Scratching the Surface
It is with a mixture of relief and alarm that Judoc sees not Brother Loke, but Baron Graves, come in. The student jumps to his feet, and the Baron casts a spell, no doubt to block prying ears from eavesdropping. Judoc lifts an eyebrow in surprise, but he waits, quietly. He cannot forget the last time he was before Graves during a test. The arena. Judoc, in that ridiculous mask, wig, and dress. Death, burning from Judoc's fire. The Baron had been displeased that day, Judoc knew it.
The man before him is formidable. He reeks of power. This is a man used to giving commands, of being obeyed. What does he want with Judoc? Why is he here? Whatever the reason, it must be important. The Baron is not one to waste his time.
As Graves speaks, Judoc nods his head. Yes, he had come here to become a battle mage in the Megalan armies in a bid to prove his father wrong. Men like Brother Loke had done nothing to make Judoc want the Knight's Cross for himself, but now, seeing what he is capable of, Judoc cannot help but wonder if he could indeed be a Templar. He is suprised to discover this. When had he changed? He knew there was something rotten about them, if Elliot and the youth in town were to be believed, but there is something here, some power that tempts Judoc.
Obedience is a word that rankles Judoc. He is not a dog to be brought to heel and do his master's bidding. At the same time, he knows that to be a soldier, one must follow the chain of command, and this makes him respect the Cross and the Templars, no matter how morally questionable some of them may be.
The Baron's cold fury is rather frightening. What made him hate those men so? And how the hell can Judoc avoid the same fate? No matter what else is true, he knows this much - he has no desire to have this Templar as an enemy.
"I undestand completely, my Lord," Judoc says, with a tone he hopes is a confident one. "Thresher will die."
Judoc's mind is a whirl of activity. No matter what he tells himself, he suspects that if the man Graves names Thresher had not surrendered, Judoc might very well have collapsed under the strain of pulling so much mana. Judoc had toyed with the man, but in an arena like Azer, how could one man without arcane ability hope to fight another who had no magical training? It was like splitting a puppy's skull with an axe.
And what is the story here? Did Thresher deserve death? Perhaps he did, if he really was a murderer and a thief and who knows what else. But was he? Judoc finds himself in two minds. He has no desire to kill a man who does not deserve death, but here, in the presence of Graves, Judoc feels a keen sense of self-preservation. Could he kill Thresher? Would he? How far would Judoc go to gain status and position? This was no longer about showing up his father. Judoc wants to be in the inner circle here, and he suspects this test is the first step toward a much different future than the one he imagined for himself. But at what cost? What does it profit a man to gain the world but, perhaps, lose his soul in the process?