Wielder's Awakening (39 page)

Kalista nodded in the affirmative.  As they began to cross the field, all of the activity suddenly stopped.  All of the troops turned and dropped to a knee with their fists clenched over their hearts.  Kalista was impressed at how fast all of the troops showed the proper respect and their sign of loyalty to the crown.  There was no army that matched the discipline and loyalty of the royal army of Kalia.  She could clearly see that such an increase in numbers had not changed that.

“At ease!” Gavin said in a loud, clear, and commanding voice.  “Continue!”

As fast as they had stopped their activities, they took them up once again.  Kalista looked at Gavin adoringly.  He definitely was a natural born leader.  As they finished making their way to the barracks, Kalista watched the troops performing their various routines.  In the distance a large group of archers were practicing long range shooting, and closer to the road footmen were practicing formations.  She could also see horsemen in the distance practicing maneuvers in the snow covered fields.

As they entered the courtyard of the barracks, they were stopped by the commandant of the barracks.  He bowed quickly and motioned excitedly towards a large circle of soldiers.  From atop their mounts, Kalista and her party could easily see over the heads of the soldiers and into the center of the circle.  There was an incredible fight taking place.  Four soldiers were all attacking one other soldier.  Kalista wanted to ask why someone did not stop it, but then she realized they were only using practice swords.

She watched, amazed as the mountain of a man in the middle held the other four soldiers at bay.  The swords in each of his hands swirled so quickly that Kalista could barely make them out.  One of the attackers lost his sword and fell backwards as one of the large man’s swords slammed into his chest.  The others picked up their attack but to no avail.  The large man seemed untouchable.  Soon two others were down and out of the fight.  The only attacker left broke off and sized up the large man.  The brief pause was soon over in a whirl of blades as the large man attacked.  The lone attacker held off for quite a while before the large man ended the fight with an unexpected swipe to his opponent’s ankle.

The crowd of soldiers burst into cheers as the large man stood alone with clouds of fog rising from his mouth in the cold air.  He then reached down to help his opponent up.  The large man shook hands with his other opponents as they exchanged quick words.  Several of the on looking soldiers started to slip away, hurrying back to their training.  It was then that they noticed the presence of the Princess, and all in the courtyard quickly dropped to a knee and saluted.  The commandant waved them to their feet with a snap of his fist.  Soon there were only a handful of soldiers left in the courtyard, one of them being the large sword master.

“I am sorry for the wait, Princess and Commander General,” the commandant apologized.  “I thought you would enjoy seeing that.”

“It was quite amazing,” Gavin answered.  “I do not know if I have ever seen someone with skills to match his.  Who is he?”

“His name is Blaize.  He arrived here several months ago.  I was instantly impressed by his fighting ability and even happier to find in him strong leadership qualities.  He is a very interesting man.  He came here as any other regular soldier.  He mentioned when he enlisted that he had experience in warfare but said nothing else.  When he began training, it was instantly obvious how good of a fighter he was.  Those over him promoted him quickly to the most advanced group of soldiers.  Even amongst them he continued to shine.  He was respected by all in his group and took extra time to help them improve.

“I could see that all of the men looked up to him but was cautious of promoting a Balthan to a leadership position.  After talking with him and getting to know him, however, I changed my mind and promoted him to an officer.  He was incredibly respectful, and I felt that I could trust him with my life.  As I got to know him better through tactical discussions and the such, I learned more of his background and of his keen intelligence on the battlefield.  General Blaize served in the Balthan army for many years and helped to quell several rebellions in Balthus.  He was also the captain guard for a wealthy merchant caravan for many years.  Other than that I do not know what he has been doing for all his life.  He is not married and has no family.  I am not sure why he decided to join the royal army, being a Balthan and all, but I guess he just wants to fight for a good cause.  After several weeks as an officer I asked him to be a general, and he humbly accepted.  I will call him over so that you can meet him.  He is one of the two generals who will be marching with you in the spring.”

The commandant walked across the courtyard and returned with the large general.  General Blaize saluted with hand over chest when he arrived in front of her and Gavin.

“That was a superb display of sword skill,” Gavin said, congratulating the soldier.

“Thank you, Commander,” General Blaize replied with a nod of his head.

“I am informed that you will be marching with me in the spring as one of my generals.  From what I saw, I am pleased to have you on my side.”  The large man smiled.  “We will talk more later.”

The large man bowed and left as Gavin turned back to the commandant.  Kalista watched as the man walked away.  She had never seen such a large man.  However, what fascinated the Princess the most was not his size, it was how light he was on his feet as he walked away.  Watching him walk reminded her of the snow lion she had hunted with her father.  She turned her attention back to the reason for the visit.  At her side, Gavin was questioning the commandant about certain preparations for the upcoming march to Candus.

“Things are going as planned.  Fifty thousand troops are ready to march with the baron, including two thousand horsemen.  Another fifty thousand troops should be ready to march in the spring.  Many of the troops are young and inexperienced, but the veterans are helping them.  If this magician in Balthus thinks that he can step into Kalia with his army, he will be in for an unpleasant surprise.”

“That is good to hear,” Gavin said with a smile.  “Let us proceed with the tour.  We can talk more of these things later.”

Gavin slipped off his horse and helped Kalista off of her mount.  They fell into step behind the commandant as he led them from the courtyard and into the buildings.  As they entered, they were passed by the soldier who had lasted the longest of the four against the large general.

“Commandant,” Gavin said, “That soldier is a blademaster, is he not?”

“You have a good eye, Commander,” the commandant replied with a smile.  “He is one of the best swordsmen I have ever seen.  But so were the other three that General Blaize defeated.”

Kalista’s eyes widened slightly as the full meaning of what the commandant said donned on her.  The large general was not just a blademaster.  He was a master of masters!

26

Traven listened with dread as the footsteps continued up the stairs.  Out of the stairwell popped one of his fellow classmates.  He sighed with relief.  His classmate looked from Rudy to Traven and then from Traven to Rudy.  He then broke out with a large smile.  As he continued past Traven, he congratulated him with a pat on his back.  Traven watched as the young man continued on down the hall.  Traven then bent over to retrieve Thad’s package.

“Traven!” a voice boomed from the top of the stairwell.  “What have you done?”

Traven arose with horror to face the oncoming Headmaster Brock.  The headmaster brushed past him and bent over Rudy.  After checking to make sure that he would be all right, he snapped at the other student who had reached the end of the hall to go and bring a physician.

“This is the last time!  I tried to be lenient before and help you out even though you did not deserve it.  This time you will receive no mercy.  You have one hour to be out of my academy.  If I see you here again after that, I will turn you over to the City Watch!”

Traven stared back at the headmaster stunned.  Headmaster Brock turned and knelt down over Rudy.  The headmaster did not even care about how it had happened.

“Headmaster,” Traven began, “Rudy was-”

“Enough!” Headmaster Brock stated, cutting Traven off.  “You heard what I said.  I want you out of here!”

Traven thought about trying to explain again but knew it would get him nowhere.  He picked up Thad’s package and walked numbly the rest of the way to his friend’s room to leave it there.  He left the key, the package, and a short note explaining what had happened.  He then left Thad’s room and went to his own.  As he shut the door, he could hear the other student returning with a physician.

Standing alone in his room, the full import of what had just happened finally sunk in.  He had less than an hour to be out of the academy.  He had been kicked out of the academy!  Traven could not believe he had destroyed his chance at becoming a merchant and had wasted so much of his Grandparent’s savings.  He insensibly walked to his closet and began to pack his belongings.  In a few short moments, all of his possessions were packed in his saddlebag.  He was reminded once again of how few belongings he actually had.

Looking once more around the room, he saw himself in the mirror.  His sad visage stared back at him.  He decided to change out of his nice black clothes and put on his traveling clothes.  After changing and re-packing his saddlebag, Traven sadly looked around the small room that had been his home for the last several months.  The room looked as it had when he first arrived.  How many hours had he spent in it pouring over books and studying for exams?  How many hours had he laid in bed imagining the future?  What was he going to do now?

Traven stepped from the room sadly.  He shut his door and walked down the now empty hall.  His footsteps rang loudly in his ears.  He descended the stairs and made his way to the stables.  He found Pennon and saddled him slowly.  After securing his saddlebag, Traven opened the stall door and led Pennon out.  He then clicked the stall door shut and mounted his steed.  The stablehand opened the doors, and Traven headed out into the cold winter air.

Pennon trotted down the street and stopped as Traven pulled up at the grand square.  He could feel Pennon’s restlessness beneath him.  He had not taken him for a ride in a while, and the horse was anxious.  Traven held Pennon at bay, however, for he didn’t know where to go.  When the headmaster had denounced him, he had focused on leaving as soon as he possibly could.

Traven now realized that he had nowhere to go.  The thought of heading back home as a failure was unbearable.  He couldn’t face his grandparents like this after all they had done for him.  He sat silently atop Pennon and considered what other options he had, if any.  He knew how to work with lumber, but there was no work for a lumberman in Calyn.  He did know how to use his sword now and maybe could sign on as a guard for a merchant caravan.  The problem with that was it was winter and almost no caravans would be leaving Calyn until closer to spring.  What could he possibly do until then?  Maybe he could sell one of his stones for enough money to live off of for a while.  Philosopher Studell had said that they were very valuable.  However, the thought of selling either stone made Traven uncomfortable, and he dismissed the idea.

He slumped down in his saddle despairingly.  Everything had been so good, and he had just ruined it.  If he could only have controlled himself he would not be without a home or occupation.  What was he going to do now?  Blaize had taught him that self-control was essential.  Why had he forgotten that?  Why?  Blaize had . . .

That was it!  Blaize!  Blaize had gone to enlist in the royal army.  Traven had heard many times that the army was enlisting new soldiers in preparation for the possibility of a clash with the rogue army that had been raised in Balthus.  He hadn’t heard anything about the enlistment for over a month but decided he could still give it a shot.  He couldn’t think of any other possibility.  Once he was enlisted, he would have the chance to practice his sword skills all of the time and would be able to see Blaize again.

He kicked Pennon with his heel lightly, and the horse leaped forward.  Traven steered him across the square and to the road that led to the barracks.  He had never been there before but knew where they were.  In fact, he had never really been on this side of the city before.  The streets were much quieter with less people.  He noticed that this part of the city had no stores or markets.  It appeared to contain the homes of the majority of the inhabitants of the city.  As he crossed side streets, he could see many houses that were palaces themselves.  They weren’t nearly as large as the Royal Palace but were quite large nonetheless.  This must have been where many of his ex-classmates came from.  He wondered if Thad lived nearby.  Shaking those thoughts from his head, Traven focused on what was ahead of him.