Despite the warnings of what to do, the immediate insult had Ezra raising his head while baring his teeth. Here in the Captain’s quarters, he knew that the situation wasn’t going to be just him, Georg, and this mysterious woman. Before he could look around, though, he met the eyes of a woman wearing layered leather armor. The chest and shoulders were covered with at least two centimeters of leather while the stomach was chain mail that seemed to be sewn onto the flexible leather underneath. She wore leather bracers, though he saw traces of metal underneath the metal there, and her pant legs had padding on the outside of her thighs and shins, while her knees each had a metal guard of some sort. She wore no weapon, though the gloves she wore both were made of thick leather with thick metal studs on the knuckles.
“Alright, you’ve got a bit of fire!” she laughed as Ezra’s eyes met hers. Her blonde hair was uncommon enough around here, but the bright green eyes were even more uncommon than his blue ones. “Your name’s Ezra, right?”
“Yeah—yes ma’am,” he answered, trying to maintain some politeness though he already didn’t like her.
“Great. My name’s Chloe, and I’m one of the two Pseudo-Knights that will be leading this expedition towards the Wilds.”
After thinking for a split second, Ezra replied, “Nice to meet you.”
Silence settled over the room, and as his eyes wandered around, looking for any information on why he was in the room with one of the two commanders for the expedition that he was just another soldier in. She couldn’t have come here for him, would she? In the room sat the other leaders of the Count’s army, the sergeants, Georg as well as the other lieutenant, a man named Mariusz, and Captain Riyal. The Captain looked at Ezra, and he couldn’t understand the older man’s look.
“You don’t know why I wanted you to be here?” Chloe asked, her fists on her hips.
“Do I want to? Yes,” Ezra answered. “I figure I’ll be told once someone decides I deserve to, so I’m just waiting for that. Ma’am.”
“A good soldier, then,” Chloe laughed, her energy filling the space in a way that Ezra’d never seen before. “I’m in charge of the Dragonkin when it's time to fight them, whichever they are, and came here to direct the Count’s army to the battlefield. Make sure you don’t get lost or show up late.”
Ezra nodded without speaking, waiting for her to get to the point.
“Now, I’ll be sticking around for two days, and I don’t have anything to do. Figured I’d ask which of these people here would be worth training for a couple days. There were some arguments, but in the end, your lieutenant here recommended you strongly enough that I couldn’t help but get curious. So what about you’s so impressive that you deserve a Pseudo-Knight’s attention?”
Despite the laughter and relaxation she spoke with, an almost painful intensity settled on him as she asked that, and Ezra felt his throat go dry. Even so, he didn’t hesitate to speak up.
“I can pull aura into my inner world, and though I won’t do it again any time soon, I used an aura infused attack when I was trying to impress Lieutenant Georg. I’m told that my inner world isn’t developed enough to sustain any drains, so I’m not going to try it again.”
Chloe leaned forward, her eyes narrowed. “Who trained you to sense aura? How’d you learn to use it in an attack?”
“I had a dream about it,” Ezra gave the same answer he’d been giving until then. “Saw what a Knight could do in the dream, and wanted to do it, then the next day I felt the aura of a fire for the first time. That’s all, really.”
“How long ago was this?”
“About a month before I signed up. So a month and a half ago?”
“Bullshit,” Chloe responded. “People don’t start sensing and using aura that fast. You’d need someone to explain how it worked before you felt anything. Dreams don’t make people Initiates.”
“Then I’m more talented than others are,” Ezra snapped back, forgetting his place and immediately regretting the outburst. Even so, Chloe didn’t seem to be upset by his words. Instead, she grinned widely, her teeth glinting in the light from the open window.
“Show me your talents, then.”
Ezra hesitated, unsure of what to do or say, and he glanced around the room, briefly locking eyes with Jormun as he did so.
You’ve dug this hole you’re in, kid, Jormun said. Dig yourself out or stay here.
He didn’t even offer any suggestions, the bastard. Just left Ezra to deal with the consequences of Ezra opening his stupid mouth. He rubbed his eyes, thinking for a brief second, then asked, “Could I have a chair and a brazier brought in?”
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Chloe waved her hand for it to be done, and it wasn’t more than two minutes before Ezra was sitting in the chair and ten people were looking at him expectantly. Every second that’d passed before it was time was agony, and finally, there was nothing he could do but prove himself.
“I’ll pull the fire aura into myself first,” he said, feeling stupid as he said it. He crossed his feet under himself, though the position was uncomfortable on the wooden seat. Then, he stretched his awareness towards the flames and pulled it towards himself. Instead of his usual relaxed communication with the aura, he commanded it. He hadn’t had to force the connection with the aura in weeks, but he was trying to show off, so it was with disconnected, half closed eyes that he saw as the flames lurched towards him. Usually, they only leaned his way, but now, a tendril of flame as thick as his wrist flickered continuously towards him.
There were some sounds from the others in the room, but Ezra paid them no mind. Instead, he moved to his second step and said, “The second will be earth.”
Just as with the flames, Ezra commanded the dust, sand, and stone under him to come into his inner world. Unlike the flames, the stone was hesitant to listen to his command, but even so, a patter of pebbles striking his hair sounded out, and another series of words burst in the room.
“Finally, the frost outside,” Ezra stated as he felt his mind quiver with exhaustion. Jormun had mentioned that strengthening the inner world was a type of exercise, but Ezra was too exhausted to really “strain” himself with it at the end of the day. Instead, he'd done just what was comfortable. Now that he was doing what expressly wasn’t comfortable, he could feel the strain, but he was going to prove himself to the Pseudo-Knight.
Through the window, Ezra could barely touch the frost, and he pulled on it much more gently than the others. It wouldn’t do if he managed to make himself pass out just from showing off that he could barely influence the natural world’s aura. He was so tired that he only barely pulled the icy aura into himself, but his inner world swelled ever so slightly from the exertion he was putting himself under.
His head bobbed with the effort, and Jormun’s voice pulled him out from continuing to throw himself at the aura.
Stop it, kid. You’re done.
Something about the grizzled ghost’s voice thrummed in Ezra’s head and he opened his eyes. There was the barest hint of ice along the collar of his shirt, but not enough to be noticeable by anyone who wasn’t feeling it. Ten pairs of eyes were fixed on him, and he felt his face flush as he stood up.
“I’m sorry, I was maybe pushing myself too hard, the ice wasn’t really visible, but it was there, I promise!”
“Ezra,” Chloe said, her voice level but carrying an intensity that forced him to look at her, “you’re a damn fine Initiate. Has anyone told you that?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, feeling confused. When he looked around the room, he saw plenty of different expressions ranging from mildly impressed to outright envious. While that slowly clicked in his mind, Chloe continued talking.
“Well, you obviously haven’t had a master until now,” she declared as she looked at Captain Riyal, “because if you did, they wouldn’t have let you go. Damn. You sure you won’t give him to me?”
“He is my Count’s subject,” the Captain replied evenly, “and has signed on as one of his soldiers for the next two years. I respect you greatly, Captain, but I won’t hand over one of my Lord’s soldiers just because you ask for him.”
“I know, but I’m just going to ask the Duke,” Chloe said back. “You might as well listen to what the Duke says now.”
“No, I don’t,” Riyal spoke with finality. “If the Duke of Brayton wishes to contact Count Villy regarding the potential hiring of one of the Count’s subjects, he can do so.”
“You are boring,” Chloe grunted as Ezra felt his eyes widen. Apparently, beyond being a Pseudo-Knight, the relatively young woman in front of him was also a Captain and wanted to recruit him?
Kid, I’ve said you’re talented. Other people’re seeing it now. Now close your mouth and listen to what they say to you.
Jormun’s words pulled Ezra from his confusion and refocused him. He locked eyes with Chloe again, who smiled sweetly, the move somehow carrying a heavy weight again as she did it.
“Would you like to be my apprentice?” she asked, as if they hadn’t just come to the conclusion that she couldn’t poach Ezra. He looked at her as Captain Riyal stood with a grunt.
“That’s enough, Chloe. You’re done. You’ve met him. If you want to train him, you can while you’re here, but he’s one of ours, and we’re not going to stand for this disrespect of our Lord’s sovereignty while within his city. He is a private citizen of Villy and has signed on to serve as a soldier of the Count specifically for this extermination mission and broadly to serve for two years.”
“Don’t think I can’t pay the fees associated with breaking that contract,” Chloe dismissed the complaint. “If you want to go with me, Ezra, you can. You’ll get hands-on training from a Pseudo-Knight and I can guarantee that I’ll get you to being an Adept even faster than if this entire army worked to help you. I’ve gotten this far, and I can guarantee that you’ll ascend to Pseudo-Knight in the next five years under my guidance, and once you reach that level, I can ensure that the Duke of Brayton gets you in contact with one of the Knights.”
Ezra’s mouth hung open as he swallowed, but eventually he had a response.
“These people have done me right so far and I won’t abandon them for an offer from someone I don’t know. I think the Captain probably has the right idea, that you should talk to the Duke who’ll talk to the Count…?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Ezra continued in a rush, “But if you want to give me some tips, I’m willing to listen to them.”
Chloe narrowed her eyes at him, and that pressure returned stronger than ever. Ezra’s legs shook under him as he maintained eye contact with her, and he knew that, if she wanted to, he’d be dead in that second. Then, that presence retreated again and she sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face.
“Fine. I’ll give you some instruction while I’m around. After all, I’m sure you’ll end up with me eventually, so long as you don’t die on this expedition. Now, follow me and see why I’m in charge of killing the Dragonkin.”