by Andrew Rowe
That was why, when I heard the sound of steel ringing against steel somewhere off the road to my right, my first reaction was to groan.
I’m going to regret this.
I sprang to my feet. Then I ran off the nice, comfortable road into the woods, following the sounds of battle.
The ringing of steel continued, and I quickened my pace. I knew I was probably running into a trap, or at least another test, but my protective instincts didn’t allow me to slow down. If there was even a small chance that some sort of innocent was at risk up ahead, I wouldn’t forgive myself if I arrived too late to help them because I’d been overly cautious.
I felt a wave of vertigo wash over me, a sudden wrongness and disorientation. My mind felt clouded, like I’d been drinking far too long. But the sound of ringing blades continued, so I stumbled on.
I burst into a sun-bathed glade, momentarily shocked by the sudden lack of mist.
Across that glade, I saw two fighters, engaged in a deadly duel.
One was Landen of the Twin Edges, an expert swordsman and a dear friend. He was holding a hand across his chest to cover a gash, while his other hand held a sword to keep his enemy at bay.
He was unarmored, wearing only simple clothes. He didn’t even have a scabbard on his belt.
His opponent was Jonathan Sterling, my greatest personal enemy. Sterling had tried to assassinate Landen once before, and succeeded at killing several of our friends, including my former commanding officer.
Like Landen, Sterling was presently armed with a single arming sword. He was using an unusual stance with it, holding the hilt with both hands, as if it was a much larger or heavier weapon.
This was odd, because Sterling had no lack of strength. Physically, he was probably the most powerful creature I’d ever encountered, even counting Reika in her full-sized form.
Sterling was a vae’kes. A child of Vae’lien, the deity that ruled the region near Selyr.
A child of the Tyrant in Gold.
My hand dropped to the hilt of my sword, and I felt the burning desire to draw.
Landen glanced at me as I burst into the glade, his eyes widening in surprise. That moment nearly cost him dearly, as Sterling drew his arm back to swing his blade.
My hand moved.
I pulled the dagger, not the sword, and threw it straight at Sterling.
Sterling flicked his blade to the side casually, deflecting the hurled projectile without effort. It cost him only a moment of time.
Fortunately, that moment was enough for Landen to orient himself and rapidly begin to retreat.
Sterling growled in frustration, still focusing on Landen. “Well, well. Seems you’ve found yourself a friend.” Then he turned his head to me. “One more body won’t slow me down long. You’ll walk away right now if you know what’s best for you.”
“I can’t do that.” I advanced, moving my hand back to the hilt of the Sae’kes. Even with it, I didn’t know if we stood a fighting chance. I was exhausted and injured, and from the look of it, Landen was doing even worse.
Landen continued his retreat, keeping his eyes on Sterling as he repositioned. I assumed he was running the same odds in his head as I was. As slim as those odds were, they were much better if we were close enough to coordinate.
As we repositioned, I watched Sterling closely. He advanced slowly, standing almost straight, with his feet shoulder width apart. The way he walked was odd, extending his main leg forward and then bringing the other up to it, rather than just putting one foot in front of another.
As a vae’kes, I knew Sterling might be familiar with unusual sword styles, but something about it seemed off.
Where’s his scabbard? Neither of them is wearing one. That’s...
My head swam.
What was I thinking about?
Doesn’t matter. Need to focus.
I finished closing the distance to Landen, keeping my hand on the hilt of my sword. “How’d you get here?” I asked him.
“No time for that.” Landen set his jaw. “We’ll talk when we’re done with him.” He hesitated, then added, “Or I can buy some time for you to run.”
I actually laughed at that. “You think I’d leave you here? What sort of friend would that make me? No, we’ll fight him together. Three swords are better than—”
I’d been mentally adding Landen’s two swords to my one, since Landen always used two swords. He was only carrying one, though.
Had Sterling taken one of them away from him?
My mind swam again, and then that made sense to me.
Yes. That has to be it. That’s a logical explanation.
Sterling was nearly close enough to strike.
I tried to concentrate on removing the metal locking mechanism on the top of my scabbard. There were few opponents that I was willing to draw my sword against, but Sterling was one of them.
Something isn’t right.
Why can’t I focus properly?
I changed my mind, leaving the lock in place.
My vision blurred, then Sterling struck.
Landen was there in front of me, knocking away Sterling’s swing.
I took advantage of that momentary maneuver to circle to Sterling’s side, then hurled a blast of flame in his direction.
Sterling side-stepped the fire with a momentary look of concern, then deflected a counter-strike from Landen.
I moved in to try to sweep his feet, but he withdrew using those same two-part movements he’d used to advance, and I missed my timing.
His unusual footwork had thrown me off balance, which was bad.
But he underestimated my speed, which was good.
When he brought his sword down in a cut toward my over-extended leg, I kicked the flat of his blade, throwing his swing wide. Then I closed the distance and slammed a fist into his jaw.
He didn’t budge in the slightest.
That was one of the other problems with fighting a vae’kes — not only were they among the strongest creatures in existence, they were reshing near impossible to hurt.
“Is that all?” Sterling stepped back, lifting his sword back into a ready pose and looking at me with a disdainful expression. “After everything I’ve heard, I was expecting something...I don’t know, more.”
I lowered my fists, trembling.
Not with anger, like he’d probably hoped.
No, I was trembling with power.
I’d activated Body of Iron. Mana was flooding through my veins, vastly multiplying my strength. And, at the same time, I was building flame mana in my right hand.
“Aww, you’re shaking! Are you scared? Here, let me—”
When I threw my next punch, the world around us shattered.
Sterling flew backward, crashing into a boulder and through it, then he was beyond my sight.
The ground beneath me was cracked and broken, and the air smelled like sulfur in the aftermath of discharging my stored fire mana on impact.
Landen was saying something, but I wasn’t listening.
While Body of Iron had given me a tremendous boost in strength, it wouldn’t last long. I didn’t bother counting down the sixty seconds I suspected my body could handle; that would have been too much of a distraction.
I just knew I had to end this fast.
I rushed forward, ignoring the feeling of sluggishness I was already experiencing after a few moments with the ability active. I could have dismissed the spell and reactivated it, but it had both an up-front cost and a lasting one while it was active, and reactivating it might have been less efficient.
When I caught up to Sterling, he was pushing himself to his feet, wiping his lips. I saw a trickle of blood dripping from his mouth. “Much better.”
He raised his sword into that same odd stance. The winds answered his call, picking up around us.
I felt the first hints of a tearing force against my skin.
It didn’t bother me in the slightest. The Body of Iron spell had increased my resilience, too.
For the moment, the wind wasn’t a threat.
I moved forward and pulled back my hand.
His hands moved like a blur, spinning the sword in a circular pattern, like a fan. It was a tremendous demonstration of speed, and I knew I couldn’t accurately predict his angle of attack.
So, I didn’t.
I punched the flat of the blade, snapping it in half, then followed by kicking upward into his chest hard enough to carry him off his feet.
He doubled over as he landed, dropping the remains of his sword. “How—”
The wind died.
I raised a fist. This time, I didn’t channel fire. That might have hurt him, but it wouldn’t end the fight. Instead, a disintegrating aura rippled around my hand, rending and tearing at the air.
Sterling flickered and vanished.
When I turned with a growl, I saw him again.
He had a sword at Landen’s throat, and his injuries had vanished. “Let...let your spell go. Or this one dies.”
You can obliterate him. You just have to move faster than he cuts.
I growled, shaking off the voice in my mind.
No. I won’t take that risk.
Slowly, I let my hands open. I raised them, breathing slowly, and released my hold on my destructive aura. It returned to its usual state around my body, still present, but without the density to inflict significant harm.
Release Body of Iron.
I felt a surge of exhaustion as I dismissed the latter spell, but I couldn’t hope to keep it active if we were going to have a hostage negotiation. Every second the spell was on was cutting into my combat abilities further.
The sudden change in my strength and balance hit me harder than I expected, and I stumbled backward a bit. That proved to be a good thing, because Sterling had taken that as an opening and teleported right in front of me. He didn’t have my instinct to hesitate before taking a life.
He thrust his sword toward me, and I should have sensed the metal approaching. But I didn’t.
And the thrust was slow, sloppier than it should have been.
Even in my exhausted state, my instincts still functioned.
I side-stepped the lunge, then slapped the flat of his blade with a palm when he whipped it toward me. As he readjusted, I rushed passed him, twisting and slamming a fist into his back.
Body of Iron.
I activated the spell just before my punch hit him, driving the force of extra mana into the strike. When he stumbled and spun around, I grabbed his wrist and twisted.
He let out a gasp, dropping the weapon.
I kicked out one of his legs, and Sterling fell to his knees.
I would have fallen, too, but Landen caught me.
“Steady there. You alright?”
I couldn’t give a coherent answer. Activating Body of Iron a second time in rapid succession had taken a lot out of me, and I’d already been exhausted and injured before that.
I pulled myself away, still operating on instinct.
I kicked Sterling’s sword out of the way, then grabbed him by the throat. He reached up and grabbed my wrists, pulling ineffectively to try to free himself. With the metal mana once again strengthening me, I was simply too strong.
“Hah! Now we’ve got him.” Landen walked over, raising his sword, then turned his head to me. “Finally. You want to finish the job, or should I?”
I closed my eyes, concentrating. My hand had been tightening without conscious effort, and Sterling was choking. Fire mana was beginning to build in my hand.
No. This is wrong.
This is all wrong.
I reopened my eyes, Sterling’s neck still in my hand. Scorch marks had burned into his flesh, and he was fervently clawing at my fingers without effect.
I shoved him backward, biting my tongue. The sudden spike of pain helped me clear my mind.
Landen closed the distance to Sterling, keeping his sword at the ready.
I turned toward them both. “I don’t appreciate being manipulated like that. Tell me who you are.”
Sterling moved to open his mouth first, but Landen kicked him, and he raised his arms and curled into a ball on the ground.
I glowered at Landen, then asked him again, “Who are you?”
He frowned. “What do you mean? I’m your friend. You’ve known me for a long time.”
I folded my arms. “I’m pretty sure we’ve just met. What’s your name?”
“I...” Landen frowned, then lowered his weapon. “Look, that’s not what’s important here. The important part,” he gestured to Sterling, “is killing him before he can do any more harm. Can’t you see who he is?”
I shook my head, then took a few steps closer, watching Landen’s sword carefully. If he moved, I’d have to do something. “I’m not going to kill someone just because they look like one of my enemies.”
Landen’s expression sank. “...Oh.” He raised his sword again. “I don’t suppose I could just get you to step back and let me kill him?”
I shook my head. “I’m afraid not.”
“But thou must.” His voice slipped, sounding like someone distinct from Landen.
I felt something in my mind again, another sense of vertigo.
This time, I understood it immediately. I stepped between him and Sterling. “You’re going to stop that right now, or I’m going to make you stop.”
Landen looked down, then dropped the sword. It transformed into a simple tree branch as soon as it hit the ground. “You shouldn’t have been able to notice.” He turned his head toward Sterling, “Or hurt him.”
I shrugged. “I seem to have a pattern of doing these tests incorrectly.”
Not-Landen growled. “Then you should leave now, stranger. I have no interest in one who will not take our tests in the proper way.”
“If you think you can injure me and invade my mind, then just tell me to walk away because I’m not playing the way you want me to, you’re mistaken about a lot more than the ‘impossibility’ of seeing through your test.”
Not-Landen wrinkled his nose. “So be it. Then enjoy finding your way home without me.”
And with that, he vanished.
Not-Sterling was still on the ground, glancing from side-to-side.
When I took a step closer, he raised his arms in front of him to ward away a blow.
“Easy, there. I’m not going to hurt you.”
He hesitated, then after a few moments, he lowered his arms. “You shouldn’t have been able to. Not actually hurt me, I mean.”
I reached down, offering him a hand. He didn’t seem to understand the gesture and just stared at it. “Would you like me to help you stand up?”
“I’d like to leave soon, I think. I’m not supposed to be hurt. You’re supposed to be scared of me.”
I nodded. “I was, at least at first. You were pretty convincing.”
He shook his head. “Not my best work, really. Didn’t have enough time to study you, and when I looked, I didn’t understand everything he was supposed to be able to do.”
I raised a hand and tapped my head. “You were looking at my memories?”
“Sort of, but not exactly...I don’t...I’m not supposed to talk about it. You’re supposed to fight me, and you’re supposed to run. Or not run. And if you stay, you lose.”
I blinked. “So, running is the right answer? What kind of test is that?”
Not-Sterling shook his head. “No, no. Losing is the right answer. You’re supposed to confront your fears, and stand your ground, even when they’re overwhelming. The harder you fight, the stronger I get.”
That made a little more sense, at least. I could understand the idea of wanting someone who would retain their values regardless of personal risk. “Sorry to upset your test.”
He shook his head. “It’s...fine, I guess. I just...I’m not used to, uh, wow. Is this what pain feels like? I don’t like it.”
“Most of us don’t. If you did, well...that’s a very specific interest.” I shook my hea
d. “Sorry that I hurt you.”
“I...uh, guess I’m sorry that I hurt you, too? With the wind.” He made a gesture with his hand, and I felt a gust of wind pick up again, just for an instant. It didn’t cut me, it was obviously just a demonstration.
That explains the wind, at least.
“Don’t worry about it. But if you see someone who looks like they’re actually going to fall off the bridge, maybe don’t push them too hard?”
He stared at me, looking mildly confused. “But then how would I make them fail?”
I took a breath and then sighed. “Right. Your job is to test people. Okay. I suppose I failed, then?”
“I don’t actually know. I guess? Things aren’t supposed to go this way.” He shook his head. “What did I do wrong?”
I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. I’ll figure this out.”
“No, I mean, what gave the illusion away?”
“Oh.” I considered that. “A lot of things were off. If you’re carrying a sword in the future, have a scabbard for it.”
“But I’ll be fighting. I won’t need one while I’m fighting the whole time, will I?”
I patted my scabbard. “People wear them because they’re not fighting the vast majority of the time. If your goal is to be convincing, you need to look like whatever you’re wearing makes sense when you’re outside of the context of that single fight, too.”
“Hm.” He seemed to ponder that. “What else?”
“Well, your abilities didn’t seem identical to Sterling’s. You did a good job of taking my first punch, at least, which he could have as well. But the wind was a little strange. Maybe he could have stolen that power, but...”
“Stolen?” His eyes widened. “Is that why he had different abilities in different places in your mind? He can steal magic?”
I nodded. “Indeed.”
“That’s...scary.”
I smiled. “You can see why I found him scary, then.”
“Yes.” Not-Sterling paused. “And his name was ‘Sterling’, you said?”
I nodded. “Jonathan Sterling. At least, that’s the name he gave me. Not sure it’s his real name.”
Not-Sterling considered that. “Fascinating. What else?”
“A lot of things, honestly. The whole scenario was sort of contrived. Why would two people I know be out here in the middle of this forest, locked in battle right when I walked by? Also, your stance was very unusual.”