A Shadow in the Mist

“Dueling is the pastime of the Warden and the nobility. It is with the noble art of dueling that we may safely judge our peers’ skills. The reason we do not allow the use of skills in our duels is to prove who is the better warrior, not merely whose Relic was blessed more by the Voice. Only savages dueling to the death use skills, and such activities are beneath the dignity of the civilized man.”

- From the Art of Dueling by Sir Isaac Lee, 555 AB

Noah- Tuesday, September 3nd, 564 AB

“Noah!” a voice called, snapping me from my thoughts.

“Yes?” I asked.

Antreis, my manservant, sighed. “I was asking if you wanted any sugar in your coffee?”

“No,” I said. “I’ll take it black.”

“I’ll take mine with sugar,” Alexa, my personal Companion said, coming down the stairs, her red hair done in a long braid down her back.

“Very good mistress,” Antreis said, bowing to her, pouring both of us a glass in porcelain china cups.

“I’ve heard your duel went well,” Alexa said. “You didn’t come back until after midnight or I would have asked you about it last night.”

I shrugged. “Some of my classmates wanted to go out drinking to celebrate.”

Antreis tisked at me in disapproval. “My prince, you shouldn’t be seen engaging in that kind of public debauchery, you are a prince of the kingdom.”

I sighed. “I’m the youngest son and a bastard, no one cares about my personal reputation.”

“Of that you are wrong,” Antreis said. “Can’t you talk some sense into him?” he asked Alexa.

Alexa laid a hand on my arm. “While I don’t agree with Antreis’ prudishness, you do have a greater responsibility than you make out. Your father legitimized you. Even if you are his youngest son, you are still his son.”

I let out another sigh. “Fine, I’ll try to live up to my station more. It was just a few drinks though, we weren’t thrown out of the tavern we just left when it closed with everyone else.”

“Very well,” Antreis said, dropping the subject. “Will you be walking or using the carriage today?”

“I’ll just walk,” I said. “The academy isn’t that far away.”

I finished my coffee and left the townhouse. I walked through the streets of Mistwall, nodding as people recognized me and stepped out of my way. I still had an hour before class and wandered the academy grounds meeting old friends. I spotted a flash of golden hair and smiled as I saw the girl who had bumped into me the other day sitting on a bench alongside two other girls as they worked on some embroidery together.

My boots padded down the cobbled garden path.

“Hello,” I said as I bowed low before all three of them. “I don’t believe I’ve met all of you yet. I am Noah Hastelburh.”

The girls blushed, a response I was used to invoking.

“I am Deliah Jaisem,” the girl to the right with dark midnight black hair said, extending her hand for me.

I took the hand and brushed my lips across the back of it. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I said with a smile. I looked at the girl on the far left, a brown-haired girl whose belly showed she was late into her pregnancy.

“I’m Hannah Rineer,” she said nervously, extending her own hand, seeming unsure of the gesture.

“Delighted,” I said, turning to the girl in the middle. “We met briefly yesterday, I’m not sure if you remember.”

“Of course,” Aranea said blushing. “I don’t think we gave our full names though, I’m Aranea Le’meer.”

I took her hand, kissing the back of it. “Well, I hope to be seeing all three of you more frequently, welcome to the academy.”

I left the three girls as I headed towards the muster yard. The sweet smell of the girl’s perfume had been intoxicating, but it was the golden-haired girl who fascinated me. I’d met plenty of beautiful women, my father introducing me to many eligible young ladies, but Aranea was easily among the most beautiful I’d ever met.

Stepping into the Storm School I looked at the depictions of lighting along the walls and floor. My classmates all greeted me as I walked in. It wasn’t just my birth that gave me this level of respect, but also my skill as a duelist. There was nothing quite like the thrill of the duel, and I’d been training in it since I could walk.

“Noah,” Amberlant called out and I turned and saluted.

“At ease,” he said. “You're being assigned with Sergeant Acheron to teach dueling to the first years.”

“Can I ask why sir?” I asked, pushing back my irritation.

“Because you’re the best student I have, hell you’re the best student in the school,” Amberlant said. “I can’t teach you more than the tutors your father has given you. There is only one way to learn once you’ve mastered something, and that is to teach it.”

“I would prefer to just practice what I know more if I can,” I said.

“Denied,” Amberlant said. “You may be a prince but you’re also a Warden. It’s not just about what’s best for you but what’s best for the church.”

“Yes sir,” I said.

“It will take place after twelve-bells in the northeast yard,” Amberlant said.

I sighed, but went to my regular training. I headed into the spawn pit beneath the castle, a place reserved for second year students and above. A massive pit several hundred feet deep, a spiral staircase ran around its edge, wide enough for three Wardens to fight abreast on. Unharvested djinn corpses were thrown into the base of it. From there the corruption would merge, spawning more djinn from it. This was one of the few ways it was possible to farm the rarer types of relics like storm, fire, and sun.

It was also a way for us to work on leveling up. We couldn’t advance our armor here, after we killed a djinn we were required to throw them back into the spawn pit. Even with that conservation the spawn pits needed to be refreshed frequently to replenish the corruption absorbed on each kill. I watched from the top as younger Wardens fought in small groups as djinn climbed on the stairs or flew up the shaft. They were quickly killed but three or four djinn were spawning every minute.

My class’s turn came up and for the next hour we kept switching out, using up our ether then sitting down to recharge. After that we worked on starting to learn to use our skills without voice activation for an hour. Twelve bells rang and I sighed but headed over to the north-east yard.

There were twenty students there in total and I saluted Sergeant Acheron.

“Noah Hastelburh, reporting to assist in teaching,” I said, hoping he’d tell me to just leave.

“Good,” he said. “Glad to see I didn’t have to track you down. These boys are all warmed up already. They are all here for different reasons but I’m assigning you to twelve of them in particular. They were the only ones who failed to win any of their duels.”

“Yes sir,” I said.

“Attention!” Acheron shouted and the group of young pages snapped up straight. “You’re all here for one reason. You aren’t up to the academy’s standard of fighting. We’re going to work on that today. Noah Hastelburh is the best duelist in the academy so he will be assisting me in whipping you all into shape.”

“We will start by seeing exactly what I’m working with. Each of you pair up and get into a circle.”

They all paired off quickly and were soon standing across from the other.

“Begin!” Acheron shouted.

I watched as they started fighting. Most of their problems were evident to me at a glance, some were too timid, others too aggressive. Acheron pointed out the twelve I’d be working with and I could see they were indeed the worst of the lot. One by one their duels ended and half of them stood with their shoulders slightly drooped, having lost another match.

“Again!” Acheron commanded. “Pick someone different and pair up.”

They fought again and I noticed some slight improvements from all except one Warden who wielded a dagger. Not a dagger, I corrected myself, a broken sword. He was too timid when he should be aggressive and didn’t take advantage of openings when they presented themselves.

“So who is in the most need of work?” Acheron asked me.

“Him,” I said, pointing to the Warden I’d been watching.

Acheron nodded. “Then let’s start working on him, Le’meer! Get over here!”

I turned my head in surprise when I heard the name as the Warden with the broken sword stepped forwards. He snapped to attention before us.

“Why is your performance so poor?” Acheron asked with harsh directness.

“My weapon isn’t suited for dueling and I’m still adjusting to using it in a duel,” he said.

“How long have you been practicing dueling?” I asked. “I can see you’re level twelve, so you’ve been a Warden for a while at least.”

“I’ve been working on training with Sir Rineer and hunting djinn,” he said. “I don’t like dueling.”

“You don’t like dueling?” I asked, unable to believe my ears.

A Warden who didn’t like dueling was like a fish that didn’t like water. This was what we did. For him to not like dueling was something I couldn’t understand, there had to be something wrong with him.

“Well, you need to learn to at least meet our standards,” Acheron said, moving past what I considered the major issue. “As it is, you are currently far beneath the minimum required for a Warden in this Academy.”

Cain

“Sorry sir,” I said, though inside I felt a bubbling anger.

Of course, I wasn’t doing well. I was using a dagger against people with spears and full-length swords; it was like everyone just ignored that.

“Does my criticism bother you?” Sergeant Acheron asked, somehow sensing my anger even though I pushed it down.

“No sir,” I said.

“Well it should,” he snapped his breath hot in my face. “You will be here for quite some time until you improve. For the next hour I have with you today you will fight non-stop, and this will continue every day until you win at least one duel.”

“Yes sir,” I said, pushing down the anger inside me.

I stepped into the circle and an opponent was chosen for me. Fight after fight I lost. I got in a few hits but I was never able to push them out of the ring or to beat them to the ground to get them to surrender. I could feel the judging eyes of my peers and pushed aside the growing frustration. The shame at my inadequacy weighed on me, and I was grateful when the hour was over and I was able to leave.

Enoch and I rode out again but I wasn’t in the mood for talking, my humor soured by the scores of defeats I had been put through.

“Was it that bad?” Enoch asked me.

I sighed. “I’m never going to be a duelist; my weapon doesn’t have the reach and I don’t care enough about it. It’s not why I became a Warden.”

“Why did you become a Warden then?” Enoch asked.

“To kill djinn and protect civilization,” I said. “I don’t care about the titles and fame other Wardens compete for, I’m happy to live a simple life and do my duty.”

“You don’t care about glory at all?” Enoch asked with some disbelief.

“I want to be like my father,” I said. “Everyone knows my father. He’s the hero of the war, but he never sought any of that out. He simply did his duty, circumstances put him in a situation where he was needed, and he acted upon it. Since then, my father has made no grand tours of the kingdom or accepted high stations.”

“I’ve only heard of him in stories,” Enoch said. “How he stood against a three-hundred Wardens and defended the pass from the Caswain army.”

“There were a hundred Wardens, and he only fought a duel with their prince,” I said.

“So duels are important,” Enoch said with a laugh.

I let out another sigh. “If I could do a real duel I’d be fine, those let you use your skills. If I don’t have my skills I’m just a man with a dagger.”

“Just think of it as advanced training,” Enoch said. “The more the odds are against you the better you’ll get.”

“I’ll try to keep that mindset,” I agreed.

We stopped at the edge of the next patch of fog land and dismounted. Removing our horses’ bridles, we let them graze freely as we entered the Mist.

Quest

Type:

Search

Difficulty:

Lethal

Search the Mist and find the Soul Forge to upgrade your interface.

Reward: Soul Anvil, 15,000 XP

Yes/No

I dismissed the quest, and we moved deeper in.

The ground was rocky here as we entered the foothills next to the mountain. Most fog lands filled the cities of the old world, but the Mistwall Mountains were mostly free of those ruins except near its base and no one knew why so much of its slopes were covered in the etheric mist.

Enoch and I climbed the ravines and gullies, and stopped as we heard a low snarling. Ducking down, we crawled up to the ledge of a cliff and looked over. The mouth of a cave jutted out, and a massive dog stood at its mouth fighting against a swarm of earth djinn. There were two dozen of them but they were all imps and beasts, none having evolved to soldier yet.

“Is that a dire wolf?” I whispered to Enoch, looking at the massive canine.

“No,” Enoch whispered back, shaking his head. “It’s just a wild dire hound by the looks of it, I don’t know why it’s not running away.”

“I think it's female,” I said. “Probably protecting its pups.”

“Should we step in?” Enoch asked, but I could tell he was itching to help the dog.

“Our quest is to kill djinn,” I agreed. “But remember, just cause it’s a dog, don’t forget it’s also a wild fell beast.”

Quest

Type:

Hunt

Difficulty:

Moderate

You have come across a group of djinn that endanger nearby humans with their presence. Exterminate them and purify their remains to ensure safety for nearby settlements.

Reward: D Grade Gloves, 100 XP

I accepted the quest and Enoch and I pushed off the ground, getting to our feet. We jumped down and hit the back ranks of the djinn.

“Lunar Smite, Cyclone Strike!” I said, spinning into their midst.

23 XP gained; 5 Corruption absorbed into your Core, 8 ether regained

My attack cut through five imps and I stepped forward with my Lunar Smite still active. Enoch’s wind phalanx stabbed forwards, but it only killed four imps. Earth djinn were resistant to wind damage and a few imps and all the beasts it hit turned around, only partially damaged. I cut forward in a wide sweep, my extended etheric blade cutting out halfway through my slice.

19 XP gained; 5 Corruption absorbed into your Core, 8 ether regained

I cut through three imps and a single beast, then blocked the heavy swing of a foreleg on my shield. Not all the djinn had noticed us yet since they were still locked in combat with the dire hound, the pack's attention split between us and the fell beast but the signal would soon spread through their ranks.

“Lunar Smite,” I said, reactivating my skill and slashing out as the djinn packed themselves around me.

A heavy forelimb impacted my thigh but the leather guards the Voice had given me as quest reward helped to significantly reduce the damage dealt to me.

Type:

Leg-Guards

Grade:

C

Reduces total damage taken by 35% when striking parts of your body covered by this armor.

Durability:

200/200

Another strike hit me on the back as the djinn mobbed me. I still felt the hit, but the new breastplate I’d taken out of my inventory reduced this damage as well.

Type:

Bark-skin Breastplate

Grade:

A

Reduces total damage taken by 65% when striking parts of your body covered by this armor.

Once every five minutes you can activate Bark-skin which will reduce all physical damage you receive by 50 for the next thirty seconds.

Durability:

500/500

“Bark-skin,” I said.

The hits felt like nothing as they rained down on me and I started hacking out around me, reactivating Lunar Smite and Hurricane Strike. I cut into the djinn all around me and they dropped as I took out a dozen in a single second as I moved and spun through their ranks.

67 XP gained; 13 Corruption absorbed into your Core, 23 ether regained

I tried mentally activating Fog Form as the hits came at me, but I didn’t even feel fear as the attacks came at me and did no damage, thanks to the bark-skin effect of my breastplate. Enoch stabbed with his spear as he pushed his way towards me, the djinn already reduced to a quarter of their numbers. I stabbed with my dagger and punched through the brown and grey mask of an earth imp.

I got to the mouth of the cave and found the dire hound dead. Enoch joined me and we looked around at all the dead djinn.

“I guess we couldn’t save it,” I said, looking down at the dead dire hound.

A whimpering in the cave drew our attention and a single pup crawled forward. Its big eyes wide as it stumbled on paws far too big for its tiny body. My eyes adjusted and I could see the bodies of its litter, it appeared to be the single survivor. Enoch knelt down and the pup shied away from him. His hand darted out and he grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, holding it against his chest. Despite being only a puppy, the thing was already the size of a large hare.

“What should we do with it?” Enoch asked, stroking its head as it slowly calmed down.

“I can’t keep it,” I said. “I don’t think the academy would let me for one, and Aranea’s and my apartment is too small for it.”

“I’m not sure if my father would let me keep it either,” Enoch admitted. “It would likely be killed by anyone else.”

“Keep it for now and we’ll figure it out later,” I said.

I bent down and started the process of harvesting the djinn. Enock went around touching his spear to the corpses as he harvested his half. We didn’t get anything besides monster cores off them, and we only harvested the corruption from the dire hound and her pups. The skin wasn’t something either of us felt comfortable taking off a dog.

30 Corruption absorbed by your Relic, 30 Corruption absorbed by our Core

Quest Succeeded

You have successfully completed the Quest, Hunt, Moderate, you have exterminated and cleansed the world of these djinn’s corruption.

Reward: D grade gloves have been added to your inventory. 100 XP gained

We wandered the rest of the Mist, the hound’s whining making me nervous he’d give our position away if we came across something, but we scoured the rest of the fog land without encountering anything. We left the Mist and remounted our horses. They snorted at the scent of the dire hound pup, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as they had reacted to the skitterer corpses. We rode back to Rineer’s homestead. Enoch carried the pup around back and put him in an empty chicken coop. He put a saddle blanket down and went inside, coming back with a slice of meat and a glass bottle filled with cream.

Enoch cut up the meat and mixed it with the milk, putting it in a bowl in front of the puppy. It sniffed at it before tentatively taking a lick, then burying its face into the meat.

“I’m glad it’s old enough to start eating meat,” Enoch said. “It looks like it’s about five weeks old, but I can’t be sure with its size.”

“Him, not it,” I said. “What are you thinking of naming him?”

“I haven’t thought about it yet,” Enoch said, studying the puppy as it tore into its meal.

It had rust red fur with black stripes along its flanks and legs. Its muzzle and ears were black and it had a white underbelly. It looked comical with its massive paws but they just showed how big the dog would get when it was full grown. It probably wasn’t going to get to the size of a dire wolf but he hadn’t been the runt of his litter.

“What about Tiger?” Enoch asked.

“It’s a dog, not a cat,” I said. “You might also want to give it a name that doesn’t make it seem like more of a predator than it is. Dire hounds are allowed but you know how nervous people get about any fell beasts around humans.”

“You’re right,” Enoch agreed. “He needs a name that conveys strength but nobility. Hero.”

“It sounds a lot friendlier,” I agreed.

“You hear that boy?” Enoch asked, ruffling the dog's head. It growled while focusing intently on its meal. “You’re going to be a hero.”

Aranea

I sat with Deliah and Hannah in the little group we’d been forming. We were joined by several of Deliah’s friends, Jasmine and Clara as well as a few of our classmates who had come to get some advice from her on purging the corruption from their system.

“I just didn’t expect it to hurt so much,” Clara said.

“Didn’t you go through pain endurance training?” I asked.

“Of course,” Clara agreed, but it wasn’t anything in comparison. Just pricking with needles until I stopped flinching.”

“That's it?” Deliah asked.

“What did you have to do?” Jasmine asked.

“My mother put me in a tub and would bring it to an almost boil while I was in it until I could stay in for three minutes,” Deliah said.

“The other girls and I had to sit on fire ant nests,” I said. “Or hold our hands over the flame of a candle.”

“We had to walk over beds of coals at my convent,” Hanah said.

Clara and Jasmine paled.

“Isn’t that a bit barbaric?” Clara asked.

“It’s necessary,” Deliah said. “Your teachers didn’t do you any favors by coddling you. The pain we felt doing that isn’t even as bad as drawing corruption from our core, but at least it prepared us.”

“So, what do we do?” Jasmine asked dejectedly.

“You need to start acclimating yourself to the pain,” I said. “Draw out the corruption from your core every day and push your limits. You can also practice some pain endurance lessons in your free time.”

“Are there even any fire ant nests around here?” Clara asked.

“It doesn’t have to be that,” I said. “I’d probably start with just holding your hand above a candle flame until you can’t take the pain before doing more.”

I pushed the gambeson I was sewing into her basket and stood up. The other girls all gathered their things, and we walked down the garden path. I pulled my woolen shawl around my shoulders; the air was starting to get a bit chilly with the setting sun and the onset of autumn.

We entered the warm halls of the castle, and I hugged Hannah goodbye as she headed back home outside of the Academy. I pushed open the door to our apartment and found Cain already there waiting for me. He pulled me into an embrace and then spun me around. My back pressed into his chest as he presented me with a bouquet of flowers.

“They’re beautiful!” I said taking them and smelling the sweet floral scent. “I’ve never seen anything like them, what are they?”

“They’re called mist lilies,” Cain said. “They only grow in the Mist and even then, can be pretty rare. I knew you’d like them.”

I went to the cupboard; I didn’t have a vase but took out a pitcher and filled it with water from the pump at the sink. I placed the flowers on the table. I grabbed Cain again and hugged him tight, my head laying against his chest.

“How was your day today?” I asked him.

“Alright,” Cain said with a sigh. “I had to go to extra training for dueling, I think the instructor and his assistant have it out for me.”

“Who’s his assistant?” I asked.

“Prince Noah Hastelburh,” Cain said. “Apparently he’s the best duelist in the whole academy, he’s won the dueling competitions for three years in a row.”

“He’s a prince?” I asked, shocked.

“Yes,” Cain said, not noticing my shock. “He’s probably been tutored in dueling his whole life and I get the sense he doesn’t like me.”

I didn’t say anything else as we sat down to eat. Cain took the dishes and washed them as I dried and put them back in the cupboards.

“Would you play for me again?” I asked.

“Sure,” Cain said and went to our bedroom bringing out his flute. I sat at the table, bringing out my basket and sewing as soft notes drifted from the ivory flute. It was dark outside the glass of our window and the air felt cold as I pulled off my dress and slipped naked under the covers. I shivered for a moment before Cain’s body pressed against mine and heat filled and surrounded me.