Once satisfied with their grooming skills, Sir Nyme showed them how to correctly tack up and mount their horses. Kiræ smiled to herself as she placed the bit in her mare’s mouth and listened to Sir Nyme berate some of the others. The twins had both managed to receive minimum criticism that afternoon, but Kiræ had a feeling there would be many days when they would not have the upper hand.
The early spring sun was beginning to set when the learners had managed to mount their horses without falling, or being thrown, and Sir Nyme was not displeased with their progress.
“Well I must say, you were a sorry bunch when you arrived, but I’m not completely disappointed by your performance today. There may be hope for you yet!” It may not have felt like praise to some, but to Kiræ – who had fared better than others anyway – it was glowing. As the learners turned to leave they were addressed again, “over the next three days you will be attending classes to improve your education, by the fourth day you will be back here with me where you will learn to ride.” There were some excited murmurs within the group and even more worried ones, Sir Nyme held up a hand for silence.
“I warn you now there is a one hundred percent chance you will fall. However, even the greatest rider had to start from the beginning, and even the greatest rider will still sometimes fall.” He indicated to a graze along his left arm and smiled at the group. “Just remember that falling is all part of learning, it signifies your fear and to get back in the saddle is to overcome that fear. Now, get your horses to the stables, get them groomed and get yourselves cleaned up before the evening meal!” The group groaned and turned tiredly towards the stables, while Sir Nyme chuckled to himself.
Chapter 6
The meal that evening was far more subdued than before. Aurora wolfed down her food, while Kiræ, almost too exhausted to eat, pushed hers round the plate.
“Today was tough,” Kiræ sighed, finally taking a bite of her meal.
Aurora nodded, “I’m sure I’ll be aching tomorrow,” she hesitated then added, “do you think we’ll do it?”
“Do what? Finish training? Of course,” Kiræ answered, smiling through a mouthful of pork.
“Sir Nyme said we wouldn’t all make it,” Aurora pointed out.
Kiræ shook her head, “We’ll help each other get through it.” Aurora looked up and smiled in agreement, then cocked her head slightly to the left as a potato fragment hit Kiræ in the side of the head. They looked in the direction it had originated and a small group of rowdy learners started giggling.
“Do they train with us?” Aurora asked both curious and irritated, “wait, that’s your brother isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Kiræ said with guilt in her voice that Aurora noticed.
“Have you spoken to him since the corridor incident?” Kiræ shook her head, “so let’s go over now and see him,” she suggested, getting to her feet. Kiræ grimaced slightly, then smiled feebly and followed her like a shadow to the table where Tom was sat. He looked up as his sister approached and the rest of the table fell awkwardly silent.
“Hi, Tom…how are you?” she asked sheepishly.
“Fine thanks, nice to know you remember me.”
“Oh Tom please don’t be like that,” she said throwing her arms in the air dramatically and seating herself next to him. “I’m really, really sorry, I was insensitive,” she turned to Tino, “and I’m really sorry I didn’t wait for you.” Tino smiled and shrugged his acceptance of the apology. Kiræ then turned back to her brother and opened her arms towards him; he gave her a quizzical look before smiling and embracing her.
“Apology accepted.” Aurora found a seat and the group gelled instantly, launching into a discussion about Sir Nyme’s teaching methods. Kiræ watched contently as they agreed, disagreed and argued about training. Aurora was locked in a discussion about grooming with the boy who had fallen earlier known as Keolan.
Kiræ turned as another of the boys, who had deep brown skin, fell dramatically off the bench, causing Aurora and Kiræ to look shocked, while the others laughed.
“Hazime what are you doing?” Tom asked, wiping a tear from his eye.
“Just trying to lighten the mood,” he replied grinning, “it’s far too late for such a serious discussion.” The boys laughed again and Kiræ smiled as she figured him to be the joker of the group. His shaggy black hair fell into his pale brown eyes as he pulled himself off the floor. Finally there was Tino, whom she had met briefly before; he had seemed shy and small then but here he seemed confident and relaxed, joking with the rest of them. Kiræ sighed happily as a familiar voice addressed her.
“Hello again,” she looked up and saw Gary moving into the seat opposite with a plate of food.
“Hi, how are you?” she asked.
“Not bad thanks, how was your first day?”
“Tiring, I’m hoping it gets easier.”
“Good luck with that,” Hazime butted in laughing.
“I take it you’re a second year too?”
Hazime nodded, “Met this one on my first day and haven’t yet managed to get rid of him.”
“Considering you’ve decided to join me when we’re done here, you can’t have been trying that hard,” Gary replied laughing, while Kiræ looked confused.
“Gary and I will be joining the Jelicæ army when we finish here,” Hazime explained.
“You’re not from Baja then?”
“Oh no, he’s royalty,” Hazime replied mock casually.
Gary winced, “I am not royalty, my dad is the steward of Jelicæ.”
“Have you heard from your father then?” Kiræ asked in a worried tone, “a number of the warriors here have travelled to assist the city.”
Gary nodded, “I’ve had word that I shouldn’t worry and the city is secure. Anyway,” he said quickly changing the subject, “you’re Tom’s sister?”
“Yeah, twins,” she replied.
Hazime looked between her and Tom, then shook his head, “I don’t buy it.”
“You don’t buy what?” Kiræ asked folding her arms.
“You two, twins, you look nothing like each other.” Kiræ sighed as Gary burst into laughter while Hazime remained straight faced staring at her almost accusingly.
“I should have let him stay mad at me,” she mumbled.
“What!? And miss out on my charming company,” Hazime said throwing his arm round her, “never!”
The group continued to talk until the moons had risen and a single bell tolled; the sign for the learners to retire. The group walked together, talking through loud yawns until they reached the stairs to the second floor where the female dorms were located. Kiræ reached her room, undressed silently and slipped gratefully under the blankets realising just how tired she was before falling into a dreamless sleep.
Vala’s army had ridden for four uneventful days when they finally reached the town of Véde and were able to replenish their supplies. Vala smiled at her warriors fondly as they organised themselves and she tightened the girth strap on her horse. Let’s just hope we make it to Denward without any more surprises.
As they set off, the clouds that had lingered began to break apart and several red rays of the morning sun filtered through, displaying a scarlet path on the earth before them in the direction of Denward. Vala, seeing this bowed her head to hide her face; she knew as well as the others that this was a bad omen. The warriors would look to her now, questioning whether they should continue their journey or wait another day. She answered them by kicking her horse into a brisk trot, leaving the town through the large gates. The army followed, though a little reluctantly.
They were to travel through the Sortir Wood, which would shorten their journey by a day, though Vala knew the warriors would now expect her to skirt round. The trees rose, tall and intimidating before them but Vala continued on, heading straight for them instead of veering off to the east. There was a quiet murmur from the warriors though none openly questioned her decision. Instead they followed her, keeping to the narrow, two ab
reast path that would hopefully lead them safely through.
“I hope I’m making the right choice Safaya,” Vala muttered, patting her horse’s neck for reassurance.
They had been riding for several hours and were close to the wood’s heart when Vala heard it; a low scuffling noise in the dense, tangled undergrowth to her left. She glanced cautiously but saw nothing and although she listened hard the sound soon vanished. Hours later as they neared the ford where they would cross the Infiato River towards the edge of the wood, Vala thought she heard the noise again. It seemed to originate from the undergrowth on the left and was slightly louder than before.
The sound of trotting hooves distracted her and she looked to her right as Julen, her second-in-command, pulled up beside her; he spoke in a low voice barely over a whisper.
“There are creatures in the forest following us Vala,” she looked into his eyes, saw there was no fear and nodded curtly.
“I know, they’ve been with us for several hours, I’m praying we reach the edge before they cause problems.”
“What are they? And why haven’t they attacked?”
Vala winced, “Never question why something does not attack,” she told him, “just be grateful they haven’t. As to what they are I don’t know, I have never encountered anything in this wood before that I would fear, but it seems new threats are being created all the time.”
Julen’s eyes widened, “Do you mean–”
“Yes. I’m certain Bælana created more than the mingual to threaten us.”
They had started to cross the river when it happened. A loud, deep growl sounded, followed by a blood curdling scream mixed with the frightened cry of a horse. Vala drew her sword, kicked Safaya into a canter and headed towards the rear of her army.
“Cross the river and get out into the open!” she yelled as she charged past the other warriors, stray branches whipping her in the process. She reached the back of the army and found a group of startled warriors desperately trying to calm their terrified horses. Vala looked in horror at the blood spattered trees that surrounded them.
“Wh-what happened?” she stared at what little remained of both horse and warrior. She looked up sharply when no one answered and seeing the terror on their faces, tried to look calm herself.
“We don’t know Vala, something…something grabbed Jolia and her horse and…and dragged them into the undergrowth.” Julen said in a strained voice.
Vala’s eyes widened, “Get to the river quickly! We have to get out of here!”
They had almost reached the makeshift sanctuary when Safaya stopped abruptly and no amount of urging could persuade her forwards. Her ears were pricked in alarm and she snorted nervously before taking several steps backwards. A large snarling mountain of fur, claws and teeth crashed through the undergrowth and blocked their path. Vala had never seen anything like it; it would probably have passed her waist should she stand next to it and was about three times as wide.
The creature was covered in shaggy brown fur, had a large snout and wolf like facial features, while its hind legs mimicked a hares making them perfect for leaping. Its ears were wide and overly large, and its eyes were like two amber beacons shining eerily in the gloom. The creature had two rows of razor sharp, sabre tooth fangs, which dripped with saliva as it stalked towards them; it’s long, furry whip-like tail swishing menacingly behind it.
“What in the Gods has Bælana created?” Safaya and several other horses reared as the beast moved closer towards them, throwing their warriors with a thud onto the rough earth. The warriors scrambled to their feet, unsheathed their weapons and faced the creature as their horses bolted towards the river. Those still mounted began to fire arrows to little effect and the beast snarled a deep, raw, primal sound.
It lunged as a large crunching of undergrowth and a horrific scream brought a second creature to their attention. Five warriors, including Vala advanced on the first, while several others, including the archers turned to tackle the second. Vala and another sliced at a frothing snout and were splashed with saliva and blood. A warrior sliced through the whip-like tail causing the beast to snarl in pain. It swivelled towards the threat and a female warrior ducked to slash one of its legs as it turned. The creature snarled again and leapt high into the air, clearing the warriors and landing with a crash into a cluster of dense bushes.
Unsure whether to follow or not the group turned to help with the second beast that had already claimed two lives. As they reached the second creature, more screams ripped through the trees and two warriors were thrown to the ground, crushed under the large paws of the first creature. Vala and two others turned back quickly and began attempting to persuade it back into the undergrowth to little success. The remaining archers aimed their last few arrows at the beasts’ eyes, hoping that in blinding them the warriors could make their escape. A heavy clawed paw collided with Julen and he was flung backwards, landing heavily at the base of a tree.
Finally one of the beasts began to move more clumsily, blood flowed from numerous wounds and an arrow protruded awkwardly from its eye. It began to drag itself clumsily towards a large tangle of shrubs, leaving trails of red behind it. Rather than follow it the warriors turned and advanced towards the remaining creature that Vala and the others were still trying to fend off.
“I need help with Julen,” a female warrior called, and another warrior detached himself from the stalemate battle to help her.
“Get him to the edge of the wood!” Vala called and the trio made their way back along the narrow path and towards what they hoped was safety. Vala and the others followed soon after, while continuing to attack the creature. It took longer than normal to reach the outskirts of the wood but once they were out in the open the beast, bloodied and injured stopped attacking and returned to the wood. Vala looked at the sky, which was bright and clear; a stark contrast to the scene they had just experienced.
The following days passed uneventfully and as they finally approached Denward when the sun was setting. Vala gazed at the unusually bright glow of the city, then stopped abruptly. The warriors looked at her with confusion as her face turned from shock to fury. They followed her gaze and realised as she had that Denward was ablaze.
Vala came to her senses and kicked Safaya into a gallop, “Quickly! Ride quickly!” One by one the warriors kicked their horses into action and soon the still evening air was filled with the thunder of hooves.
They reached the southern gates and found the two guards slumped against the wall with their throats slit. Vala shook her head as she realised the city had had no warning of the attack. Fire raged as they entered, licking greedily at buildings and crackling happily. Thick smoke filled the air and did its best to try and choke them; then they saw the hazy figures of the mingual, their devilish faces twisted into familiar smiles. Their clothes were ripped and tattered, stained with blood that could not be their own and their weapons glinted like stars. Buildings lay in ruin around them, with dying flames clinging desperately to them, trying to stay alive. The city’s citizens ran blindly, screaming in terror and trying to head for the safety of the castle. Many lay unmoving in the streets. Vala and her army drew their swords as the dark of night began to engulf the dying city and charged at their enemy.
Chapter 7
Kiræ was almost a week into her training and had found that although she loved the physical part, she hated her classes. She was laid on the floor of her room attempting to answer arithmetic questions when a loud sigh broke the silence and caused her to draw a dark line across her work. She looked up at Aurora who was sat in the corner staring at maps and tactics of historic battles, a look of bewilderment on her face.
“The bell’s already sounded for the evening meal Ror.” Kiræ said, discarding her now ruined work, “why don’t we take a break, you’ve been staring at those all afternoon.”
“And I still don’t understand them any better.”
“Come on, let’s get some food, maybe we’ll do better on a full stoma
ch.”
“I doubt that,” Aurora said scowling at the maps over her shoulder as they left Kiræ’s room and headed to the Great Hall. Tom and the others were already there and made room for the girls to join them. Kiræ found herself next to Hazime who grinned and immediately stole one of her potatoes.
“Hey!” she said shoving him playfully, he shrugged his shoulders and smiled innocently making her laugh. Kiræ loved how good natured Hazime was; he didn’t seem to let anything bother him. Tom had explained that a lot of Hazime’s joking was because of conflict with his family. After a particularly brutal argument with his father, he had walked out and left his family home on Zàkan Island a year and a half ago. He didn’t like to talk about them and Kiræ didn’t want to embarrass herself by asking.
“How are your classes going?” he asked her, stealing one of her carrots, she looked at him sternly but found herself trying to suppress a smile.
“They’re okay,” she shrugged, “I don’t think I’m very good at arithmetic, and the reports we have to write are pretty dull.”
Hazime laughed, “I like looking at old battles though.”
“Maybe you can write my report for me then,” Aurora half joked, “I’ll finish your arithmetic in return.”
“The battle reports are simple enough once you realise what it is old Maguire wants, I can help you with that,” Hazime offered. Kiræ looked at him expectantly but he shook his head. “I’m probably far worse at arithmetic than you, you’d be better taking Ror up on her offer!”
“Have you anything planned for your two rest days?” Tino asked, changing the subject.
“I’ll probably try to catch up on all the work we’ve already been given,” Kiræ replied sighing heavily.
“We should try and see Sara at some point too,” Tom added from across the table.
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