Whispers of Nowhere

Chapter Fifteen: Part One

Gwen sighed.

It was the fourth day of training. Having undergone a myriad of tests, ranging from meditative practices to working on her non-existent combative skills—which seemed to provide no end of amusement for her two guardians—Gwen was exhausted. The only time Forneus and Phenex weren't amused was when her defensive reflexes were tested, for it almost always involved Gwen getting hurt, though her injuries were no more than minor cuts and bruises.

When Gwen got hurt, Phenex got angry, and when he got angry, who better to take his frustrations out on than Asclepius? The commander had promised no harm would come to Gwen during her training, and Phenex had absolutely no scruples telling him just how miserably he was failing to uphold that promise. If it weren't for Forneus and Lyka, Gwen was convinced her training would have been a much slower, more agonizing process than it already was. The two of them had decided (after what must have been the billionth outburst from Phenex) that they would undertake her combative training, in which they would slowly ease her through the defensive stances and hand-to-hand skills she needed to learn—without giving her too many bumps and scrapes along the way.

When the first two days had yielded few results, Asclepius had decided the third day would be dedicated to the one ability they knew she had; her persuasive power. Lonali proved to be an excellent tutor in this regard, patiently guiding Gwen step-by-step as she told her exactly what she needed to do to draw her persuasion to the surface. It hadn't come to her immediately, however. Three hours had come and gone, with Gwen becoming increasingly more frustrated with herself and her lack of progress, before Lonali realized what the problem was.

From there, she had called upon the rest of the Fifth Unit to help. The Hindu nature spirit—or Yakshini, as Gwen had learned was the proper name for her kind—explained that in order for Gwen to utilize her powers, she needed to learn what brought them into being in the first place. At first, Gwen didn't understand what this meant.

When Asclepius set magical constraints on Phenex and Forneus, however, leaving them unable to use their own powers as the Fifth Unit corralled them, she finally understood—and she didn't like it one bit. Unfortunately her protests had fallen on deaf ears, and when the entire unit moved forward as one, preparing to attack, Forneus had promised her they would be all right. All she had to do was focus, and she'd be able to draw them off.

"I have faith in you," he had said with one of those unflappable smiles of his.

That makes one of us, Gwen had thought. No pressure, right?

Wrong.

The operatives had then raised their hands, the telltale crackle of magic setting Gwen's nerves on edge, and she still hadn't been able to control any of them. Fortunately, both Phenex and Forneus had proven formidable even without the use of their powers.

For a time, at least.

It was only when they were strung up in thick vines, helpless against the attacks of their fellow operatives that Gwen's persuasion finally kicked in. The first to fall under her power had been Chester, the Irish nature spirit having released his hold on Forneus and Phenex and backing away, a placid expression on his face.

One by one, the rest of the operatives had backed down, and though only five had fully succumbed to the persuasion itself, Asclepius had been more than satisfied. He had ordered his operatives to take the rest of the day off, congratulating Gwen on what he referred to as "An impressive display of power."

Gwen hadn't felt very impressive, though. What good was her power if she couldn't make it work on a whim, if she couldn't use it against more powerful enemies than the few operatives she'd managed to control? She wanted to protect Forneus and Phenex as they had protected her all this time. If she couldn't do that, then what good was she in a fight, really?