A Search for Answers (Arty)

James lifted himself up on the counter as he listened to the two kids introduce themselves, grinning to himself as he watched Conrad adjust his bandages. It was obvious the boy was in pain just as it was obvious that there was something else more disturbing about his story that he wished to keep to himself for now. Both of them know how to fight...Judo is great when you are fighting an opponent slightly bigger than you, but if he ever faces a more bestial hollow or even someone on par with a captain Conrad is going to be in hot water. Wushu, on the other hand, is good all around but it lacks the flexibility of other styles that have been created. And of course her being drawn to the Guan-dao is understandable now.

James let out a heavy sigh as he observed the two visitors, “Well at least I am not having to start with a blank slate as far as your combat training goes, that is a blessing and a curse in a way. Either way all of you are welcome to use the practice grounds out in the garden if you wish to spar or practice, I just ask that if me and Conrad are sparring that you give us a safe distance.” His eyes turned dark, at Amalie protective threat that if he harmed Conrad she'd kill him, “My dear, if you think you can succeed where many have failed; I honestly welcome you to try. But in the six or so centuries that I have walked this earth I have never once met a human that could even hope to kill me.” Just as soon as the anger appeared on his face it was gone and James smiled once more, “Now I feel that since you told me about you two I should return the favor.

“Lets see, well as I mentioned, I am around six hundred years old give or take a few decades. My real name isn't James, but I can't tell you that for as you see it's been erased from my memory along with a lot of other things that would define me as a person.” James smirked, this was always the hard part for him, “However I can tell you that in the last few hundred years I have done quite a few things for a living, I've been a teacher, a firefighter, a fire starter, a doctor and at one time I was a double agent, but I have always been a soldier.” James grinned, “I have been involved in a few of the wars you people studied in school and a few more that your race never even knew existed.”

When James looked at the clock on the wall he was surprised to see that it was almost two in the afternoon and remembered that humans had to eat at regular intervals. Jeeze I hope I have food around here that can be easily prepared. “So do any of you guys have any questions? I will answer any question as honestly as possible, whether or not you choose to believe it is up to you.” James got down and started to root around looking for something to make a quick lunch for the three of them.

The second James went into the pantry to find food, Amalie turned to Conrad and leaned in close. “Conrad,” she said in a low whisper. “Dieser Mann ist absolut verrückt!” This man is absolutely insane!

Conrad whispered back, “To answer your points in reverse order,” he began, “he isn't insane. He's scary, but very sane. James is terrifyingly straight-minded. Have you noticed that he doesn't relax, ever?” Conrad observed. “He's always tight, clenched. He can fake calm, but he doesn't relax. Also, he's not human. Not by any stretch.”

“What?” Amalie whispered incredulously. “What are you on about?”

“Look at his eyes. What human eyes glow red? The closest I've ever seen to his true face is terrifying. And I can't tell you any more upon pain of James. But I believe him when he says that he's been around for that long. Probably longer. It wouldn't surprise me if he understated his age. Also,” he added, “he can hear us. He has very good hearing. Don't expect him to respond to this, though.”

He got up, and joined James in the pantry. There, he found a basket of eggs (at room temperature), a slightly desiccated onion, and a lump of cured meat that upon closer inspection, turned out to be venison. “I got lunch, James,” he said. “I told you, I can cook anything.” So, he took the food out of the pantry and began to make lunch.

“I do have one question, though,” Conrad said to James as he sliced meat into a pan. “Why was the Hollow in your backyard? Just for future reference,” he said as he finished cooking a scrambled egg-venison dish and served it on two plates he found.

"Hollow?" said Amalie. "What's a Hollow? Is that what injured you?"

Conrad looked away, somewhat nervous about talking to her about demons and such. "Yeah, I'll explain later." He looked at James, hoping for an answer.

James frowned as he hunted through the pantry and listened to the two kids talk among themselves, Heh Conrad has figured me out, or at least he thinks he has, I haven't relaxed around him once, but he has not paid me that courtesy either. The fact is as long as he is on edge around here my instinct for survival prevents me from letting my guard down even for a moment. Of course it could do with the lack of sleep too... James let his mind wander as he continued to dig, the fact being that he hadn't had a moment's rest since the night he found Conrad in Dresden.

When Conrad came to help in the pantry James gladly retreated back to the table to sit with Amalie, who was studying him closely now as he pondered on how to answer the boy's question. Finally after a moment he cleared his throat, “Well I tend to think of this place like one would a garden or a farm, you take care of the immediate threats, the ones that will do the most harm, first and then worry about the smaller ones later on.” James frowned, that wasn't what he had meant to say and it had sounded much better in his head. “Okay let me try this again: With every fight you have to think of the consequience of stirring a hornets nest; sure you can kill one small hornet easily, but then it becomes two, then three...and soon you have an army of hornets knocking at your door.”

James held up his palm and let a small flame blade over it; “Now you could say 'why not just smoke out the nest?' but then you have dozens of runners that go and build separate nests and those nests get bigger and bigger with each passing day. So by leaving the smaller ones to think this place is somewhat deserted of life they don't bother me or my guests too often.” James closed his hand and the fire died abruptly. “As you could tell this place feels dead spiritually like a dead zone for cell signal, its caused because so many natural sources of energy meet at this point and cancel each other out. In fact, the only point of energy able to be felt at the moment is you Conrad, however, you will soon learn to conceal it.”

James turned to Amalie and grinned, there was a look of horror on the young woman's face as she stared at his hand that had been on fire. “You know it's rude to stare, Amalie.” James held up his hand so she could look it over.

“It's not even singed?”

“No.” James put his hand back on the counter, “Also to answer your question; a hollow is a human soul that has had its chain of fate severed and then chose to remain on the earthly plane. They are monstrous creatures that where a white mask and have a hole where they used to keep their mercy and compassion. It is because of this they seek to devour other souls and weaker hollows to try and fill that void, the more a hollow eats the stronger it becomes and eventually it reaches a new level. As far as I know there are 4 classes of hollow: Menos, Menos Grande, Adjuchas and Arrancar. Though a few people have claimed that there is a type known as Vasto Lorde, but I personally think that is nothing more than a story told to scare children into their bed at night.” James spoke calmly with a small smile on his face.

Conrad turned to Amalie to see her face white, her eyes wide. “I told you,” he said, in full snark mode, “do not fuck with the man who can control fire at will.” She only nodded in response. But she recovered quickly, and after lunch, their host set them to work.

For the next few hours, they aired rooms, dusted furniture, and generally removed the patina of disuse from the great mansion. In between this, he made calls to the band's part-time manager, Sigurd. Occasionally, Conrad felt a twinge of some power somewhere in the house, giving lie to James' statement about 'dead zones'. But he gave it little heed.

Soon enough, the rest of the band arrived. Conrad stopped them from giving out news or anything before they were settled in their rooms and dinner had been served. Afterward, there was a meeting in the same weapon-studded drawing room that he had met Amalie in earlier.

“Well, to start with,” said Heinrich, “most of the local show venues only play local talent. But, we can play some of them with a referral from a local band AND a sample of our music. We're having to audition for shows again,” he said resignedly, “but we do have referrals, so we should be able to start playing the scene within a couple of weeks, which is better than we thought.”

Reimer raised his hand. “So, what will we do in the meantime?”

“Oh, we'll be busy,” said Freja. “We have to get them to want to show us, after all. And making new friends, too.”

Josef stood up. “Okay, the instruments and equipment have been taken care of. The nice man who's currently paying our bills has lent us a van to transport our stuff. We don't have roadies, but we're used to that, so no problem there. Storage is easy, the rooms here are gigantic. Keep your stuff in your room, load it up when it's showtime.”

“And there's a practice space, an old workshop across the lawn on the south of the manor that's wired for electricity,” said Amalie. “That might also be better for storing our stuff, except for acoustics for songwriting purposes.”

Conrad spoke up. “Sigurd isn't able to help us here, he only does local stuff. We're on our own as far as adverts and foreign-color shows. And practice times may be hit-and-miss, I haven't exactly been given a schedule yet. But there is another thing I have to say.” He paused, then began. “Earlier today, on the way here, I was attacked by a being called a Hollow.” Conrad gave the short explanation, then continued. “It's obvious that I'll be here for a while. And it's likely that I'll end up with more injuries. So, I have this to say:

“One, don't go into the forest. There are dangerous things there, things that you aren't prepared for. Also, if we have time, you should take James' offer for combat lessons- apparently Kurakura is filled to the brim with powerful things and people. I have been assured of our safety, but I see no reason to take chances. We have to stay, so we'll do it safely.

“Two, I will NEVER allow my injuries to jeopardize my place in the band. I realize I wasn't there when it started,” he indicated Heinrich, “but I won't let you guys down. And if it should come to it, I'll place my life in between yours and harm. I guess, given my power, it's kind of my responsibility.”

“Oh, give me a break,” said Heinrich. “We'd never ask it. After what you said and Amalie saw, I don't doubt that it's nasty out there, but don't you dare stand there and think that you don't matter to us. You are part of this band, more important than most.” Josef looked insulted for a second, before Heinrich looked at him pointedly and said, “Yes, that means you. Drummers are cheap. We like you though.” Josef was happy with that.

“And don't you try to die for us either. We don't have time for that kind of Unsinn. We'll see about the lessons, too.”

Conrad nearly teared up. It wouldn't stop him from worrying, but it did help. “Well,” he said, clearing his eyes, “we have another early start tomorrow. If I'm free, I have a new song to try out. If not, it'll wait. Off to bed, then.”

James grinned as Conrad made the comment about being able to control fire at will, and for a moment he thought of explaining that he wasn’t controlling the fire, but his spiritual energy which took on the state of flame when he expended it. Though he figured it would ruin the mood in the room. After the two kids had eaten James led them up to the rooms that would be theirs and explained that that they might be a mess seeing as no one had used them in a long time as well as telling them of the old gardening shed if they wish to practice. When the rest of the band arrived James greeted each one in kind and welcomed them to his home, and theirs for the time being. He played the part of a welcoming host well, but other than being friendly he said very little instead choosing to listen and watch as they all went about their separate chores. Occasionally he would feel the presence of a strong spiritual pressure come close to the house but it quickly moved off when it sensed his own power.

After a while James felt that the kids had this handled and just started to flash around the house straightening and cleaning small things. Even the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling weren't safe as he singed them to nothing. Finally James sat down on one of the bottom steps of the stairs and listen to the kids upstairs banging around as they unpack and set up their instruments for the time being. I really hope they will be okay here, it's been a while since I have had to keep mortal company and even though they know Conrad and I are special it still could prove very dangerous for them.

Later that night while the humans settled down to dinner James sat unnoticed in the dark shadow of the dinning room, his power was concealed so much so that he doubted that Conrad could sense him unless he devoted a bit of conscious effort to the job. Conrad really should have checked the room to make sure they were alone first, but seeing as it's his first night here I will cut him some slack this time. Tomorrow I'll start his training regimen after I get a feel for what he already knows and what he needs to learn. When they all got up and left for their room James waiting for a moment before walking out of the shadows out into the foyer.

“What have I gotten myself into this time?” he let out a heavy sigh before he flashed to his bedroom and collapsed on the bed ready to embrace the darkness that always greeted him with sleep.

–

The Next Morning

James was up an hour before the sun rose preparing the practice field for the first day of training with Conrad. Today was nothing special but very crucial to both his physical and spiritual training, he would have Conrad spar to see how he adapted to multiple situations in battle. Sure he could just give him theoretical battles and situations but it would never really measure up to having to learn on the fly in a real fight. The real surprise though was the fact that his opponent was James', now sure it was a one sided fight, but he had decided that he would not attack and that he would only use his legs to defend.

As the sun started to peek over the trees James looked at the practice arena he had managed to set up, sand coated the ground to pad any fall either one of them might suffer and a ring was dug 2 feet into the ground to mark the area in which they would face each other. In many ways it resembled a tournament ring, except for the seemingly random debris on the field. When James decided that he was satisfied he walked back up to the house and entered in the back before walking to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Conrad woke up at sunrise, surprisingly enough. but nothing had been normal for several days now, so he was prepared for any and all weirdness today. He meandered downstairs to find a near-full pot of coffee on the counter. By the strength of it, James had obviously brewed it earlier.

He poured himself a cup and walked outside, and found James standing in front of a brand-new gigantic firepit. Or sparring ring, either way- it was sandy, round, with a ring dug around it down to two feet deep. In it, various rocks, sticks, pieces of tree, and other detritus littered the ground. Conrad walked toward James, smiling slightly.

“See?” he asked, holding up his mug. “Got my own coffee today. You don't have to kill me.” He hesitated a moment, then continued. “I understand that I'm a student, an inferior, but I do feel that we should establish some mutual ground rules between us. I'll go first.”

“One, my friends, my band, are everything I have. I don't care if you spy on me or trail me, I have very little to hide. But you leave them alone. I promised to protect them. I know you don't mean them harm, at least I hope you don't. But still, this is my fight, leave them out of it, much as they will try to butt in.” He paused, remembering that horrible death-mask face, then continued.

“Two, I don't know you in the slightest. You've told me a little, and it frightens me, to know what I do. But I have to be able to trust you, or this will never work. So, can you please warn me next time, before you decide I need another lesson in respect?”

Conrad drained his cup. “Now, I can see that you're ready to begin. What ground rules do you have for me, and what am I doing today?”

James was honestly surprised when Conrad had joined him out at the arena right after sunrise and was even more surprised that he was able to stomach the coffee he brewed. “You might want to take it easy on the coffee, that shit will kill your kidneys.” James said with one cocked eyebrow as he looked at Conrad, the young man seemed to be awake. When he started talking of James leaving his friends alone he just nodded and listened until the young man finally asked what they would be doing today.

Holding up his hand he displayed one finger: “First, you ask me to trust you, but to earn trust you must trust the person you are asking it of, I mean you and your 'band' no harm. I will not however stop tailing them as long as they live here they are under my protection just as you are.” James displayed another finger, “Second, that go in the forest yesterday was actually normal when I first bring a student here, although I will admit the dropping in the pond was bit of spite for drinking my coffee yesterday.

“Now as to what you will be doing today you are going to spar and use everything and anything you have and/or find to defeat your opponent.” James stepped out into the middle of the field, “So if you are done with your coffee I'd like to get started; after wards I can tell you how we will start your training.” he slid into a defensive posture and grinned; “Now I won't go on the offensive unless you attack me first and you have my word I wont use any of my abilities other than what I have no control over.” I really hope he doesn't hurt himself going hand to hand. “I want you to do everything you can to knock me off of my feet...Begin whenever you are read.”

Conrad stepped over the trenched line onto the sand. As he walked, his silver ring began to glow. “Alright, then, James,” he said, the dark grey knife wreathed in dim blue fire appearing in his hand. “I trust you. Don't betray it.”

He nodded his head, acknowledging his opponent. He began to pace, back and forth, looking for an avenue of attack. The options didn't look good- James always had balance, always had line of sight. “Erkaso,” he whispered, his knife's aura flaring briefly as it began gathering energy. It wasn't much of an advantage, being faster than normal, stronger than normal, but he would take what he could get.

It was time to attack, but there were no openings. So, he did something stupid- he flicked the knife toward a rock, about the size of his head, and said “Rhagae!” It leapt off the ground toward James' head, with Conrad just a meter behind, racing with all he had.

James'll deflect the rock with his arm, at that height, he thought. So, Conrad planted his feet as soon as he was in position right in front of James, ducked down to avoid the rock and whatever measures deflected it, waited half a second, then sprung up spinning, slashing the knife at James' chest.

James grinned as Conrad took in the field, He is measuring his every possible move...good this kid doesn't just rush in. He whispered something and the knife began to flair brightly, but nothing seemed to have happened. Then James caught the look in the kid's eye, he had decided on his plan of attack. Conrad pointed his blade at rock roughly the size of a cabbage and spoke once again under his breath, and the rock took off aiming for the old dragon's head.

James' grin vanished and in a heartbeat he was alive once more as he ducked the boulder and pivoted his toes inward. As soon as he saw Conrad start to slice towards his chest he stepped forward and pivoted on his foot as he turned sideways so the knife found nothing but empty space where he had been. Then grabbing for Conrad's outstretched arm James would attempt to flip him over onto his back in the sand, before retreating back a few feet from the kid. He is a lot faster than I gave him credit for.

“You've got potential Conrad, but you can't just attack head on especially against someone like me.” James took on a delighted tone for the first time since meeting the young German. “Think outside of the box do whatever you want or feel that you need to do even attempt to kill me if you think that will help. The entire purpose to this exercise is for me to see what YOU know.” James bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for his pupil to get to his feet.

I know how to play music, Conrad thought as he rolled onto his feet using the momentum of the throw. I know how to survive in Dresden. I know how to pick a lock, how win a fight against another kid. But I've never had to know how to fight a demon, or someone like this guy.

But I know how to survive.

This last he shouted- “I KNOW HOW TO SURVIVE!” as he dove past James, using his increased speed. He spun, grabbed James' right arm with his left hand and pulled downward as he hooked his right heel into James' knee. Knowing that the blow probably did nothing, he grabbed James' shirt with his fingers and wheeled his arms clockwise, reversing the pull and twisting outward to flip him onto his side.

Prepared for this to also fail, he jumped back and reset his position and pulled his knife into a backhanded defensive position across his torso.

“I KNOW HOW TO SURVIVE!” Conrad yelled as he charged, as James prepared to dodge the assault, but instead the kid dived passed him. James was a bit confused at first but then he felt the young man grab his arm James growled as he had to fight to keep his scales from rising to fend off the attack. When he felt the first hint of pressure in the back of his knee James smiled, Good he is not above fighting dirty in order to win, but now he needs to learn that neither are the monsters he will be facing.

With a growl James engulfed his arms and legs in flames as he shook off the pupil's attack and then just as suddenly as they started the flames slowly died out. “That was good, you aren't above breaking a few moral conventions to win, but your opponents won't fall any rule of honor either.” James crossed his arms, “On a real battlefield you fight with everything you have and you don't regret one thing. Because the moment you start to regret crossing the line between morals and life is the very same moment you display man's biggest vulnerability.” As James spoke he once again separated himself from the human race.

Sliding into a defensive posture James readied himself for Conrad's next attack, “Just remember if you wish to fight dirty so will I.”

Conrad shook his scorched hand as he jumped back. Well, fine then, he thought. He wants me to knock him over, huh? He grinned and glanced at his knife, enough energy to blow a wall apart trapped inside. Let's see if this actually works.

No blind assault would work here- he needed to really get inside James' guard. He thought about throwing another rock at him, but came to the conclusion that it would work about as well as it did the first time. So, he tried something absolutely stupid.

He leaped up, higher than he knew he could jump, around ten feet. As he arced toward James, he hung at the apex for about half a second- enough to absorb one last bit of energy, before descending, twisting sideways as he fell. As he reached his opponent, he slashed upward toward him, releasing all that pent-up energy in a blast wave of pure kinetic force. He didn't see the result, instead barely making a shaky landing amid stirred-up sand and prayers of hope as the absorption field faded away, leaving him nearly defenseless.

James waited and frowned when felt the young man's spiritual power surge, Finally he is taking this seriously, good then I guess I can have a little fun with this as well. James felt the blast leave his knife and could even see the very air quiver as the energy made its way towards him. As soon as it reached him James was hit by a force like an explosive. Dust kicked up and stirred concealing the fact that it had pushed him backwards about fifteen feet, but James stood with his arms crossed in front of his face and dust swirling around him.

Kid's good, but now it's time for the second part of this test. With that said James fell backwards his fall kicking up a smaller amount of sand as he waited for all the sand to settle back to the ground. He is going to think he passed after this, but what's more is will he still turn his back on an opponent he assumes is defeated? Will he come to help an old man to his feet? Or will he meet me at knife point when I go to rise? James just laid there and watched the clouds as the dust settled.

Conrad took a second to catch his breath while he waited for the sand to clear. When it did, he saw James, on the ground, thrown nearly five meters back. He nearly jumped for joy before he noticed two things. The first was that he was too neatly fallen- he wasn't knocked. Instead, it was more likely that he just let himself fall over after the wave cleared him. Hands at sides, legs straight out? Conrad wasn't fooled. The second was that he wasn't moving. This was a test- probably of his reaction to 'winning'. He decided to not play this game.

“You can get up, old man,” he said genially as he stepped back into defensive stance. “I'm not a fool, I know you're testing me. I'm not an aggressive man, I'm not going to stab you while you're down of your own accord. I'm not a reckless man, I'm not going to turn my back on you.”

When he didn't move, Conrad became slightly frustrated. “I get it, it's a test. So, here's what I've got: you don't need help up. You still have too much strength left for a killing stroke to work, and you'd have the advantage if I tried. And you wanted to see what I'm capable of. Here's what I've got. I understand the need to take advantages where I can get them, but this isn't one. It's a trick, and a transparent one at that. We keep going until I get it right, a solid, effective blow at least. I won't let you just hand it to me, what good does that do? And besides, it's slightly insulting.”

James grinned as his image blurred and suddenly he was standing behind Conrad, “You know anger is just as good an answer as doing nothing at all, you need to learn to control your emotions less they betray you.” James spoke once again with drawn and joyless, “As for your attack you're right it wouldn't of knocked me over if I hadn't let it, but I had learned what I needed from the fight at hand, but did you?” James looked the young pupil in the eye, “What did you learn from fighting me? Not just about me, but of yourself? Or maybe you learned something about the way life works perhaps?” James pushed Conrad down into the sand and then proceeded to sit down across from him.

“I will go first; I learned quite a bit about you from this bout. Firstly I learned that you are headstrong and not easily dissuaded from one point of thinking. You're test was simply to get me off my feet, did you ever once think of going to the kitchen and grabbing a chair and offering me a chair to sit in?” James chuckled a bit at the look of confusion on the young man's face, “I never once said that you had to use ONLY what was in this ring I said you could use what you could find or already have.

“Second, I learned that you are not afraid to fight dirty when you realize that traditional methods are proven futile against a superior opponent. But you have a problem of again rushing in without learning of your opponent. You had no idea that I could engulf my arms and legs in flame, if I had really wanted you dead you would be nothing more than an ash pile right now.” James frowned once again, “Never be afraid to ask the questions, 'Who?' What?' and 'How?' they just might save your life one day Conrad.”

James continued on for about thirty minutes as he listed a observation upon observation he had made of Conrad while they were fighting. Until finally he stopped, “You learn a lot more about a person when they fight or are active because when that moment comes when they are drawn into something so completely that everything else washes away they have no shields or walls up to protect their ego or conceal their personality.” Finally he clapped his hands together, “Now what did you learn?”

Conrad, bruised, still injured, frustrated, and now tipped effortlessly into the dirt, could not stop laughing. Internally he was berating himself (Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!), but he just couldn't help himself. It was just so strange. Twenty minutes to change everything. Finally, after laughing himself breathless, he finally spoke.

“Draco dormiem nunquam titillandus.” James cocked his head. “It's Latin. I expect you'll know the meaning.” Conrad got up, dusted himself off, retied his bandage, and stretched. “I certainly learned that today, among other things.”

“I realized from the beginning how outclassed I was,” he continued. “I was just trying to do what you said: knock you down. I apologize for my failure. I learned that flexibility of approach is everything, including how you approach the very basis of a thing.”

“I learned that I am not very good at this. I could hold my own quite well against any other human being, but I don't have a clue when it comes to interacting with or fighting those that aren't. But I trust you, with my life,” he said. “And I know you won't betray that.”

Conrad turned to face him, and for the first time, looked him in the eyes unafraid. “And I learned something about you,” he said. And I figured it out just now. Just how thick am I? “I haven't asked before, because I value your secrets and your privacy. But I think I know now: you're a dragon. I don't know what all that means, but I know my stories very well. Fire, riddles, ferocity, nobility, scaly hide,” that I felt when I grabbed your arm, he thought. “I won't ask, I won't pry. That's just my best guess.”

“Well,” he asked, “how bad did I fail?”

James laughed, the young man had gotten it right, “Indeed I am a dragon, not quite what you expected I take it from your upbringing in Germany. I am not big or ravenous, well unless I don't eat for a few weeks without food, but that is a different story.” James smiled for the first time and revealed his pointed teeth, “Though the entire 'Poking a sleeping dragon' is rather funny, you know it was made up about an overgrown lizard right? Though people back then didn't have any real idea what a dragon was.” James got back to his feet and helped Conrad to his and without any other inclination he turned and started walking back towards the mansion.

“So, you seem to be talking it all very well, the hollows, fullbringers, shinigami...all of that even your new landlord being a dragon. Is there any questions you have for me...about anything?” Figure now that you know my biggest secret and trump card I might as well be open to giving you the rest of the knowledge at least what I know.” James frowned as he opened the door to the mansion and headed towards the kitchen, to start to prepare breakfast.

“You know...you're band really does like to sleep, what do you say you cook breakfast and I will wake them up this first morning here?” James grinned with just a slightly mischievous look in his eye, “You have my word they won't be hurt unless they fall out of bed and hurt themselves.”

Conrad laughed. “Yeah, for some reason I guess I just feel... better about it all this morning. You know,” he said, “now that I know that someday I'll have a place in it. But I do have one question, and then you can go wake them up. I doubt I could, so go ahead. Give 'em hell.” The mental image made him grin.

Conrad ate a bit of his breakfast, glad it came after the fight instead of before. Somehow I don't think that vomiting on my teacher is a good way to accomplish anything, he thought. Then, he began the question.

“Earlier in the ring,” he began, “you moved far too fast. It wasn't any kind of super-speed, I think; that kind of force would tear the ground beneath you apart from sheer velocity." Yeah, you don't end up with a music degree without a few classes in energy physics and mechanical dynamics. "But you just...vanished, and reappeared behind me. How did you do that?” He hesitated a moment.

“More to the point, could you teach it to me? Because that was seriously cool.”

James leaned against the wall, a small apple sized rock rolled over his fingers and palm as Conrad made his way around the kitchen making a small breakfast for himself. James smiled at his student's refreshed perspective of the entire ordeal he had gotten himself plunged into with no warning. James chuckled at his question, of course he wanted to know how to disappear in one place and reappear in another, it would be an awesome trick for a stage performer.

“You are half right, but then by that reason you are half wrong as well, the technique I used is called 'Shukuchi' its a form of rapid movement accomplished by focusing my spiritual energy around my feet and the ground to move move faster than the brain can process.” James tossed his rock in the air and caught it with his other hand before he took a bite of it, “I am no where near a master with the technique when it comes to its uses in fact there are others that can use it to such a degree that they can move miles in a single step. Personally I can only move about 150 yards at a time before I have to take another step, still that is all I need in one on one combat.”

James took another bite of the rock in his hand before he went back to juggling it with one hand, “Now as to answer your question: Yes I could teach, but I will not teach you until you are ready for it. Now I hope none of your friends have a heart condition.” James grinned as he walked out into the foyer and stood at the bottom of the stairs, clicking his tongue he walked around at the foot of the stairs till he found the perfect spot. Then taking a deep break he let out a monstrous roar, loud enough to rattle all the glass in the mansion before he smiled and walked back into the kitchen to just sit across from Conrad and fix himself a cup of coffee. All the while he could hear bodies hitting the floor in alarm a few were light on their feet while some of them were the hard thuds of their entire body hitting the floor.

James let out a laugh and then before taking a drink of his coffee he placed a finger to his lips giving Conrad a sign for them both to pretend like they didn't hear a thing.

Between the roar and the band's mass exodus into the kitchen with terrified expressions, James instructed Conrad in the various different types of individuals that controlled spirit energy- from the numerous Shinigami to the now-extinct Bounts. Once again, he nearly asked James about El Cazador, in hopes that he knew something, but he still held back, mostly because a significant part of him just did not want to know. As they talked, Conrad felt in the back of his mind a strange pulse of spirit energy, coming from the east wing. He didn't mention it, but he filed it away in his mind.

As the band came in, Conrad had to laugh at their faces. They looked like Satan himself had dragged them out of bed. Except for Amalie, who looked somewhat angry at the idea of morning in general. They discussed the band's activities for the day, and set a schedule.

“Oh, I remember now!” said Conrad. “The other day, at the dojo, I noticed a sign down the street, a coffee shop I think. New Talent Wanted. That may be a good way to get jobs at other venues, get the local talent promoters to come see us play there.”

“Well, it's worth a shot,” said Heinrich. “While you're in training, I can go by there and talk to them. The rest of you,” he turned to them, “get our equipment arranged in our new practice space. Hopefully, by around 4 or 5 p.m., we can get some practice in.”

---That Evening---

Conrad was tired. The day's training had been hard- trying to control his own spiritual pressure in order to manipulate and conceal it from others. It was a good thing to know, but a difficult mental exercise. However, by the end of the day he had made headway in both sensing pressure and hiding his own. He was far from perfect though.

The practice had gone well. Conrad's new song had gone over well, with some added instrumental stuff. Also, they had a concert at that coffee shop set for Friday evening- five days away. All in all, it had been a tiring and productive day. But as Conrad got ready for bed, he felt that strange pulse of energy again, out of the east side of the house. What the hell, it's good practice, he thought, trying to justify his own curiosity. Besides, James is asleep. He won't want me to wake him up for this.

He grabbed a lamp off his bedside table (Who the hell keeps oil lamps in this day and age?) and went to investigate. He was across the mansion from his room, and into the east wing. However, the energy source was below him, and he was on the ground floor. So, he tried to find the room directly above it. And so he entered the library.

The library itself was massive. Conrad could have stayed in there for weeks just looking around. Most of the books were very old, bound in leather and dust. There was even a wall with scroll-slots. But there was no sign of a passage downward here. Then he walked across the bamboo floorboards. In the center, the floor became hollow. He got onto his knees, and found a small switch hidden between two floorboards. He pressed it with his penknife, and it clicked, the door swinging up on oiled hinges of its own accord. Seeing a staircase, he descended into the wide, dimly-lit chamber.

James sat perched out on his rock in the middle of the koi pond his eyes closed as he focused on the energies surrounding him. He could feel the subtle changes in the energies surrounding his home. The forest behind him was as wild and untamed as it ever was with just a tinge of malevolence that made him suspect he had more than just a few small hollows running wild back there. The house was as quiet as ever the mortals were all asleep in their respective beds and Conrad's energy levels were low like they would be if he were asleep.

The old dragon opened one eye, They are too low and steady to be a natural sleep. James stood up from his perch and in an instant he stood barefoot on the sand with just a pair of old worn jeans. His two scars on his shoulder shown boldly on his skin as he walked silently up to the house and closed his eyes once more to focus his senses. Seems my student has taken it upon himself to become acquainted with my library, James frowned as he continued to move silently through the house and eventually into the library.

Conrad was crouched down in front of the trap door that led to a great treasure and a secret that James had hoped to take to his grave eventually. When the student headed downward into the chamber below James flashed to the top of the stairs and silently followed the young student deciding to let him come a bit farther before he put a stop to this little farce. Finally at the bottom of the stairs James walked up behind Conrad and finally let his power spike to its natural state for an instant before he let it become a dull angry roar in the background noise.

“You have no right to be down here Conrad, so please enlighten me as to why you come seeking answers here of all places?” James eyes glowed bright in the light of the lamp, “Or perhaps I wasn't clear enough when I warned you that there were things that could kill you.” James' voice was a little more than a growl as he waited for an explanation from the student.

Conrad's heart nearly leaped out of his throat when James' spiritual pressure spiked behind him. When he began berating, Conrad turned slowly to face him.

“Because I could feel them,” he said, softly. “I didn't know what they were, but I could feel their spirit energy. These things here, they're powerful. I know not to touch them, but I wanted to know what was here.”

He moved, very carefully, through the chamber, touching nothing, still feeling the energy around him. Even in severe trouble, his curiosity went unabated. His lantern-light fell upon a sword, which he stopped to examine. “Hmm. It's old, very old,” he said to himself. “It looks Norman- no, that's not it.” He thought a moment. “Ha, got it. It's Frankish. Very well made. It's seen battle,” he noted chips on the sides of the rather plain sword.

For some reason, a mental image popped in his head: A man in full armor, dying of wounds sustained in battle, looks upon his sword. Realizing he cannot let it pass into enemy hands, he uses the last of his strength to smash it down on a nearby rock, but it's too well made. It remains unbroken. It took him a moment to see what it meant, and it took remembering something from a French class at Uni. “Le Chanson de Roland,” he whispered. “It's Durendal, isn't it?” he asked James.

Not waiting for an answer, he kept moving through the room. “You have a lot of history here, hidden away,” he said. He noticed a desiccated finger bearing a signet ring, and didn't look too closely. In the back, he saw a sword blacker than any night, blade curved into a D shape, leaned against a horrifying skull bigger than a traincar.

Something in a corner caught his eye: a piece of something the size of a shield: absolutely smooth, and dim, faded brown in color. He noticed its shape: it was a gigantic scale, from something equally gigantic. “A dragon scale...” Conrad said, drawn to it powerfully. He didn't really hear James calling his name. Then, a heavy, deep voice crashed into his mind.

“FULLBRINGER!” it said, the pressure pushing Conrad to his knees, “YOU ARE THE HEIR OF A POWERFUL GIFT. A HOLLOW'S POWER IN HUMAN FORM. CALL TO THE SOULS OF THE EARTH AND SKY, AND THEY SHALL HEED YOU. CALL TO MY SOUL, AND I SHALL OBEY. TOGETHER, WE SHALL BRING THIS WORLD TO ITS KNEES!”

He saw himself, scale strapped to his arm like a shield, killing all before him. Behind him in the vision, a great gold dragon formed of spirit energy roared defiance to the heavens. Then the vision faded from sight.

The scale pulled Conrad up and forward, blinded by the pressure. He had no control- he could do nothing but step slowly forward. Before he could even touch its surface, however, he was grabbed from behind and pulled away. He spun, seeing James, but around him, an aura- a giant, ferocious dragon, red as hot iron, as a bloody sunset. Conrad's feet slipped, and he fell, his head hitting the ground hard, knocking him unconscious.

As the darkness swirled in front of his vision, he heard the voice again, faintly: “So weak.....”.

James grabbed Conrad and pulled him back as he attempted to grab one of the many heart scales that he had locked up for the very reason of them being able to over power and possess weaker minds. These were dangerous, very dangerous and here was his student about to try and touch one. “Conrad you don't know...” James trailed off as he noticed a far-away look in the young German's eyes, “Conrad! Snap out of it!” James shook the kid, but his legs gave way as he collapsed on the floor.

Without a second's hesitation James picked up the boy in his arms and in an instant they were out of the secret abyss in which things were best left forgotten to mortal minds, and in the library proper once more. Laying Conrad on the floor James looked him over and found a knot on the back of his head and chuckled to himself, it was only a bump that had rendered him unconscious. “You are lucky boy...you are very lucky.

“If you had managed to touch that scale you would no longer be you and not only would I have to burn you to nothing but ash I would also have to explain to your band what had happened to you.” James leaned back against a book shelf as he closed his eyes and felt for any more spikes in the spiritual pressure from the room bellow him. It was quiet now that they knew their keeper was there to keep fools from becoming their next meal or vessel for chaos.

After about fifteen minutes James had grown tired of waiting for the German to wake and decided it was time he take matters into his own hands. “Time to get up kiddo.” James held one finder to the hem of his pants leg and slowly let the heat from his body build up till a small fire started to burn. “I'd wake up or you're gonna have some serious problems to deal with when that flame gets about waist high.”

Conrad was woken from his dream by a burning sensation on his shin. He shot upright and slapped his hand against the flame, killing it. Dizziness assaulted him, and he pitched over sideways, but a strong hand braced him. When his head cleared, and he realized what had happened, he stood up, and without a word, left the library.

He walked through the house, and out the back door. He wandered the grounds for a bit, coming to rest by the clear pool he had cleaned his wounds in the previous day. The clear water reflected the moonlight and starlight, giving the pool a silvery glow. As soon as he sat down, he felt James behind him.

“I'm sorry I went in there,” Conrad said without preamble. “It was a stupid mistake and it nearly got me killed.” He was silent for a moment, as was James. Eventually, he spoke again.

“I've been thinking about where this leads,” he said, heavily, “my power, the training. It's not very encouraging. I don't really think I have a chance at old age. I'm beginning to accept that. But I don't know what I'll end up being. Successful musician or permanent wannabe, demon hunter or eternal student? What will I become? What will I leave behind when I do?”

He stood up and looked at James. “But I do know what I won't be. I won't be prey, or food, or vessel to a monster. I will not allow or accept that fate.”

He walked around the pool, thinking about what he had seen, both the scale-vision and the dream that followed. Conrad didn't know what to think about either, but something big had happened, that much was certain. Call to the souls of the earth and wind, and they shall obey, he remembered. Thus did his training truly begin.

Five nights later:

The set at the coffee shop was going surprisingly well. For a group of dead-eyed espresso drinkers, the crowd was really getting into the music blaring from the small stage. But in the middle of one of the bigger set numbers, Conrad nearly dropped the mic. He recovered his composure, but remained nervous the rest of the night.

For out in the crowd, he had seen, just for a moment, the nightmare-face of his hunter, his predator, and in many ways his teacher: the horror himself, El Cazador.