When they entered the large building, they found two small lines leading to staffed tables. One table had a sign marked Apprentice and the other had one labeled Adept. Brock and the other boys stood in the apprentice line while Ashland joined the line with the other adept-level students.
After a few minutes, it was Brock’s turn to check in.
“Hi, Monica.” Brock said to the blonde girl sitting at the table.
She pushed her glasses up and smiled shyly. “Hi, Brock. Welcome back.”
She flipped through her papers, finding his name.
Monica looked back up at him. “Would you like your own room? We have fifteen singles remaining.”
Brock shrugged. “No. I’d rather keep my roommate from last year: Cameron DeSanus.” He thumbed toward Cam. “He’s right here, checking in with me.”
Cam smiled, nodding. Brock smiled back, knowing that Cameron preferred not to be alone. He turned back to Monica, who was making a notation.
She called out to the male student standing behind her, “Room 2024.”
“Actually, can we have a room at the end of the hall, by the lounge?” Brock asked.
She shrugged. “Sure. Make that room 2099.”
The boy ran off toward the large kart of keys. Moments later, he returned with two keys tied to cords. Brock grabbed the keys and handed one to Cam.
“Thanks, Monica. You’re the best,” Brock flashed a smile.
The girl smiled back. “Thank you, Brock.”
“Come on, Cam.” Brock said, waving his roommate along as they made their way to their new room on the second floor.
CHAPTER 8
Benny woke early, excited to begin the new school year. After dressing and taming his thick dark hair, he snuck out into the hallway, careful not to wake Parker. He crossed the hall and put his ear against the door. Hearing nothing inside the room, he decided that Brock and Cam were still asleep. Rather than waking anyone, Benny strolled down the hall to the stairs, descending to the main level. Since it was still too early for breakfast, he instead made his way to the main hall and stepped outside.
Stars above twinkled in the sky as the first inkling of the coming daylight began to lighten the eastern horizon. Birds tentatively chirped in surrounding trees, anticipating dawn’s breaking. The still air made the valley feel serene in the dimness of twilight.
Benny noticed someone on the lawn below. He had expected to be alone, but felt a twinge of excitement at the opportunity to speak with someone. Descending the stairs and crossing the lawn, he approached the person.
“Who’s there?” he heard a familiar voice cry from ahead.
“It’s Benny, Master Nindlerod. Benny Hedgewick.”
“Hedgewick? Oh, yes.” The man nodded as Benny came into view. “Welcome back, Mister Hedgewick.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m glad to be back.” Benny pointed at the tripod standing beside the man. “What’s with the telescope?”
“What? Oh, this?” Nindlerod patted the large device. “I’ve been using it to track the planet.”
“Planet? You mean in the sky?” Benny asked.
“Yes, it’s getting closer.” The Master Engineer nodded. “Come see for yourself.”
Benny leaned in to look through the lens. A large gray-tinted sphere popped into view, lines swirling upon its surface. He stepped back, pointing toward the brightest object in the early morning sky.
“Soon, it will be lost in the bright haze of the day sky.” The old Master said. “Come spring, it should reemerge in the evening sky and will appear as large to our eyes as it does now when peering through this telescope.”
Benny looked at the old man, his brow furrowing. “I’ve never heard of this planet. How can this be?”
Nindlerod shrugged. “I’m not sure, son. Perhaps it’s always been there, just moving on a different plane than our planet and rarely coming near ours. The only mention I’ve found about it comes from hundreds of years ago. I’m assuming that this is what they saw since the man who noted the object was never able to identify it.”
Benny looked up, finding the sky noticeably lighter than when he had first stepped outside. The song from the birds had increased, soon to reach a crescendo as they welcomed the day.
“Thanks, Master Nindlerod,” Benny said. “I’m going to get some breakfast before I head to Engineering orientation. Will you be there?”
The man looked back toward Benny. “What? No, not me. I am still working with the novices.” Nindlerod’s head shook as he spoke. “Master Shim will now be your instructor.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later, then.” Benny turned and walked back toward the building as the light of dawn brightened the sky above him.
After grabbing some eggs, a biscuit, and some porridge, he sat at a table in the dining hall. Just when he had cleared his plate of food, Brock and Cam joined him with Ashland arriving soon after. Even Parker sat at the table since he was no longer bound to follow Corbin around. Finally, Lars showed. Of those in their group, he was the only boy who had opted to room alone. Things were different for the girls, who all had rooms to themselves since there were far fewer female students.
Their conversation revolved around questions of their new roles as apprentice students. Even Ashland, who had spent much of her time assisting Master Varius the previous year, was curious to see what her new role involved. She explained that Varius was now instructing the upper-level students, no longer requiring an assistant since there were far fewer apprentice and adept Ecclesiasts than there were novices.
The bell rang, and they went their separate ways.
Benny made his way to the Engineering wing, entering the classroom across the hall from the one he had spent so many hours in the year prior. Glancing around, he counted more than thirty other students in the room. He grabbed a seat at a workbench and waited for orientation to begin.
A minute later, the bell rang and a big man with over-sized features waddled into the room. His purple master’s cloak swished side-to-side as he walked to his desk. In an attempt to cover his balding crown, his brown hair was combed from one side to the other. Thick sausage-like fingers adjusted his small round spectacles as he addressed the class.
“Welcome, apprentice and adept Engineering students.” He spoke with a thick tongue, making it challenging to understand. “Today, you begin the next stage of your journey to Master Engineer.”
The man stepped closer to the class. “My name is Master Shim. I will be your primary instructor this year. In this room, we will focus on the advanced principles of physics, strength of materials, fluid dynamics, and scientific theory. You will meet here every other morning to cover those topics. On the mornings when you are not meeting here, you will be heading to the foundry for training with our skill experts, who will help you to perfect your skills in metal casting, metal forging, woodworking, glass blowing, and more. By year-end, the apprentices will be advanced in these skills and the adept students will be experts.”
He smiled, nodding. “Now, for the fun part. The afternoons will be yours to design and build anything you can envision. The inventions you create may well improve the welfare of the citizens of the Empire. We only ask that you give way to any novice-level instruction occurring in the foundry.”
Benny smiled at the thought of having so much free time to dream up new creations. With full access to the foundry resources, he could create anything. He just needed to decide which idea to tackle first.
CHAPTER 9
Cameron couldn’t take his eyes off of the red-haired girl. The tight white vest and tan breeches of her sparring outfit enhanced the long, lithe body underneath. He redirected his gaze toward Master Kardan, trying to concentrate on what the man was saying. The other twenty-nine apprentice Paladins stood in a line to Cam’s left and right, mirroring the adept students in the line across from them. Kardan paced between the lines as he spoke to the group. Cam found his eyes continuously shifting back to Tegan.
A trickle of sweat ran dow
n Cameron’s brow, stinging when it entered his eye. His shirt was damp with perspiration, proof of the effort expended in the warmup exercise he had just finished.
“Okay!” Kardan shouted. “Grab your headgear and sparring weapons and find a partner. Let’s work some of the rust out of your system after a month lazing about.”
Cam and the other students scrambled to get their gear. With his wooden sparring sword in hand and helmet tucked under an arm, Cam hurried across the floor to where the adept Paladins had gathered. His eyes found the splash of bright red hair just before a helmet slid down to cover it. As he approached, he gathered his courage and spoke to the girl.
“Tegan?” he said, sounding unsure.
She turned toward him, her eyes looking him up and down. “Cameron. Are you here to break my leg again?” Her brow arched in question.
He recalled the last time he had faced her, defeating her on his way to becoming Arena Champion. He hadn’t meant to break her leg; it just happened in the flow of the duel.
Nervous, Cam stammered. “Um…I…No. I mean, I was hoping you would spar with me.”
She smiled. “I was just teasing. There is actually nobody I’d rather not spar with.”
Confused, Cam wasn’t sure what to say.
The devious smile slid off her face as she released a sigh. “However, if I want to get better, you’re my only choice.” She began walking away, speaking over her shoulder. “But I’m warning you that I hate to lose. I hate it.”
She stopped in an open area, not far from where he stood. He stared at her in confusion.
“Come on.” She waved her two wooden short swords about. “Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER 10
Brock nodded in response to the request. “I understand. I’ll do my best.”
Master Varius nodded, a gracious smile crossing her face. “Thank you, Brock.”
She raised her voice to address the small class. The twenty-six students included every apprentice and adept Ecclesiast at the school.
“The thirteen students who raised their hands will each be assigned healing duty with one of the other thirteen. This will pair one experienced healer with one student still attempting to develop the ability. Once Brock submits the schedule tomorrow, you are to follow it and attend the Paladin classes as healing support whenever scheduled. When that schedule conflicts with your daily session here, you must get notes from a student who attended class. Do not take healing duty as an excuse to fall behind.”
With her hands clasped behind her purple-cloaked back, the Master Ecclesiast strolled down the aisle dividing the room. Brock stared at her from behind, watching stray brown hairs dangle below the bun holding the majority of her hair in place.
“Healing will continue to be a major focus of your training throughout the year. However, I need to share something with you now that you are officially Ecclesiasts in training.”
Turning, her brown eyes were serious as she scanned the room. “The adept students in the room have already heard what I am about to say, but it bears repeating.” She continued talking as she walked toward the head of the classroom. “You’ve been introduced to the art of divining. In fact, I believe that each of you has exhibited skill in this area.”
“You also know that divining is the ability used during a Choosing ceremony where we determine a newborn’s potential and assign them a life vocation. In a few weeks, we will go over the details of the ceremony, training you how to perform the process.”
She stopped at the front of the room.
“But first, we will cover the most important part of the ceremony. It involves a new symbol, one for which you are to remain forever vigilant, for it is evil.”
A murmur of concern and disbelief ran through the room.
The Ecclesiast Master nodded. “Yes. I said evil. The rune I’m about to show you is nameless and must remain nameless. All you need to know is that you must always watch for this rune and when you recognize it, you are to halt the Choosing ceremony. The child must not be marked with a vocation rune but instead must go Unchosen.”
She stepped aside, grabbing a sheet hanging on the wall. With a flourish, she tore the sheet away to reveal a tapestry depicting a rune of a red starburst with four large points and four small points sewn into a solid black background. As Brock had expected, it was the symbol for Chaos.
Varius tapped on the tapestry. “Remember this symbol, for wherever you see it, evil follows. Among the most important missions of the Ministry is to prevent this evil from returning. We do so by seeking it within each child we divine, ensuring that those who have it remain Unchosen.” She stepped closer, hands clasped at her waist. “Do not kill them or do anything else so overt because it could cause panic and rebellion among the population.”
Her intense brown eyes scanned the room in a moment of grim silence.
As Varius spoke, internal conflict began to roil within Brock. He knew the truth of Chaos and the power it possessed. It was part of him and Ashland. He refused to believe that the ability was evil. He certainly wasn’t evil, and Ashland was among the best people he knew.
Yet the Ministry was training him to be someone who would ensure that children with this ability remain Unchosen. How could he force others to live that life? How could he place them in the same hopeless position that he and Ashland had fled?
The thought led Brock to another question. Did every Unchosen have the innate ability to channel Chaos?
CHAPTER 11
The whirling sound of Cam’s fluted blade slicing through the air filled his ears. He lunged with an arcing slash. Spinning, he chopped downward at another enemy. With a twist, he dodged an overhead strike and drove the sword tip through his foe. Another enemy stepped forward, and Cam led with a feint followed by a redirected attack based on the anticipated response of his attacker. With speed and precision, the well-balanced longsword shredded the surrounding enemies as their lifeless bodies littered the turf around him.
“You know you’re not supposed to have a real blade yet, right?”
Startled, Cam spun toward the voice.
“Careful, I wouldn’t want you to slice off any important parts,” Tegan said, a small smile tugging on the corner of her full lips. Her eyes flicked down to his bare torso.
“Um…sorry. You startled me. I thought I was alone,” Cam replied, trying to regain his composure. It wasn’t easy when he was around this girl. “How did you find me?”
He had intentionally gone into the woods to practice alone. The small glade in the heart of a copse of trees seemed an ideal location to brandish his sword in private. He had shed his shirt due to the warmth of the afternoon sun.
“Maybe you’re not the only one who knows about this spot,” she said, circling him as she spoke. “Then again, maybe I watched you walk out here.”
Cam frowned. Why would she do that?
“Let me see the blade.” She held out her hand.
He passed the blade to her, hilt first. She lifted the sword, testing its balance.
“Longswords aren’t my thing, but this is a beautiful weapon.” She examined the rune stamped into the fluted part of the blade, just above the hilt. “I bet it’s worth a fortune. Did you steal it?”
“What?” Cam’s brow furrowed. “No. My father gave it to me.”
She nodded. “I’ve heard of him. Cassius DeSanus. There are stories.”
Cam shrugged. “I’ve heard them.”
“I’m sure you have.” She eyed the blade again. “It’s a named blade, isn’t it?”
He nodded again. “Yes. Silencer.”
She nodded. “Is that why they called your father The Calm?”
Cam shrugged. Talking about his father always put him in a mood, making him withdraw.
Tegan flipped the sword, deftly catching the blade with one hand to hold the hilt toward Cameron. He reclaimed the sword, sliding it back into its scabbard.
“It must be difficult,” she said.
“What?”
She stepped closer. “Being your father’s son.”
Squinting, he stared into her intense green eyes.
She smiled. “If it helps, I can’t imagine anyone else even hoping to live up to that standard. You’re the one student who’d have a chance.”
“Um…thanks.”
Her hands suddenly thrust out, striking his bare chest and causing him to stumble back a step.
A grin stretched across her face. “Take the sword off so we can fight.”
“What?” Cam asked.
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you afraid I might beat you?”
Flustered, Cameron stammered. “Well, no. It’s just...” He released a sigh. “Fine.”
He pulled the belt off, and tossed the sword into the long grass. When he looked up, she was in a ready stance. The corners of her lips turned up slightly, reflecting her confidence. He didn’t want to fight her, finding that his heart was pulling in another direction.
She leapt up and spun with a high kick. Cam ducked, watching her warily when she landed. She lunged toward him, throwing a punch that he easily dodged. With a tight spin, she flipped her hips and kicked backward, striking him in the stomach. Cam bent with the blow to better absorb it. She leapt again, her leg coming up fast toward his face. He twisted to avoid the strike, wrapping his arm under the leg to lift it high. Rather than falling on her back, Tegan pushed off Cam with her other leg and flipped backward to land on her feet.
Smiling, she paused a moment. Cam took a half-hearted swing at her smug grin. She dodged and grabbed his wrist. Twisting her body, she pulled hard on his arm so his body flipped over her back. He landed hard in the long grass with the girl on top of him. Straddling his mid-section, she pinned both of his wrists in the long grass. He stared up at her pretty face, not even trying to resist. With her eyes locked onto his, she drew closer.
The Emblem Throne (The Runes of Issalia Book 2) Page 5