The next thing to do was to find a convoy, or at least a small group of people who were headed towards the mountains. He looked at the map, and found another small village that would be on the way; he would probably have an excellent chance of finding someone else who was headed there as well. However, he soon found that his efforts were in vain; when evening had come, he found himself seeking lodgings in an inn, after still having found no companion for his journey. His spirits were low, falling even lower when he realized that traveling alone held another disadvantage: how could he set up watches? He couldn’t stand guard all night, and while he slept, he would be at the mercy of any adversary that came across him. He realized that an army could pass by him, and he wouldn’t notice! He had no choice, then: in the future, he would have to look for a secure place before he could consider taking a rest. Imagining himself sleeping high up in the branches of a tree didn’t seem pleasant at all. But for the moment, he had a comfortable blanket at his disposition, and he made sure to appreciate that luxury, which would certainly be rare after this.
Morning arrived, and Glaide – still grumpy at the idea of not having a traveling companion – headed towards the entrance of the village to continue his journey towards the mountains. A faint breath of hope remained: maybe he would come across someone on the way? His wish was soon granted, because after walking a few hundred meters, he heard a cry from behind him.
“Hey! You there! With the cape! Wait up!”
The adolescent turned around and saw a man huffing and puffing in the distance, one index finger pointed in his direction. He was young – about twenty five. At his side stood a woman who had to be about the same age.
“Yes, wait for us, please!”
Glaide stayed where he was. He was certainly surprised, but he hoped above all that these young people would accompany him, and, since he was sure they were a protector and his white magician, he was confident they would. The two individuals came up in front of Glaide, their faces red from running. “Very few people travel towards the east from here, and we had given up finding any traveling companions, and then lo and behold, here you are,” exclaimed the man, patting Glaide on the shoulder amicably. “I am Tyv, a protector, and this is Paeh.”
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Glaide.” The young man looked around and had to admit that it didn’t look like many people were inclined to travel towards the east.
As though he could read his mind, Tyv said, “There is just one small village a few days walk in this direction, which explains why so few travelers come this way, but a protector and his magg should give aid everywhere. And now that there are more of us, the journey should be much more agreeable!”
“Tyv,” interrupted Paeh calmly, “We should perhaps ask Glaide if he wants to travel with us, before we impose ourselves on him.”
“Oh, I accept, with pleasure,” he replied with a laugh.
“Alright then, let’s go!” said Tyv.
The group began to move again. Glaide was glad to have company, and he felt much safer. He waited for a few minutes, and then began to ask questions.
“So, where are you from?”
“A small village to the south. Adrish. Have you heard of it?”
“Umm... Yes, actually,” stammered the young man. “Yes, I passed through there once, though I didn’t really have time to see much.” Adrish had been close to Rackk; he had better be prudent, and take care not to say anything wrong. The man soon began to speak again.
“As I said before, we’re heading to Yzur, the village to the east, to see how the inhabitants are, and if we can do anything to help them. Then, we’ll head back towards the south. And you, what brings you to this corner of the Known Lands?”
“I’d like to come across some dwarves, in the mountains there,” responded Glaide.
“Dwarves! Hmm, well, you’re a bold one, then. Have you never met one before?”
“No, never. I want to see if they really are anything like people say they are,” he said, then added to himself, “Or at least, like what I’ve read of them.”
“Little warriors, slow, but more solid and unyielding than any wall! Interesting,” responded Tyv.
Glaide hesitated to reveal the final goal of his journey, but then decided that it could do no harm, and said, “I’m also looking for someone... the master of the Iretane technique. I st...” Glaide bit his tongue. He’d been about to explain that he’d started his training in Rackk! He continued quickly, so that they wouldn’t notice his distress. “I started asking around for some information here and there, but I quickly discovered that the last master teaching that technique was hidden away in some unknown part of the Known Lands...”
“Yes, that seems to be true,” commented Tyv wistfully.
“If you want to learn Iretane, then you surely know that it is only taught to protectors,” intervened Paeh. “In that case, I have to say I’m surprised to see no magg at your side.”
Glaide bit his tongue again, for the second time in only moments. He had just revealed what he was without even realizing, and worse than that, he remembered all of a sudden that Drekhor had already told him that Iretane, unlike other styles, was only taught to protectors. He decided, then, that he’d better tell the truth. “My magg is in Shinozuka, with two friends.” Seeing the jaws of his companions drop open, he hurried to add, “Listen, she’s no longer with me for her own safety. Everyone has their own secrets, and it isn’t the time for me to reveal mine, but I can say that I’m a terrible fighter, and I want to learn Iretane to better be able to protect her.”
Tyv and Paeh remained silent for a moment, then the latter declared, “As far as I’m concerned, if you’ve left your magg behind, then I’m sure you have good reasons for doing so.”
As if to underscore what she had said, Tyv added, “And coming back to the dwarves, what do you hope to learn from them?”
“Mmm, I don’t really know. To be honest, I don’t have anything in particular to discuss with them. I’d just like to run into them.” That wasn’t entirely true, though. Actually, the fact that elves and dwarves were so far removed from the rest of the world intrigued the young man. He wanted, above all else, to see these roads traveled by the innumerable other races and creatures of this world. But how could he convince these powerful warriors to leave their hideaways? That was the question. Glaide had an idea that if things continued as they were, and if he didn’t get himself killed beforehand, then a major battle would be inevitable. This would be a good occasion to rally all of these peoples. The young man didn’t know when such a war would start, or if it would really happen at all, but as long as he had nothing else to do, he wanted to offer his services to the dwarves, so that they might owe him a debt. He could then call on them to join the ranks of men when the time came. The plan may not exactly have been morally sound, and the young man knew that rendering such a service with his slight talents would be nearly impossible, but he needed to have a goal and a reason to go on.
At this point, silence fell on the group. Glaide noticed that the young woman was looking at her companion expectantly. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something. He didn’t seem to have noticed, though, and continued to gaze fixedly at the horizon. She cleared her throat, but Tyv didn’t react. Finally, she spoke.
“Tell me, Glaide, you must know at least a little about using a sword by now, right?”
“Yes, of course, but really, very little.”
“Good, and you must know that many enemies travel on these roads; a traveler always has to be ready to defend their life.”
“Right, of course.” The young man couldn’t see where she was going with this train of thought.
“But, truth be told, using a sword so often can make your hands sore.”
“Umm... Well, yes, I suppose so.”
“Isn’t that right, Tyv? That regularly using a sword makes your hands sore?”
Tvy, who had been silent up until then, seemed to snap out of his reverie, and exclaimed, “Ri
ght! Yes, we have a gift for you, then! Good thing I thought of it!”
“You mean, good thing I was here,” grumbled Paeh.
Glaide let out a laugh.
“Here,” Tyv said. With a big smile, he pulled a magnificent pair of fingerless black gloves out of his sack and offered them to the young man. Glaide was delighted. All of the equipment he had bought, and he’d completely forgotten to ask about gloves! He adored the gloves, which perfectly matched the leather cuffs he already wore.
“But I couldn’t possibly,” he stammered. “I...”
“I don’t want to hear it! This is a gift to help you remember meeting us. We know just how difficult the quest of being a protector can be, especially when you feel weak or incapable of protecting those that are dear to you. Take care of these gloves, and who knows? Perhaps we will see you again, and when that moment comes, I’ll be pleased to see you wearing them!”
“Oh, well thank you. Thank you very much,” Glaide said, putting on the gloves that he held. He wanted to try them out, and pulled out his sword. After taking a moment to wield his sword about him, he realized that the gloves truly were comfortable. He’d never really noticed before, but his hands did hurt after all of that sword practice, and the gloves really did reduce that pain enormously. Having to use gloves really seemed to be inevitable for someone who wanted to use a blade for any prolonged period of time.
His companions smiled benevolently as they watched his gestures. Just like when he had gotten his new clothes, he looked thrilled. However, his joy was short-lived. As they approached a stony knoll that appeared to be some kind of sculpture from a different age, fifteen orks surged out at them. It was clearly meant to be an ambush. They were huge, well-armed, and wore heavy armor.
“Black orks,” cried Glaide, his face pale. “Watch out! They’re very dangerous, and there are a bunch of them!” He took up a guard stance. Paeh held out a hand towards him, and he was instantly covered with a blue shield. That reassured him, but he couldn’t chase away the memory of his last encounter with these monsters, that had turned out so disastrously. “Don’t move, Glaide,” said Tyv. “Just watch. Paeh, are you ready?”
“Ready when you are!”
The young woman, with her right arm still held out towards the teen, used her left hand to touch the sword of her protector. It was only then that Glaide noticed this sword was shaped much like his own. The instant her fingers touched the metal, it became a brilliant, almost blinding, white. He felt no wind at all, so different from the tornadoes that spun around Emily and Gwenn when they used magic. “What is that?” whispered the young man, still sheltered behind a wall of blue light.
The man spun to face his enemies, who had not yet made a move. However, they wasted no time in cries and shouts, instead charging immediately. Tyv took up a guard position: he raised his sword, holding it at eye level, and stepped back with his right foot, bending his leg to support himself. The position immediately made Glaide recall the position Uziere, his late master of Iretane, had used.
Chapter 3
THE battle would be one against fifteen, and still Tvy smiled. The first creatures dashed towards him, and he dodged their attacks, then delivered a rapid counter-attack. His blade pierced their armor without difficulty, and the injuries the blade delivered were mortal ones, almost as if they had delivered a particularly virulent poison. Three bodies fell. With a quick hand motion, the magg sent two orks that had just surrounded the protector flying.
“Telekinesis,” thought Glaide, dumbfounded.
Tyv parried the attacks of his adversaries without difficulty, though they had to be at least a head taller than him, and each possessed muscles twice as big as his own. Furthermore, he used a very unusual sword technique: he would block an attack from an adversary in front of him, then kill an adversary directly behind him, before it even had the time to attempt its own attack. The protector dodged about constantly, always moving to a new position before making an attack. There were blades all around him, but he seemed to be in complete control of the situation.
“At any rate, it seems to be very effective: already only six orks remain, and none of them have come anywhere near me,” thought the young man. “Tyv forms quite a barrier!”
Paeh intervened several times, sending adversaries flying. The attacks of her protector seemed quite simple, unlike those of the Murockai school, but each was marked by its precision, as well as its deadly strength. Soon only one ork remained. Tyv took a step to the side, side-stepping its attack, then decapitated his prey. Paeh withdrew the protective barrier from Glaide then. He still stood in his guard position, his mouth open wide.
“Incredible,” he said with a gasp. Then he thought to himself, admiringly, “Black orks seemed so powerful when Baras sent them after us... And now, at fifteen to one, the battle didn’t even last ten minutes!”
“So Glaide, what do you think?” asked Tyv. “Nice, aren’t they, these black orks...”
“That was... impressive. You’re so strong! And you, too, Paeh! Maintaining a shield around me, while throwing those creatures around like so many feathers! And the magic in the sword, that light... What was that? That seemed extremely deadly!”
“It was pure light,” responded the young woman. “White magic in its most natural state. For these monster – creatures issued from the deepest and darkest of shadows – it is worse than the most virulent of poisons. Each wound, no matter how slight, causes death. Of course, for monsters that are more massive than these, like minotaurs, or even chimeras, it takes a bit more than a papercut. However, it certainly gives us some considerable strength!”
“I do see that, yes,” agreed the boy. His brain was working at its top speed to process all of this. The couple had just used white magic through the blade of a sword. Everything that the young man had learned about eorens came back to his mind. It was possible to combine eorens with weapons, according to the arms merchant. Decades before, it had been enough to merely have a magician with you, so that he could directly invoke the flux in your blade. Today, however, only a few ancient relics could still take on that kind of power. The merchant had added that the weapons of Protectors could accept neither eorens nor flux, but that they could theoretically be infused with white magic, a theory that had been corroborated in a discussion the man had had with a disciple of Iretane, and who had declared that that was the goal of his training. The heart of the adolescent beat faster. To all evidence, Paeh had instilled white magic in the sword of Tyv – a sword that looked much like that of the younger man. He didn’t know what to say, and his heart was beating like a drum. He found himself forced to accept a possibility that he would never have dared to imagine: he very likely found himself in the presence of a man who knew the technique of Iretane. He stammered out a few incomprehensible words, then finally posed the question that was burning the tip of his tongue – with a voice made loud by excitement and nerves. “Tyv... are... are you...”
“Hmm?”
“Are you... Do you know Iretane?” His companion smiled and nodded. Glaide’s heart practically jumped out of his chest, and then he continued, “Do you know where to find... the master of Iretane?”
However, his companion shrugged his shoulders powerlessly. “It’s been years now since I finished my studies, and I know nothing about where you could find the one you are seeking. He lived for awhile in Shinozuka, and that is all that I know.”
Glaide couldn’t hide his disappointment. It seemed that Tyv knew nothing about the person he was searching for. He had probably been a disciple of Uziere, and simply didn’t want to reveal the existence of Rackk to a stranger – something that was of little importance now, anyway, since the village existed no longer. Either that, or he had been a disciple of the other master of Iretane, in which case he had no reason to hide his location from a protector in need, which would mean he probably truly didn’t know where to find him.
Glaide felt a sudden desire to tell these people everything: the beginning of his tr
aining with Uziere, in Rackk, the fate of the village, and his standing as Destroyer. These people before him, even if they could not give him a destination, could at least escort him.
“But to what end?” thought the young man. “Even if my assumptions are correct, which isn’t necessarily true, and suppose they were to believe me, what would give me the right to monopolize their time, to impede them in their roles of protector and magg, and beyond that, to be a burden and potentially put their lives in danger, all for an indeterminate amount of time?” He sighed deeply. “Well, then I still don’t know where to go.”
“Hey, don’t be discouraged!” said Tyv. “Look, you were lucky enough to come across us. Running into a disciple of Iretane is very rare, and so luck is certainly smiling on you.”
“Mmm...” sighed the adolescent absently. He was incredibly disappointed to still have no idea where to look. However, as the group again took to the road, he took the opportunity to ask his companions many of his questions. In that way, he learned that infusing a weapon with magic wasn’t terribly complicated in and of itself. All it really took was lots of practice, because it required the magg and her protector to unite their thoughts and emotions. The concept remained murky, and Glaide wasn’t very interested in hearing all of the details; after all, he didn’t have his magg at his side. However, he tucked one thought away in his mind: it really was possible to infuse a weapon with white magic.
He asked Tyv to teach him something, but Tyv refused to teach him anything. The most he would do was allow the adolescent to compare swords with his. The two could practically be twins; the blades were both almost the same width, and made with the same general proportions. The protector agreed that his sword was certainly formed for learning the Iretane technique.
Hours passed. Silence fell on the group, and no one tried to break it; the three companions didn’t need to say anything more. The calm atmosphere was filled with serenity and peace, instead of the trepidation that had haunted Glaide on his way to Morthiaz. In fact, the young man even seemed relaxed. It seemed his companions had already forgotten the scuffle with the black orks, and he decided that the attack was probably just a chance encounter, and had nothing to do with the hunt for him.
Chronicles of Galadria II - Encounters Page 2