Call of Ring(Compleled)

33 Foreshadowing B

Blake could hardly remember any details about how he had drifted from the bathhouse, across the patio, into his dorm house, and finally into his bed. He didn’t even remember sneaking a peak at Sadie to see if she were still sleeping. But he did awake to first daylight similar to the two previous mornings. The pattern seemed etched in stone. Sadie was still asleep, her blanket barely covering her body, but she was still in her gown from the night before.

As Blake exited his doorway, he was greeted once again by Natan who promptly poured him a cup of coca leaf tea.

“Are you ready for training today?” Natan asked Blake.

“Ready? I suppose I could never say for certain. But eager, yes,” replied Blake with a degree of confidence.

The two men were interrupted by a groggy voice that appeared from behind them.

“Good morning my two housemates,” came the voice of Sadie.

Neither of them could fight off a smile as they turned to greet their beautiful fellow house mate.

“What are we discussing, and what have I missed,” inquired Sadie with a voice that had become a little more clear.

“The first day of training for you two,” replied Natan.

“Bring it on!” replied Sadie with an arrogance that had suddenly wakened with her.

“Before we head to the meal, I must tell both of you about the information I received last night,” cautioned Blake, changing the mood almost instantaneously. A subtle look of stress came over Natan’s face. Blake wondered if it was the first time he had noticed anything distinguishable within his features. Sadie, on the other hand furrowed her brow, suddenly wondering how the night before had ended.

“King Stome will be visiting the Calvin School of Magic today. Apparently, he visits twice a year to inspect the training, and meet all the new students in person,” Blake informed the two.

The looks of concern and worry increased in both of his house mates almost as if the news was confirming to them their worst fears previously unvoiced to Blake. The expression of worry from Sadie did not surprise him, but Natan’s nonverbal response made him all the more curious. Blake decided on a more subtle approach for gathering information rather than to directly point out what was written on either of their faces.

“Do either of you know of this King’s reputation?”

It appeared as if neither of them wanted to answer Blake’s question, but after a long pause, Sadie spoke first.

“King Stome comes across as friendly and charming on the surface. Rumors abound though of his harsh reputation behind the scenes of his reign. Tradition holds that he was very strong and successful while a young king, but something changed, and stories vary on the source of this change.”

“One of the things that made him successful while younger was his ability to rally his people. Under his youthful reign, Vex Kingdom became the strongest on the Delphine Continent. One of his first major decisions was to start and fund the Calvin School of Magic. Some fear that now in his older age, the school’s purpose has ulterior motives for the King,” said Natan sounding reluctant for having voiced his inner thoughts.  

“To secretly train some of the most promising students in black magic so that he can at all costs retain his power, and maintain his Kingdom,” said Sadie seemingly finishing the thoughts of Natan that he seemed unwilling to finish.

“Then we must be at our best,” decried Blake looking unphased by the conclusions of the two.

Sadie tried to fashion a smile in response, while Natan simply nodded all the while avoiding eye contact with either of them.

The three of them departed for the morning meal.

The training consisted of running, climbing, stretching, and a time of breathing exercises. Each activity was led by Mage Zenith. His voice seemed deeper, and Blake wondered if he had been out too late the night before, or was somehow off put by meeting Blake at the bath house. At the west end of the patio, beyond the bathhouse, was a massive and well-groomed grass field. This is where the training took place. At the edge of the field near the outdoor pool warmed by the hot springs was a fountain carved into the rock where the students could drink from.

After what seemed to be hours of training, they received their first official break. Mage Zenith had announced that instructions on hand to hand combat would follow their brief recess. The three new students seemed a bit unsure of any official or even unwritten protocols, so they waited until the very end of the line for their turn at the water fountain. Even though it wasn’t necessarily a plan of theirs, the three of them stood standing with relative privacy after they took turns quenching their thirst.

“I wonder when the inspections will take place. Am I missing something?” Blake inquired of the other two.

Natan replied first to Blake’s subtle inquiry. “I haven’t seen him yet.”

“Neither have I, but then again, I’ve never met the man,” chimed in Sadie.

“I wonder if my information is bad. Maybe it was all a rouse to see how I would react in today’s training, or some sort of ploy to ascertain my identity,” commented Blake.

Sadie wanted to ask Blake how he had come to glean this information but decided against it. She was nervous that he would inadvertently explain what might have happened between them the night before.

The three shrugged their collective shoulders and returned to the middle of the field where Mage Zenith awaited them all.

“Now is the time for hand-to-hand combat where evaluations will continue,” came the words of the old man. But as he spoke, he suddenly and dramatically removed his beard, revealing a clean shaven face. The group of students gasped. The whole morning someone had disguised himself as Mage Zenith. That person was King Stome. Seemingly out of nowhere, Mage Zenith emerged and spoke next:

“Students, we have a special guest who chose to join us for today’s training. Allow me the honor of introducing you to King Stome of Vex Empire. A vision from his youth helped found the Calvin School of Magic, and his generous funding has kept us operational ever since.”

Immediately, the students began descending to one knee, and bowing their heads low. Blake followed suit, realizing that this king differed in his demands for respect from King Adelai back in Midori Empire. As the students slowly rose to their feet again, the king spoke:

“I have good news and bad news for you all today.” The King paused dramatically looking over the forty or so students that were gathered in front him, hoping to elicit a fearful response from some of them. He then continued speaking:

“The good news is that Mage Zenith tells me that there is a talented group of Mages present among this group. The bad news is that a majority of you he describes as without hope to continue your studies here.” The King paused again, allowing his words to sink into the consciousness of the group before him. He then nodded at the Grand Master, presumably letting him know that it was now his turn to speak.

“For those of you who graduate today, you will be invited to stay and participate in further studies. Today you will pass on to the intermediate stage of mage training. And those of you whom we dismiss, you have two choices: One: You can give up magic altogether and pursue a different life. Two: Return to your communities and help with what you can, remembering that we need allies in this fight of good vs. evil.”

The King interjected which Mage Zenith seemed to take in stride. 

“We hope you choose the second choice, remembering that there are two inferior empires on our continent. The Kingdoms of Midori and Bron would seek to undermine and even destroy us.”

“Sounds like the paranoia that had been rumored about,” thought Blake to himself silently.

         The Grandmaster continued, “It’s time for the hand-to-hand combat. Remember that most of you have already been evaluated. Decisions have been made, but it’s entirely possible that a few of you could change our minds depending on how well you perform in this next exercise.”

         Mage Zenith began dividing the group into pairs as he walked among them. Blake was paired with a tall, lanky man. The man was clean shaven with short hair, trimmed to within an inch of his scalp. He displayed no smile as if he had never even seen a smile before. As Blake made eye contact with his fighting opponent, the eyes that started back at him seemed hollow and blank of any expression. Blake was unaware of what order the fights would proceed in, but it did appear that the fights would take place, one pair at a time. With approximately twenty pairs, he wondered if they would even finish before dusk.

         The King stood next to Grand Master Zenith studying intently the faces of all the students as if he was scanning carefully dozens of painted prints about to choose one at auction.

         “Each person will receive a wooden baton. This will be the only weapon you can use, but the fights are not to the death. You must pin your partner to the ground with the baton, until they tap out. Then you must let them go,” stated Mage Zenith.

         It took several hours of fighting before they were close to the final three pairs. It looked as if Natan would go first, then Sadie, and finally Blake. It was hard not to feel restless, but Blake was determined to remain focused on the task at hand.

         Natan easily defeated his opponent. In less than a minute, he had dodged two swings by his opponent, meticulously assessing his movements. It took only one strike from Natan to land a hit on the left side of his attacker’s face. Blood sprayed from a fresh gash as if it were a small water fountain, and several teeth flew to the ground. His partner stumbled backward to the ground, falling on his back. Natan jumped on top of him and held the baton to his neck with enough pressure that the other man tapped out.

         Sadie’s fight came next. Blake appeared to be more nervous than Sadie. Her opponent looked to be at least twice her size. He was certainly twice her weight. A bit stalky, but he looked as strong as an ox. He had long curly brown hair that gave him an air of one whose appearance is permanently disheveled. What reassured Blake even less was the evil grin on his face as he stared at Sadie, sizing her up. He made no attempt to disguise the fact that he was drooling at her physical appearance, slowly scanning each part of her body from her barefoot toes, moving his eyes all the way to the top of her head. He licked his lips twice in the process, once when it appeared he was stuck staring at her hips, and the a second later when he was clearly staring at her breasts.

         “I think I’ll do that again!” he declared with boldness.

         Sadie just stood there motionless, not appearing to be intimidated in the least.

         Once again, her opponent began his scan of her. Out of nowhere, the sound of a thud echoed in the field. It happened so suddenly that Blake had to replay the scene is his mind to determine what had actually taken place. Sadie had hurled her baton at the man who was undressing her with his eyes. She had thrown it with such speed, like a javelin into a wild beast. The baton struck him between the eyes. He now lay on the ground motionless, bleeding from the head. Blake wondered if he was even alive. He was certainly unconscious. Blakes eyes then turned to the King so he could assess his reaction. The King whom he guessed was a man of much composure had a wide gasp on display, his mouth open with jaw extended. The whole group was shocked. Sadie hadn’t even broken a sweat.

         “Very well,” Mage Zenith said as if words were the only thing that could break into the shock everyone was experiencing. After a long pause, he continued speaking.

         “We will conclude the fighting here. I have seen all that I need to see in order to finalize my decision.”

         Blake blurted out, “Excuse me Grand Master Zenith,” my fight has not yet taken place.

         “I know Blake, there is no need for it to take place. I have already chosen the five who will graduate, and you are not among them.”

         Blake was not sure how to respond, but there was little time to think.

         “But sir, I beg of you. What can I do to change your mind?”

         “There is nothing you…”

         The King interrupted, “Your name is Blake is it?”

         “Yes, oh King,” Blake said, bending the knee.

         “Rise up my son. Let’s make this fun.”

         Mage Zenith looked shocked but tried to conceal his disapproval.

         “I will talk with the Grandmaster privately and advocate for you to take one of the final spots. But I will do so only if you can do the following. Let’s stir the big boy of a man that was defeated by this woman.” He said this pointing at Sadie, before continuing to speak. 

“If he is alive, you must defeat him along with your opponent. Two against one with one twist.”

The King paused again for a long while, seemingly for dramatic effect.

“Your battle must be to the death. And you must summon and use some of the magic you have learned. If you are successful in these things, I will advocate for you,” King Stome concluded.

Mage Zenith walked over to the stalky man who lay on the ground. He nudged him with his foot, but the man didn’t stir. Sadie had come up behind the Grand Master, and before anyone noticed she swung her right foot hard into the motionless man’s groin. The man shook violently and let out a shriek as if awaking from a horrific nightmare.

“One way to tell if a man is still alive,” declared Sadie with arrogance.

A burst of laughter erupted from the King, and it spread quickly among the men. Blake was the only man not laughing, and neither was Sadie.

Blake knew what he would have to do in the next few minutes. He closed his eyes briefly to prepare, envisioning how he would defeat a large stalky man embarrassed by a woman in front of all his peers, and a tall lanky man with the hollow death stare. He hoped both of these observations could somehow be used to his advantage.