Chapter III.XII (3.12) - The Ice Mage

  Shiroi wore plaid. In a city full of traditional Hon clothing, he stuck out like a kitten in a litter of wolves.

  Nobody commented on the clothes though. Every citizen in the city knew him as their prince and they fell to their knees, heads bowed, as he walked past them. It was a completely different experience from walking through the city alongside Aoi. People knew Shiroi and clearly respected him.

  Kizu went largely unnoticed in the prince’s shadow. Which suited him fine. It was interesting seeing all the different people in Kyonaka. In comparison to what he’d seen in Daitoshi, the people here were far better off financially and they clearly spent the money. Most of the kimonos he saw were enchanted like the yukata he wore. Though some took their enchantments to far greater lengths. He noticed more than one person being carried by their clothing, allowing them to float down the streets while the user was preoccupied, reading a book or rocking a fussy baby. And there was a separate walkway over to the side for speedier foot traffic that relied on magical enhancements or enchantments. People sprinted by at speeds that left ripples of wind in their wake. And he spotted a couple gliding across the sky overhead suspended solely by gusts of wind. That last sight reminded him a lot of Inari’s fight with Sojan. He looked away and back down the road.

  He’d walked through the city streets a couple times now. After their escape from the necromancer a few days ago, he’d been proactively scouting the city whenever Anata wanted to go shopping or explore the local sites. With the cherry blossoms beginning to blossom, vendors were beginning to arrive from all over Hon to start setting up for the festival.

  Yesterday, Kizu and Anata had gone to a monument of a battle not far from the abandoned village. The stone statue stood in the center of the hotspring creek, but he’d spotted no sign of the necromancer. So long as they stayed within the city’s boundaries, Kizu believed they were in the clear. Even Aoi wasn’t brazen enough to try her luck returning to the village.

  “Roku’s a bit of a hermit,” Shiroi warned as they walked. “He’s one of the best elemental mages I know, but he didn’t get that way as a result of extroverted behavior. He spends most of the day in his family’s dojo, training different techniques.”

  “You mentioned he recently took over his family’s business. What does he do?”

  “They work with delving teams, analyzing artifacts and acting as a middle man to sell them worldwide. Their main shop is here, but they have one in Tross and two others in Edgeland. As well as a few small outposts near many of the main delving locations.”

  “Why a dojo then?”

  “The Shimizo family strongly holds to the belief that every member of their family must be powerful enough to delve into the World Dungeon on a moment’s notice. The dungeon is constantly shifting, so if news about a particularly interesting artifact surfaces, there’s not always time to prepare a delving team.”

  “Have you been into the World Dungeon?” Kizu asked.

  “Of course! It’s required for every member of Hon nobility to delve as a rite of passage into adulthood. I’ve been a few times since, but nothing beats that first expedition.”

  Shiro rolled up his plaid shirt past his elbow, showing Kizu jagged scars across his bicep.

  “Got bit by a rock creature. It was a totally exhilarating experience. We located one of the old collapsed cities the dungeon had internalized. They tend to be an absolute goldmine for artifacts, so my father decided it would be a perfect occasion for my first delve. But when we reached it we saw the city had boulders scattered throughout it. All sorts of sizes. They seemed to have smashed through everything, like they rained down from the cavern ceiling above. We were careful, and avoided at least a dozen different traps set throughout the streets. Then I spotted this strange belltower that resonated with my spellsense. The entrances into the building were all collapsed, so I figured I’d scale the rubble leaning against the tower and then leap through one of the upper windows. But when I started to climb one of the boulders, a mouth appeared, chomping down on my arm. Nearly lost it. Thankfully my father smashed the monster into gravel. And Professor Kateshi immediately stitched up my arm.” He frowned. “It’s sad she decided to help Inari. It makes sense, given her history working with him. But I liked her.”

  Kizu was spared having to come up with a response to that as they approached Mizu Dojo.

  Shiroi slid the door open, exposing the two of them to a frigid chill. Ice lined the walls. A single young man knelt in the center of the room. His white hair matched the small layer of snow padding under his knees.

  “Hey, Roku.” Shiroi raised his hand and walked over. “Sorry to interrupt the meditation training. Wanted to swing by and congratulate you on the promotion!”

  The man opened an eye, revealing an iris the shade of ice. He examined the prince first before his eye flickered over to Kizu.

  “Shiroi,” he said. “My door’s always open. You know that.” But his tone was dry, lacking the welcome that his words implied.

  “You sure? I’m not being too much of a bother, am I?”

  “No. I appreciate you coming by. Would you like to spar?”

  “Hm.” Shiroi considered the question. “Not unless you want to remove both legs as a handicap.”

  “That’s a bit dramatic. You’re quite skilled in your own right.” Then he addressed Kizu. “And you? Are you a new ward of Shiroi’s? How do you feel about sparring?”

  “A friend of Aoi’s,” Shiroi said. “He asked for an introduction to you. His name is Kaga Kizu.”

  Kizu bowed. “I wanted to ask you about my sister.”

  Roku paused.

  “Ah. Anna’s brother. So you weren’t dead? That means the Blood Lord lied. That’s interesting.”

  Kizu’s heart stopped. He knew about Otochi.

  “Blood Lord?” Shiroi asked, intrigued.

  “I encountered one with Anna a few months before her expulsion.” Then he made a face. “But I’m not supposed to discuss that. My mistake. Please forget I mentioned it.”

  Shiroi laughed. “Seriously? You met a Blood Lord? And now you’re sworn to secrecy about it? By whose orders? Surely I can overrule them, right?”

  Roku considered the questions. “By the headmaster. I’m not certain whether or not you outrank his authority. Do I owe more allegiance to the head of the academy that taught me, or to someone far further down in authority within the nation I reside?”

  “Of course I outrank the headmaster.”

  “You didn’t while you attended Shinzou Academy though. You obeyed him absolutely.”

  “Well, now I’m here in Hon. He’d have to obey me here.”

  “But this promise was made there, not here.”

  “What can you say?” Kizu asked. “About Anna? Do you know where she is?”

  “I liked Anna.” Then he looked past the two of them as if staring back in time. Kizu thought he saw a bit of color lighten his pale cheeks. “She was a good friend. Loyal. Powerful. Ambitious. Good qualities to have. Though she did clash a bit with authority occasionally. We met in our first year and often worked on projects together. She also liked to spar. While she lacked my level of brute strength with elemental spells, her divination skills were so good that she could predict my movements. In a straight fight like here in my dojo she wouldn’t be able to outmaneuver me, but she liked to employ a more dynamic fighting style that used unique settings to her advantage. It was fun. She always had more tricks up her sleeve. Every spar was distinctly unique.”

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  “And what happened after her expulsion?” Kizu prodded.

  Roku frowned. “It’s hard to say without breaking my promise…I will say she returned to the World Dungeon after. She tried to convince me to join her. I…refused.”

  That matched and confirmed the timeline Kizu knew. She’d left the World Dungeon, been disowned and expelled after his parents discovered her pregnancy, and returned to give birth to Anata. But why had she abandoned Anata there? And where did she go after?

  “And you never heard from her again?” Kizu asked.

  “I received a letter from her at graduation. But the headmaster asked me not to discuss its contents or reveal the address it came from.”

  “Why not?” Shiroi asked.

  “Because it involved the Calamities.”

  “The Calamities!”

  “Their existence isn’t a secret, right? Your father mentioned them to me last time I spoke to him.”

  “My father knows about existing Calamities?”

  “You didn’t? It was a casual conversation, so I assumed you knew about them. I don’t believe I broke any oaths mentioning their existence to you, but I’d rather redirect this conversation before I stumble again.”

  From that point on, Roku simply shook his head at every question asked.

  “What if I beat you in a spar?” Kizu asked. “Will you answer my questions then?”

  That caught Roku’s attention. His silver eyes gleamed at the offer. “One question. First blood. Shiroi qualifies as a dual overseer by Hon law.”

  “Hold up,” Shiroi cut in. “You at least need some sort of handicap.”

  “Of course,” Roku said. He took out a strip of white cloth from his sleeve and wrapped it around his head. He tightened it in place with a harsh knot. “This is an enchanted device meant to replicate a relic discovered on my third ever delve. The relic sucked away all forms of light, completely obscuring everything within a kilometer radius of it. This is designed to act the same way, completely obscuring my vision. I will not be able to use my eyes while wearing it. I’ve also made it dampen my hearing, though it's a far lesser enchantment.”

  “Barely a handicap,” Shiroi grumbled.

  “Do you accept?” Roku asked Kizu.

  “Yes,” Kizu agreed.

  No response.

  “Yes!” Kizu repeated.

  “Good, please feel free to use any available weapons.” He gestured a rack of metal swords off to the side.

  Kizu picked one up. He swung it in place. It was nothing like the swords used by the skeletons on Owl’s Respite. These were Hon swords, their blades curved slightly and with only one sharpened edge. Swords were far out of fashion and Kizu had very little experience with them. But it should be easy enough. It was basically an oversized knife. He just needed to slice at Roku with the sharp side. Like chopping a root for brewing. A root that could move and cast dangerous magic…which was something he actually had experience with.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” Kizu said, facing Roku.

  No response.

  “I’m ready!”

  Roku nodded. He held no blade. “Shiroi, please announce the start of the duel.”

  Shiroi sighed and began reciting a memorized instruction on the rules of dueling. Kizu had heard it before from Arclight whenever she started one of the combat contests between students. Briefly, his mind flickered back to his fight with Ulric. Once again he was facing down a far more skilled opponent. Fear bubbled up in him alongside normal nerves. But this wasn’t the same thing at all. Roku held no animosity or vendetta against him, and Shiroi wasn’t going to interfere like Inari had. Except…how much did he actually know about Roku’s history with Anna? Could he have some grudge he’d been hanging onto these years? Kizu squashed the sensation the best he could before he spiraled. He steadied himself and focused on his strategy.

  Shiroi finished, slicing an arm through the air to signify the start of the fight.

  Before Shiroi’s arm had even retracted back, Roku’s own hand shot out. Ice sprouted from his palm and erupted, forming a wicked blade of ice.

  Kizu jumped behind the elemental mage, planning a quick slice from an unpredictable angle to end the spar as fast as possible.

  But Roku pivoted on his heel and bet the blade with one his own. Ice met steel. He wielded the blade with so much speed and force that the metal sword flew out of Kizu’s hand. Kizu jumped as Roku cut in an arc down at him. He narrowly reacted with enough speed to avoid the blade of ice.

  Roku had said Kizu was welcome to any of the weapons offered, so instead of retrieving the fallen sword, Kizu retreated back to the weapon rack and snatched up a new one.

  Roku didn’t move from where he stood in the center of the dojo. But he raised his blade of ice. At the motion, half a dozen spears of ice formed in the air around him, floating adjacent to his sword. He flicked his wrist, pointing his blade at where Kizu stood and the spears whirled to match the direction of the sword before zipping towards Kizu.

  Again, Kizu narrowly jumped away. Then he formed several illusions, roughly his same size, and had them also appear and disappear as he jumped again and again through the dojo. The illusions weren’t designed to look like anything more than a jumble of colors, but that shouldn’t matter. It should be able to throw off Roku’s spellsense and confuse him.

  He’d tried the same trick on Arclight in her last lesson. It had worked at first, until the professor changed strategies to seek out the sound he made while jumping. After establishing his illusions were noiseless, she’d located him by ear.

  But this time Kizu wasn’t going to make that same mistake. He jumped to the side of Roku and formed a barrier of force to soundlessly catch his feet. Simultaneously, Kizu smashed a second, smaller barrier down into the floor where one of his illusions appeared, on the other side of the ice mage, making its noise roughly resemble that of a footstep. A trick he’d been practicing in his last lesson with Wakino. The timing wasn’t completely perfect, but it should be enough.

  Except it wasn’t. Once again, Roku met the sword again with his own. He completely ignored Kizu’s bait.

  This time, instead of the parry disarming him, Roku held it in place for a second. Then the ice from his blade spread down the metal of Kizu’s. The growth was so rapid that Kizu didn’t even have time to register the move before the ice encased his forearm.

  Roku smiled.

  Kizu jumped.

  He landed on a wavering platform of force. His mind spun, trying to figure out how Roku saw through his deception. It hadn’t been perfect timing, but it should have been enough to give Roku at least a moment of pause. The man completely ignored his illusions, as if he didn’t see them. Did he really have so much mastery that he could immediately identify a spell? Then it occurred to Kizu. Maybe the elemental mage couldn’t see them. He was blindfolded, after all. Kizu had assumed he was tracking him with his spellsense and enhanced hearing, but that was just because that’s what Arclight used.

  The ice that had been used to grapple Kizu’s arm melted, the metal sword clattering to the ground at Roku’s feet. Once again, only the original ice sword was in Roku’s hand. But, instead of the excess water splashing on the dojo floor, Roku refroze it into five more ice shards. Not even turning around, Roku raised his empty hand and the shards shot them in Kizu’s direction. This time, Kizu didn’t jump, instead he released the barrier holding him and dropped to the dojo’s floor. Two of the shards shattered into the wall, but the other three bent their trajectory, following him. Kizu lifted his hands and formed antimagic barriers in front of him. He made them compact, sized only large enough to block the shards directly. All three of them met his barriers. Only one fully dispelled, the other two puncturing his barrier. But not before the antimagic dulled their points. It felt more like getting hit by a rock than a spear. While it still hurt, he was bruised, not bleeding. And it gave Kizu an idea.

  Even the shards of ice that had shattered above him had begun to change their angle of attack before they smashed into the wall, they just had too much momentum already built up to make that sharp of a turn. But the three that slammed into his antimagic had done so without a quiver of uncertainty.

  Kizu formed a small barrier of force. He didn’t know how to cast the force blast that Wakino often used, but he knew enough to build up some momentum with the barrier while he sent it at Roku.

  It knocked into Roku, shoving him off his feet. He landed on the ground with a thump and Kizu instantly jumped there, sword chopping down at the fallen mage.

  Roku encased his arms in ice, then smacked the blade away. The power of the blow nearly disarmed Kizu again, but he held the hilt tight this time.

  But only for another second, then he released the metal blade and let a barrier of force push the metal sword in Roku’s direction while he jumped away to the other side of the dojo.

  Kizu had made no sign of an attack, not even facing Roku before he jumped away. But his force barrier shifted the sword’s course through the air, changing the trajectory. It spun, knocked to the side, unseen by the blindfolded elementalist. Then the sword embedded itself in Roku’s leg.

  Blood stained the metal’s edge.

  Ten chapters (5 weeks) ahead of Royal Road.