I tore a piece of the bandage from around my arm with my teeth and slowly unwrapped it while sitting on the edge of my bed. I flexed my hand a few times before getting up. It's only been a week since I awoke here, and I was already healed. I removed the rest of the bandages and stretched my body.
"If I was out for two weeks… and you add this past week," I threw the shirt on the bedside table over my head. "Three weeks to heal from a broken arm and ribs? Not bad."
I wonder if this healing factor is normal for people who can manipulate mana. It usually takes at least six weeks for broken ribs to heal. I'm not complaining, though.
"Looking pretty spry there, kid," Reese said, leaning against the door with her arms crossed.
"Do mages heal quickly?" I asked, one arm tucked into the crease of the other, stretching my tricep.
"I'm afraid you're a bit of an oddball in that department." She responded, blowing at a loose strand of hair hanging in front of her eye.
"You don't seem too shocked. Is that not weird?"
"Not any weirder than you speaking two consecutive sentences without trying to glare a hole through anybody."
"Oh, right, I should have been more considerate of my kidnappers,"
"It was hardly a kidnapping, and since you have enough energy to move those jaw muscles like that, finish up getting ready, you're coming with us." She responded, leaning off the door and heading into the hallway.
I was a little bit disappointed in myself for not catching the fact that she was Marin's sister. A fact that now felt painfully obvious. The emerald eyes that she, Marin, and Emry share, as well as that dark brown hair, the same as Marin's. Not to mention the sharp wit.
In the week since I'd been here, I got a better feel for what was going on, or at least where they are keeping me. Apparently, this building is an unfinished inn that was built by supporters of the movement. From what I gather, there are several of these "unfinished" projects used for different purposes around the city and the rest of the country.
The GLF's network was robust and worked pretty well, but that was mainly because most of the movement was comprised of first-generation Alestrio born Grishans or native born Alestrio. If there were Grishans in the GLF, they had been freed from imprisonment. I'm not sure why Grisha wasn't more heavily involved. But it was pretty impressive, it was all running right under the nose of Orenthal and the whole rest of the council. What was Dean trying to do there?
I slipped into my trousers and boots when I heard footsteps approaching while I was lacing them up.
"Are you ready yet, Cane? You're slowing us down." Stefanos said poking his head in the room. He seemed a bit excited. "…Oh," He paused, scratching his chin. "You should throw something more casual on."
"By something casual, I hope you're referring to the only other change of clothes you guys gave me," I responded, pointing at the plain shirt and pants on the chair. What are we even doing?
"That's fine, just hurry up and meet us downstairs and bring your uniform, we'll get you a bag." He said, heading towards the stairs. I removed my shirt and changed into the plain clothes.
When I reached the bar, Galen, Leah, Stefanos, Reese, and the little girl with the two-tone eyes, Kari, were standing patiently waiting.
"Finally, you made it, kid. Here, take this," Reese handed me a small sack.
"Do you even know my name?" I said, putting my uniform in the bag. She hummed while looking up thoughtfully towards the ceiling.
"Seems to be slipping my mind," Her lips flattening into a wry smile. She took us to the door and stopped to face us. We were standing in a semi-circle around her except for Kari who was more like her shadow.
"Everyone ready?" We responded with snappish military style nods. "Good. Now, remember no one talk about the GLF, our plans, or really anything out of the ordinary near the water, understood?"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Understood."
"Right."
"So I should ask what we're doing now, then?" I asked, with a brow raised.
"We're going to train," Reese answered with a smile.
***
This was my first time really seeing Vista City up close, and it was beautiful. Warm hues of pink, brown, coral, mauve, and blue mixed together like a summer sunset painted over the buildings of the cityscape. Now I could really appreciate the tracery on the windows. The streets were lined with textile and glassware shops. And where there weren't streets, there were canals and people traveling around on gondolas and kayaks.
"Pretty cool, right?" Stefanos said, bumping my shoulder. "They call it the floating city. It's nice, but it's mostly just the wealthy here, and I find them pretty boring."
"Oh? You're a tour guide now, Stef? You were lost for three days when we first got here." Leah chimed in.
"Did you guys hear that?" Stefano started, bending slightly and cautiously sweeping the area with his eyes. Galen looked over his shoulder, and I cast a glance to my right, trying to discover what Stefano was on about. "It's a giant yellow-tailed rat…and it can speak." He curled a hand over his mouth like he was nervously biting his nails and pointed his finger at Leah.
Her nose wrinkled as she sneered at Stefanos, curling a fist.
"Ok, settle down, you two, we're almost there," Reese said, not even bothering to turn to face the commotion. Kari continued silently next to her, also unbothered by us and unmoved by the city. What's her deal?
We continued west through a thin side street, finally arriving at an empty open square tucked away behind a few alleyways. The ground had divots and scratches like they had already been training here for a while. Four trees were placed at its corners, and a singular building enclosed the area with a cupola sticking out on top of the back wall.
While I was busy taking in the sights, it looks like the others already changed into their uniforms. Where did they even change?
"You can put your uniform on between one of the archways, kid. Should give you enough coverage." Reese said, stretching her arms and back. I hurriedly went for one of the archways and changed as fast as I could. My pulse started to quicken. I was feeling excited, I guess it's been a minute since I've had a low-stakes spar with somebody.
"Alright, everyone, partner up and get some reps in. Kid, you're with me." Reese said as she handed us wooden practice swords. She even had a smaller one, perfect for me. She must of noticed my surprise because.
"Don't flatter yourself, kid." She placed a sword of the same size in Kari's hand. "We had these made for her."
Fair enough.
"Wait," Stefanos interrupted. "I want to spar with Cane," He said, as he spun his practice sword. Reese's eyebrow rose, and Galen's shoulders sagged with disappointment.
"What? I'm not good enough for you anymore?" Galen said, tapping the tip of his sword against the ground, frowning. It was jarring seeing a man so large act like that. But I didn't pay him much mind, ready to give Stefanos the fight he wants.
"Alright, Stef, if that's really what you want. Kari, go with Galen and alternate with Leah." She nodded. And headed off into the corner with the others.
Stefano and I stood face to face, a body length apart, swords ready in a plow guard. Reese dropped her hand.
"Begin!"
Stefano moved first, leaning forward and springing off his front foot. He brought his sword to the side, switching to a tall guard, and cut upwards at me. I brought my sword down and met his, resulting in a loud clack. I pushed his sword off and got back on defense. He recovered and came at me with another slash, I parried it with little effort. The oak cracked and splintered as we clashed.
"What's the deal, Cane? No offense?" He said, as he disengaged and paced.
"It's called controlling the pace of the fight," I responded. He scoffed and lunged forward. I twisted my torso, dodging his blade and leaning in with a check to redirect him. He slid to a stop and cut at me again, swirling his sword. Unfortunately for Stefanos, everybody might as well be moving in slow motion compared to Dean.
Stefanos wasn't letting up on his assault. Is he trying to wear me down? He swiped his sword in alternating directions. Then he swept his blade, aiming at my chest. I flipped my sword into a reverse grip and met his attack. I let the force he generated carry our blades over my head to my right side. The tip of my sword now facing the ground. In the space of a breath, I released my sword and flipped my hand, returning to natural grip. Stefanos' momentum continued to carry his sword to the right, causing him to stumble as I brought my blade up to his neck with a smirk. He swatted my practice sword away with his hand. The mana around him pulsated.
"Yeah? Let's try that again." Flames ignited from his free hand, and he brought his blade up and slid the flames across the sword, wrapping it in a red-orange fire. I grinned and let the mana flow from my origin into my limbs. It felt like the first breath of fresh air after being trapped inside for days.
"Ignis Axe!" Stefanos recited, slashing his sword downwards, sending a crescent of flames speeding towards me. I sent mana to my legs and leapt to the side, the ground cracking from the force.
"My turn," I said as I pushed off the floor with as much force as I could. Stefanos didn't have time to bring his sword back up before I brought mine down, slamming it into his blade right above the guard, knocking the sword free from his hand.
"Alright, alright. I think it's my turn." Reese said, shaking her head.
"But Captain,"
"But nothing. You might be able to learn something here." She responded. Stefanos' expression twisted into a disappointed frown.
"Good fight," I attempted to console him.
"Yeah, yeah," He said, waving his hand and switching positions with Reese.
Stefanos Brimknight
I sat cross-legged on the ground, picking at the loose wood on my practice sword while Cane and the Captain prepared to spar.
"Oh, and Stef," The Captain said, cracking her neck. "You need to stop getting overly excited when you're in a fight and use your head to think. You can't win every time by overwhelming your opponent with an onslaught of attacks."
"Yes, Captain," I responded, my voice barely able to conceal the defeat weighing on me. It doesn't make sense how a little kid can move like that. Perks of a sword saint as your father, I suppose. At this rate, I'll never be able to make anything of myself. Maybe my father was right.
"Quit pouting, Stef, you didn't do bad. And would you do the honors?" The captain asked, readying herself. Cane stood ready as quietly as he normally is, with a cool expression on his face. I raised my hand, still sitting on the floor.
"And begin!" I slashed my hand downward, and my arm barely made it past my jaw before both of them vanished. They reappeared in front of me with their swords crossed. Cane swiped at the Captain's ankle with his leg. With their swords still locked, the Captain lifted her foot, dodging Cane's sweep, and pushed her sword forward, knocking Cane off balance. She then swept his foot, sending him to the ground. Cane recovered on one hand, hoisting his legs over his head, landing the one-handed cartwheel with his sword ready in a fools guard.
"Pretty good, kid," The Captain said, waving her sword in a crescent. Cane's body flickered, and he reappeared in the air with his blade wound. He swung his sword, cutting in a sweeping motion at the Captain. She batted the sword away, before Cane landed their blades crossed three or four more times, I couldn't quite keep up.
The Captain had the upper hand pretty clearly, but it wasn't slowing Cane down, almost like he was used to it. Their practice swords continued to dance, the force from the blows releasing shockwaves. Cane's teeth were bared, and I could see sweat falling from his chin.
I noticed I was standing now. I looked down, and like she appeared from the shadows, Kari was standing next to me, silent and unblinking, hugging her practice sword. A low rumbling brought my attention back to the fight.
"Let's see how you do against some magic, shall we?" The Captain said, as the ground continued to shake.
"Yeah, let's see your little tricks," Cane responded, grinning from ear to ear. The most expressive I've seen the little guy in the past couple of weeks. I don't understand how he's so animated when faced against someone like the Captain. The floor started to shift and soften into a ring of mud that surrounded the pair at the Captain's beckoning. Three lumps of mud bubbled up from the ring, clumping together and growing wider and taller. Then the mud started to compress and harden, molding into the shape of a body. Then with a shake, the dirt cracked and fell off the three figures, revealing one of the Captain's favorite moves, earth clone.
Cane's eyes shifted between the four Captains, looking only slightly thrown off guard by what he was seeing. They started to circle him. He held the tip of his sword out, returning to a plow guard. At the same time, I now noticed the other two, Galen and Leah, were standing by my side.
Two of the clones lifted their swords and slashed downward at Cane. He managed to pivot and slip past the assault. Only to be met with another sword closing in.
Canaan Alcroft
The tip of her blade was hurdling towards my nose. I was left with barely any time to counter. I leaned back, letting the sword just barely graze my cheek, and pivoted, focusing my attention on the two copies behind me. I sprang into the air, twisting and aiming a mana infused kick at its head. It answered with an open palm, stealing my momentum. My body hung in the air with my side facing the ground. I placed my other foot on the copy's stomach and used it as a springboard to launch myself at the other copy.
I sped through the air like a bullet and brought my sword down, cutting clean through the copy before it had any time to react.
"Nice counter," The clone said, returning to dust.
"That's not creepy at all," I remarked, sliding to a stop. When I lifted my head, another Reese was already on top of me. The clones were identical to Reese, the most notable difference was the way the mana was circulating around them.
I tightened the grip around my sword. The clone's blade was lunging at me so fast, the air was distorting around it. I lifted my sword and deflected the blade to my left. There was an opening right under her arm closest to me. Before I could take advantage, I felt mana fluctuate again. "Dammit." I cursed, the ground slipped from under me, causing me to fall.
The force from my back hitting the ground caused me to blink, and when I opened my eyes, three Reeses stood over me with their blades pointed at my head.
"Alright, you got me," I said, sitting up. Sweat rolled down the sides of my face.
"Not bad, kid." Reese offered me her hand. "You're thinking too much, though, and it causes you to react more than anything else. Yeah, you have some skills with the blade, but it's no use if you don't use them, trying to win the fight on defense. You also have your speed to your advantage."
"Don't mind her, Cane. Barely anyone has lasted that long against the Captain." Leah said, smiling, leaned over with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Did I not say not bad?" Reese looked up thoughtfully.
"…Oh," I started awkwardly. "You're all here…"
"I don't recall saying it was time for a break, everyone back to work," Reese said, clapping her hands together. The other two copies crumbled to the floor.