I woke up that morning totally stoked. Tarian had finally shown us how to punch through magical barriers. Once I nail this, I'll finally knock that smug look off Luten's face!
Still riding that high, I ran into my brother in the hallway.
"Someone's in a good mood."
I couldn't hide my excitement as Luten approached.
"Hell yeah! You should be too!"
"Because of training? Since when do swords interest you more than magic?"
"Ugh, Luten, don't be such a downer."
He hit me with another one of those know-it-all grins. Not that it really bugged me, but lately I'd been itching to return the favor. This time I stopped him, grabbing his shoulder.
"Keep it down, but you heard people in Alice's room last night too, right?"
Luten nodded, looking relieved he wasn't the only one.
"Weird to you too? She hardly ever has guests, even in daylight."
"Something's definitely up. Couldn't make out what the guy said, but shit went down yesterday."
"Since when are you into eavesdropping?"
I couldn't resist:
"Just keeping up with you. You do the same thing."
"Ha, well I caught something about Camelia."
We figured we'd better find out what's going on. This was turning into a real mystery.
Morning went like usual, and we were about to head to Tarian's training ground.
"You guys go without me."
Alice gathered her papers, avoiding our eyes.
"Something wrong?"
"Look at you two, asking in stereo! Work calls, I'm afraid."
"Can't we come with you?"
We both started whining in unison.
"Sorry, no. Too dangerous for you."
"Come on, please! We're super curious!"
"No, don't even try. I'll get you an escort, you'll go train. I'll catch up later."
We weren't idiots—time to pull out the big guns. Making the saddest faces possible, we begged nonstop for her to take us along. Finally Alice cracked and magically shut our mouths.
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"Alright, alright! You win. Parliament session tomorrow morning. You're coming with me."
"Yes!"
"Score!"
We headed out with our guards to Tarian's place. The whole way I kept studying the city—fascinated by how it all fit together.
The new district had wide streets with high-rises mixed between old mansions. Buildings still going up and construction dust made everything feel temporary. We crossed where modern met old. Skyscrapers gave way to neat low-rises where nobles still lived. After the checkpoint, we hit the training ground.
"Ready to learn barrier breaking?"
Tarian picked up his practice sword. We nodded, trying not to look too eager.
"Watch. Barriers get stronger against brute attacks. To break through, understand the structure. Find the weak spot. Think water flow, not solid wall."
He stepped up, focused, and tapped the barrier lightly. The field cracked and vanished like smoke.
"Your turn."
Luten went first. He froze like Tarian showed us, swept his sword smooth, and struck. The shield wobbled but held.
"Lighter. Feel the energy."
My turn came up. Total mess. Luten came over with advice.
"Remember Alice's lessons on energy flows? Find the shield's vein—hit there."
I breathed deep, listened, and tried. The shield cracked. Luten broke his at the same moment.
"Excellent. Just the start, but you're faster than I expected."
"Right! We broke the weakest barrier ever..."
"What'd you expect? Master everything instantly? This took me even longer."
"You? With your skills, probably learned in ten minutes flat."
Tarian cracked up completely.
"Nope. Five months to learn this technique."
Seeing our shock, Tarian seemed to decide we needed the full story.
"Think this came easy? Know how long before I could even hold a sword?"
He sighed, staring off.
Never occurred to me how hard this must've been for him. Luten looked just as stunned. As Tarian told us about joining the army, his voice dropped quieter than normal.
"Parents died when I was small. Border town. Raiders came. They stuffed me in the cellar. Soldiers found me after."
Tarian's voice dropped to almost a whisper. Luten and I shared a look, we wasn't expecting this. A shadow crossed Tarian's face as he continued.
"They took me in. Lieutenant Ardric, one of them, made me his project. Rough guy but fair. Taught me swords and standing tall when shit gets hard."
Tarian smiled a bit, but his eyes stayed sad.
"Every night while others slept, he'd drag me out for drills till I dropped. Sometimes thought I'd break, but he'd always say: "Strong don't whine.""
He stared at his hands, fists clenched white.
"Ardric saved me. Without him, I'm dead."
"Where's he now?"
I was genuinely curious about this mentor figure.
"Him? Probably pulling gate duty right now. Tonight he'll go be a walking soldier cliché."
"Meaning?"
"Luten, he's hitting the bars."
"Yeah, Elliot's got it. Soldiers near discharge get early release from day shifts. The short-timers group up for tavern runs. Officers hit restaurants."
Luten and I locked eyes—think we both got what path Tarian walked. His story left this weird mix of respect and worry. It hit me that I'm still just a kid. So's Luten. We lucked out hard. Maybe I snatched someone else's good fortune?
Luten glanced at the gates where Tarian's mentor supposedly stood. Wind died down, and the evening sky's weak glow warned that night would swallow the city soon. I shivered slightly, like something was coming.
When Alice rolled up, I spotted her through the windshield—face all tense. Usually cool and collected, now she looked stressed, trying to hide it behind her normal serious face. She popped the door, glanced over, and said quick:
"Get in. Time's short. Big session tomorrow, and like I promised, you're with me."
Luten and I traded looks and scrambled in. The car pulled out, leaving the noisy training ground behind. We headed back downtown past boarded windows and riot damage.
Luten sat focused and quiet as always. I watched lights streak past the window and thought about Dad again. His death still left this weird mark on our lives, some shadow we dragged around without meaning to.
