Under the Ashen Banner

Chapter Four: Transgression

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Over the course of the next few days, Neil went from one lesson to the next, learning all that anyone had to teach him.

Early in the morning, he'd practice with various weapons. From swords to spears, bows to crossbows. Each time he sparred, it was clear that he still had a lot to learn, for he always left with bruises all over his body.

After weapons drills, he would learn about tactics, marching in formation, and how to keep up a good shield wall. Now and then, the other recruits would laugh and ask him how his evening lessons were going. Not understanding quite what they were getting at, Neil would just say he enjoyed learning magic. Sergeant Blue would often interrupt such conversations with chastisement and threats if they did not get back to training.

It seemed every day that Sir Garrett and one of the other commanders would come by to observe his progress. They always watched from a distance, and never actually said anything to him. At times, Neil could almost swear that he saw sentimentality in their gaze.

But the lessons he always longed to return to were those that came in the early evening. It was then, just as the sun neared the eastern horizon and the first of the three moons showed its face in the west, that he got to learn more about magic with Errigal. At first, he told himself that he was truly interested in the mystical arts and wished to be a magician himself some day. Yet, as time went on, that lie quickly lost its strength. There was only one real reason he favored his evening classes.

Errigal.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and had the loveliest speaking voice. She was kind, intelligent, wise, and not shy in the least. Errigal touched him every time they met, causing him to overcome much of his fear of physical contact. Sometimes she would just hold his hand, often to show him how to write a rune, or drag him off to see something wondrous. Other times, it was an appreciative squeeze of his shoulder or his arm. Every lesson seemed to end the same way: with a kiss, and each kiss grew just a little longer than the last one.

It soon became difficult to pay attention to the other lessons. How could having an old, grumpy soldier shouting at him for his poor marksmanship compare to a gorgeous young woman complimenting him on how fast he learned, and rewarding him with affection every time?

When one is young, affection and desire are indistinguishable from true love, and prudence so rarely enters an adolescent mind when aphrodisia has already taken root in the heart. The truth was that Neil and Errigal were from different worlds, and because of that, she would soon hurt him far worse than Master Davaa ever had.

That night, he was alone with Errigal in her tent, even after the sun had set. He held a quill in his hand, and had just finished writing the kenaz rune, the one meant to induce inspiration and clarity, for the twentieth time.

"Good work!" Errigal leaned over his shoulder, her chest pressing against his back and cheek brushing his ear. "It's been a long road to get here, but no fae spirit will ever mistake that symbol for another." She slipped past him and sat on the table before him. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"That... you're happy with me?" His cheeks burned red. Whatever mystical significance the letter may have had was far less important than her approval.

Errigal giggled and covered her mouth with one hand. "Oh, Neil, I'm always happy with you! What I'm trying to say is that one of the biggest problems that young magicians run into when trying to cast spells is that they confuse the spirits. Maybe they mis-write a word, or maybe they inscribe a kenaz that looks like a fehu, and that changes the whole meaning of the phrase. One magician I knew mixed up yr and tyr, and accidentally blinded his own eyes rather than his enemy's!"