"No," Boarstaff agreed. "Not at first. But they need to see you as more than what happened tonight." He gestured toward gates that blocked the night’s battlefield…killingfield. "And you need to see them as more than allies of convenience."
Sebastian was quiet for a moment. "I've spent centuries in diplomatic functions, learning to navigate court politics. Yet I find myself unprepared for this."
"This isn't politics," Boarstaff said. "It's community. Something different entirely."
As they parted ways, Boarstaff felt the weight of the night's events settling around him. Sebastian had shown himself capable of terrible violence, yes. But also of honesty. Of self-awareness. Of a desire to be more than what his father had made him.
Whether that would be enough to bridge the gap between Sebastian and the village, Boarstaff couldn't say. But it was a beginning.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sebastian emerged from the eastern caves as warriors gathered in the central clearing for morning training. He hadn't fed since before the confrontation with Cassius. The hunger wasn't debilitating yet, but it pulled at him, a constant awareness beneath his thoughts. He would need to address it soon, but first, there was the matter of training.
Orc warriors arranged themselves in rows before Thornmaker. The spearmaster stood tall, his weathered face serious as he surveyed the assembled fighters. Dwarven warriors formed their own group nearby, led by Ironfist. The two leaders acknowledged each other with curt nods before beginning their separate drills.
Sebastian remained at the periphery, positioned where he could observe without intruding. No one had explicitly invited him to the training session, but neither had anyone ordered him away. He existed in a state of tentative tolerance, useful, but not yet trusted.
"Today we train for vampire nobles," Thornmaker announced, his voice carrying across the clearing. "Not scouts, not hunting parties. The nobles themselves, with all their enhancements."
The warriors straightened, their expressions somber. Many had never faced vampires directly, Sebastian realized. They knew them only through stories and the occasional raid—not the full might of a noble house.
Thornmaker gestured to a rough wooden frame where someone had stretched hide to create a rudimentary illustration of vampire anatomy. Crude markings indicated what Sebastian recognized as an attempt to map component locations.
"Their strength comes from here," Thornmaker said, jabbing his spear toward a marking on the diagram's chest. "Their speed, from components along the spine. Their precision..." he moved the spear to the figure's arm, "from modules in the joints."
Sebastian noted the inaccuracies immediately but remained silent. The component locations were approximate at best, dangerously wrong at worst.
"They will be faster than you," Thornmaker continued. "Stronger. More precise. But they are not invincible."
He demonstrated a strike aimed at the diagram's arm. "The elbow joint houses a precision component. Strike here—" he jabbed his practice spear at the marked area "—and you'll disable their ability to target vital areas."
Sebastian frowned slightly. The diagram showed the component too high, almost at the bicep rather than where it actually resided. At that angle, warriors would miss completely or, worse, hit reinforced bone and break their weapons.
The warriors paired off to practice the technique, their strikes confident but misplaced. Not one would successfully disable a vampire's targeting system. Sebastian watched as Thornmaker moved among them, correcting stances and grips but not the fundamental error in their aim.
After several rounds of practice, the warriors paused to drink water. Sebastian's patience finally gave way to practicality.
"That won't work," his voice carried across the training ground.
All eyes turned to him. Some warriors reached instinctively for weapons. Others merely stared, surprised by his presence or his audacity.
Thornmaker's expression hardened.
"You have a better approach?" the spearmaster asked, challenge evident in his tone.
"Yes." Sebastian stepped forward, stopping at a respectful distance from the practice circle. "The components aren't where you think they are."
Murmurs rippled through the gathered warriors.
Thornmaker crossed his arms. "Enlighten us, then."
Sebastian gestured to the diagram. "You're aiming too high, and at the wrong angle. The precision component sits lower, nestled in the joint itself." He demonstrated the location on his own arm without touching anyone. "Strike straight into the crease of the elbow, not the muscle above it."
"And how would you know?" challenged a warrior near the front.
"Because I removed mine," Sebastian replied simply. "And I've disabled others'."
Thornmaker studied him for a moment, then nodded to a young warrior. "Leafrunner. Try it his way."
