While Lyra ate her breakfast, she thought back to how she had begged her parents to let her join the dragon corps. She wished she could go back in time and kick her ignorant self for that. The past month contained the most difficult days of her entire life. Every day they had to meet outside the wall before the sun had risen. Every day they ran a mile to the edge of the woods. Every day they had rigorous physical exercises designed to strengthen muscles and, in Lyra’s opinion, humiliate the weak. As much as she hated admitting it to herself, she was one of the weak ones. All the boys were stronger than her, and she was neither the strongest nor the weakest girl, but the fact being she was at the tail end of the first years and she hated it.
She used this to fuel her, even during dinner she would eat her food as fast as she could in order to use the remaining forty minutes or so to get in extra workouts. She hated feeling weak and she would do everything in her power to get stronger. She didn’t tell her friends about her extra curricular activities. She didn’t want them to feel bad for her or pity her for how weak she was. They already tried to go easy on her when they were sparring, and that was bad enough.
What she lacked in strength, she made up for in skill with her sword. When she fought with a blade in her hand she felt like there was nothing in the land that could defeat her. Even dragons should fear her if she was wielding her sword. The other recruits noticed it, and while it gained her respect amongst her friends, many hated her for the fact that they could rarely beat her in a duel.
There were more than just physical tests in the dragon corps. She had not expected it, but she found her brain hurting just as much as her muscles sometimes. There were classes on geography, tracking, leadership… Niles was the only reason she hadn’t failed all of her tests already, he was like a walking encyclopedia with all the information in his brain.
Lyra finished her breakfast hurriedly, not wanting to get to the wall late. She had never been late, but she had seen the consequences of late comers and that was enough to keep her on time. When she had gotten dressed and collected her gear, she waited at the entrance to the House for Kai and Gareth like she always did. They gave her tired nods when they saw her, and together they set off to meet up with the group ready to begin another day of training.
After the brisk mile run to the edge of the woods things went a little differently than normal. Captain Tempest had come along with them to supervise their training today. They saw the captain on a few occasions during their time at the House, but he was usually off taking care of corps business and was not often seen.. He was in charge of the training however, and tried his best to stay up to date on their progress.
“I’m sure you all remember what I said when you first arrived here a few weeks ago.” He paused for a moment, taking in their blank faces. “How not all of you are going to progress past this first year?” There was a moment of recognition and some nods throughout the group.
“Today we are splitting up into squads. These squads will be your life. Your squads will participate in challenges throughout the year, and we will be keeping track of your progress. Some of the challenges will rate your progress as a group, and some of the challenges will rate your progress as individuals. Each time you compete you will earn points, and at the end of the year the group with the least amount of points will be sent home. There is also a reward for the individual with the most points, but that can be talked about later.” There were some people shifting in place nervously at the possibility of being sent home after a year of hard training.
“Now, I’ll let you choose your squads in a moment. I suggest you choose wisely, if you have weak members you might not be here as long as you would like. In each squad there will be seven of you. You may begin.”
There was a moment where nobody moved, as if his words were still taking their effect on everybody. Then instantly there was a commotion. Lyra was standing between Kai and Gareth, she was about to ask them about being in a group, but then hesitated. What if they didn't want to be with her because she was so weak? She also didn’t want to be the reason that they had to go home. What if nobody wanted to be with her at all, and she was the only one left over? She could already see it in her mind, the first ever recruit to get sent home a month in all because nobody wanted her for their squad. It was clear that she was overreacting of course, because while she was having these thoughts, Kai’s voice snapped her out of her mental downward spiral.
“So what other three people are we going to get for our group?” He asked, as if the thought of not being in Lyra’s squad hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“We should definitely grab Lev, he’s an absolute monster.” Gareth said quickly. And the thought had obviously been in many other’s minds as well because there were already a few people milling around him trying to get his attention. While he was not the most coordinated person, his amount of sheer power made him a valuable asset to any team.
“Hey Lev, over here!” Lyra called out sweetly, “come be with us!” She waved at him to catch his attention and flashed him a smile.
“Nice one Lyra,” muttered Kai out of the corner of his mouth Lev lumbered over to them with a grin on his face. Lev had grown a soft spot for Lyra ever since they had all gone to the smithy when they first arrived at the capital. She was one of the only ones that didn’t make fun of his accent and the fact that he was a foreigner. He was one of the only ones that didn’t treat her poorly because she was a girl. Where he was from, many women became warriors, it was perfectly normal to him.
Niles and Olrick also came over to them fairly quickly. Lyra didn’t know why she had been so nervous. The six of them had become good friends over the last few weeks. They ate all their meals together, practiced together outside of class, and Niles had been helping all of them with their written homework they had in the evenings. She started to feel more comfortable knowing she had her friends by her side. However, they still needed one more person for their group. There weren’t many people left, and all the other groups were grabbing any stragglers they could to fill out their ranks.
Lyra caught Renea’s eye. Soft spoken Renea was timidly approaching groups, then backing away when she saw they were full. Although Lyra was pleased with her group, they were still short one person and the other squads were looking very tough indeed. Renea was not the strongest squadmate she would have asked for, but she enjoyed the other girl’s company and anybody was better than nobody at this point.
Apparently Tobias had the same thought, because as Lyra was calling out to Renea, Tobias was doing the same.
“Renea! We need another for our squad, won’t you be our seventh?” He gave his dazzling smile that many brainless girls swooned for.
“Calm down Tobias, she’s already with us, right Renea?” Lyra said expectantly. She waved her over to their six man squad.
Renea looked at both of their squads and hesitated. Lyra knew what she was thinking, Tobias’s group was looking very powerful with his two hulking cousins and three other cronies that were smaller but equally terrifying. Renea took a step towards Lyra then stopped.
“Sorry,” she said so softly Lyra almost didn’t see her lips move. Renea turned around and walked over to Tobias. His squad members clapped her on the back and welcomed her to their group jovially.
Tobais grinned at Lyra. “Sorry, guess she’s with us.”
Lyra glared at him, and turned around without a word. Whatever, if Renea wanted to go with the stronger looking group, that was fine by her.
“Wow,” said Gareth, stunned, “didn’t take her to be such a snob. What a prick.” The rest of their group murmured their assent. She had been eating with them and spending time with them as well for the past couple weeks, it felt like a betrayal to everybody.
With a panic Lyra realized nobody else was in need of a group. She frantically looked around, but in vain. Everybody was in a squad and already making friends if they already weren’t acquainted. A quick count confirmed her fears, her group was the only one that had less than seven members. They were already at a disadvantage from the start. How were they going to compete in any of the challenges when they were already down a man? She just hoped that their smaller squad wouldn’t spell immediate defeat. Surely at least some of the competitions would revolve around more than just the physical strength of their group, right? The next words she heard dashed her hopes to pieces.
“Now that you all have your squads, it’s time for your first challenge!” Shouted out Captain Tempest. “I’m sure you are all familiar with the rope pull?”
Lyra’s stomach dropped way past her stomach. This was quite literally the most unfair thing she could think of. They would get demolished! There had to be some way to even things out.
Niles apparently was thinking the same thing. He hesitantly walked over to Tempest while one of the other teachers was setting up the rope. “Sir?” He said respectfully, “we are the only squad that has six members. Would it be possible for whatever squads we compete against to maybe just choose their six strongest to compete against us?”
Tempest looked at their squad, slightly confused. He looked at the other squads getting ready for the competition as if only noticing for the first time the uneven numbers. He turned back to Niles, nodding good naturedly.
“That would make things much more fair, wouldn’t it?”
Niles nodded happily. “Absolutely sir, it really would.”
“Well, that’s too bad!” Tempest laughed out loud. “You think a dragon will make things fair for you? Let me give you a little hint, it won’t! In fact, it will make things so incredibly unfair for you, you’ll probably die. Now get back to your group, you haven’t lost til its over, so go strategize.”
Niles saluted and walked back with his head down.
“Well, it was worth a shot anyway,” said Gareth when Niles rejoined the group.
Niles nodded miserably, “I don’t know why, but I actually thought he was going to help us. We are so screwed now.”
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Lev grumbled at him, “We not screwed. We have less people, yes, but we are strong.”
Olrick spoke up now. “Lev is right, guys. If you think about it, he is as strong as two of anybody else here, if not stronger. We might not be able to beat all of the teams, but we are definitely not the weakest team here.”
Kai chuckled a little. “Yes Olrick, thanks for those inspiring words. Did you hear that everybody? We’re not the weakest, hurray!”
They all laughed at that, including Olrick after he smacked Kai on the head. Lyra was glad she had such a good squad. She was still nervous about the upcoming challenge, but at least she had some friends by her side. Now all they could do was wait.
The wait was not long, thankfully. They were given a few minutes to strategize, which for them was easy. Put Lev at the back and tie it around him. With him as the anchor, they would all pull as if their lives depend on it. A whistle blew signaling the end of their planning time, and they all gathered around the rope.
“I hope all of you are more prepared than you look,” Tempest said, “because some of you don’t look ready at all.” Lyra could have sworn he looked at her squad out of the corner of his eye.
“Here’s how this is going to work,” he continued “I will pick a squad. I will then have the captain of each other squad pick straws to decide who they will compete against. There are ten squads, and each of you will go five times. This is a test of strength as well as endurance. Whichever squad has the most wins at the end of this will receive ten points, the second team nine and so on. There will be no magic in this competition, is that clear? If you are caught cheating, your squad will automatically get last place and receive no points.” He paused and grinned at all of them evilly. “Now, let’s begin.
First up was Tobias’s group. Lyra wasn’t sure if Tempest had chosen randomly or if he was trying to give Tobias some sort of special favor. She didn’t dwell on it too long, she just hoped her squad did not have to face his. Tobias’s squad was looking very strong with Brutus and Ox both in its midst. They were very intimidating.
They sent Gareth forward as their captain to choose a straw, thankfully he did not pick the short one and they were able to watch Tobias’s squad yank the opposing team clear over the line that was drawn in between the teams. There was an assistant with Tempest that was keeping tallies of wins and losses, and he drew a quick mark next to Tobia’s name.
Tobias’s squad demolished the next two teams equally quickly. Unfortunately as Gareth went to pick another straw, his luck did not hold. While Tobias cheered at his seemingly good fortune, he called out. “If you’d like to forfeit you can! Might as well save up your strength! Ha!” His group all laughed hysterically as if he had said something remarkably clever. Renea was the only one that did not laugh, Lyra thought she looked rather sad. Well, too bad for her, she thought, she should have come on our team when she had the chance.
“Listen up team” Gareth whispered, “it might not seem like it, but they are getting tired. We are the fourth team to go up against them, they can’t have that much energy left. Our best bet is to drag this out as long as possible so that they lose all their strength.”
Niles suddenly perked up at that, “I know how we can win!” He hissed excitedly.
Lev patted his shoulder with one giant hand. “Yes we know, pull very hard. This is good plan.”
“No no, I have an actual plan.” Niles said, brushing off Lev’s hand. “I remembered using this strategy as a kid, what you said made me think of it Gareth. When Captain Tempest blows his whistle, lean back as far as you can, alright? Do not try to pull them backwards, we won't be able to do it.”
“Wait, what?” Olrick interjected “Your plan is to not pull them back? Are you sure you know how to play this game?” There was a small murmur of agreement at his words.
“No, I'm serious! All we have to do is hold our position and let Tobias and his goons run out of strength. Once we do that, we can all pull as hard as we can at the same time and hopefully we can get one or two of them off their feet. Once we do that, it’ll be much easier to drag them across the line.” He said matter of factly.
“Alright times up!” Tempest shouted, “Get to your starting positions!”
Lyra thought Niles’s plan made sense. They all agreed to give it a shot, since nobody had any other idea. They quickly took their positions around the rope. Lyra was in the middle, she knew the front and back positions were the most important and she was well aware of her physical weakness. She grabbed the rope firmly with both hands alongside her squadmates. Butterflies were flying around like crazy in her stomach, she thought she was going to be sick. Seeing Tobias’s sneering face helped her focus on the objective at hand. She settled into a deep stance, the rope gaining tension as both sides waited with barely anticipation for the whistle.
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The shrill sound of the whistle pierced the air and both sides pulled hard. Lev’s solid frame kept their team firmly rooted to the ground. They pulled as hard as they could, but did not try to gain ground, they simply held firm.
Tobais’s team pulled and pulled, their feet slipping against the dirt. Their movements were erratic, there was no real chemistry in their actions, simply manic pulling.
“Now!” shouted Niles. Desperately they all heaved at the same time. Caught off guard, their opponents lurched forward somewhat. Lyra pulled as if her life depended on it. She pushed her feet against the ground, praying she could find some traction. Her shoulders burned with the effort and her forearms begged for relief. She couldn’t see behind her, but Lev was growling like an enraged bear in the back. She could feel his strength everytime he pulled.
Much to her dismay however, they started to get pulled forward. They had pulled the rope back to the starting position, and even had a good couple feet over to their side. Unfortunately their disadvantage was too great. The competition lasted only a few more seconds once the opposition regained their feet, and they all were dragged across the line. They were all panting heavily, and Lyra was glad to see Tobias and his team lying on the ground, completely worn out.
“That was well fought,” Tempest said to Lyra, nodding in respect. “Alright Tobias, back on your feet. You still got one more fight, so don’t get too comfortable down there!” He quickly chose another opponent from the remaining squads and lined them up to face Tobis’s squad. As exhausted as they were from Lyra’s squad, they didn’t stand a chance. They were swiftly pulled through the dirt and over the line to an easy defeat. Lyra was able to get a little satisfaction from that. If they weren’t able to beat them, at least they were able to tire them out enough that somebody else could do it.
The rest of the morning was consumed by the rope tug. Fortunately, Lyra’s squad was able to win one of them. Unfortunately, they still came in last. To nobody’s surprise, Tobias and his squad came in first receiving ten points. Not for the first time Lyra hoped that there would be more than a few competitions involving brains. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Tobias beat them again, he was completely unbearable. She shook her head in disgust as they cheered out loud when Captain Tempest announced the current standings.
“There will be many more competitions to come! So continue to train and work hard. When we get back to the House, I want your captain to come to my office and give me your squad name. The current standings will be posted outside the mess hall next to your squad name. I encourage you to carefully observe your opponents, sometimes you don’t have to be the best at something to win.”
With that he turned and led the ten squads back to the House. Everybody was exhausted and it was getting close to lunch time. After that there would be afternoon classes and then some free time in the evening. For Lyra it wasn’t exactly free, just more training. She felt a pat on her shoulder and jumped a little, gaining a laugh from Kai.
“Whoa, calm down there. Any thoughts on a squad name?”
Lyra turned to see her whole squad following her back to the House. She had been lost in her thoughts, she had almost forgotten Tempest had asked them to come up with a name.
“I don’t have any ideas, do you?”
“What about ‘Dragon Slayers’?” said Olrick. “That sounds pretty cool.”
“No, definitely not that.” Said Gareth, “We are literally in the dragon corps, people already know we are dragon slayers. Besides, until we actually kill a dragon I feel like we would just get made fun of.”
“What about, squad Phoenix?” suggested Niles.
“Oh, I like this one.” Lev spoke up. “Phoenix is very powerful creature, like us.”
Lyra wasn’t sure if she would consider themselves particularly powerful, but why not? It was important to stay in good spirits. “I like squad Phoenix too.”
There wasn’t a word of agreement from Kai and Olrick as well.
“Alright then, I’ll go tell the captain. Squad Phoenix it is.”
Later that night, Lyra sat on her bed thinking about the day’s events. She hadn’t spoken to Renea since before the competition that morning, and that was fine by her. She didn’t want to talk to a traitor anyway. She felt slightly uncomfortable sitting in the room in silence, so she got up and decided to walk around until lights out. She opened the door and nearly walked into Kai’s raised fist.
“Can I help you?” she asked with a grin.
Kai put his raised hand behind his head and rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Um hey, I was gonna ask if you wanted to go for a walk before lights out.”
Lyra slipped out of her room and shut the door behind her quietly. “Let’s go, I can’t stand being in the same room as Renea anymore. I can’t believe she chose Tobias over us.”
“You can’t be too harsh on her, she just wants to do well here, and being close to Tobais is apparently a good way to do that.”
Lyra knew he was right, she still hated it though.
“I just wanted to check on how you were doing. It’s been a tough month adjusting and it looks like it’s just going to get tougher. I-” Kai’s voice faltered, then he continued, “I want you to be careful Lyra. Something tells me Tobias will do anything to win these competitions, and I know you have a knack for pissing people off.”
“Kai, I’m not going to do anything stupid.”
“I don’t believe you for one second, and neither do you if you’d be honest with yourself. I’m not saying you have to lie down and take his bullying, but just please… try to stay out of his way?”
Lyra shook her head, Kai really did know her too well. She never did like bullies growing up, she was always getting into fights with them when they were kids. That was part of the reason her and her mother had such a strenuous relationship, she was never acting like the “little girl” her mother wanted her to be. She was always acting like the son her father never had, this caused many arguments in their home. Thinking about home brought a very unexpected wave of homesickness.
“Alright, I promise I’ll try to stay out of Tobias’s way, happy? I don’t like fighting any more than you do Kai, you know that right?”
Kai let out a quick laugh, “Somehow I very much doubt that.”
They had taken a lap around the House and ended up back at her room. Lyra was about to go inside to bed when Kai quickly wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
“I’m glad I came here with you,” he said softly in her ear.
Stepping back, Lyra could see Kai was very red in the face. His eyes met hers briefly, then kept moving, never stopping in one place. He backed away awkwardly.
“Well, goodnight then. I’ll see you tomorrow morning at breakfast with the squad. Sleep well.” he turned quickly and walked off back to his room.
Lyra returned to her bed, confused at what just happened. Why was Kai acting so strange? She decided that the stress of the competitions had gotten to him, and then washed her face in the basin and went to sleep.