Chapter 9 – Heading Off

His hand reached for the hilt of his blade out of habit as he whirled around. His hand caught naught but the air first before he corrected himself and gripped the hilt of his shortsword. His gaze locked onto the owner of the voice.

Instructor Theodore stood there, his hands in the pockets of his coat, and an amused smile on his lips. The wind tugged at his brown hair he had pulled back with a piece of red ribbon. “Whatever has you so preoccupied that a weak old man like me startled you quite so much, I wonder?”

Midhir quickly let go of his sword. “I highly doubt you’re even twice my age, sir.” He gestured at the young instructor’s face. He could easily pass as a student, and he wouldn’t even need to exert any effort to do so. “My apologies for not noticing you arrive earlier, I was lost in thought.” He quickly added. He couldn’t believe he nearly pulled a sword at his instructor.

The young instructor chuckled with amusement. “Oh, I would have been impressed had you been able to notice me arrive.” Seeing Midhir’s puzzled expression, his smirk widened. “Considering I was alone up here for quite a while before you arrived.”

Midhir stared at him for a split second. “Oh.” He scowled, “Really?” he asked in disbelief. How on earth hadn’t he not noticed the man already up here? “I… honestly had no idea.” He awkwardly chuckled, feeling a mix of embarrassment and confusion. Sure, he wasn’t paying much attention, but he should have noticed the only other person atop the battlements.

The instructor gestured at the blade hanging from his belt. “A shortsword. Versatile weapon, and much easier to learn to use effectively, I’ve heard.” He raised his eyebrows. “Have you started using it only recently?”

“Yes.” Midhir stopped himself from sighing. “Is it quite so obvious?”

The other man nodded absentmindedly as his gaze lingered on Midhir. An awkward silence reigned for a few moments before his sombre voice broke it. “I’m by no means a master of weapons, but I feel like this isn’t the right choice of blade for you.”

Midhir felt his heart sink. His sister had told him the same, and now Instructor Theodore too. But she had told him that for every weapon he tried, and he felt it too. They were fine, but none of them spoke to him. None of them felt like an extension of him. He lacked that ability, that talent. At times, he felt like an imposter rather than a capable fighter.

The Instructor cleared his throat, once again breaking the charged silence. “I presume Soraya has informed you of your field assignments?” He asked, quickly changing the subject.

Midhir nodded, somewhat relieved.

“What do you think it will entail?” The instructor asked. His eyes glimmered with curiosity.

The young man hesitated. “I’m not sure.” He admitted. “We’ll see how the people live there, and what issues they face.” He bit his lips. “I don’t even know where we are going, so I have a hard time guessing.” He said with a shrug.

Instructor Theodore raised a single eyebrow. “I see. I thought she’d have told you by now.” He chuckled, but as his gaze wandered to the view stretching before them, his smile faded. “When you look down there, you see a beautiful forest, don’t you? Wildlife, as far as the eye can see.”

Midhir followed his gaze and nodded. The forest was indeed beautiful, but the instructor’s previous words lingered in his mind.

“I see more than that.” Instructor Theodore grimaced. “And you could too. During your field assignment, try to look beyond what’s in front of you. Try and see the what’s hidden in plain sight, for reality is rarely as straightforward as it seems.” He paused, then with a lower voice continued. “And don’t give your trust blindly.”

Midhir scowled. “Who are you referring to?”

Instructor Thedore shrugged. “I spoke too much already, anymore and I’ll find myself on the bad side of Soraya.” He widened his eyes almost comically. “Considering her past, that’s something I’d rather avoid!” He laughed out loud, then turned around. “Good luck and keep your wits about you.”

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Midhir watched him leave with more questions than answers. Did his words really have to be so enigmatic? And what was that about Instructor Soraya’s past?

He didn’t cross paths with Instructor Theodore again in the next week. Their history class was cancelled, and all Instructor Soraya told them was that Instructor Theodore was away on important business, much to Midhir’s surprise, since no airship had arrived at, or left Lunum’s airway station.

The week passed mostly uneventful, and Instructor Soraya and the other instructors kept Midhir and the others busy. Arwen began to learn the basics of using crystal staves, Alistair kept mostly to himself, giving his all to his training, and Willow constantly found herself invited to duels by students from other classes, much to her dismay.

At the beginning of the next week, they woke up at dawn, with their packs prepared and ready to set off. Instructor Soraya was already up and waiting for them at the entrance to their dorms. She chuckled at the sleepy and tired students, but showed no remorse as she hurried them along.

“You are headed to Lohssa, a small village on the outskirts of the Bareon province, ruled by the Orlein family.” Instructor Soraya debriefed them as they walked uphill towards Lunum. “Your contact there is the Mayor, Domnall Banain. He will be there to welcome you, but even if he isn’t for whatever reason, you are to find him first and foremost. Your lodgings have already been arranged, so you needn’t worry about that.”

“Lohssa has been facing some issues these past few months, but from the reports we received, things have taken a turn for the worse this past week. Your mission is to aid Mayor Banain in solving these issues. Any questions?” She shot a glance towards them over her shoulder.

“What kind of issues are we talking about?” Alistair asked. “I don’t remember any reports from Lohssa reaching my father’s desk.”

“They didn’t.” Instructor Soraya raised her chin. “Lohssa is a remote town, it doesn’t even have an airway station yet. Airships land on an empty patch of grassland on the outskirts of the village. Very few pilots are able to land safely that way, so air travel is extremely limited there. An’Larion is easier to reach for a horse and its rider, so all the reports went to the Imperial Palace.”

Alistair’s expression darkened as they finally reached Lunum. “I see.” he replied with a scowl.

“Back to the task at hand, I don’t expect you to be faced with combat, so I won’t be coming along. If you do find yourselves faced against a foe you can’t defeat, you are to retreat and call for aid – the airship will remain there until your departure, so you can request aid at any time.” She smirked. “Your success in these field assignments is more important than any exam you will sit in this academy, so make good use of your time and skills.”

They soon reached the airway station at the far end of Lunum. The sun had yet to start its climb, and only a single person was awake behind the counter in the station.

“Your identification, please.” She mumbled, suppressing a yawn. Midhir and the others provided their identification cards, which she logged into a large ledger. “Thank you, have a good trip!”

They moved on from the entrance, entering the landing bay. A relatively small airship stood landed at the middle. Midhir slowed his steps as he looked at the airship – it was of simple make, without any of the fancy embellishments he saw in the airway station of An’Larion. There were three large crystals embedded on its body, two beneath its wings, and one on the back. Naturally, many more were used to allow something so heavy to fly with such speed, but they were smaller crystals, hidden beneath its wooden hull.

“Right then,” Willow stretched her arms. “We’ll make you proud, instructor!”

Instructor Soraya shot her an amused glance. “Board the damn ship already.”

Midhir stepped onto the boarding ramp, which was nothing more than three wooden planks secured with some nails and rope. The ramp creaked under his weight, he felt the planks bow ever so slightly, making him question how well they were really secured. At least the ramp was only half a dozen steps long, since the airship was so small.

Alistair climbed up next, hurrying to reach the open deck of the airship. Arwen hesitated at the foot of the ramp. Her face pale as a sheet of paper, she sheepishly stepped on it, visibly gulping. The ramp creaked, causing her to draw a sharp breath. She forced herself to take a tiny step forward, then another.

“Oh come on,” Willow said with a chuckle. “It’s not creaking that much.”

Arwen didn’t respond, or perhaps she didn’t even hear her words. Her gaze remained at her own feet as she took one more step.

Midhir leaned down from the railing, offering his hand. “Come on, it won’t break.”

Her eyes widened for a split second before she took his hand, and in three long steps, made it to the open deck. “Thanks,” She mumbled, once again grasping her staff with both hands. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these airships.”

“You will,” Alistair spoke up. “I agree they are unnerving, but they are the best method of transportation we have. Just like me, or anyone else who doesn’t like the sensation of flight, you’ll learn to get used to it, with time.”

Willow was the last to board the airship, and as soon as she stepped foot on the deck, one of the crewmen shouted. “Ready to go captain!”

Midhir grabbed onto the railing and caught Arwen’s arm as the floor beneath their feet rumbled. The crystals embedded into the airship lit up, emitting a bright green light. The vessel shook and rattled as a faint ringing sounded.

“Good luck!” Instructor Soraya shouted with a wide grin on her face.