Within the hour, a raven could be seen leaving the heart of Myrdin, soaring high above the snow-capped Rhydian mountains and making its way to Codrean. As the raven drew nearer, the sounds of clashing training swords echoed throughout parts of the frigid valley.
"Faster!" Taegin's voice rang out across the training area as the raven was landing on its perch later that afternoon. The snowy ground had long since turned to mush during their training sessions that week. No matter how much snow seemed to fall, it was never an excuse to skip a day of honing their skills.
Pairing Meliss and Edryd up seems to have pushed her to train as hard as possible. Since the letter to Thoma, she's really come into her own here, Taegin thought, observing her fluctuation of mana as she reinforced her legs.
He heard the raven cawing from its perch, warning everyone of its arrival. One of the senior Synners moved towards it to retrieve the parchment secured in the small pouch on its chest. "Master, it's from Caegwen," the senior called out as the training duels went on behind Taegin.
From Caegwen? I wonder what this is all about, he thought, unfolding the letter in his gloved hands.
Meanwhile, Meliss dashed forward, making every strike count as she picked up the tempo between them. Ed found himself backpedaling a little bit, but not without getting in a few strikes of his own, forcing her to calculate each move with increased precision.
That training we did with Thorn is really paying off! Ed thought, deflecting a stab aimed at his neck.
Half-handing his sword with his leather gauntlet, he caught her sword in a short bind, nearly twisting it out of her hands. To compensate for the rapid twist, she jumped and flipped in the same direction as the rotation of her sword, leaving him mildly off-balance.
Shit, this is bad, he thought, pushing mana into his left leg to help keep him steady.
Realizing she was expecting him to fall, he took advantage of the split second of confusion in her eyes and used the momentum that would have spelled his downfall for a low backside kick, sending her flat on her back. Realizing the position she was suddenly in, and feeling the icy, muddy water beginning to seep into her jerkin, she raised her sword just in time to block a downward strike.
Fuck, this water is cold! How am I getting out of this? She shouted internally, trying to remember her lessons.
Instead of her lessons, her instincts kicked in, and no sooner were her eyes blackened to draw from the Ethereal as she prepared an Exar blast. However, Ed noticed her intent and drew mana as well as he prepared to counter. The two fired their Exar spells simultaneously, radiating a decently sized shockwave that propelled icy mud in all directions. With some distance freshly created between them, Meliss quickly got to her feet and pushed mana into her legs, closing the short distance for her next strike in a heartbeat.
Edryd managed to catch the training sword aimed for his head with his own, quickly deflecting the blade off to his right and aiming a pommel strike at Meliss' face. She slipped beneath it, and used the momentum from her swing to drive her elbow straight into Ed's gut, forcing him to double over momentarily.
Here comes the knee, he thought, crossing his forearms in front of his face to block the strike.
Using the energy transferred into his arms, he threw himself backward, trying to land a backhand slice while giving himself some room. She curved her body just enough to pass beyond the tip of his blade as it cut a small scratch in her leather armor.
"Not bad! Not bad," Edryd began, slightly wincing from the pain of her strike to his solar plexus. "That move with the knee is a little predictable, but you might be able to catch a creature off-guard with it," he said encouragingly. "Thank ye," she began with a nod. "Although, that was a brilliant move of your own, using the momentum from my strike to create distance. I never even considered that possibility," she said pensively.
"You should always consider that your actions can and will be used against you, both in and out of combat," Thorn began as he approached the pair. "You've both grown a lot, and I'm proud to see most of my teachings haven't fallen on deaf ears," he said warmly.
"Diolch, Thorn," the pair said, offering him a bow, which he politely returned. "But for fuck's sake, Ed! Did you have to knock me on my ass into that puddle?" Meliss asked, feeling her body begin to shiver. "Hehe, sorry about that," Ed said with an awkward smile.
"Thorn," Taegin called out as he motioned for the elf towards him. "Sorry, we'll have to talk about areas for improvement later," Thorn said, already backing away from the pair and splashing into a small, icy puddle behind him. "We'll be waiting," Ed said with a nod of affirmation. Thorn allowed a slight grin to show before trotting over to Taegin's side. "What is it, Master?" Thorn said, being cautious not to use the Master's real name in front of the senior.
"I need you and Ren to pack your things," he began grimly, keeping his voice low enough so that no others would hear it easily. "Thoma and Lady Ysevel have been caught in a portal to the Underworld, and the Commander of the Royal Caegweni Guard has requested our assistance," he continued.
"That should be impossible without a portal stone like the one we used to get here," Thorn said, not bothering to hide the disbelief in his tone. "Who else knows of this?" he asked after a moment's pause. "Those who were present at the time, the king and queen of Caegwen, and Bernar, though he's indisposed right now," Taegin said.
"This is likely going to be beyond even my abilities, isn't it?" Thorn sighed, already knowing the answer to his question. "Very well. I will instruct Ren to avoid saying anything about it to Ed or Meliss since those are the only two he seems to talk to, in any case," he continued with a nonchalant shrug as he began to step away.
"Oh, and Thorn?" Taegin began, causing the elf to pause his movements. "Take Nenvalur with you. I know he's technically the leader of the Arwydus present, but I don't think endlessly training our Synners is whetting his appetite for a good fight," he said, pushing his chin out into Nenvalur's direction.
He couldn't appear more bored if he tried to, Thorn chuckled internally as he saw Nenvalur's face drooping like fresh dough hanging off the edge of a table.
"It will be done, Master," Thorn bowed. "Thank you," the Master said with a grin as he returned the gesture.