“She is not ready,” Nikias said. “Besides, what cohort they join is up to them. Even still, the legionnaire that squired her may train her for one year following the Academy.”
Geres's eyes narrowed. “Then I challenge you to a Trial of Blades. If I win, then I will take Hikari.”
Nikias glanced to Chih.
Chih shook his head. “I will not override your refusal. Turn down this challenge if you wish.”
Nikias regarded Geres with a look of mixed emotions on his face. Terra could see that Nikias was eager to fight Geres, but seemed hesitant.
Lycus Cerberus then stepped into the salient. “I accept your challenge.”
Chapter XXIII
Cerberus
Praetor Lycus Cerberus Combat Record
Confirmed Kills
Kalian: 10,426
Manticores: 17
Faceless: 478 (See notes class type kill counts)
Sons of Oblivion: 9,782
Hunter Keepers: 4,281
Timeships: 251
Dreadnaughts: 3
Askari: 821
Time Knights: 87
Aeon Legionnaires: 5
Other Human: 10,127
Other: 12,582
Unconfirmed Kills are approximately double the sum of the above figures.
Medals, Awards, and Commendations: See attached list with 5,292 entries.
Trial of Blades Won: 8,237
Trial of Blades Lost: 2
War Crime Accusations: Records sealed by order of Consul Prometheus. This matter has been formally investigated and closed.
-Log of unauthorized Archives access
Terra shivered, looking at Lycus's terrible snarl as he stood partially shrouded in shadow.
Geres hesitated. “I did not challenge you.”
Lycus approached Geres, standing face to face. “You tried to claim one of my tirones. They belong to me. No one else. They pass the training when I say they do. I can reject them even if the make it through the Labyrinth. That is my right. Not yours. By trying to take what is mine you have challenged me therefore I accept that challenge.”
Geres recoiled. “I will not fight a Legendary Blade. My challenge is withdrawn.”
Lycus's snarl grew. “As a Legendary Blade my challenge may not be refused regardless of rank.”
Geres looked to Chih.
Chih shrugged. “This is true. Centurion, you cannot refuse,” he said before turning to Lycus. “However, praetor, I must remind you that he may make a request for help to even the odds if he so chooses.”
Lycus nodded.
Geres glanced to his comrades. “My strike team, four of us, against you alone. We get first strike. If we win, then I get to chose any tiro I wish for my Cohort.”
Lycus's snarl twisted into a grin. “This is acceptable.”
One of Geres's Legionnaires let out an audible growl and glared at Geres, but said nothing.
Geres grinned, regaining his confidence. “Yes. This should work. The legendary Cerberus hasn't fought in a Trial of Blades for over a century. I think it's past due for someone to call him out. I was planning to participate in this year's Tournament of Blades anyway. This saves me time. And if you win?”
Lycus's wolf like grin showed his teeth. “Your humiliation in front of the tirones gives them a lesson in caution. That is more than enough for me.”
∞
Moments later, Terra joined others at a large salient. Other tirones gathered. Soon the edge of the salient filled with spectators. Terra thought the entire Academy must be there. A few other legionnaires watched as well, including Chih.
The salient then set itself to a flat barren field with scattered bush to break up the rocks and dirt.
Lycus stood in the center while Geres's teammates surrounded Lycus. Geres and his three companions then drew their aeon edges. Like Alya's, theirs were silver in color unlike the lead weighted dull gray versions Terra and the other tirones carried. Each aeon edge had a different configuration than the others. Then Cerberus drew his aeon edge.
It was the first time Terra had seen Lycus's aeon edge, Cerberus, in any detail. Like the other aeon edges, the polished silver reflected the light of the sun while held. Unlike the other aeon edges Terra had seen, three timecores glowed blue just above the hilt as Lycus loaded a stasis cell clip. Cerberus was more jagged in design than the one that Geres held. The toothed edge reminded Terra of a wolf's maw.
Neither saluted the other.
Geres and his team attacked. Terra had to Speed her vision to keep up. True to his word, Lycus waited until Geres swung first with his blade. Lycus blocked with his shieldwatch before moving to counter the other Legionnaires who moved in to support Geres. When all combatants drew close, even Terra's Sped vision did her little good.
The ebb and flow of this battle differed completely from the one she had seen earlier. Now both sides moved at a blinding speed. Flashes of blue filled the salient and each blast ripped up the ground, sending chunks flying into the air. Geres and his team did not hold back. They used aeon edge bursts in tune with their coordinated strikes, trying to overwhelm Lycus. Lycus weaved around the attacks with ease before cutting down one Legionnaire. He yelled as he hit the ground with a large swath of his chest now in stasis.
The three remaining Legionnaires shifted formation and attacked again from three different points. Again, Lycus weaved out of the attack, cutting down another before moving.
Geres cursed. He had lost half of his team within seconds.
Terra sensed the battle's flow now. Lycus toyed with Geres just as he had done with her during the Survival Test. This Trial of Blades was nothing like how the tirones fought with one another. It made most of her sparring sessions seem like schoolyard slap fights. Geres was a real legionnaire, his movements precise and controlled. He and his companions were skilled wielders of their aeon edges and used them in perfect combination with a shieldwatch. In spite of this they still were nowhere near Lycus's level of skill. He was untouchable.
Alya's fight in the library had been like poetry. She had moved like a wind through chimes. Lycus moved like a hungry wolf eager to taste blood. Blood would have decorated the salient if not for the non-lethal setting for the duelists' aeon edges.
Geres and his remaining companion drew up for a final attack. They struck, unleashing a flurry of bursts from their aeon edges. Lycus then stepped out of the dust and smoke and swung his aeon edge once. It unleashed three powerful blasts that tore the surrounding ground apart and sent Geres and his final teammate flying back. When the dust cleared, Lycus stood alone on a crater filled salient, grinning a toothy vicious smile.
Lycus put his boot on Geres's chest. “This is an important lesson!” he shouted to the tirones.
The gathered crowd remained silent.
Lycus held his snarl while speaking in a low venomous tone that carried over the salient. “Never fight a Legendary Blade.”
∞
“So which Legendary Blade do you think is the best?” a tiro said in a low tone next to Terra. She turned her attention from the large glass window that showed snow covered grounds outside to the tirones next to her.
Terra had made her way to class after the Trial of Blades. Other tirones engaged in conversation while they waited for Shani to start the class. Lycus's duel had sparked a discussion about the Legendary Blades. Terra listened in on their conservation while keeping a wary gaze for Centurion Shani who hadn't showed up yet.
“Easy,” the other tiro said. “Silverwind is the best, no contest.”
“What makes you think that?”
“She has the most confirmed kills.”
Terra scowled, remembering Lycus's words about Alya. Those words still bothered her. She had looked up the historical records, but they detailed Alya's service record in broad strokes. She found a single paragraph about Saturnian war crimes, though there were several whole books on Kalian atrocities which, in Terra's opinion, seemed inflated in severity.
�
�Yeah, but that was mostly Kalians. I'm going with the sixth blade, Kairos. She killed the most Faceless, and those things are tough.”
“Kairos is MIA. She doesn't count.”
“Okay. Then who do you think could beat Cerberus then? I mean we got to see him in action today.”
“Endymion might. He used to be a Legendary Blade.”
“No one has seen him fight in centuries though. I would still go with Silverwind. Kairos could, but like I said she is MIA. Maybe Atlas too.”
“Atlas? He's slow.”
“Only his maneuvering, not his attack speed. Come on! His aeon edge is bigger than me.”
“What about Deucalion of the Four Blades?”
“He's good. He could match Cerberus's speed. Cerberus has more power though because of the three timecores.”
“Pythia could beat him. She's a Sybil. She could see his moves before he made them.”
“She's got lower stats in everything else though.”
Zaid turned around in his seat to face the arguing tirones. He was the only one of Terra's strike team that had caught up to her in academics. “You can't tell who will win a battle by looking at numbers alone. War is not a game. Besides, someone did defeat Lycus Cerberus.”
Terra turned to Zaid. “Who?”
Zaid looked at Terra. “General Reva. We studied her strategies in class a few days ago.”
Terra struggled to recall that name. “I remember now. Reva was a famous Kalian general during the First Temporal War. She defeated Cerberus during a duel with her at the Battle of Sighs. She's still on the Aeon Legion's most wanted list.”
“Good, Tiro Mason,” Shani said, walking into the classroom. “Can you tell me about the Singularity Thief as well?”
Terra pressed her lips together. As usual, Shani started off class by putting Terra on the spot. “The Singularity Thief, called such because they often attempt to steal singularity artifacts. He or she can be identified by the distinctive mask they wear. There have been numerous Singularity Thieves throughout the centuries and though some have been killed, none have ever been successfully captured. Although each Singularity Thief works alone, it's suspected that a third party trains and equips them and is likely the benefactor of the stolen artifacts. Standard equipment comprises of a shieldwatch and two aeon edged daggers. Besides standard gear, they have also use a wide variety of singularity technology adapted to the Thief's current mission.”
“That was surprisingly comprehensive. Now I have to give you two points,” Shani said, as though it wasn't fair. “I suppose I will have start calling on someone else at the beginning of class to make a point about ignorance. You seem to be keeping up with my curriculum.”
Terra grinned, but this deepened Shani's scowl.
Shani then looked over Terra with a critical expression. “Tiro Mason, minus one point for an untidy uniform.”
Terra looked down to her uniform. It was loose again.
“Be sure to fix that,” Shani said before turning to start the day's lessons.
Terra clinched her fists as she debated with herself. After a moment, she decided to risk it. “Centurion Shani?”
Shani turned to Terra and glowered. “Stop showing off, Tiro Mason!”
“I have a question.”
Shani's scowl disappeared. “What is it?”
Terra spoke in a slow even tone. “I want to know about the Legendary Blades' war records in the First Temporal War.”
A few nods came from the other tirones. The recent duel had sparked interest in the Legendary Blades, including Lycus, wielder of Cerberus.
Shani's expression remained impassive. “The official archives in the strategy study should have that information. There is no need for me to cover this subject in class.”
Terra took a deep breath. “I looked at the official archives, but they did not go into the detail I require. I wanted to know about war crimes.”
Shani stood with hands on hips. Then she nodded. “Ah. I think I understand, Tiro Mason. If what was said during your interrogation in the Survival Test bothers you, then ask Praetor Lycus in person. I will not speak ill of him behind his back. He has earned that much respect from me. Besides, I was not there for the First Temporal War and neither were you. We have no place to pass judgment on them.”
Terra's mouth hung open. Respect? The only thing Lycus had earned from anyone was fear.
She wasn't the only one surprised by this loyalty. “But he's such a monster,” one tiro said in a hushed voice. Terra didn't see who.
Shani turned, searching the class with a narrowed gaze. “Who said that?”
Everyone remained silent.
A muscle in Shani's jaw twitched. “Praetor Lycus is your commanding officer. You will show him your respect. You owe him more than you think!”
Terra rolled her eyes.
Shani snapped her glare back to Terra. “I saw that, Tiro Mason! You think Lycus is bad? Before he became head of this training program, things were a lot more brutal!”
One corner of Terra's lip curled. “With all due respect, centurion, I find that hard to believe.”
Shani's eyes narrowed. “There was time in the Legion when a more ruthless doctrine was in place. New recruits fought to the death, the weak killed without mercy. Instead of points we had executions for poor performance. Showing emotions or helping others was forbidden. Those who survived became emotionless killing machines.”
“So, perfect soldiers?” Zaid said in a contemptuous tone.
Shani shook her head. “No. They were horrible. The only thing they were good at, other than having psychological breakdowns, was committing war crimes. We had many of our more embarrassing defeats during that time. Then Lycus came in. He changed things. He stopped this Academy from churning out broken soldiers and instead made it forge heroes. His training program produced many excellent legionnaires, including Kairos. So long as Lycus remains true to his vision for the Legion then I will not allow a bunch of lowly tirones to muddy his name with their own ignorance.”
∞
Shani's loyalty did nothing to sooth Terra's reservations. Doubts preoccupied Terra's mind even as she walked into the armory. She wondered if the real reason this bothered her was because she had begun to trust Alya. Then Lycus took that away with a few simple words. He poisoned her with doubt after she had fought so hard to remove it. No longer did she struggle with failing the training, but instead with the consequences of success.
Terra moved to the back of the armory and inspected the uniforms there. After a moment she found one that fit well. After fitting a new uniform, she paused by the aeon edge weapons lined up in a neat row. She glanced to her shieldwatch.
Twenty nine points. More than enough as an aeon edge cost twenty five.
After hesitating, she spent the points. There was no telling when the instructors would throw her into a death trap that needed an aeon edge to make it out alive. After a moment of browsing the various blades, Terra picked a longsword class aeon edge.
The blade felt heavy and looked dull with the lead weights on the sides. Terra also picked up a few spare parts and a clip. After nodding to the guard, she paid the points cost and left the armory.
Terra sighed, looking at the sword with a tired expression. Everyone else had seemed pleased when they received their aeon edge. She felt burdened by the heavy weight and awkward handling. Then she dreaded all the maintenance required to keep it in fighting condition.
Terra made her way to her locker and stored her aeon edge. Then, still lost in thought, Terra walked towards her dorm room. She wondered if she worked with villains? What if the so called heroes of the Aeon Legion proved no better than Hanns? Questions burned in her mind until she realized she stood across from Lycus Cerberus's office.
Terra walked to the fadedoor. After hesitating, she moved her hand to knock.
“Stop wasting my time, Tiro Mason,” Lycus said before Terra's hand even touched the solid fadedoor. “If you want something, then get in here
and say it.”
The door faded and Terra entered. Lycus sat at his desk, staring at a holoface projected above the desk. The Captain's wing emblem Kalian mask lay on his desk to the side. He spoke to someone through his shieldwatch while Terra waited.
“Who was that, Cerberus?” asked a voice on the other end. Terra thought it sounded like Orion.
“Just one of the tirones,” Lycus said in a dismissive tone. “Also don't call me Cerberus.”
“Sorry, Lycus,” Orion said.
Lycus sighed. “What did your teams find, Orion?”
“A lot of nothing, Cerberus,” Orion said after a moment.
Lycus growled at the name, but didn't bother to correct Orion again.
Background noise sounded as though Orion was busy on his end. “We reviewed the temporal data and found nothing of interest. There was a little disruption, but not enough to make us suspicious. If there was someone stalking around the Academy, then they would have shown up unless they were a Faceless or a null. Is this about Silverwind? You know I can't do anything about that. She treats my orders more like amusing suggestions and that's when she doesn't laugh in my face.”
“No,” Lycus said. “This isn't about Silverwind. This is someone else. I know what I saw, Orion. Whoever it is, they have been watching me for some time. I dismissed the first few sightings, but they got close during the survival test.”
Origin chuckled. “Maybe the impossible has happened, Cerberus. You finally have a fan.”
Lycus scowled. “And I thought you took security threats seriously, Orion?”
“I do, Cerberus,” Orion said. “But I don't waste security on Legendary Blades who are better than any security I could provide. Besides, I thought you killed all your enemies. I didn't think you had enough surviving enemies to take revenge on you. Please understand. I will not waste time putting up antiquated security cameras. The temporal scanners work against anything short of a Faceless or the Singularity Thief. If someone tried something, then the Sybil's precog would have caught it. Listen, I can assign a security detail from my cohort to search the area if you wish. I don't want to though. I need every legionnaire I can get mobilizing for well... you know.”
Aeon Legion: Labyrinth Page 30