Nine years ago

“Inadequate. NEXT!”

The captain’s shout rang through the makeshift arena. Two soldiers walked in from the edge of the surrounding crowd, to the pair of bloodied boys in the center. They separated the kids, retrieved the quarterstaves they’d used to bludgeon each other, and hauled them back into the crowd.

Another match where neither boy fought well enough to impress the captain. Which meant even the winner wouldn’t be getting the apprenticeship, or any of that weird magic to heal his injuries. Sucked to be him, I supposed. I’ll just have to do better, so I can get out of this shithole.

I stepped into the arena and took my place. Across from me, another boy did the same. He looked about my age – thirteen – but a bit bigger. I’d fought guys his size before, and usually won. If he signed up for this, maybe he knows what he’s doing. Or maybe he’s just dumb.

One of the soldiers handed me a staff. Still had red splotches on it from the last fight. I passed it between my hands, testing its weight. A bit different from a club or hoe, but it didn’t seem too hard to use. My opponent took his as well, and gripped it as he stared me down.

To the side, the captain raised his sword. “Get ready, boys.”

He swung it down. “GO!”

I ran forward. No need to give him time to come up with anything. My opponent held his staff across his upper body, looking ready to block a hit to the face. I aimed down, punching into his stomach before he could respond.

He stumbled backward, groaning. I pulled back, swung around, and smashed my staff into the side of his head. A manic grin spread across my face. How’s that for a good showing, huh?

My opponent jabbed up at me, interrupting my thoughts. I stepped to the right, took my left hand off my own staff, and grabbed his as it passed me. I pulled, forcing him to keep moving forward, and swung my own staff towards his face.

He ducked under my staff, but lost his balance and crashed to the ground. As his grip loosened, I pulled his staff away and tossed it out of reach. He rolled onto his back and I jumped down on him, driving my knee into his gut.

He gasped, and I saw fear in his eyes. I let out a vicious laugh as I pressed my staff sideways against his chest, pinning both of his arms.

“Ready to call it quits?” I asked.

The boy below me growled in reply. He swung his forehead up, into my face. With a sickening crunch, my nose and mouth exploded in pain. I spat blood down onto him, and felt a couple of teeth go with it.

So you need some more pain before giving in? Fine. I can do that.

I snarled, lifted my staff, and laid it across his throat. As I pushed down, he gasped out a word. Too faint to hear clearly, but it was probably “mercy”.

The captain must have agreed. “Victory to the young man in red!”

I stood up – fucking face still burning, augh – and stepped away from the boy I’d pummeled. One of the soldiers helped him to his feet, and lead him out of the arena.

Maybe he could get healing from Lady Courtney. Probably not, though. I sure couldn’t afford her alchemy. Speaking of which…

I turned to the captain. “Did I…”

He clapped his hand onto my shoulder. “You did great, kid. Of course you're in."

As I let out a sigh of relief, the captain pulled out a thin, needle-like dagger. “Now, hold out your arm.”

I obeyed, and he stabbed the dagger deep into my forearm. I felt something flow into my arm, into the rest of me. Magic. Power.

My nose twitched. With a pop, it returned to its normal shape. I coughed into my hand, and instead of blood, I saw some sort of black goop. Ichor, the knights had called it.

The taste of blood in my mouth turned weirdly bitter, from what must have been more ichor. Moving my tongue to the spots where my teeth had broken, I felt the goop shifting, bubbling, growing. It solidified into new teeth, as if nothing had ever happened.

The captain withdrew the dagger from my arm. Blood bubbled up, turned into more ichor, and sank back into my skin. After a moment, it faded, leaving no sign of a wound.

I tried to sense the magic he’d given me, but couldn’t feel anything left. I already missed the feeling of that power. But now, I had the chance to get more. Now, I could start training to become a blood knight.

---

Six years ago

Commander William jabbed a training dagger into my arm. Magic spread through me, and I felt alight with power. Enough for a few lightning spells, if I used it well.

I took my spot across the field from Matthew, my sparring partner for the day. He gave a confident grin, and I returned the expression. He was picking up magic faster than me, but I wasn’t planning on letting him win.

I cupped my hands in front of me and concentrated, pouring power into the space above them. Come on, don’t take too long this time…

After a moment, it gathered into a ball of lightning. I looked up to see Matthew completing his own spell, as a pair of black, shadow-like tendrils erupted from the ground in front of him.

The tendrils lashed out towards me. I flung my lightning ball at them, but my aim was off. Still not used to how these things move. It sailed past the tendrils, and exploded harmlessly off to the side. The tendrils reached me, wrapping around one ankle, then the other. They pulled, dropping me onto my back.

Matthew’s spell dragged me forward, through the grass. I conjured another lightning ball, aiming more carefully at the nearby targets. It hit the one grabbing my left ankle, and burst in a shower of sparks. Both tendrils recoiled as the explosion caught them, and the left one dissolved into smoke.

I dropped my hands to my sides, trying to haul myself back up. Before I could, Matthew’s boot came down, onto my left hand. Bones snapped, and I let out a scream. The magic in my veins flowed towards it… No, I can’t afford that. I willed it away.

I can heal some other time. Right now, I need lightning.

Matthew’s other foot stomped onto my stomach. Fighting back the urge to puke, I sent magic into my right hand, grabbed his ankle, and poured lightning into him. Matthew yelped. He stumbled back, tripped over my legs, and landed on his ass.

I stood back up, my left hand still throbbing. With the last of my magic, I formed one more lightning ball in my right hand. I raised it over him… and the other tendril wrapped around my wrist. I forgot he still had one. It pulled my hand down, into my chest. The lightning ball went with it, and everything went white.

When my vision cleared, I was back on the ground, covered in burns from my own spell. Matthew leaned over me, offering a hand. His left hand. He was right-handed, I knew. Asshole.

I took it anyway. With another jolt of pain, he pulled me up by my broken hand. As I returned to my feet, the commander approached us.

“Well done, Matthew. That speed will serve you well.” He turned to me. “Gotta work on that aim, huh?”

I winced, then forced myself back to a neutral expression. “Yes, sir.”

I fought off the temptation to ask for another dose of magic to heal my hand. We were supposed to manage our own shares of it, asking for any more would make me look weak. I’ll deal with it until the next time I get some.

Matthew and I walked off, my best friend’s arm around my shoulders. I sighed, dropping back into a sulk.

“Nothing personal, right?” Matthew said. “Gotta do my part to help toughen you up.”

I nodded. “Of course. Just means I’ll have to do the same for you, next time.”

“That’s the spirit!” Matthew replied, grinning.

Just need to keep getting stronger. Strong enough that no one can fuck with me.

---

Four years ago

General Silas stood next to the altar in the middle of the crystal’s chamber. A man was tied down to it, awake but looking vacant. Some criminal, probably. Maybe a rebel. Whatever he used to be, the general’s mind magic had broken him, and now he was little more than a corpse.

I walked up to the general, trying to ignore the crowd watching me. Standing close to him for the first time, I could see the eerie silver glow in the old man’s eyes. I kneeled in front of him, in the shadow of the giant purple crystal behind the altar.

“You have proven your strength,” the general’s voice boomed out. “Are you ready to join our brotherhood?”

“Yes, sir,” I said. Remember the script, don’t mess it up… “I will serve faithfully as a blood knight, and join you in carrying out the Emperor’s will!”

“Then rise!” he announced. “Bleed the unworthy, and be reborn!”

I stood up. The general raised his hand, his eyes flashed, and the crystal behind him began to glow. Shadows flowed out of the crystal, to the floor below us. They gathered around the man on the altar, poured into him, and he began to convulse. After about a minute, the flow stopped. The man went still again, his eyes now solid black, and I felt power radiating out from him.

To my side, Commander William approached, holding a sword. I took it, and walked to the altar. I raised the sword, then plunged it down, into the man’s heart.

Shadows rushed up the sword, into me. Power flowed into my veins, spread through me, burned through me. It was like the magic they’d given us during training, but so much purer, so much more. My heart raced – I can do anything, I could burn down the whole fucking world – and my eyes widened and my grip loosened – don’t let go you idiot, don’t fuck this up – and I clenched my hands harder and lightning crackled through me and I felt so alive and – this is what I’ve wanted my whole life, this is what it means to be one of the strongest men in the Empire – and I laughed and laughed and –

The flow stopped. I’d drained all of the man’s lifeforce, all of the magic the general had pumped into him. I released the sword, stomped a foot down, and let out a roar. Lightning – MY lightning, now – surged out of me in a column, up, into the ceiling.

I turned around, still shaking, holding onto as much of the power as I could. Feels like I just ate a huge cake with my entire body. I looked through the cheering crowd for faces I recognized. One was Captain Xavier, leader of the recruitment team that had brought me in. Matthew, who’d done the ritual a few months ago, pumped a fist into the air. Next to me, the commander smiled, looking as proud as if I were his son.

I breathed, taking it in. This is the power I fought to earn. Now it’s time to use it.

---

Two years ago

I ran my sword through the back of a fleeing rebel. He fell limp as his lifeforce flowed into me, replenishing some of the magic I’d used on his buddies. When I finished draining him, he slumped down next to the other six corpses I’d made.

I counted eight rebels, earlier. Where’s the last one?

Movement, behind me. I turned, ducked to the side, as a spear passed me. The last rebel held it, a furious-looking woman. I grabbed the spear and ripped it out of her hands.

She looked frustrated by my strength, but not surprised. Looks like she knew better than the others what she was getting into.

I dropped her spear, and raised my sword to her throat. “You’ve got a hideout near here. Where is it?”

She let out a defiant laugh. “I’m not falling for that. Even if I helped you, you’d kill me anyway, just to recharge your blood magic.”

“Fair enough,” I said. My sword punched through her neck, and her body dropped to the ground.

As I walked away from the woman’s corpse, a soldier ran up to me, shouting. “Sir! We’ve found them!”

I nodded. “Lead the way.”

We headed towards the middle of the town, and arrived at an inn. Commander William stood by the entrance, looking over the building. When we got close, he turned to me with a bloodthirsty grin.

“There you are,” he said. “I think it’s time we put on a proper show. Give everyone else here something to think about, next time they get any funny ideas.”

I met his eyes and gave a nod. Pretty sure I know where this is going.

The commander looked towards the side of the inn. “Circle around there to the back entrance, make sure no one escapes. I’ll start us off, you take it from there.”

“Of course, sir,” I said.

I did as he’d instructed. As I reached my position, I heard an explosion from the front, and the crackle of flames. Sounds I recognized as the commander’s fire magic. Now it's my turn.

I raised a hand towards the back entrance and unleashed a lightning bolt into it. It ignited, and the fire began to spread. I heard panicked shouting from inside, growing louder every second. No one tried to escape through the burning door, but several dived out the windows. I cut them down as fast as they hit the ground.

If any of them were innocent bystanders, it was their own fault for hanging around the wrong people. They could have avoided it by being more careful. Probably.

Eventually, the inn’s walls creaked, and it crashed down on itself. We waited for the flames to die down, then started digging through the wreckage. There were a number of charred bodies that never made it out, and a bunch of destroyed gear among the inn’s belongings. Mostly junk, but one thing caught my eye – a partially burned notebook.

I picked it up and flipped through a few pages. Looked like a journal, by some woman who’d worked on a farm. Some drawings accompanied the entries. The beginning was boring, so I skipped ahead. The author – Nadia – had moved into town to live with her lady friend, but they’d had trouble affording the latest war taxes. After some disputes, the lady friend got arrested, and Nadia got involved with the rebels in hopes of getting her back.

Seemed like all she’d accomplished was getting herself killed. I wanted to laugh at her idiocy, but… something bothered me. I’d heard about other people rebelling over taxes and arrests and never been sympathetic, so what was different about this?

I flipped back to the beginning. Maybe reading the whole thing would help me make sense out of it. Before I could get far, I heard the commander’s voice behind me. “Anything useful in there?”

I looked up, shutting the book. “Not much. The usual rebel complaints, doesn’t really talk about their movements or plans.”

“I’ll get rid of it, then,” the commander said. “No need to leave their propaganda lying around.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I felt my grip on the book tighten. “I, uh… was hoping to finish reading it first.”

The commander frowned. “Why? You said it didn’t have anything useful.”

“I just…” I looked away. If I tried to explain, he’d just laugh. “Just wanted to.”

He sighed and held out a hand. “Nothing good is going to come from it. Just fucking give it to me.”

I passed it to him. With a wave of his other hand, the book burst into flame, then crumbled to ash.

We stood up, and I forced my gaze away from the ashes of the journal. No use dwelling on something I couldn’t have. I’d just need to put it out of my mind.

---

Now

I looked out into the field. Past a farmhouse that looked like a sketch I’d seen in the – dammit, stop thinking about that!

Past the farmhouse that definitely didn’t bring back any unsettling memories, an orb of light appeared a few feet off the ground. This late at night, it stood out clearly, illuminating the trees around it. After a few seconds, the orb winked out.

“You’re right,” I said, turning to the pair of soldiers who’d called me. “That’s gotta be magic. Follow me, and stay on your guard.” Ripping the life out of some troublemakers should help get my mind off that fucking journal.

The three of us walked towards the spot where the orb had been. As we moved, it appeared and disappeared a few more times.

When we got close, I looked around for the source. No one visible, but…

I looked up, into the trees. Before I could make anything out, bright light flared out of one. My vision went white, and my eyes stung like I'd looked too closely at the sun. I blinked, and called on my healing magic. As I did, something crashed against my armor, and I heard impacts behind me.

When my eyes cleared, I saw three people standing together. Front and center was an armored woman, taller than me and holding a giant axe. Probably the leader. To her right, a dark-skinned man with white healer’s robes and a spear in one hand. His other hand glowed with what had to be the remnants of the light spell earlier. The third one, on the left, looked like some sort of mage. The mage wore blue and green, but in the low light, I couldn’t make out much more than that.

I glanced back at the soldiers I’d brought. Both were on the ground, icicles sticking through them. The mage’s work, most likely. Ice shards covered the ground by my feet, from the one that had bounced off me.

An ambush. Was it meant for me? That’d take a lot of guts. Time to see if they can live up to it.

The leader charged towards me. Behind her, the healer and mage began to gesture, weaving new spells. I raised my left hand towards the healer and threw a bolt of lightning at him, knocking him off his feet. With my right hand, I raised my sword to parry the leader’s axe.

Even as I deflected her blow, I felt her strength. Had to be enhanced with magic, like mine. Could be fun to test my might against her one-on-one, if I didn’t have her fucking friends to worry about.

I turned my attention to the mage and prepared to send out another lightning bolt. Before I could, another icicle flew towards me, sturdier than the others. It smashed into my side, piercing my armor.

The woman’s axe came down again. I turned, the icicle digging further into me, and deflected it at the last moment. Sloppy. Need to fix this. I threw the lightning I’d gathered into her face, and she stumbled backward. As she did, I ran for the mage.

I ripped the icicle out as I moved, allowing the wound to begin healing. I saw more ice spears forming in the air around the mage – but this time, I had an answer. I tossed a lightning ball forward, towards the mage's face. It exploded, the mage dropped, and the ice shattered.

I raised my sword. Before I could carve through the mage, something hit the side of my head, with a flash of light and heat. As my vision blurred again, I swung down at the spot where the mage had been, hitting nothing but dirt.

My eyes cleared, and I saw the mage standing a few feet away. I tried to step forward, but my feet wouldn’t move. Looking down, I saw ice forming around them, holding me in place. I sent lightning into my legs, exploding outward and shattering the ice and –

Before I could get moving, my knees exploded in pain. I toppled forward, realizing the leader had carved through both of them. Roaring with rage and agony, I rolled onto my back, trying to get some more distance from her. Ichor poured out of my legs and I felt them begin to regenerate, but I needed to buy time to fully regrow them.

I reached for my biggest spell. Lightning gathered in my chest, then burst out in all directions. It struck each of my attackers, sending them flying back.

My legs finished healing, and I returned to my newly-regrown feet. My veins ached from all the magic I was using. I’d have to finish this soon, if I didn’t want to run out.

Or I could run. But blood knights don’t run.

The leader and healer stood back up as well. They looked burned, but not seriously hurt. Guess those two have pretty good magic resistance, as well. The mage was still on the ground.

“I’ll hold him off,” the leader shouted. “You help Rain!”

She charged at me, as the healer ran for the mage. Rain, I guess. I lobbed a lightning ball towards the fallen mage, hoping to catch them both in the blast. The healer countered with a blast of light, knocking the ball off course, and it exploded harmlessly a ways away.

Before I could do anything else about the other two, the leader reached me. I blocked her swing, then sent lightning into my sword as I retaliated. My weapon collided with hers in a burst of heat and sparks, and she staggered backwards.

I advanced, taking aim at her throat. Time to finish this. As I raised my sword, an icicle slammed into me, pierced into my stomach. I let out a gasp, tried again – light crashed into my face, and my vision blurred once more.

The leader moved. I tried to block, but it was too slow, too clumsy. Her axe sliced through my right elbow, and I shouted in pain as my arm and sword dropped to the ground.

I backed up, fighting to keep my eyes focused. I began to heal my arm – just gotta regrow it, then I’ll figure something out. I raised my remaining hand, called for a lightning bolt –

The lightning dissolved into harmless sparks. Something inside me twisted, faltered, and the ichor flowing out of my arm turned back into blood.

Fuck.

The woman grinned. She lowered her weapon and watched me, waiting to see if I had anything left to try. I didn’t. Taking one hand off her axe, she punched me in the face.

I dropped to the ground and fell flat on my back. My muscles ached, I could barely even move. Rain and the healer joined the leader, standing over me.

Rain’s eyes glowed green for a moment, as the mage examined me. “He’s out of magic. Alice got him to burn the last of it.”

The leader – Alice – nodded, and turned to the healer. “Good. James, do your thing.”

James kneeled next to me. He grabbed my left hand – I tried to wrench it away, but I was too weak even for that. He reached into a pouch, took out some sort of shiny powder, and rubbed it against my skin. The powder gave a soft glow, from whatever spell he was casting.

He looked down at me and smiled. “Sweet dreams.”

Everything felt so heavy. My eyes fell closed, and I slipped into unconsciousness.