The early morning sunshine shone through the tent door as it gaped wide open. Merlyn rolled over with a groan, throwing his pillow over his head. Something sharp poked him in the side and he yelped, look up to see Brisen grinning down at him, a wooden staff in her hand. That was what had jabbed him, he supposed. "Ow, Brisen! What was that for?" She snickered, a twig hanging from one of her braids. "You've overslept anyways. The drwyds let you only because of your cave thing earlier, don't get used to it."
He groaned, sitting up and pulling a clean tunic on. They had received the official white robes, but those were only for official ceremonies. The tan cloth was warm from where the sunlight had filtered in on it and he yawned, blinking back sleep. "What're we doing today?" Brisen shrugged. "I dunno, you'll figure it out with the rest of us. Gwyn's already there." Together the two of them wound through the forest trail to a different clearing where two adults stood, arms crossed. Gwyn hung back against the tree line, hesitant. But when he saw the other two he straightened and the three of them passed through the ash and oak trees together.
"Welcome to the waking world, young Merlyn," the woman on the left said, her blonde hair and green eyes piercing in the sunlight. Merlyn dipped his head awkwardly. "Sorry I slept too long," he said, feeling singled out. She nodded curtly, saying nothing. The man next to her gave her a sideways look before sighing, his dark hair and dark eyes reminiscent of Merlyn's own. "Branwen, be kind. He's a child." His voice was musical and gentle and Merlyn immediately liked him. Branwen shot the man a look that Merlyn couldn't decipher as he shifted uneasily next to Brisen and Gwyn. "Eirnin, you are too kind. He may be a child, but so are the other two, and they did not sleep so soundly."
Eirnin's dark brown furrowed but before he could even open his mouth to reply Branwen shook her head. "Yes, I remember. He got lost during the trials. But he is here now, and we are behind on our training." Eirnin put his hands up in a surrender, catching Merlyn's eye. The man winked and Merlyn dropped his eyes, a smile warring to be shown on his lips. He coughed, covering his mouth with his hand even though he knew his eyes must be dancing with the mirth that his mouth didn't give away. Brisen shifted and he caught a smile behind her arm as she pretending to fix her braid. The air of the clearing lightened and he relaxed. Too early.
Branwen scowled, shaking her head. "We must catch up for this time that has been wasted. Let us make our way through the forest and see what trees you already know," she said, her voice disapproving as her green eyes shot through each child in turn. As they tromped through the underbrush swatting bugs out of their eyes, the bright eyed excitement that even Merlyn was feeling about finally learning was beginning to fade. Every so often Branwen or Eirnin would point to a tree and the children would guess what its name was. Most of the time Branwen's sharp voice cut through the air in a harsh, "wrong!"
Merlyn had thought he was good at recognizing trees but he realized there were so many variations and species and types that it was almost impossible to keep up. After one of them replied, if it was wrong, then Eirnin would lean over and softly tell them the correct answer. As the sun slanted in a new direction, hours passed, and their legs started to feel more sore than they thought would be possible, they found the frequency that Branwen would snap at them slowly started to lessen. Now the hope was that they would continue to improve and continue to remember what they had learned from day to day. Merlyn was a little disappointed they weren't learning anything more exciting. Later, over a dinner of venison strew, he'd asked Eirnin what they would be learning next.
The man had smiled, a nostalgic look flashing over his face. "I'd thought much the same my first day of training. Don't get your hopes up. You're going to be practicing recognizing trees for quite some time. And then you'll just start learning what the trees mean in the lore, let alone anything remotely fascinating. It all builds off of itself, don't rush. You have nine years with us after all." The reminder sunk into his bones like sunlight. He knew he wasn't going to spend all that time camping, the druids would travel and take their students to see all sorts of sights and sacred land. But at the moment, here on the end of their first day of training, it was hard to picture the enormity of the information he was going to be learning. It was hard enough for him to remember the chores his mother had him do, let alone nine years of intense training.
Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face because Eirnin chuckled, eating a spoonful of his stew. "It is a lot, but you can do it. Many before you have and many after you will. Despite the winds of change blowing in this land the god of the Christians won't be able to destroy us altogether. You three are an example of that. You are our future. Keep the lore, teach the lore. That is how we will continue." The words brought a little thrill to Merlyn's blood. It was strange to think of himself in such a way now, heir to a long line of teachings that he was responsible for passing along.
But not alone, he thought, brightening. Across the fire Brisen had managed to get Branwen to laugh at something, and the harsh lines of her face softened in the firelight. When his eyes slid to Gwyn's the boy raised his head, feeling Merlyn's gaze on him. When their eyes met, Gwyn smiled. Merlyn looked away, embarrassed at being caught. The boy was worlds away from when they had first met. Still shy, but with a newfound confidence. It made Merlyn wonder what he'd experienced during the initiation, but that wasn't his story to know. Still, looking at the air of peace that had settled over his classmate made him jealous in a way. His life had become more complicated while Gwyn's had found a purpose.
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