Walking back down the mountain was more challenging than walking up the mountain had been. The High Matrix had suggested that he stay overnight in the Assassin’s Guild castle, but he knew from experience that worrying Neave and Risa by disappearing for extended periods of time was a bad idea. It was pitch black and the only reason he could see at all was due to the ball of light that he had conjured with his foci. With a little extra power put into the magery, he had been able to adapt the spell slightly. Usually the ball of light would give off no heat at all, now it was capable of giving off just enough to both keep him warm and melt the ice ahead of him. This made the walk back down to the tavern manageable, without it he was sure he probably would have slipped and fallen to his own death, which frankly would have been embarrassing considering everything he’d lived through to make it to the Assassin’s Guild in the first place. With the combination of light, heat and some caref
“So I take it you’ve never heard of Weapocraft either then,” Alexei said before allowing his foci to shimmer back to its original form. He placed the weapon back into its holster on his back where he felt it almost hum in satisfaction at being able to stretch its forms. “I’ve heard of it, yes,” Risa said, “But only in rumour and legend, stories that date back to the earliest days of the Mage Temple records mixed in with things that should really just be dismissed as rumour or legend.” “Like the battle for Undar’s Reach?” Alexei asked. Risa’s eyes widened, “That’s a piece of history only spoken about in the oldest of tomes, how do you know about it?” “It was something that the High Matrix spoke about as a way to describe Weapocraft to me,” Alexei said, “But the way she spoke about it… it was as if she had some kind of connection to it. Like it happened to a family member or something like that.” “This is… a lot to take in,” Risa said, “But okay, understood, we’re going to be stay
Alexei, Risa and Neave stood before the gates of the Assassin’s Guild castle. Alexei wasn’t worried anymore. He’d been up there once before, and despite what he’d been expecting, the High Matrix and other people that he’d met in the Guild all seemed like pretty nice people. He wasn’t sure if the bloodthirsty nature of the assassins he’d faced off against in Alandria was due to their own maladjusted personalities or if they were just fronting as part of the job, but he was very glad that not everyone in the guild was like that. He could tell, though, that both Risa and Neave were at the very least a little bit unnerved. Neither of them was enjoying the cold very much, and the climb up the castle had led Risa to slip and slide numerous times on the icy path, even with Alexei’s fireball clearing the way ahead. Nevertheless, they’d all made it.“Who goes there!” Came a voice from the top of the guard tower, Alexei noted that it was a different voice than the one who had questioned hi
Dragon colonies gaining power. Signals from space. Spirits pressing harder and harder against the very fabric of the veil that separated one world from another. It seemed as if there were no end to the number of threats that were mounting against the world and no end to the amount of Weapocraft users that the High Matrix was forced to expend to try to deal with them. When there was a very limited number of Weapocraft users on offer that presented a bit of an issue. "So as you can see," The High Matrix finished off, "We find ourselves at a crossroads, and the biggest issue of all that we face is the lack of balance between the light, the dark and the material." It was the very issue that she had brought up with Alexei the night before, the one that was at the root of all the other issues surrounding it. Without balance two sides were focused on destroying one another, which left no resources to deal with the rest of the problems in the world, and so it was that which needed to be
Much like the rooms that they’d had at the tavern, the rooms that were in the Assassin’s Guild were nothing special. If anything, they were even worse than those at the tavern due to their lack of a window. The only light that came into the room was from a small vent in the ceiling. Somehow, likely through an array of mirrors and magnifying glasses, the Guild had passed a shaft of light down through the building and was using it to light the rooms. The result was an incredibly pleasant naturally lit glow in the room. Though Alexei had to admit that he preferred a nice window with a view of the outside world to what he’d been given. It was a small sacrifice to make, though, to be trained in the art of weapocraft. He picked up his staff and felt the power of the thing thrum through his hand. It had always felt like he had been connected to his foci from the very first moment that he lay his hand on it, but now it felt like the thing almost had a living consciousness tucked away w
“Please, come into the ring,” The High Matrix said, “We will test your fighting acumen, and see where it is you need to develop your abilities.” “You uh… You want me to fight against you?” Alexei said, he tried and failed to hide his stammer of nervousness.The High Matrix laughed as if it were the funniest thing she’d ever heard, “Child you wouldn’t last a second against me!” Alexei knew that she was exaggerating, but the idea of being humbled so soundly wasn’t appealing to him in the slightest. “So what did you have in mind?” Alexei asked. “Arwen, enter the ring also,” The High Matrix said. Alexei looked behind him and noticed the slightly taller assassin following him into the ring. That made a lot more sense. She’d sent his sparring partner to come and fetch him. “The rules for this bout will be simple,” The High Matrix said, “No lethal weapons will be permitted, nor will lethal strikes. Other than that, there are three methods to eliminate your opponent. Knock them out of t
Alexei came too slowly and with a colossal headache.He hadn’t felt this badly since he’d been forced to take on the Nilbog in his dreams. It was as if every part of his brain had been shut down all at once and only now were the various bits and pieces coming back to life again. Then he remembered his final conscious moments and realised that was pretty much exactly what had happened. He’d been absolutely and completely thoroughly trounced by the person he’d been fighting in practically a single hit. That had never happened to him before. In previous fights, he’d always been the one that had pulled off the clever tricks and traps that lured enemies in and then took them out of a fight instantly. For once the opposite had happened to him, and he had to admit that it wasn’t an experience that he’d enjoyed. The assassin he’d been fighting had lured him in perfectly. He’d used a big hefty weapon that couldn’t be maneuvered quickly or delicately and had drawn Alexei into a close-ran
After dinner had been served and eaten in the grand main hall of the Assassin’s Guild castle, the High Matrix had once again taken Alexei away from his two companions and deep down into the bowels of the castle itself. She had taken him to a room that he thought looked to be a lot like the rooms the Mage Temple had used to check whether Neave had any potential in magery.It was a space that was clearly suited for one person, not two, and so the fact that both he and the High Matrix were standing in it made things quite cramped. It was a dark and cylindrical room with only a dim torch sticking off from above the door frame. Intricate writings lined the walls and all led down to a slight dip in the floor where a knee pillow had been placed. “You haven’t explained what exactly I’m doing here,” Alexei said. “To put it simply, Alexei, while you have the potential to be a great warrior you simply are not one yet,” The High Matrix said, “You rely on trickery and subterfuge to win all of