Page 31 of Spears and Shadows (Defenders of the Light)
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The next daysfell into the same pattern of work and training. Today, as usual, Nora burst through the doors and scanned the broad steps in search of Thad, able to pick him out easily in an oversized fur stole with his face obscured by the largest sunglasses she had ever seen.
“A fashion icon, as always,” she commented as they fell into step, enjoying the easy comradery that had sprung up between them. However, a tiny piece of her heart always sank when Thad met her on the museum steps. She tried to squash the quiet voice in her head telling her it was because she hoped one day Adam would be the one to escort her to the Sanctuary. She supposed she didn’t even need an escort anymore, and Thad was only walking with her to be nice anyways. To placate herself, Nora asked Thad if he had any stories of himself and Adam when they were younger.
Thad launched into a tale about the time he and Adam had drunkenly decided to attempt to make all the books in the library fly on wings made of their own folded pages, and she found herself chuckling at his antics. Nora had the fleeting thought that she would have given almost anything to know Adam when he was younger and more carefree.
As usual, Thad left her in the training yard with Ezra, who offered her barely a greeting before barking at her to fall into her stance. She moved into place more naturally than she ever had before, and she patted herself on the back for practicing the position in front of her narrow bedroom mirror the night before.
Nora began to move through the increasingly familiar forms, resuming her habit of counting how many times she managed to sprawl across the training ring floor. When she finished her exercises, she had fallen a record low of two times, and she even saw Ezra nodding approvingly out of the corner of her eye when he thought she wasn’t looking, but that might have been her imagination.
Still, when she flopped down on the ground to do her stretches, she thought she had earned the opportunity to ask him a few more questions about the culture of the Eteria.
“What’s the meaning of the tattoo?” she added, nodding towards the band around his bicep.
Ezra sighed and seated himself on the edge of the fountain, resigning himself to her curiosity.
“It is a symbol of our commitment to the Eteria, and each person chooses their unique pattern as a reflection of their individuality and skill set.”
Nora snorted the word, “creative” under her breath as she glanced at Ezra’s plain black line. While the furrow between his brows deepened at her jibe, she thought she detected a faint spark of amusement in his gray eyes.
Taking that as a sign she could ask another question, she chewed at her chapped lip as she considered what to ask.
“Why weren’t there any shields or crossbows in the armory? They were pretty popular weapons around the time of the fall of the Eteria.”
“We don’t need them,” Ezra answered as Nora pulled a leg up to stretch her hamstring. “Our Warriors use weapons as a conduit for the Light more than anything else. That is why they are made completely of bronze, because it is better conductor of Light than wood or steel.” Noticing that she had opened her mouth to ask another question, he cut her off, saying, “Don’t ask me why. It’s all very complicated, and only the Smiths know the answer to that question.”
Nora snapped her mouth shut as Ezra continued. “We don’t use shields because we form our own much more durable defenses using the Light. And crossbows are just impractical. It seems silly to go to all the trouble of imbuing a bolt with magic only to shoot it far away, when you could just use the Light to incapacitate your enemy from a distance anyways.”
“So why use weapons at all then?”
“Because,” Ezra groped for the proper words. “Having a weapon makes it easier to…focus the energy. The Light is always there, nebulous and undefined until you shape it for a purpose. It is easier to shape it around a physical object, to ground the power. It’s why Defenders almost always use swords for creating wards, even though they rarely enter direct combat.”
Nora sat up and examined the array of bruises on her forearms. “Then why all the combat training if you are just going to use the Light anyways?”
“It builds character,” Ezra stated matter-of-factly. “Sometimes a soldier is unable to channel the Light, but they can still do some major damage at close range, like Adam did with his sword at the museum. He fought back the Shadow without using the Light at all, relying on his weapon.”
“Hmm, what about cavalry? I only saw armor for ground soldiers.”
“We don’t ride horses into combat,” Ezra answered as though it should be obvious. “The magic scares the horses.”
“Oh,” Nora was taken aback. “I thought you would have some sway to train the horses to not be afraid. You know, be the Warrior heroes with your trusty steeds charging bravely into battle.”
Ezra frowned. “You read too many fantasy novels. This is the real world.”
