Chapter 10

The Lesson

Moonlight washed over the expansive Desert Loop, illuminating those areas not covered by ruins or craggy rocks. Smoke rose from the oasis, remnants of a battle well-fought. The monsters had long since departed, and many of the travelers with them, yet from his perch, the Beastmaster could see all of the devastation. Water remained inside the pool there, but no visitors would likely approach the oasis for some time.

In all of this, Caleb confessed himself disappointed. He’d walked away empty-handed. Again.

“It’s such a shame, Cario,” he sighed out. His dog could care less, dozing away at his feet. The sight made him chuckle and he licked his lips. “These weapons are proving most elusive, and I thought I’d be able to attain my prize. Whichever one was there had a certain spike in strength…”

Cario suddenly yawned, showing it was not quite so sleepy as it had once appeared. Caleb reached over to pat his faithful companion, rubbing through its jet-black fur. His legs uncrossed themselves as he continued to watch the desert, seeing less and less in the moonlit darkness.

Kraw! Skraw! Caleb turned his gaze upwards, a blackbird with demonic eyes swooping towards him. He stretched his arm out, allowing it to land neatly. The bird inched along, speaking to him in a way only beasts could. Each expression brought an upturn to his lips. Cario looked excited, as well, though it was doubtful that the dog understood everything that was being spoken.

“The spear, was it? And they’re moving on…?” Caleb couldn’t help the smirk that accompanied the chuckle. “Strife begets heroism, as always. Such predictability.”

“Rrruf!” Cario barked out. Caleb looked down at his companion before standing, sending the crow back into the air.

“Indeed, Cario, we’re in business. Relay the message to all our friends: test run is complete.” The blackbird squawked once more and disappeared into the night sky. The Beastmaster whipped his cloak around, Cario at his heels, and the two began to leave the rock face with all speed. “The Metropolis awaits, and everyone remains all too blind. Just as planned.”

“So, you’re sure you’re not hurt?”

“For the millionth time, Eddie! I’m fine!” Meredith stressed. In the firelight they had made, she could see Eddie wringing his hands together. Ever since they had made it out of the zone of impact, he wouldn’t stop any of his worrying about her, which made it all the more annoying as she tried to work that evening.

“You’re a real worrywart, huh?” Emil asked, slinging an arm around the brunet. Eddie threw the arm off and continued to make food for their party. Meredith sighed, stitching her vest up from the damage Vivian caused.

“He’s always been worried, ever since we were kids,” Meredith told the boy. She pinned the last stitch in and snipped it, holding her vest up to the light. It wasn’t a perfect fix, but it was enough.

“That’s because you would always run off and get into trouble, or do I need to remind you of the time you snuck in with Captain Clive and nearly got trampled by a bunch of bandits?” Eddie’s brandishing of the ladle in his hand did nothing to stop Meredith from rolling her eyes. Emil laughed loudly, dipping a finger in to taste some of the soup simmering over the fire.

“Man, you guys are a riot.”

“And what about you, Floaty Boy,” Meredith said in jest. Eddie slapped the blond’s hand away from the pot. Emil relented and turned to Meredith. “What’re you out here for?”

“Just enjoying life,” Emil admitted. Meredith and Eddie shared a look indicating the same thought: they didn’t quite believe him. Neither pushed the issue. Meredith, instead, chose to dig in her bag to pull out different tools, setting them on the blanket they’d laid out, regardless of the sand drifting onto it. She placed her broken blade in her lap. “Mom and dad are a bit, what’s the word, controlling? Yeah, they had this whole future mapped out for me. I’m not one for all that, so I decided to take the trials. No one can fault me for that, right?”

“So, you don’t even really want to be a Guardian?” Emil shrugged. Meredith pursed her lips, but otherwise didn’t say anything. She turned her attention towards her blade, expanding it to work on the broken, thin wires that held the weapon together. Emil inched closer, watching her with fascination. His voice speaking again nearly startled her, but didn’t interrupt her delicate hands.

“Wouldn’t say no to it, but it’s not exactly a passion of mine. Corps is a little too stuffy for me,” he said. As if he didn’t know he was doing it, Emil began to float upwards. “How about you two?”

“Ask Mera; she’s the expert,” Eddie pointed out. “I’m just along for the ride.”

“Really? With awesome magic like yours? You know how rare it is to see multi-elemental mages?” Meredith snorted, finally fitting the wires in just right. With a press of the button, her blade retracted once more, good as new. It was the slightest relief as the conversation turned to her least favorite topic. “I mean, I’ve seen a lot, trust me, but they’re usually mono-type. I’ve never met someone who has mastery over the four basics.”

“I wouldn’t call myself a master,” Eddie said. He looked embarrassed to say it. Emil picked up on that. Once more, he slung an arm around the boy. “I’m mostly self-taught. Not a lot of magic teachers in Lumarina. We mostly used it for day-to-day stuff.”

“No wonder you can’t teach me well,” Meredith teased him. Eddie stuck a tongue out at her in response. She bit back her laughter and put her tools away, briefly looking at the encouraging photo inside her bag. When she looked to Emil, though, she could see he was deep in thought.

“You want to learn magic better, then?” Emil asked after a pause. “I’m pretty good at magic, if you haven’t noticed. I could teach both of you, no problem.”

“You’re so modest, too,” Meredith said with a snort, leaning back against the blanket. “And in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t exactly have magic.”

“Nonsense,” was Emil’s simple response. It was so curt, that she sat up and Eddie nearly dropped the ladle in the small pot he was stirring. “Most people, unless you’ve attended Lacardia Academy, are under this impression that there are people who don’t have magic, but it’s untrue. Like I hinted before, everyone has the ability to do magic.”

“Then why am I not able to, oh great teacher?”

Emil glanced at her, looking her over before he delivered his rather blunt answer. “Because nothing’s made you need to.”

“Bullcrap.”

“Nope.” Emil swung around, floating higher so he could observe both of them equally. Eddie made himself busy serving the soup he’d made into bowls, but Meredith could tell that, like her, he was listening intently. Emil’s hands clasped together, forming a circular shape. “Think of it like this. At birth, we’re all born with this core inside, like the one you’ve mentioned seeing in Frostfall Cavern. That’s our magic.

“To some, this core is huge and starts manifesting itself from birth. To others, it’s so small that they could go their whole lives without tapping into magic once. It gives them the impression that they don’t have it. Can make life difficult, but not impossible. It’s also important to keep in mind that different magics are easier to tap into. Pure element-based magic, like Eddie’s here, is tremendously easy to activate, though from your display at the oasis, I’d argue that your core is one of the bigger ones I’ve seen.”

“Really?” Emil nodded, slowly lowering to the ground. His magic must have run out, because he seemed surprised to have his butt hit the sand.

“Definitely. You’d do well at the Academy, I bet,” Emil said. He didn’t linger on the subject, returning to explaining things as best he could. “So, a combination of a small magic core and a difficult to use type of magic could explain why you’ve never tapped into your magic all your life. The other reason is a lack of trigger.”

“Trigger?” Meredith asked, leaning forward. “Like…a lock to open what’s inside?”

“Sure, you could see it that way. Your core is inside you, and given the right trigger, it could unlock that core and have magic come bursting right out. After that, improving magic is all up to you. Focus, meditation, and understanding the flow of each specific element is the only thing that can help you from there.”

“Got any advice you can give me, then?” Eddie said, passing bowls across to both Emil and Meredith. They took them gratefully, and while Meredith ate slowly, Emil downed his in one before continuing with his instruction.

“Sure. You’re a pure-element mage. So, from everything I’ve seen, the best piece of advice I can give you is to strengthen each piece of magic. Good magic comes less from just having it, and more on how you apply it. With four distinct elements, you can get some really skillful moves, from attack spells to shields.” Emil tossed his bowl up and down in the air and then threw it towards Eddie, where it stopped short, hovering above the pot. “Right now, you’re using rudimentary shapes. So, give attention to each element, and then try bringing them together for more solid forms.

“As for you, Mera…you need to find your trigger, and then you can find out what your magic is.”

“Make it sound so easy,” Meredith said, unable to hide the bitter tone from her voice. Emil didn’t notice it, and while Eddie may have, he looked more interested in testing his own abilities out than in consoling her. Emil, too, looked more invested in Eddie’s own attempts to keep the fire going by focusing on that particular magic. “You certainly know a lot about this. Where’d you learn it from?”

“I mentioned my parents had a future for me, right? Part of that future meant attending Lacardia Academy.”

“Lacardia?! What’s it like? How are classes?” Emil hardly looked shocked, and absorbed the questions that Eddie put to him with a grin.

Meredith took to finishing her soup, watching the two boys interact as though they’d known each other for years. Emil had stories to tell, and Eddie laughed or expressed awe at every one of them. Listening to them, it sounded as if Eddie had found the path he wanted to take. Although, Meredith thought, it may have just been a trick of the firelight and a full belly. Their stories continued on for some time, and Meredith eventually lay back, looking up at the moon shining overhead.

I have magic, after all…what I sensed inside wasn’t a lie…Meredith’s musings offered comfort as she closed her eyes. Instinct kicked in again and she began to reach inside, sensing that small, shining light. It seemed so weak, confirming what Emil had said in regards to triggers and magic cores. None of it mattered all that much, now, but just knowing she had a form of magic, whether it was weak or strong, gave her strength; encouragement that she’d see her dream to the end.

She stretched her hand further in, wanting to touch that warm light. It was constrained, needing that one trigger to force the lock open and expand it. She couldn’t think of what it was, but she didn’t push it, instead letting it flow free. The sands whispered, the air whistled, and the rocks grumbled. Each piece of nature connected within her, and the sounds of Emil and Eddie talking faded away. There was nothing but her and that little light.

Beyond it, amidst the sand and desert structures, Meredith could sense so much more. Humanity that was lost in the Loop, and the dark haze that remained over the oasis. She couldn’t discern much more, and soon her energy gave out, but the mere realization of what she’d been able to do in that moment let her close her eyes and rest. Her body felt so heavy, she drifted into an instant sleep, unaware of the two boys watching her with blinking eyes. Meredith didn’t awaken until the sun was once more beating down on their party.

That very sun was like a slap to the face that made each of them scramble to get out and into whatever thin amount of shade there was in the desert. To Eddie’s credit, he appeared to be trying to make ice and water to cool them off. It did little good in the arid weather, and all three languished as they trudged through the sands.

“Makes you feel like you’re in your own little world, these climate pockets,” Emil said once they had traveled for a couple hours. They had finally found some rocks to take shelter under, and his feet on the ground indicated how much of a toll the heat was taking on him. “Maybe that’s why the Corps holds them in places like this.”

“A test before the test,” Meredith confirmed. Sipping at her water, she glanced out. The skyships that had once dotted the land had now vanished, and even the ruins were less visible, running underground. Very few remained intact above the sand, including a nearby sanctuary of sorts. It was the only building for quite some time, but Meredith had to figure they were getting close: their path had subtly turned in a different direction while they walked, and brown shapes on the horizon indicated the possibility of larger buildings.

“Whatever it is, we still have a ways ahead of us, and no place to turn back to,” Eddie said. He held the map in his hands out, marking where he thought they were, and where their destination was. By her own estimation, Meredith had to figure another couple of hours would see their destination appear. “The return journey is gonna be rough.”

“Eh, we’ll make it,” Emil said. The best friends threw a look to him, but didn’t refute his claim about joining their party until they were out of the desert. “For now, let’s just make it from building to building.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Meredith hitched her bag on her shoulders and blazed the path forward, back into the scorching sun and towards the broken cathedral that was contributing to the ruined state of the desert. The boys pulled their hats further over their face to block the sun, but Meredith kept her eyes peeled.

No one else was alongside them in the desert, unlike the groups during the first stretch. She imagined the attack on the oasis had changed quite a few things and, reflecting on that, Meredith felt an increase in her pace. The ruins approached quicker now, with gaping holes where windows might once have been, and open air in place of a roof. Once upon a time, Meredith imagined that the place was probably beautiful, but that was a time far past. Part of her wanted to stand inside the church, perhaps imagine what it may have been in those yesteryears.

The other part, however, pulled to an unequivocal stop at the sound of crashes and voices from within the ruins. It stopped her two companions, as well, right at the edge of one of the empty windows.

“Nothin’ but junk here!”

“There’s gotta be somethin’! It’s an old church. There has to be some sort of religious artifact, right?”

“Don’t look at me. I just want to bring something back to the boss that’ll make him happy.”

“Looters?” Eddie whispered. Emil shrugged while Meredith leaned forward. Whoever they were, they didn’t sound like trial candidates at the very least. It took a second, but she managed to crane her neck just enough to see who was inside: two men, dressed in black robes that looked highly uncomfortable in the desert sun. An emblem was sewn into their back, one she’d seen more times than she could count on the news.

“The Order,” she answered in turn. Meredith pulled away so as to not be seen. Emil’s frown gave it away. “Who knew they came so far out just for random artifacts?”

“They’re zealots; anything that proves whatever that crazy cult believes in is fair game,” Emil said. His frown became a scowl. “Though, there have been disturbing rumors about them lately. Granted, just rumors.”

“Don’t they suspect them of being involved with some raids or something? You know, peddling propaganda in a town before disaster hits?” Eddie asked. No one could answer him, but Emil nodded all the same. “Well, rumors and coincidences aside, maybe we shouldn’t stay here and just head straight for the Sandshift Ruins.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me. You good with that, Mera?” Another clatter emanated from within the cathedral. Meredith poked her head around, seeing the men from the Order throwing rusted plates around that shattered on impact. On the whole, they seemed inept, which felt like an ironically far cry from Rico and his Renegades. “Meredith?”

“Oh, right. Yes.” She wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to, but followed after the boys all the same, keeping an eye on the Order to make sure they weren’t spotted.

“There’s just rusted plates!” the first one yelled as the teenagers turned a corner. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Got nothin’ to show for it…Gaius won’t be happy…”

“Eh, we’ll give enough pamphlets in the Metropolis. Apparently, His Holiness has something planned for any new believers. A sign of our faith being rewarded.”

“Praise be to the goddess!”

The brief pause Meredith gave was nearly audible amidst the sands. Her companions noticed, particularly Eddie, whose eyes locked with hers. He’d heard the same thing, and while Emil looked nonplussed, the weight of the words that the two Order members had spoken hit the Lumarina pair like a sack of bricks.

The Beastmaster had a plan in the Metropolis.

The Renegades were heading to the Metropolis.

The Order was going to be in the Metropolis.

Everything was pointing in the same direction, and Meredith didn’t know if it was all connected or if they were just pieces that had a chance of intersecting along the same path. The sound of boots hitting the sand indicated the departure of the Order members through the desert, but Meredith was gripped with her thoughts. Something big was about to go down in the Metropolis, especially if Eddie’s speculation was true, and the only players that weren’t set to be there with full awareness appeared to be the Guardian Corps, themselves. Suddenly, the need for haste increased.

“Let’s go,” Meredith said. Her voice was sharp, to the point that Emil flinched, pausing in his own footsteps. She passed him, Eddie joining at her side as she did so. Emil blinked before running awkwardly to catch up with them. Wherever the Order members had gotten to, they’d long since traveled out of sight and earshot on their own personal road to the Metropolis. Meredith wondered if they had their own skyship to get out of there, and whether it meant she needed to increase her speed.

“Is there a reason you two are running? It’ll only drain your energy faster,” Emil said once he’d caught up with the pair of them. After a quick look to their faces, his own scrunched up in further confusion. “Seriously, you two look like you’ve seen a ghost or something…You know those Order members?”

“No,” Eddie’s curt response offered. Meredith kept focus, even as the sand and heat made her perspiration increase and drain away her energy faster. She snatched her water canteen and nearly downed it. “But right now-”

“We have to reach the trial site!” Meredith said. Emil didn’t get it, but he shrugged nonetheless and decided to keep up with their pace. She couldn’t explain why, but the coincidences burned in her, making her near-fearful, and yet brimming with determination. The thing keeping her going beyond her own measly goals was in sight, beyond the small stretch of desert that remained.

The closer the trio got to the site of the trial, the more things became clear as to what they had been seeing on the horizon. Large pillars were sticking out of the ground, made from pieces of twisted metal, rusting with the ages to match the brown aesthetic of the desert. They led downward, to the base of a door that one could enter to reach the bowels of the ruins. As if matching the name they’d been given, rivers of sand flowed inward, filling the fallen structure with copious amounts of the offending material.

What got Meredith’s attention the most, however, was the consortium of skyships that ringed the ruins, making sure to not touch the rivers of sand. Plastered on their side was the unmistakable emblem of the Corps. Meredith’s breath hitched with relief upon seeing a far more familiar skyship; one she had worked on. That was something she’d know anywhere. It wasn’t often that one worked on a commander’s personal skyship.

“So, this is the Trial of Desert…” Emil said with awe. Eddie, too, soaked it in, his eyes wide. Something about this place had entranced him, like he was thinking differently than he had back in the Frostland. Meredith paused for a single second to call out to them.

“Nearly there, boys, come on!” Eddie shook the stupor out of him and joined in, huffing and puffing the whole way. Emil lagged behind, clutching at his side with a wheeze every couple breaths. Meredith paid him little mind until, at long last, the path into the Sandshift Ruins became so clear she could touch it.

Unlike the Trial of Ice, not nearly as many candidates were entering the ruins. While her last trial had held a dozen or more, there were a mere three or four candidates besides themselves that were entering, assuming there weren’t any more behind them. The one similar thing was the Guardian standing out front, checking in each individual for their trial. There was no sign of Commander Masters in the area, and Meredith assumed he had to be down below. Wiping yet another patina of sweat from her brow, Meredith led her two companions on the final approach, digging in for her card. A dull roar filled her ears from the distant air, but her heaving breaths overtook it as she reached the base of the ruins.

“Meredith Childs, candidate. I’m here to partake in the Trial of Desert,” she gasped out. The Guardian before her quirked an amused eyebrow, but took her card and checked her in.

“Registered. The trial will begin momentarily. We are merely waiting for some guests to arrive, so please, relax and make yourselves comfortable. The Corps has established a water station inside the…” Meredith had long stopped listening, dashing straight into the ruins and leaving Eddie and Emil to check in behind her.

Her first step inside faltered, almost sending her plummeting to the ground. Her feet were on a stairway, leading downward to both a sandy bottom and a room beyond. Soon as she’d regained her balance, Meredith descended the stairs, jumping two or three at a time to reach the bottom swiftly. As the sunlight was obscured by Eddie and Emil’s own entrance, Meredith noted that, just like the Trial of Ice, the ruins were lit by braziers to guide the candidates’ path. It was the surest sign of the location being a trial site.

That observation intensified when Meredith broke through the door, ignoring Emil’s calls after her, to emerge in the gathering room for the trial candidates. Her gaze was cast around wildly, taking in the whole room in search of any visible sign of her quarry. Unlike the last trial, there appeared to be stadium seating set up, or rather, they had long been built into the location. A number of people were seated there already, mostly Corps members. A passing note of a large group of non-Guardians entered Meredith’s sights, but she didn’t stop her search, taking in little else until she caught sight of the large man she’d met not long ago, speaking with one of his subordinates.

Meredith calmed her breaths; it would do no good to approach the commander with such panic, and she wanted to make sure that she conveyed her thoughts in the best way possible. She wasn’t sure how much time she’d have to do that. In order to convey her business stance, Meredith retied her hair in order to look the part, and made quick strides across the room. Masters finished his conversation in the meantime, turning away when Meredith increased her speed.

“Commander Masters! Commander Masters!” Her sudden cry drew some gazes and a slight snickering from the stands that went ignored. All that mattered was the man now turning to her, the confusion in his eyes being replaced with recognition, and followed by a grin.

“Ah! Miss Childs!” he said with his booming voice, echoing around the chamber. Meredith finished her approach and stopped before she could send any of the sand in the room puffing up. She saluted to the man without a second thought. “I thought I recognized your name come up on my roster for registered candidates. A bad break at the Trial of Ice, I assume.”

“Er, yes, sir. One I hope to make up for, sir,” Meredith answered, her voice traveling faster than her thoughts could even come up with the words. Masters was nodding, stroking his beard. “However, that’s not quite the reason I’m here, sir. There was something I wished to talk to you about, and I figured-”

Rumbling filled the air, louder than it had been before, but no one looked concerned, least of all Masters. Rather, he looked straight up with a proud grin on his face. Meredith couldn’t help the frown and she bit her twisting lips. She recognized that sound anywhere: the sound of a skyship, coming in to land. Judging from those that had landed, she knew it was someone important who had come, possibly a benefactor or fellow commander. Whoever they were, Meredith was quite aware that her attempt to speak with Commander Masters had been thwarted before it had even begun.

“My apologies, Miss Childs. I’m afraid a rather important business has come up in-person. Whatever you must tell me will have to wait until after the trial,” Masters said. The sole thing he did to console her was a light pat on the shoulder. “I hope your standing will improve; more than just my eyes will be on this trial’s candidates, I think. Good luck.”

“Y-yes, sir,” Meredith said, offering one more salute before the commander disappeared back through the entrance. She sighed, lamenting whatever business had so suddenly impressed itself upon the commander.

“No luck?” Eddie asked, having joined her. Meredith hung her head.

“Crashed and burned. Then crashed again.”

“I doubt it was all that bad,” Eddie said, unable to restrain his laughter. Meredith elbowed him, bringing her head back up to get a better look at the surrounding area. “But hey, he seemed to recognize you. That’s gotta be a good thing.”

“It will once I ace this trial,” she said. He nodded in response, more silent than she expected him to be. Meredith turned, about to ask just what was going through his mind when two very different voices interrupted in the most unwelcome of ways, making her very stomach feel like it had just dropped out.

“Emil?!”

“Eugh…Vivian?”

Both Meredith and Eddie looked while the trial candidates in the room went silent to watch the nightmare that unfolded before them. For standing opposite each other were the blond boy she’d come to consider a begrudging companion, and the girl that had delivered her a beatdown…and they seemed to know each other.