Nyte Guard: Chapter 3 - Stained Guardian

When I’d leveled up to twenty, I gained access to three different class evolution options. These included Sanguine Watcher, Blood Crafter, and of course Stained Guardian. The first two hadn’t been bad options. 

Sanguine Watcher would have given me blood-based dousing abilities, allowing me to track and reveal the location of things. Quell theorized that I had been given that option based on my previous desire to find my brother. Now that I know where he is, however, the class lost its most useful purpose. 

Blood Crafter was a combat focused class. It would have helped given me more control over the physical shapes my Attuned blood could produce, allowing me to create swords and the like. I might have gone for that one when I first arrived on this world (before Darian pointed out the serious and obvious drawbacks of pulling your own blood out of your body). Now, however, weaponizing my blood is the last thing I’m interested in. 

Stained Guardian is interesting. At first glance, it’s the least flashy of the three options. First, I’m provided with an ability called Mark, which allows me to track objects that have been Marked with my blood. And, yes, this is just a nicer way of saying “smearing my blood on something.” It’s sort of a lesser version of the tracking abilities I would have gotten from the Watcher class, but given that my Role requires me to keep Quell safe, it’s nice to have something in my back pocket I can use to keep a closer eye on him. 

Additionally, the class grants a spell called Halt, and that’s where things really start to get interesting. 

By the time the horizon is colored by the first purple hints of dawn, I’m about ready to crash. Listening to Quell’s whirlwind of lectures on appropriate types of handshakes, bows, titles, and—I kid you not—eye contact nearly melted my brain. Then we had to stand around for an hour as a tailor took measurements and fussed over our proportions. Really, it was only Darian’s promise of a sparring match at the end of the night that kept me going. Finally, Darian and I were able to escape the palace.

This time, our sparring match has an audience. It’s early enough yet that the day watch hasn’t taken over, so the Moonfall barracks are still fairly populated. Presumably, all the Moonfall guards present are only here to practice themselves, but they don’t put up much of a pretense of pretending not to watch. I’m not quite sure if they’re here to size up the Crimson Aegis, or Princess Felicity’s partner and captain of her guard. 

“No pressure, or anything,” I say to Darian as we head for an empty corner of the square. 

“Best get used to it,” she replies, not even sparing the spectators a glance. “You’ll be under a lot more scrutiny than this when the regents arrive.”

I groan. “Don’t remind me.”

She chuckles as she turns to face me. “Hey, you got yourself into this mess. Time to reap the consequences.” 

“Oh, yeah, like you’re not in the same mess,” I grumble, pulling the Crimson Aegis from my back. The shield eagerly straps itself to my arm instead. I know it’s only in my head, but I can almost feel it vibrating with excitement. 

Darian holds up her hands with a laugh. “Oh, believe me, I knew exactly what I was getting into with Liz. But climbing the ranks of the Royal Guard as a dhampyr with the Bloodlust has made me pretty familiar with strict scrutiny. You don’t get to where I am by staying anonymous.”

I’m sure she’s right about that. Even so, I’d prefer to spar without so many people watching. 

The Aegis is aghast at this thought. Why would I want to fight in private? Then they wouldn’t get the chance to witness how amazing we are!

Darian’s still about ten levels higher than us, you know. 

The Aegis has no idea what I mean by this. Is it time to fight yet?

I chuckle. Just about. 

“Hey, if it helps, pretend it’s just Quell who’s watching,” Darian adds. 

I glance over to the sidelines, where Quell and Liz are sitting on some spectator benches. 

Quell perks up when he sees me looking and waves excitedly. “Nye! Try some of the new techniques, won’t you? I’m taking notes! Don’t forget the Armadillo. Oh, oh and the Carrion Cactus!”

“Yeah,” I say, turning back to Darian. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”

She snorts. “Carrion Cactus?” 

“He’s naming my moves,” I explain. 

“Well then,” she says, drawing her practice blade. Its edges are blunt, but the sword is still made of metal and capable of dealing plenty of damage with that alone. “Let’s see those moves in action.” 

We don’t lay out terms for the match; we’ve sparred enough by now to know how far to take things. Besides, we like to keep things simple. 

First one to give up loses.

A small crowd is starting to gather on the sidelines, and I hear one guard say, “This should be good.” 

I glance their way to find a young Moonfall guard glaring at me. Her look catches me off guard. It’s so intense and angry—not at all what I would have expected from one of our hosts. My gaze flickers over to Quell, briefly worried she might be part of the Umbral Blades, here to make good on their group’s desire to stoke a war between the two countries. But my Role Requirement doesn’t indicate he’s in danger, and no one in the audience appears to be focused on the royals; all eyes are on me and Darian.

Taking advantage of my distraction, Darian rushes toward me. I quickly return my focus to the match, bringing the Aegis around and tapping into its vision. I can see through the gems in its face as if they’re eyes of my own, which is pretty handy when you’re wielding a shield that’s bigger than you are. Darian pivots, coming in at me from one side. I press my free hand to the back of the Aegis as I turn to keep the shield between her and me. I don’t have to tell the Aegis what I’m planning; it reads the thoughts from my mind as soon as I have them. 

The red gems on the Crimson Aegis glow as I activate Absorb and Repel, both to cushion the blows Darian is about to rain down upon me, and to start storing up the kinetic energy from those attacks. 

Darian’s seen it all before, however. She sweeps a foot around her, and in the same moment the ground beneath me rotates. 

I’m abruptly spun halfway around, my side exposed to Darian’s attack. I try to drop the Aegis in her direction, but her sword is faster than my unwieldy shield. I activate Hemic Hardening all down my left side. Her sword cracks into the meat of my arm. 

[Three points of Slashing damage dealt.]

I swear, releasing Hemic Hardening as I fall to the side. Darian skips back as I finally manage to get the Aegis between us. My blood Attunement might have stopped Darian’s attack from injuring bones and muscle, but it didn’t stop the strike from cutting my skin—which, coincidentally, doesn’t stop it from hurting. 

I swipe my free hand over the wound, activating Coagulate a moment later to stop the bleeding. As I right myself, I press my bloodied hand to the metal of the Aegis, much to the shield’s jubilation. 

My blood vanishes from the surface of the Aegis as it’s consumed. Darian regards me coolly. 

“It’s not a great idea to let yourself get hit,” she says. “Even if it opens the opportunity to use your Attunement.”

I hadn’t let myself get hit, but I’m not about to admit that. 

“Oh, be careful!” Quell calls from the sidelines. “Don’t go too hard on each other!”

“Yeah,” Liz joins in, sounding far more amused than worried. “Don’t forget you have to look good for our parents tomorrow!”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Darian calls back, eyes glinting in amusement as she stills keeps her eyes on me. “I’ll make sure to leave their face spotless.”

I grin through gritted teeth. “Not going to promise the same for you.”

She sinks back into a fighting stance. “Show me.” 

My pleasure. 

This time I come at her. Darian stands her ground until I’m almost upon her. When she darts to the side, however, I turn with her; she likes to go right, first. 

[Bloodward activated.]

Lines of red magic lift from the surface of the shield and whip out toward Darian. She tries to retreat, but she’s will within its range. One blood whip wraps around her sword, while others go for her arms and legs. Darian releases the sword to skip out of the Aegis’s range. We activate Devour next, and the bands of magic begin to eat away at the practice blade. I’ll probably have to replace that or something—not that the Aegis cares. 

Sure is nice having a bigger pool of mana, though. 

Darian is disarmed, but hardly helpless. She unclips her scabbard from her waist, holding it as a makeshift sword. She also has a small handshield strapped to one arm, but compared to the Aegis, it looks like a toy. 

The captain comes at me again, this time swinging the scabbard toward my head. I lift the Aegis to block, ready to devour her scabbard, too, but the move was a feint. She kicks her foot toward the bottom of the shield. 

This is another move she’s used on me before. Last time, it was an extremely painful and humiliating way to hurt myself with my own weapon. When lifted to cover my head, the base of the Aegis is just below my knees, and given how high up my arm is fixed to the shield, one well-aimed kick toward the bottom of the shield is a very effective way to slam it into my own shin. 

This time, however, I activate Halt.

The magic takes hold, and I can feel the Aegis freeze against my arm. Darian’s boot cracks into the bottom of the Aegis, but the shield doesn’t so much as move an inch. 

The Aegis is confused. How is it floating? Yet unable to move? This is a very strange sensation!

While Hemic Hardening briefly turns my blood into an impenetrable solid, Halt seems to lock a Marked item in place. For as long as the effect lasts, it can’t be moved—even by me. Which means when Darian kicks the shield with all her force, expecting it to give, every Newton of that attack is reflected right back into her leg. 

Darian swears, hoping on one leg and shaking out her foot as she backs off. 

“Armadillo!” Quell cries. “Yes!”

Darian wrinkles her nose at the Aegis. “That one’s annoying.” 

“Careful not to break your foot,” I tease. I end Halt before it can eat up all my mana, and gravity abruptly takes hold as the Aegis’s weight falls back onto my arm. I back up a few paces as Darian reassesses—and probably gives herself a moment to move past the pain. I don’t particularly want to hurt her, but it’s hard not to feel satisfied after all the bruises she’s given me. 

[Blood Ward expired.] The Aegis drops the half-eaten sword at my feet, a little sad it didn’t have enough blood to keep the Ward going longer. 

You can take some of my blood, I tell the Aegis. Then I hurriedly add, Just a little! 

I’m not sure if the Aegis heard that last part, because it’s too busy celebrating. Joyous day! Blood freely given! It will make certain to put it to good use and guarantee utter victory!

A band of the shield’s magic wraps around my arm where Darian had cut me earlier. It’s mostly scabbed over, but there’s still a few streaks of blood that had dripped down my arm before Coagulate took hold. The Aegis makes quick work of this, even absorbing some that had stained a corner of my sleeve. I guess the Aegis can also double as a very effective bloodstain remover for clothes. Quell will be delighted to learn this detail. (And not just because I keep Marking him every time he changes outfits.) 

The offer of blood wasn’t only for the Aegis’s benefit, however. Concealing my move behind the shield, I invite it to take some blood from my free hand as well. 

The Crimson Aegis is faintly confused about this, as I’ve been very clear in the past that it’s only allowed to take blood that’s already leaked from my squishy, frail, mortal body. 

I know, I think. But I’m giving you an exception in this case. Just a small cut in my palm. Also, I’m not frail. 

The Aegis asserts that I most certainly am, but it’s uninterested in pursuing the point, too distracted by the prospect of more blood. I wince when one of the Aegis’s bands cut into my hand, but it’s still better than me attempting to cut myself from the inside with my Attuned Blood. 

After rolling her ankle a few times, Darian appears ready to resume our fight, and I’m more than ready to face her. Once more, she comes at me, rapidly tracing a spell circle with her free hand. I brace, letting the Aegis try to combat her with a new Blood Ward. Most of my focus is on my hand, using my Attunement to keep the blood pooled in my palm from spilling. 

Once again, Darian casts something that shifts the ground beneath my feet. I stumble, but remain upright; she follows this up with loosing the spell had been readying. I attempt to block it with the Aegis, but the magic flies straight through us, hitting the ground beneath my feet. I quickly try to sidestep whatever effect she cast, but the packed training ground has turned into fine, loose sand, and I trip over myself and go down to one knee, catching myself with my free hand. 

Darian doesn’t waste the opportunity. She’s there in an instant, swinging her scabbard toward my exposed side. I don’t bother trying to drag the Aegis around—I wouldn’t get there in time. Instead, I dig my fingers into sand and grab the biggest handful I can manage. As Darian’s weapon swings my way, I throw the sand in a wide arc toward her, activating Halt. 

Every grain of sand that touched the blood in my palm freezes mid-air. The effect isn’t immediately noticeable, because plenty of un-Marked grains continue to fly Darian’s way. She narrows her eyes, probably anticipating I was trying to blind her, and doesn’t stay her attack. 

The result is not something I would have expected. 

The scabbard bounces sharply off the first piece of sand it hits, deflecting into another piece, which in turn deflects it into another. The weapon seems to rattle violently in the air as it’s ping-ponged between specks of suspended grit, before finally shaking itself from Darian’s grip. 

By the time the scabbard falls to the ground, one of the Aegis’s whips of blood magic is there to catch and Devour it. A perforated barrier of sand still hovers between Darian and I. Her eyebrows are raised in surprise. That might be the first time I’ve truly surprised the captain. 

“Carrion Cactus!” Quell cries in excitement. He pauses. “Maybe we should rename it to something else.”

Darian curiously reaches out and presses a finger at one of the frozen pieces of sand. “Interesting. I can see why he named it that. If I’d run into this at full speed, it wouldn’t be much different from crashing into a wall of sand-sized thorns. This has the potential to do some real damage.”

Seeing as Darian is disarmed and having a conversation about my magic, I deem myself the victor of the match. (The Aegis is in complete agreement!) I dispel Halt, and the swath of sand falls to the ground between us, the darker specks coated in my blood standing out against the tan-yellow. 

“Just costs me a handful of blood to use it,” I say to her, activating Coagulate on the small cut on my palm. Thanks to the System, it should be entirely healed before I even wake up tomorrow. 

“That’s fairly limiting, then,” Darian says. “You won’t be able to do it very many times.” 

I shrug. “Only if I have to use new blood each time.” I gesture toward myself, and all of my Attuned blood—and the sand still stuck to it—lifts back into the air in a small cloud. I once more Halt the sand, reforming an immobile cloud between us. 

Quell was the one who figured out this application, because of course he did. My Attuned blood doesn’t have much force by itself. And if I tried to Mark, say, a sword with some of my Attuned blood, I could at best Halt it or jerk the weapon to the side at a well-timed moment. But if I tried to wrench the sword from my opponent's grasp, my Attuned blood would just lift off the metal. With enough blood, I could wrap it around the blade, activate Hematic Hardening, and then trying to pull the sword form their grasp. But I still run into the problem of the blood not being able to enact much of a force on the sword. 

Sand, on the other hand, works differently. Individual pieces are light enough to lift, and small enough for the surface tension to help the blood stay stuck to the sand. This means, once I get some blood on some sand or dirt, I can reuse them a bunch of times before the pieces inevitably dislodge (or my blood dries, at which point, I lose its Attunement). I’ve found that I can manipulate the Attuned blood outside my body from anywhere between a few minutes to an hour, depending on how quickly it dries out.

I’m not claiming it’s the most powerful ability in the world, but used on an unsuspecting opponent, and it can be pretty dangerous. 

“Huh,” Darian says, looking mildly impressed. “You should practice with this more. Could be useful in a fight.” 

Once more I dispel the Halt, letting the sand fall to the ground. “That’s the idea. Though I’d like to think I won’t have to get in many more f—”

Darian hooks a foot forward, catching me behind my ankle, and then jerks her leg back. I crumple before I even have a chance to think, “What the hell, man?”

Darian puts a boot on my chest, grinning down at me. “I never said I surrendered. The fight isn’t over.”

The Aegis is furious. Tricked! We’ve been tricked! The fight was won, yet she continues to accost us! 

“That’s cheating,” I huff in agreement, and Darian removes her boot. On the sideline, I can hear the royal siblings also discussing this. 

“It’s not cheating,” Liz says. “She’s right; she didn’t tap out.” 

“It might not be cheating, but it’s not honorable, either!” Quell objects. 

Liz snorts. “You know what’s even less honorable? Losing.” 

I try to tune them out as I grit my teeth and climb back to my feet. Darian retrieves her half-eaten sword and scabbard, looks them over, and decides they apparently can stand to endure the rest of the fight. Catching my eye, she grins, jutting her chin up in invitation. 

Alright, then. I see how it is.

By the time the sun has climbed over the horizon and has begun to prickle at my skin, both Darian and I are covered in sweat and panting hard. I don’t know how long we’ve been at it, but both of us have gotten more than a few good hits in—and of course, both of us refuse to quit. It’s Liz and Quell who finally call it a day. 

“Come on, you two,” Liz says, hopping off the spectator benches as Darian and I pause to catch our breath. “You’re going to be worthless tomorrow if you keep this up for much longer.”

“That’s the idea,” Darian says, giving Liz a teasing smile as the princess comes over for a quick peck on the lips. Darian raises an arm as if to embrace her, but Liz darts back, making an exaggerated face of disgust.

“Oh, no,” she says. “No way you’re getting all that gross sweaty dirt all over me. To the bathhouse with you!” 

Darian chuckles, lowering her voice to say something that makes Liz blush.

Quell joins me, grimacing at Liz and Darian. “I don’t even want to know.” Then he turns back to me, eyes dancing over my body. “You’re alright?”

“Of course,” I say. “Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix.” And honestly, the bathhouse is sounding pretty tempting. 

“Good.” Quell fidgets with his notebook. “Good.” 

He still isn’t comfortable showing affection in public, but I’m not too bothered by it. I’ve also been there—though, for different reasons—and I get that as a prince he’s probably under a lot of unwanted scrutiny already. It’s fine. We still have each other behind closed doors. 

Darian and Liz head off to take care of the broken training equipment the captain had borrowed, and Quell and I head off in a different direction, making for the main palace. 

“Nye,” Quell says hesitantly. “About tomorrow…”

He trails off, and while I wait for him to continue, the words of a nearby spectator drift over the grounds to fill the silence. 

“That’s it? I thought they were supposed to be something special.”

I turn toward the voice. It’s that same human girl who made a comment before the sparring match. She’s wearing Moonfall armor, so she must be part of the guard. She has blond hair, sun-tanned skin, and piercing green eyes. She doesn’t flinch when our gazes meet, watching me with a smirk. 

“Hey,” I say. “Do we have a problem here?” 

She raises a smug eyebrow. “I don’t know. Do we?”

I’d be thoroughly baffled if her tone wasn’t getting under my skin. I Check her, but don’t learn much of importance. 

[Check: Verity, Level 23 Human Royal Sentry. Guard within the Moonfall Dynasty.]

Not Umbral Blade, at least. 

“Ignore her,” Quell says, taking my arm and tugging me away. “Not everyone is happy with our presence here. Don’t hold it against them.” 

I reluctantly let him pull me away. “Yeah, yeah. You’re right. As always.” I give him a teasing look. 

“I’m going to hold you to that next time we disagree on anything,” he says. 

I snort. “I don’t doubt it.” 

“Now,” Quell says, steering me away from the training field. “As loath as I am to give my sister any credit, her idea about getting cleaned up wasn’t a bad one.” He wrinkles his nose.

I laugh, throwing an arm over his shoulder as he loudly protests. With my other arm, I finally shift the Aegis back to its resting position on my back. 

Through its eyes, I watch the Moonfall guards as they get back to their own practice.

Verity watches us until we pass out of sight.