Dawn of Fire

by Anna LaVerne

  I give my horse a nudge to catch up with Trey. All the silence has me thinking about the politics of Aster. I want nothing to do with politics. Instead, I turn my focus to training and continuing practicing my gifts. A mystic-warrior hybrid would be beneficial to Aster, especially one with a gift for fire.

  “Hey, will I have my own room in Cargil?” I ask Trey.

  Trey looks at me with interest, “It depends on if they have replaced me. If my position is still available then, yes.”

  “And if they filled your position?”

  “You will bunk in the bunkhouse with the other recruits.”

  “What is the difference between the recruits and the trainees?”

  “Recruits are the people who walk up to sign up. Cargil turns no-one away. Little Bee will make a good archer. It will be the easiest work for her.”

  The road we are on is getting crowded. Many people are in their wagons which are full of supplies and goods. Others are walking. We are the only ones I observe riding on horses. I slow my horse until Bee catches up with me.

  “Trey still believes that joining the archers is the best option for you.”

  “Join the archers? Is that something I would be able to do?” Bee asks.

  “Why not? You're good at everything you do. The downside is you would be in a separate bunk. Trey said we will still get to see each other at mealtime.”

  “Nope, you should stick with us,” Cal says, shaking his head.

  “I would be better as an Archer. It gives me a solid future of my own that would not rely on those around me.” Bee looks at me when she said it.

  Even though it makes my heart ache, I know it is the truth. She can stay my handmaiden forever if I were to stay in Yardel, but not in Cargil. Warriors don't have handmaidens, and little Bee is not cut out for the life of a warrior. Her choice is a solid one.

  I feel a tinge of regret for Cal. Their relationship will go on the back burner, and once he is a warrior, he won’t wed. There is always the chance he will join a harem. I send Bee an understanding smile and nudge my horse forward once more to catch up with Trey.

  “She chooses the archer training.”

  “Good choice, warriors don't keep handmaidens. Why do you need a private room?”

  “I've never shared.” I want to make it sound obvious.

  “Right, you had no qualms about sleeping next to me last night. You don’t mind sharing. You sleep like a corpse.” Trey doesn’t believe me. Cargil is coming into view now. “You don’t have to tell me the truth, but if you did, I am easier to work with. I will keep your secrets.”

  “Only because we are ‘betrothed’, and you feel it is your duty,” I retort.

  “I didn’t want to be ‘betrothed’ to you, it happened anyways. You can accept me or deny me. I’m not going anywhere either way. Why do you need a private room?”

  “I want to practice my gifts,” I mumble under my breath.

  “Well, if you don’t get a private room you can use mine,” Trey responds like it is no big deal I want to be a warrior and a mystic.

  “Won’t people talk about me going to your room?” I ask.

  “It's not uncommon for there to be relationships between warriors. You will drink the tea that keeps women barren every morning at morning meals. All warrior women drink it. They don't take babies into battle after all.”

  “Hopefully, I will get my own room, and we won’t need to stress about what others may perceive. I don't want people to think you are playing favorites with me either.”

  Trey laughs, "Trust me, princess, the last thing people will think is I am playing favorites. They are more likely to believe I hate you. You will get the full experience, and Cal back there," He points with his thumb, "he is going to have it even harder.”

  Up ahead, the details of Cargil come into view. My breath becomes stuck in my chest for a moment as I realized its size. It is bigger than Yardel. The outer fortifications are solid stone walls that rise taller than any of the towers in Yardel. I knew it was big, but I didn’t realize it would be bigger than Yardel.

  From schooling, I learned the basics. Cargil is on the corner of Aster. There is a wall off in the distance, and I know it is the border wall. Not all of Aster has them. Only the South and East borders do. They are the corners that see the most action from attacks. The West of Aster is all coastline and protected by towers peppered along the edges. Aster has a large fleet of vessels that patrol the waters as well.

  The North of Aster is rugged mountains. No army could pass over alive. It is where my mother rules from. Lorcan works as a mystic training center, political center, and retirement home for mystics who have gone insane from power.

  I have visited Lorcan, the northern castle, once in my training. I had to spend a year there when my gifts were first manifesting. All mystics make the trip because some cannot keep their wits.

  Cargil is most likely the size of Lorcan. Although, Lorcan doesn’t look near as giant or imposing since it's built into the mountainside. You can only view the façade that are the mountains of Aster. I am dealing with my nerves by comparing Cargil to Lorcan.

  A young man rides up on a dirty white horse. He has red hair, blue eyes, and a boyish grin. He is very much a warrior, but younger than any I have ever seen.

  “Trey! I thought you were off to be married as a number one? Did she have second thoughts after seeing your ugly mug?” the man teases Trey causing me to laugh

  "Who is that?" the man asks staring at me intently.

  “That is Di, my new trainee. She is off-limits throughout her training.” Trey says in a gruff tone, and he doesn’t elaborate anymore.

  “Since when has that been a rule? Di, it is nice to meet you, my name is Rogue.” Before I can reply Trey reaches out and punches him in the arm.

  “Your name is not, Rogue! Di, this is Rhett, he is trouble.” I stifle another laugh.

  “I’ve never been trouble. But really, why are you back?”

  "It didn’t work out. On my way, I picked up two new trainees, Di and Cal back there. The third is Bee, she wants to join the archers. Is my position is still available?"

  Rhett nods, “Yes, no one has filled it yet. There were troubles on the South Wall. All vying for your position were re-assigned to defend from recent attacks. Nothing big, don’t worry.”

  Rhett and Trey talk about random Cargil things and people. I slow my horse to ride with Cal and Bee as we enter Cargil for the first time. The gates are massive, and the dust on the road is thick. I have sensory overload staring at everything around me.

  Cargil is not just a training center, it is a city. I guess that makes sense. It can’t be all new recruits. There has to be people that live here year-round doing the mundane duties like cooking, picking up horse shit, and more impressive things like blacksmithing. No idea what I thought the inside of Cargil would be like, but I did not expect this.

  As we ride through the crowds, we pass shop after shop and inn after inn. I hear Rhett shout out, “Hey, Di, I will see you later, okay?” He sends me an adorable wink I can’t resist smiling at.

  “Come on, Di, we are at the stables.” Trey rides his horse up to a barn door and dismounts. We follow his lead and lead our horses in. A withered old man steps out of a small room on the side.

  “Hey, Trey, I heard you were chosen. Gave your stalls to another man.”

  “That's okay, old Lucas, is there a paddock to keep the horses until more stalls open? We have four, they traveled well together and should get along fine if you need to put them in together.”

  “That I can do. Get them ready and put the saddles in the tack room, be sure to tag them. The last paddock on the left already has hay and water. I will grain them tonight.”

  We did as old Lucas said, and now we're following Trey through the city. He was dodging the crowd of people without hesitation. Bee was having a hard time keeping up. I reach back for her to grab my hand, so we wouldn’t get lost in the crowd of people bustling through the str
eets.

  We come to an inner wall with a barred gate. Trey speaks to the man standing guard. After a short moment, the gates swing open letting us enter. I can see through an archway into a larger courtyard. There are warriors sparring. I stop and stare in awe. I can't believe I am here, and soon, I will be in that courtyard with those trainees.

  “Come on, little Di, we need to go speak with Hoda to get our rooms back.”

  Trey puts his hand on my shoulder, turning me towards a door on our right. We have to walk fast to follow Trey through the maze of hallways. It becomes obvious that Trey is taking us the long way. My guess is he wants to avoid more questions about why he has returned.

  He may have a woman here, although I hope not. I told him I wasn’t interested, but to be honest, I still like him. If my mother hadn’t chosen for me, he would be perfect. I didn’t choose, though, because I made a different choice, to be a warrior.

  We climb an iron staircase to the top of a tower. At the top is a girl that reminds me of Bee but older. She has glasses on her face and her hair pulled back in a severe style. She is reading through scrolls.

  “Mae, I would like to see Hoda, if she is available.”

  "Well...well...well…," Mae says as she taps her pen on the scroll in front of her. "Was the princess as stubborn as they say? She refused to marry you didn’t she? Pity, I guess that means more of you for the rest of us." She sent him a little wink and smile.

  “Not today, Mae. Is Hoda in or not?”

  “You are no fun. Yes, she is in. Go on.” Mae’s little face pouts as she sits back in her chair and continues to go through the scrolls on her desk.

  Did Trey and Mae have a thing, or does she want a thing with Trey? Is it any of my business? I watch Trey walk forward and knock on the door slowly pushing it open. He signals for us to stay where we are, and so we do. Mae decides to pretend we are not even here. At least twenty minutes passes before the door opens and Trey motions for us to come in.

  The door opens upon another small flight of stairs. We climb up into another office. This one has windows all around it. It is surprising because glass is expensive in Aster, and this is mystic made. It is as clear as air and as strong as stone.

  A tall woman in her late forties stands near a simple desk. She has short gray hair and dark brooding eyes. Her facial structure makes her beautiful. Everything about Hoda exudes power and control. She wears a duster-style vest belted at her waist and beneath that are her leather pants and strong boots.

  “Di, Cal, and Bee this is Hoda. Warrior Chief of Cargil. She oversees all aspects of training and assigning where each trainee goes after their completion.”

  Not knowing what to do, I give her a slight bow and nod of my head, "I am honored to meet you, Chief."

  "It is nice to see Trey return. That is often not the case. He is one of our best. I am also pleased to see he picked up two new recruits on his journey back." Hoda pauses and looks at Bee. "Bee, I'm told you wanted to train to be an archer, correct?” Bee nods in response.

  “Good, we are woefully short of archer recruits this year. You will bunk with the other archers.” Hoda walks over to her desk, pulls out a piece of paper and writes something down. “Give this to Mae outside. She will take you to your new trainer who will show you to your bunk and get you new clothing.”

  I don’t even get to say a goodbye to Bee before she leaves. I should see her again soon, though. This is the first time we've ever been apart without knowing when we will see each other again. Poor Cal looks like he could cry. He didn’t sign up for this. I can feel his regret for even being here, through my empathy. Cal has always been an easy read. Hoda, however, is not. I can't tell if she knows who I am or not.

  “Cal and Di, I gave away some of Trey’s training bunks. You two will need to bunk together. That will not be an issue will it?” Hoda looks us up and down.

  It is not an issue for me because Cal is aware of who I am. I'm not afraid to be in the room with him because I have nothing to hide. He doesn't know all of my gifts, but he will soon, and I trust him to keep it to himself.

  “I'm good with that,” I reply. Cal just stands there like a rock.

  “Good, Trey's room is across the hall. Your training starts tomorrow. Welcome to Cargil, you have the best trainer within these walls make use of him and work hard.”

  Trey takes us to the mess hall first for lunch. I don't see Bee at all. From there, he walks us to our room. It is near the mess hall, which I take as a sign of good luck. I love food as much as I love sleeping. When I am running late, I won’t have far to go. The bonus is that it makes it easy for me to remember where my room is.

  Our rooms are on the second floor above one of the large training rooms. Trey said people use the training room at all hours day and night. The entire space is covered with a soft mat that makes it easier on the body when one falls. It is used for learning hand to hand combat and wrestling. I can’t wait for that portion of training.

  Our room is small. It has a single bunk bed on one wall. We have a small table, chair, and a tiny window that looks out over a training field of archers. Cal will be looking out the window every time he is in here. I choose the bottom bunk and give Cal a look that dared him to say something about it. He didn’t, good boy. He knows better.

  “Okay, leave your things here. I am taking you to get the gear to train in. You will get new clothing colored to signify your rank. The first level is brown. Congratulations on being turds.” Trey laughs at himself as we follow him down the hall to the stairs. The outfitting room is in the basement. Cal and I are average size for warriors, so they have clothing that fits us well without having to alter a thing.

  Trey is in trainer mode, he continues to talk as we walk back through the hallways. “Every morning, you wake up with the morning bell and head to one of three mess halls. Lucky for you, your mess hall is close to your rooms. The second bell calls for the end of breakfast.

  You then have ten minutes to reach your trainer. We will start every morning outside. I don’t care if it is raining, we will be outside. Lucky for you, Cargil doesn't get snow. I have reclaimed my original time slot for tower field, and here it is.” We follow him through a maze of halls to get to a tiny courtyard with manicured grass.

  I look to Cal. "Do you remember how to get here? I am lost." Trey turns around giving me a serious look.

  “Pay attention, Di, it is important to notice every detail everywhere we go.”

  With that, he turns, and we are stuck following in his footsteps again. Before I know it, we are standing at a large pool in the ground. We have one in Yardel, but I never swam in it. It isn’t allowed to be seen in a bathing suit.

  “This is the pool. You will spend the next portion of your morning learning to swim in all conditions. Towards the end of your training, the strongest swimmers will have to finish their training at one of the coastal forts. I am not a swimming instructor. Tig is the swim instructor, and she will go hard on you.”

  Trey walks us into the building behind the pool. “Women change here, and men change on that side. You will find swimwear clean and hung every day when you arrive. You wear it and then you place them in this tub for washing. After swimming, you will have fifteen minutes before your lunch bell tolls. Get changed quickly, get back to the mess hall, eat and be merry.

  After lunch bell, you will head to the training center near your rooms. We get an hour there to train every day. It is a benefit with me being your trainer. Then, I will take you to where you will learn the sword. Wash, rinse, repeat every day, except Sunday. Sunday is your free day.

  Every afternoon before the dinner bell, there are optional cardio courses. They are optional for all trainees except for you. They are mandatory for my trainees. Follow the path that circles outside the mess hall. It goes down past the archery center. At the back, you will find the course. The course changes weekly. Now you are free to learn your way around the training center. I will be in my room if you have questions."

&nb
sp; With that Trey spins around on his heel and walks away. I have to fight the urge to follow him. I look at Cal, “What now?”

  “Simple, we find the archery center, so we can keep tabs on Bee.” I agree and turn to follow him because without him, I would get lost.

  The archery center is quite the hike from where Trey had left us. We find our way to the mess hall and follow the path around the outside. I now understand how our rooms overlook the archery training field. The path we follow is between the training center that our rooms are above and the mess hall. The archery center is just past that. It is easy to find.

  Since they're located so close to us, I am certain they will share our mess hall. It makes me excited for the possibility of seeing Bee at dinner bell. Once we survey the area, I don't know what to do. It is obvious, Cal would lurk around here to catch a glimpse of Bee. I am not near as hopeful and decided to find my way back to my room for a nap.

  Chapter Five

  “DINA! WAKE UP!” Cal screams into my ear. I open my eyes and see signs of early dusk through the window.

  “What did the dinner bell toll?”

  “Try the morning bell, you're making us late!”

  “The morning bell?”

  Holy mystics! I jump from the bed to get dressed. Cal says he will wait for me in the hall. I appreciate that kind of privacy, but I wouldn’t mind at all. Trey is right. I’m not the bashful type. I finish dressing, run out into the hall, and Cal isn't there. That shit. I rush to the communal restroom on our floor to relieve myself before the breakfast bell rings if it hasn’t already rung.

  In a rush, I push open the bathroom door, smacking an unsuspecting person in the face. I peek around the door to asses the damage I caused. At the first glance of red hair, I let out an annoying sigh. The person I hit with the door is Rhett, and he is going to make me even more late than I already am.