Thread Slivers (Golden Threads Trilogy) (34 page)

“You will learn all twelve patterns from both sides by the time we are done. Since you know the patterns already these will come very fast. However, you must both concentrate on always, and I mean
always
, doing them exactly correctly. If you make a mistake, recognize it, stop, and do it correctly.”

After Ticca was satisfied they had learned the first pattern, she made them switch sides and practice, paying close attention and correcting any mistakes through example. After he and Ditani had learned the first pattern dance from one side she traded places with him against Ditani and did the drill again and again, each time moving slightly faster. When Ditani made a mistake, she stopped as if frozen until he fixed it, and then they continued. Watching Ticca and Ditani, Lebuin was struck by how much it looked like the fight she had with the man in green, only much slower. Once she had set a certain pace that still couldn’t be called fast, she stopped.

“This is the speed you will use to practice all the patterns. You will see that they can be strung together in a loop where you do one side, then the other, and then the next. A complete workout would thus be doing the Path once correctly, at a speed that would complete it start to finish, in half of a mark; followed by the patterns for a complete loop in another half mark or perhaps a full mark. Meaning you can do the entire practice by yourself in one mark. If you do both the weapon and the barehanded patterns you will need one and a half marks to complete the entire set. You do not need a partner for the pattern dances, but it is best if you can have one. Once you have learned these you should do them every day for the rest of your life. So from now on I expect you to do this in the morning every day as we travel, and I will teach you more each evening.”

Lebuin repeated some of the pattern dance then looked at Ticca. “This is the fight you had with the man at the gate.”

“You have an excellent memory, M’lord. This is one of the twelve practice patterns based on the Path that use weapons. There are also twelve hand-to-hand practice patterns that are also based on the Path. The fight we had used components of all of them as the situation permitted.”

“So the Path is a foundation of fighting techniques, with and without weapons?”

“Correct. The Path is a fighting technique and a mental training exercise. If done correctly, it calms the mind, and eventually, your body will respond within the Path.”

“What do you mean?”

She pointed to a spot in front of her. “Stand there.” He did. “Now, try to attack me.” He just looked at her stupidly. She smiled that evil smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

“I’m more afraid of hurting you.”

“Yes, I know, I need to beat that out of you. When you are fighting it will usually be for your life. Therefore, you cannot hesitate as you did when thinking of trying to help me from the safety of your high window. Come, try to shove me, push me, kick me, or come at me with a knife, Lebuin.”

The jab was dead-on and she knew it, too. He felt embarrassed at being reminded of his inactions. So he thrust his knife at her midsection, but not so hard that he couldn’t stop it, and then she wasn’t there. Her midsection had turned and shifted slightly out of the way, so his knife was passing a hair’s breadth from her shirt. Her arm came up just as in a move from the Path, and he saw it was binding his own arm so that as her other hand came around, it would have broken his arm backwards at the elbow… except his knees had lowered, and he was moving his arm to turn it into an elbow jab to her belly, being supported by his other hand. Ticca twisted away from that using a different move from the Path, pushed his jab down and pulled him forward and off balance while bringing her knee dangerously up towards his groin, his own knife pointing at his chest while still in his hand. She stopped, but not before Lebuin had already shifted a little, so her knee would have hit his inner thigh instead. She held him there, slightly off-balance, his knife pointing at his chest, and because of her hold, his arm and the knife were entirely under her control.

“Do you see now?”

Shocked, he looked at the result of the maneuvers he had been learning but had not understood. “Yes, I clearly see the result. Are all of the patterns as dangerous as this?”

Ticca nodded. “The Path was long ago perfected, and there are variations but the core, which I am teaching you, is the same in every one. Every move is a dodge, a strike or a parry. The Path is the essence of all fighting styles, distilled to its purest form. It is also a form of meditation. I’d bet you will replace any meditation you do as a wizard with a much slower version of the Path. You might try doing it very slowly. I have been told many wizards that learn the Path do this.”

“Are there no other patterns?”

“Of course, but this is the base, all others have extra moves which are wasteful or for show.”

“So learn this, learn them all?”

“Pretty much. If you master this one, the others are but extensions, in slightly different order using different names for the moves. That is enough for now; we have ground to cover.”

“Before we go, Ticca, I have an obligation to settle.”

She looked at him oddly. “What can you do out here?”

“It isn’t so much what I can do, as what I need you to do.”

She waited, looking oddly at him.

“Ticca,” he swallowed. “The boots are not the source of your odd dreams, but they are the conduit.”

“This sounds interesting, let’s get some arit and talk.”

They walked back to the camp and Ditani made fresh arit. Lebuin swallowed and started, “I didn’t learn the Path from a book. Kliasa taught it to me, along with many other things, in exchange for some promised favors.”

Ticca sat perfectly still, listening.

“You see, last night I spent over a year in the great forest learning everything Kliasa knew, learning the ways of the elves, learning their city and people. I met Duke and Vestul on their visits to the elven city. I know how to make boots such as you are wearing now. I know how to make that journal you spoke of. It is all true. Everything you witnessed is truth.”

Ditani made a sound, causing both of them to look at him. His head was down and he was staring at the ground. There were tears on his cheek. They both looked away, giving him his privacy for his grief.
He knew and loved her, and to hear I spent a year with her must be a real blow.

Ticca looked back at him. “How can this be?”

“Ticca, there is a place where we all go after dying; between this realm and that is another one. I think it is the ethereal realm; Kliasa called it ‘between’. She is purposefully holding herself there with all her power. She can connect with people through her artifacts. Ticca, she wouldn’t tell me why, or what she wants to teach you; but she did say she has much to share with you only. She begged of me to convince you to put her boots on and to never take them off till the conclusion. It wasn’t until we were finished with training today that I was able to see all I learned in the last year, overnight, was accurate.”

Ticca shook her head, stood up and started pacing back and forth. “That is the second time a powerful entity has told me to do something while referencing an ‘end’.”

Confused, Lebuin looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“The High Priestess of Dalpha told me, in the Temple, to come back and tell her how this ends, if I can.”

Lebuin frowned and stood, starting to pace himself. “You know, when I was dead I had a strange experience that I wasn’t sure was real… but, now I am sure of it. There are powerful beings who are working towards an end. They all fear some major catastrophe and there is something about it that keeps them from getting involved directly. They are being forced, either on purpose or by circumstances, to stand back.”

Ticca nodded as they paced together while Ditani sat and watched. “Lebuin, I think we are on the verge of something very important. I just don’t know why. We are blind, but many people are trying to give us hints... Why us?”

Lebuin shrugged. “I don’t know, but I trust Kliasa totally. It is impossible to lie in the ethereal realm. She wants to share something with you. She wants you to have the boots, and all she asks is that you never take them off until after the end.”

Ticca stopped and looked at him. “Well, as odd as this sounds; I think I will agree. My trainer always said, ‘Knowledge is the most powerful weapon you can hold.’ If Kliasa really is holding on, just to tell me critical things, it would be silly to ignore her. Besides, I like how I feel in the morning after sleeping with these things on.”

–

After that the days fell into a pattern: martial practices in the morning and evenings, with long days of riding in between. As they rode, Ticca would teach them of Dagger tactics, signs, and the Dagger code. She also recited many of the Dagger histories, which she demanded they recite back to her repeatedly until they had them word-perfect. Lebuin was surprised to learn that Duke had started the Daggers and based them on an organization of military specialists. They were respected throughout the world before they had been forgotten during the Imperial times. There was a lot of emphasis on not losing sight of any one of the three guiding aspects of honor, courage, and commitment. Oddly, the commitment wasn’t to the Daggers but to doing the right thing, having the courage to stand up for the right, regardless of the consequences, and the honor to always step up. There were a considerable amount of signs, tactics, and other skills that could only come over years of dedicated training. With every word, Lebuin felt as if he was growing and becoming what he should have been from the start.

Lebuin only required some simple practice to teach his physical body the skills his mind already knew, and sling, bow, sword, and knife came fast. Ditani mastered the sling and already knew knife and bow. They hunted as they rode so that they always had excellent meat to eat in the evening. He also found he liked the Dagger code of honor, courage, and commitment. The whole idea of upholding a high moral code resonated with his soul. He would recite the things Ticca told him over and over again in his head, making sure he would never forget.

After they had learned the Dagger skills, Ticca added survival techniques. When they came across wild vegetables Ticca would point them out and they would collect some for the next few days. It was discovered that food put in the pack did not spoil, at which point Ticca and Ditani taught Lebuin how to hunt deer and they spent some time preparing smoked jerky from the venison. Apparently there were deep family secrets to the jerky preparation methods; Ticca and Ditani spent a lot of time arguing over which was better. Ditani was willing to share his with Lebuin, but Ticca kept hers a secret. In the end they grudgingly admitted that each was an ‘adequate’ preparation. Lebuin laughed at them, as both tasted delicious.

Some mornings Ticca would be a little confused on first rising, but they all knew the cause. Ticca said nothing more about what Kliasa shared with her; during the second week, though, Ticca said something to Lebuin in the Elven language and Lebuin responded immediately. They were both surprised that Ditani also spoke the language, although he had to concentrate. For the remaining time they spoke nothing but Elvish. Ditani quickly remembered the language and was soon speaking as fluently as Ticca and Lebuin.

After a few weeks Ticca declared them ready for more advanced training and started teaching them how to fight together against a single opponent or how to fight against multiple opponents. So their morning sparring was spent fighting in pairs against each other, rotating until they had all had a turn fighting two-on-one or one-on-two.

During the second week Lebuin’s powers started to return. He slowly and carefully exercised them while they rode and each day they grew stronger. With the physical, magical, and mental exercises, he felt better and more alive than ever before. Lebuin found himself dreading having to return to the city life. Of course he did miss baths and clean clothes, but not as much as he’d thought he would. He also found he enjoyed the diet they ate; simple roasted vegetables with seasoned fresh meats from their hunting. They ate better than any noble every day as far as he was concerned. Also Vestul had obviously been collecting herbs his whole life, there was a huge collection. Ditani knew most of them, and experimented with others.

–

They were on the road almost six weeks before they came to the first outer farmsteads of Algan, and Lebuin had bulked out considerably. Lebuin had decided to shave his beard so he and Ditani looked a pair, both with similar dress, clean shaven, and with similar haircuts. Lebuin had also gained a dark tan that was not too far from Ditani’s natural look.

Looking down the hill, they could see the main road was a short way off. Out of habit, he asked in Elvish, “Should we take the road? I doubt anyone here is expecting us.” Looking at Ticca and Ditani, he added, “Or would recognize us, for that matter. I would swear Ditani is years younger and I know I have put on weight I never thought I’d gain.”

Ticca looked them over, answering in Elvish as well. “You certainly have changed a lot. I would say that what you were was merely a shadow of what you have become, Lebuin.”

He smiled back at her, in the easy way they had come to know each other. “Thanks. And you certainly look better for those city pounds you have lost, too.”