Andrew had been correct in his belief that the rest of our mages would be inspired by his results, all four of them had joined us at the amphitheater the next morning as well as a few people with magical ability from the village. The bullet wound in my shoulder was healing rapidly, the bruising around it had vanished and the wound itself had scabbed over. My leg, while still in the splint, was feeling much improved since yesterday and it was easier for me to get up after meditation.

We’d had less time for meditation this morning, as we had decided to begin training the rebels in the afternoon. We broke the troops up into squads and set up different training stations, and each station was headed up by different squad members. I walked around, keeping an eye on all the stations and giving input where I could.

Isaac set up a ring in the center of the forest clearing and began the basics of hand to hand combat, Jacob assisted him by setting up a defensive totem to keep combatants from hurting each other too badly. Jacob then set up his own station to replenish his depleted stock of totems, he gathered those rebels too old for combat and had them carve basic totems out of fallen tree limbs gathered from the forest. He had to inscribe them with runes and imbue them with power himself, so while he was doing that, he had his charges switch to arrow carving.

Andrew gathered the mages, both rebel and squad, and had them working together to pool their arcane knowledge. They also set up a shared firing range with Karan’s gunnery group and Ian’s archery group. Soon Andrew was demonstrating how to cast magical missiles by conjuring spears of solid ice and casting them down range. Karan had her group dismantling and reassembling rifles.

“We’re going to keep at it until you can all do this in your sleep!” she shouted.

Ian’s archery group was firing their longbows at hay targets to preserve the arrows, though a few still flew past the targets and shattered on rocks and trees. Ezra worked with Lisa and James, helping to inventory the rebels’ supplies while occasionally helping out with Isaac’s group. Jason was running weapons drills behind the meeting hall, his arm remained in a sling as well and he had enlisted the aid of Solomon. It was here I spent most of my time, giving tips and encouragement to the rebel troops.

I still had one working arm, so I demonstrated the basic attacks and guards that could be done with a weapon in one hand. I saw the rebel Wolf here as well, staring at me again; this time open contempt marred his features. Not wanting to stir up more trouble than we already had, I let it go and continued with my lesson.

* * *

By the end of the first week my injuries were healing at an exponential rate. I no longer needed the sling or the splint but I still didn’t have full use of either limb. I was able to start doing stretches to get my limbs back in shape and it was during these stretches that Eldarion approached me. The first heat of summer had arrived and I was seated on the ground beneath a willow tree next to a nearby pond, my wounded leg stretched out in front of me. The sun reflecting off of the pond dappled the area beneath the tree with sparkling light.

“You seem to be feeling better these days,” he opened, leaning forward on his gnarled Oak staff and inspecting my shoulder. All that was left of the wound was a small red line.

I smiled up at him from my deep leg stretch and climbed to my feet, “A welcome side effect of my connection to my inner passenger, I believe. I felt healing energies start to flow through the connection as soon as it was established.”

“Ah,” he said, his eyebrows arched, “I don’t recall anything like that mentioned within the tome I gave you.”

“I didn’t see anything either,” I agreed, “and I’ve been reading over that book every night.”

“Indeed,” he sighed, “We know so little about this process. I’d like to add your experiences to the tomes’ contents, in case things don’t turn out well for us. As well, I’d like to examine you with some divination spells, perhaps we can find a way to locate others who have been chosen.”

“Of course,” I said.

* * *

During the next week, supplies began to trickle in from those allies closest by that had received our request for aid. A shipment of food from nearby villages; a wagon-load of barrels and crates filled with various types of ammunition from sympathetic elements within the Regent’s guard; a passing clan of nomads donated one of their old wagons to our cause. Lisa and her caravan, accompanied by Solomon and his crew, had left to pick up a load of weapons and armor from a local tribe of dwarves in the nearby hills.

Throughout the week I worked with Eldarion, recording my experiences with the Drake inside me into the large tome. We spoke to any of my other squadmates who were willing to share their experiences as well. We added a good amount of information to the tome, but there was still much we didn’t know. Eldarion spoke to me about the spells of Divination, letting me know what to expect from them and all the rituals involved. There was an auspicious time for Divination at the end of the month, he mentioned something about the full moon acting as an enhancer for the magical energies, and we would start then.

One day, towards the end of the week, Nicolas came to me and asked me to gather the squad in the amphitheater. He had a new invention to share with us.

Arriving at the amphitheater after spreading the word, I found him, arms crossed behind his back, wearing darkened goggles and standing next to a wooden crate on the ground. The crate was stuffed with hay and resting in it were a dozen small clay balls.

“Everyone here?" I nodded "Good.” He reached into the crate and gently removed one of the clay balls. Holding it up, he said, “Behold my newest invention, the flash-blinder.”

Producing two ear plugs from his robe and inserting them into his ears, he then proceeded to throw the clay ball to the ground in front of him. When it struck there was a loud bang and a blinding flash of light. I was blinded and disoriented. I heard several people shout in consternation, they sounded far away, as if I was hearing them from under water. Before we could all panic Nicolas called out in a firm voice, “The effects of the flash-banger are temporary, yet devastating. Even more so within an enclosed space.”

Hearing this I took a deep breath and let the healing energies within me do their work. Others didn’t take so well to the demonstration. Spots swimming before my eyes I watched as Jason barked an enraged roar and charged Nicolas, he was still blind however and Nicolas easily dodged the clumsy attack. I staggered in their direction as Jason lifted his nose and sniffed, apparently catching the scent of his target he lurched toward him again. Surprised, Nicolas staggered back and I lunged between the two just in time to stop Jason’s hands from closing around Nicolas’ throat.

“Let me at him!” he roared.

“Calm yourself soldier!” I ordered. “I’m sure Nicolas has a good explanation for his actions.” I rounded on Nicolas and gave him my best glare through my watering eyes.

“Ahem, er, yes,” he began, his hands hovering protectively near his throat, “Well, I thought it would be important for everyone to feel the effects of the device in case one was ever used near them. This way you would be better equipped to handle yourself in the aftermath.”

“And you didn’t think that maybe it would be a good idea to warn us beforehand?” I demanded.

He raised his goggles and frowned, “Um, now that you mention it, that, ah, may have been a better plan. My apologies to everyone.”

Rubbing his eyes in frustration, Jason shrugged off my restraining grasp and crouched down on his haunches, waiting for his blindness to pass.

“They’re certainly effective,” Andrew yelled, the ringing in my ears muted his shout to a normal speaking level.

I walked around the group, reassuring the soldiers personally that the blindness would pass. Once everyone could see and hear again I addressed Nicolas, “How do these things work?”

“Each hardened clay ball is separated into two chambers by a thinner wall in the center. Contained within either half of the ball are two chemical compounds. When kept separate they are quite harmless, but when the inner wall is breached by a relatively powerful kinetic force and the two compounds come into contact, they react violently to one another. Thus creating the barrage of light and sound you experienced.”

“How many of these do you have?” Karan asked.

“Only a couple dozen right now as they are difficult to make in our current circumstances,” he told her.

“And what about the goggles you’re wearing?” I asked, “Can you make more of those?”

“Regrettably, not with the resources available to me here,” he said.

“Hm. We should discuss a procedure for their use in battle. Some kind of phrase to alert squad mates to their use but one that won’t necessarily give anything away to our foes,” I considered several options as the others thought it over as well.

“What if we called out ‘See no evil’” Richard grinned, covering his eyes.

“I like it,” I said.

Next Chapter: Chapter 22