Folmic and his team led Iris and the initiates through the Valen for their sixteen day trip to the Citadel. To Iris, this was her first time leaving the cold clutches of the Ivory and to her surprise the Valen was a beautiful land. A land of mostly rolling green hills and fields of poppy, it was no wonder why this was home to the King and his capital.
The trip was long but uneventful. Every effort was made to avoid any possibility of conflict with the Veiled Ones. Folmic and his team made sure to set up nightly camps in the open fields to ensure no surprises, always avoiding the occasional wooded areas of the Valen. Folmic even taught the initiates how to set up warded perimeters properly around the nightly camps.
It was Folmic’s duty as Paragon to ensure the safety of every man and woman under his command.
With the sixteen day long trip coming to an end, Folmic and his team of wardens found it easier to relax. The Citadel was only a small ways away, nestled deep in the woods.
“Welcome to the Blackwoods, initiates.” Folmic said rather sarcastically. “Home to the Citadel.” Folmic said, turning his head to the group of ragged and exhausted initiates following closely behind his horse and wagon.
Iris perked her head up as she heard Folmic speak of the forest. She almost felt at home. It was a nice feeling, since she was starting to get home sick. However, the moment she glanced upward the feeling of exhaustion and homesickness washed away. Directly in front of her the trees made a split peeling off the road entirely, opening into a small clearing. A valley that sat quietly and peacefully in the forest itself.
At the end of the small valley sat a rather large stone castle with a rounded tower at each of its four corners. The towers had a pointed canopy and bore long blue banners with a sword depicted in front of a crescent shaped sigil. The large castle had a square opening at its center, leaving the outer rungs of the structure to act as halls.
While the castle looked to be sturdy, an added layer of protection was built around the castle itself. A thick stone wall encircled the entire perimeter of the castle adding miles of protected land encased within the safety of the wall and its ramparts.
Standing just outside of the gate were six heavily armored knights all wearing the same blue cloak Folmic and his men wore.
“It's the famed Citadel!” Shouted out one of the initiates. Iris turned to face the man who shouted, then turned her attention back to the castle. “The Citadel..” she whispered to herself.
Folmic grinned and gave a single nod. “Welcome home initiates.” Folmic said gesturing his arm out to the field that laid ahead of them.
The group made their way through the small clearing reaching the metal gate. All of the knights standing guard at the gate stood at attention, except one. “Folmic, glad to see you and your boys- erm…team is back.” the man said, correcting himself as he saw Maya Kasamira glaring at him from horseback.
“I appreciate it, Ser Dermin. I’ve also brought some fresh meat.” Folmic said, giving a single bob of his head over his shoulder.
Ser Dermin turned to look behind Folmic’s wagon and saw the small group of ragged initiates standing close to one another. “That you have. The Exemplar is going to have a field day with them! Haha!” Dermin laughed out. “Alright, let them pass!” Dermin shouted out to the guards standing behind him. A single warden went to the gate and pushed it open.
The gate pushed inward revealing the giant courtyard directly across from the gate. A beautiful line of hedges circled around an intricate fountain that sat at the center of the courtyard. The fountain was directly in the middle of three cobbled walkways leading to significant areas of the castle ground.
One led to the castle itself, another strayed off to the left and the third led off to the right.
“Thank you Ser Dermin.” Folmic said, placing a fist onto his chest. Dermin returned the salute and made way back to his post.
The group was led through the gate stopping at the fountain. Folmic jumped off his horse landing next to the wagon. “Take that wagon to the supply depot. Make sure every bit on that wagon is accounted for.” Folmic ordered the man on the wagon who simply nodded.
“Everyone else on my team. You are dismissed for the evening.” Folmic said shooing off the wardens. He then finally turned his head to Iris and the group of initiates standing idly. “Initiates, with me. Your evening is not yet done.”
Folmic gestured for the group of recruits to follow him. He took the cobbled path to the castle's two doored entrance. Folmic simply pushed the large wooden doors open practically charging into the castle. Iris followed without uttering a single word letting her eyes simply observe the new surroundings.
The first room they walked into was nothing impressive, a small lobby that consisted of stone walls lined with giant canvas painting and light blue curtains hung all over.
The room however, had three entrances. One directly down its center with two large doors. Hung above the doors was a circular metal plate engraved with the same crescent and sword depiction.
The second entrance was to the far left, it was less impressive in terms of presentation. A single wooden door.
The third and final entrance was not a door but a spiraling stairway leading upward, with a corridor wide enough to fit only two people.
Folmic stood in front of the group and turned to face them. “Your dormitories will be upstairs.” he explained, gesturing to the stairs. “You will have half an hour to rest yourselves before being summoned to the mustering grounds. Rest well.” Folmic said with a smile. He simply stood in his place, gesturing up to the stairs.
The initiates stared at Folmic in hesitation. Iris included. Folmic however let out a sigh. “GO!” he shouted.
Everyone immediately made their way to the stairway cramming their way up its small corridor clearly struggling between pushing one another. Iris however stayed in the back of the group waiting her turn.
Folmic stared at the struggling initiates almost like a father fed up with his children. “My goodness. These fools are doomed.” he muttered to himself.
Iris and the last of the initiates made their way upstairs being greeted by a brown skinned woman of a fit physique. Her facial features were rough and scarred from battle. However, her black hair was pristine and braided into multiple thick cornrows that waved down to her shoulders. She stood by the stairs and ordered every initiate that walked up the stairs.
“Women down the left hall, men down the right.” she said in a thick accent. An accent similar to that of a person from the Red March.
Iris made her way down the left hall as instructed, following closely behind two other females. The hall was long and complex with several cut corners. On both sides of the hall were rooms presumably already occupied.
The three girls instead continued on until an opened door was spotted. The two other girls stared at the room but seemingly hesitated to make a move. Iris noticed the girls in front of her didn’t want to necessarily go into the room.
Iris rolled her eyes and entered the room herself. The room was small and stuffy with two bunked beds on each side and a small window at its end.
As Iris entered, a skinny brunette approached her and stood in front of her denying her space to walk further.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Excuse you..” Iris grunted to the brunette.
“No forest folk allowed,” the brunette uttered with a smug grin.
“You got till the count of three to move out of my way before I break your face,” Iris said, tightening her hands into fists.
“Break it up, now.” A woman's voice uttered from behind Iris. It was the same woman who was standing at the top of the corridor directing people where to go. “You, come with me,” the woman ordered Iris.
Iris took a deep breath and followed the woman out of the dorm. The two walked further down the hall in silence. Until finally the dark skinned woman turned her head to Iris. “What is your name?” she asked
“My name is Iris,” she replied, “And I didn’t start that.”
“But you were going to end it,” the woman stated. She planted a caring hand on Iris’ shoulder and smiled. “You need to learn to control yourself here. I know these spoiled little Valen born tarts are going to drive you mad, but you must learn to calm yourself. “
Iris stared at the woman’s dark brown eyes as she spoke. She could tell under all of her rough and rugged exterior that the woman had a pure heart. She reminded Iris of Renzeel in a lot of ways. “I understand.”
“Good,” the woman said, taking her hand off Iris’ shoulder. “I am Khalia. Khalia Metamin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“I am Iris, of Wighthall,” Iris followed up with a respectful bow.
“Oh, a bow. You northerners sure are respectful,” Khalia said, with a smile and bowed in return.
“Where you come from they do not bow?” Iris asked.
“My lands are far south from here in a place called the Red March. People there can be stubborn at times.” Khalia explained, but as they spoke she continued to walk down the halls leading Iris to a room at the very end of the corridor. Khalia stood in front of it and gestured to the finely carved wooden door, “this will be your room. And remember our conversation Iris.”
Iris stood directly in front of the room, veering her eyes from Khalia to the room. “Thank you Lady Khalia.” Iris said, truly hoping that Khalia was a woman. She looked so tough, it was hard to tell.
Khalia gave a friendly smile before walking off down the hall leaving Iris to herself. Iris took a deep breath and made her way into the room. A huge sigh of relief came over her when she saw the same two girls she had traveled with.
“Oh it's you two.” Iris exclaimed.
One girl turned to look at Iris and offer a sort of sarcastic smile. The girl had braided blonde hair with soft paled features. The second girl excitedly turned to look at Iris. She bounced excitedly as she clapped. The second girl was a tanned but short woman with black bunned hair.
“Greetings! Oh my goodness this is so exciting! I'm finally speaking to a real life Ivorian!” The shorter girl exclaimed as she practically skipped across the small room in front of Iris.
Iris who towered over her glared down at her, not with hostility but with pure confusion. “What..” Iris questioned.
The blonde girl rolled her eyes. “Stop scaring her, Joss. She's just like everyone else.” The girl said.
“Uhm, no she's not! She's very unique!” Joss said, shouting over her shoulder only to suddenly turn her attention back to Iris. “No offense of course. Is it true that Ivorians eat raw flesh?!” Joss asked, jumping from one thought to another.
“It's just a ritual thing. Not really something we do daily.” Iris explained trying to walk past Joss who practically blocked the way.
The blonde girl sighed and marched across the room to grab Joss by the shoulders, practically yanking her out of the way. “You’ll have to excuse my friend. She's never left Evershaw. Ivorians are a very uncommon sight in Evershaw.” the blonde girl explained.
Joss dramatically frowned as she was yanked to the side, allowing Iris room to reach her bunk. She sat at the edge of it, relieved to finally take a break. “Evershaw…yes I remember it. The town we passed a few days ago,'' Iris said.
“Mhm. We are both from there. My name is Edalia. And my friend here is Joss.” Edalia said, gesturing to Joss and herself.
“Iris,” Iris plainly said, “Would it be alright if I was just left alone to rest before we are summoned? The heat is unkind to me,” Iris explained.
Edalia nodded her head and gave a glare at Joss as if scolding her not to bother Iris. “Yes of course.” Edalia said with a smile.
The half hour break only felt like several minutes. Before Iris even knew it, the sounds of Khalia’s voice rang in the halls outside. “ALRIGHT! LET'S GO! EVERYONE TO THE MUSTERING GROUNDS!” Khalia shouted loudly into the halls.
Iris groaned as she stood up from her bed. Edalia and Joss quickly hurried out of the dormitory with Iris soon to follow.
The initiates were rounded up at the halls by Khalia and several other wardens who led them downstairs and to the mustering grounds just outside the castle. The mustering ground was a large open field tucked on the castle's eastern wall. Hidden behind walls of eight foot tall hedges.
“Alright, I need three rows lined up.” Khalia said, pointing her finger where she expected the initiates to line up.
Iris was surprised to see the large number of initiates involved. A group of around one hundred dirty and tired individuals huddled to the field. Each person slowly pushed themselves into a row until only three rows remained. The fluidity of which the initiates moved was that of a crippled horse.
Iris herself took a spot in the second row, finding it difficult to stand still with the aching pains of her feet. To make matters worse, Iris could feel droplets of rain soak onto her head and shoulders.
The one hundred initiates now stood in the field with a noticeable silence. No one knew how much time had gone by but it was unbearable. Everyone was tired, hungry, and now soaking wet from the rain that poured down onto them.
Iris began to look around the field to notice Khalia and the other wardens weren’t around. ‘Where did they even go? To get away from the rain?’ Iris thought to herself.
Iris was getting too tired of just standing in one place. The cold wetness of the rain only serving to irritate her more than she already was.
In the corner of her eye she saw movement. A fair toned young man, a little chubbier than most, stepped out of his row and began walking towards the hedges seemingly back to the castle. “This is ridiculous they just left us out here in the rain?” The chubby initiate said.
“Yeah, I didn’t volunteer just to stand in the rain.” one other person agreed.
“They haven’t even fed us yet!!” another voice yelled out.
The discontent between the initiates came all crashing down with voices all beginning to speak over one another. More and more initiates followed the chubby fellow back to the castle, leaving the muddy field behind.
Even after the bulk of initiates left, for some odd reason Iris felt compelled to stay. Her and several others stayed behind enduring the cold rain, hunger, and aching feet.
Ten more miserable minutes flew by and the rain only got harder. Iris was on the brink of giving up when she saw a group of ten wardens fully dressed in armor appear from behind the hedges, walking across the field.
The group of wardens stood across from the initiates, standing a little ways away. Amongst the group stood a man of great stature. His long black hair ran soaked against his skin. His face was chiseled accompanied by a well groomed mustache pointed at its ends and a beard covering only his chin.
He took one step forward and examined the tired initiates. “I am Alexios Maranun. Exemplar of the Wardens. You have proven to the Citadel that you can follow a direct order. Those of you that stayed will continue their training. Those that left, will be returned to their homes tonight. They are not Warden material.” Alexios explained.
“But for the next five months you will have to prove your resolve.” Alexios paused for a moment, to scan the group. “Most of you will fail.” Alexios said.
With a single wave of his hand, the nine other wardens that accompanied him began to circle around the initiates. However, no one dared to watch what they were doing. They only kept their eyes trained forward and their attention on Alexios.
“Time for your first lesson.” Alexios said, raising his hand up to his chest, hovering it slightly over his armor plating. He held his hand up high for a moment before suddenly gripping it tightly into a fist.
The moment he gripped it into a fist, the man standing next to Iris had his throat brutally sliced open via sword to the neck. That wasn’t the end of it, the Warden proceeded to lodge about ten inches of his steel blade into the upper abdomen of the man.
Iris flinched as black blood splashed onto her pale and wet cheek, she turned her head to see the man that was next to her, drop lifelessly onto the muddied ground. The Warden who killed the man calmly cleaned the blade of his sword with a blood soaked rag.
Iris couldn’t help but part her lips in shock. However, instead of confronting the man, her eyes wandered all about the three rows of initiates noticing five other bodies had dropped to the ground all being killed in a similar manner.
No one said a word. No one dared to speak out of turn. They simply stood at attention all while the lifeless corpses laid in the muddy field.
Alexios took several steps forward approaching the corpse of a woman that previously stood at the front row. The grievous slice on the woman's throat spilled a thick oozing black substance. “Hmph.” Alexios muttered to himself.
“You can tell they are not human by the blackened veins on their wrists and neck.” Alexios said, giving the corpse a gentle kick with his foot.
Alexios slicked his wet hair back so as to get it out of his view. He then glared at the initiates all lined up in rows. Each and every single one looked terrified to an extent. Some more obvious than others.
“We call them Aberrants. Veiled Ones that hide in deception. This is a secret you will take to your graves. Am I clear?” Alexios said with conviction.
Alexios looked around at the still silent initiates. Only the sound of heavy rain washed over the field. “AM I CLEAR?!” Alexios shouted.
“Yes, Exemplar!” several initiates yelled out over the sound of rain.
“Good. There is food at the dining hall to fill your bellies. Training will begin at dawn. You are all dismissed.”