The Callindra Chronicles Book One - First Quest (6 page)

-

Callindra woke with sore muscles but not as
bad as she had feared. The herbs Glarian had put in the bath must
have helped, although her healed leg was shaky and sent a thrill of
pain up her spine when she put weight on it. She stretched and felt
a strange wind blow against her skin. It was almost as though air
was moving from all sides of her room towards her at the same time.
She shivered, and not because she had slept naked. The dust whirled
around her in the predawn glow. Something was changing, and it did
not feel like a natural or welcome change.

Her hair was tangled and she remembered how
it had gotten in her way the day before. On a whim she drew the
sword Glarian had given her and gathered her hair in a bundle at
the nape of her neck. The edge was good enough that she was easily
able to hack the majority of it off in a ragged line. She didn’t
really care if it was straight or not as long as it didn’t
interfere with her baldric. How was Glarian able to properly wield
his sword with that huge braid?

She wrapped her chest, tying it off just
behind her left arm, and then donned the rest of her clothes. Wide,
loose breeches, a shirt with short sleeves and a wide neck for ease
of movement, light wool socks that would pad her feet properly
inside her thin leather shoes but still allow her to feel the
ground.

Glarian was already out in the main room
drinking tea and stirring porridge. “You’re up on time. Good, I
have a busy day planned for you. How are your muscles feeling this
morning?”

“
Not as bad as I feared, but
not perfect. That bath certainly helped.” She said, helping herself
to some tea. Feeling his eyes on her, she flushed slightly. “My leg
hurts but I can handle it.”

“
This morning we will start
with something slightly different. We must meditate and stretch
before training each day from now on.” He served some porridge for
them, adding a generous spoon of honey.

“
I understand the
stretching, but why meditation? Isn’t that for priests and the
like?” She asked, confused.

“
Do not question the methods
of your Master. It will benefit us both I think.” He
said.

After breakfast, Glarian instructed her to
follow him outside and sit in the center of the small courtyard she
had practiced in yesterday, sword across her knees, hands touching
hilt and flat of the blade.

“
The first Korumn is breath.
You must learn to control your breathing as this is the source of
your power. For others breath gives life, but for us it also takes
life away. Be aware of your breath flowing into your body through
your nose. Be aware of it leaving your mouth. Feel its power and
pull that power to the center of your abdomen.”

She closed her eyes and tried to do as he
instructed. As she relaxed something began building inside, almost
as though when she breathed out the air was staying inside.

“
Do not hold the power; let
it flow through you like the wind through the trees. Although it
surrounds and fills you, allow it to calm and focus you instead of
being a distraction.” His voice droned on, and Callindra lost
herself in the ebb and flow of her breathing. When he touched her
shoulder to let her know it was time to begin the day’s training
she was startled to see the sun well above the horizon.

“
Now we will begin with the
strikes I taught you yesterday.” Glarian said, “Then I will show
you something new.”

“
Something new already? But
I haven’t mastered the first two strikes you taught me
yet!”

“
Mastered?” Glarian laughed
heartily, “Girl I have been a disciple of the Sword for longer than
you’ve been alive and I don’t consider myself to have mastered any
of it. There is always room for improvement. Remember, no matter
how often you practice or how experienced you are, there is always
more to learn. To cease learning is to die.”

Where had she heard that before? She was sure
she had heard someone say something like that before. Or maybe she
had read it. Before she had the chance to ponder it further,
Glarian started the day of training. The thought was soon lost in
physical exertion.

Chapter 6

It had been a month now and Glarian was
pushing much harder than he would have with any other student.
Callindra was developing far faster than he had been afraid she
would but not as fast as he needed her to. He didn’t like being a
harsh task master, and forcing her to the very edge of her limits
had put a strain on their relationship. More often than not he had
to rely on her anger to get her through and he knew he had to
change tactics before she built up bad habits.

He had to make sure she was strong enough
though. She was on the verge of collapse, nearly at her limit but
there was something there still. One problem was that leg; he
wasn’t sure it would withstand what it needed to. She had to be
tested.

“
Only the strong survive
girl. You’re useless to me if you can’t even stand on your own two
feet. Didn’t you say you wanted to be stronger? If this is all the
resolve you have you wouldn’t last one day under a true Master.”
She looked up at him through tear stained eyes. “I said get
up.”

Staggering to her feet, she barely managed to
rise completely before the leg that had been shattered buckled and
she had to catch herself by grounding the tip of her practice
sword. Glarian shook his head seemingly in disgust. “Go back to
bed. You aren’t fit to walk on that leg, much less learn even the
most rudimentary stances. Females have no tolerance for pain and
limited ability to learn.”

“
NO!” Callindra assumed the
first Stance, her left leg shaking from the effort, her face white
from agony as sweat began to drip down her forehead. “I told you
I’d do your damn training in two seasons and if you can’t stand to
see a girl in pain maybe you should get a nursemaid to help you
through your dotage.” Glarian’s eyes narrowed slightly, smoothing
out wrinkles on his weathered cheeks.

“
Fine, I don’t want to hear
you blubbering all night long again though. I’m a light sleeper.
After you run the first six Stances ten more times there’s wood to
be split and water to be hauled. You’d better haul double if you
want a warm bath.” He turned and walked back to his small stone
house without looking back, his long steel-gray braid swinging like
an agitated cat’s tail.

Wiping the sweat and tears from her face
Callindra ground her teeth against the pain and began moving slowly
through the Stances. “I’ll show him, if I don’t have talent I’ll
just have to practice harder. Just because I’m weak doesn’t mean I
have to stay that way. I will prove to him I’m worthy of being his
disciple. I have to.” Unaware of the eyes watching her intently
from the darkened window of the house, she moved through all ten of
the Stances Glarian had taught her instead of just the first
six.

“
Damn. If I push her hard
enough she just might survive the testing. If she manages to
survive, perhaps she can carry my fighting style on. Maybe it won’t
have to die with me. She’ll need something unique though; she’s
just not strong enough to use the sword it calls for. In order to
unlock her true potential and to protect the blade itself from her
wielding it I’m going to have to bend the rules a
little.”

Sitting on the hearth he drew his blade,
after meditating for a few minutes with the bared blade across his
knees he passed his hand over the mirror polished surface; calling
arcane letters to the surface with a whisper of wind. “Belach. I’m
calling in that favor. I need a Blade.”

Forming an image of Callindra in his mind and
her potential, he raised the blade he blew the spell off the end,
completing the Sending. With a sigh, he sat back next to the fire
and packed his pipe with tac, waiting for a response from the
smith.

The reply to his Sending came after a shorter
period of time than he’d anticipated.

“
Glarian, you cocky fuck. Do
you really think you’ll get away with it? Whatever, I’ll make her a
sword; after all it’s a challenge and I owe you regardless. I’m
warning you though, it won’t last. That girl… she’ll destroy it.
She’s got too much power for that frame and she’ll take it out on
whatever sword you give her. Either that or it’ll kill her and you
along with her. If she was here for me to measure her potential
myself I might be able to pull it off, but that little whelp is
fucking dangerous, you’re nuts if you try to train her.

“
In other words, I know
you’re training her you stupid bastard. Watch your ass and I’ll get
the sword to you in a year. Stay alive until then, and keep her
alive. I don’t want all this fucking work to go to
waste.”

So it was bad then, worse than he had feared.
Glarian took a deep breath and blew it out, nearly extinguishing
the fire in the process. It was years since he had exhibited lack
of self-control like this. He was committed now though; there was
no turning back.

He walked outside, unsheathing Sakar as he
went. This was going to be a difficult journey. He had better be in
condition to handle whatever came; it was beginning to worry him
that no one had come to challenge him in spite of the talismans
being active for a month. It was only a matter of time; they were
probably watching him already.

-

Callindra was too angry to feel the pain and
exhaustion as she went to the wood shed and began splitting
kindling for the evening fire. Thankfully the axe handle touched
different places on her palms than the sword hilt and she made
quick work of it. She was too weak and she knew it.

Next she grabbed the yoke and buckets for
water. She hated the yoke because it was hard to fit over her
shoulders when she had the baldric on and because she had
difficulty taking it off without getting help or spilling all the
water. Her arms weren’t up to the task of carrying the buckets on
their own though. Not yet.

The path down to the stream was well-worn.
She and Glarian weren’t the only animals who walked it, they shared
it mainly with deer but she had seen signs of bears and even wolves
as well so she always made her way carefully. After all, Glarian
had killed that puma not far from here.

A flock of birds took to wing on her left,
she tried to turn quickly to track where they had come from but the
yoke and buckets hampered her. With a growl of frustration she
hurried to the stream, filled the buckets and walked back to the
house as fast as she could, trying to look in every direction at
once.

She entered the clearing and saw Glarian. He
was practicing the Seventh Korumn, she had seen it before although
she was in no way ready to try it. With every swing he jumped in
the air, each time getting higher and higher until he hardly seemed
to touch the ground at all. When the Korumn was finished, he
balanced lightly on the balls of his feet, a blast of air from the
impact of his landing seeming to move Callindra’s hair, even at
this distance.

Seeing his skill and the beauty of the Korumn
wiped the thoughts of anger from her mind. “Master, you are
amazing!”

She knelt next to the cistern, ducking out
from underneath the yoke. Her leg screamed at her, but she ignored
it. Pain was fleeting; unless she managed to push past it there was
no way she could ever get stronger.

“
It has been too long since
I have completed all seven Korumn in a row. I’m actually quite
rusty.” He was stripped to the waist, sweat beading on his
forehead. The muscles on his shoulders rippled as he sheathed his
sword. Callindra was reminded of how far she had to go, even just
in basic strength. She marveled at his perfectly muscled frame,
wondering if she would ever be able to measure up to his
expectations.

“
That should be enough water
for you Master; I’ll go get water for my bath now.” She said,
shouldering the buckets again in spite of the sharp protest her
muscles made. She would become stronger. She would rise to the
challenge he had presented. She didn’t have a choice. When she
turned to go, she missed the approving look on his face.

-

His apprentice was finally showing some grit,
Glarian smiled as she left to get more water. That limp had him
worried though, he had to make sure she didn’t push herself too
hard.

“
I think she shows promise,
although it won’t matter in a few minutes.” A voice seemed to come
out of nowhere.

Glarian turned calmly, hands at his sides.
“It was clever of you to wait until after I’d practiced. A good
strategy, but I have plenty of stamina. I’m not your typical old
man.” A man slipped from the shadows, drawing a wicked looking
scimitar from his belt.

“
You’re right. You are a
dead man.” The attack was so fast Glarian barely had the chance to
draw his sword.

He rapidly retreated, whirling Sakar in a
defensive arc and deflecting multiple blows that would have sliced
him in half. In spite of the frantic appearance of his blocks, he
made sure to bring the thicker back edge of his blade in contact
with the exact same part of his opponent’s scimitar. When the
onslaught was over, he took two more steps back and shook his
head.

“
It is customary to issue a
challenge before attacking. I like to know who I am fighting and
why.”

“
I am Sain and you are The
Master of the North Wind.” He spun his scimitar in an ornate
pattern, the tassel that hung from the pommel whirling in
counterpart to the blade. “This is Kha’darn and today we shall take
that title from you.”