Champion 2

Previous Chapter

*~*~*~*

Maya swung her arm hard, catching her opponent in the chest and throwing the girl flat on her back, the dull thunk of her helmet hitting the hard-packed dirt floor barely audible over the clatter of weaponry against armor, the shouts and cries of battle and pain that always filled the training grounds this time of day.  That was the third time today, and it wasn't yet midday.

"Leticia!  What have I told you?"

Leticia slowly levered herself into a sitting position, her voice strained as she dutifully recited, "Watch both arms, pay attention, do not underestimate your opponent."  Leticia paused to wheeze for breath, then got to her feet before miserably adding, "But the air is so thick, I'm having trouble breathing!"

"You think it won't be this thick in battle?  This is what Hileans are good at, what they excel at--they summon so much energy that anyone but them chokes on it.  You will be a follower of Jettas, if you finish your training!  You will be at the head, the front of the battle, and it will be thicker and deeper than this, do you hear me, Leticia?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Maya could see the way Leticia's mouth twisted under her helmet, though not the bulk of her face, and she understood the girl's ire, remembered her own teacher yelling the same things at her while she wore the same expression, but that did not make it any less true.

Disciples of the High Lady, Hileans, had access to a great deal more magic than disciples of any of the four sisters, and almost more than disciples of the Low Lady, Loliens, and while there was much Hileans could not do with their powers, overwhelming others was something they could do.

Unfortunately for Maya, Leticia was right.  The air was very thick, and she knew why.  The Royal Hiliens were preparing for some ritual, had been for days, and midday was a very auspicious time for the spell to begin.  The disciples-in-training were all sluggish from the heaviness of the air, though they gamely attempted to continue.

Maya sheathed her sword and gave Leticia's shoulder a rough clap, "Round up the little ones, and get them some water."  Leticia ducked her head and ran off, while Maya raised her voice to be heard above the din, "Everyone stop what you're doing!  Cheryl, I mean you, too!"

Cheryl lifted her helmet to give Maya a cheeky grin, and didn't even have the good grace to wilt in defeat when Maya glared at her.  Maya shook her head at Cheryl and took off her helmet, tipping her head back as ropes of vividly blue hair fell into her face.  Stupid long hair.  She used her helmet to gesture the other women closer, and they followed Maya's example, removing their own helmets, and trying to avoid creaking or clanking too much as they moved.

"Alright, as I'm sure you all have noticed, the royal Hileans are doing some ritual, and I'm sure a few of you have even heard rumors of what it's supposed to do."  A few women nodded, some looked sheepish or giggled to each other before being hastily shushed by their comrades as Maya continued.  "I was going to keep you all going until the spell's climax, but even I have to confess there is a lot of energy in the air, and for the most part, you all have been doing well.  So you've got the afternoon off."

That prompted an immediate cheer, a rolling rumble of chit-chatty voices, and Maya waited for the excitement to die down before she continued, "I won't say that you must go to the ritual, but I will say that I strongly advise it.  Though the magic makes it difficult to breathe, it is actually quite beneficial, and additionally, there is power and value in knowing how those of other faiths perform their spells, understand?"

There was a generalized mumble of assent, and Maya sent everyone off with another wave of her helmet.  Once she was sure Leticia had the younger girls hydrated, she followed the other recruits to the armory, discarding her armor and weaponry in a small bubble of relative silence.  She pretended to not notice.

As a disciple of Jettas, Maya held a heavy burden.  Jettas was the lady of death, of course, and justice as well, so Maya was authorized to kill, as necessary, and an arbiter of justice.  But more importantly, Jettas was the lady of truth, honesty.  As her disciple, not only was Maya forbidden from lying, she was obligated to confront any lie she heard, even one said in jest.  She was allowed leeway for confrontation, as her own conscience allowed.  But Maya's conscience only allowed her to know three lies before she was forced to confront the liars, or confess her reasoning for not confronting them to Jettas, and risk losing her status as a disciple.

Maya finished changing out of her armor and looped her sword belt over her shoulder, then took her bubble of silence out of the armory and into the palace halls.  The funny thing about lying, Maya reflected, was that a person had to know they were doing it to get caught out.  If someone knew they were lying, it polluted their auras in ways only disciples of Jettas could see.  Being wrong wasn't the same, and that was what tripped people up around her.

Maya carried her bubble of silence into the medical wing.  She certainly intended to attend the Hilean ceremony, but first, she had to find her housemate.  Lillian was her housemate and best friend, and had been for many years.  As a follower of Clio, Lillian should have been amongst those tending secular and religious magical accidents, and certain non-magical accidents as well.  "Should have been" being the operative words.

Maya made a quick search of the medical wing, carefully avoiding masked disciples of Clio, because if they were sick, it was something that Maya very definitely didn't want to catch.  Unfortunately, there was no sign of Lillian, and the patients were beginning to get antsy and anxious from Maya's presence.  Maya moved into the medical lab, which was off the medical wing, in hopes of finding Lillian there.

When Maya entered the medical lab, she found a young disciple mixing a beaker of something purple and something green.  At the sight of Maya, she fumbled the beaker of muddy liquid that was the result, before dropping it on the floor, swearing as it shattered.  Everything the liquid touched began to grow flowers, including the disciple's hand.  Maya decided to end her search of the lab there and beat a hasty retreat.

Fortunately, she was able to find the head disciple, Denice, who was instructing a disciple-in-training over a wriggling patient's rash, "Uh...Denice?"

"What broke in the lab?"

"Just a beaker, but it's growing flowers."

Denice heaved a sigh and sent off the young woman she was speaking with, "Probably Shannon again.  Lilly said she thought there was an abnormal number of religious accidents, and last I heard, she was headed to the library."

Maya gave a sheepish laugh, embarrassed to be so transparent that Denice didn't even bother to ask her purpose.  Well, it wasn't like Maya was hurt very often, even as a trainer of recruits, and the only people who ever had any business in a medical lab were disciples of Clio, and the occasional disciple of Yorn, so it made sense that Maya would be searching for Lillian, whose skills were best displayed in the lab.

"Thank you, Denice.  Do you think Shannon will be able to recover from that spell?"

"Based on what I saw her doing, she should be able to.  It might require a bit of secular magic, but I've been telling her that spell's not going to work the way she wants it to for a month, and she has persisted, regardless.  It was bound to happen, eventually."  Maya nodded and made to head off, but was stopped by Denice, "Are you taking Lilly to the ritual?"

"I was planning to."

"Well, tell her I said to take notes for the rest of us."

Maya could almost hear Lillian's frustrated groan.  Though Denice's directive meant that Lillian was free to go, disciple's of Clio tended the injured and ill, which meant they always needed to know exactly what looked like what, what smelled like what, and Maya had seen three-page reports written on a bruise.  The ritual would surely fill a book, but she couldn't help but grin, appreciatively ducking her head, "Thank you, Denice."

Denice made a shooing gesture before heading towards the lab, while Maya left the medical wing to head for the royal library, where Lillian was bound to be.  It was her favorite place to be, anyway, after the medical lab.  She really should have been one of Yorn's disciples, but she had her reasons for choosing Clio.

*~*~*~*

Next Chapter