-The 9th Gospel: The divine beings were given their chores and they rejoiced. They had been chosen by their friend The Lord to watch over his creation. They all promised to guard it until his return to them. The Lord was smart though. Before he left he created one more soul, hidden from them to watch over the world and keep it safe. This soul was there to make sure that all things kept flowing smoothly.-
While Loran had been off on her mission, Ed had been in the capital guarded by the Knights. It had been strongly suggested to him that he not walk around town too much. And seeing as how he lacked most of his possessions he really didn't have much of a choice but to accept the offer.
For'Ten had insisted he accompany him around. Ed participated in morning drills, he ate, slept, lived with the other Knights. They came in all shapes and sizes. The Dwarves, Centaurs, Minotaurs, Felis, Lupis, or Canin peoples. And then a hand full of others made up the coalition of forces.
It was extremely inclusive and each of them had their own specialties. It seemed that very few Knights actually overlapped. It meant that each squad of them was specialized in their own form of fighting, healing, or spellcraft.
Ko'Loss had taken the time to get Ed practicing his powers again. The oracle had been unsure of the damage that bringing Ed back would cause. Souls normally don't react well to repeated reanimations. Humans have a very definitive idea of what death entails and that's why they wipe the memories whenever a soul is recycled back into the world. It is hard on a soul to realize that it has to start all over. It's also hard for the soul to reconcile the loss and gain at the same time. Especially in a body as limited as an infant.
Loran walked back into the city about a week after she left. The mission to recover Ed's belongings had taken about four days. To keep her promise Loran had stopped along the way to deal with the black market lumberjacks. They were creeping dangerously close to an ancient pine tree that was the central tree for its area of the forest. If it had died many trees would have perished as well from the loss of life and guidance that it provided.
Ed was sparing with a knight trainee when Loran came back to the base. She walked up to For'Ten and watched as Ed and the trainee circled each other. Ed had trained with the Felis people before and the memories were still fresh in his mind. The problem was that the instincts he had developed for combat belonged in his previous body. He was still getting used to just being Ed again.
"Did you convince him to become a recruit?" Loran asked with genuine curiosity.
"No, I made the offer many times but he has been here training and living. I hope with time he may join us. Having a human member of his caliber gives us legitimacy." For'Ten said crossing his arms and watching the two men.
Ed and the trainee circled each other. The trainee was a mixed-race Demi. He had very feline features but his body gave off hints of pig or some other smooth-skinned race. He had the sinewy muscles and agile grace, but that hid his amazing strength. His weakness was his sight. He lacked the acute vision of the Felis people. His name was Kilian.
Ed took advantage of this by keeping himself as far back as he could. This was unarmed combat. Ed had been practicing with maces and swords in the afternoon so he could handle them. Unarmed combat was still cumbersome at times.
Kilian knew he had the strength advantage and circled, trying to force Ed towards a corner where he could limit his movement and overpower him. Ed knew where he was headed and sidestepped when he could. He was trying to force Kilian back into the middle of the room.
Ed took two steps backward as a feint and then jumped forward swinging his left hand forward in a jab. The offhand jab let him bring his right hand up in defense of his face. Kilian took the hit on his shoulder and rolled it backward. Ed's momentum carried him forward towards his opponent. Ed used his right arm to shove into Kilian's chest. He grabbed hold of Kilian's shirt and then twisted his body around.
The move brought the trainees balance off just slightly and he swayed before he could regain his solid footing. Ed let go and fell on purpose. He had learned to drop and roll behind his opponent when learning to fight with the Felis people. Kilian tried to rotate his body fast enough and he brought his arms close to his body.
At the end of Ed's roll he put one foot out to stop himself in a crouching position. Ed put his hands out to steady himself and pushed off backward with his feet. The fact that Kilian had been expecting an attack meant that he was safe to put some distance between the two fighters.
Kilian recovered quickly taking several steps forward and using both hands to grasp at Ed's shirt. Ed twisted his shoulder to make it harder for him to get both hands on him. That would mean a pin and a failure. Ed's human frame and body put him at a disadvantage against someone with Kilian's mixed heritage and multiple bonuses.
Ed was about to jab up with his arms at Kilian's wrists when For'Ten called out. "That's time. Kilian, you have to close and end the fight faster. You have a slight advantage in stamina over Ed but he kept you guarded far too often. Watch his movements and strike faster if you can."
"Yes, Commander!" Kilian said and put a hand out to help Ed get all the way to his feet.
"Thanks," Ed said and used the hand to get fully up.
"Ed, good tactic to drop and roll but why not roll away instead of towards?" For'Ten asked.
"I had hoped I could get in and grab a leg or something to get him on the ground. I could get in a few potshots that way and wear him down." Ed smiled. "Unarmed I am no match for you guys. Even with weapons I really don't stand much more of a chance. All my training before was when I had full control of my abilities."
For'Ten nodded, "They became a crutch. You have to learn more basics and keep your powers hidden until you need them."
Ed nodded and stood at attention. He wasn't required to as a guest but he didn't want his sparring partner to bear him any ill-will for exploiting his position as a guest. All of the Knights had been mostly polite to him and he wasn't out to ruin that.
For'Ten nodded that they could relax and then summoned Ed over. When he walked off the training mat they all went over to a series of benches with towels and water. Loran waited until Ed had dried off his face and had a drink before handing over the satchel.
Ed smiled, "Thank you. It's not much but this is all I have in the world." He took the satchel and set it in his lap.
He pulled the flap open and ran his hands through the inside. The coin purse was still where it belonged. He felt two coins in the pocket. So that was still working. The rest of the bag was empty though. That stung as all his gold was in the larger bag they kept in the strongbox. The tube with his map was still inside. The map was there, along with his soul sheet. When he unrolled it the sheet was half blank. The top half of the page was there but it was obvious something bad had happened. The name was fuzzy, you couldn't fully read Ed's name, it was like the card was trying to decide if he was Ed or Erust.
He put those back and pulled out the rest. He shuffled through a few things and set the stack down on the bench next to him. Inside his bag was the book that he had been given by the taxmen. The form that verified he was a vendor for Ursal's stores. A few other sheets and notes that had been added since Ed had been gone, and most surprisingly was his blue jacket. He had not expected to see the coat at all. He was sad his old brown scarf was missing, but it was a wedding present so Ashra must be keeping it elsewhere.
He shuffled all the things back into the bag, "Thank you, Loran. It isn't much, but that was mostly everything I owned. I don't know what use it will be at least now I have it."
She nodded. "I hope you do find some use for it. Otherwise, the trip wasn't worth it. I passed along your message but it was raining. I am not sure the ink you used would stay if it ever got wet."
"That's fine. That works in our favor if it does. A vanishing message is much more secure than one that sticks around. Fewer things for them to guess at."