The Awakening

Chapter 8

"You've wasted enough time." Light footsteps rustled the tall grass behind Lycel. "Father Dominic sent us to clean up your mess."

Lycel frowned when he heard the rumbling voice. Of course they'd send him. The man was tall and broad, his shoulders rippled underneath the thin lunite tunic he wore. His expression was deathly serious, with his lips drawn in a thin line as a muscle worked in his jaw. "Hey Eben," Lycel said brusquely.

"I'm here too Ly!" An almost equally tall woman jumped out from behind Eben, almost as if to scare Lycel. Eben and his twin sister, Eva. They had been stuck in charge of Lycel for his training years, much to the chagrin of Eben. Eva didn't seem to mind, she doted on Lycel as if he were a little brother.

Where Eva was kind and flexible, Eben was like a stubborn rock. He never bent the rules of The Family or used leniency on those who did. The infamous assassins group was his true family.

Lycel's expression softened, "Hi Eva, what are you guys doing here?"

Eben began to speak, "We're here to clea-'' Eva hit the back of his head with an open palm.

"Father Dominic sent us to watch over you and make sure you complete your task. He felt that you were taking too long and that you needed some urging." She said it with a smile, but Lycel knew what that meant; Do it, or Die.

Even if Eva treated Lycel kindly, she couldn't ignore direct orders from the upper family. It's time to decide, do I stay with the family and graduate into an upper member, killing for profit for the rest of my life? Or do I take a risk, forever avoiding the endless chase of assassins.

"I'm going in then. Wait here for me, I don't want any distractions."

Eben cracked his stone-like expression and mildly raised his eyebrows. "Now that's the look of a man. Don't disappoint," he said in his gravelly tone.

Lycel whispered under his breath and crouched into a low position as if he were a tiger ready to pounce. One second he was there, the next, gone. Lycel had cloaked himself in the night and darted between the soldiers with little more than a slight whistling noise. Flash was one of the hardest techniques he knew, and it was definitely the one he was best at. It felt as if the world passed by in slow motion as Lycel cut through the air.

Lycel ended flash just inside the forest barrier, a small snapping noise following just behind him. Brushing back his windswept auburn hair with a hand, Lycel observed his surroundings. "Mana zone. Huh. Nothing's tried to kill me yet so it can't be as bad as the stories."

With a grim expression he hadn't managed to shake, Lycel pushed onward.

Nine days had passed since Stratar began training Kiel. Progress was fast, but everything was cut short due to their time constraints. Kiel was a fast learner and could apply the teachings quickly, but it didn't make up for their limitations. Stratar had covered significant portions of history, science, and the cultures of the many people within Fraendallr. Each day was a mixture of practical and informational lessons. Once Kiel had proven he had mastered key historical events such as The Landing of Man, The Dreichen War, and the creation of the Red Mountains, Stratar allowed him to start practicing mana control. Mana control involved the ability to read mana, as well as shape it. Reading the mana came naturally to him, while shaping it proved to be a difficult task. Once Kiel had learned how to read mana, he had then discovered how the flow of mana worked.

"It's like two lakes, sharing their water with one another through rivers. Neither of them overflowing or drying up. In this case, the sword and I are both lakes, the mana passing between us in a steady flow." Stratar had smiled warmly and hit him softer during sparring that night.

The morning of the 10th day, Stratar and Kiel were working on swordsmanship. Kiel had launched an intimidating offensive made up of a flurry of blows. Stratar blocked each with ease, his practiced hand knowing all the correct parries. As a final, last ditch attempt, Kiel swung hard from the side, only for his arm to be struck with the flat of Stratar's blade.

"Stop now. It seems someone has entered the inner sanctum of the forest."

"Weren't you supposed to hold them back? We've hardly had time to train," Kiel said incredulously. The blade clattered on the oaken floor. Kiel's arm shuddered from the impact of Stratar's blow.

Stratar closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the earthy air. "Yes it is only one. He is not like the rest, he bears no ill will Kiel." He opened his eyes and turned to Kiel. "Do you know who this may be?"

A heavy branch swung diagonally down towards Lycel, only narrowly missing him as he bent backwards. His dagger flashed in an arc upwards as the treeant's arm fell to the ground with a clunk. Incapacitated, the treeant backed up, only to be replaced instantly by a large predatory bird swooping down at him. Lycel kept his momentum from the swing and swung his leg, hitting the bird hard in its side. The creature tumbled to the ground and lay motionless.

The treeant eyed Lycel wearily as it disappeared into the underbrush. Lycel panted as he wiped sweat off of his forehead. His clothes had soaked through under the thin leather armor he wore. Lycel flipped his auburn hair back to get his bangs out of the way.

Relaxing his stance, Lycel wiped the sap off his knife and sheathed it. "They finally stopped coming. About time." After a short break, Lycel continued into the sea of trees.

The light had faded into small shimmering beams about two hours back, since then the forest had been visible only through the bioluminescent plants and fungi that thrived here. Everything had been tinted various shades of blues, purples, and greens. Shadows seemed to sneak around in the corners of Lycel's eyes, but he had been hopeful it was just the lighting. After the last encounter he had, Lycel hadn't met anything. It seemed that the creatures of the forest were no longer interested in fighting him off. " I guess they decided I'm allowed in now. That or they're scared of me, which I doubt." Lycel continued his musings as he went deeper.

"Kiel. The forest tells me it is a young adult male. He carries only a dagger and is weary from his travels here." Stratar smiled. "Go let him in from the north side."

Kiel nodded and took a deep breath. Without a word he turned and walked out of the hut. The tangled wall of wood wasn't very far away, it only took a few moments before Kiel was standing in front of the coiled trees.

"How am I supposed to open this?" As if the wall had heard him, it began to thin, the trees snaking away. On the other side was the dark, color hued forest. No person. Keil waited a moment and called out. "Hello?"

There was no response, then a bush rustled. A young man pushed through, his dagger in hand, head cocked towards Kiel. The young man's eyes widened, then he let out a shaky breath.

"Hey. We need to talk."