Training

“Finally…some progress…” Felmer whispered, taking deep breaths. “I saw three threads this time.”

He turned his head and looked at Anderson.

Anderson was sitting on a rock, quiet and calm. He seemed asleep, but he was focusing as much as possible.

Inside his mind, a single thread slowly became visible. It grew clearer and closer to him.

“Is he…” Efkil was about to speak, but Felmer fell on him and covered his mouth.

“Speak, and I will smack your face…” Felmer whispered to Efkil.

Efkil didn’t fight back and just nodded lightly.

Anderson saw another thread, but it was very faint, and suddenly he lost focus. He opened his eyes, smiling.

“Some improvement?” Irnik asked.

“I saw two threads…” Anderson said joyfully. One clear and one faint.”

“Those are not threads. They look like them, but they are waves…” Irnik corrected Anderson.

Then he looked at Zendaya, whose eyes had been closed for ten minutes.

‘I wonder what she is doing…’ Irnik thought.

Slowly, Zendaya opened her eyes, serious. She looked at Irnik and stood up.

“I saw five waves. Three clear, two faint.”

“Hmm…Good, good…” Irnik clapped softly. “And what about you two?” Irnik asked Felmer and Efkil.

“I saw three. All clear…” Felmer replied, uncovering Efkil’s mouth and standing.

“I saw one!” Efkil shouted, lying on the ground.

“After three days, it’s good progress by all of you. So, I will give you two options…” Irnik said, raising two fingers.

“And those are?” Zendaya asked, rubbing her left eye.

“One…” Irnik folded one finger. “You will keep practising for another three days, and then I will test you.” Then he folded his second finger. “Second, take the test now and move on to the next step.”

“I will go with the second…” Zendaya replied immediately, confident in her recent results.

“Same…” Felmer followed.

“I, too, will take the test…” Anderson said after hesitating for a few seconds.

“I am in…I am bored…” Efkil replied, still on the ground.

“Okay then…But before that…There is something you need to know…” Irnik crossed his legs and adjusted his clothes. He signalled the squad to sit down, and they did.

“Okay, listen carefully. Last time I told you that all things, living and non-living, emit magical waves, which you can detect. But there is a drawback. You can only detect the waves of those things which you have seen before, or know how they look. Because your brain knows what that particular thing is, it detects its waves, and you will be able to identify the object or person.”

“What if we know the name and imagine its form?”

“The imagination of an unknown object is not accurate at all. Moreover, your imagination has no physical form. It’s abstract. So you won’t be able to identify the object.”

The squad nodded.

“One more thing: you can still detect the waves of the objects, but not identify them. For example, if I hide my monocles and a two-century-old flag of Russin-Solvo or any other country, you will detect the waves of both, but identify only my monocles.” Irnik grabbed his water bottle and took a sip. “You all understand?”

“Yes, sir…” They replied in unison.

“Great, now I will take your tests.” He said and stood up. “Turn around. I will place some things in different places, and you have to give me their names and locations.

The squad nodded and turned around.

“I wonder what might be the second training,” Felmer said softly.

“First, worry about passing the test…” Efkil commented.

Felmer laughed. “Very bold words coming from you…”

“Don’t worry… We all showed good results. We will pass.” Anderson said, smiling.

After a few minutes, Irnik came closer, walked around them, and stood in front of them.

“I have placed five objects. You will identify them one by one and give me the answer, without revealing it to the others. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Okay, first, Zendaya. Begin.” Irnik signalled her.

“Yes…” She said and closed her eyes.

As she calmed her racing thoughts and controlled her emotions, the waves slowly appeared. She focused on one of the many waves and tried to identify the object. Soon, a rough image of a rock appeared in her mind. Then, following the waves, she found its location.

‘Far left, behind a boulder…’

Then, a quill and a branch. She tried to find more, but all in vain. So, she gave up and stood. Zendaya walked up to Irnik and gave him her answers, speaking in a low voice.

Irnik nodded.

“Good. Next…Efkil.” Irnik said, arms folded.

“Yeah, yeah…” He nodded

Efkil crossed his legs and closed his eyes. After some time, he was able to identify a rock and a book. But only found the location of the rock.

He gave up fast, stood up, and gave his answers to Irnik.

“Satisfactory…” Irnik mumbled.

“Next, Felmer…”

Felmer immediately closed his eyes and fully focused on identifying the five objects. After some time, and chasing the waves, he was able to identify a rock, a quill, and a book. And the location of all three. He had a faint sense of the presence of a branch, but he couldn’t find its location. He stood up and gave his answers to Irnik.

“Good…” Irnik nodded. “Anderson…” He called Anderson’s name.

Anderson was able to identify a branch and a knife, with their respective location.

“Good work…” Irnik said after hearing Anderson’s answer.

“Well done, all of you…There is still a lot to practice, but you have grasped the basics.” He clapped softly. “Tomorrow, we will head to the next step.”

…

At noon, at the Obside Palace of Maska.

Irnik and Marnis entered the courtyard and handed their horses to the soldiers.

“I was beginning to think that the king might have forgotten about the shockwave, but it seems he didn’t…” Marnis said softly.

“The aftermath must have been severe. So he probably didn’t have any time to meet us…” Irnik said, handing his sword to a soldier. “Moreover, the reason is probably that creature. We reported it to the army after all…”

“True…” Marnis nodded in affirmation.

After handing their weapons to the soldiers, they walked towards the towering gates of the palace.

The courtyard and the gardens of the Obside Palace were outside. But the main building was built inside the mountain, giving it a powerful defence.

Near the gate, a butler, wearing a white and black formal dress, was waiting for Marnis and Irnik.

“Welcome to the Obside Palace, gentlemen. Please follow me…” The butler said in a heavy yet polite tone.

The butler softly knocked twice on the gate, and slowly it was opened by two guards inside.

“After you…” Irnik said to Marnis, signalling him to enter first.

Marnis nodded and entered the building in the mountain, followed by Irnik.

The hallway had red carpets in the centre and a painting every ten metres on its sides.

Walking briskly through the hallway, they saw a familiar face.

“Oh, hello…It seems the king called you two as well.” Irfika greeted the duo cheerfully.

“Well, yes…He did call us…” Irnik replied, smiling.

“We meet again…” Marnis said, forcing a smile.

“Indeed, we meet…” Irfika turned his head towards Irnik. “I was bored, so I was observing the paintings. Let’s go to the meeting room, shall we?”

“Yes…Why not?” Irnik replied, gesturing for others to walk.

Then, following the butler, Irnik, Irfika, and Marnis walked towards the room designated for the meeting with the king.

After a few minutes, they arrived at a wooden door, the emblem of the kingdom etched on it. The butler slowly opened the door and gestured for the three guests to enter.

“The king will arrive soon. So you will have to wait.” The butler said, slowly bowing, and left.

The trio turned and saw another figure in the room. A lady, wearing black clothes and a black robe over them, with patterns of the moon drawn on it. She wore an iron mask and was reading a book.

“Equinox…You are here as well…” Irnik asked, surprised.

“The king invited Irfika and me. And, seriously? Are you still using those titles? You are no longer in the organisation. There’s no need to be so formal.” She closed the book and placed it on the table.

“Ok, Luna…” Irnik said and sat down in a chair.

Luna looked at Marnis. “We are meeting for the first time, I suppose?”

“Yes…We are…” Marnis replied, taking off his coat and sitting in a chair.

“How is the situation with the Falvarians? Our organisation found out that Falvarian raids have sped up…”

“True…They have indeed sped up and increased in number. Our soldiers are defending hard, but it still makes it hard for us compared to their military might.”

“The Eclipse have all rights to intervene, but we are dealing with King Larnet here. He has the whole army at his command, and we have a few hundred soldiers.” Luna replied, adjusting her collar.

“I can fight that old man. Sun is the only person who is stopping me…” Irfika said, confident.

“I am assured that Eclipse knows who is right or wrong.” Marnis sighed.

“Well, that’s our job. But I would still like to have a spar with Larnet. I feel it would be fun.” Irfika chuckled.

“I don’t understand what thrill you find in fighting…” Luna rolled her eyes.

“Kids like you won’t understand…” Irfika smiled.

“Whatever…” Luna sighed. Then she looked at Marnis. “Isn’t your family living here? How are they?” Luna asked.

“They are alright. Doing better than in Cerfis. Irnik is training my eldest son, Felmer and his three friends.” Marnis crossed his legs, relaxed.

“That’s good to hear. I hope he grows up to be a good man.” Luna smiled again and looked away.

“I hope so too…”

The four guests waited for ten minutes, when finally the door opened, and a guard entered, followed by the king of Russin-Solvo, King Theodor Rist.

The guests stood up to greet him, but Theodor stopped them.

“Please remain seated. No need to stand; you are my guests…” He gestured to them to sit down.

Theodor took off his robe and took his seat.

“Time is of value to all of us, so I will skip the pleasantries and jump straight to the point.” He cleared his throat. “I am sure all of you are aware of what happened four days ago. So you should understand why I invited you all.” Theodor spoke in a serious tone. “So, as the king of the nation, I want an honest and clear explanation.”

“We can’t disclose everything…” Luna spoke politely.

“Miss, that explosion caused avalanches and landslides. And these disasters killed forty civilians and caused us an economic loss of one thousand Malgis coins…That’s a huge sum…”

Irfika stared at Luna. She nodded slightly, and Irfika understood.

“King Theodor, if it’s the truth that you want, then fine, I will tell you.” Irfika took a breath. “Four years ago, Irnik and I discovered some ancient scriptures. They had drawings on them depicting different scenes.”

“And those were?” Theodor asked, tilting his head.

“They showed some unknown beings, humans making some structures with them, and an image of two worlds. From the written scriptures, we got some information. No name was mentioned for those beings, but we learned that they were otherworldly.”

“Otherworldly in what sense?” Marnis asked, curious.

“According to the images, the two worlds were the opposite of each other. Let’s take a book…” Irfika grabbed the book in front of Luna. “The front of the book is our world, but the opposite side is the world of those beings. It's not like you can dig straight down and reach their world. There are special doors hidden around the world, which can grant us access to their world.”

“And you found one of those doors in that mountain?” Irnik asked, sure of his guess.

“Correct, I did…”

“You did what?” Theodor asked, confused.

Irfika took a deep breath and explained his encounter with the creature, then Irnik described his encounter with it.

“Hmm…A creature capable of evolving at such a pace. It sure is a bit scary…” Theodor sighed. “Gentlemen and miss, I am happy you told me the truth. Don’t worry, the secret will remain between us. Thank you…”

“No worries, Your Majesty…” Irfika replied.

“I will leave; I have matters to tend to. I wish you all a good day…” Theodor said and left.

…

In the evening, in a vast field near Maska.

Irfika stood straight, waiting for Melfer to prepare.

Melfer had brought his new sword, and he was opening it.

“If you hadn’t opened the packaging, then how were you practising with the dummy I created?” Irfika asked, confused.

“I found a small sword in your bag, so I took it. Sorry for not asking…” Melfer answered, scratching the back of his head.

“I knew something was missing in my bag…” Irfika mumbled, smiling.

Melfer unpacked his sword and happily looked at the white and golden sheath. Slowly, he grabbed the hilt and unsheathed the sword.

“Remember one thing: use a weapon to its limit. A rusty sword is better than a shiny one…” Irfika said, taking off his coat. “So are you ready?”

“Yes…I am…” Melfer replied, a bit nervous.

“I am sure that you must have learned a few things fighting with the alive dummy I gave you…” Irfika took a step forward. “The more you and your magic are synced with the movement of your weapon, the better you can fight. Don’t be scared, and don’t hesitate at all…”

“Yes…” Melfer nodded, serious.

“Okay…take your stance…” Irfika ordered.

Melfer extended his right arm and left hand. He placed the sword on the back of his left hand. Then he moved his left foot forward and his right foot backwards.

Irfika, seeing that Melfer was ready, extended his right hand, then moved it horizontally from left to right. A reddish-black streak emerged, and then a sword came into form in his right hand.

The sword had a black hilt and a black blade, with patterns of a devil’s horns etched on it.

“Woah…” Melfer blurted out, amazed. “That’s cool!”

“Hehe…Let’s focus on the training…” Irfika chuckled and stood straight. “Begin whenever you are ready.”

Melfer took a deep breath and rushed at Irfika. He took swift steps, and at close distance, imbued the sword with magic. Golden waves covered the sword and settled inside it.

At striking distance, Melfer attacked Irfika on the chest. Irfika swiftly moved his arm and immediately blocked the incoming attack. Melfer moved his left foot forward and went for Irfika’s feet. Irfika dodged by retreating a few steps and lifting his right foot.

Melfer didn’t wait and tried landing a vertical strike from below.

Irfika slightly tilted back his upper body and easily dodged the attack.

‘He’s too tall for me…’ Melfer murmured.

“Hmm…Not bad…” Irfika said softly, retreating a few more steps.

Melfer ducked, charged his legs and the sword with magic, and thrust at Irfika’s abdomen.

Irfika moved aside and hit Melfer’s sword hard. The sword fell from Melfer’s hand.

“Huh?” Melfer blurted, caught off guard.

Then, Irfika grabbed him from the back of Melfer’s collar and yanked him up.

“Hahaha…Not bad, not bad. After just two days of training, you are better than most at your age. But you need a lot of training if you are serious about joining the Eclipse.” Irfika said, placing Melfer on the ground. “There’s the difference between a mountain and a rock between us. So I won’t expect much from you against me. Still great…”

“Do you know what Art I have? Because I couldn’t recognise…” Melfer asked, picking up his sword.

“I can’t say anything currently. It will take some more training for us to identify…” Irfika went ahead and picked up his robe. “Let’s go back. It’s turning dark.”

“Yes…” Melfer sheathed his sword and followed Irfika.