“Wake up you lazy brood! I'm not going to stand here all day waiting till you decide you've had enough beauty rest!” I was startled awake by the unbearably loud and shrieking voice. Bolting upright I found my brothers all in a similar state of dazed confusion, soup bowls from the night before scattered around us.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I looked to the source of the shouting and found Tusa. Glaring down at us, arms crossed over her chest.

“On your feet, go wash up in the barrel over there and try to get rid of those stupid looks on your faces. Soon as you're done we start today's lessons.” As ordered we made our way to the large barrel filled with cool water and washed our faces. It helped to shock us awake and we quickly made our way back to the seats we had been assigned the day prior.

“We have some questions!” Drazahar exclaimed before Tusa even stood in front of the blackboard, there were murmurs of agreement among the group. But the older Goblin appeared unperturbed and she began rummaging through one of her pouches.

“You said Goblins serve an important role in the Horde, so why is our only reward being allowed to live?” Malkadian questioned our teacher and she made no response.

“You also said we would be forced to go to a burrow when we came of age. What are the burrows? Where are they?” I added my own queries to the discussion as well.

“And you said my master skill was outlawed, why?!” Drazahar was practically shouting at this point and was starting to look angry. Despite the onslaught of questions, Tusa made no effort to answer or even acknowledge us. Instead, she stood up straight and turned to face us.

“Today we will be going over the laws of the Horde. These are important, the consequences for breaking them will mean your life. So pay attention.” We quieted but the displeasure at her ignoring our questions hung in the air around us. Tusa turned to the board and started writing.

“First rule of the Horde: Always pay your tribute. The second rule of the Horde: Goblins are not allowed into the encampment without permission.” The first rule was not surprising, but the second caused me some concern. We were in the encampment now, it was most likely made up of all the yurts we had seen during the trip here. So our home was part of the encampment, which meant we wouldn't be allowed back once we were sent to a burrow. I felt my throat tighten. Would we not be allowed to see our mother?

I looked over to Malkadian, he caught my eye and I could tell he was thinking the same thing. But Tusa had said we weren't allowed in without permission. . .

“How do you get permission to enter the encampment?” I asked, not even bothering to raise my hand. Tusa didn't seem to care, not even turning to face me as she continued writing.

“We will have time for questions later. Rule three of the Horde: You must serve the Ograsi in every way, shape, and form.” I wanted to say something more but I bit my tongue. As infuriating as Tusa's stalling for answers was, arguing with her would not make her more inclined to offer information.

“And lastly, rule four of the Horde: Magic in any shape or form is not allowed.” Finally, the Goblin woman turned to face us.

“Does everyone understand?” This simple question seemed to break the damn and we all began speaking at once.

“Why are we not allowed in the encampment?”

“Who are the Ograsi?”

“Why do we have to go live in the burrows?”

“What's wrong with doing magic?”

“Are we never going home again?”

Tusa rubbed at her temples and took a long steadying breath.

“Ignis grant me the patience to not kill these children.” I heard her murmur before straightening up and glaring down her nose at us.

“How is magic just banned?!” Drazahar finally exclaimed. “It's a skill you can be born with, so why are we not allowed to use it or tell people?!” Though it was a question he made it sound more like a demand for answers. Tusa shot the boy a venomous look.

“It's banned because that is what the Ograsi have decreed. No one is allowed to practice or use magic of any kind.” Drazahar glared back at her and stood up trying to meet her eye to eye. It didn't quite work as he was several inches shorter than her.

“That makes no sense! We've seen people use magic!” The younger Goblin declared and crossed his arms over his chest, looking smug like he had won the argument. Tusa took a few steps forward, and a sudden press of force was felt. I immediately recalled something that happened with our mother, an intense pressing force right before I passed out. This was nowhere near as strong as hers had been, but it was definitely similar energy.

At this Drazahar seemed to shrink, but he still had a defiant look on his face even as his hands started to shake.

“It has been outlawed and that is the end of it. If you are caught practicing magic or even attempting to learn magic it will be the end of your miserably short little life. Do you understand?” Drazahar was more visibly shaking but did his best to glare up at the taller Goblin.

“But-” He was cut off by a glare from Tusa.

“There will be no more questions. Now nod your head that you understand little Goblin.” Drazahar gritted his teeth and nodded. At this Tusa smirked, the pressure dissipated and she turned back to the blackboard.

“There's a lot to go over and we don't have very much time. So keep your questions to yourselves, unless I say otherwise.” We remained quiet, I glance at Drazahar and found he was agitatedly gnawing at his thumbnail. I understood his frustration, it seemed that with every fact Tusa gave us, ten new questions arose and she had no desire to answer them. It was clear we were simply meant to listen and accept what she said without question. I clenched my fists. I knew we deserved answers, we were more than just disposable workers.

The day carried on in tense silence as Tusa had us learn and recite a few songs. According to her, they were common melodies we would hear often and be expected to know. They were interesting songs, one seemed to be a love ballad where the singer longed for their waiting lover. The other two were sorrowful and slow, their lyrics told of bloodied battlefields and souls laid to rest. Tusa explained the last two were commonly sung on battlefields and at funerals to honor the dead. I wondered how often she expected us to sing them.

After our song lessons, she presented a large leather bag and from it produced eight small knives and the bodies of several small animals. They appeared to be rodent-like creatures, with long snouts and big ears, their bodies were long furry tubes with little puff tails and four tiny paws.

“Basic survival skills are essential to Goblins. It's what will help keep you alive when you're out there fending for your selves.” She laid the rodents out before us, taking one in her hand and producing a knife from her belt.

“Part of that is knowing how to skin and harvest the creatures you kill. The loot they give you will be used for tribute and what remains is yours to craft or sell.” With that Tusa began demonstrating how to skin the small animals, instructing where to cut along its belly and how to remove its hide. From there she showed us how to remove its entrails without tainting the meat and how to carve up the remains.

“Don't let anything go to waste, every bit of a creature can be of use! And you never know when you might come across one, could be a few days or a few weeks. So make the most of every hunt.” With that she had us take up a knife and a carcass and we started skinning it.

I bit my lip, focusing as I gently slid the knife blade along the animal's stomach as Tusa had shown us. From there I used my fingers and natural claws, as instructed, to peel the animal's skin awake from its flesh. Eventually, the last sinew broke and the hide came free, I held it up triumphantly. Tusa nodded her head in approval, as I realized I had been the first to finish skinning my rodent.

Looking around I saw Malkadian relieve his carcass of its skin a moment later and I congratulated him. From there Drazahar and Makadian finished theirs, Maka in particular, seemed to enjoy stripping the flesh from his animal. I moved on to the others finding Tamar, Dahkan, Inash, and Tasar finished with theirs shortly after. They all looked proud of themselves, except for Tasar who held the hide up with two fingers and looked rather pale.

“Good, you all managed to finish skinning your Plain Rats. Next, we move on to butchering them.” Tasar looked like he wanted to throw up.

A few hours later we had all managed to remove the skin, entrails, and meat of our rats. While a couple had accidentally punctured the organs and ruined the meat, the rest of us had managed to harvest the creature's loot successfully.

“Not bad for your first attempt, you lot might actually manage to survive your first year.” Though Tusa's words were meant as a compliment, none of us felt very comforted by them.

From there Tusa produced a few examples of commonly found edible plants, as well as several herbs that were useful for curing illnesses and treating wounds. She demonstrated how to harvest them properly and then lead us out one of the yurt's many doors.

We emerged in what looked to be a greenhouse, though there was no natural light, the lanterns that glowed warmly like the sun hung overhead and the floor was lined with gardening beds. In the planters, I spied several of the plants Tusa had shown us.

“You know what to do, show me how well you paid attention.” We were then let loose to harvest the plants. The room was filled with curses as several of the boys pricked their fingers on the sharp spikes of some of the plans, and others whined as herbs crumbled in their hands due to being too rough with them.

Tasar and I were the first to finish harvesting all of the plants. After that it was Inash and Dahkan, then Malkadian, and then Drazahar and Makadian.

“How are you two so fast at this?” Mal questioned us, several of his fingers had blood dripping from them.

“We paid attention when Tusa was showing how to harvest them. Maybe you should try using those long ears of yours?” I teased and Malkadian gave me a shove as I laughed.

“Looks like a few of you aren't completely useless. Foraging can be just as crucial as hunting. When there is no prey to hunt you need to know how to find other sources of food.” With that Tusa lead us back to the main room.

“Alright, I'm hungry! There are leftovers in the pot so help yourselves. We'll take a short rest to eat, but after that, it's back to work! We still have a lot to cover.” With that Tusa scooped a helping of stew from the pot and trotted off to a secluded corner to eat in peace.

We congregated around the wash tub to scrub the dirt, blood, and animal juices from our hands. Once I was satisfied with the state of my palms and nails I went to serve myself some soup, watching as the rest of the boys did so as well. I was about to join them in our customary circle when I realized someone was missing.

I looked over to see Tasar fervently scrubbing himself in a small bowl of water, and trying to scrub some of the dark stains from the sleeves of his deel. He had been one of the boys who had accidentally punctured his rat's innards, the look on his face when the carcass started to ooze was of sheer terror. I padded over to where he sat, still scrubbing at his skin.

“Hey, you alright?” I gently placed a hand on his shoulder and he gave me a weak smile.

“I don't like these lessons.” He murmured, looking about ready to cry. “Why do we have to go to a burrow? Why can't we stay with mother?” I felt my heart twist at the sorrow and confusion in his voice.

“I don't know,” I replied, honestly just as lost as he was. “But I'll make you a promise Tasar. When we get sent to a burrow, we'll stick together. All of us. You won't be alone, and I'll protect you, ok?” At this, my little brother sniffed and turned to look me in the eye.

“Really? You promise?” He asked timidly, I gave him a reassuring smile and nod.

“I promise.” Tasar paused for a moment, seeming to consider something.

“I won't have to s-skin any more animals, will I?” At this, I gave a laugh and shook my head.

“Tell you what, I'll skin the animals and you find all the edible plants and herbs. Sound like a deal?” At this Tasar's face brightened and he smiled.

“Ya, it's a deal.” With that, we stood and I handed him the bowl of stew I had been holding.

“But that's yours.” Tasar tried to protest and I cut him off.

“It is and I get to decide what to do with it. You need to eat. I'll catch up. Go on!” With that, he smiled thanked me for the food and went to sit with the others. I made my way slowly back to the cauldron and served myself another portion of stew.

Turning to watch my brothers, sitting laughing and eating I couldn't help but smile. But I felt something churn in the pit of my stomach and suddenly the stew no longer seemed appealing. I had made my little brother a promise, I just hoped I was able to keep it.