“And we’d like to ask you for some conditions,” Maiya said, trying and failing to meet Riyan’s intense gaze.
“Conditions? Do you think you’re in any position to impose conditions? On me!” Riyan roared, half-angry, half-amused.
Maiya gulped. Once again, they felt like prey in the eyes of an all-powerful predator.
“Y-yes?” Maiya stammered. Vir didn’t know how she mustered the courage to respond. And his friend didn’t stop there. “We’d like our privacy. And you’re not to lay your hands on me or Vir or Neel! And you can’t hurt Vir during his training.”
Riyan scoffed. “Please… You insult me. I have no interest in abusing children. And no harm will befall your bandy, so long as you keep it under control.”
“Neel’s the most well-behaved bandy you’ll ever see. Right, Neel?” she said. Neel barked in agreement.
“As for the boy’s training, it will be what it will be. I can make no promises that he won’t get hurt. He will likely experience pain and suffering. But he is of no use to me crippled.”
Maiya threw Vir a look, but he shook his head. Riyan would not budge on this point, and he didn’t want to anger the man any further if nothing was to be gained.
“J-just one more thing!” Maiya squeaked.
“There’s more?” Riyan rasped. “You have backbone, girl. I will give you that. But you strain the limits of my patience.”
Yep, not a patient man at all, Vir noted.
Maiya gulped. “I’d like to visit Brij, if possible. I want to tell my parents I’m alright.”
“Denied,” came Riyan’s immediate response. “Returning to your village would be the height of stupidity. I have gone to great lengths to throw those knights off your trail. If you return, you will lead them right back to you. Or worse, back to me. No.”
Maiya bit her lip, falling silent.
“What if we wait a while?” Vir said. “Maybe once we’ve learned how to defend ourselves? And if you could teach us anything about how to stay hidden, we’d be able to go back undetected.”
Maiya mouthed a wordless ‘thanks.’
Riyan cocked a brow. “Very well. In due time, if both of you devote yourselves to your training and if you display adequate skills, I may permit you to visit your village. Though you may not like what you find.”
“What do you mean?” Maiya asked.
“You will see. Or perhaps you won’t.” He turned to Vir. “You are injured and have strained yourself today. Rest now. Tomorrow, we will discuss your training,” he said with a sadistic grin. “Enjoy your last days of peace on this earth. Do try not to die.”
Vir and Maiya exchanged looks of horror.
“D-die?”
Are we really going to survive this?
12MAN OF MANY ‘TALENTS’
“Vir? Vir, wake up!” Maiya said, shaking her friend.
He awoke with a jolt, drenched in sweat.
“You were sleep talking…” Maiya murmured. “Sounded like a nightmare.”
Vir peered up to see morning light filtering in through the skylight. The burns on his back still throbbed, but they hurt slightly less than the day before. Riyan’s salves and healing orbs were working, albeit slowly.
“It’s alright now. You’re safe,” Maiya said, squeezing his arm. “Riyan wants us to get ready. Said we’re going out today.”
Vir blinked away the cobwebs and got out of bed, almost tripping over Neel, who bounded excitedly around the room. He stared at the overactive bandy with envy. If only he had that kind of energy.
Some time later, Vir, Maiya, and Neel assembled in the kitchen. Riyan had cooked up some oat porridge, which, while somewhat bland, at least filled him up. Maiya was less impressed. Vir figured Maiya would take charge of the cooking from now on, judging by how much she grumbled while eating.
Riyan took his meal in the living room and returned after he was done.
“Allow me to reintroduce myself as your instructor. I am Riyan, and I have known combat for most of my life. I have lived through more battles than most men would in several lifetimes. I am well versed in battlefield strategy, tactics, and the arts of war.”
“What’s your Balar Rank?” Maiya asked, thinking herself smart. “All warriors worth their salt have a Balar Rank, don’t they?”
“One hundred and fifty.”
Vir and Maiya’s jaws hit the floor.
“You can’t be serious…” Maiya whispered.
“It is no lie, but words are cheap. The best way to convince you is to show you, and that is the purpose of today’s lesson. Vir is still in no shape to train, so instead, I shall demonstrate the heights one can achieve as a warrior.”
“I didn’t even know the ranking went that high…” Maiya said.
Riyan gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean? There is no upper limit… It—girl, do you even understand what the Balar Scale is?”
“I—I know it’s a way of gauging strength,” she squeaked. “I thought it went from one to one hundred?”
Riyan groaned. “Gods above. I hadn’t expected villagers to be familiar with the intricacies, but to think you don’t even know this much? Please tell me you know of the Kin’jal Empire, at least?”
Maiya nodded vigorously. “They’re the most powerful nation in the Known World, right?”
“Hmm. What about you, boy? What do you know of the Kin’jal?”
Vir looked away. This was all new to him. Like Maiya, he didn’t really understand what the Balar Scale meant. “Just what my father told me. That they’re a nation of warmongers.”
“He wasn’t wrong, but neither of you are entirely correct. The Kin’jal Empire is a vast, prosperous nation. They possess the largest military in the Known World, yes, but it is the Altani who are unequivocally the most powerful.”
“The Altani?” Vir asked.
“A country of mejai to the north,” Riyan said with a sigh. “They possess the strongest magic in the Known World, and while their military may not compare in size to Kin’jals, they are far superior. Thankfully, they have no interest in expanding their borders, but the Ash’s blight encroaches upon their lands with each day. They may soon have no choice.”
The man cleared his throat. “The Kin’jals invented the Balar Scale Ranking system to gauge combat power. It considers martial skills, magic power, knowledge of battlefield tactics, strategy, and cunning. It attempts to capture a warrior’s capabilities as holistically as possible.”
Vir and Maiya listened with rapt interest. It wasn’t every day they learned from someone so knowledgeable.
“There is no upper limit to the scale,” Riyan continued. “A Balar Rank of one means a warrior is as capable as one soldier in the Kin’jal Balarian Infantry Corps.”
“Then, being Balar 150 means you’re as strong as a hundred and fifty soldiers?” Vir found that a little hard to believe. That was a tenth of Brij’s population! How could one person possibly be that powerful?
“Not just any soldiers, Balarian Warriors,” Riyan corrected. “Kin’jal’s Balarian infantry are highly trained. They are easily among the best in the world.”
If that was true, it made Maiya’s father even more formidable than he’d thought. Apramor had never once shown off his combat power, claiming that magic should be used for good and healing, and never for destruction. Incidentally, he had a single lesser affinity… for fire magic. Maiya’s obsession with magic came in part from there, with how much she idolized her dad.
Riyan swept his eagle’s gaze across them both. “How much do you know of our kingdom?”
Maiya spoke up. “I know Hiranya used to be one of the great powers of the Known World, but times have been harsh, and our distance from the Ash Boundary means Hiranyan land isn’t fertile. So the country’s suffered.”