Callie's Heroes

PART I - A NEW ARTIST

Vanis left the bathhouse feeling much better than he had going in. He hadn’t been the bloody mess that Pixyl, Callie and Tazrok were, but with the amount of mana he exhausted casting his Nether Hold spell, he had completely soaked his clothing with sweat and would have surely smelled ripe in no time. He was still a little shaky from the near mana exhaustion, but thankfully, Pixyl had taken control of the fight before he was completely dry.

He’d been dwelling for some time on the spell he had cast. It was the first time he’d ever cast that spell, and Vanis was shocked at how quickly his mana reserves had drained away. On some level, he knew it would happen, but didn’t expect it to happen in mere seconds. How was a combat Warlock supposed to be successful if they couldn’t hold something captive for more than ten seconds? Of course, he knew the answer - practice. With practice came efficiency, and with efficiency you became a better combatant. It was really that simple. Still, he was still exhausted from the drain even now, and it would still be a while before his mana reserves were at a comfortable level again without a potion. It would be a waste to ask for one though, time would take care of the issue.

While he had showered, his thoughts drifted to the fight earlier and to the Fiend that Dunni had summoned. The truth was that Dunni had actually done a great job summoning the Demon. The spell was well-crafted, especially for what was Dunni’s first time. The rift to the Nether formed properly and the Fiend was pulled through without delay. The fool had simply not put down a Ritual Circle first, either because he didn’t remember to, or more likely didn’t know he needed to. At that point, the Demon was unbound and not happy at all. Vanis chuckled as he imagined the conversation that Dunni must be having with Trainer Terrin, and found himself wondering what the penalty for his stupidity might be. It would likely depend entirely on Dunni taking responsibility and learning a lesson from his foolishness.

Something else besides the exploits of a foolish Warlock had Vanis worried, though. Something that could be nothing, or it could be something serious. As he had left the bathhouse, Tazrok had still been in his shower stall washing Pixyl’s blood off. But he was more than just washing, he was scrubbing, hard. Very hard. In fact, he was nearly in a panic about it, despite the fact that there was no remaining blood visible. Vanis had heard the Ogre mumbling, but couldn’t make out what was being said over the running water and Tazrok seemed to be completely focused on his task. Vanis had tried to ask what was wrong, but the Ogre just shot a glare at him and snapped a flat “I am fine. Leave me be.”

So Vanis had left, but with worry for his new friend hanging heavy on his mind. He debated going straight to the bunkhouse, which he should do with the bundle of clothing in his hands anyway, or maybe tracking down Major Celeste to seek advice regarding Tazrok. Vanis looked around the area again and saw no officers, and with a weary sigh, he decided to go back to Ogre House to get advice from Lena, as she had known the Ogre longer. He entered to find Lena pacing stiffly back and forth across the floor.

“Callie?” she said immediately as she looked up in surprise. “Oh, it’s you.”

“Sorry. Pixyl mentioned she wanted to soak in the hot waters,” Vanis stated, setting his dirty clothing in a basket under his bed, “for her wing. I suspect she and Callie will be gone for a bit.”

“Oh,” Lena said, slightly crestfallen.

“She will be fine, Lena. They both will,” Vanis assured the Elf. He could see the worry in her eyes, though, and vowed to pull her aside at the first opportunity to attempt to calm her intense mothering nature that was so evident now that he knew to look for it. Hopefully, reassuring her that Callie was an adult would be sufficient to get Lena to ease up a little.

“Where is Tazrok?” Xin asked.

“He was covered in quite a bit of Pixyl’s blood, and needed more time. But mentioning him, I have a concern and I want your thoughts; both of you.”

“What is wrong?” Lena asked.

Vanis ran his hand through his hair and blew out his cheeks. “I don’t think Tazrok is handling what happened very well. He appears quite shaken by the experience, actually. Before he demanded I leave him be, he was mumbling to himself and maddingly scrubbing his hands and arms, even though he’d long since removed any blood.”

Lena cocked her head. “That is odd.”

“It almost feels like some form of panic attack,” Vanis said. “It’s not something I would expect from him, though. Not just because of his size, but he’s trained in the way of an Ogre Warrior and has been all his life. Honestly, if it is indeed some form of panic that is happening, I have no experience in what I might say to him.”

“Surely he’s seen blood before,” Lena said, “and combat wounds. Why would this happen to him now?”

“You have seen how much he is protective of the Little Ones,” Xin said. “The Pixie was hurt very much and he was forced to heal her quickly without knowing how to do so. I could see it leaving one in such a state. The worry and the pressure of the moment can leave a lasting impression.”

“What should we do?” Vanis asked. “Should we alert someone? The Major?”

Lena shook her head. “Nothing yet. Let’s give him some time alone. Hopefully relaxing in the shower will do him some good and he can put his thoughts in order. You could go check on him in a little while if he doesn’t come back. The Major will be here to get him before long, as well, if it’s still an issue come then.”

Vanis nodded, a concerned look still on his face.

“That does bring up something I’d also like to talk about, though,” Lena said, changing the topic.

“What’s that?” Vanis replied, happy to be broken out of his ongoing concern for Tazrok.

“Pixyl. Specifically, I want to talk about what happened in that fight. What the hell was that?”

“I don’t understand,” Vanis said.

“Where did she learn to fight like that? There’s no way her skill comes from just ‘watching people’. It comes from being in combat. A lot of combat, for that matter. How does a Pixie fight hand-to-hand that much?”

“Trainer Olin said her technique was ‘sloppy’,” Xin reminded everyone.

“It was very sloppy by the standards of any sword expert, but it was still exacting. But she wasn’t just fighting that Demon, Vanis, she was also showing off to the crowd, and she was enjoying doing it. All those jumps and flips and rolls? Totally unnecessary if she was fighting with proper training. By the stars, she was grinning the entire fight!”

Vanis simply shrugged. “Honestly, I was in a daze from channeling that spell far longer than I should have. I wasn’t paying attention to her technique, Lena. I was more concerned with the Demon landing a strike, or turning on someone in the crowd. She seemed to have everything well in control.”

“That’s just it. She was never even touched by that thing until she had it cut her suppression band off on purpose. She charged in without a second thought, even knowing her swords weren’t going to work. It was almost as if it was something casual for her; something fun. First, that’s not normal, but second, it speaks to something about her background we don’t know.”

Vanis rubbed his chin as he sat down on his bunk, remembering the Pixie’s confident, grinning words to him; ‘I’ve got this’ and then demanding he let the Demon go so she could engage. He remembered that look of tenacity in her eyes when he finally dropped the Nether Hold. Or was that the look of absolute confidence?

“I have very little experience with sword techniques,” Xin said. “But Pixyl surely demonstrated surprising skills that I would not expect from one so small, no matter her class.”

Lena held out a hand towards Xin. “See? Even she saw it, Vanis. You both think I have a mysterious past? I guarantee you that Pixyl’s is far more interesting than mine could possibly be.”

Vanis gave that idea a little more thought, before finally arriving at one simple conclusion. “So?” he asked Lena.

“So!” she sputtered in return.

“Exactly, Lena. So what? Each of us has our own past, but you heard the Legate yesterday. We are all just recruits now. Our pasts do not matter. Let’s assume you’re right. Let’s assume Pixyl has some kind of mystery combat training. What difference does it make? Trainer Olin will hone it properly, so that ‘sloppiness’ you are so worried about will be driven from her. Maybe she has an advantage over the other Bladeweavers in her group, or even other recruits for a week or two in terms of experience and skill. But otherwise, her past simply doesn’t matter.”

“But …” Lena began to respond.

“Vanis is right,” Xin added. “It does not matter, except as an interesting thing to know about her. It doesn’t affect you or I or anyone else. Unless something from her past comes for her, and that would be foolish given the combat capabilities of the people in this camp, it is irrelevant.”

Lena looked gape-mouthed at the other two. “You don’t want to know?”

“It’s her mystery,” Vanis said with a shrug. “If you truly want to solve it, ask her. She’ll either tell you or she won’t. But she’s known us for less than a day, Lena. You can’t expect her to open up in just that short of a time.”

“Callie did!”

“Callie is … Callie. I don’t think one could expect anyone else to be like Callie,” Vanis said with a smirk. “Give Pixyl the space she needs. Show her you’re a friend. Your mystery will solve itself in time.”

Lena threw up her hands in obvious frustration and started to pace again, stopping next to the table and mirror. “Xin, are these your Totem drawings? I hadn’t noticed them before.”

“They are, but I do not remember drawing them,” Xin responded, standing. “I have not even looked at the results yet.”

Vanis rose from his bed and stepped aside to make room for Xin to join Lena. “Xin, you should know, some of your drawings are quite remarkable,” Vanis added.

“They are?” the Lizardkin replied, surprise in her voice.

“They are, Xin,” Lena said, holding up a detailed drawing of Xin’s totem showing four abstract faces and a vaguely round shape at the top of the totem, each reflecting one of the five Shaman elements. “This one is gorgeous.”

“It is? But, I have no artistic ability,” Xin said, puzzlement in her voice, as she took the page. Sure enough, drawn in fine charcoal was a flawless representation of Xin’s Totem. Every curve, every line, every crevice was detailed, save the faces which were more amorphous in detail. Still, each face seemed to come to life, roaring out one of the elements of a Shaman, with a beacon of Life at the top. As Xin examined the parchment, she lightly touched it with her claw, trying to remember how she had made such a thing of beauty. As she gazed into the eyes of those faces, the image seemed to mesh and meld with an identical image forming in her mind, as if puzzle pieces were coming together and locking into place. It was a disorienting feeling and Xin quickly had to sit on Vanis’s bunk.

“Are you alright?” Lena asked, looking through more of the pages.

“Just a strange feeling came over me as I saw this drawing,” Xin said. “I cannot properly explain, but it was very odd. It is as if this,” Xin gestured towards the picture, “has been somehow etched into my very being. It is strange and very unnerving.”

“Didn’t your trainer mention these drawings would help with your Totem summoning? Maybe this ‘etching’ is just part of that process,” Vanis suggested.

“Xin, some of these drawings aren’t very good, honestly, but others are quite lovely, see?” Lena held out another image of Xin’s totem that was barely a stick design with wobbly lines and gross representations of what was on the perfect image Xin held.

“Callie and I were looking at them earlier,” Vanis said. “I think we left the order reversed. The simple ones were the first you drew, and then your technique improved as you continued. In fact, that one you are holding, Lena, is my favorite.”

In Lena’s hand was another amazing picture. It was a landscape showing Xin’s Totem standing in solitude in the middle of a field. Behind it, the sun appeared to be setting behind a row of mountains, which caused the lone Totem to cast an eerie shadow. Yet, the shadow wasn’t an image of the pole, it was in fact a creature of some kind. A creature of terror and strength. Whatever it was, it had long claws and its eyes seemed to blaze with fire, despite the picture being all done in black charcoal. But, as scary as the creature was, it seemed to be benevolent and non-threatening at the same time.

Xin took the image from Lena and examined it, running her claw carefully along the mountain ridges and then the creature’s outline. “I believe this is a Fire Elemental,” Xin said. “But I do not know why I would know that. I have heard of them, but I have never seen one, or even heard one described.”

“Are Shamans able to summon elementals?” Vanis asked. “Do you recall from any of your reveals earlier today?”

Xin shrugged. “There were so many. I thought they would never end. I do not recall one for Fire Elementals, though. But many of my skills were element-based, so perhaps at a higher tier? I will have to ask my trainer, or at least ask the nice one.” Xin handed the picture to Vanis. “A gift.”

“Why, thank you!” Vanis said, surprised. He accepted the parchment, but then he paused. “Xin, keep it with you for training tomorrow. If you do not not need it, then I would be honored to accept it from you.” He returned it to the Lizardkin.

Xin nodded, handing both pictures back to Lena to sit with the others. The Lizardkin tried to imagine such images somehow coming from her hands, and just couldn’t see how it was possible Obviously, it was influenced by the Symbiote, but now Xin was curious.

“Excuse me,” Xin said. Replacing Lena at the table, she set down a blank piece of parchment. In one clawed hand, she grasped a piece of drawing charcoal and began to work. She drew very fast and very simple, purely from memory. Lena and Vanis both tried to peek over her shoulder, but space was limited so they couldn’t see anything. After about a minute, Xin stopped, cocked her scaled head, and was utterly stunned.

“What did you draw?” Lena asked, sensing the puzzlement emanating off of Xin.

The Lizardkin turned and held up the parchment for the others to see. It was a simple drawing, if only due to the limited time that was spent doing it. Before Lena and Vanis was an accurate rendition of Lena’s head and face. It was uncanny in some of the details; the dimples of her nose, the crease of confusion that often appeared on her forehead, the way a lock of hair had come undone and was hanging in front of her left ear. Xin’s drawing captured it all.

“I do not understand,” Xin said. “I have never been an artist.”

Lena took the page from Xin, and then reached up to touch the wayward lock of her own hair. “You are now, Xin. This is … amazing.”

“What’s amazing?” Callie asked as she and Pixyl entered the house. Both carried bundles of bloody clothing, Pixyl’s being the reddest of the two..

Lena didn’t know what to say, and simply turned what she was holding to face the newcomers.

“I somehow can draw,” Xin said with a surprised shrug.

“Did you just do that?” Callie asked

Xin nodded. “Just now as a test. I was unsure if I was only able to draw last night, but apparently it continues.”

“I was looking at your totem drawings earlier. It looked like they really improved as you went along,” Callie said, putting her blood-covered clothing into her empty basket from the morning.

“We were discussing that too,” Lena said. “Honestly, we’re all at a loss for what to think.”

Pixyl, who had not yet seen Xin’s Totem drawings, had a confused look on her face, and quickly asked to be filled in. Xin shuffled through her drawings, putting the worst of the lot on the top and the rest in order, before handing the pile to Pixyl. As she paged through them, her eyes got wider and wider at the noticeable increase in quality. Everyone watched, taking some small delight in the Pixie’s growing surprise. Finally, she handed the stack back, stopping briefly for one more look at the final picture. “Th-th-those are great.”

“Keep at it, Xin,” Callie said. “I’ve always wanted to be a visual artist of some kind, but never seemed to have that spark. I’m super jealous.”

Xin couldn’t blush, her skin color didn’t react to emotion in that manner. But still, you could tell she was feeling some sheepish embarrassment about the whole thing. At the same time she was enjoying the praise. She would need to find a way to keep drawing, somehow.

“Where’s Tazrok?” Callie asked.

“Maybe I should go check on him?” Vanis suggested. “Perhaps you can let them know what’s going on, Lena?”

“Sure, you go do that.”

As Vanis walked out the door, Callie turned a fearful gaze to Lena. “What’s happened to Tazrok?”