Morwin followed Galvin through the darkness. As they walked, he noticed people standing along the rooftops, hidden in valleys, citizens who walked with their heads down. Galvin seemed to ignore them all. Morwin, on the other hand, was freaking out.
“Galvin. I think people are watching us. Following us,” Morwin said. “They have to know what we’re doing. Or planning to do.”
“Stop with the paranoia,” Galvin said, his strides full of confidence. “How would they know? Those are Dragikiri employed by Lord De’Shai to make sure people follow the new laws. People set up all over the city, detecting if someone’s carrying gems on them.”
“Why would they go through such lengths?” Morwin asked.
“You clearly don’t know De’Shai as well as I do,” Galvin said. “True there are three Ministers, but he is the one that’s the right hand man of the king. Whatever the king says, no matter how terrible, he will listen.”
“I’ve never even met the king before!” Morwin said.
“De’Shai didn’t want to involve you with the politics of the grownups,” Morwin spoke. “But you may become a part of whatever they’re doing soon. Your success in Jovin City is just a start.”
Morwin didn’t know whether to be proud of himself or terrified.
“I’ll be able to do it,” Morwin said. “A solution with no bloodshed, no war. I’m going to convince Lord De’Shai to change the way things are run in this country.”
At the sound of that, Galvin scoffed. “Not happening,” he said. “You don’t bear any importance to that man.”
“I’m his son. I hope that counts for something.”
Morwin noticed Galvin wince when he said that.
“He’s known the king since before you were born,” Galvin retorted. Morwin decided to just prove him wrong later. They continued the walk in an eerie silence. The weather out tonight had a chill to it and it made him shiver. He wished he brought along an aquamarine so he could warm himself up. Or at the very least a jacket.
As they walked through the city, Morwin wondered how much further they’d have to go. After all, it was a tad bit difficult to practice an outlawed art with so many eyes in the city ready to stop them. Did the king and his father trust the citizens of Agnius so little that they had to come to this measure?
Ever since returning back to Rathalin, Morwin had only wanted for his father to prove Galvin wrong, but the more and more time he spent with a new view, he was just proving the opposite.
And in the end, if he couldn’t convince his father to run the country better, could he face the man who raised him in battle?
They continued on walking until they came to the edge of town. Huge stone walls surrounded the perimeter. They came to the south gate, one of four gates. And as usual, guards stood posted there, rotating shifts every five hours.
The news of Justicar’s return certainly has put the kingdom on edge. As they approached, the guards recognized Morwin and let him pass through. Galvin, who was wearing his servant uniform, was paid no attention to. To the guards, they were simply a pair of servant and master passing on through. Morwin hoped this wouldn’t be reported to his father.
Lord De’Shai has eyes all over town, watching. Every person Morwin had passed, he thought of the potential for them to be just another pair of eyes to his old man. Even in his home city, he barely had any freedom.
Galvin led Morwin through the army camps. As they passed, several soldiers took heed of them. Morwin wanted to reach out and Absorb sapphire and tell them to forget they came through, but Kaden had told him to leave it in his room. Seeing all the Dragikiri, he understood why that was necessary.
Galvin continued for a couple hundred meters, well far away from any eyes from Rathalin. They came to a spot where the ground was slightly discolored.
Galvin closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. A moment later, the ground opened up, revealing a tiny pouch. He’d Absorbed topaz through the ground and was able to draw upon its power?
Galvin knelt over and picked up the sack, untying it. He let the contents of it drop. Seven gemstones fell out, landing on the dirt with a soft thud.
Outside, in the deserts of Agnius, the air felt much colder. The days grew hot beyond belief and nights stretched to winter coldness. Morwin reached down and picked up the aquamarine. This would be able to warm him up.
Galvin snatched the gemstone out of his hand, shaking his head. “No,” he spoke. “They don’t have much essence, so we’re going to ration them.”
Morwin pouted then dropped it. “So teach me,” he said.
“You know how to Absorb essences. You know about the Words. But do you know how each gemstone operates?”
Morwin shook his head. He stared at the ground and noticed the only gemstone missing from the pile was diamonds.
“Where are the igians?” Morwin pointed out.
“Turned them in,” Galvin replied. “I had to do something so they had my name down and wouldn’t suspect me. Trust me, being the leader of Justicar in the capital of Agnius, I’m more paranoid than you’d ever be.”
Galvin picked up all seven gemstones, which shined in the night. Thankfully this night, the moon shone brighter than previous ones.
“Anyways you can Absorb in essences. But there are also other things that you can do. You have Sense, which is the range at which you can detect a gemstone. Those guards stationed around the city? They trained vigorously in their Sense so there would have to be fewer of them, and one can detect in a larger range.
“Then there’s Infusion.” Galvin picked out the ruby and focused on it for a second. Morwin peered inside the gemstone, and he swore he could see a flicker of a fire inside. Galvin handed the ruby to Morwin, and he accepted it.
The ruby was hot to the touch. Hot enough to notice, but not hot enough to burn his hand. “Infusion, in essence, is Absorbing in some essence and then putting it back into the gemstone. A self-sustaining gemstone that will constantly activate its magic, or do whatever it is you tell it to do. For example.”
Galvin snatched the ruby from him and threw it several meters, letting it roll on the ground away from them. A moment later, a flame burst from where the gem had landed, a small explosion launching some dirt up.
Morwin spun around to see if anyone would come running.
“Don’t worry,” Galvin said. “We’re far enough that no one would be able to hear it.” Morwin returned his attention to where the explosion happened. He hesitantly crept up to where the ruby had landed, and in the small crater that’d been created, the gemstone sat, glistening and undamaged.
“The gemstone didn’t break,” Morwin said.
Galvin nodded. “It’s tough to break a gemstone. Which brings me to the next thing you could do with gemstones that I should talk about. There’s also Shattering.”
“Shattering?”
“You know that each gemstone has an essence inside of it. As you use the magic of the gems, the essence gets depleted. And if you’d noticed, especially with your sapphire, essences can come back. The rate of which it recharges is completely dependent on the gemstone you use. But I will tell you this. Diamonds are one of the most valuable, not only because of its rarity, but because of how long it takes for the diamond essence to return to it.”
Morwin nodded along. He picked up the ruby and inspected it. Not even a scratch. Nothing to tell it’d been the source of an explosion.
“What Shattering does is it destroys the core of a gemstone, breaking it, and ruining any chances of the essence returning to it. In exchange, you receive the amount of essence in the gemstone tenfold. A cost for a benefit,” Galvin said.
“How do you Shatter? It seems like something useful in the fight. You know, if you take over a gem mine then you have a lot of fuel to use rubies like this.”
Galvin let out a laugh. “A good idea, but a simple-minded one. Shattering doesn’t come to everyone. I can’t do it. I doubt you could. It’s only select individuals that can harness the true power of these gems.”
Morwin frowned at that. “Then what was the point of telling me about it?”
“In case you face against a Dragikiri that has the ability, you wouldn’t be caught off guard,” Galvin said. “Now I’ve trained you in swordplay a little bit, right? You remember the basic stances I taught you? The counters against certain attacks?”
Morwin nodded.
“It’s different in a real fight,” he said. At that, he drew his dagger, which he held hidden within his tuxedo.
“What?” Morwin said. “You want me to fight you?”
“There’s no better way to learn than to actually practice,” Galvin said. “You can use these gemstones. Fight to kill.”
Morwin reached a shaky hand to the hilt of his weapon. He unsheathed it and held it at the ready.
Galvin didn’t attack. He stood frozen for a moment. Galvin was waiting for him to make the first move.
Well, Morwin intended to take him by surprise.
Morwin reached out and Absorbed some essence from the topaz, letting its essence fill his mind. The heartbeat resounded through him, sounding ancient with a hint of understanding.
He focused on ground.
A hint of a smile crept its way on Galvin’s lips.
Galvin leapt to the side as a piece of ground jutted up from underneath him. Morwin frowned. How could he have known? Morwin focused on more Ground and sent more spikes underneath Galvin.
Each time, Galvin jumped out of the way. Morwin made sure to keep his essence of topaz filled to the brim.
Maybe he could use a different word from it? The three Words of a topaz are Ground, Ancient, and Wisdom. Maybe Wisdom could give him some insight?
He focused on the third Word, and he felt as if his mind opened up to an infinite amount of possibilities. Before him, he saw different pieces of information, scattered yet condensed, all sitting at the edge of his mind.
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So that was how Galvin had dodged his earthly attacks. Now that he knew… Morwin stopped his focus on Wisdom, and found the knowledge fled from his mind instantly.
“What?” Galvin said. “You look confused.”
Morwin ignored him. He pushed forward, sending a flurry of stabs and slashes at Galvin, but each time, his blow was deflected.
Morwin Absorbed in some sapphire and focused on Mind.
Stand down, Morwin screamed mentally, projecting the words to the person in front of him.
Galvin gave no hint of it reaching his mind and stepped out of the way of Morwin’s next attack.
“How are you doing this?” Morwin yelled, redirecting his footing to maintain balance.
“I said you could use the gems. Never said I couldn’t.”
That’s right. He’d Absorbed a little bit of sapphire before the fight even began and focused on Mind, creating a mental fortitude that Morwin couldn’t break through with his limited knowledge of how gemstones worked.
So no sapphire. What about ruby? Morwin Absorbed the red gemstone he’d picked up and focused on Power. He moved up to strike.
Galvin looked surprised by this strike, and Morwin managed to land a slash, slicing through the tuxedo.
It was only a tiny cut, but a cut nontheless.
“Why would you not focus on Fire?” Galvin asked, taking a couple of steps back and regaining his footing.
“I used Power. So I had more strength behind my strike,” Morwin said, taking a defensive stance himself.
At that, Galvin let out a laugh. “That’s not what Power does,” Galvin said. “Power is an attribute that increases the intensity of your next Word.”
“Oh,” was all Morwin said, feeling embarrassed. But it had worked! Wait, how did Galvin know he could focus on Fire instead?
“You’re listening to the gemstones,” Morwin realized. “Every time I Absorb, you can tell. You knew what I was doing when I Absorbed the topaz and the sapphire. You detected the essence gone missing.”
Galvin nodded, a look of approval on his face. “Very good,” he said. “Now will you be able to do the same?”
Galvin went on the offensive this time. He swung a dagger, a horizontal frontal strike.
Morwin stepped backwards and raised his own weapon to deflect it. Steel met steel and a metallic sound rang through the nightly air.
Morwin focused his attention on the gemstones around. He felt a connection to each of them, as if they were extensions of his body.
Galvin attacked again and Morwin redoubled his focus on the attack, losing the connection with the gemstones.
Galvin stopped in the middle of his strike, crouched, and blew something from his mouth.
A stream of fire erupted. Morwin spun on his heel barely fast enough for the fire to strike his backside instead.
He let out a primal cry and fell to the ground, his shirt burning. He took it off and tossed it aside, letting it smolder on the ground and turn to ashes.
“You bastard,” Morwin gritted his teeth. “What’re you trying to do, kill me?”
“You’re the son of De’Shai, aren’t you?” Galvin said. “I’m the leader of Justicar. It would benefit me to take you out.” He had a smirk on his face. Morwin stood no chance against this man. How could he ever thing he had a chance?
Morwin established the connection to the gemstones again. He could sense it clearly, and he tried his best to maintain focus.
But the focus fled when Galvin attacked. Morwin sidestepped the strike, but the blade of the weapon sliced his cheek. A stinging sensation filled where he’d been cut, and warm blood began oozing out of the wound.
Morwin wiped at it. “Why are you fighting so hard?” he said.
“What will you do, Morwin, when you’re faced with someone trying to kill you? Are you going to stop them in the middle of the fight and tell them not to harm you? That’s not how any of this works.” Galvin came to a defensive position again. “Now prepare yourself, I’m coming at you.”
Morwin closed his eyes and felt the gemstones. Yes, he could Absorb in some essence and let that protect him. His eyes snapped open and he chose topaz.
He Absorbed the amber colored gem and let its essence fill him again. He focused on Ground and awaited Galvin’s attack.
Instead the topaz started levitating, and it flew straight into Galvin’s clutch. Then he attacked. A flurry of slashes, which Morwin either dodged or deflected - with incredible difficulty - came at him.
Morwin willed the ground underneath to rise slightly, creating an elevation advantage for him.
Galvin nearly tripped as the ground he was on turned into a slope. Then Morwin leapt up, coming down onto Galvin, dagger outstretched and ready to strike.
He struck the ground instead, ripples coming from where he’d attacked.
Galvin’s face contorted into one of concern. Good, a distraction. Then Morwin willed the ground, which at this point felt more like an extension of himself, to open up.
Where Galvin stood, a pitfall formed and he started falling into it. Morwin then closed up the ground with his mind, trapping Galvin down there. Would he survive that, Morwin didn’t know. But Galvin had told him to fight to kill.
Dirt exploded from behind him. Morwin turned around to see Galvin there, rising out of the ground, a smug look on his face.
Then instead of using his dagger, he threw a punch.
This caught Morwin by surprise. A blow landed directly on his chest. He glanced down and saw the topaz embedded there, stuck to his skin.
Then a moment later, bits and pieces of dirt erupted from the gemstone, completely encircling Morwin, hugging him and holding him down to the ground. It ceased expanding outward when the dirt that’d been created connected to the dirt on the ground.
Morwin struggled. He tried to pull himself free, but the dirt had solidified into rocks. “And that’s game,” Galvin said, sheathing in his dagger. “If I were an enemy, you’d be dead. Ten times over.”
Morwin gritted his teeth. “I know,” he said. “Now help me get out of here.”
“No, that’s your challenge,” Galvin said. “Get out of there yourself.”
Morwin gritted his teeth and Absorbed the topaz that was still planted on his chest. He drew in some more essence and focused on Ground. He tried to will the mount of rock keeping him trapped to break open, but to no avail. He willed the ground underneath to rise, and it kept rising into the air. Morwin pushed forward with all of his might, some of the dirt disconnecting and returning to nothing. He inched forward one by one until he had some movement. Then with a bit of difficulty, he threw himself off the plateau he’d created, falling back-first.
When he landed on the ground, he heard some crunches inside his body. But better yet, the rock shattered into a thousand pieces, the gemstone rolling off the side of his body, and the debris remained on his body.
“Ouch,” Morwin said. He stopped focusing on Ground, and when he did, the mound of dirt that he’d just jumped off of receded, morphing and changing back until it was one with the ground again. It appeared as if nothing ever happened there.
“Not the solution I had in mind,” Galvin said. “I would have just Absorbed amethyst and used Strength to break out. But that works too I suppose.”
“Everything,” Morwin began. “In my body. Hurts.”
“Let me help you,” Galvin said. He took out an amethyst and immediately, Morwin began to feel a little bit of relief.
“I can’t heal all your bones, but I can encourage them to heal on its own faster. That’s what Healing does.”
“Anything helps,” Morwin said.
“Now that you’ve had your first actual fight as a Dragikiri, what do you think?”
Morwin scoffed. “If you could even call that a fight.”
“You’ll get better with time, trust me,” Galvin spoke softly. “I was just like you when I found out about my abilities. But with practice, you can be even better than me. Do you have any questions?”
“Yeah,” Morwin replied. “Just one. When I had the essence of topaz in me, I focused on Wisdom. As long as I used my essence towards that Word, there was some sort of wealth of knowledge available to me. It’s like a library I could walk through, except the library stretched on forever, and I only needed to look at the books to understand everything. But when I let go of Wisdom, it all disappeared.”
“Ah,” Galvin said. “Wisdom is a powerful Word. Some say it’s remnants of the infinite knowledge that the god Agnius contains. And no mere mortal is supposed to have that much knowledge, so you can only borrow it.”
“Lame,” Morwin replied. “What about my shirt? I don’t want to go back to town without it on. And it’s cold.”
On cue, a new shirt appeared on Morwin. Well rather, an illusion of a shirt. He still could feel the cold wind against his bare skin, but at least he was covered.
Galvin threw an opal towards him. Morwin caught it.
“Use Disguise,” he said. “Only people who don’t know they’re being fooled will see the disguise but it won’t be a problem going back. Just don’t give anyone hugs.”
“Got it,” Morwin replied.
“Try to Absorb as much as you can before we head back. I’m going to have to take that opal back as soon we we leave.”
And so that was the end of their first training session. Morwin, despite being injured a couple times, enjoyed it. At the end of the night, when they returned back to Rathalin, Galvin declared they would meet at the pub every night then go to the countryside and practice Gemming. Before they left, however, Galvin had been sure to bury the gems back where he found them.
They returned back to the pub where they’d met in the first place. And in the pub, both Morwin and Galvin saw Jules, sitting at the bar, with multiple mugs scattered around him, and the man passed out.
