“But first, let us test where you stand now,” Shigeru said, getting to his feet. “I will have you spar against one of my students.”

Samuel looked up in shock, still holding the ancient blade by its dark blue scabbard. He noticed the curious energy radiating from Shigeru, and looked back to his adopted son with raised eyebrows. Tobi seemed excited by the idea as well. It seemed he had no way to deny without seeming weak.

“Err, sure,” Samuel said, slowly getting to his feet. “If you think it will help.”

Shigeru led the other two, humming in satisfaction, back toward the main room. The gray-robed figures who had been lounging on the patio outside were now on the padded floor. They had split into pairs and were taking turns performing intricate throws. Samuel’s attention was snagged by the closest pair. The smaller of the pair had just grabbed his partner by the front of the robe, thrown him over his hip, and held him in place by one arm behind his back.

“Clear the floor,” Shigeru barked, his voice commanding and easily audible. “We have a match!”

The four fighters immediately cleared the space, moving to sit along the edges of the padded area, sitting cross-legged and paying close attention. Samuel studied each of them closely, wondering who he was going to have to fight. They all seemed very capable.

“You will not face any of them,” Shigeru said. “They are my most senior students, and facing them will not show us your strengths.”

“I’m not likely to do any better against you or Tobi,” Samuel said morosely. “Or any apprentice trained by you, for that matter.”

Tobi gave him a reassuring smile before turning on his heel and running down a side corridor. Samuel watched him as he ran out of sight, then cast a questioning look towards his old friend. Shigeru made a brief hand gesture for him to wait, and walked to a small collection of wooden training weapons that were resting against a nearby wall.

“This should suit you fine,” he said, grabbing hold of a practice longsword. “Try this out.”

It was roughly the same shape and size as the blue blade he was holding. Despite being made of wood, it was even the same weight, which confused him. He dismissed his own weapon, and took hold of the wooden one, giving it a few experimental swings. Apart from the feedback of mana he was used to, it felt virtually identical. Not that it made him feel any more confident, he thought with a bitter half-smile. He’d only been in one fight with a sword in his life, and he’d been backed by temporary power and knowledge. How could he pull off those moves again?

“I have brought Rainhall, father,” Tobi called, jogging back into view.

“Excellent,” Shigeru said eagerly, stepping off the padded floor.

Rainhall? Samuel looked over to the somewhat sleepy apprentice who had followed Tobi into the main room. He looked unassuming enough, despite his family name. He certainly didn’t look like one would expect of the spoiled son of a noble family. If anything, he looked meek and confused, just how Samuel felt at the moment.

“Captain,” Rainhall said, offering Shigeru a bow. “What do you need of me?”

“Good evening, Jakob-san,” Shigeru said. “We have arranged a match to gauge Samuel-san’s abilities. You will be his opponent.”

Jakob Rainhall looked over at Samuel with curiosity, studying him as well as the weapon he held. He seemed to nod thoughtfully to himself, then, without another word, picked himself a longsword from the rack of wooden weapons.

“Rainhall has been with us for four months,” Tobi told Samuel. “He will be the best way to gauge your strengths and weaknesses, as he uses a similar weapon.”

“Right,” Samuel said tensely. He took off his dark blue robe, feeling his body starting to tense up. “Well, let’s get this over with.”

Tobi nodded and retreated to stand beside his father. Shigeru himself was watching Jakob, who was stretching slightly. Once he signaled that he was read, Shigeru gestured for the two to face each other and bow. Samuel bowed his head awkwardly, looking at Jakob. Now that he didn’t seem as tired, Samuel could see the effects of four month’s training under Shigeru more clearly. The young man was powerfully built, with broad, strong shoulders.

It occurred to Samuel that he should have stretched as well, not to mention be a bit broader and have more muscle. He felt woefully inadequate compared to Shigeru’s student, and he unconsciously took a half-step backward. Jakob smiled at him in a friendly way, but that did nothing to assuage Samuel’s nerves.

“Hold steady, Samuel,” Tobi called. “This is just a sparring session to determine your abilities. There is nothing to fear here.”

Nothing to fear besides getting whacked with a wooden stick, Samuel thought. Then Tobi gave the order to begin, and Jakob advanced. He slid one foot in front of the other, his stance wide and balanced. Samuel shifted to the side, and almost at once, Jakob shifted his stance to match. He seemed so confident and capable now, and Samuel swallowed nervously at the thought of fighting him.

It wasn’t a thought for long, as Jakob jumped forward for the last few feet, swinging his wooden blade down from above. Samuel brought his own weapon up to block it, but it had been a feint, and Jakob twisted his wrist with what seemed like lightning-speed, smacking Samuel on the nerve of his sword arm. The young mage let out an undignified yelp of pain and dropped his practice weapon, clutching his arm.

“Point!” Tobi called, “Collect your weapon.”

Surprised at the uncaring, commanding tone of Tobi’s voice, Samuel bent down to scoop the weapon up once more. Even Tobi seemed like a different person now, as if the walls of the room made everyone better apart from him. Gritting his teeth, Samuel turned to once again face his opponent. He didn’t care about winning now. Just don’t fail horribly, he told himself. Hit him at least once.

They began anew, with Jakob once again advancing. Samuel couldn’t help but notice how his approach was nearly identical to the last bout. Sure enough, he started with another high stroke. Samuel raised his sword to block it, but the backhanded side-stroke was already on its way, aiming for his elbow. Samuel was fast enough to block it this time and noticed how Jakob’s right side was unprotected after his extended strike.

He swung his sword for the opening, but Jakob was too quick. Samuel’s own blow was coming from a cramped space and didn’t have much force behind it. Jakob parried it to the side with ease, then jabbed out with the point of his own weapon, catching Samuel painfully in the stomach. He staggered back, coughing as his lungs refilled themselves. That hurt worse than the first strike, and he knew that with a normal weapon, that was likely to be lethal.

“Point!” Tobi called again. “You did much better that time, Samuel. Go again.”

Samuel started proceedings this time, jabbing out with his own weapon as Jakob attempted to do his predictable downward stroke. He was nearly there when Jakob brought his own sword down, smacking Samuel’s sword out of the way. Then Jakob whacked him high on his right shoulder and stepped back.

Again and again, Samuel tried new ways to break through Jakob’s guard. Each time, Jakob stopped him, with what seemed to be contemptuous ease. Samuel parried, block, cut, and jabbed, but it made no effect. Compared to him, Jakob seemed a master with his weapon, and Samuel couldn’t touch him.

After about ten more minutes, not to mention several painful impacts of Jakob’s sword on his body, Tobi finally called a halt to the match. Samuel allowed the wooden practice weapon to fall from his grasp and felt his knees give way. He hit the ground hard, his head low and chest heaving. It was no comfort to him that Jakob still stood upright, his weapon held backward, breathing normally. He’d been completely beaten.

“I couldn’t hit him even once,” Samuel panted. “That’s about how I expected it to go.”

Shigeru dismissed Jakob, who gave Samuel one more bow before putting his weapon back and returning to his quarters. Tobi came over to Samuel and offered him a helping hand, pulling the young mage to his feet and patting him on the back in a reassuring sort of way.

“I am surprised, Samuel,” Shigeru said, coming over as well. “I remember our fight against Neratas clearly, and you were much faster then.”

“I was helped by Grimr and Arcana then,” Samuel retorted. “And a hundred years in the ethereal plane has made me so weak that I can barely swing my weapon, let alone a practice sword.”

“Hmm,” Shigeru stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I suppose there is some truth to that.”

“Look at the bright side,” Tobi said with a grin. “You can only get better.”

Samuel scoffed at that, then immediately regretted it. “Sorry. And thank you for helping me to grow. I look forward to learning from you.”

“And I from you.”

Samuel left Tobi and Shigeru to their night’s rest an hour later, staggering tiredly down the nearly empty King’s Road to the Heron Tavern. Mandra greeted him warmly as he shuffled in, and already had a hot meal and coffee waiting for him. He at the meal, roast chicken with greens and a tangy salad, without much thought, chugged the coffee down, and made his painful way up to the second floor in his room. His head hit the pillow, and he was instantly asleep.