Silence. That’s what filled the round table before King Divindor barged in as wildly as a boar being hunted, demanding for an explanation for the meeting and why he needed to be called in. “Please take a seat, your Majesty.” Said Commander Loraeona. Quiet filled the room as the antics of the King slowly went from shouts to murmurs and finally silence. “Thank you.” She said, Commander Fervidela, back to her tavern serving habits, handed out name filled papers to each of the commanders around the table and that’s when it began. Commander Loraeona slowly towered over everyone as she stood up to begin her briefing of what had happened during the night. “We were under siege last night and our enemies were weak, they were sloppy, dare I say retarded but they were fighting as if they were being forced to. They were indeed mercenaries but the lowest ranking mercenaries the following guilds could offer. The first name on your lists, Anibo of the Badge of Valatar, he tells us that he wasn’t aware that they were going to attack the capital of our kingdom and yet he followed through because the reward for said ‘operation’ as he pointed it out was enough to retire his entire family for generations.” Said commander Loraeona, “Second, we have Feliamar, also of the Badge of Valatar, who backs and confirms Anibo’s story. Third, we have Cidriela of the Craven Bats, a guild made only for females and we have our Prince Jumaar to thank for this successful interrogation as this woman has elaborated to tell us everything she knew about this so-called ‘operation’”.

  “What does operation mean?” Fervidela whispered to Loterola who then shrugged in obliviousness and as they looked around, noticed everyone else was clueless towards what said word meant. Having this noted, Commander Loraeona took the chalk by the board, scribbling the word ‘mission’ as she explained that the Craven Bats’ whistleblowers gave information that they were approached by someone who worked from within their gates.

  “That’s preposterous!” Exclaimed the king, pouncing his hand on the table, “We are the most secure kingdom on the continent, there is no way we could be having spies within our walls or even a revolution brewing.” he added.

  “Please take your seat, brother.” Prince Jumaar suggested.

  “I will not take my seat actually. I will only come in here for this when you are able to tell me who it was that waged war against us… Until then, I shall leave these matters to you all. Meeting adjourned!” Replied King Divindor as he took his leave from the round table and went galloping to his study.

  The commanders, left in confusion, decided to follow suit and leave the room and follow their own tasks. Commanders Loraeona, Fervidela along with Prince Jumaar returned to the dungeons for further interrogations, Commander Loterola proceeded to the training grounds where the young Ypsilon awaited for his master.

  “How was the meeting master?” Ypsilon questioned.

  “Boring, as usual, but let’s get training. Get your sword!” Loterola demanded.

  Blunt iron swords were the norm for training in the Kingdom of Salor for its razor sharp efficiency when conducting Flux past the body and down to its tip, and due to their weight being larger when compared to steel swords where Flux was conducted with a lot less fluidity.

  “How’s your Flux?” Loterola asked.

  “Flowing decently, I think I can control it now.” Ypsilon replied.

  Ypsilon was a prodigy when using Flux, but was oddly mediocre at everything else. From the rumors that flooded the kingdom is that Ypsilon at age twelve was at a level that not even his own father was able to achieve at his prime and because of his adventurous tendencies, it was a very debated topic in the kingdom whether the young Ypsilon would leave the kingdom like his uncle once did once he reached a certain age, but due to his lacking physical abilities and questionable battle prowess, it was very hard to speculate whether the young prince would ever be a part of the great line of warriors of the Radewood Clan.

  “Come at me boy!” Loterola shouted, planting her feet wide and holding a defensive stance as rigid as a wall for Ypsilon to crack.

  “Deep breaths… Focus on the target… Deep breaths… Focus on the target….” Thought Ypsilon as his grip tightened, his Flux straightened, his vision sharpened and his feet shook. A lunge, boosting his left leg with Flux, the boy lunged as if he was a wild animal jumping at its prey, grabbing the sword as hard as he could and allowing as much Flux as his mind possibly allowed down to the edge of his blade. A swing, with all his might towards Commander Loterola, who thought, “Too weak”, grabbing his blade and shaking him away like a fly. From a distance you could hear chuckles and laughter coming from the soldiers who begged the commander to go easier on the boy, reminding her that he is royalty and not a regular noble or commoner like them. Loterola laughed with the others whilst pointing out the issues with Ypsilon’s swordsmanship, “You are being too rough with the blade, you are not one of those barbarians from Valatar who fight like they have no ambition. Even our axe wielders are more careful than you.”

  “Perhaps I should just pick up an axe then.” Replied the young Ypsilon.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  “Perhaps you should… Bring a spear as well while you’re at it lad.” Loterola stated jokingly as she swung the blade she caught, measuring its weight.

  With axes equipped, Ypsilon positioned himself, taking deep breaths and channeling his Flux throughout his body and up to his weapon, “Relax… Don’t grip too hard…” He whispered. Commander Loterola positioned herself once again, this time wielding her own Flux to strengthen the blunt blade. Ypsilon observed Loterola’s flow of Flux in awe, surprised at how efficiently she could make it travel around the sword. “Deep breaths…” Ypsilon whispered, readying himself for another attack against the commander. The boy heavily planted his left foot ahead of his right, this time focusing his Flux only on the right axe, hurling it strongly as if he was in a colosseum challenge and using that momentum he blitzed towards the commander.

  Loterola caught the flying axe and aggressively slashed downwards towards Ypsilon’s dome.

  The boy weaved. A slip on the sandy floor and the boy fell. Now with his chest to the sky Commander Loterola tapped his head with the blunt sword, “Pick yourself up and go wash. We’ll train again tomorrow.” Loterola stated, smiling at the boy’s efforts.

  “I’ve been told I have an ambitious mind and that my Flux is of the finest order, and yet I feel empty.” Said Paloxo enthusiastically with a quill equipped, flowing and skidding around his paper track, squirming and dancing along to the sound of his voice stating, “The art doesn’t fill me up… The art. It doesn’t arouse me anymore… I need more inspir—” The sound of a fracture. The quill? Dropped, Paloxo froze as the thought of a new masterpiece came through his mind, “Bone! I need bone…” he said. Paloxo grabbed a bow and arrow and for the first time in two weeks felt the touch of sunlight on his skin, shirtless and shoeless, Paloxo blitzed towards the forest beyond the Kingdom walls in search of a new subject, in search of inspiration and fuel for his body.

  Deep inside the forest, a boar… a female. Too skinny for Paloxo’s hunger. A goat, Paloxo’s favorite, he was fat, definitely a tough nut to crack but Paloxo eyed it down from a distance drawing his bow, stretching his chest and arms as far as his muscles would go, pain, he felt, “I haven’t moved like this in ages.” He said as he let the arrow fly. One shot straight to the eye. a kill. Paloxo grabbed a knife from his pants and instantly cut the goat’s neck, apologizing for the way he killed him. “I will eat good today.” He stated as he drained the goat’s blood on the mud beneath them. Once home Paloxo incisively dissected the bone from the goat, saving the pelvic limbs so he would use them in a soup to later share with the homeless people around his house, an act he said he would commit himself to fulfilling throughout his life until the fat and greedy nobles would change their ways and finally help those in need like himself. Paloxo was a man of weak hearing and he could feel his deafness being as imminent as death, he knew that once the people figured he was going deaf only isolation would keep him company.

  “Being deaf, or blind, or even crippled in any way in this country means one thing and one thing only. Too much use of Flux.” Commander Loraeona explained to the young Ypsilon while scribbling a river on a board, “My prince, I was watching as you trained with my sister. You are indeed a good Flux wielder, almost as good as our other rookies, unfortunately you lack understanding and that’s what my sister hasn’t taught you. You see, my Prince, think of Flux as a river. As you know the river begins at the top of the mountain, consider that your head, and it flows down following a single path. In said path, the river helps the soil around its banks become healthy and it makes the plants strong and healthy but when the flow of the river is too unstable, it becomes dangerous for the trees and plants regardless of how strong they are.”

  “So are you saying that Flux is the same thing?” Replied the young Ypsilon.

  “You are smart.” Loraeona complimented.

  “So why can’t I make two rivers?” Ypsilon asked.

  “Ahhh, I see you haven’t paid attention in class.” Loraeona replied, “With Flux it gets a little bit more complicated than just shedding the banks until another channel appears. You need skill, with Flux being an energy coming from the head and going around your body like a river, for that river to shed the banks you need it to flow as fast as possible but very little people actually are able to get enough mastery over their Flux to open another stream but there are exceptions like our old Queen Pedgonina.” Loraeona explained.

  “Have you unlocked a second stream, Miss Loraeona?” Ypsilon asked.

  “No, I haven’t but I am actively trying to.” Loraeona replied.

  “How about the other commanders? Have any of them been able to unlock a second stream?” Ypsilon questioned.

  “Yes actually. Commander Loterola has done it but she is the only one who has been able to unlock another stream. She is a monster when it comes to that kind of thing.”

  “Who’s a monster?” Loterola interjected with a smile, “Sis, we just got a prisoner to talk, come with me.”

  Loraeona nodded, telling the young Ypsilon that the lesson was over and that they would resume their talk some other time.