by Andrew Rowe
As it happened, she only lasted a few more moments where she was. Marissa bounced a pair of orbs off the ceiling, which I hadn’t even considered, and took our last companion completely unware.
Patrick swapped hands, and then unleashed a flurry of quick blasts at our closest opponent, Sera. The torrent of attacks was too fast to effectively deflect, so she and Roland stepped aside — probably without realizing that they had been obscuring the existence of the orbs until it was too late for the people behind them to notice.
One reacted in time, only clipped by a single sphere. The other took hits from four in a row, and I saw his shield visibly crack before a judge reached in and pulled him right out of the ring.
I whistled in appreciation, but Patrick only shook his head. “Think that was probably the last I’ve got in me. Arms feel like they’re on fire.”
I wasn’t in great shape myself, but nowhere near that bad. Then again, I’d been dueling daily since I was old enough to hold a stick. Not many people had that advantage.
I tried to bounce a sphere off the ceiling to hit Marissa, but I missed her entirely. Aiming them was trickier than it seemed.
I did, however, manage to dodge the attack from the student behind her. It missed Patrick and slammed into Sera.
She glowered at her teammate as she stepped out of the ring.
Okay, Sera’s out. That’s just four against two now, we can do this.
“Eyes!” Patrick shoved me, then stumbled. For an instant, I thought he’d made a classic heroic sacrifice, but the orb had missed him as well.
“Sorry!” I spun in time to knock one of Roland’s spheres back at him, but Roland simply batted it back out of the way.
Patrick and I settled back into our defensive, back-to-back stance. “Ideas?” he asked.
If he’s out of mana, and our opponents are pretty close, we could try to run them out. But Marissa’s showing no signs of stopping, and I don’t think we’ve even scratched her.
Our opponents who were furthest away — Marissa on my side, someone I didn’t recognize on Patrick’s — were walking forward in their lanes, toward the middle of the room. That meant they were taking themselves out of the direct lines of fire of their teammates, nullifying one of our few advantages.
It did give me an idea, though.
The student that was on my side could barely hold up his cane. It was charged, but I didn’t expect him to take more than one more shot, if that.
I glanced at Patrick, pointed at the student, and said, “Melee.”
We rushed him.
With no students in the lanes between us, we were free to roam... so there was no rule preventing Patrick from using his cane to knock the other student’s weapon out of the way. Nor was there any rule against me point-blank blasting the poor guy with my own.
It only took one shot to take him out of the arena. Patrick took a hit in the back from Roland in the meantime, but he was still standing.
He grinned at me. “Nice. Now what?”
Marissa was maneuvering carefully on my side, her left hand glowing with a visible aura.
On our opposite side, Roland and the other remaining student were standing still, weapons poised and ready.
Charging Marissa would be suicide — Guardians are made for close combat. Rushing Roland would let her shoot at us from behind, and I don’t think we’d close that distance before she could hit us. We could make a fighting retreat to Roland’s side, but as soon as it’s obvious we’re angling for them they’d probably attack...
How can we overwhelm them from here?
“Patrick, do you think you’re recovered enough for another shot?”
His expression was pained, but he nodded. “I think so. If I have to.”
I whispered something in his ear.
He extended his cane toward Marissa and raised his thumb above the rune. If this went badly, Marissa was the least likely opponent to be seriously hurt.
I grabbed onto his cane with my left hand. “Now.”
We pushed the rune at the same time.
I felt the mana surging through me and, for the first time, I felt that connection extend all the way through to someone else. Patrick.
We were each giving it enough mana to power the blast individually. I gave it more, pushing my mana through, just like I had with my dueling cane.
I felt the mana that was already charging the cane, grabbed that, and pulled it into rune.
The sphere we produced was tremendous, probably three feet in diameter. It whirred through the air, directly at Marissa.
Marissa slammed her cane into the incoming orb, but her weapon bounced right off it. The ball impacted with her shield, leaving glowing cracks as it continued to push, until she slammed a fist through the center of the orb and dispersed it into tiny fragments.
“What are you about, Corin?” She lowered her hand, shaking it out a few times, then sent us an outraged glare. “You tryin’ to kill me?”
I winced. Maybe that attack had been overkill. I hadn’t meant to upset her. “Uh. Um... No. Sorry—”
She replied with a pair of blasts: one for Patrick; one for me. Both landed on target.
Lord Teft clapped as we walked out of the ring. “Excellent, excellent. I haven’t seen a show like that in... days, maybe?” He shook his head. “Anyway, good ingenuity there. Roland, twelve points for asking for a second cane and lasting until the end.”
That second cane was a great idea. Wish I’d thought of that.
Teft turned toward another student and continued. “Ten points to Jonathan for lasting to the end as well. Marissa, ten points for you as well, for your overall performance. And Corin...”
Marissa stomped over to Teft. “Yer gonna reward him for whatever that was?”
Teft chuckled. “I said the only weapons you could use were canes. I didn’t say how you had to use them. Overcharging a cane would be illegal in a number of events, true, and it probably should have been a rule here. But it wasn’t. So, five points to Corin for cheating and getting away with it.”
She folded her arms. “And yer not worried ‘bout what would have happened if he broke my shield?”
“In a worst case? You’d be feeling very numb right now. These are practice war canes, Miss Callahan. The spells they emit are safer than normal dueling canes, and even those are barely a threat. If you have concerns about the safety of my class, however, you are always welcome to leave.”
“No,” she replied through clenched teeth. “I’m not leavin’.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’ve somethin’ different in mind.”
***
After spending a few minutes nursing my numbed limbs, I left the class.
I hadn’t meant to get on Marissa’s bad side. In fact, she was one of the few students that truly interested me. On my way out, I realized that just apologizing and explaining what I was thinking would probably help, if I had the courage to do it.
So I walked right back to class and did it immediately.
I caught Marissa as she was tossing her cane in the box.
“Hey, uh... Marissa.”
She spun, her jaw tightening as she saw me. “What is it, Corin?”
I raised my hands defensively. “I came back here to apologize.”
She tilted her head to the side. “What? You making a joke?”
I waved my upraised arms back and forth in denial. “Uh, not joking. I’m not good at this, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to cheat back there, or to do something that looked like it might actually hurt you. Honestly, I didn’t know exactly how dangerous it was, so I really shouldn’t have done that even if it did turn out well, but—”
“Stop.” She frowned. “Okay. Yer apologizing. And yer right, that was stupid. But... Well, you’re actually apologizing? That’s... well, it’s new.”
I raised an eyebrow. “New?”
Marissa brushed her hands across her uniform, looking down. “Yer a noble, aren’t ya? You know I’m not, right?”
“Do you know how frequently nobles apologize for doing somethin’ mean to someone who ain’t one of them?
“I, uh, hadn’t really thought about it. But from your reaction, I’m going to gather the answer is ‘not very frequently’?”
She laughed. It was a short laugh, one that rang of bitterness. “Might be understating that a bit.” She looked up at me, letting her eyes meet mine. I didn’t look away. “Why’d ye do it? Why go after me like that?”
I blinked. “It was nothing personal, if that’s what you were thinking. You were clearly too strong defensively for normal attacks to work. The other two were too far away for us to reach.”
Marissa frowned. “But I saw ye looking at me, even before the match started.”
“Sure, I was looking for the toughest opponents, figuring out how to crack your defenses or work around you.”
“Toughest... opponents?”
I tapped my forehead. “See this? I have the great honor and prestige of having one of the worst attunements for dueling. The only chance I have to succeed here is through strategy, at least until I can throw together some items. And a big part of that strategy is learning how to deal with the strongest fighters we have. At the moment, that’s you, Roland, and maybe that Jeremiah guy who only shows up to about a third of our classes.”
She chuckled. “Not sure I agree that he should make the list. Not sure I agree that I should make the list — but, I, uh, guess I’m flattered?”
I nodded. “Anyway, I really am sorry that I offended you, and if there’s something I can do to make up for it, let me know.”
Marissa raised a hand to her mouth, looking stymied. I wasn’t sure why I was affecting her so much. Clearly I had miscalculated somehow, but the response wasn’t entirely bad, at least.
“I, uh, I... I’ll think about it. I think I should go? I should go.” Marissa half-nodded, half-bowed, and then disappeared into the distance.
***
When I arrived back at my room, there was a letter waiting for me. It had a runic seal, one designed to break only when touched by the intended recipient. Opening the letter before the seal was deactivated would incinerate the document. The offender’s hands weren’t likely to come out unsinged either.
I hadn’t seen one in years; they were expensive. Now that I was an Enchanter, I’d have to learn how to make them at some point.
I pressed my thumb to the seal. It cracked open, allowing me to pluck the letter from within the envelope.
My Dear Corin,
I strongly advise you to stay as far away from Keras Selyrian as possible.
I am aware of your personality, however, and I expect my counsel will go unheeded.
Keras Selyran was last seen heading toward the Edrian border. We believe he has recently emerged from the Serpent Spire. I’m unaware of if he completed his objectives within.
This is a delicate matter, and I will trust that you will be discrete with this information.
If you truly are already involved in this situation, I would like to speak with you as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I have urgent business in Dalenos, and I will not be able to visit you for the next several months. I entreat you to display the utmost caution until we are able to speak directly.
One final time: please be careful.
You will be in my thoughts.
-Your Mother
My hand tightened as I finished reading the letter, crumpling the page.
It was, perhaps, my own fault that the first words I’d gotten from my mother in years were chastising me for delving into danger.
A part of me had hoped for more. Something meaningful.
There were so many things I’d wanted to say to my mother over the years. So many questions I’d wanted to ask.
Why had she left? Was I so inferior to Tristan that it wasn’t worth staying?
Now that I knew about Sera’s potential heritage, I wondered if that was a factor. Had Father been sleeping with another woman? Had Tristan’s failure just been the last in a series of arguments?
For years, I’d wanted to know the truth, but it never seemed like the right time to ask.
Perhaps more importantly, I was afraid of what the answer might be.
Was it my weakness that had driven my parents apart?
I didn’t think I could handle that.
So, I didn’t focus on finding the truth. I told myself I had a better approach, one that would reunite my family rather than just giving me potentially painful knowledge.
I had to bring my brother back. He was the only one who could help mend our wounds.
I had some information about Keras to work with now, at least.
I destroyed the letter.
If Keras was heading toward the Edrian border, that certainly added to the hypothesis that he was working with Edria somehow. I didn’t have any good means to look into that immediately.
I went to try find Professor Orden, but she wasn’t around. I tried a few more times over the following days, only to find learn from Professor Teft that Orden had gone into the tower.
I’d have to get answers elsewhere for a while. For the moment, I had more pressing matters to attend to. I needed to make sure I was ready for the upcoming test; I would be no help to anyone if I failed out of the academy.
Chapter XI — Enchantment
Professor Conway looked exhausted. He’d lost the usual effortless spring to his movements and deep bags were visible under his eyes, even from where I was sitting in the third row of the class.
“Since our last class was interrupted by an unsightly incident,” he began, not needing to explain to anyone what incident he was referring to, “I believe it would be pertinent to pick up where we left off. That said, our missed time will need to be covered to ensure we can cover the entire syllable, and I’m confident few of you would want an extra day of class. Thus, I will be consolidating the second half of our last lecture with today’s discussion. I will only have time to touch on each subject briefly.”
Conway pulled a chair behind the lectern and sat down, something I’d never seen him do in any of his previous classes. He was generally one of our most physical professors, always moving, frequently drawing diagrams.
It had been a full week since our last class had been interrupted. Was that still what was bothering him, or was it something else?
Did he know something that we didn’t?
I didn’t have enough information to speculate in any detail. I tried to push the questions out of my mind and put some effort into listening to the lecture.
“There are two main things that set the attunements apart from one another. The first of these factors is that each attunement gives you access to additional types of mana.”
Normally, this would be when he’d stand up and start drawing on the board, but — he didn’t this time. He just glanced around the classroom, then continued to speak. “As you already know, everyone has gray mana, and that gray mana has different properties depending on where you draw it from in the body. There are eight other types of mana that attunements on Valia can control. Every individual attunement gives you access to two of the eight.”
He paused for a moment, taking a drink from a glass of water. “We have eight attunements in Valia. Every attunement has a primary mana type and a secondary mana type that it provides. The primary mana type tends to be easier to use, but nevertheless you will find some people who focus on the secondary type.”
“For example, as a Guardian, my primary mana type is Enhancement. This type of mana is typically used to bolster physical characteristics, but it can also be added to other spells in order to stabilize or improve their functions. A Guardian’s secondary mana type is life. Most Guardians only learn to use this to rapidly recover from injuries and exertion, but there are some unusual Guardians who have learned to manipulate life mana in a way similar to a Mender, giving them the ab
ility to heal others. This is more common for Guardians with lung or heart marks.”
I nodded along with much of the class. This was interesting material; I knew that every attunement gave users new types of mana to work with, but I hadn’t realized that it was always two types.
Actually, I was pretty sure it wasn’t. Didn’t Elementalists have three types of spells?
On a rare whim, I stood up to ask a question.
Professor Conway turned his head toward me. “Yes, Master Cadence?”
Dozens of heads turned toward me. I froze up for a moment before taking a breath and regaining my composure. “Don’t Elementalists have three types of spells? Fire, air, and lightning?”
“Ah, a good question. You’re getting a bit ahead of me; that would get into the second distinguishing characteristic of each attunement. You may sit down.”
I sat.
Conway continued. “The second thing that sets each attunement apart is how their two types of mana can be combined to create a unique result. For example, an Elementalist’s lightning is a combination of air mana, fire mana, and a bit of gray mana that serves to keep the mixture from detonating. Every attunement derives a unique function from the combination of two mana types that their attunement provides.”
Another student stood up. “If I got fire and air mana from two different attunements, could I still combine them to make lightning?”
That’s a way better question than the one I asked.
“Yes,” Conway responded, “In that case, you most likely could. Some of the so-called ‘unique’ characteristics of each attunement can be achieved in that way, but there may be exceptions. Some combinations of multiple attunements are so rare that we have not been able to prove if they can be combined at all.”
I scratched my chin, wondering which combinations were the rarest — and how I might obtain some of them in the future. Would it be possible to get four attunements with completely different mana types and cover all the types of mana? I’d never heard of anyone with that many attunements... aside from the visages, of course. And possibly Keras?