Chapter 19:

  The weeks that followed his deal blurred together as time seemed to speed up for Eli.

  At dawn, Eli ran a circuit of the town. After he had made training his excuse for sneaking out his father decided to make it a regular part of his warmup routine. He claimed that the varied terrain provided a more robust warm up than simply going in circles on the well tended grounds of the training yard. Rain or shine he would wake early, and just as his parent’s had decreed, Kara ran beside him. She was a good companion, and Eli honestly did not mind the company. Her stride was steady, her measured breathing an easy metronome by which he pushed himself to match her longer stride.

  Eli had even managed to ensure his attendant, Cailean, could participate in the training. The boy was determined, and he often dragged agonizingly but diligently in their wake. On the days Aria joined them, she and Cailean would commiserate in silent misery as the group pushed forward on their set route.

  Without much more to do than train, plan, and wait, Eli's life fell into somewhat of a routine.

  Every other day he increased the difficulty of whichever exercise he was doing. Whether it was adding a half lap to the circuit, or moving from flat ground to the hillier terrain outside the mill. He eventually began to incorporate resistance training as he doubled back through the small river that bordered Lira instead of crossing the bridge. When that became too easy, he began to subtly use magic to create resistance for him to run against. This way he could train his elemental control along side his physical conditioning.

  Eli wove mana into his own muscles, created cages of air around his body, and forced himself to push until he reached his limit, and then push just a little past. Efficiency; he was always looking for ways to make his training better, more challenging, more efficient as nobody felt the passage of time more keenly than he.

  After the run he worked to shore up his foundations. Technique and sparring filled the rest of his pre-breakfast training. Half-speed drills with his father at first; parries, ripostes, shield work and cross-weapons training. Then came the timed sparring under his father’s watchful eye. When the Lord Rodrigo could not be present, the head trainer would fill in as instructor or guide. It was a noticeable downgrade in the quality of instruction – Eli technically outclassed the man in pure combat skill, though the head trainer for the Rodrigo elite blades had a longer reach, stronger overall build, and had gone through the first stage of body tempering.

  When his father wasn’t around Eli used those sessions to address any corrections he had been given instead of trying to improve on things he was unclear about or learn something new.

  Unsurprisingly, Kara adapted quickly to both her new role, and the training. She was very good at catching and correcting her own mistakes, as well as adapting in the moment. It was clear after only a few sessions that she was striking faster, cleaner, and that her combat effectiveness was getting better with each round. When they faced each other in the practice spars, she was excellent at forcing Eli to stay creative and expanding his tactics as she diligently worked to counter everything he showed her.

  Eli had long matched and surpassed her when it came to pure skill, and considering he improved even faster than she did he knew she had no chance of catching up unless Eli were to completely neglect martial training and combat for a long time. However overwhelming power was overwhelming. So long as he limited himself to his mundane strength, and so long as she was bigger, taller, and stronger than him, and was willing to use her physical advantages instead of relying purely on skill, she made him work for every win.

  Eli was not willing to show his full capabilities when the time came to spar her for his ‘freedom’, but he was not willing to lose either. He wasn’t a prideful man, and hadn’t been a prideful boy, but there were some things he would not abide. Losing to an inferior opponent when all he had to do to secure victory was ‘work harder’ was not something he was willing to do. As they trained, he catalogued every weakness in his own movements, measured every flaw, clawed his way towards the unreachable summit of perfection while he still had the time to do so. Then he observed.

  He learned her tells, her stances, when she was likely to feint or commit, and why. He even leveraged his magical talents in different ways to truly wring every iota of progress he could from himself. Once he had done a few lessons with his mother that were mostly review for him, but served as a reasonable alibi, he began using his healing magic more openly during training. He would heal small cuts between rounds. An act that both boosted recovery but also encouraged his trainers to push him harder, faster, farther.

  He refined his self healing and even worked on healing other people when he had the excuse and inclination. If he was not improving, he was wasting time. When his body could take no more there was always his magic to strengthen him and keep him going.

  While he trained his body, he did not forget his other projects. The components for his stasis spatial project came together piece by piece. He had to be careful about procurement and assembly, but with some careful and well spaced-out shopping trips, orders made, and raiding of his mother’s more public reagent supply, he was able to avoid suspicion. Thread was purchased in one market while leather was bought directly from hunters or tanners. Other magical components were slowly compiled from the family’s stores in small bits and pieces. Hidden among his folios and myriad other projects they passed unnoticed.

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  At night, Eli drafted plans and sketched out patterns. His lines were detailed and precise. Elegant script-work was pieced together in formations and etched across practice parchment. Each piece of the puzzle laid out just so. It was bits and pieces now, but when it was put all together each part made up the picture. That picture would become an incredible piece of enchanted gear that Eli was impatient to get his hands on.

  Sela noticed some things. His parents were neither oblivious, nor negligent. He was pushing hard, training hard, studying hard. He had never been a lazy or an ambitious person, but his increased workload was obvious. Sometimes she would check in on him when she knew he had ‘free time’ and once she even came upon his drafts, they weren’t anything incriminating, they were just that – drafts. However, her curiosity was piqued when she took a look at them. Lifting one from the desk, she studied the lines.

  “You’ve been modifying the script on the pouch I gave you.” It was a reasonable guess. There was nothing that would make her think he already had access to (and had created multiple successful) dimensional stasis scripts.

  “It’s only theory,” Eli said, careful. “But it could, work, couldn’t it?”

  Her mouth curved faintly. “It’s a large project. You’ll get there eventually. This is a good start though,” she said. His mother was always careful to encourage him, but to also set realistic expectations. “If you want to try a project like this once your channels have finished developing, we can work on it together.” His mother was clearly excited by the prospect, and Eli wasn’t opposed on principle. It was always good practice to have ones work double checked, and he would not turn down the opportunity to spend time with his mother on one of their shared passions. He just wouldn’t tell her that he was already in the process of creating one already.

  She had been delighted and encouraged, and had left him to continue theory crafting not long after. There was no way for her to know that the pattern she had been looking at was for a much larger, much more complex script that would form the foundation of his base of operation in Lira. What she didn’t know, as the saying went.

  The trick to hiding in plain sight was showing just enough to sate his parents’ curiosity. Improving just far enough and fast enough to be extraordinary and interesting but nothing more than that. Visible effort coupled with invisible gains.

  ~

  Eli often felt his parents’ eyes on him when he trained. From a private balcony above the yard, his parents often watched him. He wondered if they knew he knew, but he didn’t let their scrutiny bother him. He had nothing to hide. At least not when they were watching.

  “He’s frighteningly focused,” Sela murmured.

  Gabriel’s reply was wry. “He’s just like you.”

  “He’ll beat her,” Sela said after a long sparring exchange where Kara faltered but recovered quickly. “Much faster than we anticipated.”

  Gabriel did not deny it. “Yes, but we set the terms. We will see them through.”

  Sela’s pride was quiet, private. He was still attentive in her lessons these days, always focused, always eager to learn, but in the yard he was relentless. It was terrifying, and inspiring.

  Neither parent was truly displeased by Eli’s progress. Their boy was strong and smart. A truly extraordinary combatant, but that didn't mean they didn't worry.

  ~

  The Rodrigo family once again sat at the breakfast table. There was no Aria with them today. Though her presence had become a constant in the past couple months. Eli didn’t mind her absence that morning as he wanted the opportunity to discuss something with his parents.

  Eli did not fidget, or stutter when he addressed his mother and father. Hands folded on the edge of the table he spoke.

  “Father, I would like to challenge Kara.”

  The table went silent. No clinking of cutlery, no murmurs or rustling, just both of his parents’ focused attention. All of it on him.

  “Are you sure?” Gabriel lifted an eyebrow. “It has barely been two months.”

  “Six weeks, five days,” Eli corrected, though his mouth tugged up in the corner as he did. His mother smiled knowingly back at him.

  “Counted, did you?” She asked. He grinned back before schooling his expression once more.

  “I have tracked my own progress. I believe I am strong enough now to travel safely by myself. Not everywhere, I know, but at least within the town.”

  Gabriel leaned back, studying him. “On technique, I agree,” he said, but the thought was incomplete.

  “I am better than her, father. Not just technically,” Eli said. He was not just emptily bragging either. Eli had been better than Kara from the moment he had come back in time. Truthfully speaking, even his pre-time-warping self would have probably edged her out on pure combat technique alone. He was in fact that talented, even at seven years old, but he also had privileges that she could not hope to match up to. Practice time, dedication, and the type of support that someone like Kara simply could not have afforded. “In strength and reach though,” Eli held up his hands. “She’s bigger, older, and stronger than me.”

  Both parents exchanged a look. At least he knew his limits.

  “Why now?” Gabriel asked. It was a fair question in their minds there was no rush.

  “Because I’m not just a blade, I’m a mage too.” He smiled. He’d not just been training martial technique, but he’d been working on mana reinforcement, and discreet casting using exercises his mother and Master Moss had helped him with.

  Honestly, on his more recent discreet nighttime trainings he had astonished himself with some of the progress he was making. He wondered how things might have been different if he knew then what he knew now. Then he shook off the useless train of thought. There would always be things he didn't know, things he wished he'd done, and things he could do better. Wishing he knew what he didn’t was futile, all he could do was act on what he knew now, and move forward with the conviction that he was doing all he could with the information he had.

  Gabriel held his son’s gaze.

  “Three days,” Lord Gabriel said at last. “Evening training in three days. Are you sure?” His normally neutral face became stony, his voice hard and unyielding as his gaze pierced into his son. Testing, gauging.

  Eli stood up, turned to face his father, and bowed his head. “Yes, Lord Rodrigo. I will be ready.” His voice was firm and resolute.

  “Good,” His father said. Eli sat down again and smiled at his parents.

  “Don’t worry too much, okay? Even when I win, I will still take Kara with me if I need to go out, probably Cailean too. Besides, I still have to tell you whenever I plan to go to town.” He said it without bitterness or resentment. It simply was. It cost him nothing to reassure the people who cared about him the most in the world.

  The relief in his parents’ silence was tangible. They would not have revoked their terms, but they had considered sending a Shadow Guard if they hadn’t succeeded in trying to persuade him to take a guard anyway. He didn’t feel the need to let them know that his decidedly non-regular excursions would still be taken unsupervised.

  For now, though, the bout was set. His future was very much in his own hands.