by Wolfe Locke
The cadets looked at me in shock. This was not the first battle they had seen, but being up close to an overwhelming power difference, that was hard to process, and seeing the Doom Bringer had brought with it some true primal fear.
Everyone was somber. We had been riding the high of my victory over the manticore and our own victory over the horde of the undead. And now we've all come face to face with the bitter taste of defeat. A defeat on multiple levels.
“We shouldn’t have come.” Said Lana, shakily, her previous confidence all but gone. “We should have left after that first victory. We shouldn’t have gotten cocky.”
“We couldn’t know what challenge was waiting.” I replied, but the words seemed hollow to me. “You all are some of the best in the academy. We all thought that we had a real chance. Mistakes happen.”
“But this mistake cost lives.” Said another cadet and I couldn't disagree with it, the mistake had been continuing before we were ready.
“Mistakes are like that.” Replied Mathias. “That is why we need to learn from them. We can never make the same mistake twice, and we won’t.”
“I don’t know if I have the courage to face that thing again.” Said Lana. None of the other cadets disagreed.
“We don’t need to think about it right now." Replied Markus as he looked at me in concern. "Let’s just get back to the academy.”
From the look on everyone's faces, this would be a battle no one would ever forget. They had just faced off against a monster that was way out of their league, and they nearly didn’t make it. Some of them hadn’t.
It was a disheartened and shell-shocked group of cadets that emerged out of the portal and back onto academy grounds, and the smile on Vozrun's face let me know our demon overlords knew exactly what had been awaiting us on the 3rd floor of the Hollow.
Chapter 21: Shifting Allegiances
* * *
I would have been mostly content if ill fate had ended when we stepped back through the portal. But as soon as our team of cadets filed out and onto the academy grounds, we saw that there was a new surprise waiting for us.
“Welcome back.” Said Vozrun. “I must commend you all on your defeat of the undead. But you did not stop there, did you? High on the winds of victory, you allowed ego to defeat you.
I met the gaze of the demon with open hostility. Of all the cadets at the academy, I was the only one who dared to do so. The only one who dared to meet Vozrun’s gaze at all. And even then, when I think of that monster within the Hollow realm, how much more powerful is Vozrun?
The demon gazed back with a wicked smile on my face.
“We told you that the challenges would increase in difficulty, but you thought yourselves ready. Now you know better. Now you know that you cannot win as you are." Vozrun explained. "But some of you know of the benefits of our offer."
The cadets that had remained behind at the academy looked on the returning team with despair. They might not have been there in the portal, but they evidently knew what had happened.
The others cadets on the team stopped and milled around with their comrades. But I kept going, intending to head straight into another round of training at the Arcanium.
“I did not dismiss you to leave.” Yelled Vozrun icily.
I stopped. There was something in the demon’s voice. Annoyance, maybe.
I turned back in order to tell Vozrun off, but my breath caught in my throat as I realized that the three demons were not alone. A man in a dark cloak stood with them, my face obscured. It was the same man that I had seen Vozrun talking to in the Arcanium.
There was still something familiar about him, but I couldn’t manage to place it. It appeared that the other cadets did not have the same problem, however. They looked at me with shock and confusion.
“Don’t be so hasty, Tristan.” Said Vozrun. “I would like you all to meet the newest member of our ranks. He has a few words to say to you all.”
As the man reached up to pull down his hood, I saw something on his chest that caught the light. All of a sudden, I knew who the man was, and I completely understood the expressions on the faces of my comrades.
Every cadet wore the pendant of their rank on their chest. Even now, after Vozrun had declared the new ranks.
There was one that was above all others in the academy. A rank given only to the truly elite. Those who had mastered the art of Swordcraft and had ascended to even further heights. This man wore the pendant of that rank, Diamond, and though no Diamond had been at the Academy. One did now. An ascension?
I had only seen one Platinum ranked cadet at the academy before. Only one person who could have advanced. The person who had been the reason that I had set out to learn the Crimson Blade. I thought that he had left the academy or been killed, given his refusal to lead us. But evidently not.
The man’s cloak came down and the worst suspicions of the cadets was realized.
“Behold.” Said Vozrun. “The newest member of the 8th Column of the Dredgers Division. True John.”
I could not believe my eyes. True John was one of them. He was a cadet from the academy. Yet, there he stood. Side by side with one of the lords of demon kind.
He regarded the cadets with a stoic look, scanning over their shocked faces.
“My former comrades.” Said True John. “I see that you were not expecting this turn of events. In truth, neither was I. But circumstances dictate that there should be a change made to this academy. To the world.”
“The Cadre are dead. Our teachers, who were supposed to be able to help us find our places among the frontlines of great swordsmen. They were torn down as if they were nothing, and that is because they were nothing. Those who could not fight training another generation who could. This is an end to that world of violence.”
I watched in stunned silence. I could not bring my body to do anything else.
“The true rulers of this world have revealed themselves to us.” True John Continued. “These gods who will usher in a new age have appeared, and they stand here right now. Why fight them when even those who were supposed to be the best of us failed in doing so?”
“You have all fought valiantly up until now, but this is where your fight will end. I pledge myself now and forever more, to the Triumvirate. I give you all this option and this option alone. Join me. Side with those who have the rightful claim to the world of men. Side with those who can give you power like you have never dreamed. Side with the true gods of this new world. Or refuse, and I will strike each and every one of you down personally.”
Gasps and exclamations of panic and fear went up from the cadets of the academy.
“You all have three days. Whoever has decided to continue opposing the Triumvirate by then will feel the edge of my blade before they leave this world.” As True John’s words trailed off, I looked straight at him and the two of us locked eyes.
“None of you have the strength or power to defy me, let alone the new gods of the world. Make the right decision. Submit, and embrace the new order. You have three days.” True John said as he walked straight by me.
My first instinct had been to try and sway True John. To try and see if I was maybe being influenced somehow. But as I gazed into the man’s eyes, I saw nothing but cold ruthlessness.
It was true that I had never personally met True John before, but I had never imagined that this was the type of man that he would be.
This was who I looked up to? This was who I had decided to learn from and emulate? He’s nothing but another monster.
The assembled cadets trailed off back toward the dorms with their heads hung low. Markus and Mathias made their way toward me, and the three of them joined the precession back to the dorms.
For a while, none of us spoke. There seemed to be nothing to say. The terms were as plain as they could be. Side with the Triumvirate, or True John would kill them.
Mathias looked to him as if Markus had lost his mind.
“Maybe he's right. We can't win against these monsters. That guy is the best swordsmen currently on the grounds. He was ranked higher than all the Cadre, and now he's ranked up again? He’s a prodigy and could probably kill us all without so much as breaking a sweat.”
“I know. He had been scouted to join the King's elites.” Said Markus. “Screw him anyway.”
“Markus is right.” I interjected. “It doesn’t matter who he is or how high he was ranked or what he’s capable of. Ranks don’t matter anymore, remember? He’s just another challenge that needs to be passed.”
“Oh, yeah.” Said Mathias. “Just another challenge. Totally. First a Doom Bringer and now this. How many are going to die this time? Just you? Or whoever follows you? How can we win?"
“By trusting in our skills and by having hope.” I replied, but I had trouble believing the words, and I could tell Markus and Mathias didn't believe it either..
Mathias waited a moment before responding. “You really mean it, don’t you? You're going to fight him. You don’t care who or what is in your way. You intend to take it on, even if it seems hopeless.”
“That’s just the kind of guy that he is.” Said Markus. “I’m with you, Valdanes. I’m not going to let demons or True John decide my fate. I'll go down fighting instead.”
“You’re either both insanely brave, or insanely stupid. I’m thinking both.” Mathias responded, a look of disgust on his face. I started to trail behind as the mark on my arm started to burn. I knew it would be important.
“You guys go on ahead.” I told them. “I need to go take care of something.”
I ignored the questions of the other cadets as I turned around and marched back out onto the school grounds and toward the demon gate. As I got closer, I saw that Vozrun was still there, alone.
“I had a feeling that you would come back.” The demon said. “Does the latest revelation worry you, Tristan?”
“No.” replied Tristan. “It’s just another challenge. I’ll either pass or fail.”
“So, you don’t intend to give up and worship us?” Vozrun asked with a laugh.
“Never.” I responded.
“Then I suggest that you enjoy your last three days of life.” Vozrun replied matter-of-factly. "Though I do hope you figure a way to defeat him."
“I’m not strong enough to beat him.” Said Tristan. “Not yet.”
“No, you definitely are not.” Vozrun agreed.
“You said that you wanted to give us a fighting chance. That you wanted us to be ready for the challenges that we face. Does that still stand?”
Vozrun met my eyes once more, its mouth spreading a familiar dark smile. “It is. The offer stands."
“Then let me train." I replied. "I know that you have access to monsters. Let me enter the portal alone and hone my skills.”
“You do realize that even if I were to allow this, your chances of victory are slim. You failed on the challenge to defeat the Doom Bringer, and you had a squad of cadets with you. The last Doom Bringer summoned to your world was brought down in battle by a former Platinum ranked cadet, and True John is now Diamond.. How can you possibly hope to defeat True John when you could not even make a scratch on the Doom Bringer? Perhaps you intend to harness the powers of that crest you carry?” Vozrun asked cryptically.
I'll ignore that last part. “I need to try.” I replied. “I will not cower in fear. I am a servant of the Kingdom. I am an extension of my blade. I will do my part and become the best that I can be. I will do all that I can to even the odds. Even if I lose, I can say that I gave it everything that I had. So, will you grant my request?"
Vozrun regarded me with a look that the cadet could not place. Could it maybe be respect?
“I will grant you this wish.” Said the demon lord. “If only to see if you are truly worth that crest. I will send a Dullahan to aid you and summon any monster that you wish to use to hone your skills.”
“I would like to start now.” I replied.
Vozrun raised an eyebrow. “Would you not prefer to rest first? I hear that you humans are fragile.”
“I’ve broken night to train before. What’s a few more? If you’re right, then these might be my last three nights alive. I might as well spend them doing something productive.”
“Very well.” Replied Vozrun with a mock bow. I wasted no time. I stepped up to the portal and entered.
If I can’t sway True John out of the path that he has chosen, then I will slay him. I won’t allow him to sully the name of the academy. More so, I won’t allow his actions to put the rest of the world in danger. I must get stronger. I must strike him down, or the world will fall.
Tired and bruised, I got to work. I would do all that I could to even the odds and make sure that True John did not lay a finger on any of the cadets. I would show them all that rank was not everything. Finally alone, I turned my thoughts towards the mark on my arm.
♄ Saturn’s Crest ♄
You are close Tristan. So close. With just a few more monsters absorbed from the Hollow you will be able to gain my power. The future that must never be honed me, and I will hone you. You have three days to defeat 500 monsters, if you do this, I will be able to bestow far more power until you. Enough to defeat this True John.
You have three days.
This message will now fade, and time will return to normal.
Authors Comments
Thanks for reading “The Hollow Blade”. I hope you liked it. I pulled a little bit from my time as a cadet at an academy for this one. It was meant for a little bit of a younger audience. I’m not sure if this will continue, it will largely depend on tractions, reviews, etc.
Speaking of reviews, please leave one, and always keep in mind how Amazon interprets ratings, with 5 being a good story, and 4 being average with 3 and under being various degrees of fail.
Anyway, thanks again!
I’ve included a sample chapter of “Arcane Summoner" for you to check out this summer.
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