Gwinn stayed with Alcor through the night. She knew the Riders didn’t want her to stay in the stables but she always felt more comfortable with him. They also stopped watching her every move so, it was easier for her to get away with it now. All she had to do was show up for training on time.

She got to the field in plenty of time the next morning. It was a clear day and Gwinn took a big breath of fresh air as she strolled to the field. Darolyn arrived soon which forced all the other trainees standing there to stand up straighter. Darolyn gave instructions and, the trainees headed off but then she turned to Gwinn. “I have something new I want you to work on.”

“Fine.” Gwinn shrugged. “Should I get Alcor?”

“No. This training is for you alone.”

Gwinn crossed her arms. “Really, I thought the point of training was to learn how to ride.”

“There are many skills you must learn in order to complete your training. Not all of them include your mount and the most important things you learn will have nothing to do with him.” Darolyn told her.

Gwinn narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t ready to believe everything Darolyn said. Darolyn was a Rider after all. “Right,” Gwinn said without conviction.

Alcor made his way to the field and sauntered over to them. “What are we doing today?” He asked.

“Darolyn says I have training to do on my own.” Gwinn said.

“I hurried out here for nothing?” He stretched out his back and yawned. “I would have stopped by the bakery for a swamp roll if I had known.”

Darolyn cleared her throat. “I advise you to pay attention. You may need this skill someday.” She walked over to a white shed that sat beside the practice field. She retrieved something inside and brought it out. Gwinn stared at the thing in Darolyn’s hand. It was a long spear.

Darolyn smiled. “This is a spear, used by many of the Riders.”

“You want me to use that?” Gwinn swallowed hard.

“Of course, you may need to defend yourself along the Ways.”

“The Ways?”

“Yes. It is the term we use. As Riders we not only travel on roads but we travel through the air on currents. The roads we travel through the sky are not seen but they are still there. We use the term to refer to all the roads we travel seen or unseen.”

Gwinn shrugged. “All right, if you say so.”

“And we use the spear along the Ways.” Darolyn continued. “It has a longer reach than a sword and you will need that when you are mounted on a Sky horse or, in your case, an Airwolf.”

“Yeah, but who would attack a Rider. Everyone loves them.” Gwinn asked with some confusion.

“Not everyone loves Riders. You are a prefect example of that but you are right. Most people do esteem the Riders. The spear is not for people. You may face dangerous beasts who dwell in the forest or emissaries of the evil Lady Enora.”

“Evil Lady?"

“Yes. She is the enemy of the Riders and of the kingdom. She often sends her goons to attack us when we are on the Ways.”

“I thought she was made up. A story parents tell their kids at night to make them eat their vegetables.” Gwinn said.

“She is real but we try not to discuss her when we are in public. We do not want to scare the people. We are able to deal with her attacks without involving the general population. There is no need to scare them any more than necessary.”

“And you need spears to deal with her?”

“Unfortunately, yes. In fact, it was her goons that stole Alcor from our hatchery. She will stop at nothing to cause us harm. If you meet her, or any of her goons be on your guard, for they surely mean you harm.”

“I am always on my guard with everyone I meet.” Gwinn said.

“I’ve noticed.” Darolyn grimaced. “Now back to the spear.” She held it out horizontally. “The spear has saved many Riders and, it is likely to save your life one day. It is made from the hardened wood of the whispering willow tree, which can only be found in the Swamp of Sinking Heart. It has been compressed and weathered by the bog and you will never find a stronger piece of wood.”

Gwinn nodded. “Got it.”

Darolyn continued. “You may keep a sword or a knife with you but the spear is the best weapon to use when you are mounted. Take the spear from my hand and I will begin to instruct you on its use.”

Gwinn reached up and gripped the spear. She pulled on it but Darolyn held on to the spear with a firm grip. “This instruction is not intended to teach you how to hurt other people and especially not for people you dislike. You are learning this so you can protect your mount and your fellow Riders. Is that understood?”

They both held the spear. “What if the other Riders attack me?” Gwinn asked.

“Riders do not attack each other.”

“Tell the other Riders that.” Gwinn said as she looked across the field and gave Torston a nasty glare.

“I heard about your fight with Torston.”

Gwinn laughed. “I’m sure Marshal gave you a full report.”

“He told me everything I needed to hear.” Darolyn continued in her even tone. “No matter what happened between you and Torston it doesn’t change the fact that Rider’s do not attack each other.” She paused to give Torston a disapproving look. “Both of you need to learn how to get along with each other.”

Gwinn frowned because she knew getting along with Torston would be harder than learning how to use the spear. “Fine, Riders do not attack each other.” She repeated with little heart.

Darolyn released the spear but, she continued to address Gwinn. “The spear has a sharp point that can injure your opponent but the spear can also be used as a staff. Follow me.” She led Gwinn to a practice area and instructed her further.

Alcor lounged nearby and watched them since he was not part of this training. Torston walked up to him and watched too. “Ya know, she’s unlike any Rider I’ve ever heard of.” He said to the Airwolf.

“Really?” Alcor said so that Torston could understand him.

“It’s true. Everyone here knows what it takes to be a Rider. She doesn’t know anything about that.” Torston said.

“I don’t know anything about it either.” Alcor told him.

Torston smiled broadly. “I can show you.”

Alcor stood up. He was standing over Torston. He swished his tail back and forth and looked down at Torston appraisingly. “We shall see.” He walked toward Gwinn to watch more closely and left Torston standing by himself. The boy crossed his arms and smiled with a sly grin.

Gwinn kept her focus on Darolyn and the moves she was trying to show Gwinn. The spear was foreign to her. She had been in fights before, several times in fact, but she had only used her fists before. The spear was awkward and stiff in her hands. It felt unnatural but Gwinn watched Darolyn and tried to match her movements. It was a long day of training with the spear and by the end of it Gwinn was exhausted.

When she got back to her room that evening Merith greeted her with a happy chirp. “Hello, my friend. I’m afraid I’m not as cheerful.”

The poor little thing drooped. “Why not?”

“I spent the entire day trying to learn how to use a spear.” She flopped down on the bed. “And I’m tired.”

“That does sound tiring.”

“Tell me about it.” Gwinn sighed and leaned back. Her head hit the pillow with a pouf.

“I was looking at your maps.” Merith chirped.

“My maps?” Gwinn sat up. “I almost forgot. I’ve barely looked at them myself. Darolyn is going to be so mad.”

“You could look at them now.”

“I suppose I should.” Gwinn took out the maps which were lying next to Merith on the bedside table. She looked them over as she leaned back. It was hard for her to keep her concentration. Before long her eyes grew too heavy and, she drifted into a deep sleep. The maps floated to the floor as the light of the moon fell across her sleeping tired body.

11

Graduation day

Gwinn spent the next few weeks alternating her training time between spear practice and riding practice. She was tired everyday. They pushed her harder than the Cuthberts ever had. Her chores at the Inn were laborious but, this was different. Every muscle in her body ached from the soles of her feet to the tendons in her neck. Muscles she didn’t even know she had were sore.

As the summer wore on her muscles became used to the training and her soreness went away but her distrust of Riders remained. Most of the Riders she met were still arrogant and Torston gave her a bad time every chance he got. There were only a few people in Aerion that were tolerable and she wasn’t sure their presence was enough to make the place palatable. She had almost run away from the Cuthberts at the Inn and she was still ready to run away, even from a place like this. There was nothing keeping her here, except the food. It was pretty good.

She made her way to the practice field that morning but she wanted to swing by the Bakery to get a sweet treat before beginning her day. She walked into the tiled plaza. The Bakery sat quietly on the other side as she made her way across the plaza. Her mouth watered at the thought of a swamp roll. She licked her lips with anticipation but then a loud crash pulled her out of her reverie. She turned to see Morwena coming out of an alley. There was a broken crate in front of her and a handful of older boys crowded around her.

“Why are you blocking our way?” One boy said mockingly.

“I’m sorry.” Morwena said trying to clean up the mess. “I tripped on your foot.”

“Are you saying this is my fault? You got in our way and dropped the crate all on your own. I’m not surprised though. What would a furling talker know about dexterity? You don’t need special skills to stay on the ground.”

“I’m…I was just.” Morwena stammered.

He pushed Morwena down. “Where is your furling to warn you now?”

Gwinn ran over as fast as she could and stepped between them. She pushed the boy back. He was surprised and annoyed. “Who are you?”

“Don’t worry about that, just leave Morwena alone.” Gwinn shouted.

“I know who you are.” He said crossing his arms. “You’re that Airwolf Rider everyone keeps talking about.”

She put her fists up. “Yeah, so don’t mess with me.”

He laughed. “It looks like everything they say is true.”

“I don’t care what they say.”

“They say the Airwolf is going to choose a different Rider because you’re not a real Rider.” The boy spat.

Gwinn squeezed her fists tighter. “I told you. I don’t care.”

“I think you do.” He said pushing her like he had Morwena.

Gwinn brushed his arm aside and got ready to punch him but then a shout rose across the plaza. “Stop that!” They all looked to see Darolyn rushing toward them. “Stop fighting, both of you.” She pulled them apart. “I am disappointed in all of you. Go back to your rooms boys. You will be reprimanded in the morning.” The boy who had pushed her grew pale and, they both ran off. Morwena dusted herself off and returned to the shop. Darolyn turned to her.

Gwinn stopped Darolyn before she could chastise her. “I know. I’m not supposed to fight with them and you’re disappointed in me.”

“That is true.” Darolyn nodded.

“But they weren’t Riders. They weren’t wearing any wings on their shirts.” Gwinn argued.

“But they were trainees and you should treat them as Riders.”

“Oh.” Gwinn dropped her shoulders. “Then I guess you’re going to reprimand me.”

“No. I wasn’t.”

Gwinn did a double take. “Wait. What?”

“I was going to ask you why you did that.”

“He pushed Morwena down.” Gwinn said simply.

“I didn’t ask you what happened. I saw the whole thing. I want to know why you did what you did.” Darolyn clarified.

“I don’t know. They made me mad. They had no right to do that. She was…and they.” Gwinn was having trouble explaining herself. She wasn’t really sure why she felt the need to help Morwena.

“Then let me ask you a different question. I know you don’t care much for Riders but I’ve noticed that you don’t care for people at all. Why don’t you like people?”

The question caught Gwinn off guard. She had not expected Darolyn to be that observant. Gwinn assumed all Riders were dense but, she recovered herself quickly and answered. It was an easy question. “Oh well, I don’t know. They’re rude, mean, uncaring, selfish… Shall I go on?”

“It seems to me that you don’t like people because you’ve never met any good people.”

“Maybe that is true. When I find some good people, I’ll let you know.” Gwinn added with a smirk.

Darolyn looked in Morwena’s direction and rolled some thoughts over in her mind. “I’m not so sure you don’t care.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. The truth is, people don’t care about me and I don’t care about them. That’s the way it has always been.”

“Uh huh,” Darolyn said like she didn’t really believe Gwinn. She was about to leave but then she stopped and added, “Please do yourself a favor and try to stay out of fights.” Then she was off.

Gwinn kicked the remains of the broken crate. That was easy for Darolyn to say. She didn’t have people trying to pick fights with her all the time. Gwinn went to the training field after that but she was still in a bad mood.

She got there late and Torston teased her. “What’s the matter? Did you get lost without your furling?”

She glared at him. “Shut up. I’m not in the mood today.”

“That’s nothing new. You’re always in a bad mood.”

“Then why don’t you shut up whenever you’re around me. It would save us both a lot of trouble.” She snapped back at him.

“All of you, pay attention.” Darolyn shouted above them all. “After today you will receive a short break. The graduation ceremony is in a few days and we will stop all training until after the ceremony.”

Yes, Gwinn thought, a break from this incessant training.

“You are required to attend the ceremony, even if you are not graduating. I expect you to be there first thing in the morning wearing your full dress uniform. You must be there to support your fellow Riders.”

Gwinn groaned. She didn’t want to support the Riders or go to one of their rituals. The ceremony was for them not her. No one would be disappointed if she didn’t show up.

Darolyn looked pointedly at Gwinn. “I expect to see all of you there.” She repeated.

Gwinn remained in a bad mood for the rest of the day. They got off early and she was finally happy about something today. She hurried back to her room and avoided everyone on her way. She’d had enough of all of them for one day.