FF Chapter 12

Evil makes his presence known, and Alex attends his first classes

Chapter 12

      Future looked around him. He was alone outside the bridge to Yanus Academy. Gaius and Captain Johnathan had both returned to The Capital, but he’d stayed behind. The small town of Sanel was a nice place, peaceful and old. It had been there for ages but, unlike the Capital, it had remained humble despite the many nobles that routinely visited. He liked that. He sat on a wooden bench, walking stick in hand. He’d donned his elderly form, and many people passed him without a second glance, but one small boy stopped and stared.

      He wore a beautiful red jacket, black pants, and a fiendish smile. The kid approached the elderly looking man, and sat down beside him.

      “How are you today Future?” he asked nonchalantly.

      “No complaints Evil.” He addressed his fellow Hand.

      “First time for everything.” Evil chuckled, dangling his short legs over the side of the bench. He hated this particular appearance, but it served the same purpose as Future’s elderly form; to let him move around easily, beneath the notice of humans.

      “Why are you here?” Future demanded.

      “Same reason you are, brother.” Evil smiled. “For a family reunion. I do so love watching you and Luck play poker.

      “Poker?’ Future asked, turning towards Evil.

      “What else would you call two people competing in a high stakes match, both trying to bluff their opponent into revealing their cards while not giving away their own? I love it though; the man who can see the future, against the woman who can change it.”

      “Quit talking like you’re just a spectator. You’re as much a part of this ‘game’ as we are, whether you like it or not. You can’t run and hide this time!” He growled.

      “Are you still mad about that?” Evil rolled his eyes “Man can you hold a grudge! That was literally thousands of years ago. So I missed one fight because Death called me home. It’s not my fault you were all useless without me. Even your precious Eternity-.”

      Before he could finish, the wood of the bench lashed out at him, wrapping around his throat. Future glared “You have no right to say that name. Luck might be a traitor, but at least she owns it. You’re just a coward, interested in no one but yourself.”

      Evil ignored the weak insult, he’s heard it a thousand times, and summoned fire to eat away at the wood bindings. He laughed. “I find it wonderful how ‘love’ and ‘hatred’ can both be described as ‘burning’. They’re so much closer than most people realize. With a single word or action, one can become the other.”

      “I could take you.” Future promised.

      “Possibly, but I could put you in the hospital for a looooong time, and with Luck plotting something you can’t afford to be out of action. Worst case scenario, our armies could destroy the whole Capital, and neither of us can have that. This city is the largest barrier between that monster to the west, his children, and the rest of the world.”

      “I hate both of you. You know that right?” Future glared daggers at his fellow Hand.

      Evil shrugged “Can’t choose your own family, just like you can’t choose your own destiny. You should know that better than anyone.” He tried to put a hand on Future’s shoulder, but Future batted it away.

      “Don’t touch me.” Future warned, but Evil just chuckled to himself and smiled. Future looked at his brother. That face was just so very punchable, but he was right, which only made it worse.  Future took a deep breath, and calmed himself down.

      “Better?” Evil asked, still smiling like an idiot.

      “Yes.” Future lied, before sighing and looking at the quaint town around them. “It’s true isn’t it? We could destroy this whole town, the whole country, just the two of us.

      “Just like what happened at Velos.”

      Future covered his face in embarrassment, but couldn’t help but chuckle. “We wiped that place off the map.”

      “Luck was using it as a base to ferry Dan’darun over from the west to harass the northern lands. We both had to stop that. That was…wow, over two thousand years ago.” Evil reminisced.

      Future was shocked. “Was it really that long ago? Man I’m bad at keeping track of time.”

      Evil shrugged “What’s the point of keeping track of something you never run out of?”

      “That might be the smartest thing you’ve said in centuries.” He chuckled.

      “Wow! A compliment from you? I’m touched.” Evil joked.

      “Don’t push your luck, ‘brother’; you’ve caused me enough headaches for two immortal lifetimes.”

      Evil was indignant “And what about you? You always hog the best people for yourself, leaving me with a mass of mediocre men. Without you I’d be free to assemble my army and wage war against that monster to the west.”

      “And how many people would die in your crusade? How many wars have you started just to plant the seeds of violence and grow your army?”

      “As many as it would take to destroy that thing.” Evil said bluntly.

      Future shook his head. “That’s not an answer I can accept, nor a solution I can allow. My master has a plan.”

      “But you don’t know what it is.”

      Future hung his head in shame. He had no response.

      Evil shook his head. “I can’t agree to a plan I don’t know. That’s not a solution I can accept.

      Future sighed “Then we’re at an impasse.”

      “Seems like it. Luck gets you out of my hair and unwillingly provides Dan’darun for me to increase my army’s strength; you stop Luck from mobilizing any kind of force to oppose my raids into her territory.”

      “So you’re fine being a wild card?”

      “I’ve been called worse things, usually by you.” Evil sighed. Annoying Future was fun, but the conversation was going nowhere, and he had places to be. “I think it’s best if I’m off. Luck might be coming around here soon, and you know what happens when the three of us meet.”

      Future did. They couldn’t risk fighting, not yet; that would come later.

 

      Alex, Eira, and Frey all arrived at the entrance ceremony on time, but out of breath. They got seats alongside the other first-years. They found themselves beside the group of rebellious boys from earlier, but the instant they saw Alex they shut right up, with the exception of some panicked whimpering.

      The headmistress, Ms. Jensing, addressed the new students, but Alex didn’t really pay attention. He looked around at all the people. There weren’t as many as the Library on its busiest day, but unlike the library patrons, every one of these kids could be his friend!

      He finally tuned in to the speaker. “As many of you know, your first month will be an introductory period where you will attend a few classes from each course before selecting your specialties. I must also request that not every one of you select ‘Warden’, as our teachers are getting overwhelmed. I also request that you settle any feuds in the arena to the south. Fighting outside the arena is not tolerated. The headmistress seemed to look right at Alex as she said “Here at the academy, you are all students; equally. I don’t care who you are, or who your parents are, behave or be punished! With that out of the way, you’ll be divided into classes and handed off to the teacher of your first course.”

 

      Alex, Eira, and Frey all got assigned to Mr. Foresters’ gym class for their first trial period. Mr. Forester was a large man with hairy arms, and a white shirt two sizes too small. He had a hoarse, raspy voice, as though some snide remark had lodged itself in his windpipe and infected his every breath.

      After taking the students outside to a track field, he announced “Let’s start off the day with some exercise and see what you all can do. I’ll be your opponent. Don’t hold back. Hit me as hard as you can. As you can see, I have a beast mark, in fact I have two. You whelps couldn’t hurt me if you tried. Now who wants to go first?”

     Alex put his hand up “ME-ME-ME!” he jumped in place.

      Forester laughed “I like your moxie kid! Come on down!”

      Before Eira or Frey could say a word, Alex walked right up to the teacher and hit him with all his might. Mr. Forester went flying. He got up slowly, coughing up dust, and stared at Alex with wide eyes.

      “You have a beast mark! Wait, not just one. How many?” He asked in a panic.

      Alex rolled up his sleeve cautiously. Had he done something wrong? Everyone was staring at him! “Th-Three.” He said, showing off the lines on his arm.

      “Three!” The teacher cried. He’s stronger than I am! He realized with horror. “Um…ok. So, usually I don’t have to ask, but does anyone else have a beast mark?”

      No one raised their hands; they were still staring at Alex, who quickly covered his arms again. The rest of gym class didn’t go much better. After the strength tests was a sample of weapon training. Each student could choose from a selection of training weapons, along with some padded armour, and was set against the teacher. Alex decided not to volunteer this time.

      Alex got to see Frey fight. She had refused any weapons or armour, instead relying on her agility to outmaneuver her larger foe. She was acrobatic and fluid in ways that reminded Alex of his Aunt Lo, and she succeeded in disarming Mr. Forester, much to his surprise and embarrassment.

      Eira fought with a sword and shield that seemed much too big for his frail frame. Some of the boys even chuckled when they saw her pick them up, but one royal glare shut them up. She managed to hold her own, but couldn’t match the teacher in terms of strength. She lasted longer than most of the students though, who only survived about a minute due to clumsy footwork, some even tripping over their own feet, or because they just didn’t know how to fight.

      Finally it came to Alex. All eyes were on him.

      Although Mr. Forester had enjoyed the childish spars, his expression turned serious as Alex approached the weapons table. He’d been holding back against the other students, but of course he had to. With his strength he could’ve easily killed them if he wasn’t careful, but Alex was different. He could take it and dish out more. He’d underestimated the boy once before, and injured both his stomach and pride. It would not happen again.

      Alex picked two swords. He’d gotten to see Mr. Forester fight every other student. The teacher used a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left, classic, just like Erald. As much as he loved his hunting knife, a small blade alone would not be enough.

      Alex walked casually towards the sparring ring and smiled to his opponent. Mr. Forester was taken aback for a moment. Alex’s calm demeanor and warm smile made it seem like he was expecting them to play catch or go for a walk, not fight.

      “Ready?” He asked.

      “Whenever you are.” Alex called back happily.

      The teacher raised his shield, ready for a charge, but it never came. Alex just stood there, waiting. The teacher lowered his guard slightly, and looked at the boy. Alex had his weapons raised, and was locking eyes with him, but was still as a statue.

      He’s waiting for me to make the first move. Mr. Forester realized. He took a cautious step forward, then another. Then it happened. To the students watching, it was like Alex disappeared and teleported behind the teacher.

      Mr. Forester reacted quickly, and swung his shield around. The boy had darted right past him, and then turned on his heel to quickly strike. It was a practiced technique, honed through months of training, and designed to get around defences and attack from behind. He focused the beast mark energy towards his legs. He knew exactly how far he could dash; that’s why he forced me to move closer! Smart. He smiled internally, while fighting off a flurry of blows from both Alex’s swords.

      Alex kept up the pressure, never giving Mr. Forester a chance to attack. There was no real strategy, just instinct. If he saw an opening he’d take it. If there wasn’t an opening, he’d keep attacking until he made one. But because there was no strategy, no rhyme or rhythm, Mr. Forester had no way of predicting Alex’s next move; not even Alex knew what he’d do next.

      Eira and Frey watched wide-eyed from the sidelines, along with everyone else. Murmurs of ‘savage’ and ‘wild’ drifted through the mostly noble crowd, and Eira understood why. This was completely different from some gallant knight playing joust, this was a hunter; a warden with the power of a beast mark on his side.

      Suddenly a snapping sound woke everyone from the trance, and the fight stopped abruptly. Alex stared down at what was left of his wooden sword. He’s shattered it on the shield, and now only splinters remained in his hand.

      In an instant he made a decision, and ran for the table of weapons, ready to pick one up and continue the fight

      Mr. Forester called out “Wait, the fight is over!” and Alex skidded to a stop.

      He turned around, all smiles again. “Wow that was fun!” He exclaimed, actually a bit winded from the exertion.

      Mr. Forester was panting. He’d managed to survive the onslaught, but one extra beast mark really made a difference in terms of strength and endurance. “Who taught you to fight like that?” he asked, stunned.

      “My aunt and uncles trained me.”

      “Are they warriors?” he asked, fully aware the entire class was listening.

      Alex shrugged “They’re librarians.”

      “I’ll, uh…I’ll put that on your report.” The teacher dismissed them, before finishing up his notes and welcoming the next class.