Chapter 28

Raiel continued to practice his transformations within the forest, secrecy being of great importance. This was one of the only things he could not display openly, and thus sought solitude among the wooden giants, going even further in than his favorite tree at times, if he was feeling particularly paranoid. When altering his teeth into fangs and his nails into claws had become easier, attempts at other parts of his body had seemed like the natural next step.

Ears were the first thing on his list, and it had gone much better than expected, both widening and lengthening successfully within a half dozen attempts. Whether it actually provided any real improvement to his hearing remained a mystery. He thought everything seemed just a bit clearer and louder, but that could just as well have been his hopeful imagination at play, his mind telling him what he wanted to hear.

Seeing how long he could actually make them become showed that there was a limit to the transformation. The more drastically he changed them, there more it felt like he was losing his grasp on the substance within him, like it was becoming distant and faint. And as he lost contact with the energy, so did he lose control of the transformation, the ear becoming slightly malformed, with abnormalities such as pain, bumps or missing parts, and fragility as though some components of the ear were not present. In the end, control was lost completely, and the body part remained in its mutated state, largely useless.

When it happened Raiel was scared shitless until he found out he could reverse it by focusing on and transforming smaller parts at a time until the ear reached a manageable size. Regardless of the relatively simple fix, that had been neither pleasant nor exciting. Just frightening and disturbing. Frankly, he was lucky that it was reversible at all. The implication was terrifying. What if that had not been an ear, but rather his heart or brain? Could he have reversed it as easily, and would he even have had the time before toppling over in the grass, dead? He was not keen on finding out.

Note to self: take it easy on the transformation.

Despite that little mishap, Raiel’s curiosity drove him to try a few more things, albeit with a healthy dose of caution. It was possible for both claws and fangs to continue to grow bigger as well, but he never took it as far as the ears. They quickly became more of a hindrance than a benefit anyway, so no harm done.

Next stop: the eye. That one had been instant regret. He had thought it obvious that bigger meant better, but apparently, that was not always the case. When he tried to enlarge his eyes, he went blind almost immediately, the afternoon disappearing into complete blackness. Frantically, Raiel returned them to normal, his vision snapping back in as he fell hard on his ass in disorientation, panicked breathing setting in. How was he supposed to know, that eyes were so complicated that they were destroyed so easily?

The real question, however, was how his eyesight could be improved by infusing the energy directly into the organ, but as soon as he tried altering it the eye was destroyed. What changed when the substance bound itself to something to improve it? Perhaps, it could somehow bring out the epitome of the potential of something. Or maybe the substance itself simply became the strength for whatever it flowed through.

Instinctively, his body knew its own default state, thus making it fairly easy to reverse the transformations so long as he retained control of the body part. When he lost control, the substance would begin to run awry, slowly continuing its alterations without direction, seemingly at random. He could only imagine what horrors that could potentially lead to if left alone.

Raiel had blissfully thought of the power as a part of him, and while that might be true, it was willful, complex and dangerous, a mysterious matter which, in the end, he knew nothing about safe for the scarce truths glimpsed from personal experiences. His questions were without end and with no certain answers in sight. All he could do was to keep experimenting with care, hopefully avoiding any fatal, dismembering or incapacitating accidents.

His practice with the sword was severely halted by the fact that he did not actually own a sword to practice with. On one of the many errands he ran for All-Trades Jack, as he was often called by the other workers, during his work shift, Raiel had stumbled upon the shop of a blacksmith, abound with all sorts of magnificent weapons and armor. Like with many of the human-made products in this city, the functions of many of the weapons were a mystery to Raiel.

For example, how a small, curved blade with a short handle and a three-meter chain with a metal ball at the end could ever have any practical use aside from decoration and display of skill eluded him. A fleeting glance at the price tags on most of those pieces nearly sent the poor boy reeling, his eyes popping in his head. Was it even possible for one person alone to have that much money? They would need a huge wallet and one of those wheelbarrows to carry all that money around, surely.

One of his new dreams was to own his own sword that he could practice with. For now, he had used a sharp rock to whittle a branch into a very questionable imitation of a wooden practice sword, the surface uneven and rough.

It did not feel like his swordsmanship had improved, but that might be too much to ask of a couple of days of practice. During combat class it had become more and more evident, that most of his prowess in fights stemmed from ferocity, infusion and the element of surprise, which meant that his actual technique was sorely lacking behind the others. Sure, he could summon immense power, but should he be faced with someone who could do that, as well as fight with polished and overwhelming technique, he seriously doubted his own chances of emerging unscathed from the encounter. Death still remained in the top five on his mental list of stuff he would like to avoid.

Now, Raiel was on his way to the first woodcraft class since the korval attack, wondering how it would go. It was difficult to predict how the lessons would be from now on. Would there be some form of consequence for that girl’s death or would classes simply continue as though nothing had happened.

Arriving by the fringe of the forest, where class had started last time, as well, Raiel took a seat on the fallen tree trunk. The dewy weather had left the wood in a wet, soft state, easily peeled away, even with just one’s fingers. There were a few other students there already, but none really knew what to say to each other, the air heavy with the somber events of the previous class. It would be interesting to see how many actually turned up for class again after that tragedy. The boys and girls had seemed wholly and truly unprepared to deal with any form of danger that did not involve failing a test or losing money.

Pitiful, really, that when their lives really counted on it, most of them could not bring themselves to take action, instead freezing up or act erratically in panic. But what did that mean for him? Compared to the daily dangers of his old life, city life might be ripe with danger, but just not in the same thrilling way as the forest wilderness. He did not want to become too soft. Damn, now he really missed the deep woods and its natural splendor but managed to not take off in a mad dash through the trees.

Maybe a few nights spent sleeping under the night sky a few times a week would do him good…

Raiel spotted the girl whose dad was an apothecary, if he recalled that correctly, not that he was entirely certain what an apothecary was. Judging from the way it was mentioned, it was a profession that involved plants and flowers, so something like a farmer or something, perhaps? He couldn’t remember what her name was, even though she must have said it at some point, but found himself unable to care, his thoughts occupied by other matters.

Slowly, more students trickled in, most of them falling into the same silence that had reigned in the little gathering for a while now. Last to arrive was Horoth, their teacher. He greeted his class with a smile, but his demeanor was clearly crestfallen.

“Welcome back, everyone, it’s good to see most of you again,” he said, scanning the crowd before him. Although Raiel could not be sure exactly how many people had not turne up, there were clearly at least a few missing. “Erh… I’ll be honest… I don’t really know what to say. We all know what happened last class, so there’s no reason to remind you all, but I hope you all realize that that was an extremely odd and rare occurrence. Koval territories are fiercely protected and very precise areas. This means that they also don’t just venture out of these territories for no reason. When we were attacked, we were almost fifty kilometers from any territories. What you experienced back then, you will likely never experience again in your lives. Black luck for it to happen the first time we’re together, since that kind of thing is among the many important instances this class aims to prepare you for…”

Horoth paused, momentarily at a loss for words. His expression spoke of a troubled heart, with many things weighing it down. A glance at his students saw his eyebrows perk up in mild surprise as his hand shot out in gesture.

“Yes, miss, go ahead.” he said, directing everyone’s attention to a girl sitting in the moist grass with her back against a tree, her hand raised in the air, the universal sign of a question.

The girl cleared her throat before she spoke. “I was just wondering… what caused them to come all the way to these parts. The korval pack, I mean.”

“Ah, yes. The great mystery…” Horoth said with a light, humorless chuckle. “If only we knew, we could rest easier. Seeing that you were all there in the thick of it, I think you deserve to know, that we don’t have a clue as to why they were that far from their stomping grounds. It’s worrying, to be honest…” The admission brought about a chorus of murmurs among the gathered youngsters, unnerved by the ignorance of the experts. “As I said, korvals are territorial to a fault, few things able to drive them away. The fact that it happened means that we have something dangerous on our hands, We can only hope, that it’s moved far away by now, whatever it was.”

“Then, what will we be doing from now on?” a boy asked with hesitation through the mumbling voices, causing everyone to quiet and listen.

“Well, for today we’ll be here, talking and conducting a not so hands-on lesson, just to settle everything and debrief. Then, hopefully, from next class forward we’ll resume our forest walks, albeit a little closer to home, just to be safe, eh.” The smile he gave this time seemed more genuine.

They spent the remaining time talking about the goals of the class, and what they could expect. Horoth would teach them basic survival, preparing them to live weeks, or even months in the wilderness with nothing but their skills and experience to aid and support them. Finding or building a shelter from the elements, hunting, cleaning and preparing animals as well as plants to sustain them, and protecting themselves from other predators, a necessity of survival that had become more evident to the small group of teenagers than they would have preferred.

In addition, he would teach them how to perform first aid, both on themselves and on others, and what plants and herbs could be used in medicine and poisons. He stressed how important it was to be able to keep a cool head for extended periods time, since recklessness meant death in the wild.

Horoth also asked each of them individually about their experiences with living in the green, revealing that most of the students had not actually gone on much more than relatively short camping trips before. Yet, all of them had an interest in the class in one way or another.

Raiel managed to avoid saying anything of substance about himself when asked, simply saying that he had a bit of experience living in the forest – a gross understatement. It was difficult to tell if Horoth already knew about his past, or at least the parts of his past that the school administration knew about. Considering what Raiel had accidentally shown the man against the korvals, he was under no illusion that it had not aroused interest, followed by an investigation.

Raiel would still behave as if his teacher was none the wiser, as a simple precaution if nothing else. Might as well reinforce the habit of hiding his true self.

All in all, the class was a pleasant chance to wind down a bit and just sit in the grass, not doing anything for once. As the time flew by, he slowly tuned out the voices of the people around him, the free moment under the trees doing him good.

“Come on, man! There are only so many carriages. We could be waiting a whole hour for the next one if you don’t get your ass into a higher gear!” Yaeth threw his arms into the air in impatience. He paced around their small room, huffing and puffing as he waited for Raiel to put on his last shirt after a short bath. Yaeth had been waiting when he got back from his class in woodcraft with Horoth, already eager to go home.

Raiel slung his backpack over his shoulder, its only contents being his meagre wealth of coins, carefully saved from his part-time job. The small, hand-carved coin of wood that his former warden and friend Komren had made and given to him was securely in the buttoned-up pocket of his trousers.

Before Raiel could even tell his friend that he was ready, he was pulled out of the door by the arm, forced to follow in the heels of Yaeth, who was practically hopping down the stairs. Outside, they sprinted down the path and through the streets, Yaeth giving more than he had in him, as he soon found out when his legs mysteriously began to give out beneath him, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Raiel had to stifle a laugh as they slowed to half the speed to prevent Yaeth from popping a vein and collapsing onto his face, his reddened face alone revealing the poor shape he was in. Raiel suspected his natural ability with infusion helped him retain his own shape, explaining why he had not grown frail during his imprisonment.

“H-hey… Carry me… the rest… of the way, will you?” Yaeth wheezed in between labored breaths, his face distorted into an image of true suffering.

“Yeah, no, not going to happen.” Raiel chuckled good-naturedly as he ran leisurely next to his stumbling friend. “I think I’ve even told you to exercise before, but did you listen?” He left the pointed question hanging, studying the shops and buildings as they passed.

“That was then… this is now… If you have so much… energy to spend, then… the least you can do… is give a bit of it to me…”

“That’s not how it works. Now, get your ass into a higher hear, or we’ll be late.” Raiel commented with a smirk. Yaeth could only glare and grumbled at having his own remark thrown back at him.

“We could… just have left earlier.” he gasped.

Soon, a line of carriages came into view, lined up next to the road leading out of the campus village. There were six carriages, with a seventh already leaving in the distance. The first four were currently in the process of boarding passengers, all of whom wore nice clean clothes, making Raiel conscious about his own dirty trousers. The only pair he owned.

They made it into a free carriage with time to spare, making their rush seem a bit over the top. Yaeth handled the ticket for the both of them, Raiel having planned to walk the whole way to the city. It had not even occurred to him, that they could travel like this, although he had tried it before, when he first came. Somehow, it just seemed so… exclusive.

The stench of horse was quite overpowering, leaving Raiel frowning in his seat. Some of the carriages had a roof and walls, effectively making them small rooms on wheels, but those had been taken already. Raiel did not mind, though, preferring the open air and afternoon sun over a darkened box. Three other students Raiel didn’t know got on before they left.

The vessel jerked into motion when the coachman tapped one of two horses on the rump, a signal to begin the journey. As they settled into their seats, Yaeth looked visibly relieved to be sitting down after his draining run. They sat in silence before Yaeth spoke up, his tone conversational.

“So, have you thought about what you want to spend your break on?” he asked.

“Break?” Raiel asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, in three weeks’ time we’re off for a week.” Yaeth clarified

“Huh, I didn’t know. Why?”

“Well, you know how a lot of the students are quite wealthy, right? It’s basically to allow them to go home to help with the administration of their households, businesses, lands and so forth. Many of them will take over responsibilities at some point, so it’s necessary to be a part of it from as early as possible. It’s an old tradition. We have quite a few breaks here and there because of it.” he explained with a smile. “It’s really nice to be able to go home once in a while.” Yaeth seemed to remember who he was talking to, and looked at his shoes, unsure of what to say.

Raiel, however, simply brushed it aside. “I don’t know what I’ll do, then. Maybe take a camping trip.” he laughed, Yaeth joining in.

A whole week? He had told himself not to do anything drastic, but progress in their search for answers seemed like a distant hope. No, he would not do it. The one thing he definitely would not do, was go after the names on that damned list.