Amelia Thornheart

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Alinyah

The moment Katalin Spoke Alinyah, Amelia felt her eyes widen. The room's atmosphere intensified — humming with anticipation at the inevitable fight. The defenders gripped their weapons tighter and dropped their centre of gravity.

“What the…” Joey mumbled, his voice low under his Taruna transformation.

Amelia peeked around him. The other side of the room glowed in an ethereal, otherworldly colour. It wasn’t a friendly hue. Katalin glowed with violence. It was both ominous like the bloodiest red and yet radiant like warm daylight or a clear sky. Amelia couldn’t describe the colour in any other way, for it was a new colour, beyond anything she’d ever seen in this world or her previous one.

It was ochure, the normally-invisible eighth colour of the rainbow.

Amelia knew Alinyah from the game. She knew how the Word was supposed to work. It was how she knew what she was looking at, despite never seeing it before.

Ochure was the colour of the characteristic glow of a Speaker of Alinyah.

The God of Demonlight.

It was a martial Word, and the ideal Word to use in this situation.

Amelia’s defenders seemed to understand the danger; while Joey stayed between her and Katalin, Ryosuke slowly approached his enemy with careful, deliberate steps. Amelia could see his breath misting from the coldness of his Narean frostbite form. On the other hand, Serena, with her magnificent horns crackling with hellfire, positioned herself carefully while her hot breath steamed from her nose.

Before her mind could take her down a path of inappropriate thoughts, Amelia turned her attention to Nathaniel. The man had taken a spear from the wall and held it tightly as he approached Katalin’s flank. His horns and spear crackled with energy. With every step he and the others took, the tension in the room increased until it was almost unbearable.

She had to admit, she was a little surprised they hadn’t taken advantage of their numbers and exploited Alinyah’s weakness immediately! Although it made sense considering Serena and the other head instructors’ personalities. As noble warriors, they greatly respected Katalin and her skills so it was understandable they would want to see as much of her swordplay as possible. 

Besides, they might think not giving Katalin a fair shot would be disrespectful.

After all, it was only a friendly bout!

At some unspoken command, Ryosuke struck forwards, his sword slicing the air as its blue aura-enhanced blade swept down towards Katalin, who glided out of the way, parrying it lightly. As their blades touched, a melodic note rang throughout the training hall, coupled with a small explosion of demonlight that brightened the room for a fraction of a second.

It was a surprisingly cautious attack for the usually confident Ryosuke. Amelia had seen him launch an all-out attack at Katalin when she instructed, so it was a little strange to see him seem… hesitant. Was he being wary because of the fact that they were all Speakers?

Amelia nodded to herself. That must be it! Serena told her that all training fights were like a conversation, where the exact amount of ferocity and power was slowly established with every exchange.

Ryoksuke struck again with similar results. Katalin hovered over the sandy floor, her entire body moving suddenly as if she were weightless and caught by a blustery wind. It was as if she was ignoring the laws of physics! Katalin could impart more force in her parries than made sense from her floaty stance. Each time her blade struck Ryosuke’s, a pure note would sound, accompanied by a flash of demonlight.

“Ryosuke?” Serena asked, her voice hesitant.

“The light appears harmless,” he growled, taking a few careful steps back. “But her movement… is unnatural.”

“It may prioritise speed,” Nathaniel muttered.

Huh? What were they suggesting? Amelia frowned, but before she could say anything, Katalin raised her free hand elegantly to her mouth, letting out a small titter and saying, “I have no intention of slipping past in such a manner, even though I could.” Katalin’s eyes narrowed. “No, we’ll do this the real way…” With that, Katalin pointed her sword to the ceiling before muttering, “...A proper brawl.” Then her sword came down, and with it, her body flowed like the wind towards Ryosuke.

She struck half a dozen times, each strike flowing harmoniously with the last, coming at Ryosuke from entirely different directions. In one moment, Katalin was hovering to his left, striking at his side, and then in the next moment she had spun around him, stabbing towards his neck. Alongside the elegant violence was the symphony of melodic sounds, and every time Ryosuke countered, Katalin would be somewhere else, either avoiding the strike entirely or parrying it with a gentle touch and a flash of beautiful ochure.

Nathaniel joined in, his crackling spear darting forward, quickly synchronising with Ryosuke to create, in theory, inescapable situations for the Northerner. Yet, every time, the delicate flow of Alinyah defied all odds. Katalin avoided each attack with the same violent politeness as before. It didn’t matter whether they came in from a blind spot, or with a sudden burst of speed as Ryosuke or Nathaniel flared their aura, it wasn’t enough to surprise the experienced Northerner.

When Katalin's blade struck Ryosuke’s, it made a high note. When it struck Nathaniel’s spear, it made a medium note. When the fight's tempo intensified, and Serena joined the fray, low notes began sounding as Serena’s blade was parried repeatedly. The result was a strange melody punctuated with eruptions of ochure. It was almost as if a magical fireworks display took place every time their blades collided.

“Such skill…” Joey mumbled.

Amelia couldn’t help but nod in agreement. Ryosuke, Nathaniel, and Serena were considered exceptional warriors with battle-hardened instincts. Without needing to discuss it, they would position themselves to defend their comrades’ weak sides, while striking out in the most opportune moments. Their strikes were natural and fluent, and the two swords and spear manifested a flurry of attack and defense that would, or should, butcher anyone unlucky enough to stand in their way.

Yet, Katalin and her Alinyah invocation didn’t care what would or should happen.

She never let herself be swarmed by her three attackers, something Amelia understood to be the worst thing that could happen in the early stages of an Alinyah invocation. Katalin wasn’t only defending. She was ferociously attacking them one after another. 

Katalin slashed at Serena in one moment, forcing her to focus on defense. Before Serena could recover, Katlain would be gone like the wind, darting towards Ryosuke to poke and prod at him only to float up several meters before gliding down to attack Nathaniel, slipping past his spear and forcing him to jump away.

Serena’s hellfire sword.

Ryosuke’s frostbite blade.

Nathaniel’s crackling spear.

Each one wrapped in blue aura, capable of slicing or stabbing through the toughest battleship armour. Each one wielded by their hosts, enhanced with divine aether that propelled them into the upper echelons of society. Each one used with expertise that was unattainable to those without natural talent, against one of the most skilled swordswomen in the entire Empire.

But… Amelia couldn’t help but wonder. Were they really going to let Katalin continue generating demonlight? Amelia was sure the Northerner’s Alinyah was close to blooming, after which the three attackers would be at a massive disadvantage. 

Alinyah, after all, was a Word that had to be defeated quickly.

Because it was only weak at the start, before its Speaker gathered enough demonlight.

Amelia always hesitated to assume how much of the game she played in the hospital translated to this world. After all, the game didn’t have floating continents, flying airships, a magical lumina, mysterious Formless or roaming animal gods! However, while there were a few differences, the mechanics of Speaking Words and the Words themselves seemed to more or less match. 

Judging from what she saw from Katalin, it seemed safe to assume Alinyah worked the same.

Like in the game, Alinyah required a focus on evasion and parrying at the start. It was a skillful balancing act that required the Speaker to engage in combat to gather demonlight while avoiding getting hit, for if they did, they would lose their accumulated light in a sometimes explosive manner. Katalin was doing this expertly, even attacking far more than Amelia had seen her guildmates do.

Well, Katalin was that skilled. She could afford to be more aggressive. Not only that… Amelia blinked her eyes, flicking her perception into the Shimmer once more. It was easy to do it with this much aether in the atmosphere. She only reverified what she saw earlier before awkwardly closing her connection to the Shimmer. It would be an uncomfortable conversation, but she’d have to talk with Katalin about it.

It would be okay, right?

Amelia shook her head and focused on the melody of the battle.

“Narean’s Slowing!” Ryosuke invoked, a burst of divine aether rippling from him as he called upon Narean to coat his blade in a shining white ice. He swung his blade at Katalin, and when she parried it, the ice invaded Katalin’s blade..

Katalin didn’t seem to mind and continued to glow ever brighter as she fought her three attackers. Her peaceful expression was replaced with one of intense focus. Her formerly-pale cheeks were now reddened, and her forehead was slick with sweat. As the intensity of the fight escalated, she began flaring her blue aura, needing the extra power to counter the increasingly fast attacks as Ryosuke and the others became more determined to land a devastating blow. 

As their coordination increased, Katalin began using more than just her sword, gliding between her opponents’ bodies and tripping and throwing them at each other. As Speakers they could push against the aetherfield to prevent themselves from colliding with each other or the walls. However, it still served as an adequate distraction for Katalin to avoid a disadvantaged situation or put herself in an advantageous one.

“She’s not slowing,” Serena growled after trying to catch Katalin off-guard with a sneaky strike from her hellfire tail.

Her observation was a daunting one. After parrying a dozen strikes by Ryosuke’s frostbitten sword, Katalin's sword and arm were covered in the shimmering white ice that was supposed to slow down an opponent. Katalin, however, continued unaffected, as if the crackling ice freezing her was a mere decoration.

Suddenly, after blocking a fierce attack from Serena that produced a spectacular amount of demonlight, Katalin’s expression changed. She jumped back, creating distance between her opponents as a sly smile formed.

“It’s been a while,” Katalin muttered, floating in the air.

“What now…?” Joey asked. He hadn’t yet gotten involved in the fighting, faithfully keeping to his role as Amelia’s last line of defense.

“C-careful!” Amelia shouted past him, sensing the twisting of the aetherfield around Katalin. “She’s about to bloom!”

“Bloom?” Rysouke, Nathaniel, Serena, and Joey all questioned simultaneously.

What? Did they know it by a different name? Or did they… Amelia swallowed as a possibility formed in her mind.

Had they never encountered this Word before!?

She’d thought their hesitancy and calculated caution was out of respect for Katalin, but now… Did they just not know how Alinyah worked?

Oh dear. 

This wasn’t good at all!

“The trial ends, the offering accepted,” Katalin whispered, her quiet voice filling the room. 

Katalin's chest, where her heart would be if it was on her right side, began to shine brightly, with rays of starlight and vibrant ochure pushing through the cloth of her uniform. “The heartlight forms,” Katalin continued, her breath misting with pure aether. “The latent power blooms…” With a flash of demonlight and a single powerful note, wings of light erupted out of her back. Ethereal, semi-transparent robes formed around her body, creating a dozen thin layers of light that Amelia knew would be as strong as sixth-tier aura.

“In front of the true power of the North,” Katalin's eyes met the Speakers’ below. The ochure demonlight wrapped her sword, extending its length and creating a shimmering surface that was both deadly and beautiful. Katalin opened her mouth, saying one more word that seemed more of a command than anything else.

“Despair.”

At that moment, everyone in the room swallowed. Amelia could practically hear her defenders’ jaws tighten and their hands squeezing their weapon’s handles. Amelia herself was transfixed on the beautiful sight of Katalin’s blooming form. The wings of light… the shimmering robes… her majestic sword… the words she said…

Amelia swallowed again. Katalin was…

She was…

So cool!

So unbelievably cool!

Had she practised those lines!? Has she done that sequence in front of a mirror!? It was perfectly timed! A natural-born actress! She must’ve worked on the stage before, right!? How else could she send such shivers down Amelia’s spine! Amazing! The next time Amelia had the opportunity, she would do something just like that! It took every fibre of her being not to break out into applause!

“Here she comes!” Ryosuke barked.

Right, she needed to focus! Katalin was the enemy right now!

Katalin’s wings folded and she swooped down, her sword glowing brightly as it slammed into Ryosuke’s defense. Amelia heard the man grunt with exertion, and then in surprise as Katalin released an explosion of power and light from her sword, blasting Ryosuke away. The Northerner twisted, blocking Nathaniel's crackling spear with one wing while swinging her sword towards Serena, half a dozen metres away.

From Katalin’s sword a crescent of light shot out, carving through the floor on its way towards Serena who, seemingly judging she couldn’t avoid it, dropped to one knee, jamming her sword into the ground and putting her weight against her blade. Despite her preparations, the blade of light smashed into her like a runaway train, pushing Serena back a dozen metres and throwing up a mountain of dirt and sand before she finally stopped.

Amelia sensed the attack shatter two of the wards she kept on Serena before her stronger ones, coupled with Serena’s weakening blue aura, held the attack off. It took several seconds for the attack of light to stop trying to burrow through Amelia’s wards and eventually fizzle out.

“Fucking hell,” Joey mumbled. “What kind of Word is that?”

Amelia silently agreed. Alinyah really was overpowered once it bloomed, wasn’t it? It possessed defense on par with a weak Second-Word, while having the ability to produce overwhelming attacks in close-quarters and at range. While it spent demonlight to manifest its abilities, it could recover that light through continued combat!

This was why you always had to defeat an Alinyah Speaker quickly before they could bloom! If you fail to defeat them in the first phase, you’ll be on the backfoot and struggling to survive once they bloom!

Amelia sighed. 

She supposed it was her time to shine. She figured she shouldn’t shout out the mechanics, it would be too difficult to explain why she knew what she knew. She’d already revealed too much by using the term bloom. Per her previous agreement with Katalin, she wouldn’t use Aseco’s magic to attack or heal, unless someone was seriously injured. It was a massive limitation, especially as Aseco’s wards weren’t that exceptional. Still, she could even the battlefield before Katalin utterly overwhelmed everyone else.

“Wards going up!” Amelia declared, spooling her aether. Her magic squealed in delight as it was invoked, her spells rushing across the room to wrap everyone in a golden light. Their recipients took a moment to adjust to the sensation before resuming their renewed attack against Katalin. With the power the Northerner had displayed, they seemed to understand their only hope was a battle of attrition.

And a battle of attrition it became.

One minute.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Through gasps of breath and with sweat coating the sandy floor, they fought. On a few occasions, Katalin found some breathing room and launched a crescent of light at Amelia, only to be blocked by the titanic Joey with his hardened aura. Something about his Taruna invocation meant he wasn’t thrown across the room when he withstood Katalin’s attacks.

Fifteen minutes.

It was becoming clear the three didn’t have enough power to break through Katalin’s shimmering robes and aura, and that Katalin didn’t have enough power to break through Amelia’s wards. They were all trying to be conservative with their aura, only flaring it at the moment they made contact with their blades. Even so, the repeated actions were tiring the three of them out, and Katalin, who had to manipulate her aura far more than her opponents, was showing a weary expression.

Twenty minutes.

The light of Katalin’s sword changed to a brilliant blue, which she then swung at the empty space between Nathaniel and Amelia. As the blade swept through, Amelia felt a terrible tearing sensation with her aether. Nathaniel's golden glow subsided and Amelia felt a weird sense of loss. 

A quick examination of the aetherfield confirmed her suspicions.

Somehow, Katalin had cut the aetherflow, causing Amelia’s ward to collapse.

Amelia desperately formed a new one, but Katalin was faster, getting under Nathaniel's spear and blasting him with a burst of demonlight, shattering his blue aura and throwing him back. He collapsed against the wall, his eyes closing as he fell into unconsciousness.

“One down,” Katalin mused, diving into the air to avoid a joint attack by Serena and Ryosuke.

“She…” Amelia found her words. “She cut off my wards somehow! Be careful!”

Her warning was heeded quickly. Serena and Ryosuke retreated towards Amelia and Joey. It was risky to bring the fighting so close to Amelia, but it meant there was less space for Katalin to repeat what she had done.

That said, she managed it a few more times, but with Joey so close, he could interfere and prevent Katalin from shattering anyone else’s aura. Feeling Serena’s wards collapse worried Amelia, but then she realised Katalin was only cutting the aetherflow in this world, not the aetherflow in the Shimmer - through which Amelia kept Serena’s most powerful wards running.

Twenty-five minutes.

Joey could not make up for Nathaniel's offensive skill, and Katalin found more and more opportunities to slam a devastating strike against his shield. Each time her attack connected, a deep and sonorous sound rang out, like a massive belltower producing a single, determined note. Each time, large quantities of dirt and sand were thrown up, covering everyone in the room and sticking to their sweaty skin. Amelia could even feel the grit between her teeth.

They couldn't push Katalin back with Joey’s lack of offensive abilities, but with his defensive skills, they could stop her from getting to Amelia or putting anyone else out of the fight. Katalin was breathing heavy now, and her shimmering robes had lost some light. The glowing heartlight emitting from underneath her clothes had noticeably dimmed.

Thirty minutes.

Katalin once again cut the aetherflow feeding Ryosuke’s ward. Ryosuke jumped back, ready to let Joey defend while Amelia re-established the connection. Only this time, Katalin didn’t chase. Instead, she slammed her sword into the ground.

“Alinyah’s Devastation,” she said quickly, twisting the sword as the aetherfield contorted wildly.

The room went dark. Katalin’s light momentarily dimmed, then, the ground exploded with rays of ochure light erupting from underneath their feet, throwing them all into the air and shattering Ryosuke’s aura before Amelia could ward him again. It was a blinding area-of-effect attack, with power more in-line with a mage Word than a martial Word.

They had been taken by surprise. Joey frantically positioned himself the best he could, with Serena on his flank. Using her foot, Katalin flicked Ryosuke across the room to land next to the unconscious Nathaniel.

“Two,” Katalin intoned. “Now, ack!” She coughed, droplets of blood falling to the sand. “Ah…” she said, wiping her mouth. “I’ll need to finish this quick.” She flashed a smile, not the smile of a friendly instructor, but one of a predator. Although her condition was bad, her light was dim, and her mouth bloody, Serena and Joey were not much better.

Serena was struggling to keep her aura stable. If it weren’t for Amelia’s wards, she would have likely collapsed by now. Serena had the least experience compared to her seasoned colleagues, and it showed with her aura flickering down to green.

“You don’t…” Katalin pointed her sword at them, gasping for air. “Want to step aside?”

“I am the bulwark,” Joey said between deep breaths. “I shall not falter!”

“You’re half-dead,” Katalin replied. “I will win. I know this. You do not have the endurance.”

“Strange,” Serena said with a laugh, gripping her sword with both hands. “I would say the same thing to you.”

They eyed each other for a few seconds and then, as if in silent agreement, resumed the battle with renewed vigour. Both sides fought in increasing desperation, using dirty tricks to do everything they could to exhaust their opponent before they collapsed.

Thirty-five minutes.

At this point, their fighting more resembled a drunken brawl than a dignified exchange between seasoned veterans. Serena lost her sword, but then abused Amelia’s powerful wards and leapt at Katalin, grabbing her sword arm while tanking a direct hit. She began to wrestle with her to try and take her sword, pulling them both to the ground.

Katalin used her wings to fend off Joey while trying to punch the back of Serena’s head.

Serena used her hellfire tail to slap Katalin in the face repeatedly.

Katalin gave up punching and began throwing sand in Serena’s face.

Serena began biting Katalin’s wrist with closed eyes, like a wolf gnawing its leg to escape from a trap.

Amelia chuckled nervously. Serena once told her every martial duel was a conversation. If that was true, what was being discussed like… this?

By this point, Nathaniel and Ryosuke had woken up. After understanding they’d been defeated, they kept to the sideline, and when Serena and Katalin began tussling on the ground, they began whooping and hollering.

It took almost no encouragement before Amelia joined them, pumping her fist in the air and giving her girlfriend some much needed moral support.

“Go on! Bite her!”

“She’s grabbing sand!”

“Kick her… you know where!”

Serena managed to clamber onto Katalin’s back, and was in the process of rubbing the Northerner’s face in the sand and dirt, assisted by Joey who was holding her wings down, when the door to the training hall opened.

When Amelia saw Grandmaster Shun step through and close the door behind him, she swallowed nervously.

When Nathaniel and Ryosuke saw him, the colour drained from their faces, and they immediately stopped jeering. 

When Joey saw him, he clambered off Katalin’s wings and scrambled away.

The grandmaster was halfway across the room before Katalin and Serena noticed his presence.

They froze at the sight. Katalin's fist was jammed in Serena's mouth and Serena’s hand gripped Katalin's hair, pulling her head back.

For a dozen seconds the grandmaster said nothing.

Then he sighed. He approached the wall and picked up a heavy wooden training sword.

“You kids…” he muttered, shaking his head. “When you’re as old as me, you sometimes forget how immature the younger generations are.” The grandmaster approached the women, his aura flashing into orange and then yellow.

“G-Grandmaster!” Serena stuttered, removing Katalin’s fist and climbing to her feet.

“Ahem,” Katalin coughed politely, trying to straighten her clothes. Even her ethereal robes were loose, and her wings of light, barely visible, drooped as if in submission.

“Narean,” he said, pointing the sword at Serena. He then slowly aimed it at Amelia. “Aseco,” he continued.

“Y-yes…?” Amelia mumbled.

“And…” The grandmaster pointed the training sword at Katalin. “Alinyah, yes? I did not expect to find such a rare and powerful Word Spoken in these halls.”

“How… do you know about Alinyah?” Katalin asked in confusion.

“Ha… haha…” The grandmaster chuckled, rubbing his chin. “I’ll be the ones asking the questions. But first…” His eyes narrowed. “It is the job of the senior generation to discipline the junior one… prepare yourself, children.”

“W-wait a second,” Serena said, raising her hands.

“There’s no need-” Katalin began.

“Taruna,” Spoke the grandmaster. His eyes flashed dangerously before he leapt towards the three women, yelling out a battle-cry.

The events that followed became legend in the Asamaywa Officer Academy.

What exactly happened and who was involved was never fully confirmed. Some even doubted it occurred in the first place. Either way, those suspected of being in Speaker Training Room B at that time would deny anything unusual took place.

In the future, the only thing that would come to Amelia’s mind when she remembered the event was that…

Some grandpas could be awfully scary sometimes!