Steel for Humans

******

I opened my eyes. The lycanthropes were gone, and I was back in the room. I was lying on the floor, crutches flung aside. Elise's face swam above me, stern and set in stone. I realised that I didn't feel any more pain.

Experimentally, I lifted my left arm. With delighted shock, I saw that it was there, completely intact, as though the lycanthropes hadn't ripped it away at all.

"Get up," Elise said, unsympathetic.

I scrabbled onto my knees—holding back a shriek when I accidentally twisted my bad leg—and picked up my crutches. "What was that?" I gasped, fighting off a shudder. I could still feel the lycanthrope leader as his gleaming fangs pierced into my bone.

"An illusion." Elise waved her arms about, gesturing towards the room in its entirety. "This is one of our many training rooms. Here, we can conjure images almost as powerful as the real thing. We use it to train our sorcerers. I specially selected this room because it's our best."

Barely leaning on my crutches, I let my hands roam around my body, checking to see if there were any wounds to indicate my scuffle with the pack. Nothing. Just a little bump on the back of my head where I had hit against the floor, I supposed. But the feeling of being torn apart still clung onto me. Bile rose up my throat; cold sweat soaked my rumpled clothes. My limbs were shaking badly.

Elise then strode over to me, grabbed my shoulders and shook me until my teeth rattled. I instinctively pulled myself out of her grip. She shot me a withering glare. "Klaudia, look at me." I didn't. I was not letting her see my vulnerability. "Look at me. You're all right. It was just an illusion."

I finally looked at her. She gave the slightest nod of reassurance. I swallowed my fear and nodded back. Elise said, "I probably shouldn't have forced you to fight your way out of the illusion like that, but it was necessary for you to learn quickly. You have powerful magic, Klaudia. Don't forget that. You need to learn to use this power to fight off the monsters. We have lost so many good men and women over the years—we need everyone we can get. Do you understand?"

I understood, though it didn't make the illusion easier to digest. "Yes," I whispered harshly.

"Good. What you faced back there wasn't the worst of them," she added. "There are far more corrupted beings in the wastelands—things that you and I have to face for the rest of our miserable years."

Elise sounded surprisingly bitter as she spoke. My eyes snapped up in interest. She startled, just realising what she'd just said. "Anyway," she resumed, schooling her tone into neutrality, "calm yourself. Think of a way to save yourself the next time."

"Wait, I have to face the lycanthropes again?" Panic seized my lungs.

"Yes. You are not getting out of this room until you've killed them all, Klaudia." She met my cutting look with a cool, unfazed one. "You have a Medium. Learn to use it."

"Shouldn't you at least teach me a few defensive spells?" I argued, exasperated. There was no way I was going to walk straight into the pack without some idea of what I had to do.

"I had learned how to defend myself without aid, and you shall do the same. Magic is instinct. Let it come to you naturally. You only have two options: live or die. I think it's best if you learn your lesson now."

Abruptly, she wheeled around and picked up her song again.

Mist started to fill the area. I hissed, recoiling like a savage cat. The lycanthropes took shape once more. "What are you doing?" I yelled at Elise, who was walking around the points of the star. I threw my crutches aside, taking up my flute into playing position.

"Teaching you a lesson!"

That was when she completely faded from view. Ancient trees deeply rooted within the earth lined my vision. The undeniable tang of the woods was on the tip of my tongue. The lycanthropes roared at me.

I sank to my knees, overcome with fear. I wasn't a fighter—never had been a fighter. To fight was to invite trouble. I sobbed, a thousand prayers of mercy moving my lips.

But these were monsters, and they didn't know mercy.

They were all upon me in seconds. I didn't bother to fight back—couldn't fight back. I let them tear me apart, clamping down on my tongue so that at least I wouldn't scream.

Then they dissipated into mist.

Elise was suddenly there. She grabbed my collar and pulled me up. Her hand flew; a resounding crack sounded on my cheek. It felt numb at first, but the aftereffects soon followed. Her slap hurt more than the vicious bites of the lycanthropes. "Idiot girl!" she hissed, ignoring my tears. "You are going to face the lycanthropes, or saints help me, I can be far worse than them. Do you understand?"

I hiccupped. She took that as a 'yes'.

"Good. Now we will resume your training." She stepped away, releasing me from her grip and starting to circle the room. She muttered under her breath, summoning the mists. I kicked my crutches away; they would do me no good here. Instead, I raised my flute to my lips.

The lycanthropes gleamed at me with their hungry eyes, and I was surrounded by trees once more. I steeled myself and pushed down my fear. I believed Elise when she said that she could be far worse than the pack.

I didn't know how to fight, but I certainly knew how to hide.

I blew into my flute, weaving shadows over me, helping me blend in with my surroundings. It came naturally, since all I did for a decade was melt into the shadows, generally trying to stay out of others' attentions. The lycanthropes which were prowling before me startled, confused by my sudden disappearance. I stopped playing and backed away from them. I didn't know how long the illusion would last, so I had act quickly.

I stumbled my way across fallen branches and protruding roots, adrenaline numbing the ache in my bad leg into a steady thrum. I looked around, trying to see if I could use the forest to my advantage. Nothing I could think of. I had placed a measurable distance between me and the pack, but they were sniffing the air furiously. I hastily struck out with a solid chord that should effectively disguise any leftover traces of me. They howled in confusion.

As they split into pairs and started to comb through the trees, I racked my brains furiously for a solution. I lifted my face upwards. I could probably try climbing a tree, but with my disability, it would a miracle if I could even get three steps up. Besides, what if lycanthropes were able to climb trees?

Suddenly, I saw the leader just in front of me, eyes gleaming as though it had seen through my illusion.

It emitted an ear-piercing howl.

My hands were resting on a trunk; I grabbed a clump of moss that had grown all over it and flung it towards the leader. "Swithaêl, swinleir, swiluné," I sang. Live, flourish, grow.

Elise had forced me to chant the phrase to several seeds she had brought into the music room during the first week. It had encourage fresh sprigs to peek their heads out of their shells, making them grow unnaturally quick.

Now, the moss expanded, fuelled by my desperation, and was thrown over the leader like a net. It snarled and thrashed wildly, only getting itself more tangled. I bit back a curse when the other lycanthropes started to gather. I played my flute, weaving a more detailed illusion around me. It would have to do for now.

I wobbled away as fast as I could when the pack was occupied with freeing their leader. There was no end to the trees, no break in the scenery. I choked back a sob. I had to remain clear and focused, otherwise there would be no way out of this.

What was it that people said about lycanthropes? That they only gained a sliver of humanity during the full moon? That they could only be killed with silver or wolfsbane? Of course-silver and wolfsbane!

I wove a tune of protection around me through my Medium. It was a variation of the 'swithaêl, swinleir, swiluné' chant. The roots from nearby trees grew and intertwined to form a shield around me, a temporary protection against the lycanthropes. I couldn't keep running forever.

I sat down in the middle of the dome, snapping a section of the roots till I ended up with a twig the length of my forearm. I took in deep, calming breaths, trying to remember everything Elise had taught me. Transform—what did I have to do to transform? Ah yes, hold an image in my mind. I pictured a slim rod of pure silver, pointed on one end, and played a song to go along with it. I didn't even know what the melody was, only that the twig shimmered before slowly shifting into the colour of silver.

I picked it up. The rod had weight to it. I pricked my finger with the point, drawing blood. It would serve me well.

Smearing the droplet of blood on the ground, I took up my flute, keeping my mind blank this time. I carefully picked out the melody, somehow connecting it to my need for wolfsbane, convincing the earth to give me something that would go well with my silver weapon.

The ground cracked; a shoot sprang out of it.

I didn't drop the melody. I continued to coax it; the shoot soon bloomed into vibrant violet petals. I had no pestle and mortar, so I played another song, making it dissolve into liquid and coat itself over the rod.

Once successful, I snatched the rod up. The wolfsbane made it slippery, and I nearly dropped it. I clutched onto it desperately, standing up. My Core was being depleted of magic at an alarming rate. I had to somehow kill the pack soon.

The snarls of the lycanthropes then pounded in my ears. They were tearing my shield apart, chunks and splinters of wood flying everywhere. They surrounded me, baring their teeth through the cracks of light. I clenched my jaw. I was going to be successful this time. I had to.

I hummed to allow an opening in the shield. The roots retracted, forming a perfect hole above my head. I held my weapon up, praying that it would be enough.

The first lycanthrope jumped down.

I barely held my ground at the sight of the crazed eyes and foaming jaws. I closed my eyes, blindly thrusting my weapon upwards. The monster gave a yelp as it crashed onto me.

With trembling limbs, I hauled myself out from underneath the lycanthrope's taut, powerful body. I looked back. The silver rod had went clean through its skull, the point emerging from between the ears. I tried not to retch in disgust at the gory sight.

But I had killed a lycanthrope.

The relief soon gave way to fear, however, once I saw that I was surrounded by the rest of the pack.

Idiot. I shrank into a miserable ball. How could I have been so careless? They didn't hold back, even as I showed signs of submission. They attacked me again, eager to taste blood on their tongues.

Then it all faded away. I gasped, as though I had been ducked underwater for a long time. Elise re-emerged into my vision, a grim, approving smile on her face. "You did better than I thought you would have," she said. "All right. We shall take a break now."

I climbed onto my feet, wincing from both the pain and the fear. I checked my Core; it was a little more devoid of energy than usual, but it was fine.

"No," I said. She stared at me, befuddled. I held my chin up, holding onto my Medium. "Again."

******

Deception's Blade