Among the Val Kyr part 11

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As with nearly every meal in Val Halla, lunch was a virtual feast. I was sitting at a table with Julie and Nicole, with a plate full of food in front of me. Lindrell probably would have been eating with us as well if it wasn’t for the fact that she’d been called in to talk to Freya. I was just thankful that Shannon had her own business to take care of as well, because even though she was always professional towards me, she couldn’t hide her suspicions and dislike.

“I love being Val Kyr,” Julie exclaimed, holding up a pastry. “I can eat all I want and never get fat…”

“Oh yeah,” Nicole agreed with a grin of her own. “That has got to be one of the best parts of being Val Kyr. Before my val was awoken, I used to diet all the time…”

Julie nodded at that, though she had a slightly wistful expression. “I do kind of wish I’d been able to graduate first. And I had planned on college…”

I frowned slightly, remembering how eager Julie had been to go to college and get an education. I’d been so concerned about everything that I’d lost by becoming Val Kyr that I hadn’t really thought much about what she’d given up. Of course, she’d actually had a bit more choice than I had, but it still couldn’t be easy to give up on old dreams and goals, even in exchange for something like being Val Kyr.

“I never had the grades for college,” Nicole admitted, shrugging at that. She was actually about two years older than Julie and I, but compared to most Val Kyr, we were all little more than children still. “After graduation, I ended up working as a barista, and I’d probably still be there if I hadn’t been recruited for this…” She shook her head faintly. “I REALLY miss my MP3 player and texting my friends, but this is still really cool.”

“My Kindle,” I stated. “I just wish I was able to bring that with me, or at least some books…” Of course, there were other things I missed as well, but it was a little safer to talk about my Kindle than it was my lost manhood.

Nicole gave me a sympathetic look, obviously thinking about what I’d given up. Then she looked to Julie and said, “At least you can go back to school later. A lot of Val Kyr do that, going back to school or taking time off for other things. You might not believe it, but Bethany has a masters in engineering and Lindrell has a degree in history.”

“Not surprised,” I said, remembering that Lindrell had been my history teacher before all this began. It just turned out that she was a LOT more qualified to speak on history than I’d ever realized.

“Why would they go back to school?” Julie asked, looking a little confused.

“To keep in touch with the modern world,” a new voice said from behind us. I looked over at Natalie, who’d obviously come for Julie. “I was born in Alabama…in eighteen thirty-two.” Her expression was grim, and since she was a black woman who’d been born in that place and time, I had an idea of what her life must have been like before becoming Val Kyr. “The world has changed a lot since then, and it has changed even more for the older Val Kyr. If we don’t constantly work at it, we’ll be left behind and unable to function outside the walls of Val Halla.”

“I can imagine,” I said, wondering just what the world would be like in a hundred years. It was an odd thing to realize that I might very well be around to see for myself. And what would it be like in five hundred years? In a thousand? I shuddered at the thought.

“We’re going to be training in the fourth courtyard this afternoon,” Natalie told Julie. “We’re going to practice with stone, so be prepared to work.”

“That reminds me,” Nicole said, giving me a curious look. “Are you coming back to jatta town soon?”

“I don’t know,” I responded with a shrug. “This afternoon, I’m going to be in the kaern hall.”

“Wow, I’m kind of jealous,” Nicole said, looking sincere. “I mean, I’ve been curious what the kaern and notru halls look like, but you’re the only one I’ve heard of who gets to go into any of the training halls they want.”

“The advantages of not having a pillar,” I responded wryly.

“I have to admit,” Natalie responded with an amused look. “I’ve always wondered about the other halls too…” She gave me an expectant look, as though waiting for me to describe what the other halls looked like.

“I haven’t seen the kaern hall yet,” I reminded her, though I suspected that it was probably built to the same dimensions as the other two.

“Then you’ll have to tell us what it’s like tonight,” Julie insisted while Nicole nodded agreement.

Once we finished eating, we scattered to head to our different directions. While Julie started for the fourth courtyard and Nicole went to join up with her triad for group training, I began heading towards the building that contained the scales and the training halls.

I was crossing an open courtyard in the middle of Val Halla when I suddenly heard a loud roar, coming from a somewhere outside the walls. I froze at the sound, knowing it was a daemon and feeling a chill of fear as I remembered the daemons I’d previously encountered face to face. Though I wasn’t having nightmares about my experience anymore, I hadn’t forgotten it. I knew that even if I lived to be a thousand, I’d never be able to do that.

After glancing towards my destination, I changed direction and ran towards the wall and the stairs that led to the top of it. A couple minutes later, I was staring down to the barren ground outside the wall, and to the three daemons that were wandering around. I gulped at the sight, remembering the warnings I’d had about there being an occasional siege.

Then as I watched, one of the daemons suddenly let out a yelp of pain and jumped back. An arrow was sticking out of its side and another one appeared in its eye a moment later. Though the daemon was still alive, it turned and ran back into the mist while the other daemons followed close behind.

As soon as the daemons were gone, I looked around for the source of the arrows and it only took me a moment to find it. A woman was standing much further down the wall, holding a bow which was already notched with another arrow. She released the arrow into the mist then turned to look towards me.

“Fleur,” I exclaimed in recognition.

The other convert started walking towards me along the wall, smiling when she got closer. “Michelle,” she greeted me pleasantly. “What are you up to?”

I glanced over the wall towards the daemons had been, then answered, “I was on my way to the kaern training hall when I heard the daemons and came up to take a look.”

“The kaern training hall?” she responded in surprise. “But you aren’t kaern.”

I shrugged at that, feeling self-conscious at the reminder that I didn’t belong to any of the pillars. “Since I don’t have a pillar, they’ve been having me take turns training with each of them.”

Fleur gave me a curious look. “Well, I was just about to head there myself, so I’ll accompany you.”

“You’re kaern?” I asked, already knowing that from the green sash around her waist. And then, there was also her bow. I hadn’t seen any archery equipment at all in either the jatta or notru training halls, but I had noticed some kaern walking around with bows.

“Oui,” Fleur agreed with a smile.

We arrived at the entrance to the kaern training hall a few minutes later, though Shannon was already standing there waiting. “You’re late,” my teammate stated simply.

“I’m afraid that was my fault,” Fleur quickly told her. “I was giving Michelle an archery demonstration.”

Shannon hesitated a moment before saying, “Then I suppose that was an appropriate use of her time.”

As we went inside, we were met by another Val Kyr, a woman I recognized at Ailsa, the third general and head of the kaern pillar. Ailsa had shoulder length auburn hair and was almost petite by Val Kyr standards, standing at 5 foot 7 and having the same kind of tight gymnast build that Natalie did.

Ailsa gave me a flat look and simply said, “I’ve been instructed to allow you within this hall. Do NOT abuse that privilege or it will be revoked.” With that, she turned and walked away.

“She was friendly,” I commented wryly. Fleur smiled faintly at that while Shannon remained impassive.

“If you don’t mind,” Fleur told Shannon, “I’d like to accompany you and Michelle.”

Shannon stared at her with a frown, probably remembering that Fleur was a convert too. After several seconds, she responded, “Very well.”

I actually felt a little relieved at that, since while Shannon might be part of my triad, and she’d always treated me professionally, I still remembered what she’d told Lindrell about me. I was glad to have someone a little more sympathetic to my situation along as well.

Then I looked over the hall, which was built as I’d imagined, with the same physical layout as the two other halls. However, the main room was split lengthwise, with one side being set up with weapons racks and fighting rings. The other side was set up as an archery range, which was currently in use by several Val Kyr.

“As Lindrell has told you,” Shannon told me, “the kaern specialization is in awareness and perception. Our senses are sharp and we are much more aware of our surroundings…and sometimes of distant events. We even have the ability to manipulate the perceptions of those nearby, creating illusions.”

“And you can’t forget our reflexes,” Fleur added pleasantly. She looked at me as she explained, “We sense things around us more thoroughly and process the indications a little more quickly, so we are able to react a little faster than other Val Kyr as well.”

We went over to the fighting rings and watched for several minutes as several women fought with each other using swords. The kaern seemed to prefer swords for close combat, though the archery range made it clear that they also liked using bows. I imagined that with their senses, they could see quite clearly at long distances.

“Our senses are our greatest asset,” Shannon told me, leading me back to one of the side rooms. “We practice fighting in the dark so we can learn to use senses other than sight.”

Shannon gave me a sword, then she closed the door behind us. Fleur stood back, watching with a faint look of amusement as Shannon closed the shutters and removed all light, leaving us in darkness.

“All Val Kyr have stronger physical senses and a greater awareness of their surroundings than normal people,” Shannon said. “Most Val Kyr are quite capable of functioning with very little light at all, yet only the kaern can function without even the slightest trace. Stretch your senses as far as you can…be aware of your surroundings.”

From the tone of Shannon’s voice, I suspected that she didn’t think that I’d be capable of doing that. However, she was going through the motions anyway, treating me the same as if I was a kaern recruit, even though she expected me to fail. I grimaced at that, determined to prove her wrong.

I’d already discovered that my senses were much sharper than before, that I could often feel things around me without even having to look. Since I could sense when someone was using their val energies, I focused on that. I could feel Shannon on the other side of the room, and the more I focused on her, the clearer she became to me.

Shannon slowly moved closer, then she swung her sword at me. I raised my sword and blocked, much to her apparent surprise. We traded sword blows as we began to spar seriously, the same way we did in normal training sessions. However, before long, she began to speed up, moving faster and faster. She began reacting to my moves almost the instant I decided to make them, obviously showing off just what Fleur meant when she’d talked about kaern reflexes. I moved as fast as I could, but I couldn’t quite keep up.

We sparred in the dark for over half an hour before Shannon called an end to it. “Your reflexes are too slow,” she told me. “You need to react faster if you want to be effective.”

“She moves slow for a kaern,” Fleur pointed out, giving me a curious look. “But I think she reacts quickly for anyone but. And she was able to fight in the dark, far better than most who aren’t kaern.”

Shannon gave me a curious look, then nodded. “True.”

“Perhaps we should demonstrate our illusions,” Fleur suggested.

“A good idea,” Shannon agreed, smiling faintly. “This can be extremely useful against daemonites and normal humans, though most deamons are immune.”

“What about Val Kyr?” I asked curiously.

“Most can see through the illusions,” Shannon admitted. “If they think to do so.”

With that, she demonstrated what she was talking about. I could feel her pushing her val energies out towards me, much the way I’d sensed the notru releasing their essence. However, the kaern energies had a slightly different feel than the notru essence, and they flowed through the air without becoming a part of it as the notru did.

Everything around me seemed to blur and shift, and then Shannon suddenly looked like Lindrell. However, that only lasted a second, and as soon as I focused on who she was, everything was back to normal.

“I can see how that would be useful,” I said after a moment.

For the next half hour, Fleur and Shannon had me doing exercises to push out my own kaern energies so I could try doing that trick myself. It was obvious that Shannon expected me to fail, so I worked as hard as I could to prove her wrong. And though I was able to push out a tiny amount of kaern energy, it wasn’t anywhere near enough to pull the illusion trick.

Since I couldn’t manipulate anyone else’s senses, I sat there for several minutes focusing on my own. I let my senses stretch out as I had before and began to pick up bits and pieces of conversation from around the kaern hall. Then I recognized one of the voices and focused on hers just a little more. Jass.

“I can’t believe Ailsa is letting that convert into our hall,” Jass complained to another girl, sounding rather bitter as she did so. “She isn’t kaern…or ANYTHING.”

“What I’m curious about,” the woman she was talking to responded, “is why Lindrell went out to recruit that Julie girl, and ended up coming back with the convert too. After all, Lindrell isn’t even a recruiter. Shannon was the one who was supposed to go on that mission.”

“That’s right,” Jass exclaimed. “Didn’t Shannon say that she was the one who’d scouted Julie’s grandmother and great grandmother to see if they’d make a good Val Kyr? Shannon has been watching that bloodline for over a century, so why did Lindrell get sent instead of her?”

I was startled by what I was hearing and suddenly had a LOT of questions as well. But I was so distracted that I lost the conversation and realized that Shannon and Fleur were talking to me again. I gave them my full attention, trying to hide my embarrassment.

“Many kaern serve as archers,” Shannon told me, “offering ranged support as our special abilities are often less than effective in direct combat. Our senses let us see at a greater distance than any other pillar, so this works well with our abilities.”

“You use a bow?” I asked Shannon, more out of curiosity than surprise. So far, the only weapon I’d seen her using was a sword, and I hadn’t even seen her carrying a bow around.

“Shannon usually works as a scout,” Fleur told me with an amused look. “Or she focuses on causing misdirection and confusion among our enemies.”

Shannon nodded faintly at that, then admitted, “My archery skills are…adequate. However, I haven’t touched a bow in nearly a decade.”

“Then it seems that I am to demonstrate this,” Fleur said, leading us towards a weapons rack which contained a wide variety of archery equipment.

I looked over the selection of bows, noting that there were long bows, recurve bows, and even modern compound bows. I smiled as I took one of those and then tested the draw. The draw felt pretty weak so I tested a few others, finding that all of them seemed to have a pretty light draw. Still, I found one that I thought would work.

“You seem familiar with a bow,” Fleur commented, watching me curiously. “I didn’t think most people knew how to use a bow anymore.”

“My dad taught me,” I told her, getting a curious look from Shannon. “We used to go out bow hunting all the time.” Of course, that was before Dad lost his job and everything went downhill.”

Fleur smiled at me and said, “Then let us test your skills.”

When we went to the area that was set up as an archery range, I found that Jass was already there, practicing with a blow along with the woman I’d overheard her talking to. Jass gave me a dirty look when she noticed me though her companion made a clear point of simply ignoring my presence.

Jass looked to Shannon, smirking faintly as she commented, “Trying to teach her to shoot will just be a waste of time.”

I made an effort of ignoring Jass and focused instead on taking my place and focusing on my target. I notched an arrow, drew the string back, and let the arrow fly. It hit the target, but not anywhere near the bullseye.

Jass let out a sharp laugh. “As I said…”

I didn’t let the bitch get to me since that was the first time I’d ever used that bow. I wasn’t familiar with it yet, so I adjusted the sight and then shot another arrow at the target, getting closer. Then when I readied my third arrow, I decided to try using my new senses, pushing out with my awareness and focusing on the target. The whole target snapped into place with much more clarity than I would have gotten if I’d been using binoculars or a scope, and I could fell the path between myself and the target. I could feel that with the way I had the bow aimed now, I would still be three inches off from the center. I listened to this strange sense and made the proper adjustment. A moment later, the arrow struck dead center.

“A lucky shot,” Jass muttered, giving me a glare before demonstrating her own skill and hitting the bullseye as well.

“Way to go Hawkeye,” I mused with a grin. Then I glanced down at myself and let out a sigh. “Or maybe Katniss would be more appropriate now.” I let out another sigh, thinking that I was going to have to find new role models. But somehow, I didn’t think I’d ever find myself relating to Leia more than Luke or Han.

“Nicely done,” Shannon commented, her expression carefully controlled.

I fired a second shot and got it into the bullseye as well, then a third. Now that I’d gotten a little more familiar with the bow, not to mention this strange new sense I possessed, it was quite easy. But while I was doing this, Jass kept glaring at me and then firing shots of her own, most of which hit the bullseye though one missed by nearly two inches. I smirked faintly at that.

“Impressive,” Fleur told me with a look of amusement. “It takes most new kaern a bit of practice before they’re able to match those results.”

“I’ve been practicing since I was eight,” I admitted, remembering all the time Dad and I had spent out in the back yard, shooting at targets. I really missed those days.

“You may not be kaern,” Fleur said with a smile, “but I think you may have just earned yourself a place as an archer.”

“Perhaps,” Shannon agreed, giving me a thoughtful look. “But how would she fare with a moving target?”

After this, I spent the next two hours practicing with the bow, shooting at various moving targets which were set up on the other end of the range. At first, it took me a couple shots to get the hang of it, but this wasn’t the first time I’d worked with moving targets, and these ones were a little more predictable than a live deer usually was.

The entire time I was shooting, Jass remained in her position, trying to one-up me and demonstrate that she was better. However, unlike Nicole, she wasn’t able to really manage that. For most of the practice, it seemed that we were evenly matched…at least once I’d get a practice shot or two off whenever we shifted things up.

“I think she’s proven herself a capable archer,” Fleur told Shannon when we were finished. “I would be quite happy to have her standing by my side during the next siege.”

Shannon gave me another curious look, perhaps in surprise at discovering that I actually did have something to offer to the Val Kyr. Of course, archers who’d been practicing for centuries like Fleur, would probably still kick my ass, but at least I’d proven that I could hold my own.

“We’re done for now,” Shannon told me. “And since Ailsa hasn’t banned you from the premises yet, I’ll bring you back for further training another time.”

“Thank you,” I told her before I started for the exit.

As I was leaving, Jass went up to Shannon and began talking to her, so I stretched my senses to listen in. “Why did Ailsa let that girl in here?” Jass asked Shannon, obviously upset. “She isn’t kaern…”

“No, she isn’t kaern,” Shannon agreed in an even tone. “But her admittance and training were ordered by Freya.”

“But she’s like Estrid,” Jass pushed angrily. “It’s only a matter of time before she kills someone…”

“Do NOT speak to me of Estrid,” Shannon snapped at her. “Estrid murdered a member of my triad…someone I was close to…so you don’t need to remind me of what she was, especially since those events happened more than two centuries before you were born.”

“I’m sorry,” Jass apologized, actually sounding sincere. “But this convert is a threat and…”

“Whether or not I think Michelle should be Val Kyr,” Shannon responded firmly, “she is part of my triad. And as such, if you insult her…you also insult me. I will hear no more talk against her until such time as she’s proven herself dangerous to the Val Kyr.”

I finished walking out of the kaern hall, filled with mixed emotions. As with the other training halls, I’d proven that I just don’t have enough kaern to do the same kind of tricks that they do, that I just couldn’t measure up to their abilities. But on the other hand, I had proven my skill with a bow and had at least earned Fleur’s respect. If nothing else, I might find my place among the Val Kyr as an archer.

And then there was Shannon, who confused me a great deal. I knew that she didn’t think I should be Val Kyr and she’d made it perfectly clear from her attitude that she didn’t like being on the same triad as me. From what I’d overheard, I now understood some of her reasons as well. But even so, she’d defended me to Jass, so I just didn’t know what to make of my teammate.

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Comments

One of the things I've always liked about your stories

Is that everyone is human. There are no moustache-twirling villains, who do evil for the lulz. Even the antagonists have some defining backstory and positive quality, and even the protagonists have flaws.

Of course, the fast pace and enjoyable dialogue just make it even better. Thank you for sharing a new story in a new world.

I am seeing how she might

I am seeing how she might become one of the most powerful Val Kyr since she is just under the threshold of the pillars she is able to combine them or at least I hope to see that. Like she maybe able to use a bow with a lot high of pull on it and shot for a greater distance maybe even use some the magic to augment the arrow in some way.

Loving the world!

northmiester's picture

I'm quite enjoying this new world you are presenting! It is a fascinating take on the idea of the Valkyrie. I'm also loving how you aren't letting the setting and magic swamp the character development. It's one of the qualities I appreciate most about your stories...

So who commands within a triad?

At a guess that would be the Kaern as they have the best situational awareness. Problem is, how truly do each member of the pillars understand the abilities of the others as ones with pillars never go through a training rotation with the others. This brings up the question of how effective a triad is as soon as it loses a member.

Also, as another commentator pointed out, Michelle needs a heavier duty bow. It is reasonable that she will have more range but possibly compromised accuracy at long distances but definitely heavier hitting power at shorter ranges as at a guess she may very well be two times or more as strong as a standard notru or kaern and she might be able to imbue the arrow with something extra *shrug*.

essence and constraining

I expected Michelle to push her essence INTO her weapon/implement in this chapter.

Crosstraining is important for special ops teams and they are twice as large as a triad.

I keep getting the feeling...

erica jane's picture

That there may be another pillar that is only available for converts. Maybe I'm crazy, maybe not. But I just have this sneaking suspicion that Michelle is going to discover it.

~And so it goes...

I'm thinking...

That the reason Michelle didn't register with one pillar is that she's equally proficient with each. Meaning she's a level 0 now but may be able to build up in each with practice and experience in every pillar and have all the toys in the end instead of just one. If that's the case after 500 years she may be quite powerful. Just a guess but it would be cool. :)

You have to be yourself! You're the only one who can be...

~Jessi

I guessed wrong in part

I figured that the Notru would be the prejudiced bunch and Kaern would be the wait-and-see bunch, since the Jatta had proven to mostly be a friendly bunch. Looks like Kaern is home to the most active prejudice against poor Michelle, while the Notru are almost as accepting as the Jatta.

That said, not even the Kaern seem truly bigoted against her, just standoffish. We'll see whether this guess is better than my last one. The Kaern could end up being a terrible thorn in Michelle's side if their prejudice is more deep-seated than it currently seems.

It would seem that in the

It would seem that in the future when Michelle gains more knowledge she would make a good triad leader seeing as she is being trained ian all he disciplines unlike the others which seems strange that the leaders aren't cross trained so they know what their other members are capable of.

Bows

Ameria's picture

Michelle is almost as strong as a Jatta which seems to be a lot stronger then the average Kaern. She needs a much stronger bow then she has.

Another message from Hissy the Snake.

No one

understands just how powerful of an allie Michelle will be for the Val Kyr till one of the daemonites actually allows her to show off just what type of warrioress she is. Freya has been all but non existence so far. I have a feeling since we got just a little tid bit from our author that Lindrell was sent instead of Shannon that there is a lot more to this than just a convert. We havent been told what specialty Freya has either. The Val Kyr would not follow or have a leader who all 3 of the Disciplines would not follow. There fore Freya must Also have the abilities of all as well.

SDom

Men should be Men and the rest should be as feminine as they can be

I was thinking after I wrote

I was thinking after I wrote my comment that Freya very well maybe like Michelle in that she has no pillar since I do not think that the other pillars would follow someone of anther pillar. Also I wonder if training may get Michelle into all the pillars since it has been said she is just shy of being the weakest in them. Maybe with practice she can reach that threshold.

Interesting turn of events here.

Shannon looking surprised then grudgingly accepted that Michelle just might actually have a place among the Val Kyr.

One thing that occurs to me

As a potential reason why Lindrell was sent to recruit Julie instead of Shannon. It might have been a personal issue of interest on Lindrell's part.

I was re-reading part 1, and noticed that we don't actually know anything about Michelle's mother except that she left when Michael was a toddler, shortly after his father lost his leg. Could Lindrell be MIchelle's mother, who maneuvered to get the mission so she could check in on the family she had to leave behind? Or, possibly, Shannon is her mother, and was pulled from the recruitment mission because she wasn't supposed to get involved with a mortal man, much less have his son? It's even remotely possible that Estrid is her mother, and ran and hid when she saw Shannon hanging out monitoring Julie's family. That wouldn't explain Lindrell getting the mission, though.

All pretty much long shots, especially the Estrid idea, but I can't help feeling that Michelle's family is going to be in some way significant to the future of the story.

Choosers of the slain

Ameria's picture

I agree that Michelle's family will be an important clue that is how Morpheus writes. I'll even make a guess at how. The Val Kyr function as 'choosers of the slain'. Lindrell would have made Michelle's dad a Val Kyr after his leg injury if converts hadn't been banned. She may or may not be his mother. I'm sure that is part of the connection.

Another message from Hissy the Snake.

An Archer

Enemyoffun's picture

I was wondering where the Val Archers were. I was going to suggest giving Michelle a bow and I'm glad that seems to be the case. Then again I'm a little partial to archers anyway lol.

So Shannon...

It feels like Michelle and Shannon might become very close eventually! I love this story, Morpheus. Thus far, this is my favorite serial you have written.

But the age difference, oy!

I could see it now:

Michelle: But, but Shannon you are over 200 years older than me? What would people think?

Nice

I liked getting additional insight into the pillars. Now we know that Michelle has some of every pillar's skills, I wonder just how far she can go? I also think that troubles are going to find her soon. Let's not forget that young Val Kyr are targeted before they can become too strong.