Reysha stopped miming her fight with Dirkus and looked upon the ever-burning fires, the three pits that many Sulekiel would end up falling into in the first hours of the Trials.
Those would be the lucky ones. In the next chamber, beyond natural cavern supports, she found the crusher. The chamber was absolutely massive, consisting of a huge rectangular maze that was at least a mile in length and width, cut into the very floor of the cavern. The walls of each room featured traps, a gear system would push the walls in to crush or skewer participants with spikes, and each room’s challenges were rumored to get worse and worse.
Sulekiel set to partake in the Trials were not allowed to train in the crusher beforehand, or the trial of the bells.
But it wasn’t forbidden to look around. She wanted to get an idea of what she was up against.
In previous Trials, participants who fled, leaping above the path of the ever-constricting stone slabs, would instantly fail. Others, too slow to finish the maze, would find themselves trapped, skewered, or crushed to a fine paste if they were unable to hold back the immense weight of the slabs.
The crusher featured stone seats at the top of a large wall for the Elders and Valier to watch their students in the attempt, just like the ever-burning fires.
The trial of the bells was in an even bigger chamber, filled with stone statues depicting Masku in some kind of city. Artisans had carved each stone building to mimic the texture of their wooden buildings, while other buildings, toward the end of the street, were recreations of the great stone towers that the Masku had erected in their cities.
This was a test of stealth. Each statue held a series of bells. Participants would be forced to suppress their Sulen entirely and remove at least twenty bells from across the arena without making a single sound, relying only on their muscles and agility.
Failure came if the Elders or Valier detected Sulen from any of the participants.
Reysha decided to herself that this second moon’s training would be focused on practicing suppressing her Sulen.
She sat down on the tilework and started meditating.
But...as she suppressed her Sulen, something odd caught her attention.
She stood up and retreated into the second trial chamber. She felt a presence within the maze... Several, in fact.
The maze itself wasn’t active, but if she listened real close, she could almost make out the distinct sound of shouting and grunting.
Reysha told herself that it was only some Valier preparing the crusher for the start of the Trials and decided to leave before she got caught in there. If someone accused her of training within the maze or the trial of the bells, she could be failed.
And she’d sworn she’d never become like her mother, helplessly serving the Elders, cleaning their gold statues, their linens, and their shitting holes.
She gave the ever-burning fires one last look before she left.
I will find out what happened to you, Father, she thought.
2
The bells for second moon would toll soon. Reysha knew that she should return home, that she should rest for Padros’s training regimen tomorrow. But when she thought of seeing her mother, of the things they might say to each other, she felt the need to stay out...at least for a little while longer.
But where could she go?
An idea struck her; she grinned.
Reysha had heard that Sage’s home was somewhere on the other side of the river, beyond the cathedral. It wouldn’t be hard to find, either. The Elders had marked their home with the sigil of betrayal.
It took her less than a minute to sprint through the city, passing the cathedral, crossing the river, and stopping before a row of stone homes excavated from the towering rock wall of the cavern.
Sage’s home was in the middle of them, just off the main wooden path.
She crossed the dirt yard, careful not to step on the mushrooms that grew along the path to the door, and knocked three times.
Moments later, the door swung open, and a face as old as time itself glared at her.
“What do you want?” the old man said, his ancient, cracked lips twisting into a sneer.
“I was wondering if I could speak with Sage?” Reysha asked.
The old man’s eyes narrowed at her. “Who are you? Some delinquent? The commander whipped that boy into shape. I don’t want some miscreant destroying the careful progress we’ve made!”
“Oh, come on, Malos!” A soothing, elderly feminine voice called from inside the home. “Let the girl see him. He doesn’t get any visitors as it is.”
Malos glared back at what could only be Sage’s grandmother. “You’re the reason why he’s so disobedient, you know!”
“Malos.” The grandmother’s tone was stern.
Malos sighed and gestured for Reysha to enter the home. “Fine. Come in.”
Reysha entered their home. Malos told her to wait in the living room, which wasn’t much more than a flat space with some stone seating arrangements. Their walls were completely barren. Even Reysha’s home’s walls featured tapestries and works of sculpture that her mother had obtained at market.
Sage’s grandmother smiled at her from the smallest kitchen she’d ever seen. She was a tall, thin woman who looked to be as old or older than the Elders.
“He’ll be right out, dear,” she said.
“Thank you,” Reysha said.
“You can call me Ysillis, by the way,” the old woman said. “Don’t mind my mate, he’s been that way ever since we were young. He means well.”
Reysha nodded; but, somehow, she doubted that.
She took a seat. The candlelit chamber was too small to get comfortable in.
Do they really live like this?
Voices came from the small staircase sandwiched between the kitchen and the living room.
“I get it already!” Sage shouted.
“You better not go getting that girl pregnant!” Malos shouted. “If you do, you’ll be exiled for certain!”
Ysillis must have noticed that Reysha was blushing, because she sighed, put her hands on her hips, and moved to the foot of the stairs.
“Goddamn it, Gramps, would you cut it out? She can hear you!”
There was a loud smack that sounded through the living room. “Watch your mouth!”
Sage got to the bottom of the steps. His scowl immediately melted into a warm smile when their eyes met.
Reysha returned the smile.
Ysillis’s hand caressed her grandson’s arm; she smiled at him. “Why don’t you two head out? Just make sure you’re not out too late after the bell tolls.”
Sage nodded. “I know.”
As Sage joined Reysha in the living room, Ysillis scowled at Malos. “And as for you,” she said, her brow furrowing, “I want to have a little chat about your outbursts.”
“Let’s get going,” Sage said, gesturing for the door.
As they left, Reysha almost felt bad for the lecture that old man was about to get.
3
“Where are we going?” Sage asked.
Reysha led him down a wooden walkway to the edge of the river. “It’s a spot just outside the main part of the city. Have you ever seen a waterfall before?”
“No,” Sage said quietly. “Never.”
“Well, you’re going to love this.”
They came to the edge of the river. There was a large tunnel that stretched uphill to the west and just kept going for miles.
“We’re gonna have to move at close to top speed to get there before the bell tolls,” Reysha said, summoning an aura of light to guide their way. “Try to keep up!”
Wind burst around her as she broke into a sprint. The dark cavern walls and the river zipped by until they were nothing but a blur.
She heard a loud boom, and soon, Sage was on her right, sprinting on the opposite side of the river.
Reysha smiled at him; he smiled back.
This was a good idea.
They reached the end of the
tunnel in mere moments. She stopped herself, skidding through mist and wet sediment.
The waterfall roared. In the light of her aura, the spray at the bottom looked like pure Sulen. The falls cascaded down into the river from a cliff above. High, but not so high that it wouldn’t be an easy jump.
Sage came to the end of his path, leapt to her side of the river, and landed in a crouch.
“We’ve got to leap now,” Reysha said, gesturing to the top of the waterfall.
Sage tilted his head back and nodded.
Once they were safely atop the edge, she allowed herself a moment to enjoy the view.
The roof of the cavern was filled with precious stones and metals that shone like jewels in the light of her aura.
“They’re like stars,” Sage said, his voice in awe.
“Yeah, I bet they are,” Reysha said, smiling. “At least, as close as we can get without being Valier.”
Sage nodded. “Yeah.”
Reysha sat down on the ledge and looked up at Sage. He was standing next to the waterfall, feeling the mist spraying through the air as the stream dipped off the ledge.
She patted the spot next to her. “Why don’t you sit?”
He looked back at her and nodded; she could feel his nervousness leaking into his Sulen.
“I come here to think sometimes,” Reysha said as he finally took a seat next to her. “Get away from the noise of the city.”
“It’s a nice spot,” Sage said. He almost looked sad.
“I...I came to see you because I didn’t want to go home yet,” Reysha said, wondering briefly if he could feel how nervous she was. “I think I...kind of missed our punishment.”
He nodded, his blue hair waving in the wind generated by the waterfall. “Me too.”
“Maybe...” She took a deep breath. “Maybe we should train together?”
His expression darkened. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Oh...” Did he not want to be around her? Was she coming on too strong?
“Don’t get me wrong,” Sage said, his eyes focusing at the shimmering stones in the roof of the cavern. “I’d like to. But after Kiel’s last stunt...”
She almost breathed a sigh of relief. “I heard about that...I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” His emerald eyes focused on hers; the anger eroded from his face. “But maybe we can work together for the first few trials? That’s not against the rules, right?”
Reysha’s heart was pounding in her ears. But what she wanted to do with him now would probably get them both in serious trouble. “Yeah. We can do that.”
“Then it’s settled,” Sage said, chuckling.
They were quiet for a while. Sitting there, listening to the roar of the waterfall.
His hand was planted on the rocky ledge, just inches from hers.
She reached her hand out, holding her breath.
The bell for second moon tolled; Sage retracted his hand. “Should we be heading back? I don’t want grandfather losing his mind.”
Part of her was disappointed. She managed a wry smile. “You mean that outburst earlier wasn’t him losing his mind?”
Sage grinned. “You have no idea.”
He stood up, reached his hand down to her to help her up.
She just stared at it for a moment. It was such a simple gesture. He knew she could get up on her own.
Could he...
She was overthinking it. She grabbed his hand and got to her feet.
“Let’s go,” Sage said, letting go of her fingers and leaping off the cliff into the dark of the tunnel.
She smiled and followed after him.
Yes. This had been a very good idea indeed.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SAGE
The bells had tolled for second moon. Sage had been meditating, practicing his suppression and feeling the city from the floor of his room. The collective Sulen of the city’s core chamber was filled with so many different emotions. He could feel his people’s growing anticipation of the Trials. Even though those who were not participants, Valier, or Elders would not be allowed to watch them, stories of past Trials were still very popular among his people, and some vendors at market found great popularity in retelling those tales, even though High Elder Geidra disliked this practice.
There were some things even she couldn’t stop.
There was another emotion, though. Fear. He wondered how many of the students who would be entering the Trials showed how afraid they were of failing them. The Elders despised any display of weakness and would doubtless frown on those who openly showed fear in attempting the challenges that would come.
Sage was afraid for a different reason.
It had started during today’s lessons. Commander Kiel had led them in their forms, as usual. And at the end of first moon, he had told Sage to remain behind his classmates, as they returned home or scurried off to do training of their own.
Kiel had stared upon him, a grave look in his eyes. “I have spoken to the High Elder.”
Any sentence that started like that would be anything but good.
“She has decided to hold a vote tomorrow to determine whether or not you will be allowed to participate in the Trials,” Kiel had said. “You have remained obedient through these past three months, so I trust you know which way I will vote?”
He’d wanted to say no, especially after he’d been made an example of in front of the entire unit—while other classes had openly encouraged their students to attempt greater levels of strength and power. He’d wanted to say so many things to Kiel. Instead, he had only said, “I’m hoping you’ll allow me to prove myself.”
“We are to meet during your lessons tomorrow,” Kiel had said. “I will come to bring you to my tower once this is done.”
“Thank you,” Sage had said, and he’d hated himself a little for going along with all of this.
In the last three months, he’d been good. He hadn’t gone to the surface, he hadn’t been to the Urdys Quarter. He didn’t speak to Takarus and kept his damn mouth shut about taboos, about Shar, about Masku.
Yes. He’d been “good.”
But, so far, being “good” meant being alone. Most of his peers still hated him, and they’d most likely be targeting him in the Trials—if he were even allowed to participate.
“Is it worth it?” he asked himself.
As the glow from the Olloketh crystals faded, and the long night descended upon the world, no answers came.
Part of him had hoped that conforming to his people’s laws, that hiding his opinions and theories, would bring his peers to accept him. It hadn’t. Instead, it seemed that their faces sported smug grins, and whispered conversations filled with implied mocking words followed him as he passed them in the caverns outside of the training chambers. He had hoped his anger would fade over this time spent in reflection, spent training in secret.
But it remained, transforming into a burning rage that welled in his throat. A scream that felt as though, once released, it would tear the mountain and the skies in two. And when it came out, he would be punished, made an example of again, banned from the Trials.
They claim they want to survive this so-called coming war, yet they punish those who show creative thinking or leap above their peers too quickly.
They claim they respect strength, and that’s certainly true—as long as it comes from the right Valier.
He’d taken to training out in the depths of the caverns beyond the city’s reach so that he wouldn’t be sensed. Who knew what Kiel or the Elders might do if they knew what he was really capable of now?
Time would tell if his efforts would even matter.
His gaze fell on his unmade bed. The scratchy sheets and single blanket that had been rationed to him shortly after his grandparents had been forced to take him in.
He hadn’t slept in several second moons...
No, he thought. I gotta get out of here.
He found himself reaching beneath
the floorboards, grasping at Suleniar’s hilt, and feeding it his power. Then, once he was certain his Sulen was suppressed, he snuck out of the house and into the depths of the city.
He wasn’t even certain where he was going until he was at her bedside, amongst the other healers in her barracks, whispering for her to wake up.
Wren’s haunting ruby eyes found his, and she whispered, “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to you,” Sage whispered.
Wren rubbed her eyes and nodded. “Meet me outside the door in a few minutes.”
Sage nodded and snuck back out.
2
“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Wren said. “Is everything okay?”
“They’re voting tomorrow,” Sage said. “I find out whether I get to participate in the Trials.”
“And you risked coming here? Why?”
Sage’s fists clenched tight. “I just...”
“Take a deep breath,” Wren said. “Calm down. What’s wrong?”
“It’s them. At every turn I find myself trying to conform to their laws and not trip on their goddamned taboos, and all it does is make me hate them even more. They treat us and anyone that thinks differently like trash.
“As hard as I’ve tried to be like them, to move like them, and fight like them, I can’t seem to escape my father’s shadow. I don’t even know why he did what he did! But I’m starting to think maybe he wasn’t wrong to want Geidra and her followers dethroned...”
“Sage...” He wasn’t sure what he saw in Wren’s eyes... Was it pity? Sympathy? Did she disagree with him? “We don’t live in a perfect society, but your father...”
“Do you like being their stepping stool?” Sage asked. “Do you like being called an undesirable anytime you have the audacity to greet one of them?”
If he wasn’t careful, he’d lose focus and his Sulen would erupt... He took a deep breath.
“No,” Wren said, saddened. “But what good will it do to complain?”
“I wanted to get into the Trials and become a Valier,” Sage said. “Do you know why?”
She shook her head. “Isn’t that what all warriors want?”
“Maybe, but not me,” Sage said. “I wanted to attain the rank of Valier so that I could help change things from within. I wanted to help my people... I wanted to help you.”
The Man Without Hands Page 14