Nyte: Chapter 28 - Practice

Despite Darian once more half-heartedly insisting Liz and Quell should return to the capital, leaving her and her soldiers to ride to warn Constance, that night we all leave together. Liz refuses to abandon her brother, Quell refuses to break his promise to me, and even Earnest and Xamireb throw their names behind me. When did I get so many people who have faith in me? I barely have faith in me. 

Now that we have three star drakes, travel is significantly more comfortable. No more getting squished between two sweaty humans—Hah. I guess I really don’t see myself as one anymore. But adding an extra seat as a buffer between Quell and I means I can actually enjoy the ride, and practice a little magic while I’m at it. 

After I’ve recover my mana, I try the healing spell on the scabs on my arm. It causes a whole lot of itching, and they definitely seem to firm up and shrink, but not much more than that. I guess this is what Quell meant by Blood magic being significantly weaker at healing than other Life arcana. But at least I know I’ll be able to scab over wounds. 

I try Attuning more of my blood, despite having Attuned all of it before, and find there’s some new blood that’s unattuned. I guess that answers the question of if I’ll need to Attune any new blood my body produces. Kind of annoying, because that means I’ll have to do a little each day—or at least set aside one day a week to catch up. This has got to be the most frustrating magical affinity out there. I open my eyes as I return my attention outward, and find myself looking at Quell’s back. 

Then again, I could have an illusion affinity and not be able to make illusions. 

As dawn approaches we stop to make camp once more. As the tents are pitches and dinner starts cooking, Darian takes me aside. 

“Come on,” she says. “One day off is plenty. Back to training.”

I hesitate as I follow her a short ways from the campsite. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. The shield was in attack mode when I stored it. I don’t want it to hurt you.” Or anyone else. 

“All the more reason for you to take it out now than when you actually need it,” she says. “What’ll you do if we get in another fight? You don’t have any other weapons.”

“I have my Attuned blood,” I suggest. 

Darian raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Do you know how to fight with that?” 

“I could,” I insist, though I actually have no idea if that’s true. 

“Show me.”

I really should have expected her to call me out on that. Well, no backing down now. I hold up my hand, and focus on the blood that’s in my palm. When I mentally pull at it, I can feel it move, pressing against my skin. It’s extremely unsettling. But if I want to use it as a weapon, then I’ll have to get used to it. 

Hemetic Hardening, I think, activating the spell to solidify a portion of the blood. I picture what I want: a small spear-tip. I wince as I feel it form, like a stone in my hand, its tip prickling against the underside of my skin. All I have to do now is bring it out. 

Steeling myself, I pull the arrowhead up, breaking through my skin. 

“OW!” I grab my wrist, hunching over as the pain spikes up my arm. “Fuck! Shit!” A dozen more profanities stream from me as I squeeze my wrist and stop trying to pull the blood from my hand. That fucking hurts!

Darian bursts out laughing. I wince as I dispel the Hemtic Hardening, and the small point of blood that had broken through my skin pools into my hand. Gritting my teeth, I use Coagulate next to scab over the wound. My hand still pulses with hot pain from the injury. 

Quell pokes around one of the tents. “Is everything alright?” 

“Yes,” Darian says, still laughing as she wipes a tear from her eye. “We’re just experiencing a learning opportunity moment.”

I glare at her. With my other hand, I gesture for the Attuned blood still sitting in my palm to rise into the air, and it obliges. The sphere of blood is barely the size of a marble, but I shape it into an arrowhead anyway, then use Hematic Harding once more. The tiny spear-tip becomes solid. Putting all my will behind it, throwing it as hard as I can, I launch the projectile at Darian. 

[Range limit,] Echo says right as the blood vanishes from my mental hold. The speartip makes it a few feet beyond my arms before its trajectory abruptly nosedives into the ground. The blood splashes against the ground, vanishing as a brown stain into the clay. 

Darian laughs harder. 

I let out an annoyed huff. Range limit? I ask Echo. 

[An Attuned element may only be controlled within the user’s range of Attunement. The range may increase as the user’s level or spell level increases.]

And my range is…?

[5.5 feet,] Echo replies.

Well that’s going to significantly reduce the usefulness of my Attunement as an offensive ability in a fight. I guess I’d have to use it as a sword or knife; though how much blood that would take, I’m not sure. 

Darian wipes her eyes, gesturing for Quell to return to camp; he doesn’t, and Liz and Earnest have even come to watch. 

“Thanks.” Darian chuckles as she looks back to me. “I needed that.”

“Glad my pain and ineptitude could bring you some joy,” I grumble. 

“You wouldn’t have listened if I’d just told you it was a bad idea,” Darian says. 

“I would have!” I object. Then I think about it for a second. No, she’s right: I would have still tried it anyway. “Alright, you’ve made your point.” 

“It takes a lot of willpower to injure yourself like that,” Darian says. “Especially on your hand; more nerves. If you’re ever really desperate, the back of your arm is a better place to work with. Larger area, less sensitive.” She flexes her hand. “Won’t stop you from holding a weapon.” 

I flex my fingers, and the new scab pulls painfully at my hand. Point taken. 

“Not to mention,” Darian continues, “throwing your blood around in a fight isn’t the wisest move when you might be facing other dhampyrs. If your blood manages to cut into one with the Bloodlust, you’ll activate their ability, and now you’ve just upgraded an enemy to very powerful and out of control.” 

Another good point. I feel kind of dumb for not thinking of these things already. “You didn’t seem entirely out of control,” I say. 

The humor in her expression fades. “I trained for years in controlled environments to be able to exercise as much control as I did when fighting the Umbral Blades. And control is still barely applicable to what I was exercising. Stopping myself from eviscerating Felicity was a feat unto itself.” Her face hardens. “What I did was impulsive and desperate. It is not to be used as an easy power-up, do you understand? If you try the same, you’re likely to hurt an ally—or worse.”

I nod. “I’ve no intention to.” And that’s the truth. As much as I try not to think about that first time, what I did to those Moonfall soldiers who had Quell, snippets of gore and screams still creep their way into my dreams. 

“Good.” She plants her hands on her hips. “Now are we going to get back to some actual training?”

I glance toward the campsite. Liz is sitting cross-legged on a boulder, tossing pieces of crusty bread into her mouth like popcorn. Earnest leans against the rock, arms folded. At least Quell has the good sense to look concerned. 

I still edge a few more steps away from the campsite. “Give me some space when I summon it, first,” I say. 

Darian also steps back, gesturing for me to continue. I hold my arm out to the side, then summon the Crimson Aegis. 

The shield appears, whips of blood still extended, lashing blindly through the empty air. Its hunger hits me, causing my own stomach to ache. I grimace, bracing my other hand against the shield. 

“Stop!” I call out. “The enemies are gone.”

The Aegis notices this too. It’s confused, then frustrated. Where have they all gone? We were just about to win! How dare they snatch victory from our jaws by fleeing! The cowards!

I decide to not clue it in to the amount of time and distance that’s passed since we were in the fight. 

Exuding disappointment, the shield allows its bloody lines of magic to dissolve into the air, flickering out. I slump in relief. 

[Blood Guard ended,] Echo reports. 

Liz lets out a whistle. “That’s some shield.”

That’s one way to put it. 

“It’s the Crimson Aegis,” Quell says, leaning over to Liz excitedly. A pained look immediately scrunches her face. “I read about it in the archives. Did you know it was forged by the same smith who made the Devourer? It’s said…”

“Good job.” I tune out Quell’s history lesson (as it appears Liz is also doing) as Darian steps back into position. “Now reactivate that ability.”

“What?” I say. “It will skewer you.” 

“It didn’t skewer you,” she notes. 

“Because it knows not to.”

“So tell it not to skewer me.” She draws her sword. “Come on. You want to be able to use these abilities in a fight? Learn how to use them outside of one.”

“It’s too dangerous,” I object. “The other abilities I was able to control, but the Aegis owns the Blood Ward. And it won’t just use it to hurt, it will use it to kill. It’s… it’s a tool of death.”

“And a sword isn’t?” Darian counters. “Don’t be naive, Nye. If you draw a weapon, you should wield the willpower to use it. But a sword can cut an enemy as easily as an ally, if you don’t have the control to wield it properly. Control comes with practice. You want to use that thing to protect yourself? To protect others? Then let’s practice.”

I grimace. She’s oversimplifying things with the Aegis. It’s not the same as an inanimate sword. But she’s at least right that I’ve nothing else to use if it comes to a fight. Even if I started training with a sword today, it would take years for it to be as effective as this magical weapon. If I want to survive future fights—if I’m going to protect Quell, and trek across treacherous lands in search of my brother—I need to master the resources at my disposal. I don’t have to like it for it to be true. 

Alright, I think at the Aegis, and it perks up. We’re going to get in another fight.

The Aegis’s excitement bursts through my mind. Excellent! It can’t wait! When? Where? Who? That person! We will destroy them.

No! I hurriedly think as its attention latches onto Darian, her sword leveled toward us. No. That’s not how we’ll win this fight. 

The Aegis bubbles with confusion. Winning without destroying? Absurd! It doesn’t understand. 

“Ready?” Darians calls. 

“One minute,” I say. “I’m trying to work something out.” 

This fight is different, I tell the Aegis. Killing them means we lose. 

Now the Aegis is extremely confused. But how? That is how we prevail! That is how we display our clear superiority!

This one, uh, likes to bleed, I say, completely inventing a lie on the spot using the only logic I think the Aegis would understand. At the very least, it seems oblivious to the concept of lies. 

It likes blood? The Aegis considers this. Well that is a very understandable thing! Completely relatable. But this is a problem! How do we break its willower and establish our supremacy if it wants to lose? The Aegis doesn’t understand! This is all so confusing. 

Oh no, I’m going to break the magical shield. We can still win, I hurriedly tell it before it undergoes some sort of existential crisis. This target can be defeated by knocking it down. More than anything, it doesn’t want to end up on the ground. I mentally picture us standing over a downed Darian, foot on her chest in some absurdly victorious posture. 

This, however, the shield understands. Yes! Victory. We will stand over our foes in triumph! They will subjugate themselves before us!

Yeah, I think, wincing. Something like that.

I nod to Darian. “Okay. I think we’re ready.” God, I hope so. 

Darian charges toward me. I crouch behind my shield. Alright, I think to the Aegis. Let’s do it. Another Blood Ward.

I get the mental equivalent of a blink from the Crimson Aegis. Blood Ward? It can’t do a Blood Ward. It’s all out of blood.

I growl. “Are you freaking kidding m—”

Darians sword crashes against my shield, rattling my teeth. I clench my jaws shut and activate an Endure to stop the vibrations. 

How much do you need? I snap, stumbling back as Darian continues to advance. She tries to hook my shield and go for my feet, but it’s a move she’s used before, and I know what to watch for this time. 

The Aegis can use any blood. Lots of blood! The more blood, the better its attack. 

I slap my recently-scabbed palm to the back of the shield, and activate a Devour. There! Take some. Not a lot though! I need to stay on my feet. 

The Aegis delightfully agrees, bands of red magic snapping around my hand to keep it pressed against the metal. A brief burning sensation against my palm makes me wince, then I feel a distinctly uncomfortable suction-like sensation as it pulls blood from my hand. And in a different, equally strange way, I can sense it entering and becoming part of the Aegis’s magic. It’s my Attuned blood, now buried somewhere inside the shield. The realization is dizzying; it’s like I can feel myself inside the metal. The line between us, blurred. I falter, briefly dazed and dissociated. Darian takes the opportunity to slam her pomel into the side of the Aegis, snapping my arms to the side. 

[Blood Ward activated.]

The whips of blood snap from the surface of the shield, stabbing toward Darian. That shakes me out of it. No! I think, willing the spears of blood away from her. And they divert, stabbing into empty space. The Aegis and I are equally confused, but I figure it out first. It’s my Attuned blood. I can still control it even after the Aegis has absorbed it. 

Offended, the Aegis grabs control of its blood whips once more. Why did I stop it? It was going to win!

No! I think. Remember? We can’t stab her to win. We have to knock her down. 

Oh. Right. The Aegis forgot about that. 

I try to bring the shield back around, but Darian takes advantage of our faltered attack. She grabs the shield with one hand, holding it to the side as she plants a kick directly into the side of my ribs. I feel something creak, then I crash into the dirt, striking my head against the ground. 

Oh! The Aegis delights. Thanks! More blood. 

I groan, my armor grinding into every joint and bone as I try to roll over. The packed clay out here is a lot less forgiving than the sand dunes we’d started on. Darian stocks after me, pointing her sword toward my neck. “Dead,” I can already hear her say. 

A line of blood snaps around her ankle, rising from where it had fallen to the ground. Darian flinches, surprised, but not as surprised as me when the Aegis lets out a victorious cheer. HaHA! Experience defeat by means of ground!

The whip pulls tight, yanking Darian’s foot out from under her. She flips, her sword flinging from her grasp, and slams into the ground, back first. She lets out a gasp, the air forced from her lungs. I lay there panting. The Aegis preens in victory. 

A face swims into view overhead. “I think that’s quite enough sparing for one day,” Quell says. 

A blood whip creeps toward his ankle. 

No! The fight’s over, I say, mentally grabbing the blood in its magic and forcing it still. This isn’t an enemy. 

The Aegis is a little disappointed. Am I quite sure this one doesn’t also need to be shown proper submission?

Very sure, I think, trying to catch my breath. 

“You guys are going to beat the crap out of each other before we even find anyone to fight,” Liz says, offering Darian a hand up. Quell offers me the same, but I wave him off. I’d probably just end up pulling him to the ground. I wince, holding my side as I stagger to my feet. 

“You okay?” I ask Darian.

Darian huffs out a laugh, looking at me. “I’m not the one bleeding from the head.”

Oh. Right. I start a Coagulation before I lose any more. 

“But good job,” she says. “That’s the most clever I’ve seen you fight yet. I’d call it a draw.”

I snort. “Don’t let the Aegis hear you say that.”

We limp back to camp together. 

“Here,” Earnest says, handing us each a flask of water. Then he hands me a second one. “You’ll want to make up for that bloodloss so you don’t pass out.”

“Thanks,” I say, gratefully taking both. Darian and I collapse back around the campsite. The first band of sunlight breaks over the horizon. I wince at the light, and incoming heat. 

“We’ll practice each morning until you feel comfortable with the shield’s abilities,” Darian says. I’m not sure if that’s meant as a promise or a threat.

I finish off one of the waterskins in a series of unbroken gulps, then gasp at the end. “Actually,” I say, wiping my mouth, “I already feel a bit better about that.”

“Oh?” she raises an eyebrow. “That was quick.”

“It’s my Attuned blood,” I explain. “If the Aegis uses it for the Blood Ward, I still have some control over it. I can stop it if it tries to kill someone.” Finally. Some semblance of autonomy once more. Not everything is outside my control. This one thing, at least, I can handle. 

Darian nods, but she doesn’t look as relieved as I feel. “That’s good. What if it uses blood that’s not yours?”

Ah. Right. “I guess I wouldn’t be able to control it then,” I say, some of my confidence faltering. 

“Control is good,” Darian says. “But I expect it goes both ways, with you and that shield. What you really need is cooperation. Trust.”

“Trust.” I grimace. The Crimson Aegis is clearly something else. Something that has never been a person, never experienced empathy, never understood concepts of morality. It can be directed, certainly. But trusted? “I’m not sure if that’s possible,” I admit. I don’t even trust other people unless or until they can prove they’re good for it.

Darian shrugs. “Something to keep practicing during our sparring matches.”

Liz sighs, rolling her eyes. “Soldiers, I swear. Can’t you go one day without trying to hurt each other?”

“It’s a good workout,” I admit. 

Darian points at me and nods approvingly. “They get it.” 

“I really don’t see the appeal,” Quell says. 

“Of course not.” I look back to Darian with a snort. “Academics.”

Instead of agreeing with me, though, Darian smiles, leaning over to Liz to hook an arm around her neck and pull her into a hug. Liz laughs, tumbling into her arms. 

“Oh, I don’t know.” Darian’s eyes crinkle as she looks down at Liz. “They grow on you.”