The Will-Breaker

Meleng smiled. The ballroom wasn't empty as he and Feviona had expected. Sinitïa and Jorvan were leaping about, twirling, jumping, skipping. It was like a frenetic dance—at least, Sinitïa's part in it. Jorvan's movements were much smoother and more practised, while Sinitïa was trying to copy him and only getting it about half right.

On seeing Meleng and Feviona, Sinitïa ran towards Meleng. "Melly!" Throwing her arms around him, she hugged him tightly. She was wearing only a thin shift drenched in sweat. In a quiet voice, she said, "Jorvan's teaching me to dance, but it's so much harder than the dancing I learned in the Palace. I'm so exhausted. Thank you for giving me a reason to take a break."

"You're welcome." He hugged her back, the clamminess of her sweaty cheek against his not bothering him. It never bothered him to hold her.

After a few moments, she let go of him and turned to Feviona, who was just parting from greeting Jorvan. The two of them touched foreheads, while Sinitïa looped her arms around Feviona's neck, and Feviona's wings wrapped around all of Sinitïa.

Meleng did the same with Jorvan. "How's she doing?"

"Reasonably well. There is still much to do, but it is early still." They parted as Jorvan continued speaking, "However, I do not yet know how she will manage the movements when she is wearing constricting human clothing. Thus her state of undress."

Sinitïa looped her arms around Meleng again. "Chian said the same thing. She…" She flinched and looked to Feviona, letting go of Meleng to sign, "Sorry for mentioning that name."

Feviona shook her head slightly and smiled.

"Human conjurors do fine in human clothes," Meleng said, signing as he spoke.

"Yes, but not as well as Isyar," Jorvan said, also signing. "Plus, elementalism needs much more fluid movements than conjuration. The clothes will cause more issues with elementalism. It is something that Sinitïa will probably need to figure out on her own."

"It's really hard already," Sinitïa said. "I don't know how I'll do it with heavy clothes on."

"There is still much to learn," Jorvan said. "Do not worry about it for now."

Sinitïa grinned. "Okay. Can we stop for now?"

Jorvan nodded. "We have done enough for today."

Sinitïa's grin widened, and she grabbed Meleng's hand. "Melly, help me get dressed." She dragged him aside to where her clothes were in a pile by the wall. As Meleng helped her get her skirts into place and tie her gown, she said, "It's so hard. I don't think I can do it."

"Of course you can. You've only just started. You'll get better the more you practise."

"Maybe. It's just, I try to follow his movements, but…"

Meleng kissed the back of her neck. "Don't worry about it. It'll come in time. You'll be great. Remember, Chian said you could be the most powerful human wizard ever."

She leaned back against him and he put his arms around her stomach. "You think so?"

"I know so."

She squeaked, turned around, planted a kiss on his cheek, then hurried back over to Jorvan. "I'll see you tonight at dinner. I love you!"

"I love you, too," he called back.

Sinitïa turned to Feviona. "You need to tell me what that is for, later." She pointed to the unusual object Feviona was carrying. Then she hurried out of the room, Jorvan following behind.

As Meleng walked over to Feviona, he said, "Can you tell me what that's for now?"

Feviona held up the object. It looked like a club, but not made of wood or any other hard substance. "I discovered this very interesting material called…" She paused and thought for a moment. "I don't have a sign for it. There is nothing like it in Isyaria."

"In Arnorgue it's called…" Meleng switched to speech. "Wool."

Feviona nodded thoughtfully, then cupped her hands, crossing her thumbs. "From now on, that will be its sign."

"Why does it look like a club?"

Feviona grinned. "So I can hit you with it." She whacked the club down on the top of his head.

It didn't hurt, but it did startle him enough that he stumbled back. He rubbed his head out of pure instinct.

"And not hurt you," Feviona added. "I have used spells so that it retains its shape, but also its softness."

"Why do you want to hit me?"

"I'll get to that. First, I have a question for you. Let's say this club was rolling down an incline. What would you do to stop it?"

Meleng stared at her. "Uh…"

"Well?"

"I guess I would just grab it, or put my foot in front of it. It's light enough."

Feviona nodded. "Now, pretend it's much heavier. Pretend it's a giant boulder rolling down a hill, and it's going to smash into a crowd of people who can't get out of the way. What would you do?"

Meleng gulped. "I don't know."

"Really?"

"I mean, maybe there's a spell."

"Of course there's a spell."

"But I…"

Feviona stepped closer and held out the woollen club to him.

He took it, though he had no idea what she wanted him to do with it.

"Why would the boulder be rolling down the hill?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Someone pushed it?"

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"And what keeps it moving?"

"Gravity mostly."

She nodded. "Gravity is a force, and force is?"

"Mass times acceleration. But I don't know the mass. How can I apply the right acceleration?"

She gave him a sad smile. "You don't need the mass. Not precisely. You keep trying to be too precise. You only need to estimate a greater mass."

Meleng nodded. "Right. Sorry."

"Hit me with the club."

Meleng hesitated. "What? Why?"

"Hit me. It's soft. It won't hurt. If you can even hit me."

Meleng raised the club and swung at her. It was only half-hearted and probably not what she wanted, but he aimed it for her shoulder.

Rather casually, she stepped aside, running a finger along the side of the club as she did so.

Meleng was glad he hadn't used much force, as quite suddenly, the club wouldn't move forward. In fact, it pushed back a little. If he'd swung harder, it might have even hurt. It was only momentary, and a split second later, he was able to continue the swing, but by then, Feviona was well out of the way.

There was a frown on Feviona's face. "It would help if you tried harder."

Meleng grimaced. "Sorry. I just—"

Feviona waved a finger at him. "No excuses. You have so much potential, but it will go nowhere if you don't get over your uncertainty, your reticence, your lack of confidence. Yes, you will make mistakes sometimes. But you must try it anyway."

"I know. I just…" He stopped at a look from her. She was right, of course, though he did feel he was getting better at the confidence issue. Of course, that wouldn't help him in actual combat, and she was clearly attempting to teach him a combat manoeuvre. But he'd never actually wanted to be a combat wizard.

She was still watching him, a frown on her face.

"It's not really a confidence issue," he said. "I just don't think combat is something I'm suited for."

She shook her head and sighed. Then she approached him and stretched her head towards his. He lowered his head so they could touch foreheads, and she took his free hand in hers and clutched the wrist of the hand holding the club.

They stood there for several moments, looking into each other's eyes. There was a sadness in hers. He didn't want to disappoint her. These lessons meant so much to him and he desperately wanted them, but he also didn't want her to have unrealistic expectations of him. That was a lack of confidence, he supposed, but surely there was a point where confidence became unrealistic.

He stopped himself closing his eyes to check the reality of the situation. That would disappoint her too, and it had been a while since he'd last done it.

After some time, she let go of him and stepped back. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then trust I know what I'm doing. This exercise has combat applications, yes, but it will also develop other important skills, including your confidence."

Taking a deep breath, he nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Quit apologising. I only want you to do what I tell you without hesitation. If you fail, I don't care. I only care that you try."

He nodded again.

"Now, hold out the club."

He did as she said without hesitation.

"Watch me carefully." She slowly traced her finger on the club. It was a straight-forward equation, short and to the point, meant to apply a brief force to the club. When she finished, the club bounced up a little. "Got it?"

Meleng nodded.

"Good. Now, with me."

Meleng touched the forefinger of his free hand to the club, and she placed her hand over his. Together, they traced the equation, and the club pushed up a little. As always, when they cast a spell together, that little tingling thrill spread up his arm. And as frequently happened, he hope she wasn't too disappointed in him.

Feviona took the club from him and stepped back. "You are going to need to think quickly, adjust the direction and strength of the force with the moment."

Meleng took a deep breath. "You want me to stop you hitting me?"

Feviona nodded and whacked him on the side of his head.

It was soft and didn't hurt, but it did startle him. "I wasn't ready."

"Be ready." She hit him again, this time on the arm. "You need to be faster." She swung the club high.

He reached up for it, but wasn't even close to touching it before it hit him.

She hit him again. And again. "Perhaps standing in place is not a good tactic."

Meleng grimaced. He needed to move too? Of course he did. How short-sighted of him.

She hit him again. "I told you to move."

"Yes, sorry, I was—"

She hit him again while he was signing.

On her next attack, he did his best to move aside. She still hit him, but...it was something.

"You didn't even try to stop the club."

He sighed. Right. He had to remember to move and stop the club. Gods, he wasn't even sure how he was supposed to be fast enough to trace the equation while the club was moving. But he'd seen her do things like that. He'd seen her disintegrate her opponents armour in the middle of battle. So it could be done.

She hit him in the stomach and then on the head. "You're lost in your head. You don't have time to think about the best options. Just react."

Again, she swung at him and he tried to duck under it, while also reaching for the club. It resulted in her hitting him in the elbow, but she smiled at him. He smiled back and she hit him on the head.

It continued much the same way for the next while. She swung at him and he did his best to stop her. Not once did he succeed. She hit him every single time. On a couple occasions, however, particularly later on, he got closer. Sort of. It was actually hard to tell. She kept the attacks coming rapidly, not allowing him time to reflect. But the expression on her face was one of approval, so he supposed he must be making some sort of progress.

On one occasion, he actually touched his finger to the side of the club, but there wasn't time to trace the equation before it completed its motion into the side of his face. She actually nodded and smiled in response to that.

He wasn't sure how long it lasted. An hour maybe? However long it had been, when she finally indicated they could stop, he practically fell over. He was exhausted, which had not been helping his ability to do the exercise. He spent several moments steadying himself and catching his breath. Finally, he looked to Feviona. "How did I do?"

She looked him over for several seconds. "About what could be expected for your first time. You'll get better in time."

"How long?"

She shrugged. "Hard to say. At least a year. Probably longer."

That made sense, he supposed. In all honesty, he was surprised she thought it could be that quick. He couldn't imagine ever being good at this. Maybe he could manage it once in a while, but not with any regularity. Certainly not every time like Feviona was capable of.

"But remember," she went on, "it's not really about succeeding in the task. It's about making you think quickly and building your confidence."

"How is constantly failing supposed to build my confidence?"

She smiled. "When you think faster in other situations and succeed in them. That will build your confidence." She tapped his forehead. "You need to get out of your head."

That made sense too. Even over the last hour, he had stopped trying to plan what he was going to do. He didn't even try to figure out how he would adjust the equations for speed and trajectory if he managed to write them. He just tried his best to get his fingers on the club.

"You should get some rest," Feviona said. "We will practise this about once a week."

He nodded, and they stepped up close to each other again. Meleng lowered his head to touch his forehead to hers.

The ballroom doors crashed open. "Feviona! Meleng!" Akna ran over to them. Two palace guards were a short distance behind her.

"What's wrong?" Meleng asked.

"Something's happening at the docks. It's killing people and sinking ships. We think it must be another one of those demon things. Jorvan's already on his way. We need Feviona."

With a gulp, Meleng quickly translated for Feviona, who turned and headed for the doors.

Meleng hurried after her.