Both Sotek and Aela burst through the doorway to the stairs which led to the main hall. They each shared a vision of Tilma chasing them with her mop. Aela scrambled past Sotek and beat him to the hall itself, but from there she momentarily paused.
Sotek, in his typical fashion, thought his movements through a bit more than Aela had. Without pausing, he called out to the startled members of the Companions.
“Kul-et, training area now. Shift yourself you, got two seconds”. Then he ran to the doors. Kul-et charged across the hall while Aela stopped as she wondered what her mate was doing.
Slowly and menacingly Tilma came up the stairway with her mop in hand. Her eyes fixed on the Huntress who was still frozen, unable to decide what to do.
“Aela, come here”.
Aela screamed and ran for the yard doors but Sotek was holding it shut. Aela yanked hard on the door then franticly started banging on it.
“Sotek you bastard she’s here, let me out damn you!”
Suddenly the doors flew open and Sotek grabbed Aela by the arm. Within a second he pulled her outside then slammed the door once more. He held it tightly shut as he tried to listen for any movement until a few minutes later Aela screamed out as she saw Tilma walk around the building.
“You two stay right there!!!”
Sotek stepped back as Tilma approached them both. Before she could say a word, Sotek raised his index finger and pointed straight at her and began telling her off.
“Tilma, you’re interfering with training, and that’s not fair on Kul-et. If you have any issues at this time then kindly take them up with the Harbinger. Now, Kul-et as I was saying...”
At that point the Harbinger, who happened to come across the priestess was heading the other way around the hall.
“And what exactly was Sotek saying Kul-et?”
Kul-et cast a nervous look at Sotek then at the Harbinger. As Sotek had yet to say anything of use, Kul-et was left to flounder as she tried to come up with something.
“He was, he...ermm. Oh, to Oblivion with this! I’m staying out of it. Aela, do your bloody worst. It can’t be any worse than being caught in the middle”. The she went to the other side of the training area and sat down next to the wall.
Tilma walked straight up to Sotek, forcing both himself and his mate to step backwards where they found their backs pressed against the wall. All Sotek could see was the mophead which waved in front of him, just a mere few inches from his nose.
“You two young hooligans owe me an urn. Once you’re done here, you bloody well find me one”.
Aela whispered over to Sotek quietly.
“Oh, I take it that it definitely broke then”.
“Yes it bloody well did young lady, now you both had better stay out of my way today or else”. Just for empathises she banged the end of her mop on the wooden flooring. Both Aela and Sotek momentarily looked at each other then two distinct loud gulps echoed out across the training area.
As soon as Tilma backed away slightly, Sotek ran to the middle of the courtyard then paused to see if she was still coming for him, but relief set in as she instead sat down to watch.
“Aela, could you tell the others its safe now? They can come outside”.
“Yep, won’t be a second”.
As she turned to the door, Sotek yelled out to her.
“Watch out”.
Aela panicked and literally ran into the door. A loud thud resonated out from where she hit her head on it. She cursed out at him as she rubbed her forehead.
“You stupid fucker”. She stormed inside but then moments later she burst through the doors and started pelting Sotek with apples. He did his best to defend himself but got hit multiple times.
The priestess chuckled to herself as she sat down next to the Harbinger just as all the other Companions and Whelps came outside to take their places. Aela simply sat on the step and watched from there.
Sotek looked over to Kul-et then at everyone else, he then gulped a second time.
“I wasn’t expecting everyone to come out here”
Aela gave him a slight smile.
“Well it’s hardly ever that we get see you train someone, so here we are”.
The Argonian shook his head at them all then turned his attention to Kul-et.
“Right, are you ready?”
Kul-et stood up then walked towards him, she stopped just a few feet away.
“Yes, I’m ready to learn, master”.
Aela had a look of total shock as almost fell of the step in surprise.
“Master?”
The priestess called out to Sotek who was just as surprised as Aela was.
“As she is your student, you are her master. It is the due respect you deserve”.
Sotek spat on the ground then turned to Kul-et in disdain.
“I think I prefer it when I’m called lizard. There are no masters here, you best remember that. So, I ask again Kul-et… Are you ready?”
Kul-et felt somewhat unsure of herself but she went along with his request.
“Yes, ermm Sotek”.
“There we go, that’s more like it. Now, where’s my pack?” He asked as he glanced across to the decking platform where everyone else was sitting.
“Here it is”. Ebony cried as she jumped up to her feet. She ran over to him with it, but unfortunately, in her haste, she tripped and landed in the dirt. Sotek’s pack rolled across the floor and came to a rest a few feet away from him.
Sotek stared at her for several seconds before helping her to her feet.
“Just what is wrong with you lately?”
“Nothing”. She bashfully said. “I’m just being helpful, that’s all”. Ebony dusted her armour off then she tried to casually walk over to the others. The other whelps started sniggering at her, much to Sotek’s displeasure.
“Soon we’ll be throwing fireballs, sniggering Whelps make great targets… Thank you. Harbinger, do I really have to train Kul-et with everyone watching?”
Ignoring his question, Aela shouted out at him.
“Get on with it”. Sotek glared at her, but that just made the smirk on her face grow even more as she revelled in his obvious discomfort.
The Argonian huffed at his mate and decided the best thing was to literally do as Aela had said. He ‘bit the arrowhead’ and just got on with it. From his pack he pulled out two pairs of old trousers and two old shirts.
“Right, Kul-et… The first thing you need to do is strip”.
Kul-et looked equally shocked and confused as she caught the trousers and shirt which Sotek had thrown at her.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You’re wearing the Fur armour. To start with, you just wear this. Go inside and change”. He then walked to the side and dumped his pack by Aela. He systematically stripped off his armour without giving a single care about who was there.
The priestess closed her eyes tightly.
“Oh, by the Nine, he doesn’t care… Does he?”
Aela however, struggled to stop her eyes popping out.
“Nope”.
Farkas groaned at her.
“Please… We all heard you both this morning. Haven’t you seen enough of him lately?”
Upon hearing the conversation, Sotek muttered under his breath.
“I’m not stripping completely. What’s up with you lot?”
He couldn’t help but chuckle when he distinctively heard a moan from Aela.
“Aww rat’s, I don’t mind if you want to”.
Moments later Kul-et came outside. She was far from comfortable with the gear she had to wear.
“Why am I dressed like a tramp?”
Sotek walked over to her then slapped the back of her head.
“That happens to be my best shirt thank you”.
“Hang on a minute, I thought that blue shirt I bought you from Bruma was your best one?” Aela stated as she scrutinised Kul-et’s appearance.
“It was… Until Fang chewed the bloody sleeve off it”. Sotek stated in his defence. “Kul-et we’re in this gear because it has no enchants, I assure you it won’t be for long. Now, are you ready?”
Kul-et shook her arms slightly then stood a good few feet away from him.
“Yes, what’s first? Destruction? Healing?”
Sotek shook his head at her, quelling her eagerness.
“Out of all the Whelps you are one of the most enthusiastic when it comes to training. Calm yourself before you get your tail in a knot. First, we start with… Confirmation. I want to see you cast a fireball at the wall. The biggest and strongest you can muster”. As he spoke, he pointed to a wall section which he had earlier decided upon using as a target.
Kul-et tensed her arms and legs while her hands forced the fireball to form in her palms as her face showed the tension it was under. Within a few seconds a fireball leaped out of her palm and struck the wall.
Sotek nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s what I wanted to see. Now, first off… A few questions, ok?”
Kul-et shrugged her shoulders as she looked over to the priestess. But she in return looked just as confused.
“Ermm yes, ask away”.
Sotek leaned against the wall then looked straight at her.
“When did you last make love?”
“What? That’s none of your business?”
“Actually yes it is. I’ll tell you what I’ll answer first. This morning about three, maybe four hours ago. Now, answer the question”.
“No, it’s nothing to do with this or you”.
The priestess turned to the Harbinger as she stood up.
“I think I should be going”.
Sotek stopped her and begged her to remain seated.
“No, I assure you this is important, I’m hoping that you might actually benefit as well. Please stay. Kul-et, it has everything to do with this, but that you will understand shortly. Now please, answer the question”.
Kul-et stared at Veezara then blushed slightly as she mumbled out the answer as she stared at the ground.
“A few weeks ago”.
Sotek simply nodded.
“Yes, we’ve had a few hard weeks lately. What about the last time you had sex?”
“Fuck off”.
Sotek smirked then turned to Veezara.
“Oh, it’s no secret, we heard you both last night. But here’s another question for you. When was the last time you held a knife to Veezara’s throat and forced him to screw you?”
“You arrogant bastard”. Kul-et started walking off towards Veezara. “This has nothing to do with magic”
“Actually Kul-et it has everything to do with magic”. For empathises Sotek cast a fireball then just held it as it formed in his hand. “Everyone will tell you that magic is a force to be dominated. You control it, bend it, you force it to your will”.
Kul-et snapped at him as Veezara held her in his arms.
“Everyone knows that”.
Sotek talked softly as he held the fireball up high in front of him.
“Yes, but everyone is wrong. You wouldn’t force a lover to do something, would you. No of course you wouldn’t. Magic is the same, it needs to be nurtured like a lover in your arms”. He then cast a bigger fireball but this time as Kul-et watched she noticed it took no effort at all for him to cast it. “Do you want to really learn magic and its secrets?”
“Yes”.
“Then step forwards and learn”. Kul-et resumed her spot in the training area, but she wasn’t entirely sure as to what Sotek had meant.
“Your confusion is understandable, but you must realise this. Your magic is alive, it’s a part of you, it grows with you. You handle it as you would a lover, and it will respond as a lover would. Ahh perfect timing” Sotek pointed to Saadia, who had just walked around the corner.
“Here you go, two dozen eggs, ermm eighteen white and six brown as requested”. The Bannered Mare cook had a strange look on her face when she handed the tray of eggs over to Sotek.
“Thank you, and thank Hulda for me, I’ll pop in and see her later. Kul-et come here”. Kul-et walked over to him but was surprised when Sotek put a white egg in her mouth. “Grip it with your teeth. Now cast your strongest destruction spell without breaking the egg”.
Sotek then picked up a brown egg and held it in his teeth, then he cast his large fireball spell. Kul-et stood back as she noticed he had double cast it. It flew across the yard and slammed into the wall then Sotek removed the egg from his mouth. Kul-et was surprised to see it was intact. “There’s a pack of really nice goodies by Aela. If… at the end of the training you have more eggs left than me then you get the pack. I’ve got six eggs, the brown ones. You have the eighteen white ones”.
As soon as Kul-et started to cast the spell her egg shattered in her teeth. She spat out the shell on the ground. Sotek sniggered at her.
“It’s a wonder that Veezara has no broken bones if you hold him like that. Now you have seventeen eggs. Try again, don’t force it, let it flow. It’s a living thing, it’s here in your heart”. Once again Sotek held the egg in his mouth then cast the same spell. As before, the egg was undamaged.
Kul-et held a second egg but moments later it too broke even before she had started to cast the spell.
Sotek shook his head as he tried to coax her along.
“Try to cast it without the eggs. Don’t force the spell, let it form itself”.
Six eggs later Kul-et managed to cast her fireball spell three times without an egg breaking. Sotek held her by the shoulder.
“Well done, now you’re learning. Do you find that you’re castings faster?”
Kul-et nodded.
“Yes, actually I do, and they seem stronger”.
“They are, you’re more in balance with them. Like I said at the start, you wouldn’t force a lover, so why force a spell. It’s alive just as much as Aela, or Veezara. You don’t control a lover, you caress them. Also remember that it doesn’t matter what the school is”. Sotek picked up his egg then gripped it in his teeth. Moments later he cast his grand healing spell, three times in succession. Afterwards he took the egg out of his mouth. “It’s all about control. Have a break, you’ve done well. Aela can you and the others set up the Path of the Huntress please”.
While Aela instructed the Companions on where the targets should go, Sotek sat with the priestess and the Harbinger.
“What I said is true you know. You’re healing spells would improve if you relax and let them form. Gradually they will become stronger and form faster. You’ll be a better healer for it”.
The priestess nodded as she watched the others prepare the training area. Kodlak however seemed a bit confused.
“When you first started in the Companions you didn’t have much of an idea on magic. So how do you now know so much about magic and its complexities?”
“Ma… She didn’t train me in magic. I’m not sure why… But she has trained… others. What I told Kul-et… That’s what Ma teaches. Well I say Ma, mother but she’s not. Then again she is… Mother”. Sotek’s eyes strayed towards the Throat of the World mountain and gazed beyond Skyrim’s borders to the East. “Morrowind… Need to go back… Bring them here…”
Kodlak was going to ask who ‘them’ were but the way the young Argonian’s voice trailed off made the Harbinger decide to keep his question for another day.
Danica’s voice broke the silence, bringing Sotek’s gaze back to the training area.
“I still remember when Aela fell there on the ground. You couldn’t do anything. You’ve grown Sotek, you really have”.
“Yes, but so has my capability to put her there again. I have to keep this Dragonborn controlled”. Sotek stated as he imagined a pool of Aela’s blood where she had fallen almost a year before.
Danica glanced over to him as she put her idea forward.
“I thought about that, why don’t you scatter a few of Aela’s armour pieces around the yard? That way you might not be so dependent on that piece you keep on you”.
Sotek looked somewhat surprised as he looked at Kodlak.
“Harbinger?”
“Well it makes sense, we can get a couple of mannequins easily enough”. Kodlak stated in approval.
Sotek nodded to them both.
“I’ll give it a go”.
At that point Aela walked over to them.
“Give what a go?”
Sotek pulled her down to his lap and held her for a few seconds.
“Oh, something I’ll want to talk to you about, but that’s later”.
She gave him a quick kiss then pointed to the yard.
“Fair enough, it’s ready”.
With a satisfactory nod, Sotek called Kul-et over to him as he moved to the middle of the yard.
“Do you know what this training set up is called?”
“Yes, we’ve trained on it before, numerous times in fact. It’s the Path of the Huntress. Aela designed it”. She stated smugly.
“Actually no, it’s the Path of One”. Sotek replied as he crossed his arms across his chest.
Aela cast a confused look at him.
“You what?”
Sotek smirked then pointed to the targets.
“It’s the Path of One. It can only be used to train one person, and one person only. That person Kul-et, is you. I’ll never be able to train anyone else with this... Ever!! As to why, that will become clear afterwards. Now, do what I do, stick with me”. He then walked to the front and took Kul-et around showing her what spells he wanted her to use.
Once she had the hang of it, Sotek walked to the starting line.
“It’s about control not time, I’ll go first”. He ran up the ramp and fired off two fireballs at the two targets, then he jumped down and used two flame spurt spells against the dummies he was next to. He fired off a large fireball towards the targets on his left then used ice spells on the two in front of him. Finally, he ran around the corner and launched two fireballs at the final target.
Aela called out to him.
“Fifty-seven seconds”.
Sotek grumbled in contempt which Aela simply put down to his bravado. She guessed he expected to be quicker than what he was. Ignoring his mate, Sotek waved Kul-et towards him.
“Kul-et, your turn. Forget time… It’s about control”.
Kul-et ran the course using the same spells as Sotek had, but she initially struggled. Half an hour later, through determination, her times started to vastly improve. She cast her last fireball and it streaked across the training yard and slammed into the target.
Aela yelled out.
“Fifty-two seconds, you beat him”.
“Yes!!!” Kul-et was ecstatic but Sotek certainly wasn’t.
He shook his head at her.
“No, no, no. Watch me, you stand here”. He moved her towards the end of the course then took his place. As he went around, he cast his spells but instead of using a fireball at the last target, he simply walked up to Kul-et. The next second Kul-et groaned when Sotek removed not one but two eggs from his mouth. “I told you, it’s about control not speed. Go again with two eggs”. Sotek then went and stood behind the others but not before picking up all but one of his eggs. Kul-et took two of her eggs then made her way to the starting line.
“I’m never gonna do this”. She grumbled as she passed Veezara, he gave her a smile but even he had his doubts. His fears were instantly confirmed when Kul-et, within seconds of putting the eggs in her mouth spat out the shells and replaced them with another two.
Kodlak shook his head at Sotek.
“She’ll never do it, remember when Aela set you up for a fall with those hawks?”
Sotek nodded as he remembered that evening when he and the Huntress talked.
“Yes, but Kul-et can do this. She don’t realise yet what the point is, but she will”.
Aela spoke up so Sotek could hear her.
“You’re not a bad trainer you know, I’ve really got to have you in the yard more often”.
Sotek sniggered at her.
“Really Aela, have some control. The Harbinger and the priestess doesn’t want to know about what we get up to”.
Aela blushed as she quickly turned back to see Kul-et yet again get two eggs. Kodlak shook his head at Aela slightly.
“It’s bad enough when I do find out what you two get up to”.
After several failed runs Kul-et dejectedly approached Sotek.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do it. I’m out of eggs”.
Sotek smirked at her, then picked up his last egg. He walked over to a training dummy with his egg in his hand as everyone watched him for his response to Kul-et’s failure. He stood there for several seconds as he scrutinized Kul-et then he cracked his egg on the target dummy. Kul-et’s mouth fell open as she watched Sotek peel his egg then promptly set about eating it.
She stared at him in total disbelief.
“Your eggs, they’re hard boiled?”
Sotek looked across at her oddly.
“Well of course they are hard boiled. Have you any idea how hard it is to cast spells whilst having a raw egg in your mouth and not have it break?”
Kul-et shouted at him angrily.
“You bloody bastard, yes I fucking do. You’ve had me doing that for hours”.
Sotek smirked at the infuriated Argonian girl and nodded.
“Yes, and you’re a better spell caster for it. You understand control, and you’re now well on your way to learning Destruction magic and all its forms. You might even be a master one day. Just remember, control. Never force a spell, ask it as you would a lover. Now grab the pack, you’ve earned it. You’ve done well”.
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