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[ 19 ] Demonic Whispers
🕑 Added 2024-11-21 21:13:38 +0000 UTCBy the time Kal got back to town, the place was abuz. His mom had come home looking for him to tell him the news, and he caught her yelling his name as he bounded over the back fence.
Biting into a sandwich Yandi had thrown together in seconds, Kal sat in Arix’s living room with a few others, including Ellie and Tammy. They waited to hear from Lydia, who was chauffeuring family members through Arix’s bedroom, where he was recovering.
Kal cleared his throat. Ellie had been staring at him from across the room since he had arrived, and it was starting to feel more than a little uncomfortable.
She caught his eyes, looked toward the door, and returned her gaze to Kal.
“I can’t. I’m waiting with my Mom,” Kal mouthed.
“I don’t care,” Ellie mouthed back and eyed the door again.
“Fine,” Kal got up.
“Where are you going, Beetle?”
“Just need some fresh air. I'll only be a couple of minutes.”
“Okay then. But be quick. Arix will probably need some rest soon. It’d be a shame to miss him, and I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”
“Yeah, I know,” Kal nodded and left.
***
“So, what happened?” Ellie said, inching towards Kal’s face.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Kal. If not you, then who else?”
“Didn’t Arix say he woke up in the fields or something?”
Ellie glared at Kal with a face that said, “You don’t really think I’m that dumb, do you?”
She’s not really going to force me to tell her, is she? He had wanted to avoid this. Not because he necessarily trusted her any less than Arix, but because the less people knew, the better.
“Fine. But this stays between us, okay?”
Ellie nodded, her brow wrinkling and lips puckering.
“I found Arix in the woods. He was in the middle of the forest, unconscious.”
“How did you find him?”
“It was those voices. I went back there, and they led me to him.”
“That’s it? Nothing else happened?”
“Nothing,” Kal shook his head.
Alright, I lied. But what idiot trusts a bunch of kids with a secret that could get himself killed?
“Weird. But thanks for telling me. And you don’t have to remind me. I get it. This stays between us.”
“And the strange voices, right?”
“And the strange voices,” Ellie rolled her eyes.
“Good. Now, let’s get inside before we miss our turn.”
“Sounds like you already had yours.”
“Shhh,” Kal hissed as they walked toward the door with his finger pressed against his lips.
“I know, I know.”
They waited for turns, finally getting a chance to briefly see Arix once the living room was almost cleared out.
Arix was cozied up beneath thick duvets with a pale pallor and damp forehead.
“Arix, are you okay?” Kal said, moving to the side of the bed.
“Hi guys. Yeah, I’m fine. Feeling a little off is all,” he murmured weakly.
“You don’t look fine.”
How did this happen? He was fine when I left him.
Kal inspected his mana core discretely. What? It changed. Is this because of the exorcism? Did I do something wrong? Or was it the fiend?
==============================
Corrupted Mana Core
Mana 1/1
Mana Potential 18
Stage 1
Strength: 1
Agility: 1
Dexterity: 0
Charisma: 0
Wisdom: 0
Intelligence: 0
Endurance: 1
Toughness: 1
==============================
Interestingly, he had gotten stronger. His stats were even higher than Ellie’s now, although his mana potential was still barely above average. However, it was the core name and evolutionary status that worried him.
He needs to recover. I best give him some time. Once he’s feeling a little better, we can figure out what happened to his core. At least I can’t sense any presence of the fiend.
Sensing the fiend was only an attempt to calm his nerves. Unlike the first attempted exorcism, Kal was certain he had destroyed the invader. Reassuring himself, he thumbed the marble in his pocket. It still held a weak but dying hum of demonic mana.
“I think I feel better than I look,” Arix let out a weak chuckle. “Really, though. I slept for a couple of hours when I got back. Give me a day, and I’ll be back on my feet.”
“Okay,” Kal nodded.
“We’ll be waiting,” Ellie added.
“Come on now, kids,” Tammy said, ushering them toward the door. “It’s been a long day, and I think it’s time Arix got some rest.”
“Yeah,” Kal agreed and turned from the bed. “You rest well, Arix.”
“Sleep tight,” Ellie added with a smile.
***
Returning home, Kal excused himself to his room after dinner. He usually always had dinner with Yandi when Daedrik was away at the academy, but she understood that night.
Sitting on his bed, Kal reminisced about the encounter with the toad. The fight had been eye-opening. His speed and movement had been so important. Not only was his Steam Burst the only defensive spell he had learned, but Kal hadn’t really trained any kind of defense besides it.
He realized that this wasn’t sustainable. The steam was fine as a last line of defense for fending off a melee attacker, but he needed something to avoid getting hit in the first place. Unfortunately, he had already taken on the task of learning three spells. Endlessly stacking more spells into his repertoire would only hamper his casting efficiency—especially when he wanted to start learning a second circle spell or two.
Kal’s mana pool might have been insanely huge for a kid his age, but it still only afforded him the ability to cast a few spells before being drained. Increasing it was one option, but ultimately, efficiency was key.
One spell. Something defensive and adaptable. Then, I focus on a couple of second-circle spells.
At higher casting circles, defensive spells become naturally more adaptable, but Kal didn’t want to put himself in a position where he burned through most of his mana, casting a single defensive spell, leaving him with no offense. Until he increased his mana and or improved his mastery of magic, he intended to keep his first circle spells as his primary arsenal of magic.
What about wind?
Using raw elements was basic magic and, by nature, less efficient. However, they could be a good backup while he focused on perfecting his other spells.
No, that’s going backward.
Raw elemental magic was basic. It was a direct conversion of mana into elemental power, but that didn’t mean all elemental spells were cast in such a mundane and inefficient manner.
Kal remembered reading about Elemental Mages. They cast complex spells with efficient casting pathways, turning simple elements into refined spells on par with the other domains' spells.
Since Kal had already gotten quite good at using wind magic, he wondered if it would allow him to take a shortcut at mastering a first circle wind spell.
The Mana Whip had been useful but hard to control. However, what if he could find a way to make use of condensed blasts of wind to send himself flying out of harm's way or catch up to a fleeing enemy?
He might even be able to integrate something like that into the sword techniques Zander had been teaching him. It also meant that he didn’t have to focus his energy on learning a purely defensive spell, and if it worked, there was no doubt it would be adaptable.
***
“Are you sure you’re ready, Arix?” Ellie said, standing beside Kal.
Arix stood in his doorway, with Lydia at his back, smiling and rubbing his shoulders.
“Yeah, I’m fine, everyone. Can you all please stop asking?” Arix said, pulling away from his mother.
“Just take it easy, okay, Little Lemon?” Lydia said, her face crinkling up as she held back tears.
“Yes, I’ll take it easy. That’s like the tenth time you’ve asked me.”
“I’m just anxious, that’s all.”
“It’s fine, Lydia,” Kal said. “We’ll make sure to look after Arix today.”
“Thank you, Kal,” Lydia grimaced, her facade failing to hide her anxiety at hearing that.
I can’t really blame her for not entirely trusting me. I don’t have the best track record when it comes to keeping Arix safe.
“Don’t worry, Lydia. I’ll keep these two in line,” Ellie flashed a toothy grin.
“Thank you, Ellie. I’m counting on you,” Lydia waved.
At least she seems to trust Ellie.
“So, how you feeling, Arix?”
“I’m good. Like I said, Kal. Everyone can stop asking.”
“You heard him, Kal. He’s fine. Let’s move on.”
“Alright, alright. Just for my own curiosity, Arix, what questions were you asked?”
“It’s fine, Kal,” Arix said, gesturing toward Ellie without breaking eye contact with Kal. “They just asked about the field and if I remembered anything else.”
“And do you?”
“No. It’s all blurry.”
“Oh, quit the act,” Ellie snapped. “I know Kal saved you, Arix.”
“Y-you do?”
“Yeah, I told her about finding you in the forest and bringing you back to town. And how you had no memories when I found you,” Kal winked.
“Oh—yeah—right. I guess you know then,” Arix flashed a forced smile and nodded.
“Yeah…” Ellie narrowed her gaze. “I guess I do.”
“Anyway,” Kal said. “Good, we’re all back together again, right?”
“Yeah, right. So good, huh?” Arix nodd.
“Hey Arix, what did–”
“Hey, look,” Kal said, interrupting Ellie. “It’s our school. How quick was that? We better get to class; we wouldn’t want to be late after everything we’ve been through.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Ellie said, raising a hand as the two boys sped off toward school. “Get back here!”
Why’d I have to go and open my mouth? Avoid the conversation, and she’ll probably forget about it.
“We’ll talk after school, Ellie,” Kal waved.
“Why you,” Ellie hissed through gritted teeth. “I know you’re keeping something from me,” she wagged a fist.
***
“So, can we finally talk?” Ellie said, catching up with Kal and Arix outside after school
“Do you see the time? We’ll be late for our lesson with Zander if we don’t hurry up,” Kal said, rushing past Ellie. “Come on, we can talk later.”
“We can talk and walk!”
“Too late,” Kal called back. “Already running. You know how I hate to break pace.”
“Since when?”
***
“You better speak to me about this after,” Ellie hissed from the side of her mouth as they stood on the white line running through the dojo, waiting for Zander to begin.
“Concentrate,” Kal said, nodding toward Zander as he strolled toward them. “Let’s go, Teach. Show us some moves.”
“Would you stop talking to him like that? You’re gonna make his ego even worse.”
“Respect, Kal,” Zander fist-bumped the air. “And what are the rest of you brats blabbering about? Can’t you see I’m starting the lesson now? Now shut up and listen to your teach,” he added with a wink toward Kal.
“You heard Teach,” Kal said. “Now quiet up, everyone.”
“Stop calling him Teach; you’re gonna make me puke,” Ellie hissed. “He’s barely a few years older than us.”
“You heard Kal. I’m ‘Teach’ now,” Zander thumbed his chest. “Now, let’s get started, punks. It’s fencing time.”
“Fine, just get on with it,” Ellie ground her teeth.
“Okay. Now, are you knuckleheads ready for this?” Zander said, twirling his blunt fencing sword through the air.
“Come on, show us whatever you’re gonna do so we can get this over with,” Ellie tapped her foot incessantly.
“Pair up, everyone. We’re going to practice some basic parries. Kal, you can train with me.”
A dozen children paired up took blunt weapons from a rack and donned old rusty visors.
“Good. Now, we’ll be taking turns. One of you will move forward to attack while the other practices knocking the blade away. Remember, if possible, the goal should be to keep your sword’s tip aimed at your attacker. If you can achieve that, you’ll be prepared to riposte.”
Kal nodded opposite Zander, and the taller, older boy pressed forward.
“Good,” Zander said as Kal knocked his sword from side to side. “You’ve been paying attention.”
There! Kal noticed an opening.
In the blink of an eye, he knocked the blade to the side and stepped into a lunge.
Zander stood bewildered, blinking as he looked down at the blunt edge of Kal’s blade pressed against his chest.
“I didn’t say riposte,” Zander growled.
“I just thought that–”
“No, it’s fine,” Zander gritted his teeth and straightened into his sideways fighting stance. “If you wanted an advanced class, you should have said so. Now, prepare to defend.”
Zander was quick, his long, lanky frame springing him into a lunge much faster than Kal had expected. But Kal had mana, and by infusing his stats, he managed to just barely keep up—bouncing back and parrying to the right.
But Zander didn’t relent, following up with a flurry of strikes. Either dodging or parrying, Kal barely managed to avoid several strikes as Zander backed him toward the training hall wall.
Even if he had managed to keep pace with Zander so far, Kal knew he was no match for the experienced fencer—especially not pushed up against the wall.
Wait, this is a setup!
He was cornered, but a split second before Zander’s blow landed, Kal kicked up against the wall and sent a burst of wind magic through the soles of his boots.
The blast shot Kal across the slick timber floors. For just a second, Zander stood frozen and dumbfounded.
“Gotcha,” Kal said, tapping his sword on Zander’s shoulder beside his neck.
“That wasn’t a fencing move!” Zander turned around, brow twitching.
“What, we’re not allowed to get creative?” Kal crooked his head, feigning confusion.
Narrowing on Kal’s smug expression, Zander huffed and turned back to the other kids. “Right, that’s it,” he clapped. “Training is down for the day. Everybody pack up and go home.”
“Hey, what are you little kids doing in our training facility?” A young man interrupted as he walked across the training hall. Two other men with short beards followed a step behind. All three were dressed in leather armor and had sheathed swords dangling at their sides. “I thought we had this room booked today.”
“Guardsmen?” Zander swung around.
“Oh, look, it’s the Silvershield boy.”
“Yes, it is. And I guess that makes you three my father’s men?” Zander crossed his arms smugly.
“Well, the captain's men, actually. But yes, Lord Silvershield is the captain’s superior.”
“You three are town guards?” Kal said, eyeing the three armed men.
“Spot on,” the man leading the group pointed at Kal. “Came for a little training. But didn’t expect kids to cramp our style.”
Zander is good; he definitely would have had me if I didn’t use magic. But ultimately, he’s still just a kid. Ebenshire is a sleepy little town, but that doesn’t mean these guys haven’t gained experience elsewhere.
“Look, you kids can hang about, but you gotta move over. With everything that’s happened in Ebenshire recently,” the guard said, stealing a glance at Arix. “We got to keep sharp, you understand?”
“Can’t you just reschedule?” Zander sighed. “I’m trying to teach a class here. It would be a real shame to have to tell my father how his guardsmen interrupted my training.”
“Please, Master Silvershield. Let’s come to an agreement. I’m sure your father would love to hear how you were bested by a peasant kid.”
“What?” Zander scowled. “B-but–”
“No need,” the man raised a hand. “I’m sure he’ll listen to your excuses.”
“Fine, you can train here. But we’re staying,” Zander huffed.
But I thought? Oh, he really got under his skin. Old man Slivershield must be quite the hardass.
“Thank you, Master Silvershield,” the man bowed his head. “The name’s Yogi, by the way. Lieutenant of the town guard,” he added, flashing a smirk as he turned his head to Kal.
“Kal Jakari.”
“I know who you are, kid. That was some move you pulled back there. You’ll have to show me how you did it one day.”
“Oh, you saw that, did you,” Kal scratched at the back of his neck.
“Yeah. Not bad. But it wouldn’t have worked against someone who has actually been in a life-or-death fight before. It worked because the Silvershield boy wasn’t expecting any unconventional moves. But that’s exactly what fighting for your life is about.”
Kal nodded wordlessly.
“Lieutenant, sir,” Kal bowed. “Would you consider training me?”
This guy isn’t just some guard lieutenant from a sleepy town. If he’s been in life-or-death fights, then he could be a serious sword instructor.
“Train a little runt like you?”
The two other guards chuckled.
“Yeah, that's not happening, kid. Now run along. I'm not going to work off Mrs. Tan's pastries just standing around.”
“Why not?” Kal protested. “We won't get in your way. Just let us follow along with what you're doing.”
“Kal,” Zander said. “Why would you want to train with these airheads when you’ve got me here?”
“Silvershield cub, I’m sure you’ll be great one day, but those fancy moves you learn aren’t what real fights are about. Alright then, I changed my mind. I’ll train you,” Yogi smirked. “Drop down and give me fifty pushups.”
“Fine,” Kal said, dropping to the floor.
“And if the rest of you want actually to make something of yourself, I suggest you follow his lead.”
“Wait, seriously?” Zander said. “How is doing pushups training?”
“I don’t care how skilled you are with that little toothpick,” Yogi said, stepping toward Zander. “I’d knock it straight out of your hand in a real fight. Do you think your father became a legendary knight without having physical strength?”
“I ah–”
“No. Now drop down and give me fifty. Of course, maybe you’re just not that serious about becoming a knight.”
“Not serious? No one is more serious about becoming a knight than Zander Silvershield,” Zander proclaimed and dropped to the floor.
“Looks like we’re doing this, Arix shrugged and lowered himself into a set.
“You guys aren’t—actually—” Ellie glanced around but reluctantly joined in when Yogi shot her a glare.
In less than a minute, all except Kal had given up and were lying on the floor, panting and sweating.
“47.”
“48.”
“49.”
“50.”
“He did it,” Yogi muttered in disbelief.
With a little help from my mana core.
“So, going to train us now?” Kal said, rising to his feet and dusting his hands off.
“You're not even tired?”
“Eh, not really.”
“Damn, kid, you might actually have potential. Fine, we'll teach you. But you better not wuss out. Remember, you asked for this.”
“No wussing out, gotcha,” Kal stared back.
“Strange kid,” one of the guards said.
“No doubt about it,” Yogi agreed. “But I like him.”
