Ravenswood Ch. 13

Jason pulled out his short sword as Maura retrieved the Terrian weapon from the stump. He swung the sword and it collided with the Terrian weapon. With the remaining power, the Terrian blade sliced halfway through the Sirin sword, even if it wasn't as sharp. The Terrian sword died and stopped. Obviously, the Sirin blade was defenseless if the Terrian weapon was at full power.

"So, from these experiments, it would be safe to assume that a guardian, wielding a standard short sword, wouldn't stand a chance coming up against a fully powered Terrian blade," Brehan mused rubbing his whiskers.

Jason followed Brehan's thought pattern. "But, if it struck something else first and drained some of its power..."

Maura interrupted. "...Then the guardian might stand a chance," she said completing his thought. Jason nodded.

"I need to introduce my class to this idea tomorrow. They can't go out there attacking Terrians equipped with these weapons without a way to counter them," she said handing the weapon back to Brehan. "Thank you, Master Brehan, this helps, a lot." She turned and opened his fence gate. Brehan waved to them holding the weapon in his hand as they left his cottage. From the experience, both Maura and Jason were lost in thought.

That evening, near dusk, Yaol paid a visit to Vera's cottage and spoke with Jason and Maura. "Tomorrow morning, at seven, I'd like you both to work together. Jason, bring your short sword, I usually practice sword work with Maura first thing. Tomorrow, I want you to begin working as a team. I'll bring a partner and we'll spar," he said, opening Vera's gate. He turned and waved as he strode off.

The next morning, as frost still dusted the training ground, Maura and Jason stood in the center waiting for Yaol's arrival. "He usually comes hidden behind energy bands," Maura said in a whisper.

"I wonder if his partner will be Roark, he's someone who's helped him before. I think they trained together when they were younger."

Maura turned to him quickly. "I thought he told me he trained with your father?"

Jason nodded. "He did, but soon after my father went off on a patrol and the partnership was dissolved, I guess my grandfather had other plans. Roark has been with him ever since."

"Whatever happened to Vera's husband, your grandfather?"

Jason sighed. "He was killed the day after the raid where they tortured my father. We've learned a lot from those two bad experiences."

Maura was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Jason." She said in a whisper.

He nodded. "It was a sad day for all of us, Grandmother seemed lost for weeks after that."

Maura nodded as a whoosh of steel sliced the air from nowhere as it moved towards her chest. She slipped left and parried the blade then bound it over as another weapon sprung from nothingness and sliced towards Jason. He remembered the lessons that Maura taught and slipped to the side as the weapon swung past him. He gauged the distance from the blade to its invisible assailant and swung a blow to the invisible chest with the hilt of his sword. He heard an 'Oof' and knew it had met it's target.

The massive frame of Master Roark appeared as the bands of energy enveloping him dissipated. "That was a good blow," the old man growled in a gravelly voice rubbing his chest.

"I'm just trying to remember all that Mistress Maura has taught me," Jason said, apologetically.

"No worries, it was well done and serves me right for not paying attention," he chuckled.

After another thrust, which was parried effectively, Yaol emerged from behind the mask of energy. "Their sword work is all due to Maura's excellent training. But I'm surprised she's offering lessons to you, Jason, you're jist an apprentice."

"If we're going to team up, he needs to know these things, Master Yaol. I gave him lessons later in the day when my students had left," she replied sheepishly.

"It's just as well," Yaol chuckled, "every apprentice, from now on, needs sword work as part of their training."

"I couldn't agree more," Yaol's friend Roark bellowed. He wrapped his arm around Jason's shoulder and hugged. "Times are changing, missions and patrols are getting more dangerous, and we need to expand our training to accommodate these new trends."

Yaol turned and laid his sword on the bench behind him. "Maura, Jason, let's start with some simple energy work to begin the day. Both of you stand in the center of the training ground, back to back, and then I want you to weave a band that encompasses both of you. It's time to learn how to become invisible."

As the day progressed, it was apparent that she wasn't as good as Jason at weaving the energy bands but she was also newer to this process and was somewhat unsure of herself. Being half Terrain didn't help either, as that aspect of her biology tended to rebel against the Sirin energy.

However, her true strength, as she was soon to find out, was as an empath. She could read the emotions and the minds of others, seeing into their soul so-to-speak.

As they grabbed towels to wipe the perspiration off their faces, Vera appeared at the edge of the clearing. She directed a thought to Maura, "I would like to see you when you have finished your training with Yaol and Jason."

"Yes Grandmother," Maura responded in thought. "But first, I want to join Lisa to celebrate Fen's graduation at the Tavern. I won't be long and I'll find you after that."

"Very well," her grandmother responded and she turned to walk back down the path, fading into the forest.

Vera appearing out of the blue like that worried Maura. What had she done to bring Vera all the way out here? Was she in trouble? And why use a mental message instead of just speaking her request? She remembered hearing her say that when she spoke to her this way she did so to make sure she wasn't misunderstood. So, why now? Her mind rummaged through these concerns as she turned to Jason.

"I want to go to the Tavern before we go home, Jason."

"Want company?"

"Nah, it's a girl thing, I'm meeting Fen and Lisa there," she said picking up a package meant for Fen and turned to leave.

"That's fine," he said turning to Yaol's friend Roark. "I'll gather some firewood for Grandmother in the meantime," Jason said as he clapped Roark on the shoulder. "So, I haven't seen you in quite a while, old man, have you been away on a mission?"

The discussion between Roark and Jason faded as Maura entered the forest on her way to the Tavern. Her thoughts drifted back to Vera, wondering what she wanted and if she'd made a mistake? She did give her a lot of errands the other day, did she do them all correctly?

The Tavern

Maura arrived a short time later, with a gift for Fen wrapped in colorful paper; it was a long multi-colored cardigan sweater. She joined Lisa and Fen at a table near a window as they lifted a glass in celebration of Fen's graduation. Maura handed her gift to Fen. "Congratulations," she said smiling.

"Can I open it?"

Maura lifted her hand to order another round of drinks. "Of course, it's from both of us," she added, grinning.

Fen tore open the wrapping to reveal the sweater. "It's lovely, thank you both."

Lisa dropped her glass on the table after finishing it off in one swallow, a curious smile returned. "When do they plan on sending you out on patrol, Fen?"

"I'm not sure, those decisions are usually left to the council and Master Yaol. I hope it's soon, I'm anxious to get out there before I forget my training," she said with a grin. "Where's Jason? Aren't you two usually joined at the hip when you're not in training?"

"Ha, ha, very funny," Maura said, taking a pass and missing at Fen's shoulder. "I told him this was a girl's only celebration so he's off gathering firewood for Grandmother. I think he's planning on visiting a blacksmith before nightfall, he muttered something about needing a new blade before we train together tomorrow."

Fen turned quickly. "You're training together, so soon?"

Maura nodded. "It was Master Yaol's request. I guess he thought that there was something to be gained by teaming us up," she said, not wanting to mention that her skills at reading Jason's mind were growing stronger. The fact that she 'heard' Fen's question before she uttered the words was beginning to trouble her, too. She turned to Lisa and felt an overwhelming sense of pride and warmth from her. She reached over and gave her a big hug.

Lisa laughed as Maura hugged her. "What's that for?"

Maura blushed a bit, thinking that she needed to be more careful. "Nothing, just happy we're together, that's all."

Lisa grinned as she lifted her mug, signaling to the barman that she wanted another round.

Maura enjoyed the little game she played with Jason, but now, the voices in her head and the emotions they presented were expanding. They were beginning to torment her.

Lisa turned to her. "Maura, are you all right? You look a bit flushed."

Maura shook it off. "I'm okay, a bit tired after my workout today. I think I'll take off and lie down for a while," she said standing near the table. "Please excuse me." Fen and Lisa looked concerned for a moment but they were soon distracted as others join them to celebrate Fen's graduation.

Maura walked back to Vera's cottage slowly, pondering the latest developments.

What was going on? Could she stop the constant nagging of uninvited voices in her head? Even now, walking along this path, voices uninvited would creep in. It was more than just a game between lovers now, others were involved, others whom she didn't even know.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

The author copyrights Ravenswood and all of its parts. The reproduction of any part of Ravenswood without the written permission of the author is expressly prohibited. This story is a work of fiction. All of the characters, their names and the places they visit, are from the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to persons, places, or things is not intentional and purely coincidental.