Bacorium Legacy (13 page)

“No, I already told you,” she said. “Why?”

“It bothers me,” he told her. “We're linked by the tether, so we have to stay close together or I'll die. So wherever one of us goes, the other has to follow. But you had no problem bringing me here, and now you're going to stay here with us while I prepare.”

“Of course...”

“You never told me why you were in an abandoned place like Forga to begin with.”

Emila grew quiet.

“I just - I don't know. I was running, I guess.”

“From what?”

“From what happened.”

Luca sat up and looked over at her.

“I understand that you didn't want to tell me about your father, Luca,” Emila said. “I understand all too well. But you confided in me today, so I should do the same.”

“I didn't,” he insisted. “I didn't confide in you at all. You just happened to be there when I told the story.”

“You could have sent me away,” Emila insisted. “But you didn't. It was indirect, but you still told me what happened. Before we got here, I was starting to wonder why you were so distant. I understand now. I know how much loss hurts.”

Emila took a deep breath.

“I grew up in a city called Sulin, which is east of here,” she told him. “My father was the local healer, and he taught me everything I know. My mother was a kind and gentle woman, who took care of me and my younger sister. About two years ago - there was an accident. My parents and my sister all died.”

The room grew quiet. Her story was over as quickly as it had began.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Luca said, as honest as he had ever been.

“I never went back to Sulin after they were gone,” Emila said quietly. “I spent some time in T'Saw, but things were starting to get heated there and I didn't want to be there if war broke out between Sono and Acaria. So I went to Forga, to get away from everything. That's when I bumped into you.”

She sighed again, and traced her fingers over her belly. “I never told anybody that.”

Emila rested her hand on her stomach, and a single tear ran down her cheek.

Chapter V

The Serpent who Devours his own Tail

Luca woke at the crack of dawn, as he always did.

Following years of training, he opened his eyes without moving or making a sound, taking in his surroundings. He lay in the bedroom Tranom had taken him to, on the floor in his sleeping bag.

Emila was not there.

“She must have woke first,” he muttered, as he climbed up from the floor. Through the mana tether, he could still feel her presence, like a faint buzzing in the back of his head. She was on temple grounds, just not anywhere near him. Nor far enough away to cause him any harm, for which he was immensely grateful.

Still, his body ached. The hard ground he had slept on, even with the sleeping bag's small comfort, had been bumpy and rough. He honestly would have preferred even the bare ground outside before the floor of that bedroom. Were it not for his strong opinion of chivalry, he would have reconsidered Emila's offer to take turns using the bed.

“If she wants to be stubborn, then so be it,” he said to himself. “If the floor was as uncomfortable for her as it was for me, perhaps she will give up this defiance in time.”

But somehow, he doubted that.

<> <> <>

After going to the kitchens and getting something to eat, Luca wandered the grounds until he found Dori.

The old man stood at the edge of one of the small sparring rings, wearing the same tattered rags as before. Within the ring, a pair of students were busy sparring. One of them, Luca recognised as Rael, Allma's young assistant. The other was a boy with short, dark hair whom he did not know.

“Ah,” Dori said as he approached. “Glad to see you're finally up.”

“Finally?”

Dori blinked. “Ah, pay it no mind. My apprentice Ash is often awake before the sun even rises. I forget sometimes that most don't do that.”

“Speaking of this apprentice of yours, where is he?” Luca asked. “You said yesterday that you wanted to introduce him to me.”

“Yes, I did,” Dori replied. “I've been having some trouble finding the boy. He's quite moody at times, and he generally prefers to keep to himself. I suppose he'll show up when he chooses to - no sooner, no later.”

“I see,” Luca muttered. It seemed odd - yesterday, Dori had been quite eager to introduce Luca to this apprentice of his. Yet now he dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

“So you said you wanted me to teach you a few things, eh?” Dori said, turning on his cane and marching off. “Well, let's go.”

“Where to?”

“To one of the private sanctums. Tranom and his apprentice Brand are waiting there for us. Tranom tells me that you and Brand had a little encounter yesterday. I'd like to see this in more depth.”

“Great,” Luca muttered. He was filled with an odd sort of anticipation. Part of him dreaded the thought of another encounter with that Brand guy. At the same time, another part of him was looking forward to it. Somehow, Brand was able to bring out his competitive spirit - a side of himself that he usually kept well hidden.

“Hey, what happened to that girlfriend of yours?” Dori asked him suddenly.

“She's not my girlfriend,” Luca's replied dryly.

“Yes, yes,” Dori muttered, brushing his words away with a quick wave of his hand. “Still, where has she gotten to? Did she leave?”

“She wasn't there when I woke up. But she's still here somewhere. Likely seeing the sights, or something like that.”

“I'm surprised to see you apart.”

“She can live her own life. She's not tied to my arm.”

Dori gave him a strange look, but said nothing.

They arrived at a large building on the outer edge of the temple. Dori moved past him and pushed open the large doors that towered over him, demonstrating surprising strength for someone so old. Inside was a cool chamber illuminated by several torches on the walls. Tranom leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, while Brand was stretching in the middle of the room. Beside Brand on the floor was a sheathed scimitar. No wooden training weapons could be seen.

“We're using actual weapons?” Luca asked Dori.

“A good part of combat is restraint,” Dori said. “Before one can learn how to wield a weapon to take a life, one must first learn how to wield one and not. Those heavy training swords are for younger students who have not yet acquired that degree of finesse. Giving you one of those things would be a waste of time. You've been carrying
Siora
around long enough to know how to use it.”
 

Siora
, Luca thought as he looked down upon his father's blade. He had never known the blade had a name.
 

“You're already well-trained, yet you lack in certain aspects,” Dori continued. “What I wish to see is a match as close to a true fight as possible. This will be the best way for me to determine what skills need improved, if any at all.”

“Are you ready, my apprentice?” Tranom asked Brand.

With a sharp look in his eye, Brand picked up the scimitar and tossed the sheath aside. “Yup.”

“Very well,” Tranom said. “The rules for the match - no magick, no heavy injuries, and no foul play. Victor is decided when the other is disarmed, or surrenders. Fighting is to cease immediately if blood stains the floor, an instructor calls off the match, or there are any interruptions.”

“Go ahead, son of Lodin,” Dori said with a grin. “Show us what you can do.”

Luca looked back at the old man for a moment, thinking there was more to this than he was picking up, like some joke the other three people in the room got that he didn't. Their faces confessed nothing.

He turned to face his opponent, and drew his own blade from its sheath. He assumed a combat stance.

“You don't have to hold back,” Brand told him. “And I don't plan to.”

And then Brand attacked.

He moved with surprising speed, closing the distance between them, and swinging his scimitar down in a simple stroke that would be easily blocked. In fact, he was likely counting on it. Too obvious - he wanted Luca to block it.

Instead, Luca moved to the side and countered with a stroke of his own. Brand easily blocked this. They exchanged a series of quick blows, none of them breaking through the opponent's guard, and then they each stepped back, and Brand reassessed the situation.

Luca took advantage of this momentary pause to close in and assume the offencive. Brand countered his attacks expertly, though Luca could see at this point he was still being cautious.

The battle had them dancing around the small room. Brand's scimitar met Luca's sword with a powerful amount of force, and his temporary offence was over. He fell back, and Brand pressed forward, his blade weaving about in masterful strokes.

When Luca felt his back hit the stone wall, he parried one final swing, and held Brand's sword. Using his right leg, he kicked Brand in the stomach.

As his opponent grunted in pain, he used this precious second of distraction to roll to the side.

Luca admitted to himself that Brand was good. Better than Luca, actually - at least as far as swordplay went. Luca would have to use other strategies if he planned to win. Tranom had forbidden the use of magick, so he could not blind his opponent that way. Likewise, a ban on foul play prevented the use of moves that could get one out of a life-or-death situation, though he would not have used those in a competitive match anyway. To win, he would need to either disarm Brand, or bring him to surrender.

Brand had recovered and was now closing in on him, bringing his blade down in merciless swings. Luca did his best to block and avoid, but already he could feel himself tiring.

Frustration began to grow. Luca felt weak, being incapable of matching Brand's swordplay. He thought of his similar weakness against Zinoro, and wondered how he could possibly have his revenge against the Acarian king if he couldn't even beat a student.

Luca fell back again, and thought of his available options. Other than changing his combat style, there wasn't really much he could do.

Brand continued his assault, moving on light feet and dancing with his blade with all the grace of a true master. His opponent was clearly a prodigy. Luca wondered why he was even still in training, when he was leagues above his peers.

As Luca parried yet another strike, he was surprised he had managed not to get hit at all so far. Not wanting to test him luck, he took a step back...

A mistake. Brand's sword momentarily slipped through his defences, and Luca felt a sharp pain across his thigh - the very same spot the arrow had hit him.

Luca bit down on his tongue and fought away the pain. Brand, not noticing any change in him, took a step forward and continued his attacks. Luca parried this blow, holding the far edge of his blade with his free hand for extra strength, and he pushed Brand back with all the strength he could muster. His opponent fell back a few steps with a look of surprise, while Luca took a few careful steps away from him, his jaw tight as he forced the pain in his left leg out of his mind.

Expecting Brand to close in and attack again, Luca was a bit surprised when he didn't.

“Well, you're pretty good,” Brand said to him from across the room. “Want to call it off? I'm sure Master Dori has seen all he needs.”

Luca shook his head. No. That would be the same as giving up.

Brand shrugged. “Whatever you say, man.” He then returned to his ready stance, and slowly moved towards him.

No, Luca had decided he was going for it all. This was a matter of pride to him - he couldn't let himself show such weakness in front of his father's teacher.

Luca held his blade before himself for a moment, and tossed it into the air. The blade came down and he caught it, this time holding the sword the other way, as one would hold a knife.

Brand's eyes widened. He could tell something was different now.

Still ignoring the pain in his left leg, Luca charged towards Brand. His opponent, not knowing what to expect in the change in fighting style, switched to a defencive stance. And that was his mistake.

Luca moved through the air, swinging his sword in a spinning motion. Brand blocked the attack, but as his feet reached the floor, he crouched and swung the reverse-held sword at Brand's feet. Brand had to jump in the air to avoid the attack.

“Who taught him this?” Tranom muttered to Dori. “Some trick of Lodin's?”

Dori did not reply. His eyes were focused on the fight before him.

Luca continued to moved in single, fluid motions. He darted around Brand and swung his blade in a vertical stroke. This time, the weapon did connect, leaving a long slash across Brand's back, and drawing a few drops of red blood.

Brand did not cry out. Instead he spun around, and slashed at the spot where Luca had been standing a moment ago. But he was already in another spot. He continued his attack, and though Brand successfully managed to block the next string of attacks, he was clearly having trouble keeping up with his unpredictable movements.

Sparks flew from his sword at the next exchange. A drop of sweat rolled down Brand's olive-skinned face, and hit the floor, joining a few drops of blood.

“Alright, that's enough!” Tranom called out. “You two will kill each other if you keep this up.”

Luca stepped back, as did Brand. They were both sweating, and short of breath. A moment passed as they stared at each other, tension between them.

Then, they shook hands.

“Man,” Brand said. “That was incredible. You should have just fought like that from the beginning. What was that?”

Luca couldn't help but grin. “Well, it's a fighting style my father created. He called it
Jiuv'ol'xolic
, or the '
leaf in the wind
'.”
 

Lodin had borrowed many of the moves from dancing techniques unique to the southern parts of Samgo, but he didn't trust Brand quite enough to tell him that.

“Well whatever it was, it definitely worked,” Brand laughed. He touched his back, where his shirt was cut. “You got me. I guess that makes you the winner.”