As we left the class, Ressa bumped me with her hip. “We should use the free lesson wisely.”

  I agreed with her, but my curiosity over what she had in mind caused my reply to come out as a question. “We should?”

  “We should. I’ve focused more on my Harmony-based lessons, natural racial preference I suspect. But I’m now officially the worst unarmed fighter in my class. By all accounts, you’ve proven yourself to be one of the best. Will you help me?”

  “Sure! I’d like that. And I could still do with some help with flexibility? The way you move, I suspect flexibility is probably one of your strong points.” I realized half way through that sentence that it was something I should have kept to myself.

  A bit of heat flushed my face as the final words fell from my stupid mouth, and any hope that it wouldn’t be taken the wrong way died as her brow rose and a slight smile played on her lips.

  “You’ve been watching the way I move, Adam?”

  My mind worked quickly for a good response. “Sure I have. Torma is like a battering ram. Low center of gravity, short powerful steps, no wasted movement, he just drives forward and hits hard.

  “Ellaazi moves in short bursts. She’s explosive and hard to track. Her balance shifts constantly, like she’s always ready to change direction mid-stride. Fast, formidable, and very difficult to predictable.

  “Yoru is power wrapped in control. Every step is deliberate, His movements are heavy but smooth. His speed is deceptive because of that.”

  I let my eyes linger for a beat before I finished, my voice measured. “And you? You move like a shadow. Silent. Precise. Every shift of your weight has purpose, and you never give away more than you intend to. You don’t just move, you flow.”

  Ressa now looked like a deer in the headlights. She held up her hands and smiled weakly. “Okay, Adam. You win round one. I’m so bad at fighting, even though I’d seen all those things, I’d never put them into words. I suppose you already have a plan in place to counteract all those strengths?”

  “I’m a soldier and a fighter. I can’t help but notice these things, and no, I don’t have a plan. Plans generally fail as soon as the party starts. In my opinion, the trick to being a good fighter is to have the basics of fighting second nature. Things like a good stance, good head movement, control your distance, keep moving and work the angles. Oh, and keep a clear mind. Panic and overconfidence are as dangerous as each other. The rest is common sense. Don’t let a big, strong bastard get a hold of you. Don’t give a fast, nippy bastard too much space and time.”

  She smiled and bumped me again as we walked to the gym. “I already feel like a better fighter. You’re a good teacher, Adam.”

  I chuckled. If only it was that simple.

  We arrived in the training hall to find it full. On free day, there’d been no one. Today the place was rammed with students of all years training. I frowned. This was not what I had in mind when I had agreed to train, but I didn’t want to renege on my promise to Ressa.

  I pointed to the far corner of the gym. “There looks like there’s a space over there.”

  She stood hands on hips, looking more annoyed than I felt. “Sorry, Adam, but with all these people, I don’t think I could concentrate.”

  It hadn’t escaped my notice that everyone in the hall was an Archon, nor had it escaped my notice that Ressa really didn’t like Archons.

  “Yeah. Not what I had in mind when I agreed either. I’m happy to train on free day if you want? It was quiet then.”

  She beamed a smile that thoroughly cheered me up. “I’d like that. Might as well just head back to the dorm now, though a detour through the garden would be nice.”

  “As long as there are no people there.” I tried to keep the smirk from my face when I said it, but her serious nod broke my composure. I received a punch in the arm for my failure.

  We walked through the halls of the bustling academy in silence, navigating the rushing bodies like slalom skiers until we made it to the doors at the back of the school.

  “I hate this place,” Ressa said as soon as the doors swung shut behind us.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  I was surprised those were her first words, but I nodded. “I’m making the best of it,” I agreed. “But yeah, this place is just part of the cage my captors have put me in, so I wholeheartedly agree.”

  Whatever she was thinking in response to my words must have been painful because she radiated sadness from her expression to her slumped shoulders. “I feel more or less the same. We can’t choose our family, but I am just as much a captor of theirs as you are the Archons.”

  She paused, and I wanted to point out that it wasn’t exactly the same, but I held my tongue as she spoke again.

  “I know it’s not exactly the same, and I have sympathy for you position, thrust into the middle of an immense political game you have no idea about, but trust me, you wouldn’t want to be in my position either.”

  “No,” I agreed. “I don’t think I would from the little you’ve told me and by how I see it makes you feel, but I won’t pretend to know anything about your situation.”

  She shrugged. “What’s there to know? Youngest daughter of Inosa Nessoran, King of Nessoran, a world on the outer limits of the Union that nobody cares about.”

  “Sounds quiet,” I jibed.

  “It’s fine. I’d like it well enough if my family didn’t live there. But they do. Scheming uncles, calculating aunts, a devious mother, and a jealous, power-hungry father desperate to build his name in the Union. The efforts he went to to have myself and all of my siblings capable of being Warrior Mages when we ascended… it’s… he’s a callous monster.”

  “And your mother supported this?”

  “Mine did. She’s a cold, manipulative cone of Ukal dung.”

  I chuckled. “I have no idea what an Ukal is, or why it’s dung is a cone, but I think one day, I want to find out.”

  It was Ressa’s turn to laugh. “You’re not missing much. Just a large rodent that lives in the Cradle.”

  “Cradle?” I asked, growing even more confused.

  “Ah, right. The Cradle is… Ah hell. I’m going to have to give the church spiel.” She cleared her throat and put on a deep but clearly mocking voice. “The Cradle is the home of the Velorian race. It is the beginning, the middle, and the end. It is the home, the hearth, the provider.”

  “Fair enough,” I said, still having no idea what she was talking about.

  She smiled, and shook her head. “Velorians generally live under the surface. Vast tunnels and cave systems. Ukal are the giant rock worms we farm and use to clear new spaces. When they shit, it’s in a cone shape.”

  “So it’s a generalized insult not specific to your mother.”

  “Oh, it’s both. When they shit, they block tunnels off. That’s my mother as well. Always directing our lives from the shadows. This time in the academy is the freest I’ve been in my life, and likely the freest I’ll be for the rest of my life.” She dropped her voice. “If I go home.”

  I tapped my nose and winked. “Say no more. You sure your…” I looked around nervously.

  Thankfully, she read my meaning. “My second eldest brother is an amazing mage. He didn’t have the base Toughness to make it here, but what he lacks in the physical, he more than makes up for in the spiritual. It’s probably why he is closest to me in his feelings of dismay in how our lives our run. I trust him more than anyone else in my family.”

  With a nod of my head, satisfied that she’d answered my question, I pointed at a butterfly. “Oh nice! We have those on Earth as well.”

  “You do?” She beamed. “Now that is something I’d like to see. Why do you call yourselves Humans if you are from Earth? Why not Earthers or some such?”

  I shrugged. “Probably because we don’t know of any other planets. Be a little crazy to refer to yourself from your own planet when everyone who could understand is also from that planet. Human differentiates it from the rest of the animals on our world.”

  She snorted. “You name yourselves to differentiate from the animals? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Why? We were once animals. We’ve got the same insides as them and everything. The only difference is we have a bigger brain.”

  She seemed genuinely dumbfounded. “Oh, Adam. How could you come from the same place if you have Harmony and they don’t? Do you think you developed that with your bigger brain?”

  “I mean, I’d say so. Self-awareness and all that.”

  “So if you have a bigger brain, say like Yoru, then you’d naturally have more Harmony?”

  “That’s not exactly what I meant. Our brains are more complex. We have a bit that other animals don’t. I won’t lie, I’m not exactly sure on the details, but…”

  “Convenient,” she chuckled. “I might need to enlighten your people a little while I’m there if they believe they are merely ascended animals.”

  “Oh, you shouldn’t have too much trouble there. Religion is rife on Earth. Plenty of people worshiping a supreme being that made us as we are. They don’t all agree, but it’s a common belief.”

  “But you don’t believe that?”

  “Honestly, Ressa, I couldn’t care less. Evolved from monkeys or molded from mud by a fella in the sky, it makes no difference to me. I’d still be doing and thinking the same things I am now.”

  She stared at me for a long moment, all earlier traces of scorn slowly dissolving from her expression. “Now that is an argument I wasn’t expecting. How am I supposed to tell you you’re a fool when you make such reasonable statements?”

  “I’m fine with you not telling me I’m a fool if it helps. One thing I will point out, though: if Harmony comes from a deity, and I don’t believe in deities, why did I get a base Harmony of 14?”

  “Because…” She paused for an even longer moment, then nodded to herself. “Because there is something special about you, Adam of Earth. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think if you were to stay here and House Garazal appreciated you like I am beginning to, then you would go on to do great things.”

  “Well, unfortunately for those guys, I have no intention of staying here.”

  “No,” she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “We aren’t. And I can’t wait for the next chapter. For now, though, we should head back.” She nodded to the path int the garden.

  I looked over seeing nothing, but before I could look back confused, I heard the gentle sound of crunching gravel.

  We stood to leave the clearing just as a small number of Archons made their appearance. They were clearly just here to enjoy the garden, but like Ressa, I had no intention of sitting with them.