Hangovers were different since reaching Dawn rank, but far, far from pleasant. His body could heal damage more quickly and efficiently, but was less adept at handling dehydration. Ethan sat at Valanor’s breakfast table, downing his fourth glass of some kind of red juice that tastes like orange juice. The knight had neither understood, or appreciated that joke, but truthfully Ethan was still a little drunk.

  “The Archer?” Valanor asked.

  “No idea,” Ethan answered, looking around the quaint kitchen, he still had trouble accepting it belonged to the gruff knight. “She makes sense on paper, and we could desperately use someone with ranged attacks, but she still didn’t seem interested when I left.”

  “Ranged, and ,” Valanor clarified. “The bursts of destruction you’re capable of are highly valuable, but longer fights need Hunters that can keep putting out consistent damage. Savilar is taking that role now, but only managing because of his rank. He’s really somewhere between a Vanguard and a Skirmisher.”

  “Well, hopefully Selina can convince her then. The two of them were still going at it when I left. God damn it they can drink. I think Cara was resistant to it somehow.” He shook his head, then immediately regretted it. “Anyway, it’s out of my hands now. I don’t know if I’d have even asked if Selina hadn’t–Cara is such a lone wolf.”

  Valanor nodded as he buttered some toast. “She’s certainly capable enough, she proved that on the mountain. But you’re right, I’d have concerns about her attitude.” He pushed the bread toward Ethan, who nodded gratefully. “Are you ready for today?”

  Ethan stared blankly, his mouth full of toast. “Huh?” he managed.

  Valanor sighed. “Your summons to Prince Calevaro. I assume you’re going to bathe first…” It was only then that Ethan looked down. He’d changed after the fighting, but hadn’t realized his skin was still stained from battle.

  “Right,” he said, his mood falling as the memories of the previous day washed over him. “Wait, prince?”

  Valanor got up and started doing the dishes. Despite the home’s age, it had runic plumbing which Ethan had learned was just one small part of the magic that made the mobile city livable. “I left the note in your room. You’re to meet with the prince in his training room, but you still have an hour or so.”

  Ethan groaned, grabbing the last of his food and moving toward the bathroom in the back of the house. He wasn’t prepared to see the prince again, and he’d barely begun to think through how to solve particular problem. But with barely five weeks to the duel, he supposed it was time to get moving.

  ***

  As Ethan walked through the palace in damp armor, he thought about the self-cleaning runes on his white coat, and decided that duplicating them would become a goal of his. Sadly it would have to be prioritized behind a dozen other life or death problems he was dealing with, but rinsing monster blood out of the creases in leather was becoming a considerable headache.

  At last he was brought into the training room once more, and again Calevaro was there, although sitting comfortably in a chair this time. He was wearing another black and gold robe, and dismissed the knight with a gesture, before indicating Ethan should join him.

  The table was by the large windows, as the prince clearly enjoyed the view. The chairs were incongruously plush and comfy in the otherwise austere room, and Ethan settled in, noticing that food and drink had been set out for two. Calevaro gave Ethan a moment to pour himself some water before he spoke.

  “I told you I would consider the challenge before us,” the Prince said in his quiet, sure voice, “and I have. I believe there is a weapon that is well-suited to our purpose, provided we are properly prepared. However, we have much work ahead of us.”

  “You were concerned that my illusions wouldn’t be enough to fool Prince Thavin. Is that still your primary concern?” Ethan asked.

  Calevaro shook his head. “That was not my primary concern. There are challenges before us. Ultimately Thavin must be killed, but you must also be able to convince my father and sister that you are of that result. As hesitant as my father is to risk my life, he’s equally concerned with the ramifications of you failing.”

  “That makes sense,” Ethan agreed. “Either of us dying in that Arena would be far from ideal.” He smirked slightly. “And for more than just selfish reasons.”

  “Indeed. Although I expect my sister is already preparing solutions for your death, if she hasn’t already. It is her way.” Ethan didn’t love hearing that, but also wasn’t surprised.

  “And what’s way, Prince Calevaro?”

  In answer, the prince stood up, and summoned his armor and equipment. “My way is training, and preparation. You have fought Hunters before.” It wasn’t phrased as a question–Calevaro having seen the recording of Gunther’s death–but he waited for Ethan’s nod before continuing.

  “Few are trained to fight other Hunters–in Viridus at least. Here, Hunters fight monsters, and training for otherwise is believed to encourage the type of violence we’d very much like to avoid.” He looked Ethan in the eyes. “You will not have that luxury.”

  Ethan followed the man into the training sand, the prince still talking. “Fighting other Hunters is very different from monsters. Your victory against the bandit traitor was well-earned, but far from indicative of what you’ll face in the future. What have you been taught about facing other Hunters?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Next to nothing, maybe a scrap here or there.”

  “Good,” Calevaro replied. “The first thing you must understand is that you cannot rely on stealth to protect you. If you have any illusions about duplicating your actions against the bandit, or against similarly simple monsters, disavail yourself of them.”

  Ethan was surprised by that. His normal tactics had been comparably effective against the gun-wielding Hunters he’d encountered the day before. “Why wouldn’t it work?” he asked.

  “It is unlikely you faced someone specifically trained in fighting Hunters. If you can set up an ambush, perhaps you can make a reliable first strike. After that point, any competent enemy will be working specifically to counter that tactic. I will demonstrate, but now is not the time. There are other, more crucial points for you to understand.”

  Ethan resolved to follow up with Savilar and Valanor about that point. Truthfully he had been relying on his stealth and sneak attacks to do most of the work. “Very well, what else is there?”

  “Two key points,” the prince said, then went and retrieved two wooden practice swords, tossing one to Ethan. “I mentioned the challenges of stealth so you’d understand the importance of the first. You be able to meet another Hunter head to head.”

  He punctuated the sentence by moving forward with a few lazy strikes, wielding the long sword in one hand, in something akin to a fencing stance. Ethan blocked easily. He’d sparred a fair amount with his companions, as well as spent several months being drilled on the basics with Tomo.

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  “Good,” Calevaro said as he slowly increased the pace, forcing Ethan back as their feet kicked up sand. “No matter how confident you may think you are in your abilities, you cannot become complacent. Meeting another Hunter in combat will almost always result in a melee–more likely an extended one.”

  “Why’s that?” Ethan said, now using both hands to keep up with the prince’s rapid strikes, and not finding it as easy as the other man to speak calmly.

  “Abilities,” Calevaro answered, though it was counterintuitive. “It’s exceedingly rare that you’ll know the full scope of another Hunter’s powers before you engage them–though we will discuss methods to help with that as well.” Ethan was becoming more engrossed in the swordplay, his natural competitive streak pushing him to move more quickly, even taking back some of the ground he’d lost.

  Calevaro moved easily, clearly unconcerned. “Because you can’t know what to expect from an opponent’s powers, you must focus on what you know. It’s far easier to spot a weapon, and prepare for that type of battle.”

  Ethan frowned. That didn’t seem right. “But what if you engage in battle, only to discover that the other Hunter’s powers are suited for melee, which puts me at an immediate disadvantage?”

  The prince sped up even more, though it still appeared effortless. “There are answers to that question. First, it’s risky to assume you can safely use an ability against an unknown target–your sneaky attacks are powerful, have you ever felt them turned back against you?”

  Ethan hadn’t considered that, despite his [Ghost Among the Reeds] ability doing something similar. “Fair point, what else?” He was sweating from the fight now, struggling to keep up.

  “Second, there is a natural balance that comes from fighting with another Hunter. Yes, they may be better suited than you are to a head to head approach, but how could they know that? They’re feeling you out as much as you are with them. The melee often becomes a slow build to force your opponent into revealing themselves.”

  His speed increased again, and Ethan could no longer ask questions as he felt himself force back across the sand, sometimes slipping. The prince continued. “Finally, it is a controlled situation to learn about a new opponent,” Calevaro said, voice still relaxed. “If you know where your opponent is, and you’re up close, you can build specific tactics to help counter their unknown abilities.”

  “How’s that work?” Ethan managed to force out.

  “How effective would your exploding traps be with you right in front of them? Or your bolt of lightning? By staying close to you, I’ve immediately made them less effective–which would be true even if I didn’t know they existed.” His sword moved in a blur now, and Ethan could tell that the prince was ignoring countless openings.

  “But now we’re moving into a different lesson, when we’ve yet to conclude the first,” Calevaro announced, then suddenly jumped backward. “Quickly! Look into the Astral!”

  Ethan’s eyes widened in confusion at the sudden change, but did what he was told. The world shifted before him, the now familiar blurred reality layering over the other. The light was more intense, almost alive, and the colors more vibrant, but that was obviously not what he was meant to see.

  The two men were now separated by at least a dozen paces, but between them were the representations of their spirits. Ethan’s still looked like a vague reflection of himself, made of energy, and bleeding from a thousand scars. The prince’s, on the other hand, was…more solid somehow. It was also the bright hues of the sun at dawn, yet somehow denser, and more contained.

  The two spirits were fighting.

  It was far more intense than what had happened in the real world, and without weapons. The two figures of light were crashing into one another, smashing and bludgeoning each other with fists and feet, often falling into a grapple, then leaping back to start anew. Nearby, the spectral form of Tomo watched, while eyeing warily a green bird with the appearance of an Eagle near the prince.

  Slowly, the two Spirits’ battle became less intense, and after only a couple of short minutes, they retreated, blending easily back into the respective duelists. Ethan shifted his gaze back out of the Astral, still shocked by the scene.

  “What did I just see?” he asked.

  Calevaro’s helmet vanished as he spoke. “The final purpose of forcing an engagement with another Hunter,” he said. “When you fight, if you truly believe in the assault, your spirit will as well.” Ethan realized. “The battle of spirits is integral to fighting a Bonded, and something you must master, if you are to survive.”

  “I think I’ve seen something like this before,” Ethan said, recalling some of the scraps he witnessed in the Hunter’s Guild. “Is this like an Astral attack?”

  “It is the same principle, but a far more focused and specific application. An Astral attack is typically a method of directing one’s spirit to perform an action you are taking in the physical world. You effectively unleash your spirit’s power, and allow it to run rampant against a target.”

  Ethan nodded. “But what we just did…we were making the Astral attack an actual reflection of the physical world. What’s the purpose?”

  Calevaro strode over to a practice dummy, and Ethan noticed it had crude Bond Runes sketched on it. The false tattoos spread out from the chest, all the way to the shoulders and thighs, as Ethan had seen on Dusk rank Bonded. The prince gestured at the dummy.

  “This is a Bonded,” he said. “Capable of remarkable, and unknown powers. What are its weaknesses? When is it most vulnerable?”

  Ethan raised an eyebrow, looking at the dummy, and considering the runes. After a moment he thought of the last few intense battles he’d been in, and the answer became obvious. “Losing a Familiar,” he answered.

  The prince nodded. “Indeed. A Bonded is never weaker than when one or more of their Familiars have been defeated.”

  “I’ve thought about this before,” Ethan said, “but it never seemed reliable. I use one of my Familiars to assist with a key ability of mine, but that hasn’t seemed true for every Hunter I’ve met. Many seem to hide their Familiars entirely.”

  The prince nodded. “Sometimes that is an indication of cowardice, other times a necessity of the situation; I myself am often a victim of the latter. Still, a Bonded is never more powerful than when utilizing their Familiars effectively. At higher ranks, Familiars also become far more powerful relative to the one holding their Bond.”

  “So the best way to duel another Bonded is to take out their Familiars. I take it this is somehow related to your demonstration.”

  The prince nodded, “Precisely. Your spirit is untrained in this style of combat, which is to be expected. Right now it will just lash out with a reflection of your power and rage. You must train, and learn how to use it as a proper weapon. Look again into the Astral.”

  Ethan did so, as the prince stepped back and closed his eyes, clearly concentrating. Incredibly, in the Astral the runes on the dummy were lit up with energy, mimicking a real body. He watched as Calevaro’s spirit stepped away from the man, then drew spectral swords. It was hard to pick out details as the whole spirit–including the blades–were different shades of light.

  What it was doing was clear though, as it moved forward and began striking at the dummy, each blow expertly connecting with the Bond Runes. Each time the swords make contact, the runes would release a spark of energy. The prince’s spirit was focusing on the right arm, and after a dozen or so blows, it erupted in an explosion of light, before disappearing completely.

  Ethan shifted back to the physical world, as Calevaro opened his eyes. “Is that how it would play out in a real battle?” he asked. It seemed suspiciously simple.

  The prince let a rare smile touch his face. “Extremely unlikely. What I’ve demonstrated is the equivalent of stabbing a defenseless opponent. In a true battle there are several things you must understand.”

  He raised a finger. “First, this is the most crucial purpose of a Spirit Familiar. They will be working to defend your Bonds, while also joining in the assault on your opponent.” He raised another finger. “Second, your Bonds are actually at risk when your Familiar is subsumed into your Spirit.”

  Ethan held up a hand, needing a moment with that. “So it’s a give and take? The Familiars that are in the real world are more vulnerable to physical attacks, while those in the Astral are more vulnerable to Spirit?”

  Calevaro’s smile widened slightly. “Indeed. From a defensive perspective, the answer should be obvious if Valanor has done his job. . Its importance is only amplified in Bonded duels. Each time you cycle, you’re essentially shuffling around your targets.”

  “That’s…a lot to think about in a duel,” Ethan said, trying to imagine it in practice.”

  The prince shrugged. “Less than you might think. Defensively, it means cycling frequently, trying to avoid any single Bond being targeted too frequently. Offensively, it tends to mean focusing on a single Bond to the exclusion of all else. In the Astral you’re attacking the Bonds directly, and when your opponent reacts by summoning that Familiar, you must be prepared to eliminate it in the physical world.”

  Ethan nodded slowly, appreciating the more condensed explanation. “I understand. How do I begin learning to control my Spirit in this way?”

  “Work with you Spirit Familiar, it will give you techniques to better manage your manifestations in the Astral. To the rest: training, practice. I will be here every day at this time. You should join me whenever possible.”

  That was the perfect offer, and Ethan had to force himself not to sigh in relief. “I’ll take you up on that,” he said. Inwardly though, he felt true excitement. Training with another expert, learning what was obviously a crucial skill, gaining long-term access to the prince? Ethan almost let himself believe his luck was changing.