clak

"Have you started using split yet?"

"I'm trying." claklik "It's a struggle."

"Well you've only been exposed to it for a few months at this point, so its surprising you are even at a level where using it is a possibility. Normally it takes years for someone to develop the ability." shriii "Focus on doing it consciously first, then incorporate more motions until it becomes natural."

"Yeah, I know. I don't have that 'instinct' you all have."

chak

"Even babies have to learn to walk. You'll get used to it. Are you going to pick up your sword or are we done for the day?"

"It's almost six, so I would like to work on other stuff."

"Do you want some guidance on split? I don't mean to disparage Titanyana, but she doesn't seem to be the best at articulating that sort of information."

". . . I can put some work off for that. Yeah, I'm far enough ahead for that."

"What would you even work on anyways? I can't imagine there is all that much to do."

"There's more than you would think. Ship and equipment designs, timetable management, production queueing, doctrinal development, logistical planning, there's always something I could be doing."

"You do all of that?"

"Not all at the same time, but yes."

Trebar was a general, a marshal, supreme commander of the Holifanian Theocracy's armed forces, but even he didn't know how to do most of that stuff. Design and production elements aside, he would need a ridiculous amount of help for stuff like doctrinal development, logistics, and timetables. Those weren't things you could do alone.

"Really? Alone?"

"Don't worry about it." Trebar was going to worry about it. That just didn't seem human. "So, anyways, split. I have a pretty big question. How do I get the split out of the crystal."

"What?"

"Titanyana gave me and Diana some of her split crystal winnings from the tournament, but nobody here knows how to use them. A certain someone said they could give us a boost, but they've just been collecting dust on my bedside table."

"Wouldn't Sanna know? I see him using them quite frequently."

"Apparently his family views absorbing them to be a massive waste of resources, so he doesn't know how."

"Oh, I suppose they are the optimal catalyst for split sorcery. Sure. I'll show you."

"Great! Can I go get some?"

"It would be difficult to show you without one here."

"Figures. I'll be back down in ten. Do ask the maids if you need something to drink."

- - - - -

Even after all their time together training, Trebar could not say he had a solid idea of what Donovan was. This wasn't an assessment of his character, but rather a field assignment. Trebar did not know where he should put the errant Terran in the hierarchy.

Putting him at the lowest echelon was not a good idea, at least for the moment. He lacked the necessary combat skills to cut it on the front line, same with his understanding of unit operations, but he had yet to express a concrete understanding of the necessary tactics. He was new, a blank slate, but showed incredible promise with regards to just about everything. 

It wasn't that he didn't understand tactics, quite the opposite, it was that he didn't know any or how to properly employ them. He thought in an age beyond gunpowder, the art of poking someone with a sharpened stick was not something he had been sufficiently exposed to.

"Hey Trebar."

"Cholst. Are you headed out?"

"Yeah. I've spent the day here, but I've got a date tonight."

"Very well. Just remember we have a tournament tomorrow."

"I'd never forget."

"Wait." Trebar stopped Cholst just as he was about to disappear behind the door. "Where do you think I should put Donovan?"

"Huh? He's fine where he is, isn't he? The bottom is where you start." Cholst put one more word in before he rounded the corner. "Don's still new to this shit, give him time." Trebar closed his eyes and scoffed. Where did Cholst get off with making a valid point?

Then he shook his head and sighed, staring blankly ahead as he let his body rest. Even if he could fight for a long time, the lengths to which Donovan pushed him during practice tested his limits. That was the purpose, but it didn't make him feel good. How Donovan could go for hours baffled him. Didn't his arms get tired? Didn't it become hard to breathe? Didn't he wake up in the morning groaning in pain?

Kerefel and Zulf, the two people he expected to thrive in this environment, had their pride crushed under the boot of Donovan's training regime. Sure, they were better suited physically for training without split, but Donovan did not let them rest on their laurels. If they weren't on the ground by the end of the session, they would be at the next one. Stokkie, Anbel, and Rashtvice suffered similar fates, their punishment for causing trouble. 

"Lord Trebar, some water." One of the maids had appeared on the patio with a pitcher in hand, likely of her own volition. 

"Thank you." He didn't want the water, but he wasn't going to dismiss her without saying anything. He hadn't really taken note of it in his own barracks because of the crowding, but these women worked hard. He wasn't sure he would be able to do the same repetitive tasks everyday for years on end. "I appreciate your hard work."

She placed the pitcher on the table and curtsied before heading back inside. Trebar, now caught wondering what a normal life was like, frowned. He didn't even know where to begin. What was 'normal'? Did he know anybody who could be considered normal? Could the people of the Holifanian Theocracy be considered normal? On the whole, probably not. 'Normal' was probably the life of a peasant working their days away to survive. Undesirable, but normal. 

"Here, I brought three."

"Three?"

"Is that not enough?"

Trebar set aside his shock for a second, reminding himself that Donovan was clueless. To the standard noble who lived under a yellow star, those three crystals were equivalent to about a year of training. Their worth diminished the better one got at absorbing split, however they were still incredibly valuable.

"One would have been fine."

"Oh, okay. I just brought one for me, one for you, one in case I screw something up."

"I find it incredibly unlikely that you of all people would be able to ruin a split crystal."

"Noted." Donovan still tossed one of the orange-yellow crystals in his direction. "Let's get started. How do I do this?"

Trebar caught it and looked at Donovan with a twinge of disbelief. Wasn't this an incredibly important item in his development? Did he really have the leeway to be so loose with it? Donovan beckoned him to join him on the patio, leaving Trebar to set his worries aside.

These crystals were Donovan's, what he did with them was up to him.

"First things first, let me see what you are capable of. Hold your index fingers parallel to each other about a knuckle's width apart and pass a strand of split across it."

"Can my hands touch?"

"Yes, just not your fingers."

"Got it." Trebar watched Donovan take a deep breath before shutting his eyes and exhaling strongly.

Personally, Trebar had never done that in preparation to use split. Even when learning, the most he had ever needed to concentrate was to tilt his head and furrow his brow. He didn't doubt that Donovan needed this little ritual to use split, he had neither the instinct nor the experience, but Trebar recognized it as something that could hinder Don's performance in the future. Having a tell for when you started using split was all the warning an experienced combatant would need.

Trebar watched Donovan struggle for a few seconds thinking he had failed before noticing the faint strand between his fingers. Shaky, wobbly, varying in size and strength, Trebar did not believe he had ever seen something like this. Children could get a consistent strand, this twinkling red thread barely qualified as a pass.

"Is that the best you can do?"

"Mmmm-" The thread disappeared as Donovan's concentration broke, leaving him heaving for air, "-bwahh! Fuck! Yeah, yeah that's all I can do. Is it not good enough?"

This was less than desirable. If that was all he could do then it was entirely plausible that Donovan wouldn't be able to absorb the contents of the crystal within a year. Given his current pace, it might more efficient for him to absorb split the normal way.

"It'll do."

Or maybe this was a good thing. Donovan needed practice if he wanted to get better, and this was as good a way as any to teach him control. Split crystals were among the best conductors of split Trebar knew of, so it might provide him the opportunity to channel split outside of his body effectively for a time. He wouldn't have to worry as much about the strand dispersing, so he could focus on other aspects of it.

"Good. Now what?"

Trebar took the crystal he had been given and held it between his index fingers. Sending a strand of split through it, Trebar made sure Donovan could see the glowing line. This was a demonstration before he gave an explanation.

"Do the same thing but with the crystal in your hands. Don't worry, it should be easier than with just air. Try to keep your eyes open and look at it while you do so. You should be able to see where you are at that way."

"Okay."

Donovan wasted no time. Pressing a finger on either side, he once more took a stab at sending a strand across. At first, the biggest difference that he wasn't closing his eyes. He was still squinting, but his eyes were open. It was only after a few seconds of silence that a wildly flailing thin red line appeared amidst the oranges and reds, a line that was short lived as Donovan's concentration broke. It had surprised him, or maybe it had just garnered so much of his attention that he forgot to maintain the flow. Either way, the line was no longer there. 

"Surprised?"

"A little startled."

"I suppose that's to be expected. Try it again, and keep your focus this time. I understand that it is difficult, but getting control over your strands is vital to using them in a fight."

"Yes sir."

Once more the line appeared, but it didn't vanish quite so quickly. It did weaken and waver, dispersing at certain points where Donovan's control waned, but for the most part he was managing to keep it up. Trebar struggled to call it stable or consistent, but it was there, and it was persisting. After a few tens of seconds it almost felt like Donovan had managed to reign it in a tad.

'A tad' was really more of a relative term here, the level of control Donovan expressed did not come anywhere near Trebar's requirements, but it seemed to be a little bit more solid, a little bit more real. It could just be random chance or his eyes playing tricks on him, but Donovan looked to be making progress.

"Alright, that's good enough for now. I would suggest practicing with one of these crystals to improve your control before you actually start absorbing, but I will give you an example of how its done for when you are ready."

"Thanks."

"It's my pleasure."

Trebar ran a strand through 'his' crystal once more. It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough to created a lingering orange-red line that extended through the center. It was visible enough to cause Donovan some degree of awe, the perfect state for Trebar to give him a lecture.

"It is relatively simple, the strand must contain the intent to consume. More specifically, your intent should be to absorb the split contained within the crystal. I don't know the specifics, but I have been told that the split will then attach itself to your strand as it travels back into your body and to your core."

"So it's like a sewer."

"I would not use that analogy, but if that helps you visualize it. . ."

Donovan nodded and put a hand on his chin, pondering. Trebar didn't believe that determining Don's thoughts would be a fruitful endeavor, so he just remained silent and let him work out whatever was being tossed around in there.

"Can I give it a shot?"

"If you think you can handle it, I won't stop you."

"Would you coach me through it?"

"The intent?" Donovan nodded. "It's no different than the way you attach intent to your voice. Simply think it to be so and it shall be done."

"That simple?"

"Its as simple as it gets."

"Okay."

Donovan once more assumed the position, this time licking his lips. He was eager, a plus in Trebar's eyes, but it made his inexperience all the more apparent. This was exciting to him?

"M-!!" The crystal dropped from his hands as Donovan recoiled in shock. "Motherf-, what was that?"

"What happened?"

"I fucking shocked myself or something. Does that happen often?" Donovan inspected his left index finger as Trebar fell into the depths of confusion. "Look, it seared my finger a little." Don held his hand out for Trebar to see. Sure enough, there was a brownish-black dot where the crystal must have been resting. 

Trebar frowned, not quite understanding how that had happened. He had never been shocked by a split crystal. Nobody he knew had ever been shocked by a split crystal. Why him? Did his concept of absorption include some form of electricity? Extreme heat perhaps? It wasn't impossible, but did Donovan really possess the capability to do any damage with it?

Trebar could only say no to that, which meant this was something else.

"Let me see." Trebar leaned forward and grabbed Donovan's hand, pulling it closer. This dot wasn't due to a short burst of extreme heat. It wasn't a result of electricity either. If anything, this looked more like the result of . . . "By any chance, did you attempt to absorb the entire contents of the crystal in one go?"

"Huh? I don't think so, I just tried to absorb it like you said."

"Hm. Maybe it's my mistake then. Next time, try to adjust your intent to be 'only so much as I can handle'. You should have better luck with that."

"Should I give it another shot?" The other crystal was already between Donovan's fingers.

". . . go for it." Trebar left him to his own devices while Trebar inspected the recently discarded crystal. It was faint and slowly disappearing, but a thin red strand akin to a bolt of lighting was suspended amidst the oranges and yellows, either end being where Donovan's fingers had been.

Did Donovan really almost start an instance of split decay on himself with just a medium-grade split crystal? It certainly looked like it, those surface level skin cells being on the precipice of decay, but was that even possible? Could someone really draw so much split out of a crystal in such a short amount of time that the instantaneous concentration was great enough to start the process? Trebar didn't know, but he hoped his most recent advice was sufficient enough to stop it from happening in the future even if Donovan could.

"Woah."

"It feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's like a little tingle in my chest giving me life."

"Mhm. Well, don't let that 'life' go to waste. Make sure to fuse it into your core. These crystals are up there on the list of split sources in both terms of quantity and quality. Once you get good enough at manipulating split to handle a greater volume consistently, I think you'll find your progress accelerate by leaps and bounds."

"I can see why."

"Yep. Just remember to practice. I really can't offer you more advice than that."

cakeonfrosting

Coming up on 200 chapters, I'm sure you all know what that means! Shilling. Its almost time for me to get on my hands and knees and beg.