The next day, Aria was in the academy garden for her usual training. Anton was not there that day, nor was Liza. Always present, however, were Sev and Yegveny who were training together, or rather, trying to train. While the younger one was constantly talking about this and that, the other seemed too sure of himself when Aria suggested training with him.
“Me? Training with a novice like you? That’s what we have Sev for.”
So, since Sevastian was too busy talking about his day, the girl spent most of the time sitting next to him as they watched the older one train and argue with a dummy.
“I’ll rip your head off!” he exclaimed.
The weapon shot out at great speed, but the blade stuck in the hard wood.
“How long have you been trying?” Sev asked, “You’re not strong enough.”
“Shut up, little lion, and let me focus. Your words are more annoying than a mosquito.”
Little Lion was the funny nickname the older one used to call the younger one. The family Sevastian came from, in fact, had a golden-maned lion on their crest and, more than insulting the boy,
Yegveny liked to insult the entire family tree.
“Did I ever tell you about that time we went fishing at the lake?” Sevastian asked Aria.
“Still with this story, little lion?”
“We were half frozen and cold, but we didn’t give up and we managed to stay until late at night to catch something… we had to or we would have starved to death.” his voice became more serious,
“Then… when our hopes were so low that we doubted we would be able to see the sun rise… I felt the line being pulled.”
“Did you manage to catch something?” the girl asked.
“Not just a something, but the thing. A monster with two heads and green fins.”
Aria shivered.
“Who are you kidding?” Yegveny laughed, “I’ll show you a story that you can tell… watch and learn.”
Taking a run-up, the boy threw himself against the dummy and, with a lightning-fast swing, managed to detach the wooden head that flew against a window.
“Good job, you did it!”
“I’m the best, no contest.” he pounded his chest with two fists.
“The fact remains that it took you twenty-seven tries.”
“Did you even count them, little lion?”
Yegveny, tired from the victory, sat down next to them on the bench. It had started snowing again and, as often happened in those days, it was better to stay indoors so as not to get cold needlessly.
They also lit a campfire where they heated up some supplies, mainly canned meat and fish.
“All we have to do is wait for Anton.”
“By the way, do you know where he ended up?” Aria asked, “It’s not like him… and Liza is also missing.”
“They’re probably on a mission.”
“By the way…” Yegveny’s voice became serious, too serious, “Aria, do you already know when your exam is?”
“Exam?”
“Ah…” the boy rolled his eyes and bit into a piece of meat.
“They didn’t tell you anything, so…”
“I guess not.”
So, Yegveny began to tell between bites:
“To become a hunter you have to get the headmistress’s permission, but she will only give it if you are truly worthy, in her opinion. In the past, it was enough to hang out with a group of hunters and learn sword techniques from them to get it, but now the headmistress demands proof.”
A bite of meat.
“For example, she made me fight a lion with my bare hands. Sev, who is worse, she made him stay alone in the woods for three days.”
“I have great stories to tell about that.” the boy was excited.
“All false, little lion, the last time you said the one about the encounter with the vampire was different from the others time.”
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He returned his eyes to stare at the girl.
“However, expect that you will have to face some kind of test too. It is likely that it has to do with survival, so I advise you to spend the weekends in the middle of the forest and come back alive.”
This, Aria, did not like. She had done so much to impress Anton and in some ways she had even succeeded. The imp had even complimented her once and he thought that was enough. Sure, there had never been an official ceremony, but on the first day the headmistress had accepted her entrance to the academy and, for Aria, that was more than enough.
“What happens if I fail the exam?”
“If you are lucky, you die. If you are unlucky, you are out… you will never be able to become a huntress again.”
Aria swallowed.
If everything went wrong, if she failed the exam, would she still be able to defend herself from vampires? Because that was her goal, not so much to be part of a group of hunters and train, but to be a real hunter. No longer afraid of vampires, but to be feared.
“I could train alone…”
“You wouldn’t last a day, Aria, trust me. You’d die before you could even draw your sword.”
“Okay… I didn’t know anything about this exam, but whatever the headmistress proposes, I’ll take it.”
“That’s the right spirit!” Yegveny patted Aria’s shoulder and she almost didn’t fall, “It reminds me…”
The boy turned around to look for Sev.
“The tournament?” Sev asked.
“Is possible.”
“T-tournament?” Aria asked.
“Yes. The tournament is held every ten years and hunters from the various academies of each region participate. You have to face several tests and whoever wins gets a special sword that is created for the occasion. It is a sword made of pure silver with iron alloys, forged by hunter blacksmiths. It is said that a single blow of that blade can kill a vampire without him even realizing it.”
“Is the sword really that powerful?” Aria was surprised.
“You should ask Adelphe, but I have never met him. He was the only hunter from our region to win the tournament in over a century.”
“Unfortunately,” Sev intervened, getting up from the bench, “he disappeared a few years ago. So nothing, we will never know how he won or what kind of powers the sword has.”
The boy put out the fire with his boot and threw the leftovers in a nearby bin.
“Come on, we better go back now, theory awaits us. But if there is no one… we can go home.”
The theory lessons, always taught by Anton, consisted of learning about the history of vampires, their culture, their ways and even their secret language. For example, Aria had learned that vampires could live both during the night and during the day, but that they were weaker in the sunlight and for this reason they stayed inside their caves.
The secret language had not yet been deciphered, except for a few words that both Anton and the Headmistress knew. In fact, most vampires did not speak the language of the region and, for the most part, many of them did not even possess reason, making them act like killing machines looking for blood.
“You must not have mercy on them.” Anton said during one of his lessons, “And you must not take prisoners, because they would not tell you anything. You must finish them with the sword and you must not hesitate, or the ones who reach the afterlife will be you.”
The theory lessons also explained the Rite, or the transformation from human to vampire. All it took was a simple bite and, in about one day, the infected blood would take effect and the human would transform into the creatures of the night that he had always fought. There was no known cure, if there ever was one.
Once back, the three headed to the classroom where the Theory lessons were held and, even though they were on time, Anton had not yet shown up.
“Something must have happened.”
They split up to look for the others and Aria had been assigned to report to the Headmistress. She would explain that she had been training and that the Theory lesson could not be held. Once she reached the office door, however, she heard voices.
“Aria, come in.” the Headmistress said from the other side of the door.
The girl entered and saw the Headmistress next to her. Sitting around the table were Anton, Liza and the strange hooded gentleman.
“Your footsteps are making too much noise, Aria, fix this soon.” the woman said, waving her hand to take a seat.
“We were discussing recent events,” the older one continued, “there was an attack last night, at the temple.”
“Vampires?”
“That’s right. Word is flying around Korostk, and we’ve been informed that a vampire killed the priests inside, then left without anyone seeing him. The government is trying to keep this information a secret, but some of the ladies are already complaining that they can’t go and pray.”
“Why does the government want to keep the population in the dark?” Aria asked with a hint of curiosity.
“For the same reason you thought vampires were just legends. Have you ever wondered? Have you ever wondered why the government lied to you?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“It’s simple. They want vampires to not exist in the eyes of the population, and if vampires don’t exist, we hunters don’t exist either. We’ll end up in oblivion.”
“But-“ Aria looked at her sword, “If the population were warned… they could defend themselves…”
“No, Aria. Because it would create panic and the government wouldn’t like it. And besides, the civilians wouldn’t have the strength to defend themselves.”
“The question to ask,” Anton intervened, buzzing, “is why the temple. Why kill the priests?”
The one who spoke this time was the hooded man, who had never spoken up until that moment. In fact, since Aria had entered the academy, she had never heard him speak.
“We don’t know. The cathedral is in the center of the city and it’s not easy even for a vampire to get there without being seen. If he was hungry, he could feed on the outskirts or in any village around Korostk. No. There’s much more.”
His voice was low and dark, enough to give goosebumps to Aria.
“Do you suspect something, Igor?”
“The only sure thing would be to ask the priests directly, but they’re dead.”
“Okay,” the headmistress tightened her hand around the heart pendant she wore around her neck, “Like I said before, Liza will be in charge of investigating the event.”
The huntress nodded, sheathing her sword, “I’d like Aria to come with me.”
Aria’s face went red as a tomato. While the idea of finding out more about the story fascinated her, she didn’t think it was wise to set foot in a religious place desecrated by a vampire.
“What if the vampire is still inside the temple?” she asked.
“Unlikely, the guards have already arrived and say they found no traces.”
“Good, then.” the principal said contentedly without even giving Aria time to accept Liza’s request, “Go to the temple and report what you discovered. It is essential that you act discreetly, I say this especially for Aria.”
“We will do.” The two girls said in unison.
Liza was the first to stand up, followed by Aria. They left their swords at the armory and then got a last hot tea before leaving the academy. This would be Aria’s first official mission and she had no intention of disappointing Sonia. She thought about the exam she had to take and the possibility of participating in the tournament, but her thoughts melted when Liza tugged at her shirt.
“We can go.”