Interlude Two : Lessons
I heard a cough outside the entrance to my tent and went over to see who was there.
"Good morning, Ka'shi'an," said Shakiel, who was waiting patiently outside, "your first set of students has arrived in the Groves."
"My first set of students?" I asked, a little puzzled.
"I told you this when we first spoke, a few days ago. Among other methods our Lord Michael has prescribed for your rehabilitation, you are to take some classes here. Surely this should not be too difficult for you, given your rôle on the Corporeal."
"Not difficult, no..." I replied, cautiously.
"You seem uncertain," he commented.
"More I think I'm surprised."
"Take it as a good sign," he answered, "at least our Lord is willing to allow you to take on these duties. Indeed, he specifically suggested you for this particular group of students."
I looked at him and shrugged, to be met with a stern look.
"You came here to be helped," Shakiel answered, "do you not trust us to do that for you?"
"Of course," I answered.
"Then trust that we have judged your progress well enough to think you are ready for this," Shakiel answered, impatience in his voice. Then he paused and gave a slight smile. "Ka'shi'an, at times you could try the patience of a saint. Come."
"If you will give me a few moments to prepare, I will join you out there."
He paused a moment, then shrugged.
"That is acceptable," he replied, and turned to walk in the direction of the reception area for visiting angels from other Superiors. I went back into my tent and stood regarding my heart for a few moments, centring, and then after one or two other preparations, I went to find my mentor.
He was standing with a group of six other angels - three Malakim, a couple of Mercurians and a Cherub, unless I missed my guess. Four of them seemed alright, almost expectant. However, I detected a certain amount of wariness from one of the Malakim, which surprised me slightly, and I got the distinct impression that the Cherub would rather be somewhere else: not completely unheard of from Choirs less geared to fighting on the front lines of the War, but normally they came around soon enough.
"There you are, Ka'shi'an," Shakiel said, as if he hadn't seen me thus far that morning, "your class. Their Superiors have decided that they will soon be ready to take their first foray onto the Corporeal, and wanted to sharpen up their abilities to make sure that they would be capable of defending their vessels and fighting the Enemy once they are there."
"I still do not understand why this is necessary for me," said the Cherub, almost sulkily.
"Because our Mistress says it is," replied the Malakite I had noticed as being ill at ease, "that should be all you need to know."
"Our Mistress also says we should not fight," the Cherub replied, which instantly set alarm bells ringing in my mind. Alarm bells which reminded me of Dandelion and Burdock, "indeed, one of her main tenets is that we should be peaceful."
"If we have a choice, yes," replied the Malakite, "but we might not always have one, and she understands that, too."
At that point, I wondered for the first time if his discomfort was actually due to embarrassment. Malakim of Flowers are rare, and I understand are treated with non-comprehension by certain other servitors of Novalis who have difficulty accepting that my own Choir has a place, among them. Certainly the Cherub looked at him with a degree of distaste, and then shrugged.
"As she wills."
"She does indeed," said Shakiel, smoothly, "after all, it would be most awkward for you if a mortal under your protection were to come to harm because you were incapable of defending them on the Corporeal Realm.""
Before the Cherub could argue, Shakiel continued.
"Perhaps introductions are in order at this point."
Taking my cue from him I nodded, and said "I am Ka'shi'an, Malakite Servitor of War. It is my honour to have been selected as your tutor."
I tried to sound convincing, even though I wasn't entirely sure "honoured" really covered it - at least as far as the Cherub was concerned. In fact, I had the distinct feeling that she was going to be a decided pain in the backside to teach - especially given my remembrances of other Servitors of Novalis I had known. However, there was no point being obvious about it, and I had a feeling in the back of my mind that this was all part of the process as far as Shakiel was concerned.
The two Mercurians answered first.
"Kysar, Mercurian of Stone," said the one, with the other, in a very similar voice adding, "Sakyr, Mercurian of Stone."
I managed to avoid a smart assed-comment involving them being a chip off the same block, but I got the distinct impression of "male" twins - or at least angels created together, presumably by Lord David, rather than in the way I had been. Certainly there was a surprisingly strong resemblance between them.
Instead I bowed slightly. "An honour to meet you."
Then two of the Malakim announced themselves, as Breacan and Garion. While angels do not have gender in the way of mortals, I got an impression of male from one and female from the other. Then they turned to look at the other two members of the group.
"I am Cavale, Servitor of Flowers," said the Malakim, thus confirming my worst suspicion, "I am pleased to meet you, Ka'shi'an Sensei. I have heard of you."
That piqued my curiosity. I guessed a few stories had circulated amongst the Malakim since my return, as my situation wasn't all that common, and there was a good chance those stories weren't entirely complimentary. And yet Cavale seemed genuine enough in his statement, even down to the honorific, which he was certainly under no obligation to have used. Indeed, I was actually surprised that he would know it or would use it up in the Celestial Realm.
I smiled a little nervously and commented "I'm not quite sure how to take that."
"However you wish," came the reply, although I detected no sarcasm or duplicity. He glanced at the Cherub, obviously waiting for her to speak. However, when she didn't answer, he continued, "this is Maryta, my co-Servitor."
She nodded, but said nothing further.
"Perhaps we should begin," I said, after a moment's uncomfortable silence.
"That would seem wise," Shakiel said to me, "if you need me, then I'm sure you'll send me word."
I nodded, and we headed for the training area, trying to decide if Shakiel had set this up for the sole purpose of trying my patience, or whether there was a more positive reason for it. The Servitors of Stone seemed quite keen, as did Cavale, but I was aware of Maryta in the way you are aware of a large, dark cloud lurking on the horizon.
While I was an experienced teacher, in my rôle in the Corporeal my students wanted to be taught - after all, my classes had never been mandatory, even at the university, and were popular enough that they didn't need to be - and when I had taught in the Groves, again, my students wanted to be there, or at least accepted their Superiors' wish for them to be there. Maryta's attitude, therefore, of hostility to me and disregard for her Superior's wishes, was a new one to me.
I decided to try not to let it bother me, and attempted to get down to business.
"What experience have you had up until now?" I asked the group in general.
"Our Lord David has made sure that we have been taught to fight, both unarmed and with some larger weapons," answered Garion. That made a certain amount of sense. After all, Lord David is well aware of the duties of the Malakim and would likely encourage his Servitors of that Choir.
"Although our brothers have naturally had more training in those areas," supplied one of the Mercurians - I think it was Sakyr, "for us, I understand, Lord David wants us to have experience of such things from another perspective."
I nodded and turned to the two Servitors of Novalis, and unsurprisingly it was Cavale who answered, although he appeared a little hesitant.
"My training until now has been rather less advanced than that of many others of my Choir," he said, his tone neutral, "however, my Lady has decided that despite the differences between herself and Lord Michael, here would be the best place for me to be taught the appropriate skills I have lacked until now."
I turned to Maryta and waited to see if she was going to be willing to say anything this time.
"I do not wish to be here," she said, finally, "and I do not understand why I have to be here."
Cavale sighed, and in that moment I felt a great deal of sympathy for him. Knowing what Dandelion and Burdock had been like to work with, I guessed he was in for a hard time. Novalis has to be the last Superior I would want to serve - although, I suppose if she had created me, I would feel differently...or I wouldn't be a Malakim.
"We've been through this before," he said to her, quietly, "we are to be assigned together, and while, if there is trouble, my purpose is to protect you, our Lady knows that nothing is certain - after all, if things go wrong I could be taken out of the picture unexpectedly - and therefore you must at least know how defend yourself and those you must guard. We cannot afford to let those we protect come to harm because you were unprepared for the possibility of needing to fight to help them."
The thought crossed my mind that Novalis didn't seem to have thought that way with Dandelion, but then I didn't know where Cavale and Maryta were to be assigned to - although it sounded like it wasn't going to be an easy job - and there have to be more dangerous places than Southampton.
Well, probably.
She gave him what could only be described as a dirty look, and then turned her attention back to me.
"I take it from this that you've never fought in any way, shape or form..." I stated, knowing that if this was Shakiel's way of seeing how my patience was going to bear up, he was likely to be disappointed. Again. I took a deep breath and made a conscious decision to try to prove him wrong, "...and have no desire to."
"Correct."
"And you think all the problems of the world can be solved by sitting down over herbal tea and talking about it?" I asked, hearing the ice in my voice and wishing I didn't. More patience, Ka'shi'an, more patience.
The dirty look was turned towards me.
"And you think all the problems of the world can be solved by violence, Ka'shi'an," she replied, "much like the rest of your Superior's Servitors."
"We are fighting a war," I answered, "and in wars, violence can be necessary. Which, after all, is why you..." I extended my glance to take in the others "...have be sent to the Groves for training."
"Just the answer I would have expected from a Malakite of War," she answered, with distaste.
"Maybe, once you have been down to the Corporeal realm, you will understand," I answered, "perhaps around the first time someone you are attuned to gets injured and you taste dissonance. Until then, it would appear that nothing I can say or do will convince you of the mistake you are making here. However, I don't intend to fail your companions. So..." I turned to the others, "...shall we?"
I collected some staves and blades from the armourer, and then took my group to one of areas of the Groves off to one side. I placed the weapons against one of the trees and then looked at my group of willing and unwilling students.
"First we'll run through some unarmed work. Then we can move on to those," I said, indicating the weapons, and I started the workout.
The differences between my students quickly became obvious. Breacan and Garion were both quite competent already. All that would be needed for them was some slight sharpening up of their skills - a couple of days' work, little more. The twins, as I was beginning to think of them, needed some work, but had potential. Cavale? The feel I had from him is that he was inexperienced but keen to improve, and realised that the lands of his own Superior were not the place to do that.
And then there was Maryta, who didn't even try to go through the motions.
After fifteen minutes, she hadn't moved, despite my best attempts - and they aren't that bad, given that I do this for a living on the Corporeal.
After twenty minutes, I was becoming acutely aware that there were angels around where I was working who were watching my failure to bring her into my class.
After twenty-five minutes, I was feeling decidedly uncomfortable, despite the fact that the others were working well and would have been a pleasure to train with under other circumstances. Even Cavale was getting into the spirit of things, and although my assessment was that he had a lot more work to do, he had a lot of potential to be quite an acceptable warrior. Pretty impressive for a Servitor of Flowers.
But that was eclipsed by the figure off to one side, refusing to work with myself or any partner I assigned to her, even her own co-Servitor of Flowers, and the small group of other Michaelite Servitors who appeared to have gathered to watch my discomfort.
After thirty minutes, I snapped. I crossed over to her, my feeling that I was being made to look a fool in front of my brethren feeding my temper.
"I've had enough," I said, finally, my voice rising in anger.
"Good," she replied, her tone sounding sharp and whining, "maybe that means you'll stop trying to force me to participate in this ridiculous proceedings."
"Your Superior's will is ridiculous, is it?" I hissed. She didn't answer, but neither did she look in the slightest bit contrite. I continued: "I've never had the misfortune of meeting an angel who cared so little for their Superior's will before. Your arrogance is incredible."
Still nothing, not even any words in her own defence, and that was the final straw.
For all my faults, I have always followed my Superior's will without question, as have all of the angels of my acquaintance. Her actions, therefore, were inexcusable to me. I crossed to her, only just controlling my actions.
"You...will...learn," I said, my voice raised and clear, "starting with a throw."
And I proceeded to demonstrate. After all, teaching someone to land after a throw is one of the basic techniques in my line of business. I took her arm and overbalanced her, so that she ended up on her back. She looked up at me, a combination of surprise and outrage on her features. I pulled her back to her feet and repeated the process, making sure I told her exactly what I was doing, why, and how it should help her as I did it. Two times more, then three I did it, although even then I couldn't make her react.
Then I set it up to give her the opportunity to return the favour. She stood, her expression still one of outrage, and for a moment I thought she was going to react as she tensed, but the move died aborning. Having taken enough from her, I turned her opportunity into another throw, this time rather harder - although still controlled - and once again she was on her back on the ground.
"How dare you!" she exclaimed, finally, "you Malakite brute."
She scrabbled to her feet, and came towards me - furious, but completely lacking technique. Her momentum overbalanced me and I fell back, but as I did so, I brought her down with me, and with a brief twist she was once again on her back. I got to my hands and knees and was trying to decide whether to take things any further, especially as she'd finally shown some fight, when I felt a firm hand on my shoulder.
"Enough," came Breacan's voice. I stopped, and with a last look at Maryta I stood and brushed myself off. Then I turned to look at him, and saw that the expressions of himself and his stone-faced brethren were impassive. Neither approval nor disapproval, although I suspected the latter.
"We understand how difficult your position has been made here," Garion continued, "especially given the reason for your return..." I winced at that, but it was inevitable that given the Malakim desire for self-policing, the difficulties I had experienced on the Corporeal were likely to have done the rounds. "...however, it would be better to abandon the one who will not learn, in favour of those who will."
I guess it was as close to a condemnation as a Servitor of Stone was ever likely to make. However, it didn't do a great deal to improve my mood just then. In the meantime, Cavale crossed to Maryta and helped her to his feet. He looked far from impassive. Rather, he seemed hurt and embarrassed.
"Ka'shi'an," he said, quietly, "I truly apologise for the actions of my co-Servitor. I did not realise that she would so go against the will of our Superior in this matter."
"Just get her away from here," I said, anger still rippling through me, "I never want to see any of your flower-loving kindred again, let alone ever have the misfortune of teaching any of you. You are all a complete waste of time and effort."
And with that, I turned on my heel and strode purposefully towards one of the deeper areas of the Groves leaving him, her and my other pupils speechless in my wake.
I walked for some time, and it was a while before I regained enough control to even start speaking the mantra to calm me. The trees seemed larger than usual, and the light seemed to be having more trouble than sometimes piercing the canopy, almost as it was reflecting my somewhat dark mood. Eventually, however, as I calmed down, things seemed less dark. Indeed, the light seemed to be getting brighter and I could feel warmth in the air.
I looked about me, trying to get my bearings and expecting to see no-one. However, for some reason I wasn't surprised when I saw Shakiel approaching me, his expression suspiciously neutral.
"That could have gone better," I said with a sigh, "you did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"Of course," he replied, his tone matter of fact.
"I assume you consider that I've screwed up - and I imagine you expected that."
"Actually, I do not, " he replied, "indeed, I would say that that went better than I had anticipated."
I looked at him, incredulous.
"The advance information we had received about Maryta indicated that something like this might happen. However, her Superior still insisted that she come here for training."
"Why?"
"It is not my place to know the Lady Novalis's reasons," came the answer, "although I can hazard some guesses. For example, perhaps the hope was that faced with the inevitable, the Cherub would cooperate. Or perhaps it was hoped that she could be taught to appreciate that the other Choirs of other Superiors all have their place in the War - even Malakim of Michael. Or perhaps her wilfulness and the possibility that she might act against her Superior's will was suspected, but needed to be proven before she was assigned to the Corporeal world where there are more temptations. As you well know..."
I felt myself bristling, until I saw the last comment softened with a smile.
"Whatever the reason, however, what is done is now done. She has returned to her Superior and will not be welcome in the Groves again until she has learned a few other truths about the reality of the War."
"And me?"
His expression darkened.
"Once again your pride is talking, Ka'shi'an," he answered, his tone harder, "what makes you think that any of this was about you?"
I looked at him, temporarily speechless. "But you said...?"
"I said what? 'Of course' when you asked if she had been given to you as a pupil on purpose. That is true, but it is prideful for you to think that that was done because of your reasons for being here, not hers."
I stared at him, trying to work out if he was serious, or if he was going to give any indication that he did not mean what he had said. However, he did not. I will admit, I had assumed that it was my patience that was being tested, not Maryta's attitudes, especially as I had been assigned the class by Lord Michael, but as I regarded Shakiel's emotionless face, I began to doubt.
"However, if you have learned from this, Ka'shi'an, so much the better," he said, finally, "your assessment of the others?"
"The Malakim of Stone will be ready quickly - they are well advanced in their training, as I would have expected. The Mercurians will need longer - probably a couple of weeks, maybe a month, but they will get there."
"And Cavale? I trust you are aware how rare Malakim of Flowers are."
"Well aware," I answered.
"And how rare it is that their training is entrusted to us? Given the hostilities in the past between Lord Michael and the Lady Novalis."
"Well aware," I repeated.
"And especially that one of them should ask for a specific teacher from amongst the Servitors of War - to whit, yourself."
I nodded, feeling embarrassed at the anger I had felt towards him and my hostility, despite the fact that he had done his best and deserved neither.
"Did your pronouncement on refusing to ever teach another Novalis Servitor because they are a waste of time and effort also apply to him?"
I paused a minute, then shook my head.
"The words were spoken in heat."
"The heat of anger?" he asked mildly, and I nodded. What else could I do? I had succumbed to that sin in the sight of my own brethren. There was no hiding it.
"I understand he is waiting with the others. The Servitors of Stone. He returned to us after escorting Maryta back to the their region of the Celestial."
"I am surprised he came back," I replied.
"He knows his duties as a one of the Malakim, and knows that it is his Lady's will that he be here," Shakiel replied, and I thought I heard the rebuke in his tone. Then, once more, it softened. "He also expressed a desire to remain under your tutelage...if you are willing to accept him once more as a pupil."
That was almost the strongest rebuke of all.
"Why?" I asked, finally, surprised at the revelation, "why me?"
"I would guess from that that you have no idea of the reputation you've acquired among some of the younger members of our Choir."
"None of it good, I assume," I replied, but in response he smiled.
"Never assume, Ka'shi'an. It makes an ass out of you and me," he answered, and then gestured in the direction of the training area I had been using. "Go. See to your pupils," he said, firmly, and then turned around and left without waiting to see if I followed his instructions.
I watched his retreating back for a moment, and then steeled myself and headed in the direction he had indicated. After all, to teach others to fight in the War was the overall reason for one of my Oaths, even though the specifics related to humans. In a way, though, refusing to return to my students, if once they were assigned it turned out that part of their purpose on the Corporeal was also be to help train the humans, would be breaking that Oath. That and the fact that if Cavale still wished to study with me, it was my duty to give him all the help he could get, given how difficult his task was likely to be.
Before anything else, though, I was going to have to come up with an apology...
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Feather And Bone