Hours of riding stretched on as Rayna’s back grew more and more sore from the repetitive impact of the galloping horse. The sprawling countryside whizzed by, along with all of the familiar landmarks Rayna used to know. She began to enter new lands with trees she had never seen before. Small villages punctuated the landscape, all of them seemingly impoverished. Rayna had never seen a rich village in her life; the Royals were dragons in their fortified cities, hoarding riches far beyond anything Rayna had ever known. Royal greed was nauseating.
Finally, a detailed metal gate came into view. Irene’s horse came to a stop before it as Irene hopped off, landing soundlessly on the ground. The building that lay behind the gate was riddled with ivy and mossy cobblestones, testament to its age. Though it looked old, it still looked strong. Far stronger than any house Rayna had ever lived in for that matter.
Taking Rayna’s hand again, Irene helped her off the horse, catching her as she stumbled when she hit the ground.
“I will take you to see the other children now,” she said, leading Rayna through the gates.
The two reached the grand doors of the fort which were etched deep with sprawling runes that Rayna could not decipher. Irene placed her palm on the center of the door, where all of the runes met to form a raised circle. As soon as her palm made contact, the runes glowed a deep red, snaking over to doors and illuminating the front of the fort. In several loud clicks, the doors unlocked and swung open. Beyond the doors lay a grand dining hall, full of sturdy wooden tables and a bar that faced the doors. The hall was empty save for one table where three people sat. By their appearance, they seemed to be about Rayna’s age.
“Go meet the others,” Izumi beckoned, pushing Rayna lightly on the back in the direction of the occupied table.
Rayna hesitantly complied, standing uncomfortably in front of the other children. A tall girl with short wavy black hair turned to Rayna, her eyebrows raised, unimpressed.
“And you are?” She started. She had an apathetic face and a matching tone.
“Rayna. And you?”
“Opal.” She turned back to the other two at the table.
“And the rest of you?” Rayna asked, attempting to spark a conversation.
A boy with a gentle face and dark skin turned to Rayna amicably. “I’m Rai, it’s nice to meet you!”
The third person, a blonde girl with piercing eyes turned to meet Rayna’s gaze. “And I’m Erin. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten someone new joining us!”
Izumi stood in the background, her stance open and relaxed as she leaned against the edge of the bar.
“Why don’t you show Rayna to her room?” She suggested, her arm resting on her sword, an act that was obviously instinctual.
Erin stood up enthusiastically, beckoning for Rayna to follow her.
“You’ll be rooming with Opal and me,” she started, walking comfortably through the halls of the fortress. She knew the building well. “We used to have two other roommates, but they’re both off fighting in the West. They’re probably going to be relocated to the stronghold over there permanently. I’m so glad you’ll be staying with us. It gets stuffy, just Opal and me.”
“You’ve got no idea…” Opal muttered, following loosely behind Erin. She obviously lacked the enthusiasm Erin possessed towards their new roommate.
Erin’s mention of children fighting in the war struck Rayna with unease. She had no desire to fight, not after she saw the brutality of the Royals firsthand. All she wanted was some semblance of safety. Revenge would be nice, yes, but she valued living even more. She was not ready to lay down her life just to face the same painful end as the rest of her family.
“You are fighters?” Rayna asked hesitantly, her gaze fixed on the cobblestone floor.
“Yeah, everyone at the fort is,” Erin said knowingly. “We all need to do our part to support the Village army.”
“And how can you pass up opportunities to demolish Royal strongholds?” Opal added, smirking.
“I’m just not much of a fighter.” Rayna’s voice was low and apprehensive. She was finally somewhat safe; was she willing to give that up just because she was so terrified of battle?
“Yeah well, neither is Rai, but you don’t see him complaining,” Opal scoffed. “We all know our duties and we’re not cowards about it. We Villagers are getting killed and hurt by the Royals all the time. It’s up to us to hurt the Royals back.”
“I just don’t think I’d be a great fighter,” Rayna muttered.
“None of us were good when we started!” Erin assured, laying a hand on Rayna’s shoulder. “It just takes practice.”
“Don’t lie to her,” Opal said. “She’s starting so late, the learning curve is going to be huge. She’s never going to be really good.”
“Opal!” Erin cried. “That’s just mean.”
“Oh, just drop it. We’ve got to get to training in half an hour. No one has time for your righteous nonsense.”
Erin flashed Rayna an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry about her,” she muttered. “She’s not good around...people.”
Erin fished a silver key out of her pocket and unlocked the wooden door at the top of the stairs. After letting both Opal and Rayna in, she fell dramatically onto the bed closest to the door and stared up at the ceiling.
“We have training in half an hour,” she mumbled. “Rayna, do you have any clothes other than what’s on your back?”
Rayna shook her head. “I was alone in a forest for three weeks. I really don’t have anything.”
Erin made a sound of acknowledgement from her supine position on the bed. “I need to get my daggers, but I’ll lend you something once I’m done with that. In the meantime, your bed is the one next to the big window.”
Rayna nodded in understanding and turned to sit on the sturdy wooden bed. The comforter was heavy and substantial, far more so than the blankets at her old home, and worlds more comfortable than the bed of straw she had been sleeping on in the forest.
Erin dug through her dresser, tossing a couple knives onto her bed and finally brandishing a white tunic and black pants.
“These should fit,” she surmised, throwing them at Rayna. “Now change quickly! We can’t be late!”
Rayna got dressed frantically, noting happily how well the clothes fit. By the time she was dressed, Opal and Erin were standing by the door, armed and ready to go. Opal had twin swords strapped to her back and shining metal forearm armor. Erin sported a belt with several different sized daggers and throwing knives secured on it.
“You can get a weapon once we get down to the training grounds,” Erin said, heading out the door. “Rai’s waiting for us, we better hurry.”
“What took you guys so long!” Rai teased good-naturedly. “If Master Gal catches us late again, he’ll actually kill us.”
“You’re right,” Erin shuddered. “We better run then, if we’re going to get there on time.”
Rai set off down the winding stairs, tearing through the dining hall, out the grand doors, and finally into the meadow enclosed by stone walls riddled with vines. Opal, Erin, and Rayna followed quickly in suit.
“Thank goodness!” Rai exclaimed happily. “We beat Master Gal.”
“I didn’t really want to die today,” Opal said in agreement, leaning against the stone wall as Erin and Rai took a seat on the soft grass.
Rayna stood awkwardly in the background. She had just met these children, yet she knew that she would get to know them quickly and intimately, given the nature of her new role as a soldier. Erin was friendly and outgoing, a characteristic that Rayna was thankful for. Rai was similar, though he was quieter and more thoughtful. She could see herself getting along well with him. Opal, on the other hand, was an enigma. She was short-fused and curt, yet she seemed to be the most motivated out of the three.
A tall figure came through the arched opening in the wall. His dark spiky hair followed the breath of the wind and he carried himself with strength and purpose. In short, Rayna was intimidated.
“Warm up now!” He barked. “And you, the new one, follow them. It’s going to be hard, but you’ll get used to it!”
Opal replied firmly and led Erin and Rai in a quick paced run. Rayna followed close behind, straining to keep up with the other three. They had obviously been training quite frequently, and their stamina was testament to their hard work. Rayna, on the other hand, was in shape, but was nowhere near fit enough to keep up with the other three.
The four bounded through the meadow, crossing a thin footbridge that went over a babbling brook, weaving through dense, tall trees, and dodging rogue roots that threatened to capture ankles given one wrong step. The pace was unrelenting and Rayna could barely keep the other three in sight. Her legs were burning with exertion as she kept pushing, but she continued to slow until she was sure that she couldn’t run anymore. The others were out of her line of vision now, and to be frank, Rayna had no idea where to go. Overcome with an adrenaline fueled panic, Rayna mustered enough energy to continue running in the direction that she expected the other three to be in. Thankfully, her guess was correct, and she could make out Erin’s bright hair in the distance. Erin began to slow as she rounded a corner, spelling the end of the run.
Rayna finally caught up to the rest and stood, doubled over, next to Erin as she caught her breath.
“Good warmup,” Gal stated definitively. “Now, stretch some and get to work. Erin, practice with the dummy, Opal, work on your forms, and Rai, some strength training will do you good. Go!”
Erin jogged over to the small shed and dragged a decrepit old training dummy from its depths. Stuffing was falling out from countless puncture wounds and it was caked in grime. Before Erin had a go with the sad dummy, she stretched slowly and deliberately, displaying impressive flexibility. After she finished, she reached for a simple dagger at her waist, sliding into a wide, balanced stance and holding the weapon in front of her. Erin took a steadying breath and launched herself at the dummy. For its dilapidated state, it stood strong against Erin’s barrage of attacks. Erin’s movements were quick and relentless. She sliced and stabbed at the dummy, cutting what would be major arteries with ease.
Erin fought with lightness that could be attributed to an acrobat. She jumped masterfully backwards onto her hands, catching her dagger once she was on her feet again. Truthfully, her movements in practice were overly showy and not completely practical. Erin would most likely never have to do a standing backflip in a real battle. Still, her acrobatic prowess served her well.
Opal stood in the corner of the enclosed meadow, her swords still sheathed. She stepped back solidly and punched the air, fire flying from her fists. Rayna’s heart skipped a beat as she saw the sparks flying at her; they stopped quite short, but the warmth and crackle of fire still terrified her. Slowly, Rayna backed up far enough so that she couldn’t feel the heat of the flames anymore.
Opal jumped and kicked fire into the air, the flames manifesting for only seconds before petering out. Rolling and twisting, she parried invisible blows, finally reaching for her twin swords. The swords flew out of their sheaths, cutting through the air with such speed that it was audible. Gripping the swords tighter, Opal enveloped the blades in dancing fire. As she cut through the air, sparks fell onto the grass, sputtering and dying once they made contact with the dew. Finally, Opal ceased her perpetual, flaming motion. She resheathed her swords and stumbled over to the wall.
“Opal!” Rai chastised, running to meet her. “You know you’re not ready for that form yet.”
“Shut up,” Opal mumbled, pushing Rai’s outstretched arm away from herself. “I’m fine.”
Rai looked at her incredulously before turning with a shrug and returning to his own training. Before he could begin the strength training that he was yearning to practice, he noticed Rayna’s awkward form several feet away.
“You should probably choose a weapon,” he suggested, leading her to the shed. “The three of us were assigned ones as soon as we got here since we were pretty young, but I guess you get to choose your own. Do you have anything in mind?”
Rayna paled at the sheer prospect of fighting. Any weapon that involved close proximity with the enemy was far too terrifying for Rayna’s taste. Mentally, she crossed out swords, daggers, and axes. The only weapon that Rayna considered sufficiently long distance was a bow and arrow.
“I’ll take a bow and some arrows,” she said quietly, ruing the time in which she’d actually have to use the weapon.
Rai nodded in agreement and entered the shack. He emerged with a longbow and a quiver full of arrows.
“To be fair, I don’t know much about archery,” he started, “but I do know that weilding a longbow takes an immense amount of strength. I don’t know if you’ll even be able to string it the first time. Master Gal will instruct you on how to use it properly.”
Rai handed the bow to Rayna. It felt heavy in Rayna’s hand, a burden she would have to grow accustomed to. It was longer than Rayna had expected, reaching a few inches above her head; she had seen archers in action before, but their movements appeared seamless and easy. Rayna already knew that none of it would come easily.
Master Gal made his way to her side, eyeing her and the bow suspiciously.
“You don’t look very strong,” he remarked, his brows furrowed in concern.
“I’m not.”
“In order to use this bow, you will become stronger.” Gal’s tone was definitive and his eyes displayed no signs of wavering. Rayna would be learning archery, and she would be doing so without complaint.
Gal walked her through stringing the bow. Even he struggled slightly with the arduous act. Rayna was met with no success. After many failed attempts, Gal handed her the strung bow and pointed her towards a target. Rayna nocked the arrow, catching it as it fell from the side of the bow. Her arms shook terribly as she struggled to pull the string back, but once the string touched the tip of her nose, she let go. The arrow arced weakly, landing far in front of the target.
“I see that you have a lot of work to do,” Master Gal said, looking pitifully at Rayna. “See to it that you improve quickly. I advise that you work on strength with Rai until you can string that bow on your own.”
Rayna nodded in compliance and hurried over to Rai.
“It’s going to be hard, you know,” Rai said apologetically, taking a break from his pushups.
“I figured as much,” Rayna chuckled dryly.
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