Capítulo 11: Spirit Control
Zortay stood looming over his boy, battered and beaten. He lay wrapped in thick layers of linen bandages around his head, stretching down to his chin, to where his jaw had been shattered. Zortay could still recall when he showed up in Alerio's arms, still seemingly dead, his hair matted by blood. The herbalist had done all she could, but she wasn't sure if he'd ever rise again. And even if he did… they'd be a large possibility he'd be a simpleton.
"M'boy, M'boy," Zortay began in a low cry, falling to his knees. He held on to Thebes' limp body, clutching him so tightly, scared he'd somehow vanished.
Around him, Villagers looked on, offering prayers to the Goddess Azalea by burning incense or by offering fruits like Pomegranates, ElderBerries, Grapes, Plums, and more. They sang for the speedy recovery of Thebes.
"Zortay…" a soft voice came, and when Zortay heard it, he snapped his eyes to the raggedy man and his wife.
"You did this," said Zortay sharply. "You brought that wretched girl to our village! Cursed! We told you! But you didn't listen."
Thain seemed to pale, held up only by his wife and his little daughter, barely five.
"Easy, Zor," said Old Mar, coughing up bile into his handkerchief. It was black. "Stringing Thain won't do you any good. Comelets—"
"She's dead. Here me! Dead." and he was off, striding through the crowd. He grabbed his axe outside the herbalist's cottage. He turned to Alerio, standing there with a gloomy look. "Show me the way, kid."
"Stop!" Old Mar shouted, hurrying to his grandson. "Alerio, don't!" He turned to his daughter, holding him up, and pointed. "Stop him. He can't—" Wrenching a cough into his handkerchief. Kayla held her father and turned to her son, but he was gone. She drew pale. "Go get… him… Go~"
Zarile had been nodding; analyzing Aurelia's stance, he nodded. "It's good, but you're too stiff. Relax your body. Yes, just like that. That means lip, too. Stop making such a silly face."
Aurelia glared at him. "I'm not making a silly face. You keep changing everything I do. One minute, it's perfect. The next, it's trash. Make up your mind."
To that, Zariel couldn't deny it. Every time Aurelia held a perfect stance, he would alter it, making it more perfect, if such a thing could exist. Zariel sought to make it possible.
"But is it better or worse than before?"
"Better, but—"
"Then stop talking back and listen." he snapped, fixing her pose for the hundredth time, nodding before changing it again. Aurelia wanted to cry. "... I think I'm going to start calling you dumb-dumb."
"Whatever…" He said, ignoring her pleading eyes. "Now perform the Sword Dance."
Annoyed, Aurelia glared at him before her sword became like a whirlwind cutting through the winds like an ephemeral wave. Her blade hissed, stirring the winds with such elegance. Zariel nearly imagined he was beneath a cheery blossom billowing in the winds.
It wasn't bad, he thought, smiling at his handly work. Aurelia nearly looked like a sword master by the way her sword wept through the winds.
Still, it was far from perfect.
"Don't you dare stop me again Dumb-Dumb!" Shouted Aurelia, immediately recognizing that stupid look he'd make. She pointed her sword at him. " Why don't we spar?"
The boy lifted an amused brow, "You'd better cast—" He turned, sensing a faint blood-red string of intent directed in his direction, and a cruel smile bore over his lips. He snickered when a thunderous cry raged.
"AURELIA!"
'Kinda nice no one is screaming my name for once,' Zariel thought, glancing at the young lioness, tilting her head in confusion. He pointed to her wooden sword. "Cast [Resist] on it. And remember, it lasts one minute. Before it must be recast."
He came from out of the bushes with a tall, dark, dark-skinned boy, pointing at the girl. "There she is,' shouted Alerio.
Zortay practically barreled towards the girl like a bull, clenching his axe; he was on her. But by the time he arrived, the Runic Symbal of [Resist] flickered over Aurelia's sword as Cold Hard Steel and Wooden Sword clashed. Aurelia was pushed back, barely having time to cast and put up a defense in time.
A look of shock flickered through Zortay's expression, but it quickly faded, blinded by a burning rage. He raised his axe, cleaving it down. Aurelia sidestepped, allowing the metal steel to weave past her so close she could taste the metallic aroma. Her sword hissed, piercing a vicious thrust towards his abdomen, tearing him off his feet several steps back with her inhumane strength.
Zortay puked his lunch, having never imagined a girl so small struck like a man. He groaned, and when he looked up, he saw her wooden blade crack across his skull, snapping his eye out of its socket and robbing him of his conscious mind. He flew, skipping over the grass until he toppled to the ground.
"Dumb-Dumb is far harder to fight, " she exclaimed, triumphantly arching her sword high into the air. "Aurelia is awesome!!!!" She gave a lion-like roar, turning to Zariel. "I did good, huh? Yeah! Praise Aurelia! Mwhahaha," she laughed with a fanged smile.
"Finish Him!!!" Zariel said darkly, feeling his inner weeb begin to show.
"Huh? Why are you talking like that?"
Zariel cleared his throat. " I had something caught in there. Sorry. Finish him!!! Double Tap. Just like I taught you."
Aurelia answered with a 'Kay~' hurrying over to the still man and said. " When an animal is conscious, it's a Mercy Killing. When it's down, it's a double tap. Dumb-Dumb is indeed smart." She lifted her wooden sword. "Bye-bye, Mr. Stranger Man."
"Wait! Please!" Shouted a long cry from the forest. Aurelia recognized it, and her face became one of horror. Thain appeared hurrying through the bushes with his daughter in hand. "Nasty little thing!" He shrieked, covering Ainsley's eyes as to hide the horrid state in which Zortay lay. "How dare you!"
"Dadd–"
"I'm not your dad!" Thain snapped green at the sight of Zortay laying there with his eyeball hanging loose, still barely attached by a tether of muscle. He turned and vomited, unable to hold it in. "Gods. I knew you were a demon." He cried, staggering backward, holding onto his child for dear life. " You're no child! You're a demon!" he added.
Aurelia bit her lip.
Other Villagers had begun stepping out and bore similar reactions to Thain. Only the guardsmen didn't seem to show signs of repulsion as they approached, spears in hand.
Aurelia backed away, falling back to Zariel, hiding her expression beneath her silver hair. Though he could see her tears, sheiking down her tender cheeks. He didn't speak on it. It wasn't his job to make her feel better, Zariel believed. He looked out at the gathering face coolly.
"He's alive," Said a Spearman checking on Zortay, coldly eyeing Aurelia as though she were the plague. "He's lost an eye and his skull is fractured."
"Do you see what you've done," Shouted Thain, tightening his fist. "You're not human! You're a bloody monster! It's why I left you! Monsters ought to live with their kind!"
Zariel fell back to his rocking chair. "You can kill them all if you want," he said indifferently to Aurelia. "With [Resist], you ought to be just fine. There are a few worrying Arcane Warriors, but nothing too serious."
It was the spearman who he'd the boys claim and readied their spears, glaring daggers at him. They had been unable to believe such words could sound from such a young boy. But the brutal blood of Zortay had been a fresh reminder of the brutality one their age could inflict.
"What good is power if it can't be abused," said Zariel coldly.
Sweat trickled down the faces of everyone, following the understanding that came. The breaths caught, and their hearts quickened as an invisible pressure bore down over their necks like the looming Sword of Damocles. They gulped.
"It's… It's ok, big brother," Aurelia whispered. She left, turning in for the day.
Zariel whistled. "Looks like you guys caught a break. I'd have fed your remains to the ravens. It's such a shame." He pointed off in the distance. "You may leave now. I'm in no mood to entertain."
A few of the men grumbled, spewing curses beneath their breaths but not openly when a familiar voice sounded through the stifling air.
"You're quite adept in Spirit Control, using it to pressure those around you." Professor Renly said, emerging from out of the shadows where he'd been watching. "That's a skill from the Branch School of Animus(Soul), is it not?"
"You again," Zariel said uninterested. "I see you decided not to be rude this time around."
Renly had a sudden dislike for the boy. It wasn't so much that he sounded rude, but… he was arrogant, much like the Old Noble Families.
"I don't suppose you'll be willing to answer my questions now."
"Not particularly."
"Someone lost their life," Renly said, voice hard as stone. "How can you be so—"
"Blase?" Zariel smirked. "It's because I don't give two shits. So unless you're going to attack me, might you please fuck right off."
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