Ravenswood Ch. 13

This chapter continues my story, the one that puts a different, more unique spin on the age-old vampire myth. But, because uploading chapters is faster than building them, it may take time before another makes its way to your desktop, sorry for the delay, the reality of writing I suppose.

I received a complaint that my chapters are too short and that nothing happens. Oh well...if you haven't figured it out by chapter 11, don't skim my work - you miss too much.

As this is a science fiction tale there are aliens, good ones and bad ones, and yes, the good ones are here to stand against those who would subjugate the more physically fragile human race. They all face challenges.

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter, leave a comment once you've finished. Good feedback, positive or negative with specifics, is the lifeblood of any writer.

I'm working hard to add to this catalog, so please be patient...dreamweaver594.

13-A Guardian Apprentice

It was seven in the morning and Maura, looking rather frazzled given the events of the previous night, strode onto the training grounds in front of the ancient shrine. Yet, no one was around, birds chirped and insects buzzed but otherwise the place was peaceful. She stood there for several minutes, waiting, but her patience was beginning to grow thin when from behind her head, a blade sliced through the air.

Maura dodged it quickly and turned to look for her attacker, but no one was there. Another whoosh of wind and a blade sliced through the air nearly missing her head as once again her reflexes reacted instantly to the attack. She scanned the practice field. So this is how training begins with Master Yaol, she thought. No longer waiting for another attack, she began to move quickly around the training grounds attempting to see her attacker before they were able to launch another strike.

She spotted a metal bar on the ground and picked it up, then moved quickly to her left to keep the advantage. Another whoosh and a strike came from her right. She dodged, and parried the blow, then swung the metal bar against the attacker she still could not see. It clanged against the sword and sent sparks flying. She dodged to the right reversing her movements from retreat to advance. She slipped to the right and parried. Then another thrust. This time she moved to thwart with a bind across the blade to push it away from her chest. Another blow came from below and she pushed off the ground with the metal bar and flipped backwards. She kicked against her attacker with her boot. She felt a thud as her boot struck something solid before she landed.

She sprung to her left and waited for the next attack but none came. "Well done, daughter," growled Yaol, appearing from nowhere as energy bands swirling around him began to dissipate. "You've trained well! You reacted instinctively and improvised impressively." He wiped the perspiration off his face with an old worn handkerchief then moved his hand to his chin to massage a bruise.

"You had me at a disadvantage, sir." Maura was breathing quickly. "But thank you for the opportunity to spar. I hope we can do this again soon."

Yaol laughed heartily. "We will Maura, we will. Perhaps next time I'll be learning blade work from you." He bowed with a wry smile. "Now that you're warmed up we can move on to energy work. Obviously, those energy bands gave me the advantage so today we'll start with a simple exercise to develop your skills."

The rest of the morning's training sped by as Yaol introduced Maura to the fundamentals of developing the weave. It was nearly noon before she managed to bring a simple flame of energy into a small band that she could extend around her body. Her face was filled with delight as the colorful band wrapped and coiled around her. She was so enthralled by the experience that she failed to see Jason standing on the edge of the training area until he applauded her latest attempt.

Jason stood clapping and grinning. "Well done, Maura."

Yaol stood up from his bench and crossed the distance to stand next to Maura. "A fast learner, Jason."

Jason strode across the training ground to join them, his grin spread from ear to ear. "She nearly bested you earlier, old man, I was watching from a distance."

"True, she's a master swordswoman. I'm considering asking her to train the advanced guardians in basic swordplay."

Jason nodded. "A good plan, I've seen her practice, she's well trained."

"I think you both place too much value in my sword skills," Maura said, as Jason turned from her to her teacher, his expression grew more solemn. "What's the latest from Truenock and his team?"

Yaol turned slowly and shook his head. "Apparently, the Terrians have developed a new weapon, I gave one of those we captured to the 'doctor' for examination. Another reason for guardians to learn the art of sword play," he said as he strode off the practice field and approached his bench.

Jason stood a moment and considered a visit to Master Brehan, or the 'doctor', as Yaol called him. A mention of a new weapon worried him. Perhaps Master Brehan would be able to understand the physics of such a new threat. If Yaol was worried and because of it, considering the need for sword training, then he should investigate this issue as well.

Yaol reached for a jar of water. "They captured one of the marauders. They're interrogating him now."

Maura turned to him. "Can I watch? With my background, perhaps I can be of some help."

"Not yet daughter, but soon." Yaol turned and wiped perspiration from his neck. "That's all for today, Maura. It was a good start. Tomorrow we'll continue where we left off."

Jason wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Let's see what Grandmother has fixed for lunch, I'm hungry." They walked off hand in hand on the path that led to Vera's cottage. He smiled blissfully, although his mind was elsewhere.

Each day, as Maura arrived to train, she continued to excel as Yaol's apprentice. They would begin with twenty minutes of sword work and her skills continued to convince Yaol that his thoughts about her were correct. She would be a tremendous asset to the guardians, training them in the tactics of the sword.

During the break, Yaol suggested that she lead a class for advanced guardians in sword work. She was doubtful that she could be of much use but Yaol insisted.

"Master, I appreciate your support, but I'm still a novice when it comes to work with my sword."

"In relation to your work with your teacher on Terrus, I understand your reticence. However, here, in Ravenswood, you are a magnificent swordswoman and I believe that if you share your skills with the other guardians, they will benefit as well. If the Terrians are developing a new weapon to challenge our guardians with the sword, then we have to find a way to face that challenge."

Maura lowered her eyes with a nod and accepted his decision. "Very well, sir, I'll do my best."

Three days later, adjacent to Vera's cottage on the commons green, she held her first class and found that she was teaching several students she already knew, including Fen and Carl. She gathered enough wooden swords to pass out to her class. "We'll begin today with these weapons made of wood, they'll hurt when they strike but at least they won't cut. Practice with enthusiasm, your work here will help you later against a more formidable enemy." And sure enough, as the practice continued bruises gave over to confidence and better sword work with fewer winces from her students.

She trained them as she was taught, presenting a form similar to European sword work historically from centuries past. However, there were slight differences, especially as these techniques were derived from lessons developed by her teacher on Terrus.

Wael was a master swordsman; he was hired by her mother to train her daughter in the proper use of the weapon. A gift she gave her on her eight birthday. Her work each day was a tribute to Wael's talent as a teacher, and her love of her mother.

Maura stood at the center of a circle of guardians. "Pair up, we'll continue with the stance and different guard positions then we'll go into parries and binds." She watched them begin to move away from each other, giving each team a fair amount of space to practice.

As she stood in a circle surrounded by guardians wielding wooden practice swords, Maura instructed them on how to stand when opposing someone and how to hold the sword when launching an attach or presenting a block to parry. She trained them by introducing exercises meant to reinforce these movements.

Maura drilled her pupils rigorously, paying close and careful attention to posture and movement. "You'll meet opponents who are not trained, but don't be fooled, even the clumsy novice can land a lucky blow. Drill these movements into your brain, make them second nature."

During the following week, she grilled them on cuts and parries, making them repeat the moves over and over until they were, as she called them, 'part of your soul'. Footwork was always at the core of her training, thwarts and slips were drilled arduously. Soon, her novices became apprentices, advancing quickly under her guidance.

"We only have a few weeks left in our training schedule," she said, passing out several copies of handbooks she found at a library she discovered while on a patrol to a nearby human city. "These are rare books I found at a library. They're written in Italian and were produced in the 15^th and 16^th centuries by Viggiani and Capo Ferro, but they're richly illustrated. Don't be discouraged in not knowing the language, all the information is in the illustrations. Not knowing the language won't hold you back."

"Study them carefully over the weekend and pass them amongst yourselves once you've mastered the techniques presented, I'll return them to the library in a week. They contain all the information that I'm sharing with you and then some, treat them with care," she barked as Fen stood next to her grinning.

"Mistress, you're a great teacher, I never would have imagined, when we worked together at that college library, how much knowing you has changed my life."

"I feel the same way, Fen. I guess I'm just paying you back for all the help you gave me when I first arrived," Maura said, patting her on the shoulder.

Suddenly, a whoosh of steel sliced through the air and Maura moved to parry the attack in a blur, her invisible assailant's blow was blocked as she moved quickly into a primary guard. Her students watched as they continued to strike and parry, Maura against someone unseen.

"This is what I meant by instincts," Maura shouted as she parried another blow. "My opponent is invisible and strikes without warning, just like what might happen in real life," she said binding the sword and leaping over her invisible assailant. "Perhaps one of you would like to try this out?" She looked over to Fen and Carl, a couple of her more advanced students.

Suddenly, the attacks shifted and Fen was forced into a defensive position. As the blade whooshed towards her head, she lifted her weapon and blocked the blow with a parry. From there, she bound over and slipped away to recover into a second stance.

"Good work, Fen," Maura said, clapping her hands.

The invisible attacker moved onto Carl as he stood watching Fen deal with her invisible assailant. Carl was a bit slower to respond to the attack but blocked the blade, and then bound it down and stepped on it as he brought his elbow up to smash into his attacker.

"Good work, Carl. Remember, hand-to-hand combat is important. These are skills you've already acquired from Master Yaol. They're still very useful, use them."

The bands of energy that wrapped around Master Yaol and kept him hidden, dissipated as he rubbed his chest a moment.

Maura shouted at her students. "Now pair up again and practice, we only have a few minutes left in today's session."

She turned and clapped Yaol on the shoulder to thank him for the unexpected visit.

He grinned. "I was curious, apparently, you've trained them well."

"I try my best," she said, as Jason walked up to join them. "What are you doing after lunch, Maura?"

"Vera has a few errands she wants me to run, why?"

Jason nodded, suddenly lost in thought. "I just a wondered. I'm going to visit an old friend; I'll be back after that.

As he promised, Jason paid a visit to an old friend, in this case Master Brehan. He wanted to see what he'd discovered from the new Terrian weapon that Yaol brought him.

The cottage Brehan lived in had been handed down through several generations, and for Sirin that meant that it was very old. The roof leaked when it rained, Brehan kept several pails and bowls for that purpose. Even with constant patching water still managed to squeak through.

The potbelly stove in the main room was the only source of heat and often, as it was today, a good place to warm a pot of beans. Brehan stood by it and stirred his lunch as Jason knocked on his door. His bushy eyebrows wrinkled as he opened the door to find Jason standing there. As a child, he often played with Brehan's nephews when they were young boys. Now older, the boys rarely visited, having lives and families of their own. He missed the rowdy noise of youngsters at play.

"Jason, it's good to see you, how's Vera?"

"Well, well. Busy as ever," he replied as he stepped into Brehan's home.

"Sit where you can, son. The maid hasn't been in this week," he said, grinning with a twinkle in his eyes. "Lunch?"

Jason smiled as he shuffled a stack of books onto the floor. "No thanks, I already ate." He paused a moment before asking his next question. "Yaol brought you a new weapon that some guardians captured from a band of marauders, have you had a chance to examine it?"

Brehan shrugged. "Only briefly, one of his apprentices brought it by the other day. It's rather intriguing, and a bit bulky," he said, finding it stuffed under some old electrical parts. He picked it up and waved it about. "The edge isn't very sharp, but I imagine it's not meant to cut so much as its meant to break through things like energy bands."

Jason looked concerned. "Truenock said, when the Terrians used it, the weapon sliced through their capture bands effortlessly."

"In the right hands, it could be very effective for that reason."

"Can I have Maura look at it? She's a master swordswoman, and she's half Terrian."

Brehan scratched his whiskers. "Hmm, sounds like a good idea, can she come by tomorrow?"

Jason stood. "I'll ask her after her training session with Yaol."

Brehan grinned as he stood and walked over to his makeshift stove. "You sure I can't offer you a helping of beans?"

"No, I'm fine, but thanks." Jason moved towards Brehan's door. "I'll join Maura tomorrow, too. This new weapon has me worried."

"Now that we have one, I can't imagine it won't be anything we can't find a way to prevent it from harming us. Only time will tell," the old man said patting Jason on the back as he left.

The next afternoon, Jason joined Maura as they both approached Brehan's cottage. She could see where the old man had patched several places in the slate roof with tar and shingles. Smoke drifted out of the chimney as they opened the rickety fence gate.

"Does he live alone?"

Jason nodded. "He's been sort of a recluse for years, his wife died twenty years ago of pneumonia, it was quite a shock. They were a childless couple, although his nephews often visited and I found myself here as well, but that was a long time ago." He gestured towards the cottage door. "The place is a gold mine for the curious, he has stuff scattered everywhere, but he's a genius at figuring out things..."

"Including new weapons?"

Jason nodded as he reached forward and knocked on Brehan's door. "I've offered to come by and help him straighten his counters, but he only shakes his head and mutters that then he wouldn't be able to find anything," he said, chuckling.

Maura walked into the room, it was indeed as cluttered as Jason said it was. The floor and counters were filled with all manner of trinkets and mechanical parts, some greasy, some not. The place smelled of oil and some sort of residue used to pack electrical parts for shipping.

Every seat, but one, was stacked clear to the top of the seatback with books and magazines, many with loose pages slipping out and about to fall to the floor. In a strange way, it reminded her of someone she knew on Terrus, her father's brother, Tregeck. He constantly misplaced his glasses but given a task to find a single misplaced screw and he'd have it in seconds. There was a cozy feeling attached to Brehan's clutter, it reminded Maura of her uncle Tregeck.

"Brehan, this is my girlfriend, Maura."

"Yes, I've seen her before, when she stood before the Council of Elders. Hello, Maura, it's so nice to finally meet you. Especially now, under better circumstances," Brehan said bowing his head slightly.

"Likewise, I'm sure," she replied, then she turned to her boyfriend. "Jason tells me that you have a new Terrian weapon?"

He pulled the sword out from under a pile of electrical cords. "Here, let's see what you think."

Maura took the sword he handed to her and examined it carefully. "It's kind of clumsy and not well balanced. Can I take it outside? I don't want to break anything in here."

"Sure, the front yard is the most clear of obstructions," Brehan said, opening his door for her. "There's a switch on the side where the blade meets the handle. Be careful," he warned.

Maura slid the switch and an electrical charge surged around the blade, making the edge glow as it hummed.

"One of the most interesting features I've discovered are the power cells located in the handle, I've never seen anything like them, it's well beyond human technology," he added, almost giddy with excitement.

Maura slid the switch to the off position and undid the cap on the end of the handle. "My father was familiar with them before we had to go into hiding. He didn't have much use for them at the time so we didn't have any lying around the lab. Most of his experiments were focused on crystalline structures; the need for portability was unnecessary."

"Humans haven't found a need for portability, either. They haven't introduced portable radios for the general public yet; at least I don't think so, but it's only a matter of time. There may be one or two out there but only as experiments. They're still very bulky, and expensive," Brehan said, pulling out a large battery with a capital 'B' typed on the label. "This is what humans have to work with, not much for ease of use like the Terrian power cells." He shoved the battery back on the shelf.

"Sirin technology, especially with the communicator, is well beyond what humans have, which is why we have to be so careful with those devices, we can't afford to have them fall into the wrong hands."

Jason nodded, handling one of the power cells. He handed it back to Maura. "Non-interference, right?"

Brehan nodded. "We nudge humans from time to time, but that's about all the White Brethren will allow."

Maura replaced the cap that kept the power cells in place on the hilt of the sword. She slid the switch again and swung it around her head, it crackled and hummed as she moved the blade.

She swung the blade against a nearby tree stump and the blade bit deeply into the wood, but the strike seemed to draw down the energy from the power cells.

"Interesting," Brehan said as he stood back and watched Maura swing the blade. "Once it strikes something solid it tends to rapidly drain the power, and struggles to keep up with the demand."