Again, the days fell into an exhausting routine. The majority of the recruits lost any energy for whatever animosity they held towards Ezra before too long, since they were too busy running and drilling with their spears and shields. Each day, the sparring matches changed, sometimes in pairs, sometimes in squads of four or ten, and sometimes as individuals. Regardless, the day started with running and ended with sparring, and the group of elite recruits found themselves moving more in unison by the day. The petty fights and arguments they had with other recruits died more and more as they continued to grow faster than the other recruits and prove why they’d been recruited themselves.
William, unsurprisingly, didn’t seem to be at all willing to concede that fact, though, and he maintained a frosty look whenever he came near Ezra and the rest. His tantrum he’d thrown in that first opportunity he had for leadership, though, had lost him any more opportunities to lead. Nobody wanted to follow him, and none of the veterans gave him any more opportunities to prove himself either.
After the second night of practicing, Ezra and his squad were assigned to practice with more experienced veterans, which resulted in a whole lot more losing but also a much better learning opportunity.
These men are soldiers, Jormun said for what felt like the thousandth time as Ezra stretched in his bunkroom before going to sleep on the eleventh night since he’d signed up. He’d taken a rough loss to Amy that night, her footwork kept taking him by surprise and she didn’t hold back when she scored hits on him. They work in squads better than I did, because I wasn’t working as a member of a team like this, and it’s invaluable. When I was young, I was trained just as a Knight, and I wasn’t ever much of a soldier. A good killer, but not a man who stood in line well. I also didn’t go on exterminations like this when I had a month of experience, so this’ll be really good for you.
Ezra waved off the old man, though he didn’t disagree. When he’d wanted to go through sword forms with Jormun, the old man’d waved off that in favor of more conditioning, and he was grateful he hadn’t gotten into any bad habits by following the experienced ghost’s instructions there. Then, something crossed his mind, and he narrowed his eyes. The other soldiers in his bunkroom had later lessons than he did tonight, as Georg’d given him a special opportunity to gather as much aura as he could tonight. There was something else going on, but nobody’d seen fit to let Ezra know what was going on, so he was left guessing.
“Did you know this whole thing was going to happen?”
Be more specific, kid. How the hell am I supposed to understand ‘this was going to happen’?
“Did you know that this expedition was going to happen? I feel like, if you hadn’t known that I would be getting training sooner rather than later, you would have given me more practices to do to get better at wielding a weapon.”
I looked for opportunities for you to get a physical master, yes, Jormun answered. You weren’t wrong when you said that there weren’t even any Pseudo-Knights around who could take you in. It’s an embarrassment.
“Yeah,” Ezra grumbled, trying to head off the complaints before Jormun really got going, “your world was stronger and better and whatever. Did you know that the draft was coming?”
Yes. I figured that you’d be more eager to sign up, though. If you want to be a Knight, then why do you want to stick around a random hole in the slums more than you want to get formal training?
Jormun’s usual “I know best” attitude continued to grate on Ezra, and he snapped back, “Well, some people are loyal to the ones who’ve saved their lives.”
Loyalty’s admirable, Jormun said, his voice deadly serious, but there’s no self-respecting adult who’s going to want a kid to lose themselves their future because the adult’s a decent sort. I’m willing to bet a gold piece to your copper that the Madam wanted you to get out of there sooner rather than later. If you stick around in the slums your whole life, you’ll be stuck, with no way to get anything better.
“I’ll take care of my own, Jormun,” Ezra said, barely keeping his voice from snapping out. “I don’t care if it’s stupid, I’m going to defend the people who’ve saved my life and always stood at my side.”
Good! Jormun said, his voice rising in his usual laugh. Do you think that you’ll be able to do much for them right now as you are? Maybe you’ll be able to protect them from a mugger, but more than that? What if the Count decides that the slums need to be cleared out and sends a full squad of a dozen veterans knocking on The Dragon’s Toenail’s door? What could you do then?
“I’d fight! I’d lose, sure, but I wouldn't just take it.”
So you’ll fight for your friends, good. How about instead of just doing that and dying, you became able to change how things happen? If you’re one of the Count’s most trusted soldiers and he makes that command, do you think you might be able to convince policy to change? Maybe. What if you were a Pseudo-Knight, or even a true Knight? Do you think that the Count would listen to a Knight that told him to show mercy on a particular establishment?
Ezra was ready for Jormun to keep talking, but the old ghost said nothing, waiting for an answer. He wanted to snap back, but forced himself to slow down. After thinking for a minute, he said, “You’re saying that people only respect the strong, and if I want to make a difference, I need to be strong enough to tell people what to do.”
You’re halfway there, Jormun grunted. People respect others for any number of reasons. Beauty, talent, charisma, strength, position, and plenty of other reasons on top of that. That’s not what I’m getting at, though. If you want to make a difference, you do need power. That power doesn’t need to be becoming a Knight or a Master, because an even easier way to make the Count do what you wanted would be to become the Duke. He’s able to make whatever commands he wants to the Count, and he has to listen or be removed from his position.
“I can’t become a noble though, you dumbass,” Ezra replied as he finished his stretches and settled onto the cot to strengthen his inner world. “So you’re really just telling me to become a Knight, because that’s what I’m able to do.”
No. If you become a respected military commander, nobles will listen to you. If you become a competent politician, even if you’re just an advisor to another, your opinion will be respected. If you create a powerful, successful merchant’s union, then nobles will want to have you around to strengthen their holdings. Power takes many forms, so don’t think that if you become the strongest Master around that you can make the world bow before you.
“Like a fifth circle sorcerer or priest,” Ezra nodded.
A what? Sorcerers are weak as shit! Jormun laughed. They’re never even… did you say fifth circle?
“Yeah,” Ezra replied. “Did you not have stronger sorcerers and priests in your world?”
I only ever met a third circle sorcerer. They’re rare, since they require something in their blood as well as a connection to the world itself. But don’t worry too much about the specifics of how they’re able to do what they do. You’re saying, not just in stories, that there’re real sorcerers like that? And what’s the difference between a sorcerer and a priest?
Ezra shrugged, opening his eyes again and looking at the grizzled ghost. His bushy eyebrows were furrowed low over his eyes as he pulled at his beard and grumbled to himself. He gestured for Ezra to answer his question, which he could only shrug in answer to.
“The priests use divine magic, comes from their connection to one of the gods, I think? The sorcerers are different. The stories about priests always talk about healing and driving off evil, the sorcerers about creating storms and stuff,” Ezra answered with as much detail as he knew. He could tell that Jormun wasn’t satisfied with that, but what else could he say?
And you have people who can use magic beyond the third circle here?
“I’d guess so. Stories talk about legendary sixth circle sorcerers and priests, so I doubt people are making up circles that’re twice as high as what we ever see around here. Now, can I start my meditation already?”
Jormun waved him off, but Ezra could see the thinking in how he carried himself. That wasn’t anything for him to concern himself with, though. The easiest way for him to be able to support and protect his friends would be to get stronger, and though training helped with that, what he really needed to do was to strengthen his inner world enough to become an Adept instead of an Initiate. Without further thought, Ezra threw himself into pulling the aura of the earth underfoot into his inner world, the nearly imperceptible sound of individual grains of sand smacking against the bottom of the cot serving as a calming ambient sound.
He couldn’t say how much time passed, but it wasn’t too long before Leah returned, and the brothers behind her.
“That’s weird,” Boyd declared as he hunched down in front of Ezra and peeked under the cot. “Like, the sand goes the wrong way until you lose focus, then it falls back down to the ground.”
“I asked Georg, who said that it’s uncommon to have earth moving like this,” Leah said as she sat on her own cot. “With wind, ice, and fire, it’s easy to see it move and the aura moving usually doesn’t have something like this happening. It’s a sign that the genius is, like he says, a genius.”
“I don’t say that,” Ezra grunted as he looked at his three friends. “You do. You ready?”
They all nodded, and Ezra pulled the brazier he’d been supplied out and placed it in the center of the room. As he’d promised, he dedicated a bit of time every day to trying to help the other three feel aura, and just before bed was the time they’d settled on. So far, none had mentioned feeling any aura, and Ezra felt like a bit of a failure of an instructor. Even so, they all took it very seriously, and Ezra welcomed the opportunity to be asked questions and ask them to Jormun in turn when he didn’t have an answer.
“So what’s it going to feel like when I actually touch aura?” Boyd asked. “Like, how do I know that I haven’t already? You said it’s different for everyone, so how do you know that I’m not already seeing it?”
“For me, it was obvious,” Ezra answered without asking Jormun. “I almost went into a trance and saw something, which I won’t describe.”
They’d already had a conversation about that, so the others didn’t press him to continue on that tangent. Instead, Ezra said, “I hate to say this, but you’ll know when it happens. I think Cord’s gotten pretty close.”
The other two “students” turned their gazes to the older brother, also the eldest of the four at twenty-one, and demanded an explanation. Cord shrugged and answered, “I’ve felt… something. Ezra’s right, it’s something I can’t quite explain, but I can just feel it there. It’s simple, but different. I don’t know!”
The rest of the night passed like that, with about half an hour dedicated to the training and then Ezra retreated to his cot to do his own meditation.
***
“When you talk to her,” Georg said, seeming uncharacteristically nervous, “you need to be very respectful, okay? She’s asked that you not be told why you’re summoned, but do everything she asks, don’t ask questions unless she asks you to, and be quiet, alright?”
“Yes?” Ezra said, feeling more nervous than he’d ever been.
Then, Georg walked forward, knocked on the door, and said, “Permission to enter?”
When an answer came from within, the two men walked in and Ezra kept his head bowed in what wasn’t quite fear but wasn’t just nervousness. A strident female voice spoke before anything else, and he wondered what Georg had gotten him into.
“I heard you had a spine. Was I wrong?”