The Brightest Shadow, page 55
"Most rooms have about eight, though many are irregular. Same for you?"
"There aren't as many rooms for us." Tani shook her head. "It sounds like the resistance has just slightly more men than women, but once you take out cooks and other support, it becomes much more unbalanced. The quarters we're in are only for trainees, so if all goes well we'll be moved to deeper chambers in thirty days or so."
Slaten nodded, though he felt slightly ashamed that he hadn't considered gathering more information himself. Tani and Celivia had clearly spoken to many others in the women's quarters to get a sense for their environment, while he'd barely spoken to anyone. Few had seemed to care about him either, just grunting if he was in the way.
"Is Teren okay?" he asked. Tani nodded.
"She was sleeping soundly when we left."
Celivia turned away as she spoke, glancing around the various exit tunnels. "Did they tell you where we were supposed to meet?" she asked. Slaten could only shake his head.
"I am afraid I don't know that. I assumed it was here because this was the first chamber before they split into quarters."
"There aren't many other options. As many tunnels are there are around here, they loop together in a large dead end. Everyone passes through here on the way out - I'm guessing that the caverns are generally contained in that way, otherwise security would be impossible."
Another good thing to know. Before they could say more, Narenel entered the room. He no longer wore any armor and he had two swords at his side - a large two-handed blade and a shorter one, perhaps for use in the cramped tunnels. Though he seemed surprised to see them, he smiled as he approached.
"You three are up early. I'm glad you didn't go further into the tunnels or I'd have had to find you."
Tani smiled back. "Are we going to begin training today? Do we lead that ourselves, or is there a more specific plan?"
"There's a plan I'll explain in a bit." Narenel looked back to the tunnels and frowned. "Could I trouble you to go find Melal and Laeri? I'll stay here in case they come this way."
A reasonable request, since Narenel couldn't go into the women's quarters and Melal disliked him. Slaten headed back to find Melal's room, where he lay wrapped up in his blanket. It took a great deal of poking to get him to wake up, but finally Melal shuffled after him, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Though it would have been more respectful to give him time to prepare, Slaten was too curious to see what was in store for them.
By the time he got back, the others had already returned with Laeri. Narenel smiled at all of them, then headed into one of the corridors with a gesture over his shoulder to follow.
"Uncle Sir Balunel will be the one overseeing your training, not one as unworthy as I. But since Uncle Sir is an old man who needs his rest, and is also busy with other work, I have been assigned to show you the training caverns and explain our goals and expectations for you."
As they moved, they passed into a different tunnel than the day before, this time heading upward along a corridor that was better lit with sein spheres. Slaten was curious about this Balunel, but Tani asked first. "Uncle Sir? Is that a title for a knight? Or is he your relative?"
Narenel laughed awkwardly. "Ah, no, that is... Balunel trained in the Expanse, not in Corah, so he is not a knight. But he is a wise and honorable man, so it feels disrespectful for me to call him simply 'Uncle Balunel' - and no, he is not my uncle."
"It's a Coran thing," Melal said, then yawned.
"He would prefer that I not call him that, actually. Uncle Sir may seem strange, and you should know that he lost his sight many years ago and so he no longer fights. But he was a true master in his day, and his wisdom has not diminished. I have already learned a great deal from him and I hope that you can as well."
It didn't take them long to reach their destination, an unusually large room. Though it started out dark, as he entered Narenel touched several of the spheres on the walls and they lit the room with a pleasant glow. The room was divided into several sections: an area with practice weapons and targets for striking, an empty space worn completely smooth, a Coran wrestling ring, and one area that seemed to have been made especially uneven, perhaps for footwork purposes.
Narenel turned back and threw his hands to either side. "No doubt you'll spend a great deal of time in this room, so I hope you find it to your liking. We do have other rooms and more equipment available, but you will meet with Uncle Sir here."
"How exactly will we be training?" Celivia asked. "Surely there's a better military strategy than just exhorting us to get stronger."
"Indeed, there is. In the absence of those above me, I will do my best to explain." Narenel clasped his hands in front of him formally and took a moment to consider his words. "If we were free to pursue our disciplines for their own sake, we might train in one way. Spend ten years creating a deep foundation upon which to build. Unfortunately, we do not have ten years - we likely do not even have one, given how aggressive Aryabaus has been. So, how do we prepare?"
Melal yawned loudly and shook himself awake. "Train in raw power, obviously."
"That's one answer, but not the fastest. If you want to improve combat potential without hindering long term development, y-"
"Are you saying my answer was stupid?" Melal squared his shoulders and started to move up to Narenel again. Slaten watched, unsure if there was anything he could or should do. He remembered Melal speaking about arrogant Coran knights and could vaguely guess at why he might be so antagonistic. But that was only a guess, and he had no standing to interrupt them.
Fortunately, Tani didn't feel so restrained. "Just let him explain, Melal." He glared at her but settled back, so after an awkward pause Narenel kept speaking.
"Your answer was right in a sense. The easiest way to seek more power is to... pick low hanging fruit." Narenel frowned. "That is a common saying in Corah, but you don't have so many fruit trees here. Does it make sense?"
Slaten nodded. "To take the easiest rewards first."
"Exactly. To pick a simple example, it is surprisingly easy to turn a rabble of untrained farmers into a force of some effectiveness. Teach them to move together, to follow orders, to thrust with spears, to know when to give way to a stronger warrior, and so on. In terms of the benefit gained in the time available, simple drills and discipline offer the highest rewards.
"We have some people attempting to train the peasants like this, but not anywhere near here. However, we do have some younger warriors working on the next useful stage: being able to perceive sein for the first time. They may not be able to use advanced techniques, but the physical benefits will be helpful indeed."
After that, Slaten knew it became more difficult. Warriors needed to deepen their understanding of themselves, retrain their instincts, improve their bodies, develop useful skills... he didn't see any way of rushing through that. Apparently Narenel expected that objection, because he raised a hand to signal patience.
"Beyond that, there are no simple steps forward. Naive warriors might think they can gain significantly more power just by increasing the sein flowing through them, but that alone is insufficient in real combat. Attempting to rush through the difficult work will either fail, or produce warriors useful only in very limited contexts." Narenel clasped his hands again and smiled at them. "Fortunately, you are here because you have already put in that hard work."
"I understand that," Tani said, "but what 'low hanging fruit' do we have? I've never heard my master speak of anything like that."
"What you can do now is unlock the value of work you have already done. If you have followed good training traditions, you have been developing your sein in ways you cannot fully use. Or perhaps you have learned skills held back by your limited strength. Now, by deepening your understanding of sein, you can increase your usable strength considerably even if your actual strength remains the same."
Logical enough, which would mean pure sein training again. Slaten had attempted some, but it had been difficult to move forward and it had always seemed more important to learn practical skills. Perhaps with time to focus on this, he could take meaningful steps forward.
Tani nodded thoughtfully, likely thinking the same thing. Laeri frowned as if puzzled, while Celivia gave no hint as to her thoughts - since she was a step ahead of them in sein, Slaten wondered if she could benefit from this.
Melal folded his arms irritably before speaking. "Fine, I get it. What comes after that? I'm not going to have any trouble with this level of power, so what do I aim for next?"
Narenel seemed actually offended, for a moment speechless. In a way he reminded Slaten of some Oken elders who hated having their authority challenged. Unlike them, Narenel managed to smile and answer before too long. "Once you have a strong foundation in sein, you can begin focusing on improving your strengths."
"And after that?"
"After a great deal of work, complete knowledge of sein could be attained. Beyond that, I am not worthy to presume any knowledge. Every Master Knight who has honored me with a lesson has said that mastery is the beginning of the path, not the ending."
Melal snorted and turned away. Slaten might have considered it arrogant, but he remembered how easily Melal had undone the damage from the Scorched Palm. His own fingers twitched in pain.
The lesson seemed to be over, but Balunel was nowhere to be seen. After the silence stretched further, Celivia spoke up again. "You said that Balunel was a true master, though retired. How close are the other strongest warriors here?"
"A good question, but one of much dispute." Narenel offered her an apologetic smile and a half-shrug. "Sir Hanfel has excellent skills in combat, but his knowledge of sein is not a master's. Sir Graenin claims to perceive sein with all senses, but I cannot judge his skill because his discipline is so different than mine. I have not seen Sir Destrela in combat, regrettably. From what little I have seen of Sir Veron, she seems to have extensively developed certain skills and neglected some others."
All unquestionably stronger than him, yet none truly masters. It was very different than the clear progression of ranks in an Oken village, but Slaten was not surprised that things became less clear outside that hierarchy. In the end, exact ranking didn't matter at all, only who could kill who.
"So, who's strongest?" Melal asked. Narenel could only shrug.
"The only thing I can say for certain is that I am not worthy of the respect paid me by placing me alongside them. I must humbly attempt to keep up with m-"
"Oh, come on. Who would win in a fight?"
Narenel frowned, and this time didn't hide it with a smile. "Who can say? Sir Graenin would have an advantage at a distance, yet I believe he would struggle more than I if Sir Hanfel was able to grasp him. Yet would his skills in hand to hand combat fare well against someone like Sir Destrela? No doubt many other factors would come into play."
"Yeah? Let's try something easier." Melal stepped up to Narenel again. "What about you against me?"
Narrowing his eyes, Narenel met his gaze and refused to back down. Slaten felt the tension between them increase... and then suddenly a note of music interrupted them.
The sharp note rang strangely off the cave walls. Another followed it, a different pitch but equally strange. Slaten knew very little of music, but the notes sounded discordant to him. Everyone had stopped at the sound, looking for the source. He guessed that Celivia had the best chance of locating it and followed her gaze to the uneven portion of the room.
An elderly man sat up from behind one of the protrusions, plucking at a long, thin harp. Gray strands of hair stuck out from his head and he bent at an uncomfortable angle, yet despite all the wrinkles on his face, his skin was strangely clear. All he wore was a loose brown robe with stains on the front, bound with a rope. Slaten found it impossible to even guess his strength, but based on the milky white of his eyes, he must be the elder Balunel.
As they watched, the old man ignored them entirely, fiddling with his harp. He would pluck a string, frown at the sound, then twist a knob at the end. Yet he seemed to move from string to string randomly, and when Slaten kept track he saw that he frequently frowned more when he returned to a string the second time.
"Uncle Sir Balunel!" Narenel gave him a more respectful bow than he'd given everyone else. The old man seemed to notice them for the first time - he didn't look toward them, but cocked his ear in their direction.
"Do I have another nephew? I can never keep track..." His voice was cracked yet strong.
"Uncle Sir... you know who I am..." Narenel raised his head and cast the man a long-suffering glance. Balunel didn't seem to pay much attention, plucking a note that made many of the others wince.
"I remember a decent young man, but I thought I'd told him something about titles... oh, but who can remember these things?" Balunel rose to his feet and used his harp like a cane, tapping forward until he found a protrusion large enough to sit on. Once he found it, he moved to sit without any apparent difficulty.
Narenel sighed and raised his head from bowing position. "Balunel, I've brought the five new recruits. You do remember that you agreed to work with them?"
"Oh, yes. That's why I was waiting here."
"Then I will leave them in your capable hands." Narenel walked to the exit before stopping and turning back to face them. "There is little else I can do for you, but I am certain I will see you here and I hope that one day I will see you on assignment as well. Train dutifully!"
With that exhortation, he was gone. Balunel sat for a moment, playing off-key notes and mumbling to himself under his breath. It soon became more than a moment. Slaten was starting to wonder just how long they would need to wait when Melal rose to his feet.
"Are you going to teach us or not, old man?"
"I'm not sure." The mild response seemed to take Melal aback, and meanwhile the old man began playing notes more frequently. Slaten tried to keep an open mind when it came to music, but the sound of it bothered him and no one else seemed to be enjoying it either.
Melal took a step closer to him, looming over elder Balunel. "Are you really a master, or just a senile old man that everyone respects because of his gray hair?"
That got no answer at all. Balunel frowned and twisted several of the knobs more, then tried to play again. Still unpleasant.
"Dammit!" Melal threw up his hands and turned away. "I don't need this, I can j-"
One of the strings snapped and the jarring sound shook the room. Melal staggered several steps, Laeri fell over with a cry, and all the rest of them pulled back. It had felt almost like being struck in the face with a gust of wind, yet Slaten had tasted blood in his mouth when it happened.
Balunel seemed as surprised as any of them, ear cocked down at his harp. The long hair that fell all over his face had been blown straight back. After feeling the broken string, he sighed, then began tuning one of the others.
There were many stories of masters who made their apprentices perform strange tasks to prove their devotion, but this struck Slaten as odd. He also felt as though Narenel would have warned them if that was to be the case. Just when it seemed as though Balunel might really go on tuning his harp and ignoring them, he stopped plucking stings and spoke.
"What is inner strength? Or, as you may call it, sein?"
The serious question left everyone taken aback. After a pause, Melal sat down with a scowl to listen. Since no one seemed ready to answer, Slaten spoke up first. "Sein is the energy of life in concentrated form."
"Maybe." Balunel plucked one of the strings repeatedly, not seeming to even listen to it. As the note continued, it became clear that wasn't the answer he wanted. Laeri sat up straight and answered formally.
"Sein is the breath not taken. Sein is the shadow of the sun. Sein is the other side of the sky. Sein is the light between the stars." It had the smooth flow of a rehearsed answer, though it meant nothing to Slaten. Balunel seemed just as surprised, blinking and beginning to pluck a different string over and over.
"Oh my. You're going to confuse this old man."
It quickly became obvious that no answer was forthcoming and he was happy to listen to the off-tune note longer than they were. Slaten disliked this sort of riddle and glanced to the others. Melal was sulking and Tani looked thoughtful. After a while, Celivia answered next. "Sein is power. Nothing more or less."
Balunel chuckled at that and began plucking another note. "Hard to argue with that."
He went on plucking, making Melal growl and Slaten sigh. Yet this time, after the pause had dragged on for a time, the old man began to play multiple strings again, this time without tuning them. Odd as each note was, together they formed a simple song that sounded almost appropriate. Tani smiled broadly and inclined her head respectfully.
"Is that Master Balunel's lesson? Each view of sein is like a single note, true but incomplete. One string may be necessary, but it is not the song. Sein is the song."
The old man's hands went still on the harp and his eyes stared toward the ceiling. He smiled gently and shifted his head toward them. "That is really very clever. I'm afraid that I didn't realize that I was playing my harp, though. I'm really growing rather forgetful in my old age." Balunel set the harp aside and turned to face them before settling his hands in his lap and speaking.
"All of you know your strength already. You can feel it in your veins, in your mind, in your soul. You will not come to understand it better via riddles or tricks. I simply wanted to know which riddles you brought me." Balunel gave them all a gentle smile, staring over their heads. "I had a dream where that nice young man was discussing how to gain power quickly. Was that only in my mind, or was it real?"
Slaten nodded, realized that was useless, and answered aloud. "He did speak to us about it."
"Oh, good." After a sigh of relief, Balunel continued. "As he said, your aim now is to uncover what you already have. Now, think carefully of all your techniques. All of the positions, the flow of inner strength, the execution of them. Do you have them all clearly in your mind, absolutely precise?"
Such a broad task would be difficult, but perhaps that was what it took. Slaten tried to begin by listing every technique he knew, then thinking about them in succession. Thinking of them all together seemed impossible, but perhaps with enough time...
