45 Searing 121
Part of Talon had expected Velkan to look like a boy trying on his father’s armor. That was not the case as the young man stood across from him. He wore the plate armor intended for the heavy infantry of the Sky Guard. His torso was covered by a cuirass that fit well, his extremities were armored and the helmet upon his brow, he looked very much like an Avialae who had weathered the trials of the Warrens. There was no shake to his stance. He did not fidget nervously. He simply breathed deeply and glanced between Talon and Aoren. When Talon stepped forward, summoning his pact blade, there was the slightest widening of Velkan’s eyes but he did not falter. Velkan picked up the sword and shield that they had brought with them. He found his footing as he balanced himself against the weight of the weaponry.
Talon wore the Skyforge Raiment. The black material absorbed the light and was silent with his movements as he took up his stance across from Velkan. The Sky Guard would be wearing this armor and others like it as he worked toward helping them prepare for the road ahead. Talon could feel it. He had felt it on the way back from Zaichaer. He had felt it when he was in the city itself. The people there viewed Kalzasi as monstrous and abominable. He had felt it within the collective consciousness of those that dwelled there. There had been a hunger for change in the atmosphere that had made the feathers of his wings stand on end. Talon could imagine the sort of change that Zaichaer wanted to see in the world. He had no desire to go to war with them but he would not let them march across the North unchallenged. He dismissed those thoughts however and brought himself back into the present moment.
“When you are ready, Velkan.” Talon remained lucid in his stance. He opened himself up to the flow of the aether in the world around him, honing his awareness to the aura of the young man in front of him. Quicker than he could blink, Velkan’s aura was shining in front of him. As many times as Talon had been in close proximity with the young man, he had never truly taken the time to actively study it. Talon found that Velkan was masking his emotions fairly well but it took little more than a brush of his thoughts before he could see them spiraling through the canvas of colors in front of him.
Resolve. Hesitation. Fear. Velkan was afraid and though the lens of Semblance did not allow for Talon to see what he was afraid of, he could guess. The road ahead was filled with challenges that neither of them were prepared for. But they could get there, together. In the face of that fear, Talon touched upon that part of himself that was becoming more familiar with every passing day. He let go of the mask that he held in place, concealing the truth of his divinity. The marking upon his body went from the soft violet-blue to the silvery-white as his nimbus manifested. Velkan went wide eyed as he beheld Talon and his fear spiked. Talon extended the light of his nimbus and wove into it the faith that he had in Velkan. He wove into it the pride that he felt knowing how far his apprentice had come in his journey. As his light touched the young man, Velkan’s shoulders eased. The fear that Talon could see swirling in him abated some though not completely.
Realization played in Velkan’s eyes. He met Talon’s gaze steadily before nodding his head. Talon inclined his head and readied himself.
Through the lens of Velkan’s aura, Talon watched as the young man’s attention shifted skyward. From that, Talon guessed that he was going to take to the skies and sure enough, that is exactly what he did. Spreading his wings, Velkan flapped them with a powerful downward beat. He ascended then dipped down, zooming toward Talon. The young demigod did not try to avoid the frontal assault. He brought up his pact sword and met Velkan’s attack with the broadside of his sword. Velkan planted himself, locking blades with him. The young man raised his shield arm, presumably to attempt a shield bash but Talon brought out one of his wings and swatted at Velkan.
Caught by surprise, Velkan raised his shield to protect against the swat which allowed Talon to adjust the angle of his sword. He slid his blade then knocked aside Velkan’s. The young man stumbled but recovered, bringing up the shield in his grip just in time to block Talon’s sword. Talon brought up both of his wings and gave them a single downward beat. The rush of wind made Velkan hunch and with it, he disengaged from his apprentice, hovering in the air.
“You are not a human, Velkan.” Talon recalled the advice that Aoren had once given him as the two of them had sparred. “Do not fight like one.”
Velkan adjusted his grip on the shield and sword in his hands. He took a deep breath then jumped into the air, zipping toward him with a look of fierce determination. Talon veered out of the way. When Velkan spun however, that caught him by surprise. He quickly brought his sword up to deflect the blow coming his way. His and Velkan’s blades locked once more before the two of them dropped to the ground. Velkan pressed the offensive, going into a series of blows with his sword, alternating between a pattern of swings and jabs that had Talon on the defense. He was impressed by the young man’s skill but he reminded himself that this was not a simple trainee. Velkan was an Avialae who had completed his March. He had seen the horrors of the Warrens. He had survived them.
Talon expanded his awareness of the auras around them. He allowed the aura of the armor and weapons Velkan was wearing to funnel into his vision as they both fought. Carefully, Talon watched as each impact made the reinforcements in Velkan’s blade and shield flare. They were being tested but they were holding steadily. He saw no breach in the runeforged work that had been rendered upon them. As the attention in Velkan’s aura shifted, Talon side-stepped the young man, taking the opportunity to whack Velkan across the thigh with the flat of his sword. The armor flared but the enhancements held nicely. As Velkan whirled around to face him, Talon stretched out a hand.
“Brace yourself, Velkan.”
“Wha--WHOA!” The young man flailed briefly as Talon grasped a hold of the aether flux in the space around him. He redirected the flow to form a web of force that wrapped around Velkan’s arms, legs and torso. Talon raised his hand, levitating Velkan into the air with ease. Carefully, he applied pressure to the armor on Velkan’s body.
“Uh...Talon…?” The note of worry in Velkan’s voice prompted him to look up into the young man’s eyes.
“Easy, Velkan. I am only testing to see how well the armor holds up to magical force, my pact blade notwithstanding.” He smiled at his apprentice who nodded though his wings twitched nervously. After a careful application of pressure at some of the traditionally weakest points in the armor, Talon gently lowered Velkan to the ground. He allowed Velkan to get his bearings before dismissing the web of force with a flick of his wrist.
“That was..scary.” Velkan let out a breathy laugh. Aoren barked a laugh.
“You think that’s scary? Try being on the receiving end of one of his kinetic blasts.” Talon smirked at them both before walking up to Velkan. Aside from a sheen of sweat upon his brow, the young man appeared otherwise fine as he removed his helmet.
“How did the sword handle?” Velkan set the helmet down then flourished the blade. He smiled.
“Perfect. Balanced and easy to wield. It will be a fine sword in the hands of one of the Sky Guard.” He was pleased to hear that.
“The armor and shield?” Velkan rolled his shoulders. He flexed and stretched, testing some of his mobility before nodding.
“Nothing pinched. I was able to move easily. The weight modifications we made seem to hold up well with flight. The shield was a little top heavy, though.” Talon turned his attention to the shield. He inspected it visually and then brought the aether of the shield into view. He examined it closely until he saw the flaw that was causing the imbalance in the weight modification enhancements.
“Here.” Talon pressed a finger to where the flaw in the formation of the structural enhancement was. He furrowed his brow. He would have to take this shield back to his workshop and work through the kink. “There is an aether pathway that is not properly affixed. It is creating a fluctuation in the overall structure.”
Grasping the shield, he took it from Velkan and set it aside. With a nod he gestured to the rest of the gear that was assembled.
“One test done, only a few more to go.” Velkan blinked at the gear that they had brought with them. He reached up and rubbed at the back of his head.
“Maybe joining the Guard isn’t such a bad idea…” Talon pat his apprentice on the back as Aoren just grinned.
