“What brings you two here,” Abby questioned.
Garild hesitated, unsure whether to tell or not. Kirheen was having the same struggle and both sighed with relief when Grant butted in. “That doesn’t matter, girl. They are here now so treat them well.” He brought them both a piping hot mug of tea. It was darker and less spiced then the tea Trista was prone to making, but it warmed them all the same.
Grant pulled up a chair from the other room, plopping it down next to Garild. He settled into it, the chair creaking as he did. “How goes the training?”
Kirheen shrugged. “Oh, I’m sure about the same as everyone else.”
He snorted, amused. “No need to be modest, girl. Tell me, what are you specializing in?”
“Blocking, for the most part.”
“Ah, that’s suiting. Figured you’d pick up on that, especially after Herzin did you in.”
At any other time, Kirheen may have found herself offended by his words, but after being asked about the event so many times, she’d grown numb to it. The mere mention of it didn’t bother her the same way it had. She’d learned to block it out just like in her training.
“And you boy? You the pusher of the group?”
Garild smiled. “Not quite. I’m a manipulator.”
Grant crossed his arms and sank bank in his chair. “Allseer be damned! Now that I didn’t expect out of you. You’ve always been too quiet and polite. Didn’t take you for the manipulative type.”
“What about you two,” Garild questioned, nodding to Burk and Abby.
“I think mine is pretty obvious,” Burk grinned, playfully flexing his arm. Abby rolled her eyes.
“He’s obviously a pusher. He’s built like a bear, what else could he be? As for myself, I’ve kind of fallen split in between pushing and blocking.”
“Is that pretty common,” Kirheen asked.
Grant nodded. “It is. Not everyone has a predominant strength. Some people mesh their talents and use them in more unique ways than those that only focus on one. A blending of techniques allows a person to be less predictable.”
“Couldn’t anyone learn the techniques? Or are we stuck with what we’ve learned,” Garild asked.
“You can learn as much as you’re willing. Unfortunately, most people just stick with what they know. They’d rather limit themselves to what they are good at rather than face the humiliation of failing at something they aren’t.” He shifted his gaze to Burk whose smile wilted off his face faster than a flower in the heat of summer. “You know what I’m talking about, boy.”
“I’ll learn something else…eventually,” Burk sighed, suddenly very interested in the bottom of his mug.
“You best be learning it before winter ends.”
Abby frowned. “If it ever does. It’s barely begun and I already wish it were over. I can’t stand the cold.”
Grant laughed, a gruff bark that sounded more condescending than amused. “You’ll be too busy this winter with training to focus on how cold your toes are and too tired in the evenings to care.”
“That sounds pleasant,” Kirheen said, forcing a smile. “Why is it we are going to be training so hard this winter?”
“Because it’s too damned cold to do anything else and these winter months will drag on like a bad case of the sniffles if we don’t stay busy. Better to stay focused so we don’t lose our edge. It’s easy to lose sight of things once that chill sets in your bones.”
“You’re a cheery person, Grant,” Kirheen noted, smiling.
“I try my best.” He crossed his arms, leaning back into his seat.
“It’s funny,” Burk mused, blue eyes watching the fire dance. Everyone shifted their attention, watching him with curious eyes. “It’s so easy to forget that these powers we use have a purpose. I mean, we learn them, but I forget that at the end of all of this, we’ll be using these powers to protect people and save the world from the Darkness.”
There was a collective nodding of the head from the group, a shared agreement. It was a thought that was always there in the back of their minds, dredged to the surface from time to time. It did feel strange, to have such responsibility and to so easily forget about it. Focusing on training was well and good, but there was a much larger picture, a darker picture that could taint everything they knew if they forgot about it. It was easy to pretend that Sanctuary was all that existed, that nothing else lay beyond the borders, but things did exist. It was a dark, twisted world out there and they would reclaim it. It was just a matter of time… time and power.
“Never forget your purpose for having these powers. If you know that someday you’ll be beating back the Darkness with your gift, it makes wanting to learn it to the best of your ability that much easier,” Grant said. “You’ve got to learn not only for your own sake, but for the sake of everyone around you. To fail is to watch Sanctuary fall.”
“There are others out there now, fighting against it,” Garild asked quietly.
“Of course there are. You aren’t the first to be Bonded and you certainly won’t be the last. Those that came before fight as we speak. They are keeping you safe. And those that aren’t fighting are working hard to help keep you fed and clothed, so you better appreciate those that came before. We’d have fallen long ago if it weren’t for them.”
Kirheen opened her mouth to ask a question and a knock at the door stopped her. Trista poked her head in a moment later, her red hair bright in the light of the fire. “Sorry to interrupt, but I thought I might steal Kirheen and Garild back.”
Grant nodded, leaning forward to take the mugs out of their hands. Kirheen thanked him for the tea.
“Probably won’t see much of you this winter,” said Abby sadly. “Take care of yourselves and train hard. We look forward to seeing what you’ve learned come Spring!”
“Will do,” Garild smiled. “You two do the same.”
“In fact, with two instructors, we expect you to know twice as much as we do by then,” Burk teased. “Perhaps one of these days we’ll be permitted to test our powers against each other.”
“Sounds like a challenge,” Kirheen smirked. “Think you could win?”
“You can save your challenges for later,” said Grant. “It’s late. Kirheen, Garild, it was nice talking with you both. Train hard and remember your purpose. The time to push back against the dark will come faster than you think.”
With that, they followed Trista back outside. The night air was chilly and Kirheen watched her breath form tiny clouds in front of her face. “How is Tomias?”
“Tomias is fine,” Trista said. “By tomorrow he’ll be feeling like himself again.”
“So, we should prepare for a lecture then, I take it?”
Trista laughed, leading them through the field. “Sounds about right.”
With Tomias recovering, training would continue. The talk they’d had with the others had both inspired and terrified them. These powers weren’t just for show. Someday, they would face the Darkness and use their strengths to heal the world. As they stepped into the warm glow of their house, they felt a new burden upon their shoulders. This was not the weight of trials and training, this was the weight of the world. Only time would tell if they could bear it.
Chapter 12
Winter crept into Sanctuary, devouring the light and leaving the day but a brief companion. The air grew cold and windy, and before long, snow was drifting in and blanketing the land in white. Light summer robes were traded for fur lined winter wear and cold bodies sought the rare warm glow of fire that now burned in a myriad of orange, yellow and red. And all around them, the wraith woods stood silent and dark, brooding beasts waiting to reawaken.
Training started in the first few hours of day light and stretched into the inky blackness of the evening. Meals were now taken within their houses and the Bonded saw very little of each other. With little to do otherwise, training consumed their every minute. They’d moved away from the basics of controlling their powers and now were learning new
ways to manipulate the skills they already possessed. Where before Kirheen had seen a wall when using her powers against Garild, the view had now shifted and she saw what he wanted her to see.
At times it was a forest, filled with glowing wraith wood trees and alive with the sounds of bugs and birds. Sweet smelling flowers blossomed all around, luring her in with their fragrance. Lush grass, tall and green, tickled her as she walked. The forest was designed to lower her guard, to make her feel safe and complacent, and it did a fine job. There were times where she’d lose her purpose and find herself wandering the forest aimlessly. Other times she’d come face to face with some wild creature that would chase and attack, forcing her back into the safety of her own mind.
It proved difficult for Kirheen, headstrong as she was. Her tendency to keep her eye on the goal left her open to manipulation and Garild did it well. So intent was she on the bigger picture that often times, she missed the little details. Subtle shifts in the forest went unnoticed and reality and the dream distorted into one until it was difficult to tell the two apart. The weeks went by slowly, leaving Kirheen feeling weak and defeated.
Recognizing this, Tomias worked on showing her how to seek out the traps, to move slowly and deliberately to her goal without leaving herself open or losing sight of what she was after. It was different from blocking. Blocking was the act of keeping someone out of your mind or deliberately cutting off their power. What he taught her was something else, a kind of counter manipulation that involved using their projections against them. When the creature would attack, she’d have to focus hard on the fact that it wasn’t real. Then she’d shift her power and drive the creature to do her bidding, forcing it to seek out other traps and drive away other creatures that would seek to harm her. It was difficult at first, but eventually she could keep pace with Garild.
With their training came changes, both physical and mental. Over the cold winter months, they grew taller. Garild lost some of his boyish chubbiness, growing leaner, his jaw and muscles becoming more defined. As he’d grown more confident in his powers, so too had his confidence grown in everything else. He was still humble and obedient, but no longer was he so naive and pliable. Now he was the manipulator and that power gave him strength.
Kirheen blossomed, her tall, willowy figure giving way to the curves of a woman. As she learned control and patience, humiliation and defeat, she softened to the world. No longer did she fear her powers or the powers of others. She was confident enough to keep herself guarded and that comforted her. She’d learned a sense of humbleness that she hadn’t known before and it showed. She smiled more willingly, communicated more openly and was friendlier with Garild than she’d ever been.
They grew closer, their friendship solidifying and strengthening their bond. Where before their teamwork had been clumsy, they now worked together, powers blending into a seamless mix that left Tomias and Fenir defeated more often than not.
On a chilly winter night, Nyson gathered them within the hollowed tree where they’d been bonded. A large fire burned in the center of the circle, and the Bonded crowded around it, basking in the warmth it provided. With them all gathered, Nyson announced a tournament to be held after the snow had thawed.
The tournament would pit the bonded against each other, testing their abilities to an extent they’d never been tested before. It would be an opportunity to learn, to grow and to show the Council all they’d learned during those winter months. And at the end of it, a grand celebration would be held to honor the Allseer herself.
The room exploded with electric energy that crackled and surged as the Bonded discussed it among themselves. A fire had been lit, the promise of competition bringing out a new sense of purpose for many of them.
The reign of winter came to an end, and green dominated the landscape as it thawed. Flowers bloomed, filling the air with fragrance and hearts soared with the sun as it rose, once more becoming the dominant force in the sky.
And on a dark, moonless night, the trees came alive with icy fire once again.
Chapter 13
“Wait, you never told me you told them,” Tomias frowned, pressing his hands to the sides of his head. “When did this happen? This might just ruin everything.” He flung his hands out, shaking them as if trying to rid himself of the disappointment he felt.
Kirheen shook her head, completely baffled at his concern. It had been casually brought up in conversation that they’d talked with Grant, Abby and Burk. She never dreamed it would turn into the rant they now faced. “It can’t really be that big of a deal. They told us what they were learning! Besides, we told them at the beginning of winter, I highly doubt they remember.”
“That is where you are wrong. Grant doesn’t forget anything! He’s a sly old fox. I bet he’s been training to counter us all winter! And that, them telling you what they learned, it was probably a lie! Just because he looks like a bear, walks like a bear, and talks like a bear does not necessarily make Burk a bear. For all we know, he’s actually a highly skilled manipulator and that won’t bode well for anyone.”
Garild sighed. “I think you may be taking this a little too seriously. Isn’t this meant to be fun?”
Tomias spun on his heels and approached Garild, pointing his finger in his face. “Fun? Yes! But you think I spent all winter training you day in and day out to have you lose? Uh-uh! It’s not happening, especially not to Grant.”
“There are plenty of opponents we’ll have to deal with. I don’t think they are the only ones we need to worry about. Besides, we’ve learned a lot these past few months. Garild is more than competent when it comes to manipulating and I’d like to say that I’ve learned some interesting blocking variations. We could win this if we really nail down a strategy,” Kirheen explained.
Tomias frowned, rubbing his chin. He’d kept his stubble, claiming he liked feeling different from his brother, but they all knew it was a thinly veiled attempt to annoy Fenir and Trista alike. So far, it had worked. “You’re right. I don’t mean to undermine your efforts. You’ve both gone above and beyond my expectations. This is just the first time we’ve had a tournament like this. It’s exciting!”
“Can we not forget stressful,” Garild added.
“Yes, it’s been that too. You’re both feeling confident?”
Garild nodded. “As Kirheen said, we’ve learned a lot. We manage to take you both down from time to time and you’re far more skilled than we are.”
“I was hoping you’d forget about that. You have grown a lot and I won’t deny you have a level of finesse that we sometimes lack. Being almost the same person makes for a rather one sided perspective, wouldn’t you say? Your teamwork is quite enviable. With that said, we can’t let our guards down. You’ll be facing Bonded you’ve never faced before. You’ll see variations of techniques that we couldn’t possibly teach you, things that they learned from their instructors that we don’t know. They all have an edge, an advantage, and they will use every bit of it to win.”
“Does it really matter? It’s not like we get anything out of this.”
It was true. Aside from getting to show off to the Council, the only reward was a self-gratifying one, a chance to show the other Bonded that they were better. Perhaps it would push everyone to work harder and that was the goal, but Garild couldn’t help but question the point of it all.
“There is no physical reward for your efforts, true. But it offers you a chance to impress the Council, a chance to show that you really have what it takes to face the Darkness in the coming years. Remember, not everyone goes off to fight the Darkness. Some of you will end up as workers, working hard to provide for the Bonded that come after you. Plus, bragging rights. Can’t deny those. I, for one, would have a splendid time rubbing our victory into the faces of the other instructors.”
Kirheen snorted. “Of course you would. How long do we have exactly until the Union Battle?”
“Three weeks. It’s not a lot of time, but it’s enough to get ourselves prepared.”<
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“Will they be telling us who we’re going to be up against,” Garild asked. Details about the competition had been kept to a minimum. The only thing they knew was that they’d be using their skills to take down whoever they happened to go up against. Beyond that, they knew very little and it wasn’t much help in keeping Tomias calm.
“I don’t think we’ll know until the day of the competition.”
“So, let’s use these three weeks to work out every possible scenario. There are only so many skill combinations we’ll face. Between the four of us, we can at least practice facing what we have here at present,” Kirheen argued.
“We have all the bases covered. Garild and myself as manipulators, you and Fenir both for blocking and Fenir again as a pusher. You’ve at least experienced all three. Not everyone will have that advantage and that will work in your favor.”
“What would be the hardest for us to go up against?”
“Manipulators are by far the most difficult. There are so many ways to manipulate the mind of another that it can be difficult to counter. You’ve had a bit of practice with that, Kirheen, but not everyone will use that power the way Garild does. They do have a weak spot though, and that is where you will come in. Manipulators can only shift your attention, but when they are focused by a pusher, things can go wrong very quickly. You’ll want to use that and also watch out for it. If you aren’t keeping Garild’s mind safe when you’re attacked, you’ll both lose. Remember that.”
Kirheen sighed. “Well, this isn’t stressful to think about or anything. What do you think, Garild? You think we can do this?”
Garild smiled, rubbing his hands together as he leaned forward. “As a matter of fact, I do.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Tomias smirked. He clapped them both on the shoulder and then took a seat between them, huddling close to further discuss the battle to come.
A week before the Bonded would see themselves pitted against each other, Nyson called for the Council to gather. They gathered in the Temple of Union, just as the sun began its slow descent in the sky. All of the instructors were present, as well as Herzin and Trista.
The Bonded: The Allseer Trilogy Book I Page 10