Chapter Twelve
A Natural Sword

Rael surveyed the palace's servants dining hall curiously. His wonder was of how it was possible for so much food to be amassed under one roof, and prepared so well. The servants catered to themselves very well apparently, and the Queen provided well for her own. The room was dominated by four tables that ran the length of the hall, with benches drawn up along the side. Servants in the livery were hastily feeding themselves with an assortment of basic yet delicious food. Fresh bread and butter, salted pork, apples and pears, cheese… and good ale to wash it down. If this was the servants' food, he could hardly dare to dream what Queen Zelda herself dined upon.

Mara and Elane were sitting together at the far end of the hall. They were separate from the maids and the attendants, and the palace guards, who were segregated into groups themselves at each of the tables. With Tabett and Daran in his wake, he made his way along the narrow gap between bench and wall to the rear of the wide room. Elane looked up and smiled as best she could given the state of her companion; but Mara's face was riddled with worry.

Tabett stepped over the bench to take his place next to Elane, whilst Rael and Daran seated themselves opposite. Daran made no effort to hide his hunger, and was already piling his plate with food from the trays in the centre of the room. Rael's stomach commanded him to do likewise, but his heart told him to put his desire to eat aside and comfort Mara.

"Is he still not…" Rael began, not wanting to say it out loud, as though he could prevent it from being true.

Mara sighed a sigh that said she had been crying. She shook her head weakly, then smoothed back her long dark hair and wiped tears from her eyes, "He's still not come back."

Ralis had not shown himself since evening two days ago. Rael's last memory of his brother was a hazy one of him leaning over him in the dark, after he had woken from a nightmare. For now, he could do nothing but nod slowly.

"He's gone away with the soldiers, to the South, I just know it…" a twitch of fury echoed in her words, "He kept muttering to himself about 'proving himself to the old man' and 'showing what being a son really meant'. He's gone to find your Da."

Rael nodded again, he had suspected it himself but had not wanted to suggest it before her, "Then he'll be back when the soldiers return, else they'll send him home as soon as someone recognises he is out of place. Don't-"

"-You mean if he doesn't get himself killed…" her tone suggested that she did not believe it would happen, but did not discount it as a possibility.

Rael was caught between his own fear for his brother and his need to remain strong for Mara. He was her only family here now. Uncertainly, he reached out his right hand and gently took hold of hers, "I'm here if you need to talk about anything."

She nodded, and smiled a little, "Thanks Rael, but I think I'll be alright. I'm just a bit shaken is all. Oh, you're so sweet though." She patted the back of his hand with her other, and they broke apart. Rael couldn't help but feel a little spoken down upon, but let it go.

"By the gods, Daran!" came a sudden exclamation from Tabett, who dropped his mug of ale – which was only stopped from spilling by Elane's fast reaction – and gawked at Daran wide eyed, "Look at your hair!"

Three more sets of eyes shifted to observe Daran, who looked very much taken back. Tabett was right to be surprised though; where Daran's long yellow hair had once had pale tips, there were now long strands of white mixed in with the dirty gold. They were thin and at irregular intervals, but were definitely cause for attention – if perhaps not on the level Tabett had applied.

Daran pulled some strands around from the back of his head and eyed them as best he could at the angle. But he merely smiled and continued chewing on his pork, "All this sun, eh? Better watch out Tab, you'll be next."

Tabett eyed the long waves that fell down across his eyes, as if dreading the thought that he could lose his perfect silky black hair. "I hope not…"

Tabett looked about to say something else, but was interrupted by the arrival of two fully armed soldiers. They walked purposefully towards the five of them, and settled their eyes on Rael. They seemed bored and frustrated, in a miserable attempt to appear at alert, "Rael al'Resh of Taran Kaey?" Asked the nearer of the two, gruffly.

Rael nodded, his stomach sinking; he had had quite enough of soldiers for one day already.

"Sergeant Jaker requests that you report to the Training Academy immediately," the guard twitched, irritably.

Rael shook his head, "I've just got back from there. I'm eating." The other guard grunted, and walked around the end of the table, coming up at his side. Rael had no time to react before a gauntleted arm hoisted him up from the bench, and propped him back on his feet. "Get off me!" Rael said. Across the hall, many startled faces were now watching the scene.

"You forget your place, peasant! When your superior summons you, you do as you are told!" spat the first soldier, "Do you think I don't have better things to be doing with my time then rounding up common scum? Come on Urd, if he's not coming willingly you'll have to drag him."

"All right!" Said Rael, shaking the guard loose, "I was just eating is all, but I'll come." He straightened his shirt and tried to avoid the gazes of a hundred palace workers at their tables, "Bloody soldiers," he muttered as an afterthought.

Wondering what he could possibly be needed for, he le the soldiers escort him out of the hall.

……

"Sergeant, here is the boy as you requested," said the guard named Urd, nudging Rael forwards towards the wide oak desk, behind which sat Sergeant Jaker. The middle-aged man looked up from his papers momentarily, and nodded at the two guards, "Thank you. Dismissed." Two pairs of feet shuffled back across the room, followed by the quick opening and closing of the door.

Sergeant Jaker's office was a small room inside the academy centre, furnished simply by a low oak desk and ladder-backed chair, some additional seats shoved aside at the wall. In addition there was a shelf bearing dusty bottles of liquor and another adorned with several heavy leather-bound books. Behind the sergeant, a banner hung down vertically, suspended from a thin golden rod. Rael recognised it as the same flag he had seen atop the city gates, alongside the Queen's banner, at the entrance to the city; a sword pointed the ground, with two great wings either side it, shimmering with green, red and blue light.

Sergeant Jaker - a man in his late forties, with a hard jaw and crooked nose and wings of white in his chestnut hair - continued to shuffle papers about on his desk until eventually they were arranged into a neat pile in front of him. It was only after this that he looked up at Rael and acknowledged his presence. After a moment's pause to look the youth up and down, he grinned and simply said, "Excellent," and standing up, "please come with me."

Stood up, Jaker revealed he was wearing light armour, the sort one might wear for training in. A thin chest piece, and metal shin plates. He pulled on a pair of gauntlets as he passed by the desk towards the door.

With no choice but to do as he was told, Rael followed as Jaker led him out of his office, along the narrow corridors of the building, and out to the familiar sight of the training ground. "Rael, isn't it?" said Jaker, when the reached the edge of the paved area, stopping short of the dirt-ground court.

"I am Rael al'Resh," said Rael stubbornly, "of Taran Kaey."

"Indeed," said Jaker, "forgive me, you must think me terribly rude dragging you out like this, you must have been eating?"

Rael was unsure how to respond, so he merely shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter, sir!" barked Jaker suddenly, "You are a student of Hylia Academy! When I summon you, you will come instantly! Do you understand?"

Rael nearly jumped out of his skin, and grimaced as flecks of spit covered his face, "Yes sir!" He tried to stand up straight, but he legs were jelly.

"I am your commanding officer! When I say frog, you jump! Do you understand?"

"Yes Sergeant Jaker, sir!" Rael replied, standing as tall as he could, with his arms flat against his side. He awaited Jaker's next shout, but it did not come.

It took a second for Rael to realise that the sergeant was grinning at him, when Rael realised, the older man started chuckling to himself, "new students, you're all the same. Timid as a blind kitten. At ease lad, I was just having some fun with you." Jaker paced away, and Rael watched his back with keen anger. He felt hot spots in his cheek, he had been played like a fool.

"What do you want with me?" he said, wiping spit from his face.

Jaker spun around, eyes wide with anger again, "You will address me as, sir!" This man was insane! Rael snapped back to attention. Jaker started laughing again, on the edge of hysteria. "You new boys…"

Rael shook his head angrily, "Sir, why do you need me?"

"Frog!" yelled Jaker, so loudly that Rael jumped without actually meaning to, nearly tripping back onto the paving stones. "Excellent, excellent. So shall we begin then?"

Without waiting for a response, he ambled over to a storage crate by the wall. He withdrew a steel long-sword and a leather chest piece. He inspected them carefully, and then hurled the blade towards Rael without warning. Snapping his body to one side, to one side, Rael's left arm whipped forward to grab the sword by the hilt, spinning it back around to a basic form stance. "Joal was right, that is very impressive."

In a moment, Rael understood. That private called Joal had reported Rael's unusual ability to the sergeant, and now he was being investigated. By the gods, he could be doing better things than this right now. "What is it that you require of me, sergeant?" he asked as politely as possible.

"I'll be blunt," said Jaker, "I have reason to believe that you have a special gift, Rael. Not so much because of the report I received from Joal, but more because of the rumours that are flitting about the city about you Taraners."

"Sir, those rumours are about Daran and Tabett."

Jaker nodded, idly checking the straps and buckles on the leather body guard, "That is because most of the people in this city are ignorant fools." He tossed the body armour to Rael, and unsheathed his own long-sword from it's silver-inlaid scabbard, "Truth be told, I would go so far to say that aside from myself, Marshal Ivarl al'Arantos and Queen Zelda herself, this town possesses about as much sense of logic as could fill a single wine goblet."

Rael had just finished loosely attaching the chest piece, and looked up, shocked. He was stunned that a lowly sergeant could speak so of his high superiors, but said nothing. "Then what are you- Oh, Light!" Rael arced his word up to meet Jaker's own silver blade as the sergeant lunged at him, covering yards of distance in a matter of moments. Jaker twisted his arms around to strike across his chest, and Rael inverted his blade with a simple twist of his left wrist to block the attack.

As Rael stepped back defensively, Jaker grinned and made a forward jab. Rael shrugged of the blow easily, and quickly repelled the repeated four strikes at both of his sides, but a fast fifth knocked his sword from his grasp. "Very good, Rael. My, my, that was very impressive."

"What is wrong with you!" Rael shouted, losing all sense of place in his anger.

"Ease, Rael. I have not harmed you." Jaker picked up Rael's sword from the ground and tossed it to him lightly.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Rael, shrugging off a teasing strike.

"I'm testing to see if you have the gift, like Joal suggested."

Rael was getting tired of riddles, and he was so hungry…"What's 'the gift?'"

Jaker tossed his head slightly from side to side, as though shaking lose memories in his mind, "It's a trait passed through families, usually from father to son. It is the natural born ability to wield a sword, without any training; to fight like a master bladesman from youth. People with this ability are called 'Natural Sword's." He spun his blade between his fingers idly, "It used to be possessed by many Hylians, but sadly it has culled itself almost into extinction."

"And you think I have the ability?"

"Well…" Jaker leaped off his feet into the air, and brought his sword over his head in a long arc. With a second to react, Rael smashed the sergeant's sword aside with his own, and as Jaker crashed into him, he pulled his body back, taking up a basic stance. Jaker took a moment to compose himself, then threw himself into a frenzy of strikes, and made no point of avoiding Rael's neck and head. But to his amazement, as much as Rael's he could not land a single blow.

Moving in graceful strokes, and swift arcs made with minimal movement of his arm, Rael deflected the sergeant's every attack with expert precision. As the onslaught continued, he started frustrated, and coming off the defensive lunged back at Jaker. With a smooth horizontal swipe he downed the sergeant's guard, and exposed his chest for a second. With a strong kick, he knocked the sergeant off his feet to the floor with a thud. He looked down at him scornfully for a moment, then gave the sergeant his hand.

Sergeant Jaker stood up, chuckling to himself, "Very good, very good…have you really had no prior sword instruction, Rael?"

Rael shook his head and said "No," quietly. He was secretly proud of how he had jut performed, but tried to remain looking as modest as possible.

Jaker sheathed his sword, and motioned for Rael to discard his sword and leather training vest also. "Walk with me." Jaker turned and began making his way around the edge of the court, along the colonnade that ran one of its lengths. Rael sighed and caught up, falling in step.

"I'm sure you must have been asked this question a lot by now, Rael," said Jaker, sighing, "who is your father? Resh, you said his name was. If you have the gift of the Natural Sword, it has almost certainly come from him. Rarely does it jump a generation."

"My father, Resh al'Shael, is a carpenter. Nothing more." Rael wanted to be blunt with this discussion, he was tired of having it amount to nothing.

"Is your older brother a good sword too?" he asked, offhand.

Rael nodded, "Ralis is an excellent swordsman, from what I have learned these last new days.

"It surely runs in families." He laughed, "I wish I was so lucky. My father was a thief, you know. 'Jak o' the Shadows', he was called. Some say he was a noble thief, but not me. To me, he was just Da Jak, my mother's greatest fear and torment. Anyone who breaks the law and goes about stealing like some bloody gerudo, is not even a man by my account…"

You have no doubt heard the rumours about your friends, Tabett and Daran. I must apologise for that, it has been a deliberate deception from high up, for your own protection. How high, I cannot know, maybe even from the Queen…or higher. For your own protection."

"But-"

"It is you who has the gift, not them."

"Well, so you say, but-"

"Ralis seems too old to be the first son of Brash al'Aals, but perhaps there is another deception working from above that I cannot see. No matter. As far as I see it, your father Resh al'Shael is really Brash al'Aals, former General of the Hylian army. I see no reason to doubt that anymore. Everything fits…"

Rael looked the sergeant dead in the eye, and for the first time he realised he was actually taller than the man, "I don't care. It doesn't matter who he is. When he comes here, and I know he will, everything will be resolved. Even if he is some old general, so what? It doesn't change anything. It is of no consequence."

They had reached the end of the court, and now were making their way up the hill to the fortress. The gravel path crunched underfoot. The sun blazed down upon his neck, and he longed to reach a place of shade again soon. Up ahead, something caught his eye.

"Sergeant, sir, what is that tower?" He pointed up the hill to the tall tower that stood offset between the palace and the fortress. It was more than that, he realised. It was built directly between them, and the body of the fortress reached out to meet it, and the body of the palace also. He knew he had walked under those wide arches, but he had never noticed that tower before. It was ridiculous he knew. It was freestanding apart from the narrow corridors above the arches that led to the adjoining buildings, and was easily taller than both the fortress and the highest spire of the palace.

"My word, you can see the tower already?" said Jaker, surprised, "I am impressed."

"What?" asked Rael, rather clumsily.

"That is the tower of Marshal Ivarl al'Arantos. It is his centre of operations." Jaker scratched his head, "However… it is interesting that you have seen it already. The tower is under a spell, you see. Queen Zelda herself put a complex magical bind upon it, and maintains it. What? You didn't know she has magic abilities? Oh yes, very much so. Sheikah trained, no less. Anyway…whosoever looks upon the tower, will find that their eyes simply slide off it. They will be drawn to something else instantly, and not even register it in their mind."

Rael nodded, barely understanding how that was even possible.

"Of course, after many, many years here, people finally notice it. I remember I had been a palace guard for seven years before I finally realised it was there, and I had been living in Hylia for twenty years before that. It is amusing when a senior officer suddenly sees it one day for the first time. We all have such a laugh, you wouldn't believe…"

They drew nearer, and Rael scanned the masonry. It was a mix of the pale grey palace stone and the dark fortress rock, topped with a roof that gleamed gold and silver, with a great golden spire above it. There were few windows, and they were high up in places of vantage over the surrounding city.

"You cannot be told it is there either. We gave up long ago trying to convince people that there is a building there, when they clearly cannot see it. You are taken as mentally ill now if you start preaching about an invisible tower, so we few that have seen it keep the knowledge to ourselves. Though, once you see it for the first time, you will always be able to see it. I suppose the first sightings are at moments when the magic wanes for a moment."

Rael realised he really hadn't seen the great tower until just now, and cursed his eyes for being so foolish. He wondered idly if any of the others has sighted it. "Are you being serious, sir?"

Jaker nodded, "You have my word. I advise you don't mention it to anyone though, or they will think you unwell."

"So… what's the spell for anyway? Who is this Marshal fellow?"

"Who can say why the Queen does anything? She is very mysterious is Lady Zelda, the gods bless her soul; gifted with apparent perpetual youth and incomparable beauty. The Marshal, well, would it help if I described that he is General Dragan's superior?"

"A higher commander?"

"The highest. He is the Marshal of Hyrule. The highest military figure in the entire Kingdom. The generals of every race from Goron to Zora are supposed to obey his commands. He was appointed many years ago during the Reformation, following Zelda's rise to power. Along with your father Brash al'Aals of course, who assumed the role of General at the time…"

"Please don't say that." Pressed Rael.

"As you wish. You know, some say that General Dragan is merely Marshal Ivarl's puppet… and I happen to believe it too. The Marshal never shows his face, and consults only with generals and colonels, and the Queen. That man is shrouded in darkness and shadow. A bleak riddle wrapped in an accursed secret. Some say even Queen Zelda bends knee to him. Now, I don't know about that, but…" Rael could see Jaker literally shiver, "there is something dark and sinister about him, to be sure."

Looking up at the tower, which now loomed above him, with its sheer walls and sharp edges, Rael felt a chill run through his spine. The tower itself seemed to emit feelings of coldness and terror. They passed under the grand archway, and he was glad to be moving away again. "Best not tell anyone what I've said, lad. You wouldn't want to be called for inspiring treason or anything like that…"

"Of course…"

"Well, I will see you tomorrow at the academy."

"Yes," said Rael, eyeing the tower again, "thank you for informing me about…you know."

"Of course." The sergeant turned his back on him, and began to walk away, but then spun on his heel and barked, "Frog!" so loudly that once again Rael jumped back so fast he was worried that he had left his skin behind. Grinning, Jaker walked away, leaving Rael to go his own way. Perhaps he could still get some dinner in the palace.