Feature Writer: Yiru
Feature Title: The Demon’s Griomoire
Contact: yiru@hotmail.co.uk
Author’s Notes: This might be a bit confusing because it’s a later chapter in a story I began writing a few days or so ago but the first three chapters were too violent, although not disturbing as I tried to follow the guidelines, for Leslita so I decided to start the story from the fourth chapter at a point that will explain all that’s happened previously whilst being a suitable kick off point. I understand it might confuse a few people but I still have the original three chapters saved and have been made into a prequel of sorts for those who want to read them just send me a message to [my email address below] and I’ll send you them straight over if you wish to know what happened in detail, it’s thirty A4 pages long though so I hope the brief description satisfies those who don’t want to read the initial three chapters in full, bear with it and all will become clear I hope as I did a massive reread until I could piece together the plot after a mild concussion. OK I’m lying about the concussion but at this point in the story the violence is much less frequent so I hope you enjoy the romance tale…
The Demon’s Grimoire
Chapter One: The Holy Bastion
Calia’s darted to the pile of ash that had been Lumina, her glasses and cloak lay on top of the pile and Calia’s face was contorted in shock and sudden grief both.
“No!” She cried, picking up the clock and glasses, cradling them in her arms, breathing heavily on her knees as tears formed in her eyes but she was still too shocked to cry, “No, what happened?”
Upon entry to the Holy Bastion Lumina had simply turned to ash much like Dor’Kezz when he was struck down, but how? No one had killed her nor had she heard anyone utter a spell so what had happened?
“Apprehend her,” shouted a guard at the door, “One of them was an Adept of Darkness.”
Calia felt hands clasp around her shoulders and be pulled to her feet still too stunned to cry, speak or protest. What had happened? Why had Lumina turned to ash? Why had she died?
Calia was in shock, a pile of ash was all that remained of her Mistress, the woman she had loved and made love too. The twelve year old was far too stunned to fight the Adepts of the Holy Light who had taken her prisoner on account of the fact that Lumina had been an Adept of Darkness, the sworn enemies of the Adepts of the Holy Light.
She was carried under her arms by two guardsmen; her feet dangling off the ground as they restrained her perfectly. They carried her down a set of stairs from a door in the massive grand hall and she found herself in a dark dungeon, people were in cages along the wall but she knew not if they were being punished like her.
They placed her down in an empty cell, cuffed her arms behind her back and closed the cage door. It smelt of piss and damp in here, the walls were covered with mold and looked slippery to the touch and a simple cot with no pillows or blankets was in the corner. Calia sat on the cot, the whole incident going over and over in her mind.
Lumina and Calia had entered the temple and she had simply given Lumina’s hand an affectionate squeeze but it felt as if she had broken Lumina into a million pieces upon doing so. Calia’s chest began to hurt, tears rolled down her cheeks as her face went bright red and she had cried into her hands. Lumina had planned on leaving her here that much was true but she would have been alive and perhaps seen the world or found a way to remove the cursed armor bound to her by the Demon Dor’Kezz.
Lumina had been an Adept of Darkness, the Champion of the Demon Dor’Kezz and he been a terrible monster before Lumina killed in order to rescue Calia from becoming his second thrall. Dor’Kezz had beaten Lumina countless times in the space of fifteen years since she was but four years old and yet she had followed his every command, killing innocent people because he told her too but when she met Calia, tied to a wagon wheel and about to eaten by a Zombie, Calia had pleaded that Lumina free her and given up her very life in exchange.
She had become a loving Servant to Lumina who took her gladly and treated her with love, the one emotion Dor’Kezz had not counted on, which was how she managed to escape Dor’Kezz’s enchantment and kill him in the first place. Dor’Kezz would return though, only a trained Adept of the Holy Light could exorcise a Demon.
During Dor’Kezz’s attempt to turn Calia into his Champion, or Adept of Darkness, he had unlocked the magical ability that resided in every human thus making her usable as either and Adept of Darkness or the Holy Light if she had such a decision but Dor’Kezz had manipulated Lumina.
He had given her a dagger made of his own bone and crystallised blood and told her it had his power in it, the power to make Calia into a Champion upon thrusting it into her heart, similar to the way Lumina had been turned, but when Lumina suddenly broke the Demons hold on her she had desperately stabbed the Demon with the dagger instead and when he didn’t get stronger by being stabbed with his own power but instead died Lumina had found out he had intended for Lumina to kill Calia instead of making her an Adept of Darkness.
Dor’Kezz would return however so Lumina had brought her here then said she was leaving but it didn’t matter now, she was dead. Calia hugged the cloak and eyeglasses that had been given to Lumina by a Merchant. The cloak was to conceal the cursed armor bonded to her by Dor’Kezz that she could never remove lest she suffer great pain in the area she had removed it from and the eyeglasses where to cover her eyes as they had glowed a bright red and she would be instantly recognized as an Adept of Darkness by civilized folk.
The door opened and a woman wearing a long white robe stepped into the cell carrying a bowl of steaming water and a cloth. Calia concluded that the climb up the mountain to the Holy Bastion had left her grimy and dirty despite the fact she was carried up by Lumina. When the Priestess said she’d be taking off her clothes Calia obliged as she felt a cold chill and wanted to be warmed up. The Priestess removed the shackles, stripped her then reapplied them and began to wash the girl as she sat on the rough cot.
Calia was a small girl of twelve years with blonde hair, blue eyes and a boyish figure. Her face was pretty with cupids bow lips, a button nose and rosy cheeks.
As the Priestess used the cloth on her to clean her up gently she began to question the girl. “Where did you come from little one?” She had asked, her voice gentle and caring as she ran the cloth up Calia’s bare leg, staring only into the child’s eyes.
“From a forest to the west,” Calia said, “Before that I lived in Roth’Koi.”
“Ah, the city you mean, what brought you so far east in the first place?”
“My father was a Demonologist and he had been summoned to give to information on a Demon but I don’t know where.”
The woman was now working on Calia’s arms, her gentle touch welcoming.
“What brought you in the company of an Adept of Darkness?”
“She saved my life,” Calia said, “After Bandits killed my family.”
“Is that so, a rare thing for the Dark Ones to show such compassion?”
“We were friends,” Calia admitted, “When her Master, a Demon by the name of Dor’Kezz, tried to make me his Champion like her, she rescued me and took me here because I had my power Untapped.”
The woman didn’t say more than ask Calia to stand so that the cloth might be applied to her back easier, she ran down the intimate areas quickly and gently with a professional touch that made Calia think she often looked after young children in such a way, at least those in the dungeon.
She had another robe with her and slipped it on over Calia’s head and put her shoes back on but the sleeves where useless with her hands bound, the Priestess asked her to sit back down.
“Why did she die,” Calia asked after doing as she was told, “Why did you kill her?”
“She entered Holy Bastion and the magic defending this fortress protected us by Purging her, I will not lie to you, she is certainly dead,” the priestess had neither a look of pity nor any kind of emotion in her face as she stared at the distraught young Calia.
“But why would she do that to herself, she must have known?”
“I imagine it was to protect you,” the Priestess said, “Demon’s always punish those who desert them so I imagine, since you weren’t turned into an Adept of Darkness, that she thought you were safe without her because even if we Cleaned her of her Darkness the Demon would still know she was in the Holy Bastion and that put you in danger.”
“Then she could have left,” Calia said, fighting the urge to cry again, “Why not leave me here and explore the world or something?”
“My guesses are the Demon would have tortured her into telling him where you were, they are sadistic as you may know.”
“So she chose to die rather than put me in danger?”
“That is how it looks, yes.”
Calia could believe that, but she didn’t want to believe Lumina would simply walk to her death so willingly but that was how it seemed and no amount of telling herself differently would change the apparent truth.
“So what of me?” Calia asked the Priestess.
“You,” she said, “You’re not a threat so you will be taken back to Halis Lumina.” Halis Lumina was the village at the bottom of the mountain, it mean ‘Holy Light’ in the Old Tongue.
“No!” Calia protested loudly, “I promised my Mistress I’d be strong enough to beat Dor’Kezz, I want to train here.”
“That isn’t a decision you should make lightly.”
“It’s a decision that was made for me by my Mistress,” Calia said, “I intend to obey her final wish.”
“Why do you call her Mistress?”
“She saved my life and I became her Servant in return.”
The Priestess smiled slightly, “Interesting, well I stress that the decision to train as an Adept of the Holy Light is hard road with many choices and decisions to make along the way?”
“I’ll do it,” Calia said bravely, “I have no choice…”
After Calia was fed the Priestess guided her to a room that was said to house Holy Bastion’s Elders, the men and woman that made the decision of whether or not ordain new Disciples, the name given to students.
“She claims that she wants to kill the Demon knows as Dor’Kezz,” The priestess said as Calia stood in front of these old men and woman her head bowed but her hands were no longer bound, “He has been Pacified but shall return eventually.”
“This girl will never be strong enough to defeat a demon like Dor’Kezz in mere months, it takes years of training and dedication to even stand toe to toe with such a monster,” said one of the men, “But if she still wants to train she is at a good age to begin and of adequate build to be come a part of the Monster Control Unit perhaps?”
Calia looked up, “What’s that?”
A woman smiled down at Calia, “The Bastion is split different units, the Monster Control Unit or MCU as we have named them specializes in hunting and killing the Summoned, the monsters born of magic, and the Adept that controls it,” she said, “This Unit is critical to our success at hunting Demons and often works with our Templar Units, a group trained in killing the Demons themselves, and the Battle-Priests heal and protect the fighting units.”
“So you’re saying I’ll be joining an army?”
The woman nodded, “After a few months of basic training we’ll begin giving you assignments under an experienced Captain if you chose to join the MCU?”
Calia wanted to fight Demons, not their pets, but these people knew what they were talking about when they suggested the MCU to her so she accepted…
After a few days of rest and grieving Calia was ordained into the training regime and given two sets of casual clothing and one set of training armor.
The armor was pure white and when Calia asked what kind of metal forged it the Priestess who had looked after her explained it was found only on Lights Tower, the mountain in which the Holy Bastion rested on top of and was dug into. It was called Stronie Ivoria which was Strong Ivory in the Old Tongue. The armour was pretty different for every gender, near sexist for a girl as the torso had two small lumps carved into it and was likely to incorporate the little girl wearing it as she went through puberty and would not need a replacement set as her breasts began to grow so it was little loose on Calia but she could move in it well enough.
Where the boys wore padded greaves the girls were given a flowing skirt with faulds at the side of their hips, front and back but had gaps of white cloth in between them and the faulds themselves loosely flowed as they walked in their padded boots that ran up past the knees for both sexes.
The gloves and high collar matched on each set as well but they wore no helmets during theory studies, something Calia looked forward starting, but when practicing with weapons they wore thick full face helmets of various designs and shape but they were cumbersome and a good few chose not too, it was their choice after all as Priest were always on hand to heal any injuries.
Calia stepped into the hall in her armor and gazed down at herself, it was light but tough she was told by the Priestess who had now left to attend to her duties. She would be sharing a room with a current occupant from the Battle-Priests, a fellow Disciple who joined not long before Calia but they had yet to meet although she had come and gone briefly as Calia slept or cried with her head under the covers.
She knew the bedrooms where same sex and in her mind Calia imagined it was Lumina back from the dead that was sharing and that she had returned as a devout of the Holy Light and seeking to make amends for her troubled past but she knew it could not be so, three days of grieving had finally made her accept her Mistress’s death.
An urn of her ashes lay in the Catacombs where she could go and pray for her on her downtime at any time she liked and had been doing it every day so far.
“Look alive, Disciples,” called a male Instructor, a tolling bell boomed through the Halls of Residence and the Disciples all started to pour from their rooms dressed for the day. Each one had personalized their armor by adding to it or painting on it, Calia would be doing such a thing when she got the time but she had no idea what to put onto it.
She had considered wearing the cloak and eyeglasses Lumina had worn but decided that she would wait before donning the attire although it would do her more use than sitting down in a Catacomb.
Ten minutes later Calia found herself in a room filled with other Disciples all sitting at desks as if in a Schoolhouse back in the cities. An Instructor wearing his battle armour stood before them, a massive Claymore on his back with the blade nearly as wide as his back.
“There will be very little magic used in the MCU,” the Instructor said, “Our weapons are what make us strong,” He drew his Claymore and held it with the point on the floor, “A weapon such as this is made for the soul purpose of killing a Summoned, it is useless against a Demon because of its size and a Demon is fast,” he rested the massive weapon against the wall, “Attacking a Human with a weapon such as this is considered a heinous crime, even the field of battle as they are meant only for cleansing this world of the Summoned and nothing more.”
He gave the weapon a sharp kick and a dull, loud vibrating toll echoed over the classroom, each Disciple covered there ears as the noise incapacitated them. “I see none of you remembered to put in your earplugs, a Summoned can’t stand the noise these weapons can make, it can paralyze them if you do it close enough or if enough of you do it at the same time,” he placed his foot on large flat area of the blade and with a metallic clunk it stopped vibrating and the Disciples relaxed, “When in the heat of battle a Claymore will be a good support weapon whilst the next weapon I will be demonstrating does it’s job.” He bid they stay seated whilst he left the room and returned five minutes later carrying yet another gigantic weapon but this time it was a long, thick headed lance, with a towering shield in his other hand.
“This is the Chain Lance, named for the long length of chain running in the gap under the head and through the shaft,” he pointed to each area as he spoke and Calia eyed the weapon with awe, the sheer idea of it was astounding, “The tip can be fired meters ahead of you and can tether a monster down whilst the Claymores strike at it and is especially useful against flying Summoned such as a Wyvern or Harpy as it stops them from flying away and gives the Longbows a chance to fire at the beasts.” He walked over to a large window and opened it then took the lance and pointed it out. With the sound of steam escaping the tip shot out of the window, the jingling of a chain followed it until the Instructor lurched forward slightly when it ran out and he quickly pulled it back in and tip reattached itself mechanically.
“There is one other function to this device but we’ll save that for later although you can imagine how much this can hurt a Summoned once you latch onto it,” he said, grunting as he put down the heavy looking weapon down beside his Claymore, “I myself prefer getting in close,” he patted the handle of his Claymore, “Now the Longbow is fairly basic compared to the other two weapons and those that use it will be opting to master the easiest weapon of the three so I won’t be demonstrating that today as you probably know what a bow looks like.” The man stood in front of the class again and put his hands on his hips, “In a weeks time we’ll be practicing with these weapons but until then its wooden swords and shields as you’ll be carrying real ones with you should we end up fighting humans.” The class was told to assemble and follow the Instructor from the room and out into the courtyard.
Calia was the newest girl in this group; perhaps the newest student in Holy Bastion and each of the other Disciples out maneuvered her during weapon practice. Her body hurt after just one full day but it was to be expected and the armor had taken most of the heavy blows but she suffered a bleeding lip when one of the boys got overzealous and clubbed her on the face to win their bout as she quickly found out useless the helmets were for visibility.
Calia was walking back to her room before the evening meal when she felt a blunt force hit her in the side of her head. She fell to the floor and stared up at the boy who did it, he was smiling as if he won a victory hitting a girl perhaps two years his junior.
“What’s the big idea?” Calia said dizzily getting to her feet only to be pushed back down.
“Stay down freak,” said the boy, he had brown hair falling down to his shoulders and a light stubble not unseen on a boy of perhaps fifteen or sixteen with grey eyes and a young complexion, “I know of the company you kept before coming here.”
Calia could only imagine he meant Lumina, why else would be hitting her. Calia sat against the wall, rubbing her head with an agonized look, “And how does that give you the right to abuse me?”
“You’re nothing but a freak, the Servant to a Demon’s Whore,” The boy kicked his foot out and it impacted with her head again, the only spot that wasn’t slightly armored right now.
Calia screamed as she was knocked back onto her side, the wound on her lip had opened up again and she sniveled onto the wooden floor.
“Stop crying, what are you a baby?” laughed the boy, he was alone and that simply meant he wasn’t out to impress anyone, he just wanted to hurt Calia for coming here with Lumina.
He kicked her on her thigh between the faulds that covered her hip and crotch and the boots slid under the skirt, scraping her skin and cutting it, Calia gasped, crying in pain. She felt the boy grab her arm painfully hard to stand her up and she looked through one dazed eye to see him throw back his fist before punching her on the nose.
She didn’t fall because of the Disciple grabbing onto her arm and he was about to hit her again when a new hand grabbed onto his wrist. The boy looked at the one who stopped him from dishing out his own personal justice and scowled.
“Away with you Soria, this one doesn’t deserve a Priest’s compassion,” he said coldly.
“I think you’ve made your point Dain,” said this girl, Soria, “Release her.”
“Why should I do what a woman says?” he struggled to free his wrist Soria, although the Disciple training to be Priest, noticeable by her white robe, seemed to be stronger than she looked.
“You’ve been told about your prejudices, its bad enough you berate the Cleansed Servants but now you’re attacking a Disciple because she arrived as the Servant of an Adept of Darkness?” Calia saw her face screw up in disgust, “You insult the very things we stand for Dain, forgiveness.”
“Enough Soria, you don’t know what these people did to me!” Dain said.
“Back away Dain, your already in trouble,” Soria didn’t let go of his wrist until he released Calia, who collapsed to the floor, “Now go do something useful, I hear tell your behind on your studies, what kind of a Templar can’t even read?”
Soria laughed and Dain scowled at her before leaving, her threat sticking.
Calia stared directly at the girl now, she had the same dark hair as Lumina but her face was abuzz of colour and her eyes were green and her face slightly more human looking but Lumina had never been ugly.
“Take my hand, I’ll heal those cuts and bruises,” Soria said and helped Calia too her feet before putting the girls arm over her shoulder, they entered Calia’s room and Soria locked the door with a key.
“Do you live here?” Calia asked and she nodded, Calia smiled, “So do I.”
“Oh you’re Calia,” Soria said and helped the girl onto the bed, “I didn’t recognise you without a blanket over your head, you cried for so long.”
“It’s been a hard week or so,” Calia said, remembering every small hardship before arriving at the Holy Bastion where she though she would be safe.
“Hold still this won’t hurt,” Soria assured Calia. A white light emitted from her hands as they hovered an inch from her face, Calia felt an instant relief to the pain on her face as the wounds closed and the bruises healed. “How does that feel?”
Calia smiled, “Better but-uh.”
“What is it?”
“Well he kicked me on the leg, I think his boot might have grazed against my skin,” Calia admitted nervously.
“Let’s see,” Soria undid the fauld, all of them came loose as they were attached to a belt and discarded them to the side before lifting the skirt up her thigh, partially exposing her white panty covered crotch but Soria didn’t even glance as it. “That looks nasty,” she said, looking at the scraped skin that was bleeding slightly, “Alright, hold still.” Her hand once again hovered above the wound as she repaired it, Calia looked into the girls raven black hair then into her eyes and she looked back and smiled gently.
Calia blushed but leaned forward and kissed the Priest girl on the lips, she returned it but only for a second before moving herself back with a panicked look in her eyes, “What was that?” she gasped, “Why did you do that?”
“I’m sorry,” Calia babbled nervously, “I-I-I just saw my old Mistress in you a-a-and thought-um-thought you might be open to it,” she had her hands on her knees as she sat bowing her head repeatedly and grasping her skirt, “Forgive me it was a moment of weakness I’m so sho-” Calia felt her mouth be closed when Soria leaned in for another kiss, Calia breathed out contently, swooning as Soria kissed her in such a passionate way.
The kiss was different to Lumina, but deeply passionate all the same, it was gentle, kind and very inexperienced. Calia took charge and slid her tongue into the girl’s mouth, something she had wanted to try with Lumina but had thought she wouldn’t like it but Soria gladly accepted it and even slid her own tongue in between Calia’s lips.
Calia stopped the kiss after a few minutes, “I have to undress,” she said, “I promise it’ll make us feel good.”
“Feel good?” Soria said unsurely, “I already feel good?”
“Yes but if I’m naked it feels better,” she had forgotten that Soria could remove her clothing unlike Lumina who wore her cursed armor like a second skin and couldn’t remove it.
“Can I be naked?” said the girl, her professional attitude lost to her twelve year old desires. Calia smiled at her new friend and potential partner.
“We can both be naked,” Calia stripped out of her armor, discarding the blood stained skirt, and standing naked before Soria who looked uneasy, “Don’t be nervous, you look beautiful.”
Calia could see the slight rise in the girl’s chest through the loose robe and suddenly yearned to touch those immature but soft looking breasts, she could never do it with Lumina and she had longed to feel more than just the skin on her face, the only part of Lumina that had been exposed.
Soria stood up undid her robe, letting it fall to the ground and exposing her boyish but much more mature frame to the blonde girl.
Her breasts had small nipples like Calia did and her sex was just as bald but her waist curved slightly and her breasts had some slight mass to them. Calia stood in front of the girl, who covered herself with her arms when she noticed Calia staring but Calia gently lowered those arms, taking her hands in hers and leaning in to kiss her gently.
Soria seemed to grow more confident of what they were going to do, so Calia raised her hands and cupped Soria’s small but soft breasts in her hands so she could squeeze them ever so gently.
The girl closed her eyes as Calia’s warm hands stimulated her sensitive nipples, her breath escaped in gasps as small amounts of pleasure racked her body for the first time. “That feels good,” Soria admitted and Calia nodded.
“I’m going to make you feel even better eventually,” she promised, “Lie on one of the beds,” Soria chose her own and Calia climbed on top of her, sitting on her stomach. “This might seem weird to you bit I swear it will feel good,” Soria didn’t resist when Calia lowered her head and took one of her small nipples in between her lips and sucked on it then flicking it with her tongue.
Calia’s mouth popped whenever she stopped suckling and begin her tongue flicking which made a dull, wet slapping sound in her mouth but all that was nearly drowned out by the groans the young Priest Soria let escape her mouth.
“Oh Light,” she pleaded, “Please don’t stop, that feels incredible.”
Calia only planned on making her feel better but for now she was happy to feel her warm skin under her hands and massage it gently whilst she worked on the girl’s nipple. Next she would take that swollen sex in her mouth and squeeze it dry of the succulent love juices that would surely flow like a river from it.
“Oh my,” Soria gasped on, “My sex feels funny, it demands attention.” She tried to put a hand on it but Calia gently took it and rubbed it to soothe her, she wanted to be the one to make her orgasm for the first time.
Calia concluded she could not hold it off any longer and moved herself down so she was lying on top of Soria’s smooth legs with her heads slowly kissing down the girls flat, toned stomach.
She reached her crotch but only teased the inside of her thighs with her lips and would just slide the tip of her tongue out for a brief second every few kisses or so until Soria was practically begging.
“Please Calia, please lick me there if that’s what you want, I want you to,” she pleaded.
Calia silently moved her head over the girls slit and breathed in deep her juices, the scent was intoxicating she was eager to taste it so she lowered her tongue and licked up a single line before swallowing the bitter sweet juices.
“Your cunt is fruity,” Calia said, smacking her lips.
“Don’t say that word,” Soria said, blushing, “It’s foul.”
“I think I’ll make you orgasm, your cunt’s begging for it,” Calia said wickedly and lowered her mouth over it.
“Oh you wicked little girl,” Soria said proudly but was lost in her passion, her sinful, evil passion. A Priest simply didn’t give in to things like this, it wasn’t disallowed just frowned upon and would only lose her some respect if found out with a boy but with another girl, she had no idea what would happen.
Calia flattened her tongue against the girls sopping wet sex and scooped up as much juice into her mouth as possible before swallowing then repeating the process, massaging the girls inner thighs with her small hands and making her moan and shiver in utter ecstasy.
Soria began to shake violently thrusting her hip up and making Calia lick her harder as she recognised an impending orgasm was on its way. Calia’s tongue went in as deep as it would go until she felt the girls hymen, should she break it like Lumina had done?
No the pain might scare her away and this may only be a one time thing so she was content with just pleasuring the girl with her tongue and licking her off. Soria’s first orgasm knocked her unconscious, the intensity of it reminded Calia of her first one and she realized she would not be getting pleasure for now.
Perhaps after the evening meal…
The evening meal was pretty relaxing, Dain was staring daggers at her over the table however and she felt an impeding confrontation arising when they finished if not for Soria who was in high spirits and promised to protect her should Dain try anything.
Dain was a strong Templar Disciple which pretty much meant he could outdo an MCU Disciple in armed combat but thankfully swords were not permitted to be carried by Disciples outside of training and they would not be training together.
Calia shovelled potatoes into her mouth, savoring the vegetables after days of naught but wild game beforehand and had only eaten small amounts of food since arriving, losing her appetite near completely.
Soria had lifted her spirits also, she still missed her Mistress dearly but with Soria she felt at peace and she knew Lumina would want her to be happy here. “Slow down,” Soria said, “I don’t need you choking to death before I can practice on you,” she whispered, blushing.
Calia smiled, potato showing through her teeth and Soria giggled. “Come now Calia that’s hardly the way an Adept acts,” said a male voice. Calia went wide eyed and saw her Instructor from today carrying a plate of food himself. He had a gleeful smile on his face, the man was pretty young save for some wrinkles on his eyes and a scar on his upper right cheek, a slash mark by the looks of it, made him look older still but his brown hair was cut short but was still wavy enough to bounce as he walked, he stared at her with blue eyes that were filled with kindness.
“I heard tell that Dain over there was giving you some trouble,” the Instructor said, “He used to be in my unit but when he excelled in swordplay I moved him to the Templar Unit, he’s as bitter as they come towards Adepts of Darkness and the ilk that associate with them.”
Calia had been chewing quickly to swallow her potatoes and managed to empty her mouth enough to reply to him. “He ambushed me in the halls Sir, Soria stopped him and healed my wounds.”
“Oh we know what he did to you; the Elders see everything a Disciple does,” the Instructor said, “Everything.” Calia went wide eyed again and looked down nervously at the floor, she had turned to face him on the bench she sat at in her casual white robe, “No one here knows but me and Elders,” the man assured her quietly, “We’re far more open than the Churches, just keep it behind closed doors and the Elders will keep your relationship a secret and so will I.”
“How did they know?” Soria asked.
“Much like a Demon uses a Blood Pool, they often use a Crystal Ball to check on the Disciples, a good deal of them are runaways and have come here seeking purpose so a portion of them stole to survive beforehand and a habit like that is hard to drop,” The Instructor plopped himself in between the two girls, sliding them apart with his hands like rocks on ice after putting his meal down, “They wished for me, being your Instructor Calia, to let you know such things, although not encouraged, aren’t going to affect your Station.”
Relief was the first thing she felt and then gratitude for her Instructors understanding nature, “I’m thankful Sir,” she said, “You’re a good man.”
“So I’ve been told,” the Instructor spooned some food into his mouth.
“Sir, might I ask what your name is?”
“Formally I am Captain to you,” he said with a cheeky smile, “But informally, such as now, you may call me Master Rook.”
“Thank you Master Rook,” Calia felt at ease by calling him Master after calling Lumina Mistress beforehand.
“So I heard you served an Adept of Darkness before arriving here,” Rook said, “How did that come to pass, I imagine it was a hard time?”
“She saved my life and I gave it to her in thanks,” Calia said, “She was wonderful to me though and saved me from being killed by her Demon.”
“An honourable one,” Master Rook sounded surprised, “if only all of them had morals.”
“She died, as you know, so that her Demon would not find me here,” Calia explained the situation to him, “I miss her.”
“She was Purified in the most Holy of ways,” he assured Calia, “I promise you she didn’t feel a thing and that she’s in a better place.”
Calia had been told that before but she still felt better for hearing it. “Why are you so interested in talking to me Sir?”
“Well, you’re a good Disciple,” he said, finishing his drink.
That confused Calia, she had been beaten thoroughly during training, “Sir I could barely hold a sword this morning; by the end of the day I was a mess of bruises?”
“Ah but a good portion of the girls your age would have given up by now,” he said, “I bet if you keep it up you might do well by the end of the week.”
He had finished his food, “Say hello to Mistress Rain for me Soria,” he said wiping his mouth with a napkin and leaving, “Good evening Disciples.”
Calia and Soria bid him farewell and finished their own meals, Soria was then thoroughly taught how to pleasure Calia and both girls knew they’d be doing it again…
A week passed, Master Rook was right to say she would be better as she had already grasped the basics of the sword but although she still lost every time she put up more of a fight. They learned some Holy Magic as well, fighting Summoned left you with a lot of injuries and it was handy to know basic healing spells should a priest not immediately be on hand to help. Calia was pretty good at this branch of magic and had a basic grasp of healing within the next few days.
Dain was leaving her alone, apparently he had spent a day in the dungeons for his violent act as that was where unruly Adepts were commonly sent for viciousness such as that, that or stealing.
He made no move to apologize though but Calia reasoned that he would be apologizing for what he believed in and that was something no man apologized for often enough.
Mistress Rain oversaw Calia’s magic tutoring and was pleased with her progress; she was an elderly woman, kind and gentle also with a heart of gold. With magic becoming her strong point Calia was quickly able to keep herself going in no holds barred swordplay sessions and with ability to quickly heal during the fight she managed to win her first bout.
The boy lay panting on the ground, declaring his submission with a bloody lip and sprained ankle after Calia tripped him up. A dirty tactic but Bandits were dirtier she had been told by Master Rook and he applauded her quick thinking but she was made to heal him which she did happily.
Calia was easy to control, her submissive nature made her the perfect listener and she easily grasped any new information and followed orders to the letter and was now in Master Rook’s good books for sure.
Finally a week passed since her first training session, none of the other Disciples had picked a weapon yet but now was the time and Calia knew what she wanted to use. She approached the Chain Lance with anticipation, the shield itself was bigger than her and the lance looked like it would make her topple forward.
She grasped the shields handle then picked up the lance; she felt a magical current rush through her giving her the required strength to lift the heavy weaponry like it was tons lighter but still fairly weighty.
She marveled at the weapon, she had long arms so the lance would be a good choice for her, a Longbow would be too as she could pull the arrow back far but she chose the Chain Lance and was about to give it a go.
Everyone had been move back so she could fire the chain tip, she found the button, took aim at the dummy in front of her, and fired.
The steam release sent her flying back, the crowd parted as she flew into the wall behind her but the tip of the lance found its mark. When it started to retract after the unconscious Calia’s thumb slipped over the button she was dragged towards the tip as it was jammed into the dummy tightly, the shield scraped uselessly across the ground, also in her hands.
Master Rook had a look of sheer disbelief in his eyes; he tried not to laugh as he instructed the Priests to go examine her.
THE END