by Ko, John
Houk a hero? It’s almost enough to make her laugh. Instead, she says, “If it was earlier today, we were with the real Houk Bosh. Your countryman must have encountered an imposter. I can assure you that the real Houk Bosh would never do something like that.”
“But …” the one named Aule begins.
“Houk has plenty of money, and he has us. He doesn’t need to go around asking for anything. We take care of Houk.”
“They’re lying,” Lady Teori blurts out. “You know they are, Ighy. They didn’t even know he was from Ramaya.”
“He is our friend!” exclaims Haenul. “Houk Bosh is a man who refuses to use any Tech but one, Firepoint. And as weak as that Tech is, he’ll … well, he has us. And you’ll never find him without Streak, a yellow dog who follows him anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes he does stupid things because all that matters to him is being The Comet!” Suddenly, Haenul wants to cry. Half her locks blaze red. “The stupid Comet …”
The tall redhead looks at them for a good long while before turning to walk away. The rest of the party follows behind, all except for the young boy. He pulls out a money pouch and holds it before them. “If you see Houk, could you give him this?”
“No, never!” screams Haenul. He doesn’t want you to feel sorry for him. Guys don’t like that.
The boy looks deep into her eyes and says, “I know you lied, but you told the truth about the things that mattered most. I’m a truth-reader you see. Not only can I detect the truth, I can only speak the truth.”
They’ve heard of those with such a gift.
“If you won’t accept that, please return this to him. It is not a gift. It is something he left behind,” the boy says, holding out a slightly misshapen bronze-colored orb. “He had an accident, and that’s why he left us. When we cleared the site, we found this. It’s all that was left of Nix. It’s not enough to bring Nix back, I know. But maybe … Please, just take it. Maybe it will remind him …”
Haenul accepts the imperfect sphere. “Are you sure you can’t give this to him also?” The boy pushes forth the money pouch again. Both girls look at it and shake their heads.
“Are you crying?”
Back at the tavern, the two girls sit quietly in the corner. Even the ever-bright Sya looks sad for once. “We should have taken the money.”
“I know,” Haenul says. But we couldn’t. Just then, the door slams open and a gallantly shady boy bursts in. The young man is typically tall, dark and handsome, with scruff surrounding a daring smile. A yellow dog follows close behind, tail wagging. He smiles and slams two lobsters down onto the table.
“I found a couple of big ones. They’re from the sea, not some little freshwater ones that taste like mud,” he says happily. Haenul picks one up and throws it at his face. She jams a finger into his chest and almost says something, but instead marches upstairs, her hair flaming red.
“I don’t understand. She’s been going on forever about wanting something good to eat, lobster in particular.” He picks the lobster off the ground and tries to dust it off. “These aren’t easy to get this far inland. You don’t know what I had to go through …”
“Yes, we do,” Sya says with a cute smile. “These are going to taste great. I’ll make sure she eats hers, too.” She picks them up and takes them back to the kitchen.
The ever-dashing but hopeless weakling Houk Bosh slumps down into a chair. He nuzzles the bright-eyed dog and sighs. “Girls …”
Chapter 37
RACHEL
[Behind the Stewards & Raiders Inn, Greenwood]
She can’t get the image out her mind. Falling, getting up. Falling, getting up, again and again, never a moment without a smile. She has to help him. She is the only one who can. After all, it is her that he is copying. Every little detail, right down to the smallest movement, is a mirror of her own. He does everything else so well, except this. It’s like we’re complete opposites.
“Fate?”
“Shine, is that you?”
“Yes, Captain, is it alright if I join you?”
“Sure, but I cannot practice with you right now. I need to do ninety-one more before I am free,” he says, falling hard to the ground. She winces at the sound, her own aches and pains all but forgotten.
“Why didn’t you ask me for help?”
“You have already helped me without me having to ask. I would not have gotten this far if it was not for you.” He’s on the ground again. “I watched you do this a thousand times.”
“But I can help you better than a Memory,” she says, trying not to plead. He’s right, though. There’s nothing more I can do. From what I saw watching Riser’s Memory of him practicing, he’s already doing everything right. If he hasn’t gotten it by now … I have to get him to stop.
Rachel studied the Memory all night. She knows better than anyone. The Fate will never be able to do it, Trip the Light.
And with no ranged attacks, Earth Boots won’t be enough for him to compete on the World Circuit; not against flyers, not against those who can attack from afar, not where the footing is not solid, not against so much more. And he knows, that’s why he’s doing this.
“When I found the Memory you made explaining how to Trip the Light, I knew I could do it, too. You really explained it in a way that even I could understand.” Thump. He gets up and recites, “The secret to tripping the light is just as the name suggests. The Tripper must actually trip himself, causing himself to fall. At the very beginning of the fall, there is a moment where the Tripper is actually falling upwards. During that instant of instants, before the apex of the fall, is when the Tripper must catch the line. Once your Light Boots contact the line, the Tripper may then use the line to regain their balance.”
Shine listens. It doesn’t surprise her that he even copies the way she spoke on the recording. “How long have you been practicing Tripping?”
“For the last year and a half, one hundred fifty times each night,” he answers. “74,324 times to be exact.”
“No way!” she says, but even as she does, she knows he is telling the truth. “How many times have you been able to catch the Light?” That’s the part he seems to not be able to get right. He’s trying to hook the Line as he falls upward correctly; it’s just that his feet don’t seem to ever catch the Light.
“Zero.”
That’s impossible. Even if by accident, even if he had almost no yellow in his aura, he should have caught a Line by now. This has to stop.
The Fate looks up and asks, “Why are we crying?”
Rachel realizes that she’s not the only one. “Why are you crying?”
“I am crying because you are crying.”
She can’t help but laugh at that. “You have to stop this. And I don’t mean crying.”
“Just eighty-four more and I will,” he says before falling back down. “Please do not worry. I will get it for sure on this next one.”
“How can you even believe that?”
“It is the only way,” he says. “I may not know much, but I know believing that you can matters. If you do not believe, it will never happen. I learned that from my Old Man.”
“So he told you to do this?” Suddenly, she doesn’t like his Old Man very much.
“No, he does not teach by telling,” the boy says, getting back to his feet. “It took 5,178 battles and an earthquake for me to learn that lesson.”
“First of all, how do you keep track of all those things? Are those numbers for real?”
“How do you not? Yes,” he answers.
Rachel knew he’d say something like that. Maybe he’d explain the earthquake comment a little better. “How did all those battles and an earthquake teach you?”
“I suppose the lesson began even before that. Ever since we arrived at the Slate, my Old Man would play with me every day. And every day I would ask him to train me to Tear Battle. One day he said yes and our games turned into real battles. He always won. I got better and better, but he is very strong.
/> “At some point, I came to the realization I was not yet good enough to beat him. But it was still so much fun, and I felt like I was getting stronger. I thought that was enough. Then one day while we were really going at it, the earth shook and he lost his balance and fell. But I was not looking to win. I was not looking to finish him off and I missed that instant—my only chance up to then to have beat him. I let it slip away, all because I did not think I could win. I will never believe that I cannot do something again.”
She now understands that he isn’t going to stop. There’s nothing else but to … “On this next one, I’m sure you’ll catch it for sure.” She puts on her Slippers of the Sun. She taps each toe to the ground out of habit and says, “Follow me, exactly.”
As graceful as a feather floating up, she kicks one foot out from underneath her and falls. Before she feels the pull of the earth, she catches the line. In a blind girl’s blink, she’s on the other side of the clearing. She gasps out loud as she realizes the Fate is next to her. She decides she’s not that surprised, after all. “I knew you could do it.”
No matter how many times the Fate tries it by himself though, he can never get it just right. But every time he follows Shine, he’s beside her like light’s shadow. He still can’t do it on his own, but at least he doesn’t have to fall by himself anymore.
Chapter 38
BROTHER MONSTER
[Behind the Stewards & Raiders Inn, Greenwood]
“I believe it is about time that you learned to put those to proper use,” The Fate points at the Half-Orc’s gauntleted hands.
“No, thank you. I’m perfectly fine just using them to help me sense everyone.”
“But there is much more your Hands of Flame are capable of,” the Fate says. “There is also much more to Fire than just burning.”
“That may be true, but its mere existence could harm—even unintentionally. Don’t you understand? No matter what you say, I will never wield the flame. I will never take that gamble,” the Half-Orc says. Why doesn’t he just leave me alone? I’ve already agreed to wear the awful-smelling things.
“And I will not ask you to.” The Fate pulls out a candle and a small rock from his belt. He strikes the rock against his gauntlet, creating a spark. “There is something I wish to share with you. Whether you want to learn it is up to you.”
He sets the burning candle down. “Is it not beautiful, the way it dances to the breeze?”
Monster frowns but nods.
“Fire does not know right from wrong. It is hungry, though; so hungry, it will consume this whole forest if we let it get out of control,” the Fate says. “But if we can control it—contain it—it will warm us when we are cold, cook our food, or even forge something of use.”
“Yes, I understand this,” Monster says. “But you can never truly control it. At some point the flame will betray you.”
“You are correct. One may never truly control anything, but maybe just for a short time we can?” the Captain says. “ You were born of the flame. Even though you are as much Blue as you are Red, you have no talent for Water or Air. You are meant for Fire.
“And even if you did not start the fire, perhaps you should at least know how to put it out?”
Monster reluctantly agrees. Fire eats, fire consumes. He can feel its hunger. It eats everything it touches, even the very air surrounding it. Worst of all, it is the Aspect most favored by Orcs, who use it to destroy. But perhaps he should learn of a way to at least extinguish it.
In a way, that is what he has been doing all his life. “Alright then, show me.”
The Fate looks at him and then at the candle. “It is not something I can really do myself, but I learned the basic principles behind how while at school.”
“What school teaches Fire Techniques?”
“Criers College.”
“You’re telling me you’ve already been to Criers College?”
“Something along those lines.” The Fate shrugs. “Now, back to the flame.”
Monster stares at the candle. The flame moves faster than he expected. Red, yellow, orange, and where it meets the air, it dances invisible, cloaked in haze. It’s so quick there’s no way his eyes can keep up when the wind blows. So nimble, it’s without pattern, but there’s always a tip. Whether low or high, it reaches.
Half the wax is melted before he looks up and asks, “What exactly am I supposed to be looking for?”
“I am not sure,” the Fate says, grinning. “But if you can, close your eyes and see the fire within your mind.”
After staring at it so long, it is not difficult for him to visualize the flame. “Now what?”
“You can see it?” the Fate asks in surprise. “Can you make it stop moving? Can you stop the flame’s dance and make it totally still?”
Brun tries to stop the flame in his mind from moving. When he opens his eyes, the candle has gone out.
“Daebak! But snuffing out the flame is no good,” the Fate explains. “I want you to picture the fire being still, not going out. Please keep trying.”
Monster continues the exercise for the rest of the day and again the next. Every day, he tries to stop the fire from moving without extinguishing it.
The day comes when he finally does it. The candle is still burning, but the flame is still. Unmoving, it looks like a small blade painted red, orange, yellow, and even white. He reaches his hand out and can still feel its warmth. The act breaks his concentration and it flickers to life once again. He does it once more to be sure before going in search of the Fate.
When they return, Monster shows him what he has achieved. The Fate praises him. “Impressive. There is just one more step, but you have already mastered the hard part.”
The Fate picks up the candle and puts it away. He sits down and takes the candle’s spot. He stares into Monster’s eyes and asks, “Are you sure you understand the difference between extinguishing the flame and making it still?”
Monster nods. Of course I do, it’s what I’ve been practicing all this time.
The Fate points towards his heart. “You will need to activate your Spectral Armor for this. Look, right here. Every person has a fire within them, some stronger than others, but it is always there.” To Monster’s surprise, he sees the Fate’s flame quite easily. It’s so bright that he wonders how he’s never noticed it before.
“Close your eyes. Can you still see it?”
Monster grunts in affirmation.
“Okay, the Tech is called 'Still the Flame.' Say the words and try to calm my flame. Please be careful not to extinguish it.”
Monster closes his eyes and concentrates. The Fate’s flame is so clear. He stretches his hand towards it and calms it. “Still the Flame!”
When he opens his eyes, the Fate is frozen in mid-air. The sight breaks Monster’s concentration and the Fate lands roughly, his elbow cracking against a small rock.
“Monstrous! I knew you could do it. With Still the Flame, you can immobilize nearly anyone for a limited time. The more you practice, the longer you will be able to hold them.”
He doubted it all the way up ‘til this point. But this was actually worth learning. “Here, let me look at your elbow. It’s bleeding.”
The Fate waves him off and picks up a handful of dirt. He rubs it onto his elbow and says, “This is nothing. All I need is to rub a little dirt on it.”
This would infuriate anyone with any knowledge of healing whatsoever, but the Half-Orc knows better than to argue. Instead, he looks down at his blackened gauntlets, grateful to have them for the first time.
“Also, I owe you an apology, Monster,” the Fate tells him. “For I have taught you a Forbidden Tech. Still the Flame has two versions, but now that you have used and named it, you should not have to worry about activating the forbidden version by mistake.”
“Another version?”
“It is a true Death Tech. For some reason, the two Techs share the same name, Still the Flame. But now that you have used the Tech agai
nst another Crier, you have locked in the proper one to your Tear.”
“You mean, if I did that wrong just now … If I extinguished the flame instead of causing it to be still …” Monster mumbles before yelling, “I could’ve killed you!”
There is nothing more he wants than to smack some sense into the fool boy. How could he risk it?
“You said you could do it,” the Fate says.
Monster’s anger doesn’t subside. He grabs the Fate by the collar and screams, “How could you be so stupid? Why would you risk it?”
His Captain looks at him and says, “Because I believe in you.”
Chapter 39
RISER
[Practice Field behind The Clerk’s Dormitory, Greenwood]
Riser screams in frustration. She pounds on the bubble that marks her defeat. She turns to Sensei and Wake, who cringe in fear. “Again! This time, try harder!”
“Wait, Riser,” Sensei says ever so meekly. “I think we need a better plan.”
Riser doesn’t say anything, but stomps over to the edge of the field and sits down. Sensei looks over at Wake. Wake nods and shouts over to the three standing on the other side of the field. “We need to go over some things. We’ll be ready in a little while.” Fate, Shine and Monster wave back and begin to discuss things on their side.
“We’re not going to win at this rate,” Sensei says as he and Wake catch up to the angry Daughter. “Let me explain. The longer the fight goes on, the more we are at a disadvantage. They have healing and we don’t. Even without it, their endurance is better than ours. I mean better than mine and Wake’s.”
Riser growls. “We just have to hit them harder and faster, before their healing gives them an advantage then. We really shouldn’t be having this much difficulty with this game. We have one objective: eliminate Monster. We just aren’t trying hard enough.” But whenever they finally get the other three on the defensive, Monster would Still Rachel’s Flame and wield her like a shield. None of their attacks have been able to get past the combo. And because Shine doesn’t try to breakout of the Monster’s hold, they could keep it up for quite a while. Once the two synched, Shine’s Orb would fully neutralize any of their attacks. Together they suffered no recoil, allowing them to block multiple times in quick succession.