Magi's Path (Aether's Revival Book 3) by Daniel Schinhofen (motivational books to read txt) 📕

We would have been better served to face the other clanless.”

Paul’s lips thinned. “Are you questioning the wisdom of Armsmaster Magi-killer?”

Chucky looked away. “No, sir.”

“Good. There’s an obvious reason. Can any of you three tell me what it might be?”

Clover’s hand jerked upward.

“Go ahead, Clougdah,” Paul said, a hint of amusement in his tone.

“They know the game, sir. They said so earlier. We don’t. You do and were the one most helpful to Magi-killer. So, we are here to learn from people who know more.”

Paul nodded. “That’s correct. You three clanless are here because the Aether’s Guard apprentices have been learning about Empire’s Gambit for some time. To better serve the empire as a whole, Egil has matched those who know the least against those who know the most. This is your chance to learn, but you have to be focused and ready to learn.”

“We’re just sacrifices to them...” Chucky muttered under his breath.

Paul was suddenly looming over the sullen apprentice. “You will be a sacrifice if you don’t start trying to learn— if not here and now, then when you get posted with troops. Fatalities among adepts who have not passed this course satisfactorily are well over three-quarters. Now, are you going to try, or are you a lost cause, Apprentice?”

Chucky shrank back from Paul. “I’ll learn, sir...” The three words were nearly a squeak, and for good reason.

The bloodlust that’d been radiating off Paul was suddenly gone. “See that you do.” Stepping back, he gave everyone a look. “Today, you will observe a game between two of you. Since three of you have little to no experience, we will watch Yukiko and Gregory. We will start off simple— Yukiko will be using a fire magi, and Gregory will use a wind magi. The setting is inside the empire’s borders. Yukiko, Gregory, begin setting the board. If any of you have any questions, ask. We will pause the game to explain.”

“Sir?” Ling asked, raising her hand.

“Yes?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we played a game with them assisting us?”

Paul gave her a long look before his lips bent upward. “Yes, yes it would. And you will, just not the first game. This first one will be slow. I’ll be going over each piece as they bring it into play.”

“So we can have a better grasp of what is what. For those of us who haven’t played before, the lectures weren’t making a lot of sense, since we had nothing to attach the words to,” Clover said excitedly.

“That’s correct,” Paul nodded, “and well-reasoned.”

Clover beamed and bounced a little in place.

“Sir, we have the basic board set up,” Yukiko said.

Paul turned to them. “Okay, let’s go over each piece.”

~*~*~

It was late afternoon when Paul dismissed them for the day, after reminding them all to be back in the room by sixth bell the next morning.

“I like that better than the lectures,” Jenn said.

“So do I,” Yukiko smiled.

“So did Clover and Ling,” Gregory chuckled before it faded. “Chucky is a lost cause, though.”

“He appears to hate everything and everyone,” Jenn said. “I caught sight of his medallion. It’s only on the sixth novice ring. He might be bitter because of that.”

“Clover and Ling were only on the eighth each,” Yukiko said, “yet they’re desperate to learn.”

“Neither was sought after because they were far behind the others, and…” Jenn trailed off.

“Eurtiks,” Yukiko finished.

“Idiocy,” Gregory said tightly.

“We should watch them,” Yukiko said. “If they can learn, we can mention them to Dia.”

“That would put a target on them,” Gregory said. “Not sure that’s a good thing.”

“We can wait, maybe, until after the first tournament,” Jenn suggested. “The clan could use an alchemist and enchanter. If we wait until then, they would only have half a year to deal with.”

“Could Lightshield even have troops ready for them in time?” Gregory asked.

“I think he could,” Yukiko said. “Besides, it’s just a thought for now. If they can’t or won’t learn, like Chucky, then it’s moot.”

Gregory nodded. “That’s a good point.” Looking at the sun, he frowned. “Come on. We have to hurry if we don’t want to rush our training.”

Chapter Thirty-three

 

A week went by, and the routine they had set up kept them going. Their tactics class got out in the late afternoon every day, so they were able to keep their training schedule. They were getting a better feel for how each moved in combat, and they’d started to understand what limits each of them had.

Jenn was perfecting using her aether in smaller spurts, coating specific parts of herself against attacks and enhancing her own attacks. Bishop drove her hard, praising her when it was warranted. Gregory barely survived when he joined them, but he got a feel for how and when each would use aether to help them.

Yukiko, with Inda teaching her, was getting real definition in her shadows, and was even forming hands that worked perfectly to her will. She had trouble splitting her attention enough to affect more than two people at once, but she was determined to make it work. Inda used her sister and Gregory to make up the three that Yukiko practiced against. Because he was constantly being used to help, he got an almost instinctual understanding of the shadows.

Gregory had the most trouble with his magic. He was getting better at segmenting foresight into fragments, could hold it and see further into the future, and could parse the different paths a little easier. His ability to see aether strings had changed, though. He’d known that each person’s aether had a unique signature to them, and was starting to be able to see the differences. The threads, when he focused on them, seemed to be made up of smaller threads. Each person had a different tint and