Hunter's Academy (Veller)

by Spoor, Garry

  “There you are Miss Veller.” Morgan said when he entered the room behind her, his familiar yellow robes flowing about him.

  “Yes sir.”

  Morgan looked at her, studied her for a while and it was always difficult to tell what the old man was thinking. She was waiting to be berated for the misuse of her edge or something that she did during the incident in the field, but instead Morgan laughed.

  “Fine work… fine work.” He said shaking his head. “Please, sit down, tell me about the exam.”

  “I’m not sure where to start sir.” She said as she took her usual seat by the fire.

  “Start… start at the beginning. I want to know how your edge worked in the wild.” He said handing her a cup a rosemary tea, minus the rum.

  She still had no fondness for the tea, but she accepted it graciously and quickly set it aside as he sat down.

  “Well… I guess the first time I had to use it was when I asked some birds to help us get our bearings… no wait… the first time was when Kaza warned me about the transport spell.”

  “Oh, weren’t you aware of the effects of that?”

  “No sir, we were never told.”

  “Oh, I must have told somebody… I wonder who that must have been. Oh well, it doesn’t matter now anyway, please, how did you ask these birds and how did they help you.”

  Kile went on to explain every incident that she could think of that may or may not have been the use of her edge. She even tried to tell him about the others and how effectively they used their edges like Murphy who was able to enter a burning building and Alex who recreated an illusion of the map that they lost, but Morgan would rush her past these points. He knew all too well the limitations of the boy’s skills, these were quite common and in his world, quite mundane. It was with her skills that he was most interested, and would listen carefully to everything she said, and even to things that she hadn’t said, often forcing her to repeat a part of the story once or twice just to make sure he understood.

  He wanted to know how it felt when she used her edge and how it made her feel. What she was thinking? What the animals were thinking? Anything that had anything to do with her edge was fair game.

  When she went through the story, at least twice he finally paused for lunch and filled two bowls with a soup that was somehow cooking on the cold fire. She made a mental note to remember which bowl was actually hers in case he wanted to try that little experiment again.

  The one part of the story that had interested him the most was the battle in the field and the small army of squirrels that came to her aid. He was sure she had somehow used the Maligar either willingly or unwillingly and when she assured him that she had not, he was a little disappointed at first, but as he listened to the story the realization of what actually happened eclipsed even that.

  “So, you are absolutely sure you don’t remember using the Maligar?” He asked again, and again she answered the same way.

  “I’m positive I didn’t use it.” She replied.

  “Not even by accident, like when you used in on your horse… Grime.”

  “His name is Grim and no, it wasn’t even like that. When I was with Grim I was angry with him, I wanted him to listen to me. Out in the wild I wasn’t even thinking of Tik or the squirrels. All I knew was that I needed to do something to help Vesper, to help my friends.”

  “Incredible… are you absolutely…”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t you understand the significance of this?” He asked as he got up from his chair and began to pace the floor, tugging at his beard as he walked.

  She hadn’t thought of any significance in any situation, only that the squirrels had come to help, although Daniel had alluded to the fact that it was quite an uncommon occurrence to see squirrels working in unison, but she really hadn’t looked at it that way.

  “The squirrel recognized you, and protected you, as if you were one of them… no, not one of them. Squirrels don’t even go out of their way to help one another. This was something entirely different. They looked at you as if you… were their queen.”

  Queen of the squirrels, she hoped that title didn’t get around.

  “Don’t you see? We know Bees will go out of their way to protect the queen bee, it’s a hive mentality. Squirrels are more solitary creatures, but for them to go out of their way to protect you, they developed a kind of hive mentality with you as their queen.”

  “I think they were just doing me a favor.” She replied. She was a little uncomfortable with where Morgan was taking this.

  “But why, for what reasoned, what did they get out of it?” Morgan asked, and even she had to agree they were pretty good questions. “Have you seen any such loyalty in other animal?” He asked her.

  “No… I can’t say that I…”

  Another incident of unusual loyalty had occurred, one that she had failed to mention to Morgan. She hadn’t really thought of it at the time, passing it off as a minor event, but if the old mystic was placing such importance on it, then maybe it deserves a second thought.

  “What… what. You have, haven’t you?” Morgan asked getting more excited as he grabbed his book and jotted down a few more notes.

  “It was what Javoon told me.”

  “Javoon? That was…” He looked through his notes until he found the right passage. “That was the guard dog at the third orb challenge. He agreed to help you by convincing the other dogs to ignore Carter. Well, that is unusual but hardly the same reasoning.”

  “That’s just it. It was why he agreed to help. Gorum told him to.”

  “Gorum?” The mystic searched through his notes again. “I don’t have him listed here, who was he again.”

  “Gorum is one of Sir Oblum’s dogs.” She explained.

  “Sir Oblum’s dogs, what do they have to do with anything, they weren’t involved with the test.”

  “That’s just it. When the guards arrived at the academy to receive their orders from Sir Oblum, Gorum told the guard dogs to help me if they could. I never asked him to do it, I didn’t even know there were going to be dogs out there, or that they were going to wait at the academy.”

  “Now that is interesting.” Morgan replied as he scribbled some more things down.

  Great, now she was queen of the dogs, what did that make her? It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been called that before.

  “It would appear that the connections you make with these animals are stronger than I had first thought, and a lot more complex. I was originally under the impression it was just a simple form of communication, but it seems to go far beyond that. It would appear that you’ve made lasting bonds, friendships if you will, with these animals, not just on an owner to pet level, but on an even level, a one to one level, a friendship between the mortal world and the natural world. It really is incredible.”

  Kile left Morgan to figure out whatever it was that he felt he needed to figure out. There was an old saying her mother had told her on more than one occasion, usually when something actually worked out right even though it shouldn’t have. You never look a gift horse in the mouth. She was never sure what a gift horse actually was, or why anyone would look it in the mouth, but for some reason the sentiment fit this situation. She didn’t really care why the squirrels helped her, or why Gorum persuaded the dogs to lend her a hand or a paw, only that they did, and she was grateful for it.

  She walked past the stables heading to the dorms. She knew the boys would be training today just like every other day. It seemed like that was all they did anymore. She knew she would have to get back into doing it too if she had any hope of passing her combat evaluation. The lessons with Luke were one thing, but she wasn’t sure if that style was going to get her past Master Boraro, but there was somebody else she wanted to see today, somebody that she had been thinking of for the past couple of days.

  Kile opened the door to her cell and was greeted by Vesper who was sitting up on her bed. She walked over to the dresser where not one but four sma
ll ebony boxes sat in a row. Each one was intricately carved, although the patterns were a little different. The one from the Mystic tower was still more detailed than the ones from the Survival exercise. She opened up the box and removed the small key that was inside. She hadn’t seen the key since that day Mathew Latherby handed it to her.

  “Come on Vesper.” She said as she grabbed the belt pouch from around the chair. Maybe she should stop in on the quartermaster and see if he had any more of those pouches that they used during the exam. It was a lot more comfortable and a lot more convenient than the belt pouch. Vesper climbed in and from the way he chattered, it was clear that he thought the same thing.

  She headed back up across the compound, stopping only for a moment to watch the first years get their taste of Master Boraro. They were only one year behind her, but they looked so much younger than she felt, although most of them were bigger than she was. They had just moved from the wooden practice swords to the steel ones. Most of the first years could hold and wield a weapon better than she could, and she wondered if there was any hope for her. When Master Boraro glanced in her direction, she decided she didn’t really want to hang around there too long.

  Entering the great hall through the front doors she stepped into the gallery. There weren’t that many people around, but then there seldom was. The only time the gallery was ever filled was when the third years showed the first years around; hopefully she wouldn’t have to do that next year. The first thing she noticed was that Quaineess Nyn’s display, although still missing, had finally been cleaned up. There was another display cabinet in its place, but it did a disservice to the Hunter whose artifacts were now long gone, and there was still no reason why Eric would steal them.

  She knew it was Eric, but she no longer voiced that opinion out loud. It was not a favorable one. If he could remain in the academy after violating one of the oldest laws in the Hunter’s code, then there was little chance of him being prosecuted on her say so, whether he did it or not, and she knew he did it.

  She walked to the door under the stairs, inserted the key and turned it, listening for the click as the tumblers fell into place. She made sure nobody was looking, opened the door a crack and slipped it. At first there was only darkness as she closed the door, but soon the room lit up.

  The three women stared down at her from their places upon the wall, but unlike the godlike beings in the main gallery, they did not look upon her with disdain, but with respect, they did not question why she was there, only why it had taken her so long to come back. She admired all three of the female hunters for what they had accomplished, but it was the one on the far wall, it was Risa Ta’re that she had admired the most.

  There was that ageless beauty, that peace that she felt when she looked upon alverian maiden sitting in the forest with the fawn by her side. She had not given much thought to the fawn when she first saw the painting, she had thought it no more than an artist’s interpretation, but now she wondered. Now that she had touched a fawn, spoken with a doe, how much more that painting meant to her. Did Risa Ta’re communicated with the natural world? She didn’t know, but she wanted it to be true.

  -Who is she?-

  Vesper asked from the pouch on her belt. She took the yarrow out and set him on the shelf beside her.

  “She was Risa Ta’re, and she was a hunter.” Kile replied.

  She searched for her name on the noticed board. She really wasn’t surprised when she saw Master Boraro’s name was beside it, in fact, his name was beside hers all the way down the list with the possible exception of a few afternoons with Master Pike and Master West. This was not going to be a fun summer she thought as she stepped back from the board and the crowd that had gathered. She had always wondered why the third year cadets were always hovering around the noticed board, and now she knew, it was the only way they could find out where they were suppose to be, and according to the board, she was suppose to be in the List… again.

  It had been the same thing for the last two weeks, combat training with either Master Boraro or Master West. West seemed to be a little more lenient than the hard nosed Boraro, but not by that much, at least Master West didn’t go out of his way to make her life miserable. If she had known back then that they would be torturing her with the courses she was failing in her last year, she might not have been so good at the courses she was passing in her first year, or something like that.

  She followed a few of the unfortunate cadets who, like herself, were assigned to Master Boraro classes. As they entered the field she turned to watch as the first year cadets were training under the watchful eye of Master Finds. They were technically second year cadets now; they just didn’t know it yet. They were occupying field three and were working on their moves as the Weapon’s master took them through their stances. It was nice to see just how far she hadn’t progressed. After two years of sword training she was sure that the first year cadets could easily take her down.

  She walked over to the rack and set about selecting herself a sword. It wasn’t that difficult a task since she didn’t like any of them; it was a matter of choosing the one she disliked the least.

  Master Boraro entered the field just as Kile nearly dropped the sword she had just drawn from the rack. The Weapons Master rolled his eyes as he passed and proceeded to walk among the cadets. Normally he would have balled her out for a slip such as that, but he had been keeping his temper the last couple of days. She was sure somebody spoke with somebody, maybe advising him to cut her some slack. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful if such a thing had happened, but it did smack of favoritism.

  She walked over to where Alex and Jakk were going through their steps as Master West called out the numbers. Every swing had a number assigned to it, every step, every block, they were all numbered. The idea was that if a cadet could string the numbers together they could create a combination of moves, and then the only thing they had to do was find an enemy that worked with the same system so they wouldn’t be out of sync. The whole practice was pointless, but at least she wasn’t getting hammered on by Master Boraro.

  After a few hours of playing swing that number they moved into some light sparring. They broke up into groups of three. Two would spar, one would watch and then they would rotate. She was glad that Jakk was so eager to join her and Alex; otherwise they would have to find another partner. Carter and Murphy were too good to take basic combat training anymore, most of their courses were academics and what weapons training they did take was far more advanced than what she was forced to endure. Daniel fell between the two sides; he didn’t excel in either the academic or the physical side, so he was only required to train a few days out of the week. That was usually the beginning of the week when Master Boraro introduced the new weapons. After she had seen every weapon she thought existed, he always managed to produce one more. In some ways she actually looked forward to it, but then the Hunter usually spoiled it by choosing a target to demonstrate his weapons prowess on. It was only a matter of time before her turn came up, and she feared for that day.

  After a full day of training, it was supper in the dining hall, her chores in the stable and then more sparring behind the barn with the gang. This had been going on for two weeks straight and the only changes she had seen were in the calluses on her hands. She lowered her sword too soon and Carter moved in for the kill.

  “Come on Kile, you’re not even trying.” He said as he stepped back to the starting point of the make shift circled.

  “Sorry, I got a little distracted there.” She said as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Let’s take a break.”

  “A break? If you’re in a combat situation against an enemy, are you going to ask him for a break?” Carter complained.

  “Of course, he might need one too.” She said as she sat against the barn, the wood felt cool against her back and it was just nice to be in the shade. It was just too hot to be swinging a sword around; she would have to confine her fighting to the spring and autumn months.
/>
  “Fine, Alex, you’re next.” Carter said pointing his sword at the smaller cadet.

  Alex was all too eager to have his brains beaten out on a hot day as he took the sword from Kile and faced off against Carter in the circle, but at least he was improving. After two weeks of training all day and training all night, Kile would almost say she was getting worse and yet somehow she still had to prove she could fight in order to pass her combat evaluation.

  “Hey, Kile, since you're not fighting, could you help me with this.” Murphy asked as he showed her a parchment he had been working on. She looked it over and instantly found several mistakes, there were certain privileges that the best friend of the son of a lord wasn’t entitled to, and one of those would have been a decent education.

  “Of course.” She said as she sat down in the grass with him and showed him where he had gone wrong.

  “Hey guys, there on their way.” Daniel shouted as he came around the corner of the stable. His duties in the halls of healing were taking more and more time away from his study sessions.

  “Who’s on their way?”

  “The new first years, they’re finally here.” Daniel exclaimed.

  It was definitely a boy’s thing as Carter and Alex dropped their swords and quickly followed Daniel back to the field. Even Murphy wasn’t immune to the excitement as he excused himself from Kile to follow the others.

  “I really don’t see what the big deal is.” She said to herself as she got to her feet. She couldn’t practice alone and she had already read the book that Murphy was studying, so she stacked the books on top of one of the crates, set the swords back in their bin and reluctantly followed Murphy down to the fenced in area.

  The carriages had pulled in by the time she took her place on the fence next to Daniel, and she watched as the young cadet fell out into the road. No girls among this group she noted, and wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved, as for the boys, there were so many of them, but then there were quite a few in her class to start with, now they were down to a mere twenty eight. How many of these cadets with their dreams and their hopes would be standing where she was right now in only two years time? In many ways it was kind of sad. She looked at their faces as they stared in awe at their new surroundings and slowly moved to the main field to get their first look at Sir Oblum. The insults and the comments began to fly and that was all she could take. Let them have their little customs and their irrational tradition she thought as she pushed off the fence, she just couldn’t take any part in it. The rest of the boys headed to the field to continue badgering the first years, she headed back to the stables.