Spiritual Roots

Cal imagined pouring out the story of his misadventures to Liam from the start and felt pathetic. No, he'd never admit it!

"It's okay, I'm just a little tired and homesick," he'd known how to lie professionally since he was ten.

"I hope that's true. And how was the Legion?"

"He's been asking about the Overlord, talking about the past."

"Six more packages have come in since you left."

"I see."

"I don't know what to do about it."

There was an awkward silence. Cal struggled to breathe evenly so as not to give away his humiliation.

"I won't be able to come to see you for a while, I'm sorry," Liam added.

"It's all right, work out your issues, I'll see you later," he said with great difficulty, but his voice didn't waver.

Liam went into Mentor mode:

"Be careful and don't conflict with people, remember that I love you."

Those words made Cal's heart melt.

"I love you too, let's get together soon," Cal replied warmly and felt his voice finally fail him and treacherously shake.

"I will," Liam said excitedly, "good night, Cal."

"Good night, Liam."

The connection broke and Cal was alone. His body was stiff and aching, and a lump of resentment and self-pity was rising in his throat. But he pulled himself together and continued to hang from the pole, waiting for dawn. And he thought of many things at the same time.

Now he has a friend: Celestina's proximity had eased his plight. His "training" had been shortened by a month and a half, which could not be happier either. Unfortunately, he wasn't learning anything and hadn't seen Liam for a long time, which was depressing. And then there was the general's dislike of him...

Why did this man have a grudge against him in the first place?!

Cal could find out the reasons for the general's personal dislike in the morning when Tishow personally visited the training camp. Cal was caught unawares by the practically instantaneous formation on the parade ground: he barely opened his eyes and the sun was just beginning to rise. If anyone noticed Cal, he didn't dare say so in front of the general.

Raising the flag was an obligatory ritual in camp every day and only today had it turned into a farce. The captain looked up and saw the cadet tied upside down. Everybody could see it now, including the general.

Tishow ordered the cadet to take down and kneel in front of the command. Cal could not stand on his feet and sprawled out in front of the general, falling into the dust.

"Worthless! You're nothing but trash!" The general flaunted his army eloquence, scolding the cadet to the amusement of the others. "Forty strokes with a stick!" The general ordered it, and the captain immediately rushed to do it.

At that moment Cal realized that his life was becoming more unbearable by the day, and if this continued, he would die before he was supposed to. The forty strokes were a very painful punishment because they mostly hit his legs.

Cal was already unable to move, plus exhaustion, and as a result, the brave soldier lost consciousness somewhere between the thirtieth and fortieth stroke.

The old man in the hospital bed was in a bad mood again that morning. Mostly because his worst enemy, the general, had arrived, and because the whipping boy had disappeared, the captain's mood had taken a turn for the worse. Because of his terrible temper, there were several empty bunks around the captain.

Toward ten in the morning, a young boy was tossed like a sack of potatoes onto one of those beds. The captain turned his head in surprise and recognized the boy.

"What is it? What are you doing here?" He asked mentally, and a small spark of sympathy seemed to flicker in his soul and immediately drowned in the infernal flames of his hatred for people.

No one approached Cal until almost evening. Then Celestina came and attended to his wounds with the doctor. From their quiet words, the old man learned what adventures had befallen Cal. From his hanging from the pole to the general's taunting, the old man now knew everything and clenched his teeth with anger.

Mentally swearing, he turned away from his neighbor and stared into the void. Cal woke up in the dead of night and at first had no idea where he was. His body hurt like hell and he was thrown into a fever with panic. Celestina came over to him and left a candle on the table.

Then she helped him drink water and told him that the general had decided to ruin his life completely by giving orders to regularly punish Cal and deprive him of half his rations. Cal was not surprised at anything; he grinned bitterly and closed his eyes.

"Look, I didn't want to tell you, but I guess I have to," Celestina whispered, "I can help you get back on your feet."

"What do you mean?" Cal asked.

"I can find your living relatives," she said, seeing that Cal didn't understand her, "your powers didn't come by themselves. The thing is, the gift of scarlet energy is passed from father to son, and that's why I want to find your relatives. I know that your father is dead, as is your mother, but Fabula, my snake, knows how to recognize the spiritual trail. If we can find your relatives, we can break your training contract while you are still not under oath. It will also strengthen your position."

"But my father was a commoner," Cal protested weakly.

"I suspect that in your family the gift has been passed down through the generations, which means your grandfather has the same power, and he's probably alive and well."

"Maybe he doesn't want to know about me," Cal suggested.

"If we don't try, we won't know. Well, you rest now, because I've arranged to keep you as a patient for a few days until you're well. And then we won't waste any time getting back down to earth. Think back to where you were before your father died."

"Okay," Cal agreed, and their conversation was over.

Nearby the captain lay awake, eavesdropping. Mentally commenting on their dialogue, he couldn't help but agree that it would be great to find a living relative, but isn't it possible that a relative is an evil thing? He had one lousy story in his heart that he'd never told anyone, and because of it, he doubted the reasonableness of Celestine's venture.

A couple of days later, Cal was able to get up, and Celestina didn't hesitate to come after him.

"Did you remember anything about your childhood?"

"Yes, I remember more than that," Cal answered.

"What about it?" The woman asked impatiently.

"My father grew up in St. Catherine's Orphanage, he was abandoned there at the age of three. I remembered my mom talking about it," Cal shared.

"Do you know where that orphanage is?"

"Somewhere in the east of what is now Norway," answered Cal, and rushed to catch the plates falling off the nightstand.

His neighboring captain, as usual, showed his irritation with other people's chatter. Deftly catching the dishes Cal automatically put everything back and did not pay attention to the trembling lips of the captain. Gathering his things, he left the infirmary with Celestina.

They arrived in the small town in the dead of night. The loose snow and the soft light of the street lights filled Cal's heart with a strange nostalgia. He wandered down the narrow street until he came to a shelter. Celestina summoned Fabula and she flashed her hypnotic gasps.

As Fabula explored the area with her supernatural powers, Cal imagined his father running out the door of the orphanage, laughing, and the nuns chasing him to bathe him before he went to bed. In general, all sorts of thoughts popped into his head as he waited for Fabula's verdict.

The snake returned to its mistress and reported that there was nothing to catch here, but the man who brought the child here was spiritually gifted beyond measure. The next place they visited was the village where Cal had settled with his parents. Here, too, Fabula heard the trail of the mysterious man, but it was breaking off.

Celestina surmised that such a distinguished man must surely have attended the Academy, and fortunately for Cal, they did not visit any other places of his martial glory. Once at the Academy, Cal begged Celestina for one hour and rushed to see Liam. To his disappointment, however, he learned that he was not in the Aether.

As soon as he returned, the friends continued their search. Fabula acknowledged that the man had indeed been here for a long time, and in general she felt his presence more and more strongly. Since time was short, they decided to head back for now.

Barely stepping off the platform near the training camp, Cal was caught by the captain.

Leaving the training camp was strictly forbidden, and though Celestina was willing to take responsibility, Cal was sent to a holding cell for three days.

The Spellcaster wasted no time in using Fabula to continue her search.

To her surprise, the snake reported that the trail at the training camp was the strongest, but now the man was gone. Immersed in her thoughts, Celestina went to the hospital to monitor the situation. As the woman was walking down the aisle, the old captain grabbed her by the sleeve and stopped her.

"Where is the boy? "In an intemperate tone, the captain asked her.

"Who?"

"Where is the good-for-nothing that has been lying here for two days?" The old man lost his temper.

Wanting to calm him down, Celestina answered calmly:

"He will spend the next few days in the punishment cell for leaving the camp."

"So your search was unsuccessful?"

"How do you know about the search?" Celestina wondered.

"I overheard," said the old man, without any embarrassment, "and now you tell me, the orphanage where the boy's father grew up is at the end of a narrow road and props up a mountain?"

"Yes, that's right, but how do you..."

"And to the right of the orphanage, if you go two hundred yards, is there a wharf?"

"It seems so, there was a river nearby, but how did you know?"

"I see..." said the old man and let go of Celestina's skirt, "come tonight, I'll tell you all about this child's relatives."

Celestina nodded and went to her room. Burning with curiosity, she paced the room, waiting for the allotted hour. She let Fabula go on her search alone, in case the captain turned out to be a crazy old man.

When it was a quarter to midnight, Celestina took tea and some scones and headed for the infirmary.

The old man pretended to be asleep, but in fact, he was deep in thought. When Celestina lit a candle beside him, he immediately opened his sparkling eyes and turned his head toward her.

"Here are some herbal tea and fresh scones," said the Spellcaster.

"Thank you," the captain helped himself to the late supper and closed his eyes blissfully.

Celestina pulled a chair to his bed and froze. After waiting a little while, the old man began his story.