Spirit of Vengeance - 4. Ch 04: The Grudge

CHAPTER 4: The Grudge

Ernie was an excellent fighter. No matter what else was said about him, he could hold his own in a fight even against a more experienced foe. He was, strictly speaking, only receiving the same level of training I was. Yet, he had a degree of control over Water Magic that surpassed anyone else in our form.

It wasn’t a surprise then that he was easily defeating the trainee he was fighting who was supposed to have two full year’s worth of training more than my friend. I could see the frustration showing in the older trainee’s face as each spell he cast would be deflected almost too easily.

And I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“Since when has young Ernest been so well trained,” my uncle asked as he stood beside me watching the others fight.

“He’s always been good with fighting,” I said. My uncle raised an eyebrow at that. “It’s true. Why do you think he has the nerve to joke about anything and everything all the time? He knows he can defend himself well enough if things ever get nasty.”

“Hmm,” my uncle contemplated as he watched Ernie further. The fight didn’t last much longer as Ernie twisted a spike of water hurled at him out of desperation and threw it back at his opponent. It slithered in the air, becoming less deadly, and slammed hard against his opponent despite the latter’s attempt to regain control of the spell. The older trainee fell flat on the floor heaving deep breaths. “Perhaps The Lady might consider advancing him a year and include him in next year’s Rites. He’s far better trained than most of those ahead of him and I suspect that if he’s as good as this all the time, then two full years of training before the Rites would do nothing but hold him back.”

I frowned at him. Advancing Ernie meant he wouldn’t share any more training sessions with me. In all likelihood, it would mean we would rarely see each other as masters often rotated their schedules around the different forms, meaning he would be training while I had my free time. I knew better than to speak out those thoughts though. My personal preferences were not enough reason to impede someone else’s progress.

Master Leveret came towards us and nodded respectfully towards my uncle before looking towards me. “Your turn young Samuel,” he said. “I shall match you with young Lance whom I believe you know quite well.”

The way he said it made it sound like he was giving me a treat. In truth though, I was groaning inside. I knew he meant my roommate Lance and probably thought we had a good enough relationship with each other that there would be no hard feelings for whoever lost. However, I knew well enough that Lance disliked me despite being my “friend” and would probably not waste any opportunity to beat me especially in front of my uncle.

As though to confirm my fears, Lance was smirking devilishly as I joined him in the middle of the sparring grounds. Master Mages were scattered around the area, observing much like my uncle was doing. The trainees in Lance’s form (two forms ahead of us) were the next group that will take the Rites. They were now being sorted to see who was and wasn’t ready.

I removed the two-foot quarterstaff from my side and expanded it to its full length of over five feet. It was slightly shorter than my height and was made of a heavy type of wood that was known to not easily degrade with exposure to water. Lance unsheathed the hilt of his practice sword and expanded it as well. Without magic, my quarterstaff would be easily reduced to flakes of wood from a few blows from his sword. But Water Magic allowed me to strengthen the wood giving it the hardness and weight of pure metal. Water Magic also flowed through my arms giving it strength to carry the otherwise too heavy burden.

“Begin,” Master Leveret said.

Lance wasted no time and charged me, doing a leap a few feet in front of me. He twisted midair and brought the sword to clash heavily down towards my head. I parried his blow but the force made my arms tremble. It was obvious that Lance was imbuing his sword with strength as well.

Lance twisted around as he landed behind me intending to gut me through the back but I ducked and supported myself with my quarterstaff before pushing back on the ground and twisting in the air as I tried to get out of his reach. I parried or dodged all of his blocks but each time his sword met my staff, my arms would shake from the strain. It was like I was slamming my weapon hard against a boulder.

“Do you really think you have a chance against me?” Lance said in a whisper loud enough only for me to hear. “You think you’re good just because your uncle is Master of the Academy?”

“I didn’t even mention…” I said but had to stop as Lance continued his assault once more as though hoping to catch me off guard with his words. He was fighting with a ferocity that I’d never seen before and it took all my willpower to just survive his blows.

“You think you’re something special,” he said, smirking while still managing to swing his sword gracefully at me. “You think you’re going to become the next Master of the Academy just because of who you are?”

“I don’t know what rumours you’ve heard but they’re not true,” I said as I dodged his swing which left a huge dent on the ground. The swing was imbued by magic and I could see tiny bits of water escape from his blade. He didn’t have another source fuelling his magic which meant he was taking it directly from his body. If he kept burning through the magic quickly enough, he would tire out and I might have a chance to beat him. “You shouldn’t believe them.”

“Believe them?” he said with a smirk. He swung his sword to my side then changed direction as I moved my staff to block. I managed to swing the staff the other way but lost the advantage of distance as he closed in. I couldn’t bend the staff enough to strike so I was forced to move defensively. He kicked the butt of my staff aside and managed to reach one arm around my neck with his free hand as he pushed away my quarterstaff with his sword. He pulled me roughly against him trying to get me off balance but I struggled against him as we stood in a stalemate. He leaned forward and whispered, “I started them.”

His words took me by surprise and I lost concentration long enough that his foot collided painfully with my shin. I cried out and lost balance, falling to my knees. He swung his sword downwards to my head but I managed to block it with my weapon. The sword hit was too strong though. Despite the spells I had in place, the force knocked me back several feet, rolling me on my back.

Lance straightened and smirked at me. I could see my uncle looking impassively on the side. On any other time, I might have thought he didn’t care. Yet, something clicked inside me as though I could do more than just see him. I could feel my gift of empathy working without me even having to try and I could feel what my uncle was feeling and one emotion was radiating stronger than the others – regret.

I turned my eyes on Lance and felt the emotions change as quickly as my eyes had turned. What I felt from him despite the satisfied smile on his face was a deep seeded hatred and disgust.

Master Leveret was frowning and raised his hand, preparing to call an end to the match.

“No,” I said loud enough that he would hear me. Master Leveret hesitated but nonetheless nodded and lowered his hand.

“Give up,” Lance said loudly, garnering the attention of several around us. “You’re not going to win against me.”

I got to my feet slowly. The leg where his foot had hit was throbbing and I had to channel more magic to give strength to my limbs. I leaned heavily on my staff wondering how I was going to beat him with one leg that was almost limping. I was sure that if I did not give my leg strength when his blow had landed, the bones would probably have broken.

But I had something else that drove me. I could feel Lance’s hatred, yes. But I also felt my own. I started them, he had said. What did that mean? Was he the one who kept telling others that I was some snitch for my uncle? Was he the one who kept implying that I was some ambitious mage that used others to my advantage? Was he the reason so many trainees stayed away from me and that I had so few friends at all? I was angry and for some reason, my anger gave me strength.

I raised my staff and held it before me. I prayed to The Lady to give me strength to do what was necessary. I wanted to teach Lance a lesson. I wanted to right the wrongs of people like him. I wanted to prove to him and everyone that I was a good mage in my own right, not only because I was the nephew of one of the most prominent masters in Malden.

A cold presence swirled within me that seemed to slow the world’s movement. The light seemed to bend around me making things just a little bit darker and I felt someone else enter my mind. I cringed at the thought of a Lord of the Dead nearby possessing me but the presence did not have a malevolent feel to it. It was cold, yes but born more out of a certain level of indifference rather than malicious intent. It had a feel of something familiar as well that calmed my presence despite its intrusion.

And then she whispered to me. So be it.

The light brightened again as the presence left. It was like everyone was watching just me and Lance standing there preparing to fight.

“Well?” he called out condescendingly. “Are you going to attack me or what?”

The Lady, I thought. The Lady was with me just then. She had spoken to me, albeit for the tiniest fraction of time. I looked around to see if anyone else felt her presence but it was like nothing happened to them. My uncle was still looking at me with the same impassivity as though he found nothing out of the ordinary. Some were even looking at me curiously as though wondering why I was just standing there.

“Figures,” Lance snarled, “that you would be too weak to make the first move.” And with that he charged me.

I had expected some renewed strength. The Lady had after all just blessed me with her words. Yet, my legs did not feel any stronger. My arms were no more agile than they would have been after the beating they had taken. My swings were no more powerful than what I could have managed otherwise.

Lance smirked with each blow he swung. He knew he was winning. In truth, he probably knew he had won.

I placed all my faith in The Lady. I trusted in her judgment to guide my hands when it would most matter so that I could win.

And that’s when Lance swept me off my feet with a sweeping kick across my knees. Again, I cried out in pain as my ankle twisted awkwardly with the fall. Despite the strength given by my magic I knew it was sprained, perhaps even broken.

“Enough,” Master Leveret finally said, indicating the fight was over and won. Around us, the sound of fighting continued as several other trainees fought each other as though they were focused on nothing but their opponents.

I was floored, my breath heavy, tears threatening to leak through my eyes from the pain caused by my ankle.

Lance bent down. He leaned down as though to help me but in truth was moving just so my face could be obscured from the view of those watching on the sides, at the very least the masters who were watching. “Consider this the first of my retribution for my father.” I didn’t know what he was talking about. But I didn’t have much more chance to look up to him as he suddenly spat out, his spit hitting me on my cheek. I could feel it slowly dripping down my face.

He then stood up and walked away without another word. In moments, Ernie was next to me with a scowl on his face. “What in The Lady’s name is wrong with him?” he said angrily at Lance’s retreating back. “He’s two years older than you. He didn’t have to floor you like that. It was embarrassing.”

“Thanks,” I said with an exasperated sigh, too tired and weak to get up. I only moved my arm to wipe the spit off my face.

“Well you did put to shame that guy you beat,” Nathan pointed out, referring to Ernie’s opponent earlier. As always, he was right behind Ernie, almost like he was the latter’s shadow.

“Well, that’s different,” he said. I appreciated how much anger was being etched in each of his words. “That guy should have been better than me so me beating him was just right. But why beat you like that when you’re obviously weaker.

“Thanks,” I muttered again.

“I’m not trying to put you down,” Ernie apologized quickly and it looked like he had much more to say but he was interrupted midsentence.

“Excuse me boys,” Mistress Heilen said as she came into view. “Since you have yet to get up from the floor, I assume something is wrong.”

“My ankle,” I said with a grimace.

She nodded and moved efficiently over me while my friends made room for her. Her gown was long and touched the floor, staining them with dirt as she knelt over me. That didn’t stop her from doing her work though.

“The tendons have been stretched,” she concluded as I felt her magic working into my ankle. Nothing was damaged or broken by magic so it was possible to heal my body using magic. If I had somehow sustained the wound with magic, particularly the destructive kind, she would not have been able to use magic. I would have had to resort to potions and a lot of rest instead. I was grateful at least that I didn’t have to do that. “There,” she concluded. “See if you can move it with ease.”

I did as she asked and found my ankle as good as new. “Thanks,” I said, very much meaning it.

She sighed heavily and I wondered if that small spell work on me had tired her out. She smiled though before nodding and standing up again. She surveyed me one last time as I stood before her and pronounced me fit for combat. She moved to take her place once more on the side with two other Life Mages that served as our healers.

“You okay?” Ernie asked as though he didn’t just see everything that happened.

“Yes,” I said, looking around. I wanted to get out of there. I wanted to be away from everyone’s eyes, not that anyone was looking at me in particular. Most of the people honestly expected trainees from the lower form would be defeated. So my being floored was not something out of the ordinary. It still put a damper on my pride though, especially considering what I had expected to happen.

The Lady had spoken to me. And despite that, I had lost miserably.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ernie said as though he was reading my thoughts. He looked at each of us as though asking for our confirmation. I nodded at him. Nathan just shrugged like he didn’t really care whatever we did. We all had fought a higher form trainee.

We edged our way to the sides, trying to act as though we were just going to take seats on the stone benches that surrounded the courtyard. We turned towards the exit when we felt no one was paying us any attention. All the masters were focused on the trainees fighting. The other trainees were also watching, the older ones attentive while the younger ones looked more bored than anything. I suppose that reaction was expected when you’re pitted against an opponent who was sure to beat you.

I chanced one more look around as we finally reached the exit that would take us out of the building and found my uncle frowning and staring intently at me. I froze where I was standing and I thought I was finally going to get it as he yelled across the room at me. Instead of shouting though, he simply turned back to the trainees he was watching as if he didn’t just see several students sneaking out of training.

I didn’t dwell on that too much as I quickly moved my legs to catch up with Ernie and Nathan who did not stop like I did. I didn’t want any other masters or teachers to see where I was going. They might not react the same way.

Then again, I didn’t really know what my uncle’s reaction was. For all I knew, I’d get it much worse later for not turning back when it was obvious I was caught. That thought was shoved out of my mind when we reached the exit and took deep breaths of the cool mountain air.

“Where do you guys want to go?” Ernie asked. Nathan again shrugged like he didn’t really care.

“Let’s go somewhere we can talk,” I said quietly. “But not too far from the Academy in case we need to get back.”

“Oh?” Ernie said with a raised eyebrow as though he suspected I had something good to say.

To my surprise, it was again Nathan who gave a suggestion on where we could talk. “We can go to The Gardens.”

“The gardens?” Ernie asked with a frown. “Is this more of your nature spots? Please don’t tell me we have to climb another cliff to get there. I may have beaten that guy earlier but I’m still tired from all the fighting.”

Nathan smiled softly and shook his head almost like he was amused. “You need to get out more,” he said to Ernie before turning and walking to the center of Malden as though not really caring if we followed him or not.

“You know what garden he’s referring to?” Ernie asked with a troubled frown. I knew Ernie didn’t like it when there was something he should have known but didn’t.

“I don’t think he's referring to a garden or any particular gardens,” I said as I shrugged at him. We both followed Nathan who was walking at a slower pace than us so we were sure to catch up and still have a few seconds to converse without being overheard. “I think he’s referring to some place called The Gardens.”

Ernie frowned at that as though the idea of not knowing about a certain place that existed in a city as small as Malden disturbed him. His frown grew even deeper a few minutes later when we reached a small building that had the words The Gardens embossed in plain letters across the stone over the entrance.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Nathan said to the displeased Ernie, “this place is quite new. It is owned and maintained by Sonya.”

“The journeyman who brought you here?” Ernie asked as understanding seemed to dawn on him. It would in a way explain how Nathan would know something like this before Ernie would.

Nathan nodded and headed towards what looked like a bar where a familiar woman was cleaning a bowl with a rag. She smiled at us as we approached.

“I was wondering when you and your friends would come by to visit,” the woman named Sonya said. She was a journeyman as young as Devon (the journeyman who brought me to Malden) but somehow looked much older. She had dark brown hair that seemed to just puff out in volume from the top of her head down her shoulders. She also had very sharp pointed features highlighted by her relatively thin frame.

“Hey Sonya,” Ernie greeted with a smile as he leaned on the bar. There were no seats for us to sit on around the bar but there were plenty of seats and tables scattered around the somewhat small room. It looked somewhat like a pub would when it was closed. “What are you doing in this dump?”

“I see your sense of humor is as charming as ever,” Sonya smirked. “This… dump happens to be under my care. I have taken it upon myself to be a source of fresh, healthy options for our people to eat.”

“You’re starting a business?” I asked. I suppose that made sense. Despite all the combat training in the Academy, not everyone could be a warrior. We still needed people to feed us, to clothe us, and all the other basic necessities.

She laughed a healthy and amused laugh that I did not take any offense in. “Well, it’s not a business like you’d think one to be. Yes, I provide fruits and vegetables that I grow on my own but there is no fee. The food here is free like pretty much everything else here in Malden. The Lady provides for us and we provide for each other. We must all do our part. Those that don’t will find they have no home in Malden. This was actually something I was quite good at before despite being a Water Mage. It’s harder now that the Rites have purged my control of Earth Magic but plants do not always need magic to grow. They can on their own with similar, albeit slower, results.

“But what about your training?” Ernie asked as Sonya placed some greens and what looked like carrots into the bowl she was just cleaning. She placed it in front of us to eat. “Aren’t you going to become a master?”

“Not all journeymen move on to become masters,” Sonya said with a smile. “Many of us actually remain as journeymen. Only those tasked with very particular or important responsibilities become masters. Those like your uncle,” she said with a nod to me. “And all the teachers in the Academy. All of the mages directly under Grand Master Assero of course must all be masters. Also those of us who have or develop exceptional control of Water Magic beyond what the Rites would give us.”

“I never really imagined any of us would be doing things like this,” I said. “I mean from the first time I got here, they pretty much said here’s your weapon, now go train. I never thought we’d go through all that training just to end up starting something like this. I always thought journeymen became sentries, assistants to masters, or get sent out on tasks for The Lady. I’ve always had the impression that a journeyman’s life was a warrior’s life.”

“Oh, I’m still quite capable as a warrior,” Sonya replied. “And when the day comes when we are called to march out against our enemies, I will be there as capable as I am now if not more. Until then, we have other duties to perform. Now,” she said as she straightened up as though trying to become more formal. “I have not been out of the Academy too long not to know when trainees should be there. So unless you have a very good reason to be here, I insist you head back there now. I will not be party to your mischief.”

“We’re done training anyway,” Ernie said with a shrug but enough hesitation showed in his actions that Sonya raised an eyebrow.

She turned to Nathan as though expecting him to be the only one honest enough to tell the truth. “Are you done training?”

‘”The higher forms kicked our butts,” he said by way of reply.

“Aah,” she said with an understanding nod. “At least that explains why Matty isn’t with you three. I thought you four were inseparable. I thought the Rites of Water would be soon.”

Nathan nodded as way of a response then seemed to mull something over. “Well, Ernie’s butt didn’t quite get kicked. He easily defeated his opponent.”

“Really?” Sonya replied sounding half-amused, half-disbelieving. I rolled my eyes at Ernie whose chest and arms suddenly puffed out in a far too obvious display of superiority. Sonya laughed at his antics before shaking her head. “I hope you did not put him to shame too much. It would not be pleasing for your opponent to be delayed a year in his Rites just because of this one fight. It would easily create bad blood between you.”

“What do you mean?” Ernie asked with a frown, his mock exuberance deflating a bit.

“How would you feel if, when your time comes, a much younger mage defeats you in a controlled fight? And because of that one fight, you will have to spend another full year training while your friends, the ones you’ve bonded with for so many years would move on to the next level and become journeymen. You, on the other hand, had to remain a trainee simply because of the actions of an upstart mage. I imagine you would easily blame or hate that mage as the cause of your problems.”

“Oh,” Ernie said. “I… I never thought of that.”

“I bet you didn’t,” Sonya said with a kind smile. “Don’t worry. In most cases, trainees are not held back simply because of this one fight. Unless of course he was clearly inept.”

“He… he was pretty good,” Ernie said weakly. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than us.

“Don’t worry,” I said as I patted him consolingly at the back. “If he does get held back from the Rites, I’m sure he’ll waste no time trying to get you to pay for what you did. I’m sure it will make him feel a lot better.”

“Wow, thanks,” Ernie said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes at me. I could tell though that he was feeling better already.

“Why don’t you guys take a seat over there,” Sonya said. “I still have things to prepare at the back while no one is here yet. And I’m sure you have plenty to discuss after today’s events.”

I nodded gratefully at her since it was the very reason we came there. It was almost like she sensed my unease and my desire to get my friends into a corner to talk. We moved to the spot she indicated, bringing a bowl of greens and carrots with us which Sonya provided. She gave us a cursory look before disappearing into a back room.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Ernie asked as soon as we were seated on the sturdy wooden furniture. We were seated near the window and I looked outside just to make sure we could not be overheard.

“You won’t believe what happened earlier,” I said as a little of the excitement returned to my voice. Sure the fight did not end well but I knew what happened and it was something that was extraordinary. The Lady had spoken to me!

“Oh I think we all saw you get floored,” Ernie said with a smirk. “You’re just lucky your uncle didn’t give you stable duty for that glorious defeat.”

“I still might,” said a stern voice from behind me that made me freeze.

Ernie hastily stood up while Nathan had more poise in his movements. That or perhaps he was just lethargic.

“Master Archer,” Ernie said somewhat nervously.

“Why don’t you two head back to the Academy?” my uncle said severely. “Samuel and I need to talk.”

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