Читать книгу The Wielder Trials - Franca Ogbonnaya - Страница 5

Kahl slid sideways on the wet deck as he tried to dodge the blow Mat aimed at his head. This was their fifth day on the Peacekeeper , but to Kahl, it felt like eons.

On the second day, the Weltonian captain, Lanead Riverun, had told them in excruciating detail that for the foreseeable future, they were to learn how to interact with humans.

Mat had been shocked, then enraged, at the idea, and Kahl was still trying to figure out how to cope with the news. He had been relieved when Lanead had suggested they start with daily early morning sparring. At least that was familiar.

But now he was wondering if he had been a bit hasty in his relief because he was half convinced Mat was trying to kill him.

Kahl swung his spear to the left to deflect another strike from Mat’s trident.

“Hold!” yelled Kahl. “I yield for respite!”

That was the prearranged signal indicating he’d had enough, but for one split second, he expected Mat to ignore him. But then the older Dyhaeri dropped his weapon, breathing heavily. His cousin looked away from Kahl, frustrated.

Slow clapping made both of them turn to see Lanead approaching.

“When I suggested sparring, it was meant as a way to let off steam and stay battle ready. The intention wasn’t for you to attempt murder.” The captain glared at Mat.

Kahl looked at his cousin, expecting him to attack the Weltonian, but something in Lanead’s gaze made Mat drop his.

“I may have gotten carried away.”

“Really? For the past three days?” asked Lanead sarcastically. “I was told you both were responsible, level-headed Dyhaeri, but that’s not what I’m seeing. My advice to you two is to sort out whatever it is preventing you from working as a team because once you start your assignment amongst the humans, you’ll only have each other. Your animosity is only going to get you killed in enemy territory.”

Both Dyhaeri stared at him. Lanead spoke as if he had something against the humans. But wasn’t he also human?

“Now, for wasting my time, you’re both on below-deck duty for the next two hours.”

“What?” gasped Mat. Kahl blinked. What did that mean?

“Report to Tracee.”

#

After being handed a mop and a bucket of soapy water, Kahl had a fair idea of what below-deck duties were.

Tracee looked at him sympathetically. “The quicker you clean this area, the sooner you’ll be above deck.” Mat glared at his own mop with such anger Kahl was surprised it didn’t instantly combust.

“Thanks,” said Kahl before Tracee left. He started working from one corner of the cargo hold. To his relief, it didn’t smell that bad, and he didn’t see any sign of rodents. Not that he had ever seen one aboard the Peacekeeper.

Kahl was all too aware of his cousin at the other end of the hold. They had been here five days and shared the same cabin, but Mat refused to talk to him. Their only communication was their sparring.

Working with his back to his cousin, Kahl first heard a muttered curse, then he heard Mat pick up his bucket and walk over to Kahl’s section of the hold.

They worked in silence for several minutes before Mat broke the silence. “You still haven’t told me why you did it.”

Kahl glanced at his cousin. Mat refused to look at him as he continued mopping. “What are you talking about?”

Mat went still, then slowly turned to glower at him.

“You have the gall to not know how you betrayed me and our people?!”

Kahl took a deep breath and chose his next words with care. “I’ve done a lot in the last two months. So, yes, it would help if you were more specific.”

The cousins glared at each other.

“Fine,” said Mat through gritted teeth. “Why did you train the human girl?”

“I was ordered by the high priest to do so.”

“Did he give you a reason why?”

“He said the Sea Mother willed it. And for the record, the king was also aware of the assignment.”

Mat glanced to one side. “Why am I not surprised those two were up to something.”

Kahl frowned. “You do realize they are our leaders, right?”

“That doesn’t mean they can’t make mistakes or stupid decisions.”

“Fair point, but would you say the same about the Sisters?”

Mat shuddered. And for good reason. The Sisters were seers, blessed by the Sea Mother with foresight. However, due to the nature of their calling, they lived as hermits far from Light-Under-the Sea, the cousins’ underwater home. And they only appeared to deliver dire warnings to the king. There was a saying in their culture: “To see the blind, all-knowing Sisters is to know doom is around the corner.”

“That’s right, they also knew about it. At least that’s what I got from the little they said at my sentencing.”

Mat scowled. “You mean our sentencing. I wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn’t used the information I gave you.”

Kahl held up a hand. “Yes, that’s on me. I apologize for using you to get what I needed. But I had no choice.”

Mat shook his head. “Wrong. You had a choice. You could have told me what was going on!”

“And considering how much you hate the humans, you would have helped? I didn’t think so.”

“So, now we’ll never know because you didn’t ask,” said Mat through gritted teeth.

Kahl looked away, feeling guilty. He knew there was strain between them now. Growing up, they had been as close as brothers, and now that relationship was at risk.

“I’m sorry. I betrayed you. Of that I’m guilty. I just wanted to help them, and I didn’t think I could risk telling anyone my plans for fear they may try to stop me. Even my mother was unaware.”

Mat sighed and shook his head. “Damn. With commitment like that, it’s no wonder you were able to involve the Alkynaia and still escape without being eaten. You would have made a great marine.”

His cousin’s praise made him feel uncomfortable. “Um…about the Alkynaia. It was Britea who ended up bargaining with the sea serpents and getting us out of that mess.”

That caught Mat’s interest. “So, Britea is her name. That reminds me. I never did get the full gist of how the encounter with the snakes and the Namirans went down. Start from the beginning.”

Mat was silent as Kahl recounted the desperate race between the Windrider and the four Namiran warships and the unbelievable conclusion when the Alkynaia had sided with he and Britea.

Silence filled the hold for several moments after Kahl had finished his story.

“Britea sounds like a very brave…human and a strong wielder,” said Mat reluctantly.

“She is.”

Mat chuckled dryly. “She wanted to fight the others and I when we came to arrest you. I thought she was insane…maybe she is insane. Bargaining with the Alkynaia? That takes guts. Most of the time, the snakes come out on top with a full belly.”

“True,” agreed Kahl.

The cousins mopped the cargo hold in silence for several moments.

“I’m still mad at you though.” But the heat was lacking from those words.

“I know,” said Kahl with a small grin. Mat saw his expression and wielded a bubble of dirty, soapy water at him.

“Hey!” protested Kahl as he retaliated in kind. Before long, both Dyhaeri were wet and laughing at themselves.

“This is absolutely ridiculous,” said Mat smiling for the first time in days. “I can’t believe we’re cleaning the hold of a human ship. If someone had predicted this a month ago, I would have called them a lunatic.”

“Makes you wonder why the king sent us here, doesn’t it?”

Mat’s smile disappeared at the mention of their sovereign. “He’s just punishing us, Kahl, forcing us to learn more about humans.”

“No, I don’t think that’s it. Remember it was the Sisters who suggested this, not him. And he even brought us here, personally. ”

Mat sighed. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“I don’t know. I just feel there’s more to the captain and the Peacekeeper than meets the eye. He’s different.”

“Hmm, I thought so too. Every Weltonian I’ve ever met has been a bit…scared of us. Almost reverent in some cases, but Lanead is a different fish. He was angry at the king, and he definitely wasn’t afraid of him—or us.”

“Care to ask him about it?”

Mat snorted. “And get my head taken off? Nah, let’s just finish this assignment and go home.” His tone indicated he still had doubts about the authenticity of the assignment .

“But what if we don’t get to go home? Lanead said he’s preparing us for the royal court.”

“All right, let’s pretend that’s true. There’s only one court we could be going to.”

“Malaquey Royal Court,” added Kahl.

More than forty years ago, the Dyhaeri could swim in both Malaquey and Namiran territories. But ever since Queen Kallesa had ascended the throne in Namira, the Dyhaeri had been warned by King Jahlaniin to avoid Namiran territory. Only specially trained marines ever snuck in, and at great risk. Over the years, some had even never made it back to base.

“And how much do we know about the Malaquey royal family?”

“Their king is Wilhem of House Taros; he’s a direct descendant of the monarch who agreed to the peace treaty offered by Queen Zaleria over two millennia ago.”

“Well done, I’m glad to see someone was paying attention in class,” said Mat dryly.

Kahl rolled his eyes. “The question is, why would King Jahlaniin want us at the royal court?”

“To gather information, perhaps.”

“No, there’s more it. We stand out, so everyone will just gawk at us, and they’ll be too afraid to speak around us.”

“Oh, you’re so wrong,” disagreed Mat. “You’d be surprised at how talkative humans get once they get over their initial fear. I bet there’s a lot we could learn in just a few hours at court...that is if we’re really going there.”

Kahl shook his head. Mat still thought the assignment was fake. Why would the king lie? The younger cousin looked at the empty stairs leading out of the hold, and even though he knew they were alone, he still lowered his voice.

“Have you noticed the Weltonians on this ship aren’t very talkative?”

Mat nodded. “I’ve noticed it on other Weltonian ships too. They also stayed out of sight whenever I came around. I always found it odd how quiet they were. Now, on the other human ships? They couldn’t stop whispering and making remarks they thought I couldn’t hear.” He shook his head. “Some of what I heard was quite…” he struggled to find the right word.

“Interesting?” added Kahl helpfully.

“No, disturbing.” Mat saw the question on his cousin’s face. “And I’m definitely not going into detail!”

“Fair enough.” Now Kahl was curious, but he decided not to probe. The two Dyhaeri mopped in silence for a bit before Mat sighed.

“You need to work on your offensive stance.”

“Huh?”

“All you did was defend your position. You didn’t attack once in the last three sparring sessions.”

Kahl blinked. “Excuse me, but you seemed determined to take my head off!”

Mat shrugged as he smiled calmly. “Perhaps, but that doesn’t excuse you from not landing a hit now and then. From tomorrow, our sparring will be different. Take note.”

Kahl gave his serene-looking cousin a troubled look. Why did he feel like he was going to have more bruises and sore spots in the coming days?

#

Lanead stepped silently away from the top of the stairs leading below deck. He knew just where to stand to avoid being seen while still being able to listen in on the conversation between the two Dyhaeri.

To be honest, he had expected them to start fighting the moment they were assigned the punishment. Imagine his surprise when all he heard was what sounded like an overdue argument. He still didn’t know what to make of the two young Dyhaeri. He wished King Jahlaniin hadn’t gotten him involved, but there was no going back now.

The younger one, Kahl, seemed to think this assignment was important, while Mat viewed it only as punishment. Lanead felt sorry for them. They had no idea how dangerous their real assignment was.

Lanead shook his head as he turned. Tracee was waiting for him.

“Cancel the second punishment. Once they finish, I suspect they’ll be hungry.”

Tracee nodded. “I’ll let the cooks know.”

#

“Novice D’Tranell. Today we will begin your wielding assessment. Before we start, what is the Creed?”

Britea took a deep breath before reciting the words. Instructor Eowise Shelley watched her keenly. She nodded once Britea was done. Warden Sammel Asteros was silent as he stood in the background. The three of them stood beside one of the large pools in the college gardens.

“Good. You seem to have a good memory.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” said Britea as she wondered if the Dyhaeri had a Creed of their own. Did they have to recite it a dozen times a day as well?

“At the end of the wielding assessment, I shall discuss the summary of your assessments for the past three days.” Britea was so glad it was almost over; two days ago had been the social studies tests, and the day before had been the arithmetic test. She was exhausted.

“First tier of forms, begin.”

For a moment, in her panic, she almost forgot what to do. Then it came to her. She started wielding and concentrated on her forms. Drawing from the calm pool before her, she wielded an orb the size of an orange; six identical shapes joined the first. She held the seven orbs in the air for ten breaths, then picked a different shape: a triangle this time. Seven of those hung in the air. She repeated the first tier five more times with different shapes.

Instructor Shelley kept a neutral expression. “Second tier.”

Britea complied, and the forms came easily to her. She created two different shapes this time. An orb and a triangle floated before her, and she began to rotate them around each other as she twisted the shapes into a rod and a star before changing the shapes a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh time while keeping them moving through the air.

“Third tier.” Three different shapes this time, moving in different directions now, increasing in speed with each subsequent wield until the seventh and final set. One rotated around her left wrist while the remaining two rotated around each other.

“Fourth tier.” Britea frowned as she concentrated. Now it was getting a bit harder. She took a moment to collect more water and form it into a watery shield that covered only the top half of her body. She glanced at the instructor and was surprised to see a frown on her face. Even Warden Asteros looked a bit pensive.

“What of the lower half? It too is vulnerable.” said Instructor Shelley.

“Um, right, yes, instructor,” said Britea as she hastily constructed a second shield to overlap the first one and extend down to her ankles.

“Not bad,” said Instructor Shelley. Then she suddenly wielded a spear of air at Britea’s shield. The young woman gasped when the tip of the weapon penetrated her defense.

“Did you not practice projectile deflection or shield hardening?” asked Warden Asteros.

“N…no. There was no time.”

Both instructors glanced at each other with relief. Britea wondered why they seemed happy about her lack of training.

“Stop wielding.”

The young novice complied. “Am I not doing the fifth tier?” she asked.

The instructor smiled kindly at her. “In due time. For now, we need to concentrate on the first four tiers. You definitely need more practice with the fourth tier. Now it’s time for your placement in both general education and wielding classes.”

Britea felt her heart rate rise. She was sure she was going to be with the babies of the college. Please, no.

“Based on your scores in history, social studies, and arithmetic, you will be assigned to a class of your peers, and that will be the third-year class.” Britea could not hide her relief. After talking to Henrick, she’d found out that the third-year class was made up of sixteen-year old students like them. She had been dreading being placed in the first-year class.

The instructor wasn’t done. “As for wielding, you will be starting with the most junior novices in the first-year class.” Britea blinked. Surely, she had heard wrong. Those novices were twelve or thirteen at most!

“But, but I can wield up to tier five!”

“Indeed, you can,” said Instructor Shelley. “But you still need to strengthen your skills in the first four and learn discipline. Look, we have no idea how Dyhaeri teach their wielders, but I suspect it’s a lot different than our way.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because we never train our students up to tier five in just forty-eight days.”

“Which is what Kahl did,” muttered Britea.

Instructor Shelley lifted an eyebrow. “That may be so, but there’s a lot of material in the wielder curriculum. We need you to understand it the human way; thus, we will start from the beginning, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Britea, trying to hide her disappointment. Well, at least she wasn’t getting kicked out of the college.

#

Britea felt her anxiety grow as she walked beside Instructor Shelley to her assigned general education class. What would the other students be like? Would they be friendly or belittle her?

To be honest, she was terrified of facing the other students. She couldn’t explain why she felt this way.

“Your class is currently in history. The instructor is Kacia Felgreen; be sure to speak to her after class to get a list of the reading material you’ll need for exams.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Britea nervously.

Instructor Shelley looked at her, and her expression softened. “I know this is new for you, and you’ve not had much time to adjust. That will come with time. You’ll be fine.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

The instructor rolled her eyes. “Please, call me Miss Shelley. Ma’am makes me think my grandma is right behind me.”

“Yes, Miss Shelley,” said Britea with a small smile as they stopped before a wooden door. From within, she could already clearly hear a female voice.

The instructor knocked loudly before opening the door. The voice within stopped.

A short, plump woman with red curly hair and spectacles frowned as they entered. She wore a black gown with earth-brown edgings on the cowl. Judging from the expression on her face, she wasn’t pleased at being interrupted.

“Instructor Felgreen, pardon the disturbance. However, I have a new student for you.”

The instructor’s frown was replaced by a curiosity as she adjusted her glasses to study a shy Britea.

“Class,” said Instructor Shelley, addressing the silent students. “This is Britea D’Tranell. She will be joining you.”

Britea forced herself to look at her fellow students. She was relieved to see Henrick Walters waving at her with a smile. That brought a grin to her face and gave her courage to look at the other members of her class. Her smile disappeared when she saw three girls glaring at her.

Lady Lianne Arkei and the blonde and brunette who always flanked her. Their eyes were filled with cold hatred.

She barely heard Instructor Felgreen tell her to take a seat. Somehow her legs managed to obey, and she quickly sat down in an empty seat beside Henrick.

No, no this could not be happening!

She looked up as Instructor Shelley exchanged a few quiet words with Instructor Felgreen before leaving. Britea wanted to run after her, but it was too late.

“Novice D’Tranell.”

Britea almost jumped at the brisk tone of the history teacher.

“We were just discussing the early history of the first recorded wielders of this part of the world. I want you to name the era and name of the first known master wielder.”

Britea’s mind went blank with terror at being put on the spot. “I…I…”

Instructor Felgreen frowned at her. “Do you know what I’m talking about?”

“I’m new…um, I don’t know much yet—”

“Not much? Why am I not surprised? She is a farm girl after all,” said Lianne to the amusement of much of the class.

Instructor Felgreen glared at the noblewoman while Britea wanted to sink into the floor.

“That’s quite enough. Do you wish to answer the question, Novice Arkei?”

“Of course,” said the young noble smugly. She stood up. “The first recorded master wielder was Headmaster Lance Cen-Taros. He founded Syla College in 1384 AC. The current ruler, King Wilhem of Taros, is related to him, as, by the way, am I.”

Britea suppressed her exasperated sigh. This girl never ceased to remind everyone of her relationship to royalty.

“Headmaster Lance Cen-Taros was the brightest and bravest of his generation; he is why we have a strong Malaquey today.” The students around her began to clap before a loud sigh from the instructor silenced them.

“Is that your final answer, novice?” Britea frowned and turned to see a puzzled expression on Lianne’s face.

“Yes, it is. Lance Cen-Taros was the most learned and powerful wielder of his generation—”

“That wasn’t the question. I asked you who the first recorded master wielder of this part of our world was. Let me give you a hint. You need to look further back in our past.”

Britea found herself recalling something she had just read the day before when she was fervently preparing for her assessments.

Lianne had a haughty expression on her face. “I stand by my answer. Look it up, instructor.”

“No, no. You’re wrong,” said Britea distractedly. The class went silent as Lianne stared at her first in shock, then in fury.

“What did you say?”

Instructor Felgreen ignored the enraged noble. She was now looking at Britea. “Stand up, novice, if you wish to defend your answer.”

Britea complied quickly. “I mean, the question is about the first recorded master wielder, and it’s not your ancestor, as much as you wish it to be.”

Some members of the class gasped while Lianne went white with fury. Britea was thinking too much to be bothered by their reactions.

“What’s the answer then, Novice D’Tranell?” asked the instructor, who looked a bit impatient.

“The first master wielder recorded in our history wasn’t human. She was Queen Zaleria of the Dyhaeri. In 184 AC, she led the battles against the humans when the old, combined kingdom of Olderia declared war on the Dyhaeri. She never lost a fight. Back then, humans had no wielders, only the Dyhaeri did. It was only after the Dyhaeri won the war and the peace treaty was signed that humans began to wield, and even then, it was the nomadic Weltonians who were the first human wielders.” As she paused, she noticed the livid light in Lianne’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” said Britea insincerely with an innocent smile, “but Queen Zaleria of the Dyhaeri would have wiped the floor with Headmaster Cen-Taros.” Lianne took a step forward but froze when Instructor Felgreen started laughing.

“Good answer, Novice D’Tranell. Welcome to history.” She smiled at the rest of the class as Lianne and Britea resumed their seats.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why I take such delight in your lack of knowledge.” The smile disappeared to be replaced by a serious expression. “Nay, it is not delight but horror.”

What? thought Britea.

“You may feel somewhat arrogant because you’re the few who have the ability to wield. Novice Walters, what’s the percentage of wielders in the general population?”

The male student answered without hesitation. “Seven percent.”

Instructor Felgreen continued. “To simplify it for those of you lacking in math, out of a hundred people, only seven can wield. Now, compare that to the Dyhaeri. Every one of them are wielders.”

Britea discreetly looked around. No one appeared surprised by this news.

“I want you all to recall that humans have only been on the Olderian continent for the past two thousand, one hundred, and eighty-four years, while the Dyhaeri have existed in this part of the world for over twenty millennia.” She waited for them to absorb her words.

“So, for those of you who feel privileged and think themselves powerful because they can also wield, let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t be an idiot.”

From the corner of her eyes, Britea saw Lianne’s enraged expression. She probably felt this was directed at her.

“For each of those twenty millennia, the Dyhaeri have wielded, so they have more knowledge of this ability at their fingertips than our three pitiful colleges combined. Many of you will do a Year of Discovery at sea, and you will run into the Dyhaeri. I want you to remember how insignificant your skill with wielding is so you don’t cause a diplomatic incident, which is why history is your most important subject at this school. If you don’t learn from the past, you will destroy the future of those around you.”

Britea gasped at the petite teacher’s choice of words.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes, Instructor Felgreen,” answered the class as one.

“Turn to page thirty-four of History of the Crossing .” Britea felt lost as the other students pulled out books from under their table.

“Here, you can share with me,” whispered Henrick.

“Thanks,” said Britea with a small smile. She could feel Lianne’s glare without having to turn around.