A Warrior's Path Page 24

  Indeed, the Swift One did not complete the lesson that day. The early evening had brought a weary and frustrated young student back to the small hut, clutching the down feather between his fingers. But Urietsin was determined, so the next morning found him back at the circle to try some more. He was no more successful that day than the day before. Still, he would not be discouraged. Every morning he awoke early and went straight to his meditation. Once in a while Kiusu would come to check on his progress and to offer the occasional insight.

  The resolute young warrior did make some improvement, though limited. After about a week, he was able to sit on the boulder all day without chasing after the feather. He had come to sense the currents in the wind, and whenever one strong enough to carry the feather away approached, he simply placed down his hand and held it in place. This did not turn out to be as beneficial a development as he had originally thought. Sitting on a hard boulder all day without getting up to stretch was not gentle on his body. Every morning his backside hurt as though he had slid down to the very foot of the mountain upon it. Aside from that, reaching out to catch the feather before it flew away was just as distracting to him as running off after it. None of these things, frustrating though they were, kept Urietsin from waking at first light and going at the exercise with a fresh perspective and that indomitable resolve.

  Days slipped by into weeks as the young warrior practiced over and over again. It was a cool day in late autumn that broke the monotony of his daily routine. The air was unusually still, and Urietsin sat before his feather with the distinct intuition that this would be the day. He would master this lesson now or never.

  Staring at the feather, he noticed that it barely moved at all, quite a departure from the past few weeks. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, the customary beginning to all his meditations now. This struck him as strange, now that he thought about it. He always used to meditate with his eyes open and focused on something. Kiusu had taught him to internalize that focus by closing his eyes and concentrating on his breathing. Now it occurred to him that it might be to his advantage to combine the two methods.

  Urietsin opened his eyes and looked again at the feather. He took a deep lungful of cleansing air and focused on the little tuft of down before him. Inhaling, he followed the breath inward to find that part of himself that was so much more aware than his conscious being. As he exhaled, he watched the soft barbs frolic in the currents of his breath. He centered on the random undulation of those little tendrils and how they reacted to his breathing. Entranced by the interplay, the Swift One eventually found himself fully aware of the nature of the interaction between the feather and its environment. He could see the tiny particles of his exhalation bouncing against the surface area of the down and how it caused the light material to react accordingly. He felt as though the feather were another part of himself, and he was experiencing all of the associated sensations of such an extension.

  He gradually became conscious of something that had been bubbling just beneath the surface of his comprehension. The feather really was a part of him, as was everything in existence. He was connected to it and all else by virtue of being a part of the multiverse. With this realization he suddenly understood the other way this lesson was different. With all the other lessons, especially the ones where he reached out with his mind, there had been an endless call all around him from every channel that ran through existence. He had not heard the call in this lesson until just now. His consciousness pleaded with him once again to take advantage of this interconnectedness in an infinite number of ways. He blocked out the enticing distractions of infinity and held his focus only on the feather. He knew he was close now, and he would not let anything deter him.

  He easily moved this object of his determination and recent frustration up into the air to float before him. He was almost surprised at how effortlessly this was coming to him, but such surprise would have been another distraction. He held his concentration and continued to move the feather around playfully, making it dance this way and that. He noticed, as it danced around, that its barbs would flail wildly depending on how quickly he moved it through the air, and this brought another idea to him.

  He brought the feather before him again and watched it. He could see it reacting still to the subtle currents of his breath and the occasional slight motion of the mountain air. Reaching out with nothing but his thought, he froze the waving barbs where they were. Though he knew that air was still moving around it, the feather held perfectly immobile, as though suspended in time.

  At this point, he could not help but feel a bit excited about his progress, and in that moment of celebration, the feather was gone. He felt something else there. Three sorrowful voices rose up above the calls of infinity and a pair of concerned eyes gazed upon him from the interconnectedness. He started to feel light headed, and he understood that he had gotten too distracted. As much as he wanted to seek out the spirits of the voices he heard and experience all of existence, he had to regain control and shift his perception back to normal on his own terms.

  He opened his eyes to see Kiusu standing before him with his fist out. He was beaming. The old man turned up his hand and opened it. Lying on his palm was the feather. Just then, the wind started up quite abruptly. Kiusu closed his hand around the downy tuft.

  “You were doing well,” he praised the student excitedly.

  Urietsin nodded. “I became distracted, though,” he replied.

  “Yes,” the old man agreed, “but do not be discouraged. You have made much progress today. The more you practice, the better you will be able to disregard distractions.”

  His student looked pensive. “I felt something, seishin, just then, in my meditation,” he said.

  “What was it?” Kiusu asked uncomfortably.

  Urietsin thought about it for a moment. “We are all one.”

  A chill went up the old man's spine. His relief was immeasurable. “Yes,” he replied.

  “What comes next?” the young warrior asked with an eager seriousness.

  Kiusu chuckled. “Patience, Swift One. You have worked very hard on this exercise and have only just begun to understand its subtleties. There is yet more you can take from it.”

  “Oh,” came the disappointed reply.

  The old man patted Urietsin on the back. “Come. Let us have lunch,” he suggested.

  Urietsin's stomach grumbled in agreement. He hopped down from the stone and followed Kiusu to go get some food. Though he was disappointed that there was no new exercise, he was pleased with his progress today, and he let his gladness distract him from the memory of the voices. He wondered if tomorrow morning the wind would hold its breath as it did today. Regardless, he was confident that he could achieve similar results, considering the headway he had made. Let the wind blow tomorrow. Let it gust and howl. Urietsin would not be fazed.

  * * *

  Komeris and Reniu rode slowly through the valley, keeping near the trees whenever they could. According to Marui, they were very near the end of the path through the mountains. Indeed, for the first time since they began this journey, they could see no more mountains rising up behind the ones between which they were currently riding. On either side of them craggy peaks loomed, the last guardians of this mountain pass.

  As the rounded what seemed to be the tallest peak of the whole chain, Reniu put out a hand. The two men came to a stop.

  “What is it?” asked Komeris.

  Reniu pointed. “There, captain,” he said.

  Komeris peered into the distance. On the horizon, he spotted what had caught Reniu’s sharp eye. It was the corner of a stone wall. The captain nodded to his companion as they both continued cautiously ahead, pulses quickened by the thoughts inspired in them by this first glimpse of civilization since setting out.

  They rode for several more minutes before the curve of the mountainside had pulled far enough to the side to reveal what seemed to be the edge of a city. It had, perhaps, once been surrounded by the stone w
all, but all that remained now was the crumbled corner they had first seen. If not for the thin lines of smoke streaming from chimneys, the two men might have thought this city abandoned.

  “We should get higher,” Komeris suggested.

  Reniu nodded in agreement and the two men rode into the foliage that crept up the mountainside to their right. Deciding that it would be faster to climb on foot, they left their horses to graze and started up the rocky incline.

  It was not long before Reniu had made it far enough up the face to see over the thickening copses of trees that spotted the plain below. He was about to turn to check on the captain’s progress, but he glimpsed something that froze him in place. There, in a wide open area outside the city, was a sight that brought upon him a mixture of excitement and despair.

  “Captain,” he whispered down as loudly as he dared, “You’ll be wantin’ ta see this.”

  Komeris pulled himself up to Reniu’s level and peered in the direction his companion was gazing. “Minotros, protect us,” he gasped.

  In the clear plain beyond the trees, thousands of soldiers trained in the mid-morning sun. The two men stood agape at the sight for several minutes, watching the unmistakable movements of troops preparing for combat. Though the training field was yet some distance away, these two warriors had been part of such preparations countless times, and they knew without question what they were witnessing.

  “We must get back to the camp,” Komeris said. “I do not think it would be wise to tarry here.”

  * * *

  Su-Ni leapt back defensively. She held high her broadsword just quickly enough to hear the clang of her opponent's blade meeting it. The jump was supposed to back her out of range of that wickedly cunning edge, but her challenger had met the move expertly, keeping the distance constant. The young diplomat had no choice but to continue parrying at a pace that was almost too fast for her to keep track of.

  Left, right, high, low the blades rang out over the valley. Su-Ni's rival launched a blinding combination of cuts and slashes with the occasional thrust thrown in, but she matched them all with a desperate chain of blocks and parries. She was beginning to get tired. She knew she would have to take the offensive soon or the battle would be over. She tapped aside a fairly straightforward thrust and sprung ahead, inside the range of the parried blade. Her arm shot forward and pulled her entire body behind it and into a lunge.

  It was a brilliantly executed maneuver that would have run most other opponents through. Her skilled adversary, however, had easily read the diplomat's intent and had employed a well-practiced sequence of footwork to step just out of range. As Su-Ni reached full extension, she felt her blade meet only the metal of her opponent's. Suddenly, it seemed as if her sword was somehow stuck, and she felt her arm pulled aside. The force was so great that she could not keep her grip, and the sword flew away. Her opponent advanced, and she fell back, away from the blade.

  Pei-Shi lowered her sword and stepped up to Su-Ni, offering her hand to the prone diplomat. “You fought pretty well,” she praised.

  Su-Ni grimaced, but took the female warrior's hand. “I lost,” she replied dejectedly.

  “There's no shame in that,” Pei-Shi reassured the diplomat. “To try and fail is courageous; to not try at all is cowardly.”

  “So, should I always try no matter how afraid I am?” Su-Ni asked doubtfully.

  Pei-Shi thought for a moment. “Fear is healthy,” she decided. “Reasonable fear is no more than logic. It helps you to wisely choose your battles. Courage isn't a lack of fear but of cowardice. Cowards let their fears decide their every action. The courageous also take into account the greater good weighed against their fears. Only the foolhardy rush into battle without that consideration.”

  The young diplomat nodded and bowed. She truly respected the warrioress. In the weeks since she had joined the small scouting party, Su-Ni had somewhat apprenticed herself to Pei-Shi. It was something of a mutual decision between everybody in the party. They had all decided that it would be safer for everyone, the diplomat especially, if she learned to wield a weapon.

  It had been slow going at first. Su-Ni was a healthy young woman, but her life thus far had not been overly filled with intense physical activity. She was sore enough just from the days of unending travel, and now she was taking up swordplay. The diplomat had probably hindered their progress by at least a week in all, and she did feel very guilty about that, but none of them seemed to blame her. Now that they were almost through the mountains, according to Marui's estimation, they could all see the progress she was making. Day by day she was becoming faster and stronger.

  Pei-Shi walked over and picked up the sword she had lent to Su-Ni for her training. When she gave it back to the diplomat, she was met with a curious expression.

  “How did you do that anyway?” the young woman asked.

  “Do what?”

  “How did you take the sword from me? It felt like you grabbed the blade and pulled it right out of my hands, but it looked like only a parry from where I stood,” Su-Ni clarified.

  Pei-Shi chuckled. “That's what we call a bind or swordlock. Here, attack me slowly with a straight thrust,” she said, adopting a defensive stance.

  Su-Ni gripped the hilt of her sword firmly and brought its tip slowly toward the blademaster, mimicking her earlier lunge. It came in fairly close before Pei-Shi moved to block it. When she did she met the oncoming blade with what seemed to be a simple inside parry, but she then angled her sword around causing Su-Ni's blade to slide up and hit her crossguard. The tip of the swordswoman's weapon then swept down and out, bringing the diplomat's sword with it.

  Since the move was done in slow motion, the force was not great enough to break Su-Ni's grip on the weapon, but she could easily see why it was called swordlock. The tip of her sword was held firmly against the inside of Pei-Shi's guard by the outside of her blade. The diplomat tugged on her sword, but Pei-Shi's blade bound it tightly. The expression on Su-Ni's face was a blend of puzzlement and intrigue.

  “I shall have to remember that,” the young woman said.

  “It's not an easy move, and the opportunity to employ it does not occur often, but it's effective and surprising,” Pei-Shi explained.

  The diplomat was just about to ask if she could practice the technique with the blademaster when Marui called out, “Hoofbeats approach!”

  Denlin and O’eintsu, who had been watching the women spar for most of the morning, leapt to their feet and ran quickly behind a pair of trees, ready to jump out at a moment’s notice. Marui, Pei-Shi and Su-Ni, stood casually out in the open, hiding their weapons behind them.

  Everyone relaxed when they saw the familiar forms of Komeris and Reniu astride their horses. Their relief soon faded back into tension when they noticed the pace and posture of the two men. As they came close enough for their expressions to be read, it was clear that something was amiss.

  “What did you find?” Marui asked urgently as they dismounted their panting horses.

  “There is a city,” explained Komeris quickly, “about two hour’s ride from here.”

  “Is that all?” Denlin prompted, his tone suggesting he knew the answer.

  “No,” Reniu chimed. “There’s an army.”

  Su-Ni gasped. Everyone exchanged looks of apprehension.

  “How many soldiers?” Marui asked.

  Reniu shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe five thousand.”

  Everyone silently processed the news. Of course, this information was the reason they had come out here, but now that they knew something concrete, it was a bit disconcerting.

  Marui broke the silence. “Well, even if there is an army, there’s no need to assume they are a threat. They haven’t started marching yet, have they?”

  Komeris and Reniu glanced at one another.

  “Well,” the captain said, “they aren’t marching at the moment, but it certainly looks like they’ll be ready to soon.”

  “Perhaps we should observe them more c
losely,” suggested the elf.

  Komeris looked behind him toward the west. “Perhaps. I think for now we should move our camp into the trees. We can discuss how to proceed from there. Maybe tomorrow we can get a better glimpse.”

  The group efficiently picked up their things and moved off to the cover of the nearby wood. There they discussed for hours what their next move should be. Though they were trying to remain objective, as Marui had advised, they suspected they were now in enemy territory. As evening approached, they would have preferred not to light a fire for fear of attracting a passing sentry, but with the cold season fast approaching, and the temperature dropping lower and lower each night, this was not an option. They kept the flames low and huddled around it wrapped in their furs.

  * * *

  Though the scouting party had been wisely cautious in moving their camp, there were things that they could not be prepared for. Agucho of the Fiu-Het was one such thing. The party was still many miles from Niele'itio and the training field of Ionotu, and thus well out of sight of anyone in Orbein's dark kingdom. But they could not completely obscure themselves from the overhead flight of the shapeshifting servant of the king, even among the trees.

  Agucho circled well above the camp and noted with glee the tiny spot of light between the treetops below. It was just as Laernus had said it would be. He glided lower to see if he could make out how many figures there were. From his vantage point, he thought he could see seven. But with the darkness, and especially the pine canopy over their heads, he could not be certain. He veered off and headed northwest.

  Minutes later, he fluttered into the midst of a similar group huddled around a low, crackling flame. Five of Vethisir's soldiers and the seer Laernus stood and watched eagerly as the shapeshifter reassumed his native form.

  “All appears to be as you said.” Agucho directed his confirmation at Laernus.

  “How many?” one of the soldiers asked hungrily.