“Tomo is a gamble.”
“You’re right. Sianoa would not like that.”
Cal and I catch each other’s eyes as the brothers continue to discuss the Ancient Ten and who they think Hirovale will awaken first from their sleep. We both shake our heads with our own amused smiles and shrug, letting the twins continue what is obviously their area of expertise. I have no doubt they’ll fill us in when they need to, but I do make sure to note the four names they just spoke, curious to read more into the Ancients and refresh my knowledge.
I’m already vaguely familiar with Sianoa, the Ancient of the Mystics and Unknown. Elena Bardot, King Zander’s only daughter and sister to Keane, Desmond and Troy, studies under the guidance of Sianoa’s Seers in the Temple City of Alston in Woodlands Court. They’re a quiet bunch, though I’m still not exactly sure what all their studies encompass.
Then there’s Heysan. I’m also familiar with that lesser Ancient because I genuinely liked the fact that he was known to enjoy drinking just as much if not more than I do.
“Wait,” I ask the twins as we reach the training fields, “what would the Ancient of Death and Exploration want with the Ancient of Good Fortune and Celebration?”
Both look at me with small smiles as Holis replies, “while they may be brothers, Hirovale and Heysan are also good friends. Their relationship is unmatched between the Ancients, perhaps the deepest between them all.”
“What?” I ask in disbelief.
That can’t be right.
Heysan is known to promote self-indulgence and pleasure, urging people to find enjoyment in life through all things raucous and raw. He wasthe Ancient that was revered amongst the drinkers, experimenters and celebrators, and he was well-known to favor those who took risks.
Textbooks write of him as bestowing good fortune on those he considered to be worthy of it, people who had an unyielding view on life for all things living and fun. And though he was the least powerful of the Ancient Ten, he was the most enjoyed by all, and in the old years when the Ancients were awake and roaming the Four Kingdoms freely, Heysan was written about as someone who was seen drinking and gambling with people across the Old World. His presence was heavily noted at marriage celebrations while he joined in the festivities with the two lovers and their friends and family. I’ve also read stories of him being spotted down back alley roads, stumbling in his step with an arm slung across the shoulder of a drinking buddy. If the Court of Warriors ever chose to revere a single Ancient out of the Ten, Heysan would be the one.
“That makes no sense,” I shake my head.
“Why not?” Holis asks with a knowing smile.
“For an Ancient that sees so much death, it would make sense that he seeks out and befriends the celebrator of life and its pleasures,” Mana explains quietly.
Hirovale? The Ancient I met last night?
Seeking out pleasures?
No.
No way.
I want to ask more but Cal moves towards me. “We’ll go about our normal morning exercises until the sun rises, then Holis can take over with the bow.”
“Breakfast after at Margaret’s?”
All three men grin wide in response.
Cal and I move through our normal routines as Stormfall sits on a small bench with Golem standing behind him. We move and sweat until the sun rises just slightly above the skyline, finally taking a break as we both reach for our waters.
“You’re doing good with the larger dagger in close combat, Alex, but I want you to learn how to throw it,” Cal says next to me, “it won’t have the same reach as the smaller, but you should still be able to maneuver it out of hand if needed.”
I’m only finally getting used to the weight of the new dagger in my palm and can work well in close range settings as Cal mentioned, but already I can tell that the blade has me limited. I would fair well in defending myself if someone attacked me head on, but I yearn to master it in a way that Cal is suggesting. If I can throw this larger dagger like my smaller, it would do much,muchmore damage.
“I’m game,” I nod.
Cal grins and walks us over to the archery targets. Holis is already there with two bows and a large quiver of arrows next to his feet.
“Take your stance here,” Cal puts me next to our Discerni friend and angles me at the target, “and hit the center mark with your smaller.”
I pull the blade from my bicep and aim at the circle, hitting the mark dead in the middle.
“Good,” Cal nods, “now stay in this same spot and throw the larger.”
“There’s no way it’ll reach,” I frown.
