Chapter Fourteen #2
Watching Torex train, though, Pel could see why King Forex coveted those skills. They were probably lucky that he was so old-fashioned, or he might have forced Larexa to train, even when it was so clear she didn’t want to.
It had been years since his father had trained with the guards, though Pel had vague childhood memories of the man doing so, of Pel and Bavil and Larexa all watching and cheering. That had been before their mother had died, before the breaking bond had sent King Forex to his bed.
He’d never been quite the same afterwards—and at least for Pel, it had gotten so much worse when he’d Manifested as Unremarkable.
But the part of Pel that had originally thought that Torex was simply showing off could concede now that he was doing exactly what Pel did: he was working within the parameters of the magic he’d been given.
Should he never manifest an avatar or a shield or a weapon because Illustrious and Unremarkable couldn’t?
Looking at the man now—without a tunic, because he seemed to be opposed to them when he was training—skin decorated with the glowing swirls of his magic, Pel could only think that would be an incredible shame.
Pelun wasn’t the only Unremarkable who spent more time with his eyes on the High Prince than he really should have.
When King Forex was deep in his cups, it sometimes seemed like he blamed the High King for the fact that there were no Extraordinary in Tond except for Forex and Larexa.
But if there were a way to make people more magical—apart from acquiring the pledges of Fealty of an entire realm—then it would surely have been discovered before now.
Pel knew that his opinion wasn’t the popular one, but he honestly wasn’t so sure that they needed more magic in the world.
The Healers were amazing, but they were a subset of the population as small or smaller than Extraordinary.
They were the only group of people who could share part of their magic with another temporarily to aid in healing.
They regained the magic they expended, and then they could heal again.
They couldn’t Mantle an object they weren’t touching or create free-standing magic, but they weren’t simply Illustrious, either.
(They even got their own special suffix, naturally, so everyone would know their magical strength and ability immediately.)
But the magic that people thought of day to day? That was the magic of the Extraordinary, just like Torex was demonstrating now, able to not only strengthen his own weapons but to create a free-standing avatar.
Yes, it was eye-catching and immensely useful in a fight.
But… what were they fighting against? They were united and at peace, and they wanted to stay that way.
They’d been at peace with the mainland for centuries, too small to be of concern to them, and too out of the way.
It was the same reason the exiles hadn’t left the United Realms at the end of the war.
This was their home, and just the thought of moving away permanently was a painful one.
The goddess had granted them their magic and given them a place they felt they belonged, and that was that.
But with no one to fight… why was being Extraordinary so, well, extraordinary?
On the other hand, if Pel were suddenly granted the option to become Extraordinary, he knew that he’d be hard-pressed to refuse. Because you were treated differently when you were Extraordinary, and Pel sometimes grew very tired of being Unremarkable.
He couldn’t see their society giving up on how they valued Extraordinary any time soon, though. Pel was watching Torex and the Illustrious guards just as closely as everyone else, after all.
Torex could shield from blows that would have felled Pel no matter what he did to stop them. Torex could erect a shield in an instant, and then he was attacking again. He could summon his avatar with a thought and attack from two directions at once.
Torex was strong enough to shield, Mantle his weapons, and use an avatar. He had all the advantages, and he knew it.
But unlike what Pel had assumed at the beginning, it wasn’t just to show off. People wanted this spectacle—and Torex was also willing to stand there and be the equivalent of a magical dummy, shielding so that the guards could throw everything they had at him.
He gave pointers about how he thought they could make their attacks stronger or work in concert to eventually overcome him.
He was trying to help them improve, and they weren’t even guards from Alossa.
“That was good of you,” Pel said after the training.
Torex raised an eyebrow.
“Letting them attack you while you just stood there. It must have been boring.”
Torex shook his head, looking like his whole body was thrumming with energy. “Not at all. It’s a great way to observe them and offer guidance. It only makes sense to have stronger guards. The better trained they are, the better chance they’ll return home.”
Heart clenching, Pel realized part of why Torex was so passionate about this.
“Well, we really appreciate the time that you’re spending with them,” Pel said awkwardly.
Torex slanted a look at him, his eyes dancing. “I noticed. The lot of you didn’t seem to be doing very much practicing of your own.”
Pel felt his face heat even as Torex laughed.
“Hey, it’s not every day that we get to see those sorts of displays!”
Torex’s grin was bright. “I’m flattered that I’m such a distraction.”
Pel’s smile faltered. He was always going to be distracted by Torex, wasn’t he? And Torex didn’t even notice him unless he was drunk and didn’t have anything better to do.
Torex’s grin wobbled and faded, and that faint furrow appeared in his brow, the one that Pel wanted to smooth away, but he definitely wasn’t allowed to do that now.
“You were doing really well, too,” he said after a hesitant moment.
Pel scoffed and shot him a look. “Don’t you dare condescend to me!”
Torex blinked. “But I’m not. I mean it. I had no idea you were ambidextrous—or that you had that knife in your boot. It was excellent work.”
And Pel was… kind of stunned. Torex really had been watching him through at least part of the training. It was rather flattering, but Pel couldn’t say that and risk making it weird.
Instead, he said, “You should see me with a bow and arrow. That’s where I really excel. No one wants to go up against me and my arrows.”
A slow smile lit up Torex’s face. “Challenge accepted.”
“What?” Pel said, brow furrowed.
“You think you can shoot me with an arrow?”
Pel’s stomach churned anxiously at the very idea. “Um, I’d really rather not.”
Torex’s gaze was challenging. “I assure you you can’t.”
Pel felt his spine stiffen, and he blurted the words out without meaning to: “I absolutely can.”
Torex just grinned at him, and Pel knew that he’d walked right into his… had it been a trap? He wasn’t sure that you could call it that when it was going to result in Pel shooting arrows at the man.
His stomach was still a little iffy about this whole thing, but there was a curl of excitement growing in Pel, too. This was, perhaps, the only thing he really excelled at, and the idea of showing off was… maybe not something Pel hated.
“You’re sure you can shield against them?” Pel confirmed, just to be certain.
“Positive,” Torex said, eyes clear and bright. “It was part of my training. If you think about it, it’s not really any different than people coming at me with swords, knives, and fists.”
Arrows were moving faster than any of those, but he supposed the principle was the same, and it did make Pel feel better. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to Torex because of him.
“All right, then.”
“Sometime in the next few days?” Torex suggested, eyes still bright and happy. “Once the weather’s better?”
“Certainly,” Pel agreed.
He wasn’t totally sure he knew what had just happened—but he was going to prove that at least sometimes, Torex’s self-confidence was misplaced. You didn’t have to be highly magical to shoot an arrow, after all.
That night at dinner, to Pel’s surprise, Torex announced the challenge that had been issued.
He’d thought this was just something they were doing privately.
Announcing it like this… well, normally that would mean putting Pel in his place, except Torex conveyed the entire thing in entirely complimentary terms. His enthusiasm was obvious, and not in a mean way.
He seemed to be really looking forward to it.
Pel’s family agreed they were going to come watch, even the King, though he muttered about how it would no doubt be an embarrassingly short competition.
His lack of faith in Pel didn’t hurt nearly as much as it used to.
Larexa and Bavil were more polite. He’d noticed that they tended to be, with Torex here.
“That sounds like an irresistible challenge,” Bavil observed.
Larexa smiled. “And an excellent opportunity for people to excel!”
“Of course, only one of us is Extraordinary,” Pel muttered.
It came out sounding very snide, and Torex shot him a look before he said smoothly, “But fortunately, it doesn’t take a lot of magic to be an exceptional guard. I’m looking forward to being put through my paces.”
The King harrumphed, and it was clear he thought Torex was just being polite.
Pel was pretty sure that Torex meant it, but he also knew he’d said it to smooth over Pel’s rudeness.
And Pel found himself quite irrationally wanting to tell the man that if he wanted to be rude to his sister, that was his business.
Only that was so childish that Pel at least managed to keep his mouth closed around the words.
King Forex didn’t keep them for long tonight, and in the parlor, Torex joined Larexa at the pianoforte, as usual.