26: Graystone x Aiden

Training started in Aiden's dream. His mind had lapsed back into a memory with his brother when he laid on his bed and his head hit his pillow.

In this memory...

Ten-year-old Aiden tripped on his white ceremonial robe, which was too big and long for him. But it was crafted of fine silk with a simple design, fitting for funeral attendance.

"How many times are you going to trip on your robe?" Darien sighed as he helped him up.

His brother was only four years older than him, but far wiser. Today was one Aiden didn't want to screw up. "Sorry Brother, I'll not do it again."

At any other time, Darien would laugh it off, but today there were no laughs as he was dealing with the fact that his mother was dead.

"A few rules later you both learned that your own mother had murdered the queen?" A deep, wise voice dispelled his memory, stirring his guilt and grief on the situation.

Aiden's mother was the third concubine and maidservant to the High Queen. The two were best friends. But for some unknown reason his mother poisoned the queen.

"Not true. It was never confirmed. My mother died for it."

"Then why do you carry this guilt for your brother? Why do you feel you can never surpass him?"

"I don't want to."

"You don't want to or you're afraid to, because if you do you'll end up like your mother who became so convinced of her own greatness that she killed your aunt."

Aiden turned about in his sleep, as his mind slipped into a nightmare of reliving the memory of being told that the one who murdered the high queen was his mother.

"I'm not like her! I'll never harm my brother!"

"Of course. You have him to thank for saving your life that sunturn. If he hadn't taken you as his manservant, you too would've faced the chopping block."

Aiden's physical heart slowed in beat and began to turn cold.

"Didn't your mother say the same thing about the high queen? But she still murdered her for power and riches she could never hold."

"No. I'm not like her. I don't want those things."

"Then make a decision right now. You can either exist within the shadow of your guilt or fight to be the honest man you claim to be. What is your choice?"

Aiden's heart stopped beating, almost cold. His mind flashed through images and lingered on the face of his big brother. All his feelings of honest loyalty and respect for the man began to overwhelm his emotions, restarting his heartbeats to drive away the cold.

"I choose to be an honest man. Damn the throne and the corrupt royal family who see death as transactions!"

The deep voice laughed and faded from his consciousness. Aiden woke, gasping for breath.

When he was able to sit up he saw one of the wizards standing at his bedside. The man nodded and turned to leave the room.

"Come. There is much you need to learn."

Aiden shuffled out of bed to follow the staunch wizard who was as muscly as Annoying Imp with a deep gash of a scar running through his left eye.

"I am the one called Graystone." His deep voice carried tones, which made the air ripple to tingle Aiden's skin.

Aiden recognized the voice that had entered his sleep. He had questions to ask on the matter but wasn't sure how to frame them.

"I tested your heart's shadows, which blocks the organ's energy flow. These tests will reveal the memories causing them."

Aiden frowned. "Shadows?"

Graystone nodded. "Internal demons are what others call it. But these are anxieties unhealed that prevent your growth, especially with your magic."

Nothing more was said when Aiden continued to walk at Graystone's pace down the stone corridor and they stepped through a door to enter into a vast square hall.

At the four corners were totems of items from his memories, which held some meaning: grimoire, shield, toy bear and an apple.

"Touch each item to face a trial. Overcome each one and learn a piece of truth."

Aiden frowned. "I'm being tested?"

Graystone nodded. "To come to the Library of Andor Sakratu means to prove your worth."

"Okay." Aiden cracked his neck, feeling fired up for a fight to clear away his bad sleep.

"Good. I will leave you. You will not be able to leave the trial room until you have defeated all four." Graystone turned and added, "The hero carries the cost: carry the hero or take the cost, are they both the same?"

Aiden scratched his head, not understanding. But the wizard was gone with a blink of an eye. Deciding there was no point in thinking about it, touched the grimoire totem.

He was placed in a trial of magic, where he was learning shield combat for the first time. The one being his opponent was his half-brother Deacon from Concubine No. 6. The boy was as shy as he was at the age of nine years old. They sparred for some time until Darien entered with other half brothers from lower ranked concubines, who groveled around him because he was the High Prince.

"Ah, there's my baby brother." Darien raced for Aiden with open arms, who reciprocated.

"Brother, I heard you took down a cave troll." Aiden eagerly pressed for details.

Darien chuckled, if you want the story you have to fight me for it.

Aiden faced his brother with his shield and sword in one hand. They countered and attacked with textbook moves, which ensured Aiden was constantly on defense.

"Not good, baby brother! You have to invent and adapt. We're all shield warriors from the same blood code, remember? Again!"

Aiden found himself constantly locked into combat with his brother, repeating the same attack patterns and always losing ground. No matter what known strategy he used, Darien kept screaming at him to invent and adapt.

"Invent and adapt?" Aiden saw a mage enter the combat zone, carrying a grimoire. "Shield warriors can use magic, why can't we use grimoires?"

Darien laughed at his brother's thinking. "We're warriors. Grimoires will not only slow us down, it binds our lifeforce to it. Using both will drain our life and stamina faster than we can replenish it."

"No, but what if we use our shields as a grimoire?" Aiden's mind was suddenly flooded with rune patterns of spells he had learned that he had embedded into his shield using lingxi refinement techniques.

Darien stopped the fight. "Then go and do it and fight me with your new skills."

Aiden meditated and tested his ideas, nearly having his life drained at one point by an error, but finally he had mastered the ability. They returned to the arena to fight.

"Okay brother, this time." Aiden raised his shield high, which shimmered with magic.

Darien nodded. "Fight me."

The fought with usual patterns, and Aiden on defense until he saw the moment to apply his Ice Spike spell. He cast it and saw Darien falter.

Darien laughed and added. "When you told me your idea, I decided to try it myself. Check out this spell."

His shield charged up with a lightning bolt, which sped for Aiden who blocked it. Aiden's eyes swelled with awe. The casting seemed so effortless that he wanted to learn it. "Again brother!"

The brothers continued to fight with shield magic until Aiden was able to learn the two and use them in succession. Then he did something Darien did not expect, he made them a combo spell: triggering at different stages to inflict levels of severity.

"Brilliant!" Darien clapped for joy. "I knew you could surpass me."

Aiden froze, suddenly afraid. This switch in expression made Darien angry and attack him with full force. The man didn't relent until Aiden had no choice but to nearly kill him.

Upon Darien's final breath he said, "Reaching great heights will always demand you carry a heavy weight."

Aiden gasped for breath when he was cast out of the trial and found himself returned to the hall. He saw a shield in his hand glowing with lightning and ice magic. His heart raced with understanding. He braced himself to fight the other trials.

At the end of the trials he gained four perks. The trial of shield had him earning an added level to his Repel Wave blood code spell to bring it to his peak mastery level. The trial of the toy bear helped him see the hidden intentions of people better through acute body language understanding and the apple taught him the lesson about comfort. An apple could heal but it could also poison.

"I've gained so much and I have Liran-sai to thank." Aiden took slow breaths as he declared a new determination for himself. He would be her unwavering shield for as long as she wanted or needed him. When it was time to be the hero, he would step forward and not hesitate.

"The costs aren't the same, but a high price is paid either way."

Graystone appeared and nodded with a smile.

Aiden followed him out of the hall.