Jason didn’t seem like much of a fighter by the looks of him. He was a little bit taller than Bart and he had short black hair. His goatee was also black and his eyes were green. The fact that he looked like he was at least fifty also made it hard to believe this guy could do the things that he did earlier. Regardless, Bart was thankful that he could do them. There was a scar on the side of his face that seemed rather fresh.
“So how do you know Demetrius so well,” Bart asked as the group walked through the woods.
“Master Demetrius was one of my closest friends as I got older. I learned a great deal from him and his grandfather.” Bart tried to think back to what he had heard about Demetrius and his family. It wasn’t much. All he knew was Demetrius was the master of wielding and that his grandfather was the master before him. He also knew that Demetrius was in some group called the Five. Bart wondered if this guy knew them just like Victoria did.
“So this Master Demetrius is really good then? I mean considering you learned a lot from him. What you did back there was amazing.” Jason just laughed at this question. Bart did feel kind of stupid asking a question with such an obvious answer.
“Yes, Demetrius is a very skilled wielder, one of the best of his time but he is not the one who taught me how to do what you saw back there.” Bart was a little confused but he was more so intrigued. What Jason seemed to be implying was that there was another great teacher besides Demetrius. Bart assumed it to be his grandfather.
“So then it was his grandfather?” Bart asked calmly.
“No, not even Grandmaster Turin was my teacher in those arts,” Jason replied with a smile. Now Bart was really confused. If it wasn’t one of the two Masters of wielding then who could it be? Again Jason seemed to be reading his mind because before Bart could ask, Jason answered. “It was my father who taught me to yield and redirect. Even though he was no Master of wielding, he was an amazing wielder and even better defense wielder. Many even say he was as good as grandmaster Turin but that’s hard to say since it was the grandmaster who taught him.” Bart never even thought that someone else was allowed to teach. He was even more shocked to find out that some guy who was as good as Master Turin wasn’t chosen to become the next master of wielding.
“If he was so good, why did Demetrius get the gig?” Bart asked. Again Jason just laughed at the question. Bart knew he didn’t ask the greatest questions in the world; Charlotte let him know it on a regular basis, but he was starting to get tired of feeling so stupid every time he was curious.
“My father chose the path of the knight instead of the teacher. He loved to defend the Kingdom more than anything and so he became the first knight. He did, however, still teach. You already know one of his other students, Victoria Bloodworthy.” Bart didn’t know that Victoria was trained by such a brilliant wielder, but the thought alone made him a little more hopeful for her survival. Then something caught Bart’s attention. When Bart had talked to Victoria earlier, she had said that Angelo’s father was one of her teachers. Bart wanted to know if Jason’s father knew Angelo’s father. Maybe that was the connection they had. Maybe that’s why Jason had that face earlier. He could be Angelo’s best friend or even family member.
“Who is your dad anyway?” asked Bart, trying to play it cool.
“My dad was Vance Phinnly,” he said quickly.
“So he defended the kingdom, too?”
“Yes,” Jason said with a smile. “Alongside some of the greatest wielders of our time. It’s because of them that he became such an amazing wielder.”
“This is just confusing,” Charlotte said. After all this time Charlotte finally spoke up, and surprisingly it wasn’t about her mother. “All this talk about amazing wielders and warriors who are so strong but they can’t even stop this ongoing war? Why isn’t your father out defeating these enemies after Bart?” Jason wasn’t smiling at this question. In fact he wasn’t even looking at Charlotte. He continued to look straight ahead.
“My father died sometime ago, during the second great war,” he responded. The thought clearly bothered him as Bart noticed a slight change in his demeanor. “This war, although smaller in scale compared to the past two, is still a very difficult war to manage. If it was as easy as meeting the Prince in battle and defeating him, Demetrius would’ve already done that. The kingdom has the resources and the warriors needed to win a fight.”
“So then what’s the problem?” Charlotte asked.
“The Prince is not looking to just fight,” Jason said. “He is sneaky and always has an ulterior motive. It’s precisely those hidden agendas that Demetrius is trying to figure out.” Bart looked at Charlotte who still seemed angry and cold.
“Can’t they just go after him and finish the job?” she said.
“If it were that easy,” Jason responded, somehow keeping his composure under all this questioning. “Yet, Demetrius doesn’t want a full scale war and neither does the queen. If they can ruin the Princes plans and capture him without a war that would be ideal.”
“Sounds like a waste of time to me,” Charlotte said with a shrug. “If you have the tools to end the war before it escalates, I say do it. Why wait to figure out what he’s going to do? What if you can’t stop him? That would be a failure right there.” Jason looked off into the distance for a few moments before responding.
“I must say that you have a natural talent for strategy in war,” he said. “I can hear it through your words. However, let me offer you this advice. It is better to know your opponent and yourself before charging in. Because knowing oneself and ones opponent can win the battle before it even starts.” That sounded philosophical to Bart. It also sounded smart. “Don’t just charge in to battle because you have superior numbers. A well planned strategy can overcome sheer numbers.” Charlotte looked like she wanted to respond but Bart knew and she knew Jason was right. Whatever the Prince was planning, it must be dangerous enough for Demetrius to take caution. If that meant avoiding an all out fight to try and prevent an all out war, then so be it.
“Well can we learn some defensive techniques?” Bart asked after they walked in silence for a little while. “I know I felt helpless out there when we were attacked and Victoria was only teaching us offense for the past month. We saw what you could do back there and we’d love to learn that stuff.” Jason smiled.
“I would be happy to show you the ways of defense wielding. I do not believe you are yet ready to learn yielding and redirecting but I can teach you other ways. If you would like, we could begin now.” Bart looked at Charlotte who still had the angry look on her face. He had never seen her like this before, but he knew that what she wanted most right now was to see her mother.
“Maybe after we get to Zathya and the Kingdom we can start,” Bart said, hoping to make Charlotte feel a little better.
“No,” Charlotte said angrily. Bart was taken aback by her response because he was sure she would love his idea. “We should learn defensive techniques Bart. There is no telling what could happen before we get to Zathya, and I don’t know about you but I don’t want to feel like I can’t defend myself anymore. So Mr. Phinnly, if you’d be so kind, let’s begin.” Bart wasn’t prepared for that kind of response especially from Charlotte, but he knew her well enough not to argue with her. If this is what she wanted then he wasn’t going to force her to do anything else.
“In that case,” Jason said with a smile, “follow me.” He turned and walked right through the clearing at the end of the path. Bart hadn’t even noticed that they reached the end of the long trip the woods. Before Bart walked through, he stopped Charlotte.
“Look Char, if you want to go so we can meet your mom, its cool. I’m sure this guy can protect us.” Charlotte didn’t make eye contact but she did respond.
“Bart, I stand by what I said. I don’t want to be an easy target like I have been, and I don’t want to feel so weak. Without defense, we may never get the chance to use offense, and our offense isn’t even that great just in case you don’t remember what happened back there.”
“I remember I just-” but Charlotte cut him off.
“I might’ve been able to protect my dad better if I had some defensive training. Besides, I’m in no hurry to meet a woman who didn’t try and find me,” she said coldly.
“Char, you heard what he said; your mom did want to meet you.”
“Yeah but she didn’t try, Bart. With all these powers and abilities and mind tricks she could have easily found me. My dad is not one of these all-powerful people. All it would take is for her to do a little mind magic on my dad and wham! She could’ve found me Bart. She just didn’t care enough to try.” Bart didn’t know what to say in response because when Charlotte put it that way, he agreed. This new world that they were headed for was full of amazing things such as wielding, and if she was this powerful defender of the Kingdom, she definitely could have found Charlotte. Now that she didn’t, her actions beg the question, why? It also made Bart think about his dad. Why had he never come looking for Bart? Why did he let his mom just run with him? He only cared enough to give Bart a stupid glow in the dark necklace but never to visit. Charlotte was right. No one was going to protect them. They had to learn to defend themselves.
“You’re right,” Bart said. Charlotte wiped away a few tears and walked through the clearing, while Bart stood there angry. He was tired of being attacked and lied to. He was tired of feeling weak and stupid. It was time to take matters into his own hands, and the first step was learning how to wield defensively.
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