Chapter 2 : Battle in the Park

A month had gone by so slowly and so quickly at the same time. Remiel became a little faster, a little stronger, and had learned some swordfighting. He was silently wishing it was enough and he could go back home when the girl next to him nudged him. "Eh-what are yoo doinque?" Remiel looked at her, pulled from his trance. This girl had come from a southern country and spoke little of his language. She had dark hair and glasses, and was a little bit short. Remiel liked being around her because she made him laugh, even if they didn't always understand each other.

"Oh, sorry Belle, I was just thinking," said Remiel, pointing at his head. She laughed and pointed to the front of the classroom. The Knight's Code was being lectured, and Remiel listened closely.
After class had finished, they walked back to the cafeteria together with another classmate, Klaus. Klaus was well built, tall and muscular. He had short blond hair and was a wind magick user. Klaus lived across the hall from Remiel, and they got along rather well. At the cafeteria, there were nearly twenty trainees, most of whom Remiel had never talked to. There were also several lower knights, who had graduated from the program but were not particularly skilled and had no ability in magicks. They mostly kept to themselves, and Jiron often looked at Remiel like he might end up as one of them. Remiel wanted to make this change in himself without the use of magick, but when he looked at the lesser knights, he considered using magick after all. Instead he decided to work his hardest without and see where he ended up.

"Everyone, can I have your attention," asked Vega, standing at the front of the cafeteria next to Jiron. "We have a trip to Glorelia for the knights-in-training that would like to go." Remiel was excited. He had sent a letter the week before so that Sakura would know where to find him in case of an emergency and he was eager to see if she had written back. Belle rolled her eyes.

"I haff to werk. I can' go," she said irritably. Remiel nodded and turned to Klaus.

"Oh yeah, I'm going. I haven't actually gotten to see Glorelia yet."

At a nearby table was Remiel's roommate Thierry, a very big young man who got along well with Remiel. He had dark skin and curly black hair. Remiel looked over at him and mouthed "You coming?" To which Thierry nodded.

After they ate, the knights-in-training put on their uniforms and headed to the assembly area for Glorelia. Luna was there with Relena, Guy, Vega, and Jiron. "We'll be travelling in small groups, so Klaus and Guy will be with Relena, and Jiron and I will take Remiel, Thierry, and Luna," said Vega. They split into two groups and headed into Glorelia, Relena's group into the area of town hall and Jiron and Vega took their group into the school's park area.

Jiron took Remiel aside while Vega talked to Thierry. "Consider this a part of your training. It's a bit unofficial, but I'd like for you to get as much as you can from this trip. Pay attention to the people here, focus on everything and let me know what you think." Remiel nodded. He wasn't about to turn down a request from Jiron after he had stuck out his neck for Remiel. Jiron turned to Thierry and asked him to stay with Remiel while he, Luna, and Vega took care of some business elsewhere. Thierry nodded, and he and Remiel went and sat on a bench.

Looking around, Remiel could see that they were on a long, wide path lined with trees. To either side was were large patches of grass filled with students studying and talking. He tried to concentrate. At first he could hear the students chattering about grades and exams, but as he widened his concentration, he could hear other conversations, about the job market and about friends and families. After Remiel had listened, he decided to sense the people as well. He felt the water in passersby.

He could tell when someone was dehydrated, and he could sense the magical abilities of those around him... or he would have if there had been any people with the affinity for magic. Curious, he widened his search to find the nearest magick adept. He sensed a bit of magick residue, and focused. It was a crow. Remiel was puzzled. He could suddenly feel the crow fixate on him, and began to fly toward him. Before long he could see it, along with dozens of other crows. They had pinpointed his location and were now circling Remiel. Thierry tensed, and the people in the park began to panic. The bystanders began to run away as the crows circled faster and faster, and as they attempted to converge onto Remiel, he rolled out of the way. Hundreds of black feathers fell into one heap before the two knights-in-training, and the heap began to shudder. It rose, and a vaguely human shape appeared, covered in a thick black cloak. It had long, dark hair and greedy yellow eyes, with a very gaunt face with a strange nasal passage that made Remiel think this was still a bird. The crowlike figure smirked at Remiel and Thierry.

"Magick." The figure breathed. Thierry responded by rushing it and throwing a heavy punch. Where he punched a hole went through the figure and several crows flew out. Thierry cracked his knuckles and grinned, but Remiel noticed the birds circling around again. They plunged into the hole that Thierry had made in the figure, and with a deep breath and a shudder, the figure turned to Thierry. It reached out what appeared to be a hand, albeit a feathery one, and Remiel could sense the magicks that the creature was working.

"Thierry, dodge it!" Remiel shouted. At that moment a burst of feathers shot quill forward at Thierry, who jumped aside. The feathers hit several of the trees and the park bench behind where he had been standing, and shredded them to pieces. Remiel grabbed a plank from the broken bench, formed a small blade on it using magick to pressurize the moisture near the tip, and dashed towards the creature. The creature turned to him and attempted the same attack, but Remiel also dodged and turned deftly, decapitating the creature. The head rolled into seven birds, which struggled on the floor for a moment before reattaching themselves to the main body.

"This thing isn't dying, Remiel," said Thierry. He seemed to be looking for another way to defeat the creature.

"Magick," it repeated, and turned towards Remiel. Suddenly possessing a large amount of speed, it flung itself at Remiel and put it's strange feathery hand on his face. Remiel could feel his magick energy leaving him and entering the creature's hand. Thierry ran up and punched the arm, which dissolved into crows again.

"We can't run away, but this is a fight I'm not so sure we can win," Thierry noted. Remiel clenched his fists and prepared to use his water magick, which caught the attention of the crow figure again. It began to inch its way to him as he summoned the energy from the air. He could feel the air around him grow drier and the leaves on the trees began to curl and wither as Remiel pulled the water out of them. Suddenly, a flash tore through the creature, and several of the crows lay dead on the ground. The rest flew away, and Remiel released the energy back into the air.

"Well, it's a good thing I got here when I did," said Jiron. He held his sword, which was glowing brilliantly. "You almost just gave that thing exactly what it wanted. That's a magick eater named Krowe. One of the knights' oldest enemies. He has a knack for seeking out magick, and he's very hard for us to find."

Remiel apologized, feeling stupid for nearly feeding the creature that had attempted to eat his magicks. Thierry stepped forward. "I punched a hole in that thing and it shrugged it off, so Remiel's attack was the next best solution. If we can't beat it with magick and we can't fight it with physical attacks, how did you beat it?"

Jiron smiled broadly, holding his sword for both of them to see. "A knight of Saint's Cross is given a special weapon, forged from their very souls. Their weapons are unbreakable, so long as their will is the same."

Remiel gazed at the weapon. It was a long, silver blade attached to a beautifully made hilt that was also silver with an inlaid topaz at the end of the hilt. It had no magick within it, yet it radiated with light. Remiel could feel the source of it's power, which eminated from the topaz at the end. Jiron saw Remiel looking at the topaz and smiled. "That's exactly it, Remiel. I thought you'd figure it out. You see, the stone that is attached to each weapon is what feeds the energy from a knight into his weapon. It will only shatter if the knight dies." With this Jiron became somber.

"Well at least you killed that Krowe guy." Thierry said.

Jiron raised an eyebrow. "You think I killed him? Not nearly. He'll be back, but next time he won't take chances on you, Remiel. I don't care if you want to make it through the program without using magick, but Krowe was having fun with you today. He won't be holding back next time and he wants your magick for himself."

Remiel felt a lump in his throat, and was not looking forward to the next meeting with Krowe.

Shaking the thought away, Remiel straightened himself and saluted Jiron. "My report?" He asked. Jiron smiled as Remiel recounted the things he had heard the people saying, in great detail. Remiel could tell that he didn't expect the report after the run-in with Krowe.

Jiron took Remiel and Thierry to the town center to see if they needed anything while they were in town, and while Thierry searched through the food stalls, Remiel walked into the post office and up to the front desk. He asked if he had any mail, and the man behind the desk walked back into the adjoining room to find out. Remiel stood there, hoping for the best, but expecting that he'd gotten nothing. After several minutes, the gentleman returned, carrying a single letter. Remiel thanked him and took the letter. It read:

Jinosa,

We're all a little shaken by your sudden disappearance. It's kind of a bad time for all of us, but we're doing our best to understand. I hope you're doing well, and I'm sure that if you give it your all, you'll do great! Rytel is more upset than the rest of us, but you're not the only one he's lost. There's some odd details about Reise's death, and he's been having a lot of trouble, but if anyone can help him sort it out, I think Monique can. The two of them have left the main city but are nearby, and I'll make sure to keep an eye on them. I just wish I... I wish WE could have helped you make this change, but I'm sure you know what's best. Please come back safely.

-Sakura

Remiel put the letter in his pocket and returned to the area where he had left Jiron and Thierry. The rest of the group had joined them, and together they talked about what had transpired in the park.

"Krowe is a threat that we have always been cautious about, and now he's targeting Remiel... and probably any other magick users. Klaus and Guy, I don't want either of you to travel outside of Saint's Cross alone. Remiel, same to you. This is a direct order from your superior ranking knights." Said Jiron. Relena crossed her arms and nodded once in agreement.

"Starting next week, we will be sending teams out on missions. Those of you here will be the first notified of this, but by tomorrow there will be an assembly. I am announcing this now because I would like to say beforehand that given this situation today, magick users like you three will have to be extra careful to hide your energy signiatures. Perrine will be giving lessons for the remainder of the week which will be mandatory for all adepts." Relena ordered, stressing the word mandatory.

After a moment of somber silence, the group split into two again to return to Saint's Cross.