1 Month Later
“Hurry it up, you bits of kindling!” Mel shouted ahead of me.
She wasn’t yelling at me but at the rest of the recruits struggling to climb the hill. Ever since she proved to be the fastest among us, she assumed the role of ‘squad leader.’
“Bloody hell,” Ruriel panted next to me. “How much longer you think we’ve got?”
“Do you not recognize the route by now?” Zenobia shouted from my other side.
“Three... more... miles,” I said, focusing on my breathing. It was the only thing keeping my mind occupied. The run was excruciating.
“Enough chitchat! I’m trying to beat my record,” Mel called over her shoulder, leading our pack—even with the 100-pound vest on.
She turned and ran backward, observing the rest of our class behind us. “I said hurry! I see you slacking again, Silas! You’d think missing an arm would make you faster. Move it!”
—‘I really wish you’d stop holding back our speed. We could outshine her rude ass,’ Fern said.
—No, Fern. We’re not drawing attention to ourselves, Fern.
We were on the last stretch of our morning ten-mile run. And because I didn’t ‘pull from Fern’—as I liked to call it—the run was excruciatingly... boring.
The fresh smell of the ocean breeze when the sun rose was about the only thing I enjoyed on these runs. We’d been doing them for about a month straight now. No school or classes like we were told when we first arrived. It had just been one long boot camp. I kicked myself every day for not going with Silas and them to explore the school when we first got here. Since that first day, we’d followed Waelid’s strict 15-hour workout schedule with little room for anything else. I was trapped in a hellish month of nonstop training.
However, that didn’t mean I was completely trapped. At night, I sacrificed sleep for study—which essentially meant I ran over to the Academy to explore the grounds for a few hours.
Every night, when we were told to sleep, I’d sneak out, sometimes with Silas, sometimes with Ruriel, sometimes both. Tevin liked his sleep too much, and Lucius was not fond of breaking any rules. Though he never told on us. We always brought him a snack when we came back.
Last night, Silas and I got home with just an hour to sleep. We got lost looking for the library... again. Sadly, Silas doesn’t have the strength of two people like I do, so he was struggling on today’s run.
After fifteen minutes, and three miles later, we ran into the attached gym of House Anu. Despite Silas and Tevin bringing up the rear, we all made personal bests for this run. We’d all gotten faster, and stronger more than anyone I knew back on Earth.
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We quickly showered off and got dressed in our clean, wrinkle-free black and gold uniforms. Ours now sported a stylish maroon sash across the front. I had a beautifully crafted sheath attached to my belt for our Wyrmsteel dagger, Lightcutter. Hopsander had gifted it to me a week after we talked about the ‘twin soul’ stuff. He was still looking for someone to ‘investigate me,’ which frightened me. It frightened Fern even more.
“Thirty bloody days,” Ruriel cursed as we walked out of the dorm’s men’s locker room.
“Thirty bloody days, mate. Thirty days of getting our arses gonged outta bed before the sun even thinks of showing up, running till our legs are ready to give out, and pushing muscles to the point they’re practically screaming. This so-called ‘training’ better be worth the bull. I thought we’d be learning a lot more by now.”
“Oh, quit complaining,” Mel said as she waited by the door. She always got ready first before everyone. “You’re telling me these muscles ain’t worth it?” She flexed her arms, displaying carved muscles.
Waelid poked his head out from the hallway. “That’s what I like to hear, Recruit Mel!”
She was right; we all had developed much stronger bodies in a month.
“Will you stop being such a brute?” Zenobia said as she walked past us into the hallway.
Mel snorted, and we all followed Zenobia out.
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By the time Silas and Tevin came out of House Anu, we were almost late.
“Gods, you two are SO slow!” Mel shouted as they walked down the stairs toward us.
“Mhmm,” Silas rubbed his eyes while Tevin snacked on a few extra muffins Ol’ Mumm gave him on the way out. The large bear-woman stood in the doorway and waved us goodbye. She had a grumpy look on her snout, but she looked like the typical mom or grandma watching kids go off to school.
Tevin and Silas ignored Mel’s jeers, and when they caught up to us, we all walked toward the Academy at the base of the towering Baldred’s Pillar.
House Anu sat on the far eastern side of the island, on the coastline. We had to walk about two miles to get to the Academy and Baldred’s Pillar. At night, running through the dark, I was able to get to the school within four minutes, in a full sprint. When I was able to let go like that, I was like a wolf chasing the giant moonlit pillar. In the morning, the eastern side of Baldred’s Pillar lit up like a great, bright, white tree that used the clouds as its canopy. Sweet ocean air floated by our noses as we walked and, aside from the footsteps of my class, the only things I could hear were seabirds flying around us.
I still couldn’t grasp my situation. I missed Noah, and wanted my body back but, everyday I felt more comfortable in Fern’s body. I felt excited about the opportunities I myself could have here. I spent so much time taking care of Noah back home and trying to get him more opportunities that now that I had my own in front of me, it felt unreal. I looked back down towards the school and a bit of glee jumped up in my chest. We were finally going to go to classes.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“This is the one time I’m going to escort you to school. From here on out, you little fledglings are on your own,” Waelid said in front, wiping a fake tear from his eyes.
It was hard to believe that this guy was the famous student Laska told us had defeated a Guardian. If we hadn’t seen him summon that giant wall of wind to fend off the one that attacked us, we’d think he was a fraud.
“What does a third year do anyway? Are you training for a test?” I asked.
“Mhmm!” Waelid nodded, walking backward. “Graduation tests. Happens year-round. First one is almost here.”
“Are you sure you won’t fail, Chapter Master?” Lucius said. “You’ve been... well... slacking off, pushing us through our workouts nonstop.” The once-skinny kid had filled into his uniform quite quickly thanks to these nonstop workouts.
“Hmm, I hope not. Because that would mean you all would die!” He let out a small chuckle and winked at us.
Silence fell across the group. Some people stopped walking.
“Um, sorry. Say that again?” I asked.
“Oh right, sorry. I guess I should have explained it earlier. Hah! No wonder you all seem so calm. You don’t know!”
“We don’t know what?” Zenobia asked.
“Out with it, chump!” Mel shouted.
“Oh g-gods Rinka, what could it be now?” Sora said concerned behind me.
“Well,” he held up a finger and frowned. “You see, your orientation practical and my graduation practical are one and the same. I must lead a new team of recruits through the first level of the tower. And you, must survive.”
“What?!” Sora shouted behind me. “W-what did you say?”
“Shh, it’s ok Sora.” Rinka said trying to calm down her twin.
“I thought our orientation practical was over. Wasn’t that just the blood thing? Or finding out our houses?” I asked.
“Partially... see, this is why I didn’t want to tell you. Now, you’re getting mad at me.” He pouted.
Zenobia walked up to him and pointed her finger at his face. “Of course we are! Chapter Master, first you say we could die if you fail your test? Then you say that the orientation practical isn’t over? When exactly are we supposed to go to the first level?”
“Well... you can’t seriously think cutting a little cut and seeing what house you were in would be the test, right?” He said, his eyes darting around us and up towards the sky.
Then, he let out a laugh.
“Oh don’t worry, it’s not until the end of the week!” He cracked a big smile. “But don’t worry; I’m sure you all will be fine! I trained ya, didn’t I?”
“End of the week?!” Mel shouted, trying to jump at Waelid.
Ruriel and I lunged forward, each holding one of her arms. Her sharp nails, swiped at our hands. She fought against us as we restrained her. “Just one punch, please!”
“Oh come on now, Mel. What’s wrong? I thought you were my golden one!” The Chapter Master pouted, then shook his head as his face became serious.
Waelid stood in place, and we waited for his next words. “I did not slack off in preparation for this exam. You will be fine and will not only pass, but win the practical.” He turned around and walked toward the Academy.
We stood there for a moment, looking at each other before following after him.
What started out as thirty recruits for House Anu, was now down to twelve.
Every one of the kids who traveled through the Dark Woods with me, who ran away from goblins with me, and who survived an Guardian attack with me, were still here. Every single one.
The three other remaining members of our class were mysterious to us. They all came to Ash together. Their path took them by boat. According to some upperclassmen and Ol’ Mumm, they were from an eastern country and hardly understood the language of Stylos. Twelve of us were from different backgrounds, but we were in each other’s hands to survive. Whatever waits for us in the first level of the tower, we had to beat it to survive. Not just survive—I meant not a single death. I won’t let any of these kids die.
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Academy of Ash First Year, First Semester Schedule
1st Period 7 am: Combat and Tactics
2nd Period 8 am: Stealth and Survival
3rd Period 9 am: Alchemy and Runic Applications
4th Period 10 am - 3 pm: Lunch and Free Periods
5th Period 3 pm: Beast Mastery
6th Period 4 pm: History and Strategy
7th Period 5 pm: Artifact Engineering
I was staring at the schedule when the kids in the room quieted. I looked up to see our friendly frog-man striding into the class, pushing a covered cart.
“Welcome, children. You’ve made it to the first day of classes. Good job surviving. Did we lose anyone?”
“Captain,” Zenobia shot up and gave a salute she’d seen other Cinders and upperclassmen do. “Only twelve of us remain from the initial class.”
“Is that so?” The frog-man looked around, inspecting the class and then smiling. “Ha, looks like Bartholomew’s and my group were the only ones that made it!” He nodded to us and then to the three mysterious kids from the East who sat behind us.
He walked up to the large chalkboard in the room and started writing.
The classroom was enormous for just twelve students. There were twenty rows of seats that could fit twenty students across. High ceilings held brass chandeliers with warm orange glowing bulbs. Beautifully crafted stained glass windows lined the wall to my right. We were several hundred feet above the ground in the academic wing of the Academy. Half buried within the massive pillar, the school was deceptively large; it could fit a whole town’s worth of people inside its doors.
The room had a large staging area in the shape of an oval. Hopsander swiped the chalk across the board dramatically as he finished writing:
Combat and Tactics: Class One, Year One
Cinder Captain Hopsander
“Combat—paramount to being a Cinder. You know this already, children, yes? When Bartholomew took you across the North Sea, you ran into dangers, correct, you three?” He held out his hand to the three students who sat behind us. We all turned around in unison.
The tallest of the three stood up—a boy with short red and black speckled hair. He had deep-set blue eyes, dark tan skin, and a wreath of scars trickling up his muscular arms. His name was Vahim.
“Captain,” Vahim said. “We encountered many dangers, and many lost their lives.”
“Ah, condolences, Vahim. But I’m sure Captain Bartholomew used combat to save who he could, yes?”
“He did, Captain, yes.” Vahim nodded.
“You may sit, Vahim. Children, relax a little here; we don’t need to be so formal.” Hopsander strode over to the covered cart he had brought in.
He pulled off the cover, revealing a full cart of various weapons. “Now! Where was I? Oh, yes. Combat. There will be times when you are on a mission for the Cinders, and you will find yourself without your favorite blade, hammer, or claw.” He looked over at Mel, who was already sporting her signature clawed gauntlet.
Mel shrugged. “Why would I ever let go of this baby?” She tapped the metal hand.
“When you are captured, when you need to go on assignment unarmed, or when your arm gets cut off. Does that answer your inquiry, dear?” Hopsander said with a weird mix of kindness and annoyance. I saw his eyebrow twitch slightly. He stood back up and walked across the hall.
Hopsander pulled a small hammer off the cart and showed us the weapon. “This simple carpenter’s hammer can be a damaging weapon if you have the knowledge to use it to its most effective ability.”
He pushed the cart to the side of the stage and looked up at Mel and then at me.
“Let’s have our two most prepared combatants step up first.” He gestured for us to come down onto the stage.
I looked confused and raised my hand as I walked down the stairs to the stage. “Captain, what are you having us do? And what do you mean by ‘most prepared’?”
“Well, my dear boy, you were the only recruits who were fortunate enough to bring your own weapons with you from your past life. This is a perfect time to show you exactly what I mean.” He walked up and held out his hand. “The dagger, boy, if you don’t mind.” He smiled down at me with his wide toothy grin.
I held my tongue and handed him the dagger. I felt Fern stir within me.
—‘We better get that back,’ he said, annoyed.
—Don’t worry, we will, I replied.
Mel looked annoyed across the stage from me. “Oh hell no, you’re not taking Matilda.” She gripped her gauntlet tightly in her arms.
“You named it?” Zenobia let out a laugh from the front row.
“Shut up!” Mel shot the curly blonde a dirty look.
Hopsander placed my dagger on the table and then walked up to Mel. “Lass, hand over Miss Matilda. You’ll get her back after class. But anytime—and this goes for everyone here—anytime you are in my classroom, you will use the new weapon you receive today until you master it.”
Mel grumbled and handed him the clawed gauntlet.
“Receive?” I asked.
Hopsander turned to face me. “Yes, you will fight for a weapon to pick from on this cart!” He looked at Mel and me. “You two will go first, since you came with your own weapons. Time to... update your fighting style. Now, change into your combat gear.”
He clapped his webbed hands, and two assistants came running into the room with standing changing shades, along with our all-black sparring outfits. We both changed, and the assistants removed the shades. They started passing out the other kids’ combat uniforms.
“You mean a fight with each other?” I said, suddenly realizing what he meant.
“Hey! You got a problem fighting me?” Mel said, already hopping from foot to foot with her fists raised.
Hopsander looked at me and nodded. “Of course, young Erik. Do you not remember the Head Master’s speech? Being a Cinder means being familiar with violence. Will you drop out now?”
I shook my head. “No, I... I can do this.” I centered myself and stood on a spot opposite Mel.
—It feels wrong; she’s like sixteen. I can’t just hit a teenage girl! I thought.
—‘Why not? She’s been so annoying and rude the whole time,’ Fern said.
—Fern. She most likely comes from a harsh past; she’s not inherently a bad person.
—‘Well, looks like you won’t have much of a choice.’
“Ready?” Hopsander raised his hand in the air.
“Wait!” I shot my hand out to him. “What are the terms? The rules?”
“Enough questions!” Mel said, hopping up and down. “Time to show all of you who’s the strongest here!”
“Until submission,” Hopsander said to me. “Now, fight!”
I turned my head toward the oncoming Mel and jumped. High.