Legion of the Eye

Awakening

Today was going be long day, sent specially from hell by The Walker to torment them.

It was going to be a terrible day of learning to use the forms of the sword, bouts of fighting and running around the small field, strapped with those clumsy swords, trying to get used to their weight on the body.

Casten looked up at the sky and was thankful that the sky around the Broken land was perpetually dull with hardly any clouds, the sun never shined brightly here, it always maintained the same dull and alien glow throughout the day from sunrise to sunset.

The white orb in the grey, lightning scarred sky of the Broken Lands was a pale and inferior copy of the real sun, as if someone who had never experienced its flaming glory described the sight and sensation of the sun to a artist, who then made a disgraceful imitation.

All the same, it was a wonderful relief to Casten and the boys who were training in the Legion, as the sun was never anything more than mildly warm, Casten couldn't imagine doing this heavy training under a blazing sun, he would probably have died from heatstroke or worse.

The sun's lack of scorching heat wasn't all advantageous though. The lack of heat during the day meant colder and windier nights. The wind was always whistling in Fortress at the late hours of the night. It seemed to carry whispering tiny voices that went past the doors and windows, the covers and blankets to mutter in the ears of those sleeping in the Fortress.

Some say it was the power of The Rippers trying to induce fear and doubts into the heart of the brave and strong willed since they can't win on the battlefield, others say it's the voices of dead legionnaire traitors who died and were cursed by the Paragons to be unable to rest until they fulfilled their duty, which Casten thought didn't make sense, since they were already dead couldn't do anything else apart from making odd whistling noises in the dead of night.

He found both story implications disturbing as it meant he was going to sleep each night either with malevolent powers playing around him or he was being haunted by traitors and betrayers.

The ever present wind and cold of the night also affected the environment of the Fortress and it's surrounding areas. Casten remembered how everything seemed windswept on his way to the Fortress, all the trees short and stunted with big fat roots, the grass permanently bent and soil loose and thin.

Ashtown, the closest settlement to the Legion's Fortress had most of its doors and windows facing southwards away from the Fortress and the whistling wind that blew over the small mountains, the townsfolk there not wanting much to blow in their homes.

Casten came out of his unhelpful thoughts, finding that he didn't notice the appearance of Master Kallo, but he did notice that everywhere was very quiet, he looked at Lenis and he saw he was staring pointedly forward not meeting his eye. Beyond Lenis he saw that Nalfey was smirking smugly...that could only mean that Master Kallo was behind him.

Just as he was about to turn his head, he felt the master's cane fall with a resounding crash on his head and then a very bright, very white light clouded his vision.

When he came to, he was on the ground and the master was speaking to him.

"Since you weren't paying attention, Tenebri, you can be the volunteer that would demonstrate the lesson on fighting multiple opponents at once"

Casten's mouth dropped open.

"Your opponents are the i***t lordling Nalfey and the common i***t, Ferril"

'I am dead' Casten thought to himself.

He could handle Ferril no problem but Nalfey was already trained from his days as a Nobleman's son and will definitely pulverize him.

Casten sighed and got up, he was going to have more bruises and aches today.

He forward unto the field looking at his feet, what he heard next rocked.

"Oh and you can use physically element attacks"

Casten looked at their sword master sharply at that.

Kallo looked right back at him and said "You knew, you were going to face it eventually. The earlier the better."

He stepped in between the two about to duel parties and said "No intent to kill and no permanent damage"

He stepped away and said "Begin"

Casten looked at Nalfey and saw a s******c grin spreading on his face. He was already summoning fire to the arm opposite the one that held the wooden sword.

Ferril on the hand was just standing there looking to Nalfey to make his first move.

Suddenly Nalfey threw a fire ball in his direction, Casten ducked and rolled, then he came up and started sprinting towards him trying to close the gap between them and prevent him from launching another fireball attack

He ignored Ferril and that was a big miscalculation for he didn't notice when the boy ran close to him and whacked him in his side with Wind assisted speed.

He tumbled and fell, he groaned on the floor and heard Kallo's voice

"Let this be a lesson to remember: never turn your back on any opponent no matter how weak they are"

"Now back to your positions, we will..."

"Please master let me try again" Casten heard himself saying, he groaned, got up and looked the master in the eye

Kallo looked down at him, for a moment and then said "It's your funeral. All right Nalfey, Ferril again"

Nalfey couldn't hide his delight, Ferril was just looking at him like he had gone mad.

This time Casten felt different, he couldn't explain it.

Nalfey threw two fireballs at him and he easily dodged it, he threw another two and it was as if his body knew exactly what to do, he twisted into the air and came down.

As he landed, Ferril was there with his speed and would have cleanly hit his head but somehow he dodged clear.

Nalfey stopped throwing fireballs came closer to attack him with his wooden sword.

Both Nalfey and Ferril attacked together. They slashed, thruster, jabed and yet, everything missed Casten.

It wasn't as if Casten suddenly became faster, it was like they were attacking where he was moment's ago when he had already moved.

They kept at it, chasing shadows, none of the attacks connecting.

All of a sudden Nalfey screamed in fury and stepped back quickly, Casten stepped back too, a smile on his face.

Nalfey raised his hands and a wall of fire appeared, Casten heard master Kallo's voice as if from a distance.

"Henna stop that right now!"

But Nalfey was enraged past reason and just as he was about to send it in Casten's direction, Casten felt something leave him and go towards the direction of Nalfey and Ferril.

The wall of flame flickered out and Casten looked down at his feet.

His shadow had somehow elongated and connected to Nalfey and Ferril's shadows.

It pulsed and shifted. It was a power of its own.

Nalfey screamed and raged but that was it, he couldn't move. Ferril had fainted from shock but was still standing under the shadow's power.

The pale sun shone. The whistling wind and the perpetually trampled grass went even lower.

A hushed silence fell over the practice field in the the southwestern part of Sollis Watch, the black Fortress of the Legion of the Eye in the far north of The Empire of the Sun.

A silence so absolute it was like something abstract, like an idea given flesh.

A silence so heavy, it was as thick as any blanket.

A silence so taut with tension, that you could have stretched out your hand to touch it, and it would have sang a tune clear as any lute.

Casten couldn't believe his eyes, he was seeing but his brain not believing.

He looked around and could see everyone else couldn't believe their eyes either, their normally, always calm and collected Sword Master Kallo was staring so hard it seemed like as if his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets.

Casten would have laughed at the sight of it, if not that he was more focused on what he was somehow doing.

Nalfey shouted "Let go of me, you freak."

But, it seemed like that was all he was able to do. He couldn't raise an arm or a leg, it didn't even look like he would be able to twitch. He was totally still.

His fighting partner Ferril, was in even worse shape. He was weeping having woken up from his swoon, calling on The Creator to save him from demons that walked in human flesh. It looked like he had peed himself for there was puddle around his feet that wasn't there a few seconds ago.

Casten finally laughed at that and seemed to scare Ferril senseless for he started weeping loudly and his prayers turned into incomprehensible wails of fear.

Nalfey had tears in his eyes but he still managed to keep his fear under control and said "Fight me fair and square, you unholy creature" he seemed to have a little success with moving his right arm a little.

"Fight me, you Ripper spawn, fight me like a man!" he screamed.

Casten went totally calm, looked Nalfey straight in the eye and replied quietly without his voice wavering "But I am fighting you and you are losing."

Nalfey paled at that and his face bleached of all colour.

He dragged his head and eye towards his feet with much difficulty and saw Casten doing something that defied all logic or reason.

Ferril's eyes had rolled up into his head and he seemed to have fainted, the only reason he seemed to standing was because Casten's shadow somehow held him in place and didn't let him fall to the ground.

Nalfey looked up at Casten, there was a raw, primal fear etched in his face. The kind of fear, that was all encompassing, that defied reason.

It was terror unrestrained, the fear of death itself.

Nalfey finally broke and his tears fell in little streams.

The other boys saw this and they all shied back from Casten like startled animals who came face to face with a savage predator.

Casten smiled in delight, he had finally found a power of his own. It might not be the usual shaping but it was still a power and it belonged to him.

The other boys moved half a step back warily only Lenis to stood where he was.

He looked at Casten with his head bent sideways and asked "What are you?".

Casten thought about it and found that he didn't have the faintest idea about an answer.

Master Kallo had regained his composure by then.

"That's different. All right Tenebri, release them. You've won"

Casten tried to do so but he didn't even know how to control what he was doing.

"I-I'm sorry master, I don't know how"

"Really? Try again"

Casten tried to concentrate to find a way to turn off this power strumming through him but he couldn't do it.

"I do not know how to control this...thing master"

Kallo looked at Casten and sighed.

"You leave me no choice then"

And then he moved.

One moment he was standing with the rest of the onlookers, the next he beside Casten.

Casten's shadow tried to send out another tendril to the master's shadow but it was too late.

Kallo delivered a heavy chop with his hand to the back of Casten's neck.

The world winked out for Casten and he fell into the dreamless dark.