“Jodie likes to put on a display for new students,” Adam explained rapidly, watching the scene with admiration. I found myself standing with my mouth open, shocked, but then forced myself to pull it together. I couldn’t believe she could actually do that- I wanted to be that good.
“And… I’m supposed to do it like that?”
“Good luck,” Adam said, grinning.
Jodie began showing us the real moves we needed to complete. The first move was simple. Jodie lunged with her sword towards the right while moving her right leg forward. She reached until she was about five or six inches away from the soldier and then drew backward and lunged to the left. The moves got tougher and tougher from the first to the last. I had no trouble blocking Kat’s attacks even though the moves were getting more complicated. Her blows barely made my sword vibrate. I noticed that she wasn’t very comfortable with the sword and didn’t seem to be enjoying the lesson in the slightest.
When it was my turn, I was glad because I wanted to prove how important training meant to me. I completed almost all of the moves well. Of course, Jodie walked around while we preformed them for her and corrected all of our mistakes, mainly mine. By the end of my turn, I felt as though my arm was about to drop off, and for some reason, my abs were killing me. Maybe it was due to some of the balance required between lunging and dodging attacks.
“All right, everyone, take your swords to the armor and pick up a set.”
I walked over with Emilie and Kat to the armor piles. Unlike when we had to pick swords, there was no variation here. All of the armor looked exactly the same, minus the different sizes. All of the piles were labeled with numbers of height. I walked over to the area labeled five feet, eight inches and grabbed a set of armor. I noticed that there weren’t any shields or helmets. I inspected the sun symbol close up, wondering why the Ones of Within had chosen a sun when there wasn’t even one here. The armor was heavy to carry in my hands.
“Put it on,” Emilie said, motioning for me to come beside her. I managed to half-drag, half-carry it all to her in one trip. I dropped all of my armor on the ground at my feet. “Put the plate body on over your head.” I grabbed the heavy piece of armor and felt the cold heaviness of armor against my clothes as I put it on. It didn’t feel that bad, to be honest. I quickly put on the rest of the armor with her instructions. “Don’t even try to walk yet.” Emilie warned me as I was tempted to walk a step. I took Emilie’s advice but not without a swift glare headed at her. “You look funny in armor.” She laughed. That’s very supportive. I couldn’t help grinning. “Now try to walk.”
Emilie took a step forward, making it look very easy. I took a step forward and frowned. Even a step in the armor felt like I was carrying twenty times more weight than I usually did. Emilie laughed at the look on my face, thoroughly entertained by this.
“First time experiencing the pleasures of armor?” Jodie’s words dripped in sarcasm as she strolled by us.
“Yes!” I said, taking a third step forward. The Ones of Within members had just finished putting their armor on, and they walked over in the full set effortlessly.
“See them?” Jodie pointed at them. “That’s your goal.” I nodded in response, watching their easy steps. “Gather round.” She called to everyone.
I took a few steps forward to stand beside Austin and Kat. “This stuff is heavy!” I muttered. Austin turned his head to look at me.
“I woke up this morning with aching legs.” He shrugged his shoulders. Oh, just aching legs.
Jodie turned in the direction of the forest and everyone turned to see what she was looking at. In between the forest and the meadow was a huge tree with twisted branches. It was starting to lose its leaves and they were piling beside its trunk. “Walk over to that tree and touch it. Then, come back. Whoever cheats will have to go all the way to the forest.” Jodie threatened, staring at a few people in particular. “I will be watching.” We had to go all the way over there with armor on? I groaned inwardly. A few steps were nothing compared to the hundreds I needed to complete this task. I was going to have a lot more problems tomorrow than just ’aching legs.’
“The last one here gets to do it twice!” Jodie called out as we started to head off.
“Don’t be last.” Adam winked at me and walked forward, taking long graceful steps. I envied how easily he could walk with the armor already. Soon, I would be as good as he was at using armor- that was my goal. It took a really long time to even touch the tree, and by that time, my legs felt like they were burning. I slapped the tree disgracefully and turned. Some of the other Ones of Within members were dragging behind, and I considered it an accomplishment to be ahead of them.
I took a few wobbly steps forward, stretching my legs as far as I could, and tried to make up some of the lost steps between those ahead of me. I reached Jodie with probably four or five people behind me.
“Not bad.” Emilie whispered. Despite how proud I was of my accomplishment, I knew that tomorrow was going to be hell. After all that complaining, it ended up that Jodie didn’t make the last member take two trips to the tree, but I suspected she would have done it to me if I had been last.
“Get out of your armor and place all of our training supplies in their proper locations. I will be able to figure out who was lazy and didn’t do what I asked.” Jodie glared at us, meaning every word she said without a doubt. I did as she bid and dropped my armor where I had found it. Jodie went over to a few Ones of Within members to tell them where to go before coming over to us. “All of you are off to history.” One of the Ones of Within members behind me groaned. I couldn’t help agreeing with them.
“History’s inside the Kartica,” Emilie explained to me.
“Off you go.” Jodie turned away from us and went to examine the armor and swords to see who had disobeyed her orders. The crowd dispersed in two different directions. I had to admit it would be nice to sit down after that workout. Jodie had seemed to dislike me from the beginning, which didn’t bode well for the future training sessions. I would just have to win her over.
“Come on,” Kat said, heading in the direction of the Kartica in front of the rest of the Ones of Within members.
“So, how’s your day been so far?” Emilie asked.
“Well, I failed miserably at archery,” I said, “But I think I did pretty well with the sword fighting.”
Emilie glanced at me. “That’s not really surprising to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. It will be interesting to see how well you do with magic training.” She walked a step forward, leaving me confused.
“Will you show me the prophecy later?” I asked unintentionally.
“Sure, if it interests you, I will.” She probably guessed that Dominic had told me everyone could see the prophecy.
“Is there any way to figure out what’s going on Earth while you are in Aughmortor?” I asked, once again thinking about my father.
“Are you missing your dad?” Emilie asked, sympathetically. “To be honest, I haven’t tried it before. You might want to go to the messenger’s shop. He might be able to find a way to get you informed about what’s going on but he wouldn’t be able to form a communication between the two of you. It’s not allowed in Sybra.”
“Emilie… is there any way to get back on Earth?”
It had just hit me. Would I ever set foot on Earth again? Had I condemned myself to live here forever? Emilie sighed, bending her head so I couldn’t see her face. “Not for now. Until Earth is protected from harm, there is no turning back. Afterward, probably.” She didn’t sound very certain.
I didn’t want to turn back. Did I? This was my new home. This was my first day. I had to make the most of it. Still, I found myself thinking back to my conversation earlier with Dominic. Was there a way out of the Ones of Within? There had to be, right? If there was anyone who would know, it would be James.
“Do you ever get to talk to James?”
“Yes. Eve
ry once in awhile he’ll send for you in the meeting room to discuss your progress. It doesn’t happen very often, though. I think he records the information.”
It seemed like the Ones of Within were very careful to make sure they had records of everything. No one probably ever got their hands on the records unless they were leaders.
“Hey Emilie, will we be able to travel outside of Sybra? Not just on patrol. But like actually, visit other areas of Aughmortor.”
“You ask way too many questions,” Emilie said jokingly. “But yes, eventually, we will be able to. For the most part, the Ones of Within are pretty open to traveling out of Sybra as long as they are aware of it, and safety measures are taken. But there are certain areas we aren’t allowed to visit due to safety.”
“Like where?”
“The Uncharted Lands. That’s what they’re called. People are scared to go to the Uncharted Lands, for a good reason. There are many stories of brave adventurers who went to explore the Uncharted Lands and never came back. Some of the best Ones of Within members we ever had went there and were never seen again.”
“What could be so dangerous in there?”
“No one really knows. But a man a few years ago came to the border of the Uncharted Lands and heard terrible animal howls and got too scared to continue. No one blamed him. There is a story about the finder of the Uncharted Lands.”
Emilie cleared her throat while I waited patiently. “The man who discovered the Uncharted Lands was Hugashumar, but he went by Hugashi. Hugashi wasn’t necessarily the finder of the Uncharted Lands… that isn’t the right word. He was one of the Ones of Within’s strongest members, possibly ever in history. Hugashi went into the Uncharted Lands and discovered everything about them. He learned about the monsters, plants, and drew maps of it all. He learned all the tricks to defeat anything in the Uncharted Lands through his studies. Hugashi was scared of the knowledge, though. The things in the Uncharted Lands were too strong to be fought by the Ones of Within members. If they got out of the Uncharted Lands and traveled into Aughmortor, many people would be slaughtered.”
“So, he made a decision. Hugashi recorded all of the information he had discovered in a journal, putting everything in it. He formed the magical border that still remains around the Uncharted Lands, which keeps all inhuman beings from exiting the Uncharted Lands. Them, he returned to Sybra and told them everything he had discovered about the Uncharted Lands. Hugashi hid his journal, buried it somewhere apparently, and wouldn’t give it to anyone. Eventually, he died and so did the proof of his discoveries. The journal was still hidden when Hugashi died, so the secrets of the Uncharted Lands still remain.”
Emilie’s voice turned into a whisper, her eyes far in the distant. “They say there are amazing treasures in there, like unbreakable swords, piles of gold, and diamond armor. People have journeyed to the Uncharted Lands with the hope to change their families’ lives.” I could imagine it, right then. Walking out of the Uncharted Lands with piles of gold and becoming the second person to travel from the Uncharted Lands alive.
“People have lost their heads over the thought of ultimate riches and glory.” Emilie’s eyes turned to meet mine. “It made them lose their lives.” It was almost as though she knew what I had been thinking. How could she do that? Was my face that easy to read? I had to hide my feelings better. “Magical bonds protect anything inhuman from leaving the Uncharted Lands. After many people left for the Uncharted Lands and never returned, the magic boundaries were created.”
“What’s the process to go to the Uncharted Lands?”
Emilie’s eyes narrowed on my face. “Don’t tell me you are thinking about going there.”
Her reaction was exactly what I thought it would be. “No way! I was just curious.”
Her hand rubbed her forehead in poorly concealed relief. “I was getting worried there. Basically, you would have to ask James. He’ll try to persuade you not to go, but I don’t believe he would force you to stay here against your will. James would probably give you materials for your trip as well.”
“How many people have never come back from the Uncharted Lands?”
“Hundreds.” So many. Maybe, they hadn’t actually died though. Maybe, there was a hidden community in the Uncharted Lands of people who traveled there and decided never to come back.
“The magic that protects anything inhuman from leaving the Uncharted Lands might also keep humans in. Or, maybe there’s a community in the Uncharted Lands of people who never returned.”
“The Ones of Within would never try to kill their own family and friends, and staying in the Uncharted Lands is a death sentence. There’s no way the magic blocks people from returning to Aughmortor. There’s no community in the Uncharted Lands.” Emilie replied with savage certainty.
“I didn’t specifically say the Ones of Within. What about the Larta? It’s something they might do.”
“The Ones of Within would discover it. They’d be able to tell. There would be no chance of that happening.” Emilie’s voice was full of finality.
I guess that she didn’t like it when someone questioned the Ones of Within. She must have a lot of faith in their capabilities. What if she was wrong? What if the Larta were hiding something in the Uncharted Lands? What if they were hiding something meant to harm Earth? It was something hard to understand. I decided if I had time in history I would ask our instructor. They might know something about the Uncharted Lands that Emilie wasn’t informed of or wasn’t willing to bring up with me.
Chapter Nine
We weaved through an endless amount of rooms before we finally reached the classroom for History. By now, I had no idea how to get back to the training grounds or the Ones of Within’s section of the Kartica. Luckily, Emilie and Adam seemed to know what they were doing. They told me that eventually, I would know the way through Kartica and Sybra like the back of my hand, but I didn’t completely believe them. I’d never been very good at remembering directions. Perhaps my Vatra would involve direction skills? I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of it.
The History classroom was fairly small, with a massive set of long paneled windows across the far end of the room. In front of the massive windows was a long wooden desk made of dark, blackened wood with prominent age lines. The desk had the Ones of Within symbol on it, the sun. Sitting at the desk was a tall, skinny man with pale skin and messy, tousled black hair. He had a sharp, aquiline nose and prominent cheekbones. The man had his fingers laced together before him as he watched the entering teenagers. Closer to the door were a few tables of seat positioned in line with the instructor’s desk. I sat down at one of the back tables with Dominic and Kat.
“Hello, class!” The man’s voice was a bit nasally and high-pitched.
“This is Gem.” Dominic pointed at the teacher.
Gem stood up and walked about his classroom, his gnarled white hands still clasped together. Almost all of the seats in the classroom were full. The room was filled with loud discussion, but it quieted down when Gem snapped his fingers loudly, and a bulletin board flew from behind his desk and into his hands.
A piece of paper had already been placed on the bulletin board, held on at the top by nothing visible to the eye. On the piece of plain white paper was big black lettering that listed a few things on it. Before we could see what it said, he ripped it off, looking a bit confused. “Today, we will be learning about the species of Aughmortor. As we know, many types of animals and people live here.” Gem looked around the classroom. “Leah, pass out the maroon books on top of the cabinet on the right. I believe you shall know which ones I mean.” A platinum blonde-haired girl with very short, shaved hair stood up and walked over to the cabinet. “While she sets to that, give me some races on Aughmortor that are allied with the Ones of Within.” Gem looked around expectantly. Kat raised her hand a few seconds after he asked the question.
“Kat?”
“The races that are our allies at the moment are elves, dwarves, pixies, fairie
s, jinn, and demarisas.”
“Kat, tell me about each of the races if you would.”
“Elves are quick-witted and are known for their incredible aim, intelligence, and magical ability. Dwarves are a bit bulkier than elves and also a bit shorter. They are lethal in battle with their weapons, mainly axes or swords. They are harder to gain the trust of. Pixies are very closely related to Fairies. They have bright blue skin and bright green eyes. They are much smaller than dwarves and a few inches shorter than fairies even. They are very skilled in magic and have a strong set of values and belief systems. Fairies are a few inches taller than pixies. They have green skin, the color of a leaf in spring. Their eyes are a brilliant violet color. They are known for their pranks and their ability to enjoy a good laugh. Jinns are almost extinct. The ones that do live are hidden inside of things in places you would never expect. They are very shy and frightened of monsters. Jinn’s most unsettling feature is their natural ability to not only take human shape but that of any animals as well. Demarisas are beautiful white creatures with pearly skin. They have hair like human’s, and both males and females wear it long. Their hair is coal black, while the fur is white.They have hands, but their feet look like a white cat’s paws.”
“Where was that from?” I whispered when Gem turned to focus his attention on a group of chatting people to his left. I was impressed she already knew so much about the creatures on Aughmortor.
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