Chapter 7

As he stood at the outer edge of Delvers Ridge he wasn’t even sure what he should do first. When he went to Jeskai City with his father he had always just followed his father’s lead. He never had to navigate the city on his own. Over the years the streets his father took him on became ingrained in his head. Zale didn’t even know street names, he just knew where stores were and how to get from one shop or stall to another. He never needed to ask for directions but he would also never be able to give any either. Now, in Delvers Ridge for the first time he had an overwhelming dread that he was over his head.

The natives to Delvers Ridge seemed to be sizing him up as if he was a lost lamb. They weren’t far off. He was half starved and miles away from his family. Delvers Ridge was relatively close to Jeskai City compared to how big the country of Vurith was. This wasn’t some unexplored world. Zale had learned in primary school that around a thousand years ago the age of exploration had ended. The two super continents were fully mapped.

Supposedly the entire world was ruled by one family back then. However, nothing can ever cause more harm than blood. Twin siblings, a boy and girl, fought each other for the throne. The crown Prince and Princess fought a gruesome war that didn’t see it’s end until their grandchildren’s time in power. The war drew territorial lines. The Prince’s family got the super continent that eventually became known as the Vurith Empire. The adjacent super continent was controlled by the Princess’s family and was later known as the Kingdom of Fafthoran. Only land and sea between the two super continents was unclaimed. That stretch of land was mostly war torn and savaged by the decades of battles that stained the earth and water. That land was deemed the Neutral Zone.       

Zale knew so close to the Neutral Zone people were rougher, to survive they had to be. While full blown war hadn’t occurred in hundreds of years, skirmishes and raids were still common in cities that were located on the edge and especially in the middle of the Neutral Zone. Only the elite schools that were located in the Neutral Zone were exempt from any danger. Both countries would pander to the schools, hoping they could convince the promising youth to come to their side. An Elemental Master was worth more than an entire battalion of soldiers in combat. They were considered the cannons, not the fodder.

He stuck to the main streets only, and headed to the center of town where two buildings stood higher than any others. As much as he wanted to run into the nearest tavern and order a meal to fill his stomach he beat the urge down. The only money he had was gold. In a place like this he would have his throat cut and coin purse stolen before his meal even arrived. Every city in the country had a Spirit Hall and a City Hall. If Delvers Ridge was anything like Jeskai City than both buildings would be much larger than all the others. He was hoping the Senior Abbot of Delvers Ridge would be as nice to him as the Senior Abbot of Jeskai City.

His intuition proved spot on as he entered the center square of the city and saw the Spirit Hall and City Hall side by side. The city square was large and open with lots of foot traffic. The stalls and shops were also noticeably more reputable. Zale assumed the Spirit Hall and City Hall demanded a standard for all the merchants in their immediate presence.

The inside of the Spirit Hall was identical to the one in Jeskai City. The Empire probably built them all the same. A monk was sweeping the front of the Spirit Hall with gusto. He seemed much nicer than Delker.

“Excuse me sir, I would like an audience with the Senior Abbot.”

The monk looked Zale over. It was obvious he doubted Zale had the credentials to meet with the Senior Abbot based on his looks but he didn’t voice his thoughts. He did the polite thing and assumed the best.

“Who should I tell him has come to see him?” the monk asked.

“Zale Ashwater, I come from Jeskai City seeking General Malchi.”

Zale fished the pouch the Senior Abbot of Jeskai City had given him and took out the letter of recommendation. He presented the letter to the monk with a smile. Skimming the contents of the letter the monk tried hard to keep his face from showing shock. He then returned the letter to Zale.

“Right this way Mr. Ashwater. The Senior Abbot is in a meeting right now. Would you like anything to eat? Or maybe you would like to wash away the trials of the road?”

Zale appreciated that the monk wasn’t rude when pointing out his appearance. He was skin and bones dressed in rags at this point. He didn’t just want a meal and bath, he needed both. The former for his own health, and the latter for others.

“I would love a meal and bath,” Zale replied.

The monk guided him through the Spirit Hall. In the Jeskai City Spirit Hall Zale had only seen a small portion of the building. Now that he was delving deeper into the compound he realized how large it truly was. There were multiple training halls where monks sparred and worked to master their abilities. They even passed a hall that held youths that seemed to be training for the school tournament a year away. They were like him, only recently awakening to their abilities.

They went down a large staircase to an underground catacomb. Zale wondered if all Spirit Halls had such a massive underground network of rooms or if it was just Delvers Ridge. He touched the natural rock walls because they were sweating and was surprised they were hot. The monk stopped in front of double doors that were built into the rock.

“We found long ago that under Delvers Ridge are naturally occurring hot springs. We decided we might as well make use of them. This underground system is also connected to the City Hall so don’t wonder around by yourself else you may end up where you aren’t supposed to.”

Inside the door was a room with towels and soap. Two dividers with curtains were on the opposite wall. One curtain had the symbol of men, while the other had the symbol for women. Zale walked into the hot spring and changed out of his clothes. He couldn’t wait to have a proper bath.

The water was hot, almost too hot. It took a long time for him to fully delve into the hot spring but when he did he felt amazing. The water had a soothing feeling that sunk all the way to his bones. He washed himself multiple times removing layer upon layer of filth. When he was done he just found a place to sit down by the edge. Resting his head back he closed his eyes and just soaked.

Splash.

Zale’s eyes opened. He had actually fallen asleep in the bath. A boy the same age as Zale had dove head first into the hot spring. His body was covered in bruises though; Zale couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to him. After the boy surfaced he swam back to the edge and grabbed an apple from a large platter of food.

“You don’t mind if I take a little snack from your plate do you?” he asked as he took a large bite of the apple.

The monk must have returned with food while he was sleeping and let him stay asleep.

“I don’t mind,” Zale replied as he grabbed a large leg of lamb from the plate.

The boy found his own seat and just soaked as Zale devoured the entire platter of food. His stomach ached for nutrients and it had found a source. Meat, fruit, grain, vegetables, cheese. It was all there. In his entire life he had never eaten such a feast. His only regret was that because of how starved he was he rushed through the meal, not savoring the delicacies as much as he whished he would have. Some of the food he had never eaten before, not local to his area or out of his family's price range. When Zale finished gorging himself the boy finally spoke.

 “I thought my master was tough making me spar with him every day. Your master hasn’t even let you eat? I guess I will be more filial to master from now on, unless he will starve me like your master has you.”

Zale knew there was a disconnect. He had no master. This boy was clearly making assumptions based on nothing.

“I don’t have a master, I just had a bad journey to Delvers Ridge.”

The boy ignored him and swam over to the divider that separated the hot spring into the boy and girl section. He took his finger and twirled it above the water. To Zale’s surprise water separated from the hot spring and spiraled around his index finger. The water formed the shape of a miniature drill and froze into a perfect glass sculpture. With the finger size ice drill suspended in air the boy flicked his finger and had the drill spin. Flashing a mischievous grin at Zale he pressed the drill into the divider drilling a small hole into it. With another flick of his finger the miniature ice drill turned back into water and fell into the hot spring.

“You want to peek first?” the boy asked.

Zale could never rob a girl of her purity. There were some things better left to mystery. His father always said imagination was always better than reality. Then his mother would slap the back of his father’s head and his father would correct himself saying except in the case of his mother. Of course, a small part of Zale wanted to peek.

“I can’t; peeking is definitely not something I can bring myself to do.”

The boy stood up on the rocks and pointed at his chest. Zale raised his hand so he didn’t have to stare at the boy’s junk.

“I live by the rules of man. The third rule of man is to peek when the opportunity is ripe! My name isn’t Yale Brekk if I don’t abide by the code of man.”

If Zale was standing, he would have fallen over. The rules of man?  Wasn’t that just something this brat had made up?

Yale didn’t waste any time. He put his eye up to the hole he had drilled, his smile almost too big for his face. His eye wasn’t even up to the hole for a second before Yale flew backwards into the hot spring holding his eye while screaming. A metal rod perfectly shaped to the size of the hole drilled by Yale protruded a good foot from the hole. A shrill voice yelled over the divider.

“That’s what you get Yale Brekk. You stinking pervert.”

Yale stood up holding his eye. “Fourth rule of man. Never take a loss badly. Learn from your mistake and think of a way to succeed the next time.”

That actually wasn’t bad advice. Zale just couldn’t help but think the wisdom in the words was being wasted on this boys peeping activities.

The end of the metal rod turned liquid and formed into a fist. The middle finger sharply raised up out of the fist directed at Yale. Just as fast as it had formed the hand and the finger it morphed back into a metal rod and retreated back into the hole.

Zale breathed out slowly. No matter if it was Yale or the girl across the divider they both demonstrated amazing abilities. They were the same age as him, just awakening to their actives and passives. They were his competition. He couldn’t compete with that. He was running from his ability while others were learning how to use them. He needed to find a master as soon as possible. If he wanted to succeed in the tournament he needed to learn. If he wanted to survive Lightning Rod he need to learn.

The curtain to the men’s hot spring opened. A man in his forties walked in wearing full armor. He had a neatly trimmed mustache and long hair tied up in a bun. Yale moved in front of the man and dropped to his knees bowing his head.

“Yale greets master.”

The man looked annoyed. Like this wasn’t the first time he had been called to discipline his disciple.

“You know the punishment. Another round of sparring and a double morning workout tomorrow.”

Yale nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Fifth rule of man. Never regret an act of manliness.”

The old man shook his head in disappointment then saw Zale off to the side. A flash of recognition flashed across the older man’s face.

“Are you the boy sent by the Spirit Hall of Jeskai City?” the man asked.

Zale stood up and bowed respectfully. “Yes, I am Zale Ashwater. Are you General Malchi?”

Yale frowned when he heard the name General Malchi. The older man shook his head.

“No, I am Commander Cipher. I was told to tell you the Senior Abbot will see you now.”

 Zale bowed again and left the hot springs revived. It would take more than one meal to fix his malnutrition, but the feast was a large step in the right direction. Outside the hot springs Zale found the monk had also replaced his tattered clothes with a brand new pair. More than anything though, his morale was raised by the foolishness of Yale Brekk.

Back in the hot spring Yale looked at his master Commander Cipher. “That boy is looking for General Malchi? What for? Everyone knows he’s…”

“If anyone has a chance it’s that boy. Zale Ashwater is someone you should befriend. Even if he doesn’t excel in the tournament he will still make waves with the school recruiters.”

Yale pondered his master’s words in silence until his master smacked him on the back of his head.

“What are you doing still on your knees. Get dressed, your punishment starts now.”

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