The Cavalier (32 page)

There was also Jondris and his younger brother Lark, who were both outlaws from Finarth. They had been arrested for stealing the king’s cattle fifteen years ago, but they escaped into the Tundrens. The king’s knights hunted them for a while but later gave up as the two brothers were forced to hike deeper into the Tundrens, where Kiln found them. Kiln enjoyed the irony of hiring two thieves who stole from the king. They were good men, who had experienced hard times and needed to eat. Kiln would not condemn them for trying to survive.

Diomond was a tall barbarian from the Highlands. He was of the Veor Tribe located in the Highlands southwest of Tarsis. He was cast out from the Veors after he had fought with the battle lord of his tribe. Their rules are harsh and their justice even harsher. Diomond had gotten drunk and tried to bed the battle lord’s sister. She slapped him and in Diomond’s drunken state he hit her back. The battle lord was furious and demanded a bare handed feud fight, which was his right. If you lose a feud fight, then you were banished from the Highlands forever. The battle lord was called the battle lord for a reason; he was the best fighter of the tribe. Diomond lost the fight and left his tribe, never to return, wandering the countryside, until he ran into Kiln ten years ago. Diomond was gigantic, almost seven feet tall, and his long blonde hair framed a weathered tanned face.
 

The other four were recent additions to the group, all wandering vagrants and displaced farmers that now stood as tall proud men. Kiln gave them purpose and confidence, and he taught them how to fend for themselves. They all loved him as a father and great friend. There was Ballic, Corman, Wil, and Anders. Anders was only twenty one years of age, the youngest and newest addition from Finarth.

Jonas enjoyed his time with these tough mountain men, and Shyann was right, Kiln had a lot to teach him. Jonas continued to thrive on the strenuous activities, and the work on the farm made him think of his mother, which usually brought smiles, but sometimes tears. He spent many hours with Lambeck training with the bow, and with Kiln working with the sword. Lambeck was the most incredible archer he had ever seen. In three seconds he could place three arrows in the same hole at eighty paces. He taught him many techniques on speed, breathing, and how to make proper bows and arrows. Jonas loved it and he learned, as Fil had told him a year ago, that he was a natural. As his strength increased so did his speed, power, and accuracy, and it wasn’t long before he could hit a fleeing rabbit at fifty paces.

Kiln was an anomaly to Jonas. On rare occasions he could be jovial and fun, but most of the time he was cold and seemed to lack emotion, especially when he fought or trained. It was several months before Jonas even touched a sword. They spent the early mornings running through the mountains. Jonas could not keep up with Kiln, which surprised him. Jonas thought he was in great shape and that he would be able to outrun a man who must be in his early fifties. He was mistaken. Kiln moved quickly through the mountain trails, and his powerful legs carried him up the rocky steep terrain like a mountain goat. But Jonas struggled on, keeping within eye sight of the warrior at all times. His legs gained muscle and his strong lungs could keep him running all day. Kiln taught Jonas how to strengthen his arms and legs and how to stay supple and flexible as his muscle mass grew. Kiln would push him until he was exhausted, and it was in this state where he taught him the skills of Ty’erm.

One early morning they ran to the edge of a rock cliff and below them they looked down at Shadow Valley. They had been running for two hours, and Kiln had pushed him hard, running up steep slopes for most of the exercise. Jonas’s legs burned with the exertion as they stopped at the cliff edge, both sweating profusely and sucking in deep intakes of fresh mountain air.
 

“Well done, Jonas. You have been working hard. Now, let us try Ty’erm again,” suggested Kiln, sitting on the smooth stone.

“Sir, why do we keep practicing Ty’erm when I am exhausted? Wouldn’t it make more sense to try something this difficult when I’m rested?” asked Jonas, sitting down near Kiln.

“Jonas, to achieve the mental state of Ty’erm, you must be able to focus without distraction. When you are exhausted, your brain tries to shut down, which means you are concentrating on less, enabling you to enter the state of Ty’erm more easily.”

“I see,” said Jonas a little frustrated. They had been practicing the mental exercises for two months now and Jonas had seen little progress.

“Jonas, don’t forget that it takes most people many years of practice to enter Ty’erm. You are progressing quickly, much faster than I had anticipated. Now get into position.”
 

Kiln easily lifted his body into a handstand, balancing smoothly for several moments with his eyes closed. Jonas too lifted his body with his strong arms, holding the position, his eyes closed, concentrating only on his body. They had been practicing core strength exercises for several months. Kiln showed him various positions that helped stretch, strengthen, and relax the body. Jonas’s balance and strength improved immensely and he could now hold the handstand for a while with little shaking.

Finally, Kiln spoke softly. “Now drop into the position.” Kiln and Jonas both lowered their bodies smoothly until their heads were resting on the ground and their knees dropped to balance on their elbows. “Now, concentrate on your breathing only. Just focus on your breathing until your mind is free.”

Jonas thought of his breathing, each breath coming in and out. He focused on his chest expanding, over and over again. Don’t think of anything else thought Jonas, just breathing in and out. He had gotten this far before but usually his mind began to drift to other things and he could not enter the meditative state. This time he began to feel different. He went inside his body and saw his lungs expand slowly as they filled with air. He saw his blood flow through his arteries and feed his muscles. He concentrated on slowing his heart rate and breathing, so his body could enter the relaxed state needed. He saw his heart beat slowly, pumping blood through the various chambers, and willed it to slow down even more. It did, and his body relaxed, his mind seeing only blackness.

Jonas lost track of time, but eventually he began to see a light, and he followed it. His vision began to clear and he saw himself on the rock ledge, in the tripod position, Kiln next to him. He was assaulted by all the sounds and smells that he didn’t notice before. He felt invigorated and alive. He could hear the ants crawling around the rocks and he could smell the pollen on the bee as it flew overhead. It was an incredible feeling and Jonas didn’t want it to go away.

But it did, and in a flash. One minute he was seeing and hearing everything, and the next he was slammed back into his own mind. The conscious link he had achieved to Ty’erm was tenuous, and it had come and gone quickly. His eyes fluttered open adjusting to the morning sun that was now rising over the tall snow covered peaks. Jonas lifted his body in the air flipping down into the sitting position that Kiln had taught him, both legs crossed and his back straight. He was looking right at a smiling Kiln who was sitting similarly.

“You were out for quite some time,” Kiln said.

“Really? It didn’t feel like it. I felt like I could barely hold on to it.”

“You will have more control as you practice,” Kiln promised.

“It was amazing, Kiln. I did it. Not for very long, but I did it! It was the most incredible feeling,” Jonas said excitedly.

“I know. Wait until you can do it at will. We will keep practicing, Jonas. You have done well.”

“Thank you, sir, for teaching me,” Jonas replied, his eyes sparkling with joy.

***

Many weeks went by, but for Jonas it felt like he had lived with this group of men his entire life. He felt so at home with these men that it was hard for him to imagine not being with them.

Kiln stepped up his training and they began to use practice swords. Kiln did not believe in using wooden swords for he felt they did not have the weight and feel of a real blade. Kiln and his men trained often and they had long ago taken two swords and dulled the edges and blunted the tips so that they might use real steel.

Dagrinal was right, there is always someone better. Kiln was the most incredible swordsman he had ever seen. Jonas was not sure that even Allindrian could beat him. Kiln fought with sword and dagger for he was ambidextrous, just like Jonas. Kiln urged him to spar with two weapons, which of course, was much more tiring and difficult. Learning to fight with two blades was like starting all over again. They would spend every morning running, stretching, and meditating, while the afternoons were spent working the farm and tending to the cattle. The evenings were used for sword play, which Jonas enjoyed the most. He excelled quickly. His tenacity and drive to work as hard as he could pushed him to gain new abilities and skill. Jonas learned quickly and after a year of training he could best everyone, except Kiln.

***

It was a cold night and Jonas, Kiln, Lambeck, Diomond, and Anders all sat by Kiln’s hearth sipping a thick coffee from Annure. They could only get the coffee once a year when Kiln’s men made the long trip, so it was rationed out sparingly, usually on cold winter nights. The rest of the men were already in their cabins tucked into their warm beds.

Jonas had yet to bring up the fact that he was a cognivant. He had enough on his mind already without trying to worry about that, but he felt that this was the time to talk about it, and maybe these men would know something about it that might help him.

“Sir, do you know anything about cognivants?” Jonas asked.

Everyone looked at Jonas, wondering what would bring up a question like that. Kiln took a sip of his coffee and said, “Why?”

“Well…” Jonas paused taking a sip of the warm black drink. He had always been direct and truthful so he figured why stop now. “I am one.”

“What! You’re a cognivant?” asked Lambeck skeptically.

“I am. I found out during the fight with the giants last season.”

“How did you learn this?” asked Kiln, now interested.

“I stopped one of their clubs in mid-air and forced it back into its face,” Jonas replied, remembering back to the fight.

Kiln took another long sip of his coffee while the other men looked at Jonas with wonder.

“What else can you do?” asked Diomond.

“I don’t know. I haven’t tried anything. I was hoping that someone might know something about it. I’m not really sure what it is.”

“Cognivants are called IshMians by the elves. They are extremely rare and they can be very powerful. This is indeed a useful weapon if you are so gifted,” Kiln said.

“Try to move something,” Ballic suggested.

“I don’t know. I have never tried it since the battle, and that just sort of happened,” replied Jonas taking another sip of his coffee.

“Move my cup,” Kiln said, setting his empty cup on the table.

“Really, you want me to try?”

“How else will you know what you can do?”

“Okay, I’ll try,” Jonas said, setting his mug down and staring at Kiln’s cup across the table. He slowed his breathing, concentrating on the mug of coffee. He imagined the cup lifting in the air. He kept looking at it but nothing happened.

“Look at the cup and imagine that you are actually lifting it. Pretend that your hand is touching it, and that you can lift it. Try again,” ordered Kiln.

“Okay.” Jonas thought back to the fight with the giants and tried to remember how it happened. He and his friends were in danger, and it was the threat that awoke the power within him. He thought about what it felt like, and what he saw in his mind’s eye when the power erupted.

Jonas looked again at the cup, visualizing his hand reaching across the table and touching the mug. He slowed his breathing down like he had been taught and focused on the energy to lift the cup. In a flash he could see in his mind the energy between him and the cup, and he could touch the energy with his mind. It was a strange realization as Jonas suddenly made sense of what he was seeing. Everything around him was made up of the same energy, everything was touching everything. With that thought in mind he lifted the cup in the air holding it two feet above the table. The four men looked on with eyes wide.

“Now, move it about the room,” ordered Kiln quietly.

Jonas concentrated on the connection between his mind and the cup. In his mind’s eye the link was energy that he could actually see, just like he did during the fight with the giants. Jonas knew that no one else could see the link, but he could.

Jonas’s head began to ache slightly as he concentrated on the spinning mug. He spun the cup through the air easily. It whipped around the room with great speed before he brought it right above Diomond’s head.

“Don’t even think about it, Jonas,” Diomond said playfully as he kept his eyes on the cup above him.

Jonas smiled and set the cup back down on the table. He had a slight headache and he absently reached up to rub his temples. Everyone looked at Jonas and grinned with excitement. It was infectious and so he forgot about the minor headache and smiled back.

“Gentlemen, we are in the presence of an IshMian,” declared Kiln grandly as if he were introducing royalty.

***

The wound in the Greever’s chest had healed, but it had taken a long time. The beast would not forget that magical axe that had cut through its muscle and bone. It had been a long while since the demon felt that kind of pain, but it would take more than that to stop the hunter. The demon feared nothing, except for its master, Gould the Tormenter.