My mind was never far from learning the full extent of Flight, however, and I continued practicing the technique whenever I had a chance. Slowly but surely, I was gaining mastery over it. By the end of the three weeks, I could float for a few minutes at a time, but actually moving proved a far more difficult task than I could have ever imagined.
Tymo was tireless and had a kind, if firm, method of training. For the first time in months, I didn’t really have an opportunity to use traditional techniques. I worked on controlling minute movements of my body instead. Tymo was also an accomplished weaponsmaster, and we spent hours going over the smallest details of bladecraft. I knew my way around the Sundered Heart, but the Depthless Dream and Demure Rebirth were more difficult weapons to wield. My new bursts of strength and speed accelerated my ability to use the trident and hammer in new ways, teaching me to match them against swords, spears, maces, and axes.
Tymo insisted on a firm schedule of meditation after training. The system was designed to boost my Vigor’s recovery time, strengthen my pathways at a faster rate, and give me more control over just how much Vigor I needed to pour through my channels to achieve my desired goal.
Toward the end of our training, Tymo showed me yet another application of Physical Augmenting. He pushed me to open up new pathways from my water channels and allow Vigor to bleed through them into my muscles. In contrast to fire, the water element gifted me with heightened reflexes and faster movement speed at the cost of more Vigor. Before long, I was able to switch from water to fire to aid my physical form and give myself a burst of speed or strength as I needed it. I asked Tymo if it was possible to combine both at once, but he counseled me against it.
“Mastery over one path is better than being an apprentice to two,” he told me.
“But I’m an elementalist,” I said with a smile. “And I plan on mastering all the elements.”
“Let’s see if you live that long. The Swordslinger’s Path is one that often ends abruptly.”
Chapter Twelve
“Your focus is commendable, Ethan,” Tymo told me. “Twenty-four days, and yet you still begin each day as if it is the first. Xilarion spoke highly of you, and now, I see why. He was our greatest student. A truly gifted Augmenter.” He chuckled at a memory. “A hotheaded young buck, to be sure, but time brought him experience and wisdom. It is a shame that he left the Wandering Path to purse that of Peace.”
“Why did he leave it?” I asked. I knew almost nothing about the Guildmaster other than that he had once served as a general in the Emperor’s army, and that his great-grandfather had once led Radiant Dragon as he now did.
“Perhaps Xilarion felt guilt for his conquests in war. Perhaps he believed that it was time to lay aside his own quest for power in order to pass it on to the next generation.” Tymo lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. “The Wandering Path takes us in many different directions, Ethan, and few of them lead to where we’d expect.”
I stood, fastened the Sundered Heart to my belt, and fell into a fighting stance for our usual match of blades. Tymo shook his head, smiled, and nodded behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Kegohr and Vesma appear at the main entrance to the hall. They grinned when they saw me, and I turned back to Tymo.
“You may go,” he said.
“You’re giving me the day off?” I asked with a laugh. “That seems out of character.”
“Rest and recuperation are important. But I hardly expect you to ‘take a day off,’ as you put it. My brother monks tell me that you managed to slay three spinedrakes on your journey here. An impressive feat.”
I shrugged. “They were following us, and it was going to come to a fight sooner or later. I figured it was better to take the initiative than to let them pick us off one by one.”
“And, of course, you wanted the power that they held within,” Tymo said. “Flight. The most sought-after, and rare, of the techniques found in what is called ‘traditional Augmenting.’ Tell me, have you made any progress with it?”
“A little.”
“Then perhaps you should turn your hand to it again with your newfound knowledge,” Tymo suggested. “You are dismissed for the day. Once again, it is a pleasure to train with such a keen-minded student.”
“Thank you,” I said before he retreated to a side door leading back to the monks’ living quarters.
Vesma and Kegohr came to me with energetic grins, and I couldn’t help but notice the new confidence in their movements. Kegohr’s shoulders were straighter, rather than the hunched stance he usually adopted to distract from his towering height. Vesma moved across the floor like a weightless dancer and leaped onto me. She hugged me tight, then planted a kiss on my lips.
“It feels like it’s been months,” she said as I held her. “Sure, we’ve eaten together, but not being able to speak was absolute torture.”
“I agree,” I said before I kissed her again. “So, what have you both learned?”
Vesma let go of me and nodded for Kegohr to speak first.
“Almost more than my thick skull can handle,” he said. “They told me that the Spirit of the Wildfire is actually a form of Augmentation in and of itself and that anyone could learn it. But since I’ve already had it for years, they showed me how to use it better.”
“You’ve punched golems to pieces with it before,” I said. “How does it
