CHAPTER 16

Weakness

A Grievar should contemplate the end of all things. Attachments, whether friendship, loyalty, or love, must be viewed as impermanent truths, otherwise they are destined to become crutches.

Passage Five, One Hundred Ninth Precept of the Combat Codes

Cego shifted uncomfortably on the floor, trying to find a position where he didn’t feel so sore. After a full day of classes and training, he hadn’t been looking forward to sitting through another one of Kitaka’s lectures this evening.

Dozer however, who sat beside Cego, had his eyes glued to the diminutive professor as he paced the room. Just last week, the big Grievar had proclaimed Kitaka was his favorite teacher, which seemed strange given how his semester had started with the man.

“Now, surely, you’ve all heard of Nonrespar Arena?” Kitaka said. “One of the oldest and greatest stadiums that borders Kiroth and Desovi. It sits at an elevation of thirty thousand feet above sea level.”

“Is that pretty high?” Dozer whispered to Cego, who kept quiet.

“Yes, that is pretty high, Dozer.” Kitaka pulled at one of his large ears and smiled. “It’s so high that one of the primary problems with fighting within Nonrespar is breathing.”

Kitaka took a deep breath through his nose and paused for several moments, staring at the class in silence.

“We’ve worked on many breathing techniques thus far this semester,” the professor said. “Unfortunately, in a place like Nonrespar, even expert breathing technique will not compensate for the lack of oxygen at that altitude. If you could last ten minutes at a high pace here in the Citadel, you’d only last a single minute at the same pace in Nonrespar.”

Cego watched as Sol jotted down the ratio on her lightpad. He held his own pad up for a moment before sighing and placing it back in his lap. He’d get the notes from Sol later.

“Or perhaps you might fight on the ice flats of Myrkos,” Kitaka continued. “There’s been many an unprepared Knight who has traveled north to fight against a Grievar from the Ice Tribes and succumbed to the cold before the first punch could even be thrown. In fact, the extreme cold is one of the primary reasons the Kirothian Empire has not been successful in conquering Myrkos after so many centuries.

“Now, on top of our standard breathing and conditioning practice, you will be prepared at the Lyceum in a variety of ways for fighting in extreme environments.” Kitaka paced in front of the students. “As Level Twos, you will begin to run Kalabasas Hill several times per week. As Level Threes, you will spend hours at a time in the frost containers. As Level Fours, you will gain access to the air deprivation chambers. As Level Fives, you will use rubellium-lined hot rooms. These environments will all help acclimate you for what is to come so that when you step into the Circle on foreign lands, representing Ezo, you will at least have a chance to use the combat skills you’ve spent so much time honing.”

Abel raised his fist and Kitaka nodded at him. “Professor, what else can we practice now to prepare, before we gain access to these places?”

“This is what I like to see, Abel,” Kitaka said. “Initiative. And we think alike, because today we’ll be practicing something that will prepare you for all these extreme environments.”

Cego looked around the room. There wasn’t any new equipment beside the weights, bars, and pulleys that lined the classroom.

“Dozer,” Kitaka said, and Dozer leapt to his feet, smiling. The professor had taken to choosing the big kid as his aide since semester start.

The grin left Dozer’s face as Kitaka called out another name. “Knees, if you might help us demonstrate as well.”

Knees stood across from Dozer, the two glaring at each other as if they might start throwing punches in front of the class. Luckily, Kitaka stepped between the two.

“Though using targeted environments is helpful, I find there is nothing better than another body when training for single combat.” Kitaka held his hands out toward Dozer and Knees.

“I’m guessing many of you are familiar with sloth carries,” Kitaka said. Both Dozer and Knees tensed, and Cego felt the soreness in his body amplify at the thought of the endless carries Crew Nine had done under the menacing eye of Tasker Ozark.

“We must’ve spent half our time in the slave Circles doing sloth carries.” Dozer shook his head.

“Yes, and though some of the methodologies of the Taskers below are both brutal and senseless, there is some merit to it,” Kitaka said. “However, here at the Lyceum, we always keep an eye on tactics. And so, you won’t be practicing standard sloth carries. The person being carried will not be a useless sack of meat. They will be a participant in the exercise. In fact, they will be an active hindrance to the runner.”

“Hindrance?” Dozer stared past Kitaka at Knees.

“Yes,” Kitaka said. “Knees, climb on Dozer’s back.”

Cego saw the hesitation in Knees’s eyes. The Venturian didn’t want to be near Dozer, let alone cling to the boy’s back. But he nodded and lifted himself adeptly onto Dozer, slinging one arm above the boy’s shoulder and the other under his armpit in a standard belt grip.

“Now, when we practice as a class, this will be a race. Dozer will try to get across the room and back five times to complete the course, with Knees on his back. But—”

Kitaka paused with emphasis and took a deep breath through his nose. Cego could feel impatience building in the class as they waited for the rest of the instructions.

“Knees will be allowed to emulate an inhospitable environment. He can cover Dozer’s mouth or nose, so that he may find great difficulty breathing. He can sag his body toward the ground to make each of Dozer’s steps heavier or to off-balance him from a straight path. Knees, why don’t you show the class what I mean.”

Dozer grunted and began to jog across the classroom. Knees immediately clamped a hand in front of Dozer’s mouth. When Dozer reached up to strip the hand off, Knees grabbed his arm and yanked it to the side, sending Dozer teetering to the ground.

“Darkin’ piece of…” Dozer growled as he stood again and jabbed backward with a quick elbow, catching Knees in the rib cage. Dozer reached the other end of the class and turned back. Cego saw Knees’s eyes narrow before the Venturian swiftly wrapped his arm around Dozer’s neck in a tight choke.

“Hey,” Dozer said, his voice high pitched against the pressure on his neck. “He’s not allowed to…”

Before Dozer could finish his sentence, he was falling forward with Knees still on his back. Dozer’s eyes rolled into his head as his arms stayed straight by his side. He slammed face-first into the ground.

Knees slipped off Dozer’s back and walked away. A muffled snore escaped from the boy while he was still facedown.

“Let’s refrain from strangles in this exercise, to prevent injuries,” Kitaka said as he casually rolled Dozer over onto this back. The big kid’s nose was a bloody mess from the impact. “But always a good idea to protect your neck, even when you’re not in the Circles.”

“Hey, that’s my roc!” Dozer mumbled as he woke with a snort. He slowly sat up, touching a hand to his bloody face and looking around the class in confusion. Dozer’s eyes finally fell on Knees and his face turned bright red as he realized what had happened.

“All right, class,” Professor Kitaka said quickly. “Let’s pair up.”

Sol put her hand on Cego’s shoulder and smiled. “I’ve been wanting to get a chance to get on your back for a choke.”

“You heard the professor, no strangles.” Cego smiled back. His heart was suddenly beating faster. “But… I think I need to pair with someone else for this round.”

Sol looked hurt until she saw Cego making a straight line toward Knees, who hadn’t made any attempt to find a new partner yet.

“Need someone to work with?” Cego asked.

Knees responded with a silent nod.

Cego offered his back to start and found Knees attempting the same aggressive techniques he’d used against Dozer, first muffling Cego’s breathing with an open hand across the mouth, before disregarding Kitaka’s instructions and going for the choke again.

Cego was ready for the offensive onslaught and protected himself ably enough. He’d spent countless hours defending himself against his brother Silas, who used to go after Cego’s neck like a blood-starved wolf.

When it came time for Knees to walk across the classroom, Cego took his opportunity. Not to get revenge, but to talk to the boy. Cego secured a tight grip and lodged his face up against the Venturian’s shoulder.

“Why are you doing this?” Cego whispered.

“It be the professor’s instructions,” Knees replied as he suddenly jerked forward. “Create an inhospitable environment.”

“No,” Cego said as he switched his grip to prevent Knees from bucking him off. “Why are you… acting like you hate us?”

Knees was silent as he struggled across the room, but finally, he breathed a single word.

“Trials.”

Knees spun around to make the second trip.

“I was in there too,” Cego whispered. “I can’t shake it either.”

“You don’t know…” Knees grunted and was suddenly stumbling to the ground. Cego rolled off the boy’s back and sat across from him while the other students kept moving past them.

“You don’t know what it be like,” Knees panted. “In the third Trial, I was back in Venturi with my sis. With my uncle again.”

Cego shook his head. It had hurt to see his brother Sam in the Trial, to feel the presence of someone he’d missed so much. But Cego couldn’t imagine being sent back to someone you hated.

“I was weak again,” Knees’s voice trembled as he looked at the ground. “I was weak for so long in that place. I was helpless. I couldn’t help my sis, couldn’t prevent that monster from hurting us again.”

Knees’s eyes were shimmering with wetness.

“When I came out of the Trials, I swore I’d never be weak again.”

“You can be strong without being against us,” Cego said. “We’ve got a plan to get you away from Shiar. We’re your friends, Knees. We want you back with us.”

“Shiar be strong,” Knees said as he stood and turned away. “In this place… I don’t need friends. I only want to be strong.”

The drill timer rang, and Knees walked away.

“What’s going on?” Dozer shook his head in confusion as a stampede of students passed them on the stairs down to the common ground. The big kid had just come from the medward to reset his broken nose, though Cego noticed it was still a bit crooked.

“Not sure.” Cego shrugged. “New challenges get posted?”

But Cego realized no matchups would cause this sort of excitement. A Level Two student stumbled three steps past the crew and nearly did a front roll on the platform before continuing to descend the stairs.

Cego and Dozer looked at Sol expectantly. The girl was usually up-to-date on current events around the school. “Sol, what’s going on?”

“Just a fight,” Sol said stoically. “On the big lightboard.”

“Who?” Dozer exclaimed as the three Whelps reached the ground floor and saw a crowd of students pushing forward to try to get a view of the large display. “They haven’t had many fights up this semester. Must be a big one… it must be…”

Cego heard the SystemView announcer’s voice bouncing off the walls of the common ground. “And fighting for the nation of Ezo… the greatest of warriors, with an undefeated record… The Fist of Songs, the Paladin of the People, the Shining Knight himself, Artemis Halberd!”

The students surrounding the board erupted in a hail of applause as Halberd’s familiar face came on-screen: chiseled jaw, well-trimmed beard, and sunflower-yellow eyes set atop a statuesque body carved for combat.

Cego glanced at Sol. She was expressionless watching her father on the board and hearing nearly the entire Lyceum student body cheering for him. She looked as if she might want to turn from the room. Cego was going to ask if she’d rather leave when Dozer grabbed her shoulder.

“Sol!” Dozer shouted as they pushed their way through the crowd to find a suitable viewing spot. “There’s your da!”

Cego shook his head. As if the girl didn’t know that, and unfortunately Dozer’s loud voice seemed to attract unwanted attention, as usual. He saw Shiar, standing beside Knees and Gryfin Thurgood, several feet away, sneering back at him.

Cego focused on the screen to see Artemis squaring up with a Desovian Knight. Though they were a smaller nation, Cego had heard that Desovi had won a disproportionate share of fights due to their fierce training regimens. This Knight—Yassif Galot—seemed to mirror that ferocity; a series of long, snaking scars were carved across his shoulders, running up his neck and etched into his face.

“Over here!” Cego heard Abel’s voice and turned to see the small boy sitting high atop Joba’s shoulders to get a better view. Dozer, Cego, and Sol pushed their way through the crowd to stand next to their fellow Whelps.

The common ground went from clamor to complete silence as Artemis lifted his hands in his Knight salute, slamming his forearms together in a cross above his head. The Desovian Knight responded with an open hand to beckon Artemis forward.

“Counterpuncher,” Abel whispered from his perch atop Joba’s shoulder. “Yassif is one of Desovi’s best. He will wait for Artemis to make first move.”

Artemis obliged the Desovian by launching a front kick that seemed impossibly fast for a man of his size. Yassif barely was able to lift a hand to parry and stumbled back against the force of the kick.

Cego blinked and Artemis was already somehow inside Yassif’s guard, landing two thudding body shots that reverberated on the common ground’s audio system, followed by an inside trip to bring the Desovian to the ground.

A cheer erupted from the Lyceum students as they sensed a quick finish. Cego lowered his eyes from the screen to see Knees looking directly back at him from across the floor. Cego nodded, even let a smile crease his face, but the Venturian did not return the gesture, only looked back at the screen. After hearing about Knees’s Trial experience, Cego finally understood why the boy had become so distant, so angry. Knees had been forced to relive the worst part of his childhood over and over within that sadistic simulation.

Another loud cheer brought Cego’s eyes back to the screen. Yassif had somehow returned to his feet and was attempting to hold off Artemis’s onslaught of attacks.

It truly seemed like every student in the Lyceum was packed onto the common ground, along with most of the faculty on the outskirts of the crowd. Cego saw Professor Tefo bobbing his head as he watched Artemis dodge a series of punches and Professor Kitaka with his arms crossed, performing his breathing exercises as always. Professor Larkspur was easy to pick out across the room, a head above most, her eyes likely focused on the brilliant auralite Circle the two Knights were fighting in, bluelight spectrals dancing between punches and kicks.

“Get him!” Dozer yelled, his fist pumping the air as Artemis connected with a solid cross to his opponent’s chin, sending him stumbling backward.

Cego’s eyes fell back to the crowd. He found himself looking for Kōri Shimo. Of course, the strange boy wasn’t here. Though Shimo attended Circles class, Cego had heard he skipped nearly all his other classes. If not for Shimo’s extraordinary performance in his sparring exhibitions and challenge matches, Cego doubted the boy could muster the score to graduate.

Another cheer erupted from the students and Cego saw Artemis straddling the Desovian in mount position, raining down a hail of blows to the man’s body. When Yassif attempted to cover up, Artemis switched to devastating head shots. One punch found Yassif’s chin, and Cego watched as the Desovian Knight’s eyes rolled to the back of his head.

But the lights still shined down on the Circle. The feeds still glowed on the boards around the great stadium they fought in, beckoning the Ezonian champion for more violence. Artemis raised his fist over his inert opponent.

Cego glanced at Sol and saw the girl looking down at the floor, away from her father, away from the arena across the world, away from the greatest living Knight as he drove his fist into the skull of his opponent in an explosion of blood.

The common ground was silent again, the student’s jaws agape at the display of raw strength, skill, and brutality they’d just witnessed. A chant began to bud across the common ground, just several low voices in unison before the cheer spread and erupted around the entire floor. “Halberd! Halberd! Halberd!”

“Halberd.” Shiar appeared from the cluster of students in front of them. “Halberd, Halberd, Halberd.” The boy clapped his hands lightly and stared at Sol, who was still looking at the floor. “If not for the name, I don’t think a person in this school would think you come from the same line as that man up there.”

Cego put himself between Sol and Shiar. They couldn’t risk getting docked points for fights out of the Circle, and though Solara Halberd could be the picture of calmness, he could sense she was not herself right now.

“Shut up, you piece of roc dung.” Dozer shouldered his way in front of Sol as well. “Sol’s got her da’s instincts. And his jab. If you ever stand across from her, you’ll find that out quick.”

Cego swelled with pride watching Dozer, who had once been a bully in the Deep, now standing up for his friends against Shiar.

But Sol didn’t seem to need her teammate’s support. She pushed past Dozer and came within inches of Shiar’s hooked face, staring into his eyes. “Why don’t you take a shot and see if I have anything in common with my father. I wouldn’t mind putting you down like the dog you are.”

Shiar cackled and raised his hands. “Wow. Finally, some real anger from the girl. Seems I hit a nerve. Or maybe it wasn’t me. Maybe it was watching your father win another massive fight for Ezo, knowing you’ll never live up to it. Knowing you’ll always be… just his little bitch.”

Before Cego knew it, Sol had sliced a cutting elbow across Shiar’s jaw, sending him stumbling to the ground.

“You’re crazy!” Shiar growled from the floor, holding a hand to his mouth. “You knocked a tooth out!”

Behind a steady stream of blood, Cego saw a large gap where the boy’s front tooth had been.

“Oh shit!” Dozer hooted and clapped Sol on the shoulder.

Shiar stood slowly, clutching his face, just as Cego saw a professor stalking toward them through the crowd.

“Just because you pitiful lacklights are a lost cause this semester, bound to not graduate, doesn’t mean I’ll fall into your trap.” Shiar sneered.

Knees was at Shiar’s side, facing off with Dozer and Cego.

“How can you stand with this piece of shit?” Dozer growled at Knees. The big kid brought a hand up to his recently broken nose. “I thought I knew you.”

“You never knew me.” Knees shook his head, meeting Dozer’s stare. “Not the real me.”

Just as Professor Tefo arrived, Shiar and Knees turned and shuffled through the crowd.

“What’s the commotion here… Thought I heard unauthorized fighting.” Tefo looked to Sol and saw the pool of blood on the floor beside her. “You know I love to see punches thrown as much as anyone else, but I can’t have the chaos that comes with fighting outside our Circles.”

Sol looked like she was about to admit to the act, but Cego interrupted her. “Nothing’s going on, Professor. I was just trying a technique we saw Artemis Halberd throw on-screen. And I messed it up.”

Professor Tefo looked at Cego skeptically before a grin spread across his face. “Did you see how Artemis handled that Desovian’s counterattack game? Simply incredible. We’ll need to work on it in class tomorrow.”

“Right.” Cego nodded in relief.

“I’d be proud to have a father like that,” Tefo said as he walked off.

Cego looked at Sol. By the look in her eyes, he doubted she agreed.