Claus. David turned to meet his lifeless eyes. The weight of the shadows beneath them seemed huge, menacing. As if his lack of sleep attested to a lifetime of work and worry. He asked,

“Why the interest? I’m just a rookie around here.”

David was surprised to find his own voice sound so worried, before he realized he was worried. When there were tests like these in stories he’d read the hero was already an overpowered bonafide badass. He... well he wasn’t. Not yet. He felt stronger than he ever had on earth and he clearly had some budding talents but fundamentally he was still the same guy. The same kid really, unused to fighting and barely able to stop a goblin, barely able to murder a rabbit.

He felt for the borrowed power that lay within him hot and ready. Felt it fill his muscles with strength and fill him with some degree of comfort. Some degree of strength.

“You were with Maria weren’t you? You’re claiming to be what now? Some sort of amateur, I suppose. So why would she take you in? Like I said, what are you?”

David opened his mouth to speak-

“No, don’t answer. Let’s find out in the ring.” Claus grinned, with no mirth, the smile didn’t reach his eyes, instead sitting in his mouth as this morbid thing.

The wrongness of his expression was plain, a face split by a grin with no excitement - a facsimile of joy. He turned and raised an arm, his hand waving as if to say ‘follow me’. Dread filled David’s heart, but as he heard Aryn murmuring behind him about how Claus would be a fine tester his feet began to move.

The testing room was a small ring, with a dirt floor and torches on the walls. There were a few wooden chairs above, space for an audience but it was empty now. The room had only three people in it: Claus in front, then David, then Aryn silently following behind him.

David wished Maria were here, or William, or his mom. Whatever test was going to happen here, he wasn’t ready for it. He wished there were someone to hold his hand, to help him or tell him it would be okay. He wasn’t sure it would be, he didn’t think that these tests were usually dangerous, but this didn’t seem usual, and Claus was downright off-putting. The weight of his eyes was unnerving, they seemed to be measuring him, and finding him wanting. He saw Claus stop walking once he’d reached the center of the circular room and heard him say,

“Ok, come at me!”

Claus didn’t have a weapon but David didn’t think he’d need one. His eyes were still strange and empty but there seemed to be a faint hint of yellow light in them. As David reached for his sword he felt the bite of static shocking his fingers and pulled back before reaching again.

The room felt strange, too full and somehow heavy. Like the moment before a thunderstorm. Breathing in tasted like the iron of a bloody mouth, the air kissed his lips with the flavour of battery acid. David’s hand barely finished gripping his blade before Claus started to move, Christ he’s fast!

David took a step back and barely dodged a hand that flung out as if to caress his left ear. Not a punch, strangely, but an open hand reaching forward for skin. David felt the pumping beat of warm magic within him and dropped into the lowered stance he’d learned from William. Knees loose, I need to be able to move.

Claus lunged at him again and David threw himself away, the strength in his legs explosively throwing him to the side, he followed up, circling around Claus quickly, two short steps bringing him to the grim man’s back. David tilted his blade, aiming the flat of it at Claus as he began to swing it like a primitive metal baseball bat-

“Tch.”

David heard Claus click his tongue and felt something on his chest, he looked down, to see a hand planted against his tunic. It tingled, lightly, then he saw Claus slowly turn his head, his dead eyes meeting David’s before the static on his fingers started to dance. White hot light filled his brain, his teeth clenched down, grinding hard as his jaw tried to snap further shut than possible. He felt the magic in his legs fighting to keep him standing, even as his muscles turned to jelly and crumpled in a spasming mess. He fell forward onto Claus’ back, the magic in his legs still barely holding him up. The blinding light that bounced around in his brain started to ache and burn before his vision went totally dark.

David saw Maria above him, her finger in Claus’ face. Her voice was heated, she nearly shook with rage. His ears were ringing, and everything seemed foggy. Am I conscious? If I am I must be really concussed. He heard her yell,

“He’s the hero, you idiot!”

Before things started to go dark again. He heard Claus, his tone dry and grim but he couldn’t make out the words. It was like his head was underwater. His head felt so heavy. His eyes felt so heavy. He heard someone say the words: ‘circus’ and ‘fake’. He started to drift off, the embrace of emptiness relieving his pain, before he heard Maria’s hissing voice cut through the fog,

“It doesn’t matter if it’s fake. It just matters that he believes it.” Claus responded flatly,

“It doesn’t matter what he believes. If he’s that weak, what’s the point of him?” David tried to protest, to raise his arm. Nothing would work. He tried to reach for his magic and darkness started pulsing angrily at the edges of his vision. It was harder for him to stay awake, his head was pounding, but this seemed important for some reason. He didn’t know, he couldn’t hold on anymore, he gave in and passed out again.

David woke up with Maria above him, his head on her lap. She smiled down at him. His head hurt. He’d been knocked out more times this past week than the rest of his life combined. He felt a strange embarrassment grip him, shame mixed with slight joy as he realized where he’d been lying and jerked back.

“Ah… sorry.” He blushed. She almost seemed to smile, the expression tugging at the sides of her face, but her lips stayed firm. Her eyes and forehead were filled with deep concern lines,

“I’m sorry about Claus, that shouldn’t have happened.” She frowned, briefly, before the expression dissolved into a smile, “You’ve ranked up in the guild though, rank D now. How do you feel?”

“Oh, good... that’s good.” David answered absently as he wondered how he felt, for now he felt like his head was full of fog.

Something about Maria’s expression just seemed wrong to him, so composed - so prepared. He vaguely remembered her above him and felt a twisting dark sensation in his gut. How did I get so close to her so fast? I barely know her. He almost pulled back from her before he stopped himself. His head ached and the world felt foggy and unreal. He grimaced and said:

“Actually, I think I’m concussed. I might need more rest.” Maria’s forehead knotted in concern once more, her eyes worried dark pools. Meeting them struck David with this horrible falling sensation, vertigo warping the room around him.

“Ok, rest as long as you need. I can afford it after all.” She laughed at her own joke, a gentle tinkle, much quieter than her usual joyous laugh, as if in consideration of David’s state. She squeezed his shoulder and said softly,

“Sleep well.”

David nodded and then breathed out in the focused way he’d learned from William, almost meditatively, some tension flowed out of him as he exhaled. At his core though there was the same sickening sensation, like tar rubbed in an open wound, an unclean twisting sensation. He almost heaved with nausea, but forced himself to close his eyes and lay down.

He schooled his expression into something simple and empty - rest, as he lay in the bed, breathing lightly in and out. Listening, waiting for Maria’s light steps as she left the room. In and out, in and out. As he heard the creaking and click of steps and a door closing, his eyes snapped open.