THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 8 - Unsettling Differences - Part 4

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

They broke for lunch, and when they returned, Lin and Tah'rin were back. The two Konte split them into groups of four to learn directly from them. Velda was put with Titus, Iyan, and Lenora, and Konte Tah'rin brought them across the field.

"You'll learn much more with me than Lin," Konte Tah'rin told them as they walked. "Magic is much too specialized to be learned from another. It is a personal journey." They reached the end of the field, and Tah'rin turned to face them, drawing his blade. "Swordsmanship, on the other hand, is very teachable. In that way, my job is easy. Or, it would be, if swordplay wasn't so complex. Calling it 'play' is rather idiotic."

Velda swallowed and tried to pay attention. Tah'rin walked them through three moves over the next couple of hours. He was a stickler for detail, constantly nudging them into the correct positioning. Velda immediately felt the limits of her strength and had to resort to magic to keep up with her teammates, eventually connecting her magic to the sword to use its runes, as she'd seen Will'ym do.

Lenora looked the least affected by her sword's weight, and even occasionally held the sword with one hand. Iyan and Titus were strengthened only by their rivalry, each tacitly trying to outdo the other in skill. Velda, on the other hand, struggled to match Tah'rin's stances, and the Konte commented on her much more than the rest of them.

After Tah'rin's lesson, he set the four of them loose to spar with each other and practice what they had learned before swapping with Konte Lin. Velda set out with Lenora, more than a little intimidated by what was to come. As she expected, the dracona was agile as well as strong, and easily countered her delicate and unpracticed moves. Lenora's vaya, Ninazu, occasionally put a word in to encourage her, but it was hardly necessary. Velda often looked across the field to Lin's group, who appeared to be learning arcana, wishing to be with them. She was made to be a mage, not a warrior.

Suddenly, Tah'rin approached Velda from behind, and his blank voice caught her off guard, as well as his question. "How long have you been human?"

Lenora paused the fight and gave Velda an encouraging look. She steeled her courage and turned around to face the tarrephaene. "What do you mean, Konte Tah'rin?"

"You're quite obviously not human, or humanoid besides. Your torso hardly moves with your sword."

Velda suddenly became very self-conscious of her practice with Lenora, and the lesson beforehand. "Have I learned wrong?" she asked nervously.

"No. You are simply not meant to fight as a human. It must feel quite unnatural to you." Velda nodded, thankful for the Konte's understanding. "As such, I feel I should rehearse these moves with you in a more familiar format. What are you, really?"

Velda hesitated, then told him, "I'm a mep."

"Ah, a Myusarian. I should have guessed." He looked genuinely intrigued. "Show me."

Velda paled. "Alright. Cha, help me out here."

Lenora, Titus, and Iyan watched with curiosity as Velda returned to her normal form for the second time that day. Then they stared when Konte Tah'rin matched her form in a burst of yellow magic from an unseen stone. He was still quite tall, and his fur was very light, showing his age. "Now, let us try the disengage and remise again."

Velda's confidence as a mep played to her advantage, and she could finally keep up with Tah'rin as he provoked the move from her again and again. Compared to being human, she felt like she had limitless energy. The light from the sun began to reflect off their blades as it crossed the sky, occasionally blinding one of them during the flurry of strikes.