Pel thought it said a lot about how King Forex treated people, butthatwas obviously not a welcome observation.
Watching Torex train, though, Pelcouldsee why King Forex coveted those skills. They were probably lucky that he was so old-fashioned, or he might have forced Larexa to train, even when it was so clear she didn’t want to.
It had been years since his father had trained with the guards, though Pel had vague childhood memories of the man doing so, of Pel and Bavil and Larexa all watching and cheering. That had been before their mother had died, before the breaking bond had sent King Forex to his bed.
He’d never been quite the same afterwards—and at least for Pel, it had gotten so much worse when he’d Manifested as Unremarkable.
But the part of Pel that had originally thought that Torex was simply showing off could concede now that he was doing exactly what Pel did: he was working within the parameters of the magic he’d been given. Should he never manifest an avatar or a shield or a weapon because Illustrious and Unremarkable couldn’t?
Looking at the man now—without a tunic, because he seemed to be opposed to them when he was training—skin decorated with the glowing swirls of his magic, Pel could only think that would be an incredible shame.
Pelun wasn’t the only Unremarkable who spent more time with his eyes on the High Prince than he really should have.
When King Forex was deep in his cups, it sometimes seemed like he blamed the High King for the fact that there were no Extraordinary in Tond except for Forex and Larexa.But if there were a way to make people more magical—apart from acquiring the pledges of Fealty of an entire realm—then it would surely have been discovered before now.
Pel knew that his opinion wasn’t the popular one, but he honestly wasn’t so sure that they needed more magic in the world. The Healers were amazing, but they were a subset of the population as small or smaller than Extraordinary. They were the only group of people who could share part of their magic with another temporarily to aid in healing. They regained the magic they expended, and then they could heal again. They couldn’t Mantle an object they weren’t touching or create free-standing magic, but they weren’t simply Illustrious, either. (They even got their own special suffix, naturally, so everyone would know their magical strength and ability immediately.)
But the magic that people thought of day to day? That was the magic of the Extraordinary, just like Torex was demonstrating now, able to not only strengthen his own weapons but to create a free-standing avatar.
Yes, it was eye-catching and immensely useful in a fight. But… what were they fighting against? They were united and at peace, and they wanted to stay that way. They’d been at peace with the mainland for centuries, too small to be of concern to them, and too out of the way. It was the same reason the exiles hadn’t left the United Realms at the end of the war. This was their home, and just the thought of moving away permanently was a painful one. The goddess had granted them their magic and given them a place they felt they belonged, and that was that.
But with no one to fight… why was being Extraordinary so, well, extraordinary?
On the other hand, if Pel were suddenly granted the option to become Extraordinary, he knew that he’d be hard-pressed to refuse. Because you were treated differently when you were Extraordinary, and Pel sometimes grew very tired of being Unremarkable.
He couldn’t see their society giving up on how they valued Extraordinary any time soon, though. Pel was watching Torex and the Illustrious guards just as closely as everyone else, after all.
Torex could shield from blows that would have felled Pel no matter what he did to stop them. Torex could erect a shield in an instant, and then he was attacking again. He could summon his avatar with a thought and attack from two directions at once.
Torex was strong enough to shield, Mantle his weapons,anduse an avatar. He had all the advantages, and he knew it.
But unlike what Pel had assumed at the beginning, it wasn’t just to show off. Peoplewantedthis spectacle—and Torex was also willing to stand there and be the equivalent of a magical dummy, shielding so that the guards could throw everything they had at him.
He gave pointers about how he thought they could make their attacks stronger or work in concert to eventually overcome him.
He was trying to help them improve, and they weren’t even guards from Alossa.
“That was good of you,” Pel said after the training.
Torex raised an eyebrow.
“Letting them attack you while you just stood there. It must have been boring.”
Torex shook his head, looking like his whole body was thrumming with energy. “Not at all. It’s a great way to observe them and offer guidance. It only makes sense to have stronger guards. The better trained they are, the better chance they’ll return home.”
Heart clenching, Pel realized part of why Torex was so passionate about this.
“Well, we really appreciate the time that you’re spending with them,” Pel said awkwardly.
Torex slanted a look at him, his eyes dancing. “I noticed. The lot of you didn’t seem to be doing very much practicing of your own.”
Pel felt his face heat even as Torex laughed.
“Hey, it’s not every day that we get to see those sorts of displays!”
Torex’s grin was bright. “I’m flattered that I’m such a distraction.”
Pel’s smile faltered. He was always going to be distracted by Torex, wasn’t he? And Torex didn’t even notice him unless he was drunk and didn’t have anything better to do.
