I would have rolled my eyes at Drayek’s encouragement, “May the best man, or woman, win.” For some reason, he really wanted Sarina and me to think we had a chance. But all three of us knew Drayek would win (as he always did). But I didn’t have time to wallow in my self-pity as a “forever loser.” Both Drayek and Sarina had already bolted into the fray of moving targets. Sarina was fast for someone without yet receiving a Mark, but she was nothing compared to Drayek. He moved so quickly that his legs almost created a blurred effect, and his arms moved at a pace that made it seem like he could loose two arrows at once instead of one. And, of course, Drayek hit the red bulls-eye with every shot.
Sarina could never match Drayek, at least not until she was Marked and could start advancing through the Tiers, but still, her capabilities were no laughing matter. As I hit a target maybe one or two times for every five shots (mind you, I never got a bulls-eye), Sarina hit the targets straight in the middle at least three times for every five arrows.
I pressed on, however. Though weak, I was self-aware. And though small, I was determined. I had too much dignity to give up. Not to mention, Drayek would smack me upside the head, then punish me with a week’s worth of hauling fresh water from the oasis, which was a mile away, all by myself.
The twang of the bowstring whistled loudly as I shot one arrow after another. I pivoted over my right shoulder and followed in Sarina’s direction. She headed for the large target with the blue circle. Every time we played this archery game with Drayek, the big blue target was worth 100 points instead of 50 like the other two. My only chance of even coming close to winning would be to get as many shots on the blue target as possible.
Though larger than the other targets, the blue target was fast. The way it darted back and forth above my head and even behind me as I aimed reminded me of Drayek’s speed, though not quite as fast.
I continued my chase after Sarina as she trailed after the target, releasing one arrow after another. With a deep inhale of the dry, hot air surrounding me, I directed all my energy into my legs and desperately attempted to catch up to my training mate. But I was only met with dirt in my eyes as she kicked it up with her heels and sped away.
The heat growing in my aching legs and oxygen-depleted lungs brought about spots in my vision. I forced my head around to catch a glimpse of Drayek. He had seemingly appeared out of nowhere in front of Sarina, loosing about five arrows, four of which hit the very middle of the blue painted onto the target’s fraying cloth.
I pushed forward, ignoring the stitch in my side and the burning in my lungs. I was going to hit the blue target if it killed me. Okay, no. Not if it killed me. I didn’t want to die. That’s too dramatic. I was going to hit the blue target if it… if it made me have to take the longest nap in the history of our entire universe of The Erudition Collective.
I knew I’d be sore the next day–so much so that even walking would prove excruciating, but I didn’t care. I had never hit the blue target before in any of our archery training sessions. And tomorrow… tomorrow was the Marking Ceremony. In this event, all trainees who had recently turned 16 would go into the goddess’s temple and potentially accept her Mark. It would also be where I’d find out, if I came out Marked, my Tier 1 Skill–a Skill like Drayek’s Tier 3 Weapons Cache, but much weaker. Skills at his level would come as we advanced to Tier 2 and Tier 3.
You couldn’t tell if someone was Marked or UnMarked just by looking at them. Drayek explained it to me like a Mark was an internal seal, something not visible to the naked eye. If Lady Euridice had predestined you for her Mark, she would touch your Soul and activate it for cultivation. Drayek remembered the process as a warm and slightly burning sensation in his chest. But he looked just as he always had–no visible Mark to be found on his entire person.
Not only would I find out if I would receive a Mark during the ceremony, but I would also find out how much Soul Strength I had.
In order to advance through the Tiers, one needed a certain amount of Soul Strength. Think of it as your Soul’s potential–what your Soul will allow you to achieve. To even reach Tier 1, I would have to have at least an amount of one Soul Strength, and then the amount required to Tier up after that increased exponentially. I didn’t quite know the numbers because Drayek said the cultivation process wouldn’t be discussed with me until I came out of the ceremony with a Mark. If I came out with a Mark….
But I did know that coming out of the ceremony with a high Soul Strength number, like 10 or 20 Soul Strength, was ideal–it promised for an easier time when advancing to Tier 3, which was the highest anyone in Edrona had ever achieved. If I did come out with a low Soul Strength, I could still work to increase it, but the process of growing Soul Strength was slow and arduous.
Or, it could turn out even worse; I could come out UnMarked. But that was not going to happen to me.
Though I knew better, something in the recesses of my ever-so-aware gut told me that the harder I trained and the more strength I displayed to Lady Euridice, the better chances I had to receive her Mark. But everyone knew that’s not how it worked. The goddess predestined her people for a Mark–the decision was already made. And those she left UnMarked were still within her loving embrace. If you came out UnMarked, that meant you had zero Soul Strength. And if you tried to cultivate with zero Soul Strength, your Soul could not handle it, resulting in your body ripping apart.
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The Edronans believed that not receiving a Mark was just the goddess’s way of protecting them from a less-than-ideal way to die. Regardless, UnMarked people had still tried to cultivate…. It never turned out well.
Granted, the majority of Edronans came out of the ceremony Marked, but, like Sarina’s parents, coming out UnMarked wasn’t unheard of. And for my entire life, I had looked on to the time for my ceremony with trepidation. I wasn’t a typical Edronan.
With my head leaning over my shoulders, I clenched my fists and willed more speed. The blue target attempted to dodge more of Drayek’s and Sarina’s arrows, only succeeding occasionally.
Maybe the target’s distracted by them.
At this point, Drayek and Sarina didn’t pay any heed to the other targets–they only had eyes for the blue.
I finally caught up to the position of the blue target. Instead of speeding across the entire arena, it jumped from side to side as if attempting to tease Drayek and Sarina. I slowed my sprint to a jog and crept behind the target, carefully biding my time as it played with Drayek and Sarina.
The targets in this game had thoughts and strategies of their own. While the blue target strategized for a dodging match with the other game players, I would sneak in from the side.
I waited one second, two seconds, then hurled myself to the right as the target jumped in the same direction. I rolled onto the ground over my left shoulder, feeling the graininess of the dirt wiggle its way into my armor. Now crouching face to face with the daunting blue circle, I drew the taut string of my bow back onto my cheek. I inhaled sharply, then released the arrow with an exhale.
The arrow twisted through the air with a high-pitched whistle. I prayed to the goddess that no unwarranted breeze would interrupt its path. The feathers at the arrow’s end rustled from the speed, but to me, it seemed to move in slow motion. I held my breath and slowly placed my left palm against the rough ground to steady myself.
And then it hit.
Straight in the middle of the blue. And right in between a dotted decoration of purple and green arrows, purple for Drayek and green for Sarina. I couldn’t stop staring at the bright yellow–my colored arrow–among the masses, like a yellow-stemmed flower blooming from a bed meant only for purple and green plants. I dropped my bow from my right hand, and my jaw dropped right along with it.
“Game!” Drayek hollered. The targets dropped to the ground at the snap of his fingers, awaiting the final arrow count.
I shook myself from my frozen state and grinned.
“Yes!” I leaped into the air and pumped my fist in elation. “I did it! Drayek, did you see?”
“Calm down, Rayden.” But I caught a hint of his proud smile as he marched over to the targets to begin tallying up points.
“Nice, Rayden! I saw that shot!” Sarina sidled up to me and patted a fond hand on my shoulder.
My face warmed at both her touch and at the slight embarrassment tunneling its way into my emotions. Sarina meant well, but there was always a touch of shame within me when she complimented my accomplishments–mainly because mine seemed so small compared to hers.
I shrugged my shoulder away from her hand but smiled nonetheless. An accomplishment was an accomplishment, and I could still let myself feel excited about it.
“Thanks. I can’t believe I actually did it.”
Sarina dropped her rejected hand to her side, but her face revealed no sign of offense. “I knew you could do it.”
“Alright, come here, you two!”
Drayek’s elegantly carved longbow had already disappeared back into his Weapons Cache. This non-visible place seemed to exist in another dimension. Replacing his weapon was a thick piece of yellowed parchment in one hand, and the other hand scratched a slim piece of charcoal against the paper’s surface.
“I’ve finished tallying the scores. I won with 1,450 points, Sarina came in second at 600, and Rayden… you just beat your high score! 250 points!”
The silly grins on Drayek’s and Sarina’s faces brought a frown to mine. I knew they meant well, but their slewed words of praise that followed the announced scores felt almost condescending. I kicked a stray pebble on the ground with an armored boot.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, the previous high from my success disappearing like a wisp of smoke blown away by the wind.
My measly 250 points were laughable next to not only Drayek’s but also Sarina’s scores. But… I puffed out my cheeks, then released the air in my lungs with a long sigh. I was still making progress. I was getting better. That’s what mattered. In our last archery session, I had only scored 150 points. I could at least feel a little less embarrassed.
Drayek directed us to stow our weapons and armor, informing us that the one archery game would be all the training he had planned for the day.
“I want the two of you well-rested for tomorrow’s ceremony,” he said as he slid out of his own armor. It sparkled less once the planet’s two suns had finished their descent past the jagged mountains. However, the fiery red rubies scattered about its surface still glimmered ferociously as Drayek reverently placed each piece on the rack.
Sarina and I glanced at one another, trepidation striking the two of us like the butt of a spear thrust into the stomach. She and I both had reason to feel nervous about the Marking Ceremony. Her parents had both come out of theirs UnMarked. No evidence suggested that coming out Marked or not was genetic. Still, the fear of becoming her parents was something Sarina had looming over her like a dark storm for her entire life.
And me… well, I didn’t know if I could even receive a Mark–no one knew where I had come from. Most people didn’t think Lady Euridice would even accept me into her fold. Not only was I not Edronan, but I didn’t even know if I came from the universe of The Erudition Collective, let alone this planet.
“Will you stay for dinner tonight, Sarina?”
“Not tonight, sir. My parents would like to spend the evening with me.”
Drayek nodded. “Very good. Well, just you and me, Rayden. Go and set the table, will you? I’ll get dinner started.”
“Yes, sir.”
I waved half-heartedly in Sarina’s direction as she made her way out of the arena and to the dusty path leading away from Drayek’s and my hovel. The wave she returned was almost worse than mine. I wondered if her stomach flipped and groaned as much as mine did at that moment.
I shoved a fist into my gut and mentally urged it to calm down. If I felt this bad now, I couldn’t imagine what tomorrow would be like.