The Chosen 5
“I have a surprise for you, Fisk,” Master Zemus told him the next afternoon. The man seemed very pleased with himself, so much that the boy became instantly curious what the surprise could be.
To get to the surprise, Fisk had to follow his teacher down hallway after hallway, through the Manor school, until he was very confused. Only then, did they walk into a darker area of the building, to a place that looked like it was below ground. Here, the halls were lit with meager little crystals on the walls, which were hardly enough for the boy to see by.
Alone, Fisk would have been afraid to go into a place like that. But with Master Zemus leading him, he followed in confidence.
After a while, the halls turned into rooms. It looked like a place where they locked things up. Somewhere nearby, he could hear the sounds of sniffling and crying from the darkness.
Master Zemus motioned to the guards, who let them walk inside one of the larger rooms. No one said a word as the boy trailed his teacher. This room had better light to see by, but was still very dark, and somewhat cold.
Fisk could see shapes huddled in the darkness. It took a moment before his eyes adjusted enough to make out any details. When he did, the boy gasped.
“Do you recognize them?” Master Zemus asked.
“Yes…” Fisk said distantly.
“They are the students who bother you, aren’t they?” his teacher prompted for more of an answer this time.
“Sometimes… but…” the boy looked up curiously, “How did you know about that?”
I never told him. How did he find out?
“I have my ways,” Master Zemus told him, seeming all the more pleased.
As Fisk walked closer to the boys, they began to rouse as if from a sleep. Their robes were dirty, and hair unkempt. But other than that, he saw no signs that they were hurt. Frightened green eyes flicked up to see him, some faces streaked with tears. One of the boys, the one who threw the rock at him the other day, let out a low moan at the sight of him.
“What happened?” Fisk said, his voice a rasping whisper.
“They have mis-represented the Manor with their poor behavior,” Master Zemus peered down at Fisk, the light reflecting from his eye lenses.
The boy shivered, looking back and forth between the bullies and his teacher. He didn’t like the way the children treated him, but he didn’t expect, or want, them to get in this kind of trouble.
Seeing his student’s doubt, Master Zemus asked, “Do you think what they did was right?”
“No,” Fisk looked down at his feet. The grime on the floor ringed around his boots, a place that rarely saw cleaning, if ever.
“How did they make you feel?”
“Sad,” the boy answered. “Then angry.”
“You have a right to be angry,” Master Zemus told him in a low voice. “These are students of the Manor who do not act according to what the Manor stands for. Disrespectful children grow into disrespectful adults. There is no place for this kind of attitude in this school, not towards Masters or towards their chosen students.”
“Me?” Fisk’s voice came out as a little squeak.
“Yes, you.”
“What’s going to happen to them?” the boy asked.
“There are… alternatives… for those who don’t uphold the Manor’s code properly,” Master Zemus murmured. “It is our job to see that the code is followed. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you, Fisk?”
His mouth grew dry, but he managed to answer, “Yes, Master.”
One of the boys peered up at Fisk with big, frightened eyes, “Please… please don’t send us there! We were just joking. We didn’t mean it, Fisk!”
The boy froze, not knowing how to respond. No one had ever begged him for something before.
“When cornered, your enemy will always plead for mercy,” his teacher’s voice whispered in one ear. Instructing him. “But showing mercy is showing weakness. The moment you turn your back, they will strike again. Once an enemy, always an enemy.”
Fisk blinked down, his face twisted in a frown of distaste. He didn’t want anyone to be sad or hurt, but Master Zemus was right.
They’re only nice to me right now because they’re in trouble. But once we get out of here, and I’m alone…
Things could get much, much worse if the boys decided they wanted vengeance.
“They had a chance, but they’ve proven they aren’t worthy to be students,” his teacher’s voice came again. “They shame themselves and they shame the Manor. If they treat other people the way they treated you, do you think they deserve the honor of being a part of the Manor?”
“I don’t know,” Fisk spoke slowly, peering up at his Master for an answer.
“I don’t think they do,” Master Zemus confirmed. “We have a responsibility to protect the people and lead them by example. Miscreants like these are part of the problem. It’s our duty to weed them out of the school and place them somewhere that they can learn the error of their ways.”
That sounded fair enough.
“Yes, Master,” the boy nodded.
Fisk was feeling less and less sympathetic to the sniveling faces that peered up at him. For the first time, he stood above someone else. He was the important one, the one going to teach a lesson.
Master Zemus is right… I don’t have to put up with this. I’ll show them what happens when someone makes fun of me.
“Look, I won’t do it again, I swear!” one of the boys moaned.
“I’ll give you your pick from my lunch plate every day,” another bargained. “Just… just let me go!”
“Y-yeah… I have a really cool set of crystal stones,” yet another piped up between sniffles. “It’s all yours. Take it if you want it!”
Fisk didn’t want any of that, though. The more they begged, the more the righteous anger filled his mind. None of them were really sorry for what they did. They just wanted to bribe their way out of the trouble they caused.
“Now they shower you with desperate temptations,” Master Zemus put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. It sounded like his teacher knew exactly what to expect. That he had dealt with people like this before, many times. “Will you accept this, or are you the better person?”
“I’m the better person,” Fisk echoed, trying to convince himself. His brows lowered in determination. “What do I need to do?”
“Remove their rank,” the man said, indicating the small square Manor badges worn on the shoulder of each robe. Fisk had one, too, though he didn’t know that it was so important. He made a mental note not to let his badge get lost.
“Wait… wait!” one of the boys began to plead, backing up on his knees. “We can talk about this, Fisk. My dad will kill me if he finds out I’ve been stripped!”
“It’s not your father you need to worry about,” Master Zemus said coldly.
It was a tone that both chilled and enthralled Fisk. His teacher was so amazingly calm, even in the face of troublemakers like these. He never let anyone get to him.
I want to be just like Master Zemus…
The boy walked forward slowly. His eyes never left the other boy’s face. Somewhere in Fisk’s memory, he could still feel all the anger, humiliation and misery they caused him. He pulled that feeling around him, steeling against their broken voices. He held fast to the ideas of the Manor. He knew that defending the honor of the Manor would protect the people who deserved their protection.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” the boy whispered hoarsely, finally acknowledging his guilt.
“It’s too late for that,” Fisk reached out and took hold of the Manor badge on the other boy’s robe and pulled as hard as he could.
The cloth broke away, as if it was meant to, leaving only the shocked stare of the kneeling boy. When the earnest tears began to streak down his face at the realization of what he’d done and what was going to happen, Fisk found he couldn’t fight the smile that curved his lips.
He never felt so powerful before. It was amazing. It was something he didn’t want to go away.
“Very good,” Master Zemus smiled, too. A smile that held a hint of pride.
Encouraged, Fisk turned and walked to the second cringing boy. He no longer hesitated as he ripped the next badge away. And the next.
His smile grew wider each time.