streets of Relvan. I would never forget those days, as they helped create who I am, but I would never miss them either.

  Eventually the day’s end snuck up on us and I knew that I had to leave soon. After all, I still had some training to sneak in before I slept.

  “It is getting late, I should make my way back.” As I spoke, I looked out the window at the last rays of sunlight. Enelo nodded in agreement, then smiled.

  “I have missed our conversations, lad. Knowing the Academy, it will only get more busy from now on. Just know that whenever you feel overwhelmed or simply need to escape it all, my door will always be open to you.”

  I grinned in return, “I already knew that, old man, what would you ever do without me? Not even the king, your closest friend, would listen to your ramblings for near as long as I.”

  I hopped to my feet as I spoke, backing towards the door with a spring to my steps. Enelo guffawed as he rose as well, chasing me out the front door. I laughed as I ran to the street and turned to see him at the door shaking his head.

  “Who are you calling old man?” He shouted, but it was all in good fun, as he smiled broadly and waved goodbye. I waved back, then sprinted off towards the Academy, ready to begin my training with Dante.

  Dante was waiting when I arrived at the training grounds. He was tapping one foot as he leaned against a column.

  “About time you showed up, I am a busy man I’ll have you know,” he cursed lightly under his breath.

  I rolled my eyes as I reached for my training sword on the rack.

  “What business might that be? A mug of ale?” I questioned.

  His foot stopped tapping as he stood straight.

  “You're being cocky. That’s not a good trait for a swordsman. Cockiness gets you killed. Now, hold your sword like this….”

  He went on to describe a few different stances that could be used in combat. Some he said were very rare and only useful in certain situations, but that preparation was the key to victory.

  “If you are prepared for everything, you can beat anything,” he spoke as if it was the most simple thing to accomplish.

  Tonight he focused more towards sword against sword techniques. These are the most common encounters that a swordsman would deal with, as the most common weapon was a sword.

  Late into the night we practiced, with him showing me a form, and how to use it. I would then copy him and mimic his strikes in order to get a feel for them. There were countless stances and forms to memorize, it was like starting to learn medicine all over again. That had taken me years, and I could see why many the city guard only learnt the basics and the commonly used forms.

  After some time, we sat down against the cool stone walls for a break.

  Breathing heavily, I asked, “How long did it take you to learn all that you know?”

  He gave a slight grin, “Kid, I first held a sword when I was nine years old. My pa was a ruthless brute, who knew nothing besides swordsmanship. That didn’t mean he was good, mind you, only that he knew a lot. He taught me all that he knew, and ever since then I have been training and seeking out stronger opponents. In the last ten years, none have been as strong as I have. Except one.”

  He nearly whispered the last words, growing silent. For a moment I hesitated, not wanting to intrude, but I couldn’t stop myself. My curiosity was too strong.

  “Who?” I asked. He stared at me intently, then looked away.

  “It was a few years ago, when I was younger and thought I was the best swordsman that ever was; I had thought I was a true blademaster.” His eyes gazed upwards at the stars. “And then I met him, a man I had heard rumors of. Some called him a demon, others, a descendant of the gods. He
was neither, of course, simply a man. I challenged him to a duel, to see which was the better of us. Young, and undefeated, I was confident almost to the point of cockiness.” He paused for a moment, remembering. “I would like to say that it was a long tough battle, that our fight lasted hours and he barely managed to win, but that isn’t what happened. It was over in one strike.” He clenched his fist, still feeling the frustration of the past. “One blasted strike was all it took to bring me down. I could barely make out the sword, let alone even think about parrying or dodging. He moved like the wind. Fast and ever changing. That was my first and only encounter with a ‘bladedancer’.”

  I couldn’t believe it, the legendary warrior Dante, who was known throughout the land, was beaten by one strike? What kind of strength did it take to be called bladedancer?

  Dante turned to me, his face set in a serious expression as he continued.

  “You remind me of him. That is why I offered to teach you. Something about you makes me think you have the potential to be something more than a mere blademaster.”

  For a moment I couldn’t believe my ears. “You mean me? A bladedancer?” I asked incredulously.

  He nodded, “I think that someday you might become one, but not for a long time yet.” He grinned then, “You would have to best me first, for that to happen. And trust me, that isn’t happening anytime soon.”

  He heaved himself up off the ground, brushing himself off. “I think that is enough training for tonight, be here tomorrow.”

  He walked off, his footsteps fading into the night. I continued to sit there, disbelief running throughout my mind. Impossible. I shook my head, as if to clear myself of the ridiculous thoughts. I got up and placed my training sword back on the rack. I decided not to think on such possibilities. As Dante had said, even if that was a possibility, it was a long time off. For now, I would focus on school and training as best I could.