Crimson Twilight: Dusk

Chapter 16: Indomitable pride

"I know what you mean. I have to go, Sei. Say hello to Kreizen for me."

With those words, Eliarainne Sialsanderin left the infirmary; leaving Seihanine to her thoughts. There were no other injured people in this room of the hospital; leaving her to think alone. The infirmary was too small for her. Its white marble walls, surpisingly free of smudges or bloodstains despite decades of seeing to the injured, seemed to stifle her with each passing minute. The place was too compact. There were too many beds in a room, there were not enough windows and the few that were there were far too small to allow much air or light. When she let her thoughts wander briefly, she suddenly realized that there would have been injured people brought here who were beyond any healing spell. How many of Prontera's soldiers died here? The walls suddenly resembled a tomb's, grim and uncaring, indiscriminately absorbing dying screams and wails of grief. She shook her head of such awful thoughts. It was probably just because she didn't like indoors. Kreizen had mentioned earlier that it was because she spent too much time out in the wilderness and in isolation. She tested her left shoulder gingerly and winced. Silmeia's spell had closed the wound but her body still had to recover from the trauma of getting shot by an abysmal knight.

The gentle creak of the front door opening brought her hands instinctively to the gakkung near her bed. She relaxed when she looked at her visitor. The moment he poked his head through the door, she could tell who it was by the tousled, green hair and the pointed, magic instructor's hat. Trenzein Zaisen entered the room with a flourish; his lips in a smile of confidence as if he had just walked on stage and before an appreciative crowd. He took off his hat and stared at her for a while. Seihanine stared back quietly; waiting for one of the wizard's remarks that would either be annoying or downright strange.

"So how's our invalid?" Trenzein suddenly asked. His smile grew wider with satisfaction when his remark caused Seihanine to bristle. He enjoyed teasing her and nothing amused him more than getting her dander up. Maybe because it was so hard to do. Most of the time she won't even answer or just tell him to focus on some task at hand. He was quite sure that she bristled only when she was in a good mood. After a month of being cooped up in Geffen with only the council and elder council for company, he had missed even her cold shoulders. Although he wasn't just going to flat out and say that.

"Invalid! I can take three more injuries like this and still be able to shoot down a squad of orcs, Zein!" Seihanine shot back. She knew it. Not even a proper greeting from the man. One day he just announced that he had to leave for Geffen and stay there for an entire month for some spell revision theory he had to present to the Magic Academy Council. Not a word from the man for an entire month and the first ones he would utter after they saw each other for the first time was to call her an invalid.

Grinning, Trenzein turned a chair about and sat down facing its back rest. Resting his arms in front of him; he settled down on next to Seihanine's bed. "Oh, a squad of orcs she says!" He said with a smirk. "Would it be one you had killed off previously, meeting up with you in the afterlife?"

Seihanine bit down on her lower lip to control herself. It wasn't working. She respected Trenzein's power as a wizard; admired it in fact, but she wished that he wasn't so proud about it. "And I suppose the great Trenzein Zaisen can survive a shot from that abysmal knight's bow?" She asked back.

Trenzein raised an eyebrow. He had her going at what he wanted. He paused for a while, like an actor pausing before some dramatic moment. "The great Trenzein Zaisen won't even let the abysmal knight shoot in the first place." He announced. He flashed a grin after that, like a performer pulling a rabbit out of his hat for a child.

Seihanine shifted her attention from the wizard to her wound. It was annoyingly painful as it was but now it seemed doubly so with Trenzein noticing it. "Let me tell you this, Zein". She insisted. "If my brother and the rest of those knights had decided to engage then I would have shot down that abysmal archer before it could draw a second arrow!"

Trenzein rested his chin on his arms and studied Seihanine lazily. "You make it sound as if that injury doesn't mean anything to you." He commented.

Seihanine stared at Trenzein; wondering how to respond to the shift in his attitude. There was something about him that provoked her so easily. It was in the way he wore the flowing, gray cloak that symbolized his rank as a wizard so casually. It was in the self-assurance that tinged his every word. She often prided herself for her control of her emotions and he had a knack of testing that control. She couldn't understand it. When he teased her like this, she always seemed to get more worked up than usual. "It doesn't!" She answered. "Silmeia is worrying too much. I can handle this injury without all this pampering! I won't die like-!" Seihanine stopped herself. It was merely a month since Lystra died at the hands of an abysmal knight. The topic was still an unspoken taboo among her companions. As she had experienced first hand, she knew that the wrong comment about the whole thing would bring down the unwelcome wrath of the priestess. Whatever Silmeia thought or felt; she kept it to herself. Seihanine did not want to evoke the gloomy atmosphere that came with every mention of Lystra's name.

"Then you won't mind taking a walk with me."

Trenzein's words cut through Seihanine's reverie like one of her own arrows. For a moment she stared at him blankly. "...What…?" She asked.

Trenzein watched Seihanine with undisguised amusement. He knew that it was the right time to suddenly slip in that invitation. He just loved that extremely rare, dumbfounded look in her eyes each time he did it right. "I said you won't mind taking a walk with me if your injury means nothing." He repeated. When Seihanine stood up and muttered something before collecting her equipment. Trenzein knew that he had this round. He caught the muttered words and grinned triumphantly.

"Arrogant bastard." Was the last thing Seihanine said before they walked out of the infirmary.

Several minutes later, Seihanine found herself walking beside Trenzein by the main pronteran square. She began to wonder on how he always managed to talk her into these things. She normally didn't like walks that led nowhere. It wasn't that she didn't like his company though. While she would never admit it to anyone, his breezy and playful wit often lightened her darker moods. She could use that right now; with the colony being overrun by orcs and the Lord of Death prowling the surrounding lands.

"So how was the colony?" He asked. "Before it burned down, I mean."

Seihanine watched as the sun began to set. It had been a tiring day for her. Surviving the ambush on her patrol, fighting off a horde of orcs to cover her brother, encountering Osiris and the doppelganger and then getting shot by an abysmal knight left her with little energy for serious discussion. She couldn't relax being cooped up in the hospital though. Perhaps a walk and some conversation was for the best after all. "Dull at the very least." She replied. "That colony was built to house everyone the pronteran government didn't want in the city. So that's what it does; house. Anything else, it fails at."

Trenzein stared at Seihanine carefully. It was so hard to determine what she felt at the moment. Her eyes were ice blue and slanted giving the constant impression of coldness. At times, they looked like frozen ponds in the dead of winter . He could not easily read her emotions from such eyes. Even her movements were controlled despite their grace and fluidity. Her slender form seemed to glide along instead of walking. That, combined with her smooth, pale skin, gave her an air of frailty. It didn't help alleviate this image that she was shorter than both Eliarainne and Silmeia. This frailty was limited to appearances though. He had yet to meet a tougher, more efficient hunter than Seihanine. Her arms may be slender but they concealed the wiry strength that was developed from constant use of the bow. She was agile, a fast runner and an excellent shot with ranged weapons. That, combined with her extremely keen senses, made her a great scout. "Does that include you too, Sei?" He asked.

Seihanine tried to guess what Trenzein was implying. His remarks always meant something else. She wondered if it was to serve the some purpose or if he was trying to amuse himself with her reactions. He often acted on impulse, a habit that she often considered dangerous. While he was highly intelligent, quick-witted and confident, he was also reckless and often endangered himself by getting into situations that were more serious than what he expected. It wasn't that he couldn't handle himself though. Unlike many of the wizards she had met, he was no stick-thin bookworm. Of course he was lankier than both Makaelthos and Kreizen but he wasn't lacking in physical fitness. Kreizen dwarfed a lot of men and Makaelthos was a hardened warrior after all. Nonetheless, his shoulders were noticeably broader than most Geffenians. His skin tone was slightly lighter than Makaelthos's but not quite Pronteran. He stood at equal height with the crusader though. "My brother got into a fight with the blacksmith guild, remember?" She answered. "He was the one to be sent originally. I just volunteered to serve with him."

Trenzein shrugged his shoulders. His strangely golden eyes seemed to reflect the last light from the setting sun. "That's Reiz alright." He said. "He sets the bar high and then beats everyone who fails to meet it into a pulp. You'd think he didn't realize that a temporary exile was coming after his fifth scrap!"

Seihanine's eyes narrowed. She didn't like the way Trenzein said that. Her brother's temper was notorious and it was true he often acted on impulses but that didn't merit any taunting from anyone. "Zein, if you meant that as an-"

The wizard interrupted the sentence with a raised hand. "Of course he only beat me to it." He continued. "Not that I'm setting the bar any lower or going easier on anyone not meeting it. Isn't it ironic that I spent a month with my "wizardly brethren" only to find them all fools and that the only one who shares my way of thinking is a blacksmith?"

Seihanine hid a ghost of a smile. Trenzein also had problems with the Magic Academy; which he often referred to as a gathering of doddering old fools disguised as scholars. Not just behind their backs too. He called one elder council member from the academy "As intelligent as a marine sphere" and another as "a talking mass scooped out of a minorus's rear". The feeling was mutual. Many from the academy branded him as a free-wheeling punk who "flashed" his way to wizardry. He and Kreizen were alike in that way. "So how did it go with your spell revision?" She asked him.

Trenzein shrugged his shoulders again. He had been working on a revision of the Jupitel Thunder spell. After months of research, he had found ways to increase its power and, during the last month, he had gone to Geffen to present his findings to the academy. The decision was a sudden one. His friends knew that he was working on something important but they didn't expect him to just go to Geffen by himself only to write to them that he had to stay there for his presentation. He wasn't clear on the reasons, even to himself. He conceded that he wanted to do it alone so his friends wouldn't have to see him dealing with the council and the elder council. It was an ugly affair each time he did. "The academy rejected it of course." He said. "It's to be expected; my spell revision will never appeal to such short-sighted fools."

Seihanine watched as the sky darkened in night. Trenzein had tried to explain his spell revision to his friends while he was in the middle of researching it. Though she did not bother comprehending the magical calculations and spell theories, she did understand that Trenzein's version of Jupitel Thunder was hazardous to the caster. Nevertheless, he was extremely proud of his work. He scorned the idea of not casting it out of fear of pain and would not listen when she told him to be careful.

"A spell this powerful is bound to have some sort of backlash!" Trenzein went on. "I don't understand why they have to-!"

Seihanine shifted her attention back to the wizard. Trenzein continued to ramble about how his revision should have been accepted and how blind and cowardly the academy's elder council was. She forced down another smile. For a moment, she could see her older brother rambling about the poor quality of weapons and armor from the blacksmith guild. "Your spell does have the potential of killing its caster, Zein." She interrupted him. "It's no wonder they don't want it developed."

Trenzein was about to say something when Seihanine hushed him. He followed her gaze towards Baelthran's tavern. A furious-looking Eliarainne pushed open the free-swinging doors and entered. A moment later, they heard her shout for a bottle of Payon spirits. Seihanine shook her head. She had no idea what sort of comfort the knight could possibly gain from being drunk and a hangover.

"There she goes again." She muttered.

Trenzein smiled in amusement. "I'll bet my cloak that Makaelthos is inside already."

Seihanine walked on. "You'd win of course." She replied. "I have to see how my brother is doing, Zein. Chances are he's already beating down some profit-minded blacksmith. Are you coming?"

Trenzein kept in step with her and shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do anyway." He replied. "Besides I've been meaning to discuss something with your brother."

The two were about to head for Kreizen's shop when they were stopped by another wizard. Trenzein recognized the exposed cheek bones and vulpine features at once. The stringy red hair tied in a pony tail was also a dead give away.

"Trenzein Zaisen, correct?" The wizard smirked when he asked the question.

Trenzein concealed his hands underneath his cloak. The red-haired wizard was Daegan, one of Koullufen Aethernas's apprentices. Koullufen was a member of the academy elder council.

Seihanine's eyes glanced at Trenzein. Catching the forbidding look on his face, her own hands went to her gakkung.

"That's me, Daegan." Trenzein answered. "So what could your business with me be all about? As I recall, your marine sphere master was the one who opposed me the most during my presentation."

Trenzein had not bothered reminding Daegan that he had hurled, at least, twelve different insults at the wizard. Most of them involved primitive marine life, others about animal filth and a particularly nasty one he picked up from Makaelthos that had something to do with beating hodes.

Four more wizards appeared behind Daegan. Their maroon cloaks showed their status as students of Koullufen. "Master Koullufen has proposition for you, Trenzein." He continued. It regards your "spell revision". Follow me."

Trenzein glanced at Seihanine, who fingered four arrows in her quiver. 'Four assassins, eh?' He thought. 'Koullufen must really want me dead then.'

Daegan led them to one of Prontera's darker alleys. There were many of them near the market district where Kreizen kept his shop. Almost immediately, the wizards surrounded the two. Seihanine drew her bow. "Eight against two…near even odds don't you think, Zein?" She asked him. She knew the answer of course.

Trenzein's hands crackled with arcs of white energy. The same magic caused his eyes to seemingly glimmer a menacing yellow in the darkened alley. There wasn't a trace of worry in his voice when he spoke. "Near even? Don't insult me, Sei!" He turned his nose up at their enemies as he said so.

In response, an assassin leaped from the shadows behind Trenzein; a katar ready to plunge to his exposed back.

Seihanine was quicker in reaction though. She had been watching the men encircling her and Trenzein even before they made their way towards the alley. The katars were still a few feet from Trenzein when two of her arrows struck the assassin on the chest squarely on the chest; knocking him back into the shadows. She stepped aside; expecting the first spell from her companion to fly.

Sure enough, a jet of freezing air erupted from Trenzein's palm. The blast of cold struck one of the wizards, trapping the man neatly in the ice crystals that formed around him. Trenzein placed his back against Seihanine's; a precaution against further stabs to the back, and began casting another spell.

Daegan and his allies were about to begin casting spells of their own when the huntress whistled. Before they could react, a falcon suddenly descended on one of them. Steel-tipped claws tore through the shoulder of another wizard, sending him shrieking in pain. Blood spattered on the pavement and the man's spell was lost.

Trenzein concentrated on his palm. The alley lit up briefly as massive electrical charges began to collect on his palm. When he formed a fist-sized globe of lightning in his hand, he hurled it towards his trapped opponent. Bits of ice flew in all directions as the spell exploded on contact with the frozen wizard. When the icy debris cleared, a charred, smoking body was lying several feet away from the blast. Kalyx screeched as he flew past. Bits of torn muscle still hung from the falcon's claws when it swooped past him.

Seihanine ignored the wizards for a while and focused on another assassin who was trying to circle around her and get to Trenzein. She guessed that the poor fool thought he was being stealthy. Another pair of arrows flew from her bow; both finding homes in the man's chest. He slumped sideways to the pavement, next to the corpse of his companion. With two assassins down, she started aiming for the remaining two.

Trenzein pointed a finger at a third wizard and concentrated. Kalyx continued to harry the wizard with the torn shoulder; screeching loudly, pecking, scratching and buffeting the man with his wings. No wizard alive could have cast a spell under such an assault so Trenzein ignored the man for a while. He sent a swift, invisible "fist" constructed of force towards one of Daegan's remaining two companions and watched in satisfaction as it struck his opponent in the face; interrupting any spell casting and dazing the man for a moment. The thud of a body hitting the ground made him glance at his side. A third assassin fell to the ground to his right; several arrows jutting out of his neck. When he shifted his focus back to his enemies however, Daegan was all but complete in his spell casting preparations.

"Too late, Zaisen! I'll get you with this one-!" Daegan sneered. The sneer quickly turned into a gasp of surprise when another sphere of lightning shot towards him. "That's impossible! He just cast-!"

Daegan didn't get to finish what he was saying. He didn't even get to scream. His body slammed against a wall, still convulsing from the electrical currents that coursed through it. Trenzein wrinkled his nose at the stench of charred flesh even as his hands continued to crackle with electricity. Even as he threw the Jupitel Thunder with his right hand; his left was already forming another one. Another lightning sphere struck the last wizard while Seihanine's arrows found the last assassin. With their enemies dead, she turned her attention on him.

"Zein! Is that-?"

Trenzein coughed; blood suddenly flowing from his mouth. "A minor version of my spell revision. A stress on the word "minor" there. Let's see how Koullufen likes it now!" He laughed. He wiped the blood on his lip and walked on. "I thought we were going to see your brother. Coming, Sei?"

Seihanine nearly let herself smile as she walked beside Trenzein. The knights had to be contacted first and Trenzein's enemies would probably label him a murderer. They could really use Makaelthos's law-wrangling here and, perhaps, Eliarainne's influence. Not surprisingly, Trenzein did not look worried at all as he casually wiped some dust from his cloak. She allowed her falcon to settle on her shoulder.

"Arrogant bastard." She muttered.

World notes

Geffen Magic Academy -the current and only institution that allows for the training of mages. The Geffen Magic Academy is also the governing institution of Geffen and the repository of most, if not all, magical lore. All aspiring mages congregate in its halls to study magic. Those who aim for wizardry remain in Geffen while promising sages are sent to Juno. The academy is led by its elder council and a council underneath it.

Elder Council - the elder council is composed of the most accomplished wizards and sages in Rune-Midgard. It is convened only when issues regarding important matters for the city-state of Geffen or the Academy's lore arise. The elder council is composed of eight members; four wizards and four sages.

Council - The lesser council, or simply called "The council" handles the day to day affairs of the academy and the city. There are thirty members of the council and they include members of other professions not involved with magic.