Transcendence, page 33
part #6 of The Beginning After The End Series
Vlair stared daggers at both me and our instructor, but walked out after tossing his spear on the ground.
The exams went quickly after that, giving us time to rest and eat while the results board was uploaded.
“Is this seat taken? Of course it isn’t,” a familiar voice asked and answered from behind me. Nico nudged me with his elbow before sitting down across from me. He was carrying a tray with the same meal I had received and was currently eating. Cecilia followed close behind him, and shot me a smile before she sat down next to Nico.
I ignored Nico’s little tease, swallowing my steamed vegetables before asking, “How did your tests go? Did the amulet work?”
Cecilia held up her right hand to show me the little coin-sized pin in the center of her palm. “It worked like a charm. Judging by the testers’ reaction, I was probably somewhere between average and not significantly above average.”
“I should’ve named it the not-significantly-above-average ki displayer,” Nico chuckled as he pointed his fork at me. “I told you it’d work.”
I respected Nico’s resilience and ability to adapt. He had undoubtedly been affected by Headmaster Wilbeck’s death, but he didn’t let it get to him for long. He’d bounced back and pushed us—especially me—to keep working toward a goal. I knew that he often joked to cover his emotions, but I thought his wit was much needed in our group.
I nodded. “I’m glad it did… although I still think it would’ve been best if you two had gone to a regular school. It’s not too late, I thi—”
“And I told you that we’re sticking together,” Nico cut in. His eyes flickered with intensity for a moment, but then he relaxed. “Besides, this place has a research facility and several workshops available to the engineering department students.”
“Nico’s right,” Cecilia chimed in, fiddling with her food but not really eating. “We all have things we can learn by being here.”
“Fine, but we have to be careful.” I lowered my voice and scooted closer to my friends. “We don’t know exactly what group or organization was after Cecilia.”
“You’re worrying too much,” Nico said dismissively. “The new ki restrainer I built should last long enough for me to scrounge around for a few parts here and make a more stable one.”
We talked as we ate, but our eyes kept shifting back to the large clock above the kitchen. It wasn’t just us—everyone was anxious for the announcement.
Nico pushed away his tray of food. “Well, I can’t eat any more of this rat turd. Want to just head to the board now?”
“Sure,” I said. “We might be able to get a better spot.”
We made our way out of the hall and back outside. The sun shone brightly overhead, but with only buildings and artificial trees and shrubs surrounding us, the academy felt stifling.
“Are the engineering cadets separated into divisions as well?” I asked Nico as we walked.
My friend swayed his head side to side. “Yes and no. We—the more intellectual cadets—still have to use ki to create tools and gadgets, so they give priority to those who have a large ki pool, but it’s not as heavily weighted as for you martial cadets. I’ll either be placed in first division, which is the fast track, or second division.”
“I wish it was that simple for us,” Cecilia said. “Why do martial cadets have divisions that go all the way down to five?”
Nico shrugged. “The way of life. Anyway, I hope you two get into the same division, if not the same class. That way, Grey, you can mess up any boy who comes too close to Cecilia.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. Nico said it lightly but I could tell he was embarrassed by his words. Even after all these years, Nico still hadn’t said anything about his feelings for Cecilia.
By the time we arrived at the large courtyard where the board would be updated, there was already a large crowd of cadets trying to inch as close to the board as possible.
“Looks like everyone here had the same idea we did,” Cecilia muttered.
“No choice but to plow through,” Nico said as he pushed me forward. “Lead the way, cadet!”
After several minutes of squeezing through hundreds of cadets, we made it close enough to the board that we could read the large words being loaded up onto the screen.
“Nico, your bottom lip is bleeding!” Cecilia exclaimed. “Did you get hit?”
“Alas, I did not come out unscathed—I took a stray elbow to my face in order to protect you!” Nico said dramatically.
I shook my head. “Nico chews his lip when he’s nervous, frustrated, concentrating, or all of the above. He probably bit down too hard.”
Nico clicked his tongue. “Smartass.”
Just then, the screen flickered and lit up. Words—names and numbers—appeared on the screen in rows. The cadets behind us pushed us forward as they all tried to get as close as possible to find their names.
I found Nico’s fairly easily. He had been placed in division one, class one—the highest tier. I saw Vlair Ambrose’s name next; he was division one, class five of the martial cadet list, meaning he had barely made it to first division. Cecilia’s name came into view next, and the restrained squeal of delight told me she had found her name as well.
I looked down, searching for my name, but the lower my line of sight fell, the more my heart sank. The lower the names appeared, the lower their division and class was. Cecilia’s name had appeared fairly early, since she had been placed in division two, class four. By the time I found my name, I knew my goal of excelling in the academy and getting strong enough to find and take down the people that killed Headmaster Wilbeck was going to be much harder than I thought.
I mumbled my name and division, saying it over and over just in case I had read wrong. “Grey. Division four, class one.”
ARTHUR LEYWIN
My eyes crept open and I saw the familiar ceiling of my room back in the floating castle. I was thankful that I hadn’t experienced another nightmare, but the dream had still left an incredibly bitter taste in my mouth.
“Time to get up, Syl—” I caught myself, remembering that my bond was in the medical ward of the castle.
Yesterday seemed more like a dream than the dream I’d actually just had. Fortunately, we had only needed to travel to the nearest major city that had a teleportation gate. Several soldiers had to help carry Sylvie from the site of our battle to the gate and through it, but she made it safely back and was being treated.
They hadn’t let me see Mica at all—she had been taken into custody for questioning. Varay and Bairon had gone to meet with the dwarven Lance in case she’d decided to fight back, but she had come back willingly. By the time I had returned to the castle at about midday, Rahdeas had already been placed in one of the cells, to be interrogated at a later time, along with Uto.
Staring outside as I stood in the shower, I realized that it was early morning, which meant I had slept through the rest of the day yesterday, and all through the night. I still felt sluggish and hot from backlash, but sleeping for over eighteen hours seemed to have done wonders for me.
As I got out of the shower, I heard footsteps in the hallway. They stopped in front of my room, and I didn’t even give the person the chance to knock before I called out, “Who is it?”
An unfamiliar voice, a woman’s, sounded from the other side of the door. “General Arthur. I was instructed to help you get ready and escort you to the meeting hall.”
Looking down at the scars covering my dripping body, I suddenly felt uncomfortable at the thought of anyone seeing them. The scars the witch-like retainer had left on my neck and left hand were the worst, but they were just two of many that littered my body. Mana and Sylvie’s dragon will helped my recovery rate tremendously, but that only meant the scars formed faster to seal the wounds; it didn’t make my skin pearly new.
“I’m almost done; just wait there for a minute,” I said, hurriedly putting on trousers and a tunic with a high collar, and covering my hands with thin gloves. It was no longer necessary to hide my scars, since the traitors had been captured, but I felt better doing so.
I made sure Dawn’s Ballad was safely inside my dimension ring, along with Uto’s severed horns, then readied my mind for the endless strategic meetings and questionings to come.
Chapter 40
Strategic Conduct
The immaculately-dressed elven secretary accompanied me to the meeting room. Our short walk was filled with awkward silence.
I wanted to stop by my sister’s room, but the elf insisted that the meeting took precedence. My eyes drifted through the halls as we walked and I found myself searching for any familiar face—but mostly Tess. Probably because of that damned scene I had imagined—us hugging each other, about to kiss.
When I asked, the secretary informed me— to my disappointment and worry—that Tessia and her team had gone back to their post in the Beast Glades.
“When did they leave?” I asked.
“Yesterday at sunrise, General Arthur,” she replied almost robotically, just as we reached the entrance to the meeting room.
The guards on each side of the entrance had slid their wooden door open upon seeing us approach, then immediately stepped aside, thumping the hilts of their spears on the ground in salute. “General.”
I dismissed the secretary and walked into the circular room, meeting the gaze of the Council members and other Lances.
It didn’t take long for the meeting to begin once we had all gathered—minus Aldir, our missing ambassador for the asuras. However, with Rahdeas and Olfred no longer on the Council, the once-cramped meeting room seemed eerily spacious.
We had barely taken our seats before King Glayder unleashed his anger. Slamming his fist against the circular table, the burly king roared, “What was the point of Lord Aldir taking control of the artifact if he was just going to run off to who knows where?”
“This isn’t the time to be blowing up about something we can’t change,” Alduin snapped in irritation.
“He’s right,” Priscilla Glayder agreed. “There are more urgent things we need to discuss if we are to recover from this setback.”
Blaine looked at his wife incredulously, but the queen ignored her husband’s gaze.
Merial, who sat beside her husband, finally peeled her eyes away from the stack of parchment she had been going through and spoke. “I’ve gathered and read through several accounts of what transpired, including one from Aya. But I think it’s best if we start with Arthur’s account of events.”
“I agree,” Virion spoke, turning his tired eyes to me. The man had been old for as long as I had known him, but these past few years had really taken a toll on his body and psyche. This was evidenced by the deep, dark bags under his eyes and the way his face had contorted into a perpetual frown.
Blaine’s deep red hair was practically ablaze as he leaned back in his seat, simmering like a flame eager to be fed the fuel that would allow him to unleash his anger once more.
“Sure,” I said, resting my arms on the table. Normally, the Lances stood behind their respective artifact holder, but considering the fact that there were extra seats available and that even standing took a toll on my fatigued body, I had been allowed to sit down.
Recapping the events since the day Olfred, Mica, and I had set off on our mission didn’t take long. The members of the Council stopped me when they needed clarification or further details, but otherwise they let me talk.
Aside from the detail that it wasn’t me who had defeated Uto, but rather his ally, I told the Council everything I knew. By the end of my story, Virion nodded thoughtfully.
“How is it that Arthur has not yet reached the white core stage, but was still able to defeat not one but two retainers, while another Lance was killed so easily?” Blaine asked, suspicion lacing his voice.
Virion’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you so skeptical of General Arthur?”
“I would simply like to know how he came out victorious in both cases. Perhaps with that knowledge, we can better prepare the rest of the Lances for future battles against the retainers and Scythes,” Blaine said with a shrug, but the hostility in his voice was clear.
Priscilla put a placating hand on her husband’s arm, trying to intervene. “Dear—”
“King Blaine has a point,” I cut in. “The first retainer I fought wasn’t as strong as Uto—the retainer we now have imprisoned. Even then, I came away with a broken asura-forged sword and these scars.”
There was surprise on the faces of everyone except Virion when I took the glove off of my left hand and pulled down on my tunic to expose my neck, but no one said a word.
I continued. “Uto, on the other hand, could have killed me—and Sylvie—on sight, but that wasn’t what he was after. His only motivation seemed to be enjoying a good battle. When I turned out not to pose that much of a threat, he lowered his guard to try and incite me into a fit of rage. Sylvie and I were able to capitalize on his carelessness and destroy his horns.”
Varay Aurae’s clear voice rang out from behind Priscilla. “How did you know that destroying the Vritra’s horns would have any effect on his ability to fight?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t. I doubt even the asuras knew, otherwise they would’ve told us. But I remembered the late Lance, Alea, saying how furious Uto had been when she’d chipped off a fragment of his horn.”
It wasn’t the most well-thought-out lie, but mentioning Alea seemed to convince even Blaine and Bairon, who had both been studying me critically throughout my story. It felt wrong to deceive everyone, especially Virion. But I didn’t trust anyone else at this point, and I knew that telling Virion the truth now—without any idea of what Seris’s goal was—would only burden the commander more.
“The retainer’s power seemed to diminish significantly after we destroyed his horns”—I emphasized the word ‘destroyed’—“and we managed, barely, to overpower him. After securing Uto, the next thing I remember is General Aya waking me up.”
“Thank you,” Virion said after a brief pause. “Queen Priscilla, would you like to go over the next order of business?”
With a nod, the queen spoke. “The most crucial factor in this war right now is our alliance with the dwarves. With Rahdeas imprisoned and being held for questioning, we have no one to effectively lead the dwarves. Furthermore, after General Arthur’s reconnaissance in Darv, it’s obvious that either a faction or multiple factions of them are willfully assisting the Alacryan army.”
“What if we send forces from Sapin into Darv to oversee the dwarves?” Alduin suggested.
King Blaine, who had since calmed down, shook his head. “A human military presence would only frighten the dwarves more—convince them that we want to control them. Things will get even more out of hand if we force our way into this.”
An idea flickered to life in my mind, but the rest of the Lances were staying relatively silent and I wasn’t sure whether I had the authority to weigh in. Perhaps, I thought, the three Lances present simply weren’t knowledgeable in wide-scale military and political tactics, given their focus on combat. I decided to take the chance, and started off with a question. “Was Rahdeas’s capture made public?”
King Blaine raised a brow. “No, it wasn’t. One of the reasons we called this meeting is to discuss how to handle the traitor and the fact that we’re down one Lance and can’t replace him since our asura ambassador has gone on a little vacation.”
“Then why not use that to our advantage?” I suggested, hoping someone would catch on.
Thankfully, Virion did. His face lit up the way it used to when Tessia and I were just children. “Brilliant! Arthur, remind me never to fight a war against you.”
Virion didn’t have to explain much before everyone else in the room caught on and began offering insights on actualizing my inkling of an idea. The people here were smart after all.
Basically, the Council would carry on as if Rahdeas had never been captured. They would have to make Rahdeas reveal how he communicated with his people, but then they’d be able to send orders as if they were from Rahdeas himself.
“We wouldn’t be able to make any radical changes right away—like having them immediately go against the Alacryans, since Rahdeas was so adamant about helping them—but we can at least secure information by posing as him,” Merial said excitedly. The atmosphere in the room became a bit lighter as hope slowly bubbled up.
The next item on the agenda was discussing how to proceed with General Mica’s questioning and Uto’s interrogation.
“I will conduct General Mica’s questioning, while General Aya will be handling the Vritra we have imprisoned,” Virion announced. “However, Rahdeas’s interrogation should take precedence at this point, to secure the dwarves’ allegiance. Anyone think otherwise?”
The rest of us shook our heads. We all agreed; getting control of Darv was crucial in winning this war.
“Good,” Virion continued. “Then we’ll table the details regarding General Mica’s and the retainer’s questioning until our next meeting.”
The Council continued, covering several more items on the agenda. Then Merial, who was organizing the stacks of parchment on the table, pulled out the next document to discuss. Her glance flickered to me and she hesitated a second, then handed it to her father-in-law.
Virion’s lips were set in a grim line as he read the report, but by the time he finished, there was a look of relief on his face as he passed the parchment back to Merial. “The next order of business is the supply road. There was another attack on one of our carriages transporting supplies to the Wall. Thankfully, the carriage was close enough to Blackbend City that reinforcements were able to get there in time.”
“Any deaths?” Priscilla asked.
“Three deaths and four injured, all of whom were merchants employed by the Helstea group,” Merial read aloud. “And General Arthur?” She looked at me, pausing for a beat. “You should know that the Twin Horns were involved. None of them were hurt—in fact, your mother was instrumental in the protection of the carriage.”
