The Year of the Lumin

by Andrew Ryan Henke

  After some initial discomfort, his leg began to feel better. The pain that he was sensing before was now gone. He bent his leg, testing it. It bent correctly like it had before the accident at the cave. A surge of absolute glee ran through him as he comprehended what he had done. Fafnir had been wrong!

  Noir tossed aside the blanket and put his feet on the rock floor. He slowly stood up on his two legs. Both supported him correctly. He took a step with his previously bad leg. It was working wonderfully. Noir took the first normal steps that he had taken in over a year. He walked for a moment, then broke into a jog, then to a run. He ran from one side of the large cavern to the other.

  Fafnir raised her head as though she were never asleep. “Well done, my student! You are talented in healing, indeed.” A smile curled on her lips as she watched Noir running about the chamber. “Well done. I figured it would not be long before you tried it, despite my lecture. However, I did not think you would be successful on your first try.”

  Ratt had woken up from the sound of Fafnir's voice and had come over to see what was going on. Noir ran up to Ratt and grabbed his shoulders. “Ratt! Do you see? I can run again! I haven't run in a year!”

  Ratt replied as Noir shook his shoulders in excitement, “Wow! You healed your leg?”

  Noir stood back from his friend and started doing jumping jacks. “Dude! I can do jumping jacks!”

  Ratt laughed, then stretched and yawned. “I'm not sure why you'd be happy to be able to do that, whatever that is.” He was smiling sleepily. “But good for you. Now, I don't know about you,” he joked, “but I got stabbed today. I'm going back to bed.” He stretched again, scratched his belly, and walked back to his bed.

  Fafnir spoke to Noir, “Ignore his disinterest. Healing and being healed drains the body substantially. I'm surprised you aren't more tired than you are.”

  Noir stretched his legs and Fafnir continued, “You have done very well, Noir. I did not tell you how to do this feat because I wanted you to experiment on your own. Part of your training is teaching you to teach yourself. You need to constantly try new things and experiment with lux in order to become a better Luxin.” She paused and then said, “Noir, you have progressed faster than just about any student I have ever had. Your training is quickly coming to a close. Soon you will have to discover new ways to use lux on your own.” She curled her large dragon lips into a smile. “Get some rest, child. You have done very well today.”

  Noir walked a couple more laps around the room and then went back to his bed. He sat on the edge and bent his leg over and over. He thought for a long while about everything that had happened. Eventually, his drooping eyelids encouraged Noir to lay his head down on the pillow and drift off to sleep.

  ~~~

  Aimee flung din attacks furiously at the targets that someone manipulated to pop up on the training grounds. She was exhausted at the repeated training and felt like she could do no more. She flung one more fire attack that wilted before it hit its target, then she inadvertently fell to one knee, drained by the continued use of her chakra.

  Her teacher came forward applauding her efforts. “Ninety seven targets destroyed. Very impressive, Aimee. The best I've seen in quite a while from a novice.”

  Aimee struggled to remain conscious as he came forward. “Yeah, whatever. Is it good enough?”

  The dark robed man chuckled. “You know the number to beat was twenty. You surpassed our expectations by far as usual. There is only one more step to you becoming a true Din Mage”

  Aimee looked up at him with hatred and hope and said, “Then you will tell me how to get home?”

  Aimee's teacher closed his eyes and reached for something behind his back. “No, I'm sorry my child. I'm afraid you are worth too much to us here.”

  Aimee's heart filled with violent rage as she saw the collar come from behind his back. At the same time, the red light of din came from his hands and ice hardened around her wrists fastening her to the ground. “No!” she screamed at him. “You liar! You promised I could go home!”

  “I am sorry, my dear,” said the man as he brought the collar to Aimee's neck.

  Aimee tried to grasp din, but it slipped through her fingers. She now knew she had walked into his trap perfectly. Hatred fumed inside her as her teacher brought the collar around her neck.

  She refused to let him get away with it. She gathered her hatred and forced it through her chakra and into her din. She felt the power surge once again. She forced as much heat as she could into the air around her and shielded herself from it.

  Aimee watched the horror on her teacher's face as he realized he had again underestimated her. The fire engulfed him and the entire area. He tried to shield himself from the flames with ice, but it was no use. He was quickly incinerated by the massive burst of energy.

  Aimee wearily stood up from the circle of charred ground around her as three more Din Mage instructors ran out. She could see them each embracing din preparing to deal with her.

  She shrieked at them, “How many more of you do I have to fry before you tell me how to get home?!”

  They did not respond but looked at each other with mixed emotions.

  “I'm not your puppet! How many more?!” she screamed again.

  One responded, “Well, listen to what we--”

  Aimee yelled again, “Stop lying to me! I won't take it anymore. Tell me the truth or I'll end it all here!”

  The three looked at each other and mumbled a few words that Aimee could not hear. Then they turned back to the enraged girl and said, “In that case, we may have a proposition for you.”

  Chapter 15

  Best foot forward

  Noir and Ratt spent the next few days continuing to practice and learn. Noir’s leg functioned as though it had never been damaged. Fafnir was encouraging Noir to figure out new ways to use lux on his own. Without any input from Fafnir, Noir had figured out how to solidify the air molecules around Ratt’s weapon and hold it in one place. However, this took much more of his lux power than simply deflecting the weapon. He had also figured out that he could make a sudden burst of light to blind his opponent, giving him an opportunity to attack. Fafnir was very pleased with his developments, but Noir was growing anxious to leave. He was worried about his cousin and uncle and wanted to go find them. Captain Grandel had promised him that he could leave the town when he wanted, and he intended on holding him to that promise as soon as possible.

  One day, after a long practice session and after Ratt had slumped off to bed from exhaustion, Fafnir called to Noir. “Noir, my student. There is another cave tunnel that I have still kept hidden. I would like to show you its contents. Follow me.” She turned toward another bare cave wall and walked toward it. The wall shimmered and dissipated to reveal another tunnel. Noir did not see the dragon use lux. He figured that the power required to do it was not rooted in lux, but something else. Fafnir entered and Noir followed.

  Once inside, the light faded. Noir harnessed his lux and created a light above his head to see. He walked forward. The tunnel led down to the right, and then to the left. It ended in another cavern room. This room was small and looked like it was rarely used. The walls did not have the polished look as the main cave hall had. Sharp stalactites pointed downwards from the ceiling, and stalagmites on the ground rose to meet them. Fafnir wove her body through the cave’s obstacles and disappeared into the dark toward the back. “Come forward, Noir,” her voice called to him.

  Noir started forward. A bright light came from somewhere before him for a moment, then faded. He climbed over stones and around pillars of rock until he came to Fafnir. The tall, beautiful woman that Noir had first seen as Fafnir now stood before him. There was a chiseled stone table before her. Noir approached and saw that the table had pieces of polished metal armor laid out on it. Underneath the armor was a hooded white cloak with yellow trim. On the back and smaller on the breast, there was the yellow tree which symbolized lux. The armor and cloak looked identical to what Adeel w
ore, though this was obviously made to fit a man of Noir’s size.

  Fafnir smiled warmly at him. “Kneel, my student.” He bent down and put both his legs under him and put his hands in his lap. “Young Noir,” she spoke slowly and steadily as if reciting a creed. “You have proven yourself capable with the power known as lux. You have learned all that you need in order to go into the world and help the world as a Luxin. Do you swear to use this power to protect and help those around you?”

  Noir had read about this ritual in The Three Vigors. “I do. I exhaust my chakra for life and peace.”

  “Then I now pronounce you Luxin Noir. Rise and accept the traditional Luxin armor.” He rose to both feet again and Fafnir took each piece of armor and attached it to him. There were pauldrons for his shoulders, a breastplate, two quisse to place over his thighs, greaves for his knees and shins, and two couter for his elbows. The armor was surprisingly light. His clothes could be seen at the seams. Each piece of the armor had the lux tree worked into its design. Lastly, Fafnir lifted up the thick white cloak, walked behind Noir, and fastened it around his shoulders.

  She then walked in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. She looked into his eyes and smiled. “Luxin Noir. You have completed my training. Go forth and protect those you love. Continue your craft and live life in peace.” She then gave him a delicate hug. Noir did not feel as though he was hugging an ancient powerful dragon, but a woman whom he truly cared for. He hugged her back. This was truly a friend and he knew she would forever be an ally. Surprisingly, she felt delicate and small in his arms.

  ~~~

  The next morning Ratt and Noir got ready to leave. Noir had sent his horse home with Adeel and Elrid, so he and Ratt would have to walk back. They packed cloth bags with food that they had prepared earlier. They both had their weapons that Fafnir had given them. Noir had the gold-hilted sword on his belt along with the short sword that Gonn had given him in Talik. Ratt wore his large axe on his back. It hung in a leather loop lose enough for quick removal. They had sharpened the metal back to pristine condition with the help of Fafnir. Their sparring had marred and chipped the metal in places.

  The three were outside the cave opening. Ratt and Noir had their cloth sacks packed and ready to go. The skies were dark with clouds that threatened rain. In her normal dragon form, Fafnir stood in front of her lair’s opening. “I searched your path from the air this morning. The path to Kuli is clear. You should meet no resistance on your journey for at least today.”

  Noir said, “Thank you Fafnir. Thank you for everything.”

  Ratt said with a smile, “It was fun.”

  “You two were very good students. Noir, you are one of the most powerful and fast-learning Luxins that I have ever trained. Use your abilities with wisdom and kindness.” She smiled and looked into Noir's eyes. “Good luck in the future, Luxin Noir. I will see you again.” Then she turned and went back into her cave. Her long tail was the last thing they saw, slowly flowing in long curved lines in the air. The entrance of the cave shimmered and turned into what looked like solid rock.

  Ratt said, “Well, that is that, I guess.”

  Noir turned away from the cave toward the route they were going to take. “I hope you know the way, Ratt. Fafnir described it to me, but it would help if you remember it from when you came.”

  “It has been a while, but I’m sure I’ll remember as we travel.”

  “Well friend, let’s go.” The two slung their cloth sacks on their backs. Noir was still getting used to the armor and cloak. He often had to fuss with its various straps in order to get it comfortable.

  Ratt and Noir started on their way. They traveled down hills and hugged cliff walls on narrow paths. The rain never came and soon the dark clouds pushed off toward the rising sun.

  As they walked, they talked about all that had happened since they met each other. They joked and laughed about many things. However, they were still aware of their surroundings and did not let the noise get too loud. As they had learned, straghs were nearly silent creatures, and the louder they were, the harder it would be to detect the monsters.

  By the early afternoon, Noir started recognizing the landscape. He noticed the place that he had first seen the straghs. The memories of the battle flooded back to him. It seemed as though only days had passed since he was last in that place, though it was closer to a month.

  Noir thought about how much he had changed since he last traveled this road. He remembered riding on his horse thinking of movies and heroics. The truth of this world had sunk in since he had seen a real battle and learned so much. There were evils out there that would not think twice about killing him. Even though he had learned so much about lux, he still had no idea what to do if he encountered an enemy Syeter again.

  Noir wondered if he should try to find Aimee or Uncle Steven first, since they had most likely ended up in the separate kingdoms. He thought about each of them and how they would react to this place. Steven would probably love it, learning about anything and everything he could. And if he could use sye like Grandel said he could, then he would probably be neck deep somewhere reading books on it.

  Noir was not sure how Aimee would deal with this place. She had changed so much recently that he wasn’t sure if he really knew her anymore. He knew that as long as his uncle had ended up in a decent place that he would be fine. So he should try to find Aimee first. But since Tier seemed like such a volatile place, he wasn’t sure if he was ready for it. In a way, Noir was glad for the long walk. It meant he did not have to make a decision about this for at least a few days.

  As Ratt and Noir walked, the terrain steadily became smoother. The mountains loomed behind them. When there was a clearing in the trees, they looked out on rolling hills before them. The sun sank down the sky and they had grown very weary of walking, so they set up camp for the night.

  As Noir and Ratt sat beside their fire and ate the food that they had brought with them, they talked. After Ratt finished a story about his childhood home, he said, “You have never talked much about your home. You’ve said you came from a village, but you never talk about it. You’ve never even told me the name of the town.”

  Noir had been evading that topic for a long time. He didn’t feel like he was ready to tell Ratt yet. However, he knew Ratt deserved the truth.

  Noir told Ratt exactly that. “The village story isn’t quite the truth. But the real truth is unbelievable.” He looked at Ratt and said, “I know it sounds weird, but I’m just not ready to talk about it yet. I’m not sure what it means or if it is even real myself.”

  Ratt seemed very confused. He took a bite of meat and chewed while thinking. He took a big swallow then said, “That’s all right. I understand. Some things are hard to talk about, you know? But just know that you can trust me with anything.”

  Noir nodded and said, “I know that. Thank you.”

  The two changed the subject and finished their meal talking about other things. They put out the fire and went to sleep in their temporary shelters.

  The next day they would reach Kuli. Noir looked forward to the comfortable bed at the Chauffeur’s Inn.

  Chapter 16

  The scarred man's omen

  Ratt and Noir walked the entire day without incident. They talked and joked about many things. Noir realized how much he had learned about this world from Ratt and their conversations and was again thankful that he was there with him.

  They stopped once to eat a quick lunch and rest. Noir longed for something else other than dry bread and berries. A candy bar, gummy bears, anything else. He sighed and ate nonetheless.

  After their bland lunch, they continued on until sundown. Soon after the twilight faded to a black sky, they saw the small yellow lights of Kuli in the valley before them. It would have been a welcoming sight if not for their last visit. Elrid and Adeel had acted like there was something strange going on there. Also, the horror of the dream he had in the inn still felt fresh in his mind even though that was a
lmost a month earlier.

  Noir debated with himself about going there at all. It would probably be better to stay in the woods again that night. But something was drawing him. If there was a Syeter there, he had to learn if there was a way to counter their mental attacks. Fafnir had told him to try to continue learning and experimenting with lux to find new abilities with it. Also, he wanted to make sure Adeel and Elrid had safely passed through weeks prior.

  They continued on toward the town. They were soon passing fences, livestock, and plowed fields. Since it was nighttime, they did not pass anyone until they reached the center of town. The few people that walked along the main road gave Noir wide-eyed looks. Last time, Noir had seem that same expression when they saw Adeel. He felt proud of his armor and what it meant and unconsciously sat up a little straighter in his saddle when someone stared at him.

  They arrived at the Chauffeur’s Inn and opened one of the large front doors. Unlike last time, the lobby was empty. There was no one behind the counter either, but there was a small hand bell. Ratt walked up, shook it loudly, then sat down on one of the stools at the bar. A minute or so passed before they heard slow, heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

  The thin body of Assai, the young innkeeper that they had met last time, came into view. He walked slowly and with a slump as though a heavy burden laid on him. When he saw Noir, he stopped in mid-stride. His face looked like he had seen a ghost.

  “A Luxin!” he said. His face seemed to be a mix of excitement and fear.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Noir asked.

  The man quickly stepped up to Noir. Ratt spun on the stool to face him. He said with odd pauses in his speech, “My mind, it was… it was not mine. I remember meeting you before, but you…. I saw through my eyes but could not act…. My body was not mine.”