Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time
Book 2: The Goddess War
Chapter 11 - Red Tide
11.8 - Running With the Bull
By the end of the first day of training, Maduin knew he would never make it as a Stradivari, had he still been human. Whether he could even keep up with them as an Esper was still a matter of doubt.
The previous night had been a respite from his struggles while Ole Bull enjoyed himself in traditional Zwill fashion. It was a night filled with feasting, song and dance in the Harcourt mansion, a public celebration in honor of Servais's arrival. The party had been thrown together for Servais in public, but privately the real celebration among the Stradivari was for Maduin's presence. No one doubted Servais's talents, but it was the magical Esper everyone in the know was talking about. He had been snuck onto the grounds amidst the drunken uproar, and treated like royalty by Ole Bull's servants. It was a dizzying experience for Maduin, who had never been much of a party-goer as a human, and was sorely out of practice with socializing since becoming an exiled Esper.
The night whirled by in a tornado of wine, women, and song. When Maduin was awoken at the crack of dawn by the howling of a wolf, he had trouble remembering the events of the previous night at all. The howling wolf, however, sent chills down his back as he remembered his nights in the caves of Narsille. It sounded too much like Cerberus for his comfort.
Kumiro was up and flying around him nervously with little squeaks of terror. The little moogle knew those howls as well, and was in no mood for such surprises. It flew around the luxurious bedroom in a huff, giving off little puh's and peh's as it held its head tight. The unfortunately adorable creature had been the subject of much fondling and fluffing the previous night, both by Elphis and the ecstatic party-goers. A moogle was a rare sight outside of the frozen north, and it was only by sampling more wine than was good for it that Kumiro had managed to keep calm amidst the flurry of gawkers and fondlers. Dealing with curious bystanders as Indie's pet had been annoying at times, but it was nothing like this.
Elphis remained asleep through the howls, having partied too hard for her tender age and weakened condition. Despite her exhaustion, Maduin was pleased. The fatherly Esper had ordered her to enjoy herself with the regular citizens of Zwill, apart from his own sequestered celebration. She had argued a bit, but the smell of good food eventually won her over. If there was one thing Maduin did not want Elphis to become, it was a pariah like himself. He would not let his inability to enjoy the company of regular humans keep her from doing the same. She had been treated poorly by her fellow man her whole life, and Maduin wanted to make sure she could still enjoy normal life with normal people whenever possible. From the breathless tales of dancing, singing, and general camaraderie and good will that she had related to him as she fell asleep in his arms, it seemed the people of Zwill had taken a liking to the precocious blind girl. And for that, Maduin was thankful.
The wolf at their door was anything but friendly, though, and Maduin was up and ready to fight whatever bloodthirsty monster might be waiting for him just outside. When the door burst open and Ole Bull came barging in, Maduin dropped his guard in relief. But when a giant blood-stained wolf leaped into the room behind him and pounced on the Esper, he was caught completely defenseless, and was sent sprawling against the bed.
"Down boy!" Ole Bull said between laughs.
Maduin staggered up from his embarrassing position, scowling at the laughing bull and grinning wolf. "What's this about?"
"Training partner for the day," Ole Bull grinned. "Say hello to Jupiter."
"Jupiter" was the largest wolf Maduin had ever seen, twice as large as any Lobo from the north. And its fur was streaked copper and vermillion, a swirling storm of red with one especially dark spot on its side that looked like an old wound healed over. There were other patches of slightly different colored fur all over the beast where it had been bitten, slashed at, gored, and even shot. These were all signs of a beast that had seen its fair share of battles.
"What kind of dog is this? And...training partner?" Maduin did not like the sound of that.
"Jupiter's an old friend of mine and the most loyal pet you could ask for," Ole Bull said as he scratched the dog's tattered left ear. "Dragonetti brought him up from the South a long time ago as a gift. Said it was a prime Red Fang specimen, bred from Red Baron himself. The old mutt's been by my side ever since. I guess you could call him an honorary Stradivari! Haha!"
The dog huffed happily as it sat on its haunches next to the towering Ole Bull. The two seemed a perfect match, both giants among man and beast. And both killers, from the looks of the blood-stained wolf. Red Fang was as apt a name for the thing as any.
"Is that blood on him?" Maduin ventured, not wanting to really know the answer.
"Yeah, but only a little." Ole Bull glanced at the dog without a sign of horror. "He likes to hunt wild game for his meals. Won't eat dog food or anything like that. Can't say I blame him. If I wasn't supposed to be a civilized mayor, I'd be out hunting for my breakfast too, just like the good old days!"
The giant man thumped his exposed belly and guffawed. His hands were still wrapped in bandages, but he didn't seem to be in pain. At the sound of his bellowing, Elphis shook herself awake and rubbed her unseeing eyes.
"What's all that noise? Is there still a party? I'm still sleepy, Maydune. Tell them to go away."
"No, I'm afraid it's time to get up. C'mon." Maduin nudged the girl and she groaned.
"And what's that smell? It smells like a big smelly dog." Elphis scrunched up her nose and grimaced uncertainly. "And...blood."
"Don't worry, that's just Jupiter, Ole Bull's pet. He's scary, but I think he's friendly." Maduin looked at Jupiter sitting beside his master, tongue lolling from its wide grin. Despite its fearsome frame, the face was just like the tame Lobo pet dogs he had seen in Antissa. "He is friendly, right?" Maduin said after studying the creature.
"As friendly as I am!" Ole Bull said with as toothy a grin as his hound.
"I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or worse."
Maduin sighed and motioned for them to leave the room. It was time to get this training started, whatever it was. Elphis bounced behind him, one hand in his and one hand petting the trotting dog. She seemed to have decided there was no harm in the huge beast. Kumiro flew higher than usual, and still emitted the occasional peh whenever the dog looked up at it.
Outside in the barren field that was used as a training ground, Maduin saw another unpleasant surprise. The Lady Blunt's slim figure was languishing along the wooden fence that separated the grounds from the rest of the area, a wolf-like smile on her thin lips. As usual, she was fidgeting with a dagger in her hand, twisting it through her fingers in complicated motions that made the blade appear to swim in and out of her grasp.
"Don't tell me you're my training partner, too."
"Oh, heavens no!" The Lady laughed her sharp laugh and flung her dagger straight at Maduin's head. It whistled by his ear so fast he couldn't have caught it even if he had known it was coming. Instead of thudding into the door behind him, it was caught by Ole Bull's thick hand with an equally lightning-fast gesture. "We want you to actually live long enough to see the full moon, don't we?"
"Now, now, Fey," Ole Bull clucked, tossing the dagger back to her lazily. "Why don't you go off and enjoy the day somewhere? We all know you don't need any training. No need to rub it in."
The Lady looked offended, and slightly embarrassed. Maduin never saw her more discomfited than when she was around Ole Bull. "I think I'll stay right here and watch the fun. Zwill is so boring when there's no fighting going on. When's the next tournament, anyways?"
Ole Bull crinkled his brow, half-hidden by his vomammoth helm. "You know full well we've suspended such things until we get this mess straightened out. Besides, you always win. Just give yourself a trophy or something."
The Lady Blunt wilted at her superior's retort, and dropped back to her lounging position along the fencepost. "Bah. You can really be a bore sometimes. And yes, that is a pun, Lord Ham."
"Don't let her get to you, Maduin," Ole Bull whispered, or at least did his best attempt, to Maduin. "She's here because she has nowhere else to go. Without Lord Dunn-Raven around she's-,"
Another dagger flew at Ole Bull before he could finish, and again he caught it, even with his head turned to Maduin. Lady Blunt's voice trailed after it. "Enough talk. Get on with your so-called training."
Maduin looked around, wondering who else might have decided to eavesdrop. "Is Servais around as well?"
The Lady laughed again. "Him? He's probably still snoring away in some bar. He made a fine batch of Over Grunk from those Paraladia vines you two nearly killed yourselves over."
"Aye, that was a fine batch," Ole Bull crooned as he remembered the previous night's festivities. "And no, Servais won't be joining us the way he drank last night. It's just you and Jupiter today."
Jupiter barked once and ran up to the Lady Blunt. She tapped his nose with the hilt of one of her daggers and he snatched at it like a buzzing fly before running back to Ole Bull. Seeing the fiery-haired Lady get along with the equally fiery Red Fang came as no surprise to Maduin. They seemed even more a fit than the wolf and Ole Bull.
"What about the bears?" the Lady asked.
"Bears?" Maduin gulped.
"Tomorrow. He's not ready for them yet. Today's just a warm-up."
"Bears? Maduin asked again, not happy with the way they were talking.
"Tomorrow," Ole Bull repeated. "Don't worry, if you can handle a giant fire-breathing dog, you candle a couple Ipooh."
Maduin wasn't sure he liked the idea of fighting wild animals instead of people, but he suspected no person besides a Stradivari would be willing to spar with an Esper. "Where do we begin?" he asked.
Ole Bull looked him up and down, nodding to himself. "From what Fey's told me, this Cerberus you two fought basically moved like my Jupiter, only a lot bigger. A dog is a dog after all. She said the way you handled him was appalling, so let's start with basic tactics against a four-legged beast like a wolf. Big or small, it's the same thing when you get down to fundamentals..."
Fundamentals. That was a word Maduin would have drilled into him more times than he cared to think about over the rest of the day, and for the rest of the week. It seemed to be Ole Bull's favorite word, and there was no question that Maduin lacked even the fundamental knowledge of martial arts. He grappled with Jupiter for hours trying to listen to Ole Bull's never-ending advice on what to do and what not to do. But he was not a fighter, and soon that became obvious.
"Enough."
Ole Bull called back the frisky Jupiter to give Maduin a rest after several hours of constant wrestling with the brute. The wolf wasn't tired in the least, but Maduin was barely able to stand up. He felt like he was expending more energy holding back his inhuman strength so as to not kill the wolf than he was actually fighting with it. If he truly wanted to, he could have flung the wolf clear out of the training ground with one hand. That was not the point of the exercise though...or perhaps it was? His suspicions were confirmed when Ole Bull nodded with apparent satisfaction.
"Good. I wanted to see if you could stand and fight without wrecking the place. Power's no good if you can't control it. I don't want my Zwill being destroyed by the very person I've brought in to save it. Got it?"
"Yes," Maduin panted. "But if I have to burn myself out just holding back, I won't be much good in a real fight. I need to be able to guide the fight away from populated areas."
"No!" Ole Bull roared. "You can't always dictate the battleground, and I guarantee this Lilith will try her best to keep the fight here in town precisely because she knows you can't fight to your fullest here. Learn to fight without losing control. That is the most fundamental essence of the martial arts. Control."
"Sorry. I suppose you're right."
"Damn straight!" Ole Bull heaved. Maduin couldn't help be see his Captain in the puffed up Ole Bull. The two would get along marvelously, he was sure.
"I wouldn't smile yet, Esper," the Lady called out. "How about your ice magic? How well can you control that in the heat of the moment?"
Maduin was half-way towards conjuring an icicle to fling at the woman when Ole Bull put a steady hand on his arm. "Tomorrow," he said. "No magic today."
"I'm afraid my magic is really all I have to offer you. You said you didn't need my strength."
"We don't, but it's best to see how well you carry yourself physically before getting into things I don't even know how to measure. You know more about this magic stuff than I do, and I don't want to go jumping into it without thoroughly testing your fundamentals." The proud warrior wouldn't admit it, but the way he rubbed his bandaged hands told Maduin the man was regretting testing his magic so recklessly on the ship.
"Boring," the Lady Blunt called out one last time before hopping off the fence and marching back into the mansion.
"Go get 'em!" Elphis yelled from safely beyond the fenced in field, delighted in watching her hero fight, however poorly. At least someone was having a good time.
"Fundamentals...," echoed Maduin gloomily to himself, turning to face the eager Red Fang again. It would be a long day.
And tomorrow...bears.