“What does that mean, she’s gay?”
Leland glanced over at Daniel and raised his eyebrows. “Not exactly, she’s just not very friendly if you know what I mean. I take it you haven’t heard the story yet?”
“Not a word.”
“Then get ready for some culture shock, my American brother. See, on Tuote where she grew up, they have a very rigid system for choosing the parents of every child. You familiar with the idea of eugenics? Matches are made based on traits, the same way you would do with animals if you were a breeder, with no regard for relationships or love or any of that guff. It’s all about lineage and improving the bloodlines, right? The elite are good looking, smart, athletic, you name it. If you’re not, you’re certainly not going to be having any kids, and if you try, they’ll kill ya to make sure you don’t ruin the gene pool. It’s pretty brutal, and they’ve been doing it for thousands of years. You with me so far?”
Daniel nodded, thinking about Iyah’s strange hair and eye color.
“Well, the way I understand it, they really frown on mating pairs that aren’t specifically made with the bloodlines in mind. It’s like sacrilege to them, they avoid even the appearance of it. Very taboo. So, there’s no dating and no marriage until after you can no longer provide children. Pretty much all contact between fertile adults is decided upon by the government.”
Leland looked around to see if anyone was listening, then leaned in and continued his story with relish.
“See, our Iyah had two problems back home. One, she was in love with a local boy on the sly, and two, when she came of age she got paired with a real asshole. The way I heard it, he had some real golden genes or something because he could get his pick of the best women and treat them any way he liked. As long as he kept putting out top notch offspring, he could do whatever he wanted. And that usually amounted to a lot of blood and bruises on the ladies, get me?”
Daniel frowned. He didn’t like where this was going.
“So, being Iyah, of course she refuses to go and publically declares her love for her boyfriend. She’s lucky because as you may have noticed, she’s got top notch genes herself,” Leland waggled his eyebrows, “but the boyfriend didn’t. So they haul him out to the center of town, tie him to a pole, and whip him to death. Very nice people, the Tuotians. Then they give her to Mr. Punchy and figure it’s over.”
Daniel pictured Iyah flinging his kitchen table across the room. “Let me guess, that didn’t work out so well for the guy, did it?”
Leland snorted, “Not very. So the story goes that he was trying to do his civic duty, and she wasn’t having any. And since there’s no such thing as rape on Tuote where government designated pairs are concerned, he’s just beating the hell out of her to change her mind as a matter of course. I dunno how far he actually got, because the next thing anybody knows, he’s caught a bad case of the dead and she’s passed out on the floor.”
“Passed out?”
“Yeah, sometimes when you access the Veil for the first time, it’s too much for you and you pass out. So anyway, that’s how they found her. Luckily, there was a Wayguide close by who felt it, and he grabbed the nearest guy in the Sanctum, who happened to be your buddy Saul.”
“So Saul picked her up and brought her here?” asked Daniel.
“Yeah, but first he had to rescue her. See, when they found the guy dead, they just picked her up and tied her to the whipping pole. There’s no penalty for rape, but there’s a right big one for taking prize genes out of the pool. Saul shows up and there she is, tied to a pole screaming, surrounded by the police, with a big cheering crowd to top it off. He doesn’t have time to have the Guild call off the locals, and he can’t take on a dozen heavily armed cops all by himself, so guess what he does?”
“Something sneaky and underhanded?”
“Damn right. He pushes through the crowd and starts yelling at the cops to let her go, cause she’s his girlfriend. Of course, that’s a no-no, so they grab him up and tie him to the pole, too. Now, his plan was to get close enough to lay hands on her so he can Walk them out of there, but it backfires. They tie him up, and right next to her, too, but not actually touching. And the ropes are too tight for him to reach the last few inches to make contact, which totally screws up his plan. He actually has to wait for the whipping to start so he can use his own blood as a lubricant so that he can shift the ropes around and touch one of his fingers to hers. Then they vanish right in front of the whole lot.”
“Nice. So, that explains why they’re so close, eh?”
“Yeah, she loves the old guy, but it’s strictly a father-daughter kind of thing. He saved her ass the first time, and she’s been saving his ever since. But that’s not the point of the story, mate. The point is that ever since she was nearly raped, she’s had fuck all to do with men, and it’s your ass if you even look like you might ask her out.”
“Ah.”
A surprisingly bitter disappointment welled up in Daniel’s chest. Having a lack of women in his life since forever, and then suddenly meeting a beautiful woman who was friendly to him, had sparked hope that he hadn’t really even acknowledged until now.
“So,” asked Daniel, maybe a little harsher than he had intended, “what do you want from me then?”
Leland shrugged. “Well, I was thinking that if you were friends or something, you might introduce me. It’s like meeting a movie star, you know? And it won’t hurt me none to be seen with her. I might even get a good posting out of it later, you follow me? So what do you say?”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Leland. She’s really a complete stranger to me. She only gave me the Protector’s blade because Saul asked her to, and she’s actually kind of pissed about it. I know that she doesn’t like Mr. Gray, big surprise since he’s a complete asshole, and that Saul thinks the sun shines out of her belly button. That’s pretty much it. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll put in a good word for you next time I see her, okay?”
Leland stopped and raised both of his hands, looking horrified.
“No! Don’t mention me, I’ll look a complete suck up! Don’t tell her anything, okay? Promise me!”
Daniel laughed and kept walking. Leland hurried to catch up.
“Seriously, Daniel, promise me! Just maybe invite me along or something if you get the chance to hang out with her.”
“Fine, but you owe me. Next time I get to have lunch and a shower.”
A few minutes later, they arrived at Channeler Hall. Its blocky granite exterior was completely unlike the rest of the campus buildings that Daniel had seen so far. Instead of being a textbook example of florid Renaissance stonework, it had the solid, no frills look of a fortress or a prison.
The only decorations in place to distinguish the building from a giant stone brick were two huge columns in front of the building, framing the plain steel doors. This was the first building Daniel had seen where the ever-present jackbooted guards didn’t seem out of place. Seeing the look on Daniel’s face, Leland elbowed him in the side.
“Don’t look so grim, mate. It’s a show pony on the inside. The only reason it looks like this on the outside is that this building doubles as the emergency defense bunker for the campus. So it’s built to take a lot of punishment, not to look pretty like the fairy cake you’re living in.”
Entering the building proved Leland right. Like the other buildings Daniel had been in, it had the look of master craftsmanship fueled by fistfuls of cash. It was similar in theme to Walker Hall, with the elegant stonework and hand polished wooden veneer halls, but with its own character, something like a cross between a mansion and a Japanese martial arts school.
Unlike Walker Hall, the inhabitants tended towards black uniforms, similar to military fatigues. They moved through the corridors in groups, and with purpose.
Leland brought Daniel into a large open gymnasium, with an acre of wooden flooring, dotted by an orderly pattern of leather floor mats. The far wall of the room sported man shaped silhouettes made
out of metal, racks of melee weapons, and a score of equipment cabinets. A dozen black-clad students stood at attention in two rows on one side of the room, facing a tall, slender man who was addressing them quietly.
Leland strode up briskly with Daniel in tow and bowed deeply. Feeling unsure of himself, Daniel did the same.
“Master Dashel, this is Daniel Thorsen.”
Leland quickly took a spot in the class formation, leaving Daniel alone with the Master in front of the class. He was taller than Daniel by a head, and built like a gymnast or a swimmer, rather than the bulky soldier’s build that Daniel had expected out of a combat instructor. He wore a loose white shirt similar to Master Giric’s, and straight black pants wrapped at the ankles. He wore no shoes. Around each wrist was a jet black Arc, the same as Master Giric wore, and around his neck was a short black leather cord with a single bead hanging from it. The bead had a grain like polished wood, but was a transparent gold color, like amber.
“Nice to meet you Daniel, I am Master Dashel. Mr. Gray informed me that you would be joining my advanced focus class today, welcome. Tell me, what training have you had?”
Daniel felt his cheeks heat up. “None, really. Not only am I new here, but I’ve just had my first Walker training class with Master Giric this morning. I have no idea why Mr. Gray asked you to include me in your class. I’m sorry.”
“No need to be sorry, we all have our orders. I assume that Mr. Gray wanted you in this particular class because we’re working on deepening affinity, rather than combat and tactics. I’ve asked that you be reassigned to the introductory class and been denied, so we’ll have to make due with what we have.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll try my best.”
“I fully expect that to be true. Take a place and we’ll begin.”
Daniel made his way to the back row to sit next to Leland, towing the gazes of his new classmates across the floor with him as he went. He felt like he was having one of those dreams where you arrive in school only to find out that you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing or where anything is, as if you had developed amnesia in the middle of the school year. Turns out it was just as horrifying in real life.
The class began with a series of meditation exercises, which Leland helped with in furtive whispers. Being completely flustered with the experience, Daniel didn’t manage any actual contemplation, but he did mimic the forms and mental imagery as best he could. He figured that at the very least, he could try the exercises later in his room when he was alone. After about twenty minutes of this, Master Dashel called for a halt.
Daniel watched as he then went to a wide cabinet on the far wall and returned with a stack of black metal plates that came up to his chin. The plates were about three feet long, a foot and a half wide, and perhaps two inches thick.
Leland leaned over and whispered, “Those are steel plates, and each one weighs about three hundred fifty pounds, so he’s carrying over two tons there. Notice how carefully he’s stepping. That’s to avoid cracking the wooden floor over the stone foundation. Pretty impressive, eh? They say that in her third year, Iyah was fetching that stack for Master Dashel by herself. As far as I know, she’s the only person besides the Master to ever have done it.”
Admiration shone in his eyes as he spoke. Daniel just goggled in disbelief as Master Dashel set the plates down on two square steel beams set into the floor, next to a thick leather mat. The class got up and formed standing lines in front of the mat, with the exception of one student pointed out by Master Dashel, who went to the cabinet and returned with a short wooden pole.
“Okay,” said Leland, leaning his head towards Daniel, “this is the fun part. The more in tune with the Veil you are, the more of those bloody plates you can hold up. You probably know this already from the Walker side of the house, but you have to relax and allow the Veil to move through you, any tension or resistance will dry it up. So, we lift plates and try to draw as much strength as we can. Meanwhile, that guy with the stick will try to disrupt your concentration, to force you to tense up and lose the flow.”
“Isn’t that kind of dangerous?”
Leland grinned. “Advanced class, mate. Sorry about that.”
The first student was now standing on the mat, arms held out in front of her to receive the first plate. She had dark brown skin and fine aristocratic features. Her long black hair was piled on top of her head in a tight bun, lending her a stern air.
Master Dashel lifted the top plate and set it in the woman’s arms. There was no reaction from her, and the plate remained rock steady. Another plate was added, and after a few seconds, a third.
“That’s Ekani, she’s a fourth year, and really good. Cute, too.”
Daniel nodded absently, fascinated by the sight of a five-and-a-half-foot tall woman serenely holding a thousand pounds of steel in her slender arms.
Daniel was still marveling when a loud thwack made him jump. The student with the rod had suddenly swung and struck Ekani hard on the back, just below her shoulder blades. Her serene expression didn’t change.
Master Dashel added a fourth plate. After a few heartbeats, Ekani slowly sank to the mat and gently set the plates down, blowing forcefully out of her mouth like a power lifter. Then she rose from the mat, pushing off of her knees while standing up, and breathing heavily. Master Dashel nodded to her and she moved to the back of the line.
“Impressive, eh? She just mastered three plates a few months ago. I’d have still been trying to keep going with the rod, much less starting on a fourth plate already.”
Daniel appreciated the commentary, but he didn’t need any help being impressed.
Each student in line managed a few of the massive steel plates, but nobody did better than Ekani. Thinking back on the show Iyah had put on in his kitchen, he understood about the necessity of making her look scary with the knife. There was no way he could have even begun to understand the real danger she represented without it.
Students flowed through the gauntlet until, inevitably, it was Daniel’s name that was called.
“Master,” said Leland, alarmed. “Daniel is a Walker. He can’t participate in the exercise.”
Master Dashel shot Leland a cold look. “I’m aware of Mr. Thorsen’s classification, student. Thank you. Daniel, come forward and take your position, please.”
Daniel went and stood at the foot of the mat and held his arms out the way he had seen the other students do. He was terrified.
Master Dashel leaned close and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll only give you as much weight as you can handle. Just focus as best you can.”
Daniel just nodded. Master Dashel picked up a plate, and settled it onto Daniel’s outstretched arms. When the cold metal touched his skin and the weight began to settle, Daniel nearly panicked. Only the thought of being humiliated in front of a class of complete strangers kept him from jumping back and dropping the plate right away.
Instead, he braced himself and fought against the weight. The edge pressing against the inside of his forearms felt like it was biting into him with crushing force. It was just too heavy.
As he struggled, it occurred to him that he was trying to fight the weight with his body, clenching and straining against the steel instead of pulling power from the Veil to support it. Feeling foolish, since Leland had just explained this to him, he shut his eyes and cast out desperately, trying to reconnect with that open, airy space that represented the Veil in his mind. Immediately, a feeling of vastness enveloped him, and the plate seemed to lose much of its weight. He focused desperately on the small field of stars glowing steadily overhead, and managed to stand upright. He hadn’t realized that he had been hunching over the dreadful weight in an effort to keep it off the ground.
Master Dashel gave a small grunt and then spoke quietly. Daniel couldn’t see his face, but he sounded amused.
“I suppose if you only have a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail. That’s a good technique for a Walker, but it’s very visual and not re
ally suited to what we’re doing here. How will you fight with your eyes closed? Still, it’s very impressive that you could hold the plate at all on your own with only a smattering of Walker training to rely on.”
Daniel shifted the plate to a more comfortable position. It felt even lighter now that he had a solid hold on the Veil. A few more stars shone brightly overhead in his mind’s eye.
“Let’s try something different. A Walker needs to visualize his place in the Veil, but a Channeler needs to feel it, to become immersed in it. I want to you try and imagine the Veil as a rushing stream, moving swiftly past your body, up from your feet and away past your head. Then, imagine that your body is hollow, that you are made entirely out of empty tubes, all wide, straight and open. Then try and feel the water rushing up your legs and out the top of your head, filling all the tubes up with racing water. Let go of your visualization, don’t try to see anything, just feel.”
Daniel could imagine the feeling somewhat, but whenever he began to let go of the starry vista around him, the plate began to drag him to the ground. He couldn’t figure out how to touch the Veil with the imagery that Master Dashel wanted him to use.
“I’m sorry, I can’t seem to make it work that way. I’m trying to feel it the way you describe, but it’s not making a connection for me.”
“I’m not surprised. We spend the first year learning to forge a connection with this metaphor. But I can give you some guidance, some feel for what you are searching for.”
The Channeling Master then reached out and touched Daniel lightly on the shoulders. Daniel felt power surge through his body at the touch. It was familiar, similar to the energetic lightness he felt when visualizing the Veil, but more potent and much more tactile. The Veil rocketed through and around him, like rapids boiling around a stone. He could feel the energy flowing through his body, not in the indefinite, vague way he was imagining before, but in a very immediate physical way.
“Do you feel it?”
Daniel nodded. Now that he could sense this power, he felt pretty confident that he could find it on his own, as well. It was all a matter of knowing what you were looking for.
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