Hunter’s Academy

Garry T. Spoor

 

Copyright 2013 Garry T. Spoor

 

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1

 

Morgan set the book down on the table that wasn’t there and flipped a few pages forward, then a few pages back. It was obvious he couldn’t find what he was looking for, but he refused to give up. Kile sat in the overstuffed winged back chair with her cup of rosemary tea minus the rum watching him with little interest. She didn’t really like the taste of the tea but thought it impolite to refuse the offer. The globe of fire that had once warmed the small tower in the dead of winter was flickering blue and was now cooling the same room.  She wondered if she could get one of these for her cell as the hot summer days made sleeping almost unbearable.

Summer at the academy was as boring as she feared it would be. With no one to speak with or train with, she went through her days with very little enthusiasm. The only high point was watching the Hunters appear for the gathering.  One or two arrived nearly every day and although she didn’t know any of them by name, she was still down on the field to watch them ride in. They were some of the best from every province in Aru, they had been places and seen things that no one else had ever been or seen before, and just being associated with them, even it if was on a cadet level, was and inspiring moment. Sadly those moments were brief and far between. For the most part the Hunters remained sequestered within the main building, nobody was allowed in or out without an invitation.

The rest of her days were spent in solitude, although there were a few cadets waiting out the summer with her, she had very little contact with them. It wasn’t for lack of trying on her part, but ever since the fiasco with the crossbow, Master West, and the fact that Charles Bane was expelled because of her, or at least that was what the others were lead to believe, she felt that she had lost any progress she had made over the first year. The other cadets wouldn’t look at her, wouldn’t speak to her, and if she made any attempt to approach them, they fell over themselves trying to get away from her. She was sure Eric had some choice words and a few stories to tell the cadets on her behalf. She had even seen him speaking with a few prior to his leaving. They would look over at her when she passed and there was a mixture of fear and loathing in their eyes. She could only image what tales Eric was telling them. It didn’t matter that Eric’s reputation wasn’t all that clean, or that he had spent most of his first year making it miserable for others, they were still more willing to believe him than they were to believe her. She had truly lived up to the standard as a jinx. If it wasn’t for Vesper, she would have been completely lost in her loneliness. The yarrow stayed by her side throughout the summer and became a permanent fixture on her shoulder whenever possible.

Meal time was even worse as the dinning hall was generally empty. Most of the instructors, who weren’t at the gathering, ate in town. Those that did take their meals in the mess hall usually sat at their own tables in their own section of the hall. The cadets had their section and Kile had hers. That lasted about two days. She couldn’t take the quick glances and the quiet remarks any longer and decided to eat alone in her room from that point on.

The nights were the only time she really felt comfortable, ironically it was the only time she was really alone. She would slip out of her room after everyone else was asleep and wander around the compound. There was little chance of anyone catching her, since the only ones patrolling at that time of the night were the guards at the front gate and Oblum’s two mastiffs, Gorum and Hunar. On some nights she would walk with the two dogs on their patrol and pick up a game of fetch with them in the field just behind the stables, but most of the time she just enjoyed the solitude with nobody judging her or demanding something of her. It was on these nights that she realized she could never really go back home, she could never go back to what she was. She had become something more out here, but whether that was a hunter or not, she didn’t know, all she did know was that the ideas associated with the comforts of home were moving farther and farther away.

She was a young woman of fifteen now, or at least that was what the charter of Riverport would describe her as, which meant that if she had stayed home, if she hadn’t taken the entry examination last year, she would, at this moment, be married to that little troll of a boy Pordist Talon. That would have made her father happy since it was his plan all along to barter her for the bottom land that ran along the southern border of the Veller farm back in Riverport. Oric Talon owned that land, and he would have given anything to marry off his son, but that was another age, another lifetime. She had taken the entry examination, and much to her own surprise, passed it, now she was on her way to becoming a hunter.

Of course she still had a ways to go, two more years of training, one year of probation, and there were still a lot of obstacles placed against her personally, the least of which was the staff at the academy as well as some of the members on the Guild Council. Maybe not all the staff or all the members, there were a few that wished her well, although they had a funny way of showing it, but for the most part they did not what her at the academy, let alone see her graduate. They simply did not want her to become a Hunter.

She had often wondered why, what did these people that she didn’t know have against her. She had always thought her size and her weight would be her greatest hindrance, but Alex was even smaller than she was and he was advancing as well as someone like him could advance, and she had grown a bit since coming to the academy, although she spent most of her time trying to hide it. It was the obstacles that she had never considered that had become the bigger problem. The ones she couldn’t hide. For starters she was a girl, and girls simply did not become hunters or at least the last one that had was nearly twenty years ago. There was the fact that she was the daughter of a farmer, and that appeared, for some reason, to be a mark against her, although she couldn’t understand why. Then finally some even believe that she had Orseen blood. This was news to her since she never knew who the Orseen were, but if she believed the scholars, the Orseen were a forgotten nomadic race of people that had blood ties with the Ogres.

She absently took a sip of the rosemary tea and nearly choked, being that it was cold didn’t improve the taste any. How could anyone enjoy this she wondered as she set the cup down? Maybe Morgan had the right of it after all, maybe a shot of rum was enough to kill the bitter flavor, not that she had any intention of trying it that way.

She stared at the flickering blue flames that floated before her, and although she enjoyed the cooling effect on the hot summer day, she still did not fully trust anything associated with the mystic arts. Unfortunately every hunter has to have some affiliation with the arts in order to be a hunter, it was known as the Hunter’s Edge. This, in its own way, became yet another obstacle against her. She couldn’t be like every other hunter that passed through the academy, with an edge that was both effective and common, no, she had to be different.  Her edge, her ability, was outside the norm, it defied classification and therefore she was commonly referred to by the not so flattering term of freak. Of course that was what she would have been called if anyone other than Morgan, her mystic arts instructor, knew what she could do. She possessed the very rare, very unique ability of communicating with the natural world. She could actually speak with animals. According to Morgan’s research, this edge has never been seen in a hunter as far back as their written history, and since that can be traced back to one year after the Hunter’s Guild was established, it is safe to say that no other hunter has ever been able to communicate in this way. This was just another thing that separated her from everyone else, another wall placed between her and the rest of the cadets. To sum it up she was a short freaky farmer’s daughter with half ogre blood.

Well, that didn’t actually improve her mood.

Morgan finally gave up looking for whatever it was he was looking for and slammed the book closed. The sudden noise startled Kile out of her daydream and she almost spilled the rosemary tea.

“There is nothing about it in here.” He remarked as he scratched his chin the way he does when he was confused, which seems to be quite often when she was around. “It would appear that what you have described is not a documented ability of the alva that I have been researching.”

“Sorry sir.” She responded, although she wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for.

“Oh no.” He said waving her off, “This is amazing, fantastic even. If what you’re telling me is true, then what you have is unique, similar to that of what the alva described and yet quite different. We have to explore this deeper, find out how far it actually extends.”

“I’m not sure I can sir, it only really happened that one time.”

“Well, we’ll only know by trying, won’t we?” He said as he walked over to his shelves and began searching through the crockery.

She watched as the Morgan frantically sorted through the plates, bowls and cups, and was starting to regret telling the mystic about the circumstances surround her finding the crossbow in the armory that had ultimately cleared her of all charges pertaining to the accident on the archery range. She wasn’t sure she fully understood it herself, and as she tried to explain it to him, she found that it sounded even more foolish than how it felt when she was doing it. She had actually smelled her crossbow in an armory filled with crossbows, she actually picked up her own scent, or that was how Vesper had described it. It sounded ridiculous, impossible and a little disturbing, but Morgan, on the other hand, thought the entire incident was fascinating and kept asking questions that she couldn’t answer, eventually he turned to the old books he had brought with him from the tower, but now it appeared that they had as many answers as she did.

Morgan suddenly turned around and presented her with two bowls he had just pulled from the shelf.

“Which one was yours?” He asked as he held them out to her.

She looked at the two bowls, and they were exactly the same. Two bowls from a matching set. A set she neither recognized nor owned.

“Neither sir.” She answered a bit confused.

“Come, come now, you’re not even trying. You ate out of one of these bowls, which one was it?”

Kile looked over the bowls again. She did have to supper with the Mystic once during the winter, the same day he gave her the globe of fire to warm her cell, but it never occurred to her to examine the bowls. She didn’t think she was going to be tested on it. She looked at them again, and then randomly pointed at the one on the left.

“That one.” She said.

“You’re guessing.” He replied as he pulled the bowls back. “Smell the two bowls and see if you can pick up your scent.”

Great, now he wanted her to sniff the bowls, she knew telling him was a bad idea. If he asks her to mark one, she was out of here.

She took the first bowl and smelled it, and then she picked up the second. She felt extremely foolish and since both bowls smelled the same to her, she knew this was going nowhere fast. It didn’t help with Kaza sitting up on his high shelf trying to muffle a crow like snicker. She thought about picking one at random again just to end the humiliation, but that wasn’t going to help her understand it any better.

“I really can’t tell the difference.” She admitted.

Morgan looked more defeated than she felt as he took the two bowls from her. He turned each one over in his hands to examine them, and then shrugged.

“I guess it’s for the best, I don’t really know either.” He said as he set them back on the shelf. “It’s possible that the scent has dissipated over time.”

“It really only happened that one time sir.” She reminded him.

“It could have been the heat of the moment. Placed under a significant amount of stress we find we can do all sorts of thing we otherwise didn’t know we could do.”

It was a good thing she didn’t tell him that she caught Eric’s scent that same day when he entered the stables and caught them persuading Charles Banes into confessing. Morgan would be parading cadets past her and have her try to identify them by sniffing. She could only image how well that would have gone over.

“Of course you could be channeling the ability.” He added.

“Channeling? I don’t understand.”

“Well, you did say that Vesper was with you. Yarrows are known to have a heightened sense of smell. It is quite possible that Vesper was detecting your scent and you were just picking up on his reactions.”

She pondered the idea for a moment. It did make a lot of sense, and it would explain why she couldn’t do it all the time, of course Vesper wasn’t around when she smelled Eric. She had sent him off to fetch Gorum and Huron since she didn’t dare go herself, and hadn’t seen the yarrow until the next morning, but then, if what Morgan says was true, she could have picked up the dog’s reactions. They had detected Eric as well, or it may have been something even simpler. Maybe it wasn’t Eric’s smell that alerted her, maybe he made a sound when he entered, or possibly a change in the light when the stable door was opened. She really didn’t think about it at the time, but it could have been any number of factors.

“Without knowing the exact circumstances that surround why this ability occurred, we can’t really study it. We need more information.” He said as he started to write something down in his notebook. “Have you noticed any changes in other areas, say your sense of tastes, your hearing, even your eye sight?” He asked her.

“You think that can be affected as well?”

“We know animal senses surpass our own. Rodents have a better sense of smell, birds have better eyesight, and it may not even stop there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we know that there is a certain amount of interaction between male and female…”

“Whoa, stop there.” She said holding up her hands.

“It is something…”

“No, we are not going there, we are NEVER going there.”

“It was just something to think about.” Morgan replied as he turned back to his book and scribbled something else down. One of these days she was going to have to get a hold of that book to find out exactly what he keeps writing about.

“Besides.” Morgan said as he set the book aside “There was something else that I found that I wanted to explore.”

“And what would that be.” She asked, dreading the answer. If it was another one of his tests, she knew she wasn’t going to like the outcome.

“The alva called it the Maligar.”

“The what?”

“The Maligar. I couldn’t find too much about it, but according to the text it has something to do with influencing an animal’s behavior.”

“I don’t understand how is that going to help me?” She asked.

“Well, we won’t know until we try then will we?” Morgan replied as he walked into the back room and came out with a large brass cage that he held with two hands and struggled a bit as he set it down on the counter.

Kile climbed out of the overstuffed wingback chair and Vesper quickly jumped into her seat. She ignored the yarrow as she slowly approached the brass cage that Morgan has set on the table. She had no idea what the Mystic had in mind or what he was planning on using it for. At first she saw nothing when she looked into the cage, only piles of sawdust and some shredded pieces of parchment, she was going to pass it off as one of the mystic’s daft experiments, but then one of the larger pieces of parchment began to move. When she looked closer she could see, hiding under the paper, a small white rabbit. It was clear to Kile that the little thing was scared and very nervous, and she couldn’t blame him. One moment hopping around in a field minding its own business, the next stuck in a brass cage with two vir staring at him.

“Hello there.” She said as she got closer and stuck her finger between the bars to pet the rabbit, but it quickly moved to the back of the cage out of reach.

“It’s alright.” She added trying to calm it down.

-Scared-

The voice in her head was very soft, very timid, and it was difficult to actually hear it, but she could feel it. Like her conversations with Vesper the words carried more feeling them meaning.

“I know you are. Everything’s going to be alright.” She told him.

“Can you understand him?” Morgan asked as he grabbed his notebook and began to scribble.

“It’s difficult, but I understand what he means.” She told the mystic. “I don’t think we should use him for the test, why can’t I just use Vesper like I’ve been doing.”

-I take test?-

Vesper asked from his seat on the chair beside the cooling flame. The yarrow actually enjoyed most of the tests since he had very little to do in them and was often rewarded for it.

“It won’t do. We already know you can communicate with Vesper, and he would do just about anything you ask of him.” Morgan explained. “What we need is a subject that is wild that is not likely to do what you ask. The Maligar is about control, about commanding an animal to do something that it wouldn’t normally do.”

-About domination-

Kaza added.

“What do you mean domination?” She asked the crow that had come down to join their conversation in spite of Morgan’s feelings. The mystic had made it quite clear that he did not want Kaza interfering with Kile’s studies. She noticed a significant change in the way the Mystic view his one time pet now that he knew the crow understood just about everything he said.

“It’s nothing to do with domination.” Morgan countered. “It’s control through influence, a blending of the minds.”

Kaza landed on Kile’s shoulder.

-He means you must dominate the rabbit’s will. Control, command and dominate.-

“That's horrible.” She replied as she looked at the rabbit still huddling in the cage.

-Free?-

It whispered to her and she could feel the cool winds of the meadow, the warmth of the sunshine and the smell of the clove surrounding that one word.

“We have to let him go, he doesn’t want to be here.” She said as she reached for the cage.

“Nobody wants to be here, but it’s only a simple test.” Morgan assured her. “After the test I promise I will release him where I caught him.”

“You promise?” She asked as she looked at the small white rabbit still curled up under the large piece of parchment.

-Command, control, dominate.-

Kaza repeated.

“Just this one test.” She told Morgan and then turned to the rabbit “Nobody’s going to hurt you little one. We’re just going to do a simple test and then you can go free.”

-Free?-

“Yes, you can go free after the test… okay?”

-Free.-

She wasn’t sure if the rabbit understood her, some of the wildest animals that Morgan had brought in for her to communicate with often didn’t. Only those that were around humans, whether by choice or by accident, were the ones she could truly communicate with.

“You shouldn’t converse too much with it Kile.” Morgan said as he directed her away from the cage. “I don’t want it to get too attached. This experiment must be controlled. I have to know if you can influence it by your edge and not you kindest towards it.”

She didn’t like the way Morgan kept referring to the rabbit as an “it”, it was a he and a young he at that, although she couldn’t get his name. The mystic had often regarded the animals they used for the experiments as objects and not living, breathing creatures. She would have thought that Morgan would have understood by now, but he appeared to be more driven by the results than the actual tests.

“What do I have to do?” She asked reluctantly.

“Well, it’s quite simple actually. You have to concentrate on the subject until your mind is locked with theirs and then command it to do something.”

It seemed simple enough, she thought.

-It’s the domination of the will.-

Kaza added.

“It’s only a test.” She told the crow, but she was trying more to convince herself. The whole idea just didn’t sit right with her. The sooner she started the test, the sooner it would be over for both of them.

She turned to look at the cage and tried to focus on the small white rabbit, but she was quickly overcome with fear and confusion.

“I can’t do this.” She said as she broke off the initial connection.

-Good for you.-

Kaza crowed from her shoulder.

Morgan didn’t have to understand what Kaza said to know that the crow was against the test from the start. He just gave the bird a dirty look before turning his attention to Kile.

“It's a simple test to see the limits of your edge.” He told her. “You may be protesting for no reason, you may not even be able to do it in the first place, but we shall never know if we do not try.”

As much as she hated to admit it, Morgan had a point. Without knowing the full extent of her edge, how could she use it effectively, and he might be right, she might not even be able to dominate the will of an animal, of course she really didn’t believe that either.

She pushed the thoughts out of her head and fell into her edge like Daniel had showed her. She wasn’t sure if it was the same for her as it was for him but it did help clear her mind and focus. She reached out to the rabbit again, and again she felt his fear, but this time she pushed passed it until she was in the recesses of his mind. From here she could see many things, although seeing wasn’t exactly the right word, feeling was closer to the mark. She could feel his life, his home, his family. She could feel the ground beneath his feet, smell the spring air, and taste the clover. She could hear the wind blowing through the grass. Every sensation she experienced was a memory, a memory that they both shared. It was deeper than the connection she had made with Vesper, so deep that she was finding it hard to tell her life from that of the rabbits.

It was the rabbit that shot Master West in the ass with a crossbow as she was running through the field in search of clover. It was the rabbit that took the entry examination when she was snuggled up with her brothers and sisters in a dark, warm hole. It was the rabbit that broke the feed grain lever in the old barn while she was running from a fox that had gotten too close. It was the rabbit that was told he was useless by her father; she was lying in the sun beside her mate. As much as she loved the idea of escaping her life, she also felt that this was not the way to do it, this was wrong.

“That’s it Kile, you have control, now command the rabbit.” She heard Morgan whisper in all four of her ears.

She could feel black tendrils, like sticky molasses reaching out between her and the rabbit.

“What do I command him to do?” She struggled to ask.

There was a momentary pause before Morgan answered.

“I don’t know, I didn’t think that far ahead, I wasn’t even sure you could do it. Why don’t you try something unusual… make it dance.”

Dance she thought, that would be unusual since she didn’t even know how to dance, but she sent the command and the black tendrils got thicker and the rabbit slowly got up on his hind legs and began to dance, and it made her sick. She tried to break the connection, but the more she did, the more the rabbit danced as it moved quickly around the cage on his hind legs until he and the cage came crashing to the ground. His quick and unnatural movements had rocked the cage off the edge of the table and now it lay broken upon the floor. The rabbit, seizing its opportunity, made his escape and probably could have if it wasn’t for the thick black strings of molasses that connected him to Kile.

It shot out from under the wreckage of the cage but couldn’t gain traction on the smooth floor of the tower. It slid from side to side taking out a candle stand, knocking over a few boxes of curiosities and scattering a stack of papers under one of the smaller tables. It wanted to get away, she wanted to get away.

She could hear Morgan cursing as he chased the rabbit, but even with no traction it was still faster than the old mystic.

“Kile you must control it.” Morgan told her.

It was difficult to actually focus on the rabbit now as his thoughts were stronger and the one thing on his mind was freedom, but when she finally did break down the outer defenses of the rabbit’s will, it felt worse than before. It was the same feeling she had when she connected with the cat that night she rescued Vesper. It was a sickening feeling and the thick sticky strings of molasses twisted around both of them this time. She could feel it attaching her mind to that of the rabbit’s as it tried to escape the tower.

“You must command it, you must control it”

You must dominate it. The words were unspoken, but they were there. They echoed in each black strand that joined them, command, control, dominate, and behind it all, way down in the darkness, she could hear laughter.

This wasn’t right she kept telling herself, this wasn’t how it was suppose to work.

“You must exert your will, you must learn control.” She heard Morgan yelling behind her, and the rabbit kept pulling at the strands and between them they kept getting more and more tangled until she wasn’t sure where she ended and the rabbit began.

“Kile stop, Kile what’s wrong?”

Now Morgan’s voice was frantic, more scared, and the tendrils kept getting more and more tangled, and the distant laughter got closer as it grew louder and louder until she realized she was the one that was laughing, she couldn’t bare it any longer.

“STOP!”

And it did, Morgan stopped, the stands of molasses stopped, the laughter stopped, and worse of all the rabbit stopped.

Her head was pounding as she fell to her knees. She watched as the mystic approached the rabbit that now lay motionless on the floor.  He bent down and scooped it up in his hands, its head lolled to one side and Kile knew without even looking at it, that he was dead.

“Pity.” Was all Morgan said as he set the body of the rabbit on the table, but he still didn’t understand, he couldn’t understand. She had talked to it, she had heard it, she had felt it, and she had killed it and all the while, she laughed about it.

She slowly got to her feet and it felt as if her stomach had dropped, she wasn’t sure if her legs would even hold her as she moved to the table and placed her hand upon the rabbit’s side. There was no motion, no feeling, and no warmth. She ran her hand down the softness of its fur willing it to wake, praying that it would, but knowing that it was beyond anything she could do. Tears gently rolled down her cheek.

“I suppose next time we should pick something a little bit more… durable.” Morgan said as he jotted down a few more notes in that elusive book. She turned to look at him, and at that moment she hated him, but not as much as she hated herself.

“No.” She whispered and gently wrapped the rabbit in an old cloth that was lying by the table.

“No? Come now it was just a failed experiment, we learn from our mistakes…”

“No, I won’t do that again, never again.”

“You’re being unreasonable. It was just a rabbit…”

“I SAID NO.” She shouted as she turned on him, the old mystic must have seen something in her eyes, something in her face as he stumbled backward, bracing himself against the table. She held the rabbit to her chest and ran out of the tower.

“Kile wait.” She heard Morgan call, but she wasn’t going to listen to him again.

 

She wasn’t sure where she was going, where she was taking the rabbit, or even what she was going to do when she got there, all she knew was that she had to run because that was what he wanted to do, the only thing he wanted to do was to run.

She had to escape, not from Morgan, but from herself. She had to escape from the darkness and from that laughter she had heard from that darkness. She stopped when she reached the far north wall of the compound and there was no place else to run. There, under the shade of a young oak tree she fell to her knees and wept as she held the rabbit close to her chest. She had spoken to it, and the rabbit had spoken back. It was scared and she told him it would be alright, and now he was gone and it was her fault.

She laid the body gently upon the grass, in the clover. She didn’t have anything to dig with, only her hands. It seemed fitting she thought as she clawed at the hard dirt with her fingers, she was becoming an animal she might as well act like one.

Several minutes had passed before she heard the soft rustle of feathers. She didn’t look up as Kaza landed on a low branch above her. If Kaza had found her, Morgan wouldn’t be far behind she thought as she continued to dig.

-Kile… are you all right Kile?-

“I killed him Kaza.” She told the crow. “I told him everything would be okay, and then I killed him.”

-You didn’t mean to Kile, you know that, it was an accident.-

“Does it really make that much of a difference? I can’t tell him that, not anymore.” She said calmly, surprisingly more calm than she actually felt.

Kaza landed on the ground beside her and began to scratch at the dirt. He wasn’t making much headway but the sentiment was there and she was grateful for it.

“Kile.” Morgan called as he finally found her. He was out of shape and out of breath and as he stood behind her.

“Kile I’m sorry… I didn’t think.”

“I’m not doing that again, never.”

“No, I would never make you.” Morgan replied, she didn’t hear any real sentiment in his voice, but it could be because he wasn’t used to showing any. He set Vesper on the ground beside her. The yarrow said nothing, he never had to. She knew what he was thinking. She had scared him as much as she had scared herself, but he would always be there for her. He got between her hands and helped her dig.

Morgan got down on the ground beside her as well, and with his old hands, ones that had never seen hard labor, began to claw at the dirt. He could have used his arts, he could have opened up the entire hillside with a simple word but instead he knelt beside her and dug with his bare hands, and for that she wanted to thank him, but she could stop crying.

 

Kile slipped silently from her window sill onto the grass and looked out into the darkness of the compound. She stayed close to the walls so as not to alert the guards at the gate, not that they were very aware of what was happening inside the compound, their attention was focused outside the walls of the academy. She wasn’t exactly sure what the policy was for being outside the dorms after lights out. It might even be allowed and she was going through all this skullduggery for nothing.

When she was out of sight of the guards on the wall she was able to walk more freely as she crossed the List. On most nights she would just wander aimlessly about the dark moving from one location to another on little more than a whim, but tonight she had a destination. The thought of the little white rabbit haunted her through supper and she needed to see the small grave one more time. She realized that to anybody else, anybody normal that is, her reaction to the situation would appear to be over the top. She knew Morgan didn’t really understand, although he did aide her in digging the grave. He did it more because he felt bad for her, not for the rabbit. To him, as well as anyone else, it was just a rabbit. Rabbits die, they die every day. They get eaten, poisoned, run over by runaway carriages, the life of a rabbit it fraught with danger. People have seen dead rabbits lying in the road, or hanging in the butchers shop, and although they might think, oh what a shame and feel sorry for it, it lasts only until they turned the corner and can no longer see it. What if it had been a man lying in the road or hanging in the butchers shop, okay, that is a little gruesome, but that vision would stick with that person long after they turned the corner. Is it because they feel on the same lever as that man, they could have known him, they could have talked to him, they could have liked him or disliked him whereas the rabbit was just another dumb animal, and yet she spoke with the rabbit. She may not have carried on a conversation with it, but she knew him. She had seen where he lived, where he ate, who the members of his den were, she had gotten to know the rabbit, and in the brief time they shared, she liked him, and then she killed him. It was like meeting someone in the street for the first time, striking up a conversation with them and learning about all their likes and their dislikes, where they lived, what they did, talking about their family, and when the conversation ended, beat them over the head with a large club. Oh it was just an accident.

She must have been distracted because she almost stumbled over Gorum who was sitting in her path.

-Fine thief you would make.-

The low guttural voice echoed in her head.

“Sorry Gorum.” She told the dog. “I guess I was preoccupied.”

-I’ll say.-

Hunar added as she came up behind her.

-Been following. Never noticed.-

-You seemed troubled.-

Gorum said as he started to walk alongside her, Hunar followed, keeping her distance. She was not as sociable as Gorum or it could have been some kind of pack thing, Kile never really understood the social structures of a dog’s life.

“I killed a rabbit today.” She told Gorum.

-Way to go, how did it taste?-

Hunar asked from behind.

“I didn’t eat it.” She replied. “I buried it.”

-For later?-

Hunar asked.

-For Respect.-

Gorum answered for her, but was it the right answer. Did she do it for respect or to ease her own guilt?

-Seems a waste.-

Hunar mumbled to herself.

-Why does it trouble you so?-

Gorum asked.

“It shouldn’t have happened, I couldn’t control myself.”

-Did you do it because you wanted to?-

“No, of course not.”

-Because you had to?-

-Yeah right, like the rabbit tried to attack her, dangerous creatures those things.-

Hunar laughed and Gorum turned suddenly and gave her a loud bark. It didn’t carry words, but Kile could hear the meaning. Mind your place. Hunar backed down.

-If it wasn’t because you wanted to, and it wasn’t because you had to, then why did you kill it?-

“We were doing an experiment, and I told it to stop, and… it did.”

-It wasn’t your intention to kill it.-

“But that’s not the point; it was because of me that he died.”

-Did you know what you were doing would have killed it?-

“No, I didn’t think it would.” She replied, although she wasn’t entirely sure. She had a bad feeling about the entire experiment but she went along with it anyway. She could have stopped it before it started, but truth be told, she wanted to know as much about the Maligar as Morgan did.

-Then that is just the end of it.-

Kile stopped and shook her head. She would have thought Gorum would have understood.

“His death was pointless, it made no sense.”

-Sense has very little to do with death.-

Gorum replied as he turned around and sat in front of her.

-You place a lot of importance on yourself pup. You feel that you can manipulate life and death, but you have no control over the cycle. The cycle is life and death and life again, just like the seasons. Winter gives way to spring, without winter we can not have spring, without death we cannot have life. The cycle of the rabbit ended, whether it was sooner than nature had intended, you do not know that. Nature may have marked the cycle of that creature to end when it did, whether you had a hand in it or not. Now his body will return to the ground, and the cycle will continue, with his death, there will be life and he will live on in that new life.-

“When you put it that way it seems so simple.”

-The cycle of life is simple. It is the vir that places burdens within their paths; it is the vir that make living the cycle complicated. Why do you suffer these burdens? When your cycle is near its end, as mine is, you will see that the burdens you suffer are meaningless. If anything you should rejoice that you were a part of the rabbit's life, if only for a little while, and if you did have a hand in ending its cycle, then you were only doing as nature had intended.-

It was like being lectured to by one of the instructors; only the lecture was shorter and more meaningful. Although she still felt guilty over the death of the rabbit, Gorum’s explanation of the simplicity of life did easy a bit of the pain.

-So pup, show us this resting site of your rabbit friend so that we may respect it too.-

She led them up to the north wall where a patch of freshly turned dirt and a small stone rabbit, created by Morgan from a simple rock, marked the location. Both Gorum and Hunar sniffed around the perimeter of the grounds before paying their respects.

-I still say it’s a waste.-

She heard Hunar mumbled under her breath.

 

Kile threw the stick as far as she could and Hunar tore after it. She could never understand the fascination dogs have with the game of fetch. She had tried asking Hunar but all the dog would tell her was that it was fun and thrown the damn stick. Gorum was less enthusiastic about fetch, but then the male mastiff was quite a bit older than his female counterpart. She didn’t know how old Gorum was and never really gave it much thought until he spoke about the cycle of life and his coming to an end. She was always led to believe that animals were ignorant about their mortality, but it turned out that they were just more accepting of it. She sat beside Gorum, stroking the dog as she waited for Hunar to return with the stick. Hunar had a habit of getting sidetracked easily by a stray sound or a new smell, so it usually took her some time before she returned.

“Did you see any of the gathering?” She asked Gorum.

-I was present.-

“You were? What did they talk about? What was it like?”

-More things for the vir to worry about, more burdens for them to place upon their path. If they did not have enough burdens they would look for them, and then complain when they found them.-

“What burdens have they found?”

-The burdens of the vir matter little to me these days.-

Gorum replied as he turned his head so she could scratch his other ear.

-They spoke mostly of war in the western lands, from there I do no know, nor did I care to listen. Ask of Hunar, she appeared more interested in the vir’s business.-

-Don’t listen to him.-

Hunar said as she dropped the stick beside Kile’s leg.

-He was just as interested, He’s just too old and could no longer stay awake to hear it all.-

-There is truth in that too.-

Gorum laughed as he lay on his side so Kile could reach his belly.

“What was that about a war?” She asked Hunar.

-They didn’t call it a war; they called it… something else-

-A conflict.-

Gorum replied.

“With who?” Kile asked.

-The uhyre, they’ve crossed the western border and conducted raids on the vir dens, and then they retreat over the border where the vir can not reach them.-

It was not a very good time to be in western Aru, but that was where Tree was now, a small unknown border town by the name of Grover’s den. In two more years when she graduated would they send her to someplace like that, some place out of sight and out of mind, someplace on the border facing the threat of an uhyre invasion? And what of the uhyre, were they really the valrik and gulrik of legend, the ones she faced in battle at the Mystic tower. The thought of those creatures being real and really out there was unsettling at best.

“Gorum! Hunar!”

-Master’s voice.-

Hunar replied as her ears shot up.

Master would mean Oblum and Kile didn’t really want Sir Oblum finding her out of bed after lights out, and not with his precious dogs. She scrambled to her feet, waking Gorum.

-What is it?-

-Master calls.-

Hunar replied.

“Gorum! Hunar!”

The silhouette of a large man topped the hill and Kile slipped off to the darker places of the night, hiding within the shadows of the stable walls.

“Is someone there?” Oblum called out as he started down the hill. “Show yourself.”

Gorum and Hunar both ran toward their Master as he crouched down to greet them. He was scratching their heads but still looking in Kile’s direction. What was Oblum’s edge she wondered as the big man got to his feet? Could he see her? She could see him clearly enough, it wasn’t that dark, and yet he wasn’t even looking at her, he appeared to be looking past her. When he had made up his mind that there was nobody else out this time of night, he turned back up the hill.

“Come on guys, let’s get your supper.” He said as Gorum and Hunar followed.

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

2

 

“Hey Kile girl, you awake in there.”

Kile had been lying in bed staring up at the ceiling dreading another summer day at the academy. She quickly sat up when she heard the call from outside her window. There was only one person who thought they could get away with calling her Kile girl, and if he kept it up any longer he would regret it. She quickly rolled out of bed and ran to the window. Throwing open the shutters she looked down at a small boy that was grinning up at her.

“What are you doing here?” She asked. “You aren’t supposed to be back until next week.”

“Yeah, well, we got bored without you.” Alex replied.

It was probably not all together true, but it felt nice to hear it.

“You’re all back?”

“I don’t know what you mean by all, but Daniel and Carter are with me, actually they’re reporting in right now.”

She closed the shutters and quickly pulled on her slacks and tunic. It wouldn’t do for her to go running out to meet the guys in nothing but her underclothes.

“Come on Vesper, let’s go find the boys.” She said as she fastened the belt pouch around her waist. Vespers waited until she sat down to pull on her boots before he climbed in.

-Healer back?-

He asked eagerly.

“Yeah, Daniel’s back.”

There were a lot more cadets in the dorm today than she had previously noticed; they must have come back really early, while she was still asleep. She walked past open doors as boys, returning from their summer, were starting to put away their belongings. They didn’t pay her much mind as she passed and she didn’t really care if they did as she stepped out onto the compound. The sun was already high in the eastern sky and it was probably nearly noon. There was quite a bit of commotion as a few more carriages were just arriving, she must have slept through all the noise. It marked the end of a long, drawn out, summer.

She saw the tall awkward blond haired boy stepping out of the main office and could have sworn that Daniel had grown another couple of inches. His head seemed to tower above the other boys as they pushed past him to report in. He spotted Kile right away and a large crooked grin stretched a crossed his face.

“There you are.” He called out as he stepped from the crowd, he looked so different in his civilian clothes, he looked almost normal. Carter followed close behind him and where Daniel had grown up, Carter had grown out. He appeared a lot broader than he had before he left.

“Why are you back so soon?” Kile asked as she ran up to greet them. “Not that I’m complaining mind you.”

“There was a caravan passing through Procton, heading in this direction so we figured we’d cut our summer short.” Daniel replied.

“Actually Carter wanted to come back early.” Alex added as he joined them. “He missed his sparring matches with you.”

“I said no such thing.” Carter snapped as he turned a rather deep shade of red.

Daniel picked up a sack that was outside the office door and slung it over his shoulder, then picked up another one and dragged it behind.

“What’s all this?” Kile asked. When he left he only had the one small bag that he took with him.

“Mother thought I needed a few more things for next two years.” He replied with a shy grin. Kile looked around at the other boys taking their own luggage to their own cells and realized that there was quite a bit more going in than what came out.  It would appear that more mothers thought the same way as Daniel’s. It made sense really; nobody knew who was going to be accepted into the academy last year, until they actually made it in. Now that they knew they had two more years to go, cadets were bringing more stuff from home to make those years a little easier.

She followed Daniel back to his cell and watched him unpack.

“So, how was Procton? Change much in a year’s time?” She asked him as she took the seat by the door. It was the first time she had actually sat in Daniel’s room, usually he was visiting her.

“Not really.” Daniel replied. “I did go back to Quigley, but he’s already got himself another assistant, I figured he would, so he didn’t really need my help, although I did show him a few of the things that I had learned here. Mostly I helped my folks out the best I could and hung out with Alex. We did get in a little fishing. Carter joined us a few times, that was when he wasn’t helping is father at the forge. All in all it was pretty boring.”

“What did you expect? You were only gone for a year.”

“Yeah… I know, but it was… kind of weird too.” Daniel added as he turned to face her.

“What do you mean?”

“I… just didn’t feel like I belonged there anymore. I guess in many ways I don’t. If I survive my time here at the academy, the guild will send me to… who knows where, and that’s where I’ll be stationed, that will be my new home. Procton… will just be another town.”

“I doubt that. Procton will always be the place where you grew up, it’s the place where your parents are, the place where your friends are, it will always be your home.”

“Yeah. I guess.” Daniel said as he turned back to his pack and began pulling out even more clothes. “Do you still think of Riverport as your home?”

“Yeah, of course.” She lied. She never thought of Riverport as her home when she was living there, why would she start thinking of it as her home now?

“Oh, I have something for you.” Daniel said, grabbed his second sack and tossed it on the bed. He pulled it open and rummaged inside for a few minutes before pulling out a small wrapped parcel and handed it to her.

“What’s this?” She asked. Was this another custom that she was unfamiliar with, like winter’s feast?

“It’s a sweater, for the cold nights. Mom made it.”

“For me?”

She had never met Daniel’s mother, why would the woman spend so much time on her?

“I… kind of mentioned you to her when I got home.”

“Mentioned?” Alex laughed from the doorway, Kile quickly spun around on her chair. She hadn’t noticed the small boy standing there. He was getting very good at sneaking up on people.

“He didn’t stop talking about you the whole time.” Alex laughed.

Kile looked from Alex to Daniel as the taller boy slammed the door.

“It wasn’t like that.” He said, a little red faced as he went back to his unpacking, keeping his back to her so she couldn’t see him. “It’s just that mom was really interested in the only female cadet at the academy. She also said that if you didn’t want to go all the way back to Riverport during our next leave, you’re more than welcome in Procton.”

Kile held the parcel close to her chest and suddenly missed her own mother. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go back to Riverport, she couldn’t go back to Riverport, her father had made that quite clear. She was no longer welcome back home; it’s quite possible that she didn’t have a home to go back to.

-Kile Okay?-

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She lied again, but unlike lying to Daniel, Vesper was able to read between the lines as he poked his head out of the pouch and looked up at her.

“Sort of okay.” She corrected herself.

“I’m sorry.” Daniel said as he turned around.

“I was just talking to Vesper.” Kile replied casually. She looked up at Daniel’s face and realize that no matter how many times he had seen her do in the past year, he still didn’t quite believe, or understand that she could communicate with the yarrow, sometimes she had a hard time believing it herself.

“So, what did you get up to while we were gone?” Daniel asked.

Walking the compound in the dead of night, carrying on conversations with the guard dogs, and killing rabbits for no reason.

“I got a bit of reading done.” She replied as she opened up the parcel and pulled out a soft green sweater. It was beautifully made and it was close to her size, a little too close to her size as she stood up and held it against herself. She looked at herself in the mirror. It was almost made to fit.

“How did your mother know what size I was?” She asked a rather nervous looking Daniel.

“Oh… you know. She...guessed.”

“She guessed? She’s a good guesser.” Kile replied as she neatly folded the sweater still stared at the back of Daniel’s head.

“Well… she might have gotten… a little help.”

“From whom?” She asked calmly, as if she didn’t already know.

“Alex… kind of…”

“I’ll kill him.” She replied. “I warned him, now I’ll kill him.”

“She wanted to see what you looked like that’s all, and… well… Alex created you once…”

“Alex had nothing to do with creating me.” She corrected him.

“Sorry. He created an illusion of you once.”

“Better.” She replied. “It’s just a little… creepy if you know what I mean.”

Daniel laughed. “Yeah, especially with Alex doing it.”

Somehow she didn’t want to know the exact meaning of that laughter.

“His illusions, you can’t… touch them… can you?” She asked. That would have really creeped her out.

“Not that I’m aware of.” He replied.

Not a very reassuring answer.

“I heard the new cadets should be arriving next week. It’s going to be odd watching from the other side of the fence.” Daniel said as he tried to change the subject.

“It’s hard to believe we made it through one year.” Kile replied. “I wonder if there will be any girls in this year’s group.”

Kile wasn’t sure if she wanted another girl at the academy, it wasn’t that she wanted to be the only one, it was because she knew what it was to be the only one, and she would hate to think of someone else having to go through what she had gone through, or what she was still going through. On the other hand, if two girls passed the entry examination, that wouldn’t be as bad, of course Boraro would have a fit. Who knows, he might even go as far as quitting, and that would be just fine by her.

“I doubt it.” Daniel replied, breaking into her little fantasy. It took her a moment to remember what he doubted.

“Why, you don’t know.”

“Sure we do. Think about it. All the cadets knew about you when you arrived last year. I’m sure if there was a girl in the next group coming up we would have known already.”

“Maybe last year’s senior class was better at gathering information than this year’s senior class.”

“Maybe, but I doubt it.” Daniel said as he tossed the empty pack into the corner of his room and started on the next. “But it looks as if they’re going to need as many hunters as they can get.”

“What do you mean?”

He quickly looked around the room, as if they wouldn’t have noticed someone standing in the room listening already. When he was sure they were alone he sat on the end of his bed and leaned toward her.

“Well, for starters, Carter told me, that his father told him, that there was an accident at the Blackmoore prison last year, and that some of the inmates may have gotten free, and that’s why the Hunters have gathered, to discuss the so called accident, but if you ask me, I think it has more to do with the pirates.”

“Pirates?” Kile replied, it seamed a little cliché, but it wasn’t that far fetched. Even in Riverport they had heard stories of the pirates of the southern seas. Of course they were just stories and no one, to her knowledge, which was limited in this matter, had seen a pirate in over a decade.

“My father was telling me that there has been some trouble on the southern coastline. A few cargo ships have gone missing. Some are saying that there’s a serpent in the Sun Color Sea, but he thinks it might be pirates. From what he says, three cargo ships have gone missing since the spring thaw. Two coming from the southern continents, and one going. That’s why I think the Hunters have gathered.” Daniel said as he sat up straight.

“Not quite.” Kile replied. “From what I’ve heard, the topics of conversation were the uhyre raids on the western borders.” Of course she wasn’t going to say where she got her information from.

“Uhyre raids… what are the Uhyre?”

“The valrik, the gulrik? You know the little ugly gray guys with the large swords.”

“But the valrik were wiped out. What little still exist wouldn’t amount to much.”

“Well, I guess nobody told them that, because they’ve already attacked a few of the outer posts. I wonder if the events are related in any way.”

“What? You think the valrik, the disappearing cargo ships and the accident at the Blackmore prison are connected? That’s a bit of a stretch, even for you.”

Maybe, Kile thought, but it was rather suspicious.

 

Daniel’s information proved to be less than accurate, but then it wouldn’t have been the first time. The caravans with the new recruits were scheduled to arrive tomorrow evening as opposed to next week. That morning all the cadets were required to pick up their new uniforms from the quartermaster, and turn in their old ones. They moved from the dull brown tunic and pants to those of a dull green. It wasn’t much of a change, but it was one step closer to becoming a hunter.

As Kile was returning from the quartermaster with her new uniforms, she noticed Kaza sitting on her window sill tapping on her shutters trying to get her attention. Since she wasn’t in her room, his enthusiastic tapping was getting him nowhere. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to acknowledge the bird or not. She hadn’t seen Morgan or Kaza since that day with the rabbit, and although she never blamed Kaza for what happened, she wasn’t too sure about Morgan.

“Looks like you’ve got a visitor.” Alex laughed as he pointed at the crow.

“Probably after some bugs or something.” Carter remarked.

She wasn’t sure if she liked the implication that she had bugs on her window sill, but it was better than trying to explain that the crow came to talk to her.

“So, who’s up for some sparing this afternoon?” Carter asked. “I borrowed some blanks from my father’s shop.”

“Blanks?” Kile inquired.

“Yeah, not quite swords, not quite large hunks of metal.” Carter laughed. “You have to pour a blank before you can make a sword, at least for the cheaper ones that is.”

“So what good are they to us?” Daniel asked.

“Oh no, my father worked them up a bit, even put hilts on them, the quality of the metal sucks but they're good enough for banging around, they may not have the precise balance of a good sword, but they have the weight, and that’s what’s important.”

“Not me, at least not right now.” Kile replied.

“Come on Kile girl, you need all the help you can get.” Alex teased.

“You could use a little more practice with the sword before we return to the real thing.” Carter agreed.

“Maybe later this afternoon, right now I think I have an appointment with Morgan.”

“Since when?” Daniel asked.

“Since right about now.” She replied as Kaza, who was fed up with knocking his head against the shutters had just turned around and noticed her walking toward the dorms.

“How do you know?” Alex asked.

“I little bird is about to tell me.” She replied, unable to avoid the pun. “I’ll meet up with you guys later.”

“If you don’t mind the company, I wouldn’t mind seeing Morgan again, I did have something I wanted to ask him.” Daniel said.

“Not me.” Alex replied. “That dude scares me, he’s always yelling at me every time I try to make an illusion. It’s hard to concentrate.”

“Good, then I’ll just beat up on Al for a while until you guys get through with your mystic meeting.” Carter said as he grabbed Alex by the back of the neck and pushed him forward.

 

Kile took her time changing into her new uniform before opening up the shutters to let a rather irate crow into her cell. Kaza hopped onto the bed then flew up to the dresser.

-What took you so long girl?-

He asked as he ruffled his feathers.

“I had to change.” She replied calmly as she folded up her old uniforms.

She would have to bring them to the quartermaster later today, what he did with them was something she didn’t want to know about, she didn’t want to even thing about the number of hunters who had worn the uniform she was wearing right now. The pants were a bit loose and the tunic was a bit snug. It was a mix matched set since they didn’t have much in her size in stock. Alex probably got the worst of it, with his stature, nothing they had really fit. The Quartermaster did say they had to order some new uniforms, but the way this place was run, they would arrive some time within the next decade, long after they graduated.

-Morgan wants to see you.-

“I’m not sure if I want to see him.” She replied as she went into the lavatory to brush her hair.

-You’re not still blaming him for… you know.-

“I don’t know Kaza. I still don’t think he really understands.” She replied.

- Probably not, but then most vir wouldn’t. You have to realize that you see things from a completely different view than everyone else. You have to understand that they don’t see the world as you see it now. Did you see the world as you see it now?-

A timely knock on the door prevented her from having to ponder that as she tied back her hair and proceeded to answer the door. She knew who it was before she even opened it.

“I’ll be right with you.” She told Daniel as he stepped into the room.

He looked rather fetching in his new uniform, but then his uniform fit, where as she looked as if she fell out of the laundry cart.

“Tell him I’ll be there.” She told the crow.

-Considering he doesn’t understand a word I say, that will be very difficult to do.-

“Then sit on his head until he gets the message. What’s he want me to do anyway? Has he found something else to torture me with?”

-Actually he doesn’t want you to do anything; he wants you to meet someone.-

Kaza replied as he hopped onto the window sill and took to the air.

“You were actually talking to that Crow… weren’t you?” Dandle asked her.

“It was more like being talked at, but yeah, that was Kaza.” Kile replied as she grabbed her brother’s old floppy wide brimmed hat from the back of the chair and stuck it on her head; it completed the mixed match ensemble. She then grabbed the belt with the tattered old pouch from the end of her bed.

“You coming Vesper?” She asked, not that she really had to. The Yarrow had already jumped into the pouch before she even had a chance to fasten it around her waist. Daniel watched it all with quiet amusement.

“I have to say, for someone who swore to me a year ago that they had no mystic arts, you definitely have something.”

She looked down at Vesper, who was staring up at her from under the flap of the pouch.

“I have interesting friends.” She replied.

“That’s an understatement.” Daniel laughed as he stepped out into the hall.

She closed the door and the two of them left the dorms to cross the compound together. In three days time classes would begin again, the only difference was that this time they wouldn’t be the first years. They would also be able to choose what chores they wanted to do, and the class structure wasn’t nearly as strict, but the work load was harder, and she was sure that Master Boraro was already looking for new and inventive ways to inflict pain.

“So, what’s it like?” Daniel asked.

She looked at him for a moment, unsure of what he was asking.

“You know, what you do.” Daniel said looking around the compound to make sure that no one could hear them.

“What do I do?” She asked.

“You know.” He said, then bent down closer to her and whispered. “Talking with animals.”

“Oh… I don’t know.”

“Come on. Last year you asked me what it was like to use my mystic arts, is it anything like that.”

“Not really.” She replied, although she couldn’t really remember what he had told her last year. “It’s kind of just like… talking to you.”

“You mean animals can communicate with… words?”

“Some can, although most of it is a combination of feelings and visions. Sometimes it’s not so much of what they say as how they say it, or how if feels when they say it. It’s kind of difficult to explain.”

“It’s just really weird.” Daniel said, and then quickly backtracked. “I don’t mean weird as in you’re weird, I mean it’s just really…”

“Weird, yeah I know.”

“No I mean weird as in how it works, how the animals take to you and… well… really how you take to the animals. It’s like… when we brought Charles into the stables, and you came out with Oblum’s two mastiffs on either side of you. When I saw those two dogs the first day we were here, standing with Oblum, they made me nervous. They were intimidating, but when I saw them standing with you, for a moment I was terrified, not so much of the dogs… but of you.”

“Me?”

“Well... Yeah, it's hard to explain but when you came out with those two dogs, it was like there were three dogs there… wait, that didn’t really come out right.”

“No it didn’t. I’ll give you a little time to think about that.” She replied. The idea of being referred to as a dog was not helping her ego much, and dressed the way she was, she was having one of those low self-esteem days.

“What I meant to say is that you took on dog like qualities.”

“How about this, we quit while we’re ahead.” She told him as she reached Morgan’s door. She knocked three times, then walked in. She had learned long ago that if you wait for Morgan to answer you’d be standing on his stoop for a long time.

The room was rather comfortably cool and dimly lit, as it had been all through the summer. She could hear Morgan speaking to someone or more like at someone, and he didn’t sound like he was in a very good mood. Why she would want to see him when he was like this was beyond her. There was the sound of fluttering and then someone laughing. Kile looked at Daniel who just shrugged. She walked around the bookshelf and looked into the main room, there, sitting on the overstuffed wing backed chair, was a woman she had never seen before. It was difficult to tell whether she was old or young, there appeared to be no age to her at all, something that was common with mystics. She was dressed in the same yellow robes as Morgan, but she had flowing sliver white hair and bright pale blue eyes. Her face was very delicate except for a rather angular nose, although it didn’t distract from her beauty. She was sipping a cup of rosemary tea, or was trying to in-between fits of soft laughter. Morgan on the other hand was not as amused. Each time he tried to talk, Kaza would land on his head. He would angrily wave the bird off and it would retreat to the safety of the higher shelves out of reach of the mystics flailing arms, only to fly back down and sit on his head again when the mystic calmed down. He turned when he heard Kile enter the room.

“I suppose you put him up to this.” He said with the crow still perched upon his bald head.

“I think he got the message Kaza.” Kile replied trying not to laugh. The crow took off from Morgan’s head and came to land upon Kile’s shoulder.

“Thank you.” Morgan replied as he straightened out his yellow robes and brushed back what little hair he had.

“You must be Kile.” The woman said with a gentle smile. As the woman turned in her chair, Kile noticed the small white bird with the yellow and blue crest that sat upon her shoulder. Did all mystics own birds she wondered?

“Yes ma’am.” Kile said as she looked from the woman to the bird.

“Kile, this is Vanessa, one of my colleagues at the tower and the scholar for the new first years, Vanessa, this is the young cadets I was telling you about.”

“The one that supposedly speaks with animals.” Vanessa finished for him.

First off, Kile didn’t like the fact that Morgan was telling anyone what she was able to do, she was under the impression that the Hunter’s edge was a secret known only by the hunter and the scholar that taught her, and secondly she didn’t really appreciated the condescending tone in the woman’s voice. The one that supposedly speaks with animals, it was a not so subtle way of accusing her of lying.

-It is true though, isn’t it?-

Kile looked at the small white bird that was sitting upon the woman’s shoulder, and the bird was looking at her. It was a soft spoken almost melodic voice, much more gentle than Kaza’s and it carried with it a feeling of calm. She should have known the bird was able to speak more fluently than most of the wilder breeds since she, like Kaza, hung around mystics for so long.

“It’s true.” Kile replied.

“It's not that I’m doubting your claim or anything child, it’s just that I have been searching for a means of communicating with animals for the last twenty years, and so far, those that claimed they could… couldn’t.” Vanessa said, mostly directing her explanation toward Morgan.

-But you can, I can tell. I’ve tried to speak with vir before, but none has ever understood me, you are different.-

“What do you mean, different? How?”

-Different than most vir. I have always understood that communication with the natural world was possible, but only by the Alva, I have never heard of a vir being able to speak with us, but you possess a different light than most.-

“A different light?”

-All living things give off light, to those that can see it. The vir’s light tends to be dark; they are closed off from the natural world. Whether this is a choice of their own or not, I do not know, but your light is different, yours is brighter.-

Kile suddenly realized that everyone else in the room had stopped talking and instead were watching and listening to her, it was not something she was very comfortable with. She never liked being the center of attention. She caught the look on Vanessa’s face and wasn’t sure if it was skepticism or intrigue.

“So, are you communicating with my bird right now?” Vanessa asked. “I mean, most of the people I’ve tested that claimed they could communicate with the natural world had to work themselves into a trance first. You appear to be carrying on a simple conversation.”

“I assure you Vanessa, she is different.” Morgan replied.

“So you claim, but there is still the matter of proof.”

-Don’t mind her, she’s been studying the natural world for many years now, and has yet to find someone like you. She has grown a little cynical.-

The small white bird told Kile.

-Just tell her Vinaldie-

“I have documented her achievements, what more proof are you looking for?” Morgan asked.

“No offense Morgan, but your studies have never been in the natural world. You wouldn’t understand. Tricks can be played on even the brightest of minds.” Vanessa replied. “But there are ways to disprove such claims.”

“Vinaldie?”

Vanessa suddenly turned and looked at Kile. “What did you just say?”

“Vinaldie. It’s something you’ve told Seki, that she’s been trying to tell others. The idea, I guess, being that if someone could truly speak with your bird, they would know the word.”

“How did you know that?” Vanessa asked.

“Seki told me. She also said that you’ve tested over two dozen people and she has not been able to communicate with any of them on any level, not so much as a stray thought.”

To punctuate this, Seki took off from Vanessa’s shoulder, circled the room twice before landed on Kile’s shoulders, the one not occupied by Kaza, who seemed a bit put out to be sharing a vir with another bird. Kile was starting to feel like a tree, with a bird on each shoulder and a yarrow in her pocket.

“Then it is true.” Vanessa said turning completely around in her chair so that she now faced Kile. “You can really speak with Seki.”

“Not only that.” Morgan replied with a burst of pride. “She can even perform the Maligar.”

“No, no I can’t.” Kile said, shaking her head, she would never do that again.

“Can you or can’t you?” Vanessa asked her.

“Sorry… I can’t.”

“We had a bit of a problem during one of the experiments I’m afraid.” Morgan explained. “She was a little upset. I was hoping once she got over it, she would…”

“No.” Kile replied. “I won’t.”

“Fair enough.” Morgan said, throwing up his hands in defeat, but Kile knew the debate was far from over. He would try to persuade her again.

Vanessa looked between the two of them. “What exactly happened?” She asked.

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Kile replied.

Morgan was about to say something more but one look from Vanessa and he quickly changed his mind. He looked from Vanessa to Kile and finally noticed Daniel standing quietly in the doorway.

“Cadet Leary.” He called out “What brings you here?”

“Sorry sir, I hope I’m not interrupting, I was hoping I could talk to you about… something.” Daniel replied.

Kile had forgotten all about Daniel and felt bad ignoring him, but she hadn’t expected to be dragged into this conversation.

“No need to apologize.” Morgan said a he crossed the room and gently directed Daniel out. “We can discuss it outside.”

“Tact was never one of his strong points.” Vanessa smiled. “Please Kile, sit.”

Kile took the overstuffed wing backed chair that had been recently vacated by Morgan. She made sure to shift the pouch that she wore, so as not to sit on Vesper. Kaza was obviously not comfortable with sitting and quickly flew up to his perch on the high shelf. She was sure he only chose that location so that he could look down on everyone else.

“I won’t ask you about the Maligar, I can guess what might have happened, but I would like to know more about what you can do.” Vanessa said as she poured out a second cup of rosemary tea and handed it to Kile who gracefully accepted it.

“I’m not sure what I can tell you.” Kile replied.

“Then let me tell you something about me first.” Vanessa said as she leaned back in her chair. “I don’t know what, if anything, Morgan has told you, but I’ve spent my life studying the natural world, both the flora and the fauna, I’m one of the few mystics who are influenced by the sphere of wood.”

“He told me that no mystics were influenced by the sphere or wood.”

“Well, there is some truth to that. You see my dominate spheres are that of earth and wind, but I have been touched by the sphere of wood and that connection to the natural world has fueled my curiosity and my studies. About twenty years ago, I stumbled upon a manuscript written by one of the alva, and with the help of Morgan, I was able to translate it. Within those pages there was an account of a young alverian girl who could communicate with animals. I spent the next ten years trying to prove it was possible to connect with the natural world on that level, and then the next ten years I spent disproving it.”

“You saw so many fakes, you grew cynical.”

“That’s right, so when Morgan told me he had found a young cadet that could communicate with the natural world, I had mixed feelings. Part of me wanted so badly to come here to prove that you were a fake that I even agreed to instruct a class of cadets just to get into the academy.”

“And the other part?”

“The other part hoped that you were the real thing.”

“And am I?”

“I can’t very well say you’re a fake when my only means of proof is sitting on your shoulder.” Vanessa laughed. “I’ve had Seki every since she was born. Vinaldie was the name I gave her brother.”

-His cycle ended before it began.-

Seki whispered.

“I’m sorry.” Kile said.

“I’m not even sure what species of bird she is, where she comes from, what her real name is.”

“I’m afraid she doesn’t know the answers to those questions either.” Kile said.

“You’ve asked her?”

“It’s a little hard to explain, but yeah, in a way I think I did.”

“What did she say? Did she say anything?”

“It’s not so much what she says as what she feels. From what I understand, most animals don’t recognize species or breeds, they sort of go by feeling, they don’t… really have any definitive word that separates them from one another, so… although I can feel what breed she is, it’s not something that I can put into words.”

“I see, I guess that makes sense. We as scholars place those labels on them, they wouldn’t know one from another, what about where she comes from.”

“Well, that’s a little easier, but you’re not going to like it.”

“Why not?”

“Well… she comes from a room that overlooks the city, with green curtains on the windows, a single bed in the corner with a floral bed sheet, a painting of the ocean on the wall just over a small book shelf.”

Vanessa began to laugh. “My room at the tower.” She replied. “I should have figured that one. That was where she was born. Of course she wouldn’t know where she came from; she was only an egg when I received her. What about her real name, Morgan tells me you told him Kaza’s real name.”

-I’ve only known Seki.-

“Seki is her real name. You gave it to her when she hatched. You’ve been her mother and her friend since then and it’s the only name she’s known.”

As if to agree with Kile’s answers, Seki flew from Kile to Vanessa and landed on the mystics shoulder once again.

“Seki.” Vanessa replied as she scratched the bird's head. “But Kaza had another name.”

“Well yeah, Kaza was owned by another mystic before he was given to Morgan. He was already named. Seki never had a name until you gave her one.”

“It’s as simple as that, but I would advise against it.” Morgan told Daniel as they entered the room. It was such a cryptic statement that Kile wished she had sent Vesper with the boy when he left, just to know what he was so eager to talk to the mystic about.

“I think we should probably get going.” Kile said as she rose, with a little difficulty, from the overstuffed wing backed chair.

“Kile, I was wondering.” Vanessa said as she rose from her own chair with a little more grace. “Would it be possible for me to call on you in the future? I feel that you would be a great help with my studies. It would be so much easier for me to view the animals in their natural habitat and to learn from them rather than bring them back to my lab and study their behaviors. You could really save me a lot of time.”

“I would be honored ma’am… although I am kind of training to be a hunter.”

“Oh, I understand, it’s not like I’m gonna steal you away from the guild. Besides, I’m stuck here at the academy for the next three years anyway, so for the most part my research has been placed on hold, but when I’m finished here I may need the services of a hunter to escort me through the northwest region.”

“Well that works out.” Daniel replied. “By then you should be finished with your probationary year.”

“If I survive my probationary year.” Kile replied.

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

3

 

“They’re coming.” Daniel cried as he stopped at Kile’s door. She had it open in the hopes of catching a cross breeze from the window, as the stillness of the summer nights stubbornly lingered on. She looked up from the book she was trying to read, it was not the most stimulating pieces of literature but it was the only thing left on Master Adam’s shelf. She had read the last three sentences six times now and they still didn’t make any sense.

“What? Who?” She asked at random as she tried to come back to the land of the fully awake.

“The new cadets. Word from the gate is that the caravan has just turned onto the road, they should be here any time now.”

And this interested her… how?

“I should care?” She asked, but Daniel was long gone.

She pulled herself out of the bed, grabbed her hat and headed out into the hall with very little enthusiasm but it had to be better than falling asleep over a dull book on siege tactics. Vesper had gone out for the evening, she didn’t know where and if he came back with some of the vision that he had shared with her in the past, she didn’t want to know.

The hallway was filled with activity as the cadets rushed out of their dorms to witness the arrival of the new first years. Obviously this was a big thing, although she couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t like this would be the last time they see the cadets, they would be seeing them around the compound for the next two years. As she stepped out into the night air she saw the fence line starting to fill up as second and third year cadets were scrambling for a place to view the new arrivals. The torches were lit all along the road, all the way up to the fenced in area where two graduating cadets stood by an open gate, waiting to close the new boys in. She had been on the receiving end of this last year, it felt kind of empowering to be one of the spectators and not the spectacle.

She walked across the field to the fence line and wondered if Oblum would get the opportunity to give his entire speech. It was only because Gorum and Hunar refused to listen to him and sat down in front of Kile that Oblum cut it short the last time. Even then the dogs knew she was different. They knew before she did.

She walked over to where Daniel, Alex and Carter had staked out their claim along the path.

“I wasn’t sure if you were coming.” Daniel said as he moved to one side, giving her a little more room to see.

“I wasn’t, but I figured this beats siege machines and supply lines.” She replied as she climbed up on the rails. The road was deserted, and she was starting to think that maybe siege machines were more interesting.

“Here they come.” One of the guards upon the gate called out. This sent a ripple of excitement down the fence line, somehow it must have jumped over Kile since she was not at all thrilled and could barely stifle a yawn.

Within moments the lights of the first carriage could be seen, it took a few more minutes before the carriage actually rolled under the gates of the academy, followed closely by another, and then another. There was fifteen carriages total, all bearing the mark of the hunter’s guild on the door. The last one, of course, was the supply wagon, the one that Kile arrived in last year, but it only carried supplies this time. Fourteen carriages, each holding roughly around eight cadets for a grand total of one hundred and twelve, give or take a cadet, since not all the carriages were full. Had they taken up that many carriages when they arrived at the academy last year?  She looked down the fence line at the other second year cadets, now they wouldn’t even fill half that many.

She was surprised to see that so many second year cadets failed to show up after the summer, there was technically still time, since the last day to sign in was tomorrow, but she doubted there would be a stampede for the door as the sun came up. Even the staff were a bit surprised by the number of dropouts. She would hate to think that she was the cause of it; no one would be that petty. The only other reason she could think of would be the looming rumors of war in the west, or the south depending on whose looming rumors they were listening to. Unfortunately the ones she wished had dropped out had returned. Eric was back along with his little group of miscreants. Oddly enough Eric appeared to be preoccupied and had ignored Kile on two separate occasions, not that she was complaining.

The carriage doors opened and a group of young, shell shocked kids fell out. They were only a year younger than her but the age difference seemed so much greater. Had they looked that wide eyed and naive when they first arrived?

The barbs and the insults were soon flying and it was clear to Kile that they were hitting their marks as the young cadets grouped tighter together and were moving in mass up toward the open field. It must be a boy thing she figured as she listened to the remarks being made. She had been on the receive end of those comments and didn’t like it, why then would she want to be on the giving end.

It seamed unproductive, the new cadets were already scared enough, especially considering what they had been through over the last week, what with the entry examination and all. She knew she was pretty frightened seeing all the cadets hanging on the fence yelling obscenities and mocking them as they walked the narrow path up to the field. To come into such a hostile territory, it was no wonder the dropout rate was so high. It was one of the most un-hunter like behavior she had witnessed. She was glad to see that Daniel had refrained from slinging insults, but the same couldn’t be said of Carter or Alex who were trying to outdo one another.

Once the new kids were locked safely within the fenced in area of the field, the second year and third year cadets began to swarm around them, climbing up on the fence and surrounding them. The comments still came, references to new blood, fresh meat, girly boys and the favorite comment about scrapping the bottom of the barrel.

“Why can’t they just cut them some slack?” Kile asked, although she wasn’t asking anyone in particular, she was still answered.

“Tradition.”

She turned to see a blond haired boy leaning over the fence, looking about as interested in the proceedings as she was. There was something strangely familiar about him, but she just couldn’t place her finger on it. She was sure she had never seen him before, but she felt she met him once or twice. Why were all these people she had never met before so familiar to her?

“Tradition isn’t really an excuse.” She replied. “They put these kids through a lot, only to be torn down and ridiculed when they succeed, if anything they should be welcoming the new kids, not tormenting them.”

“Oh, I agree.” The boy replied. “But what can you do about it?”

“Change it.”

“But it is tradition, they’ve done it every year, and next year, these kids will be doing it to another group of new recruits.”

“Just because it’s been done every year, doesn’t make it right.”

“So, are you going to do something about it?” The blonde haired boy asked. There was a look on his face that anticipated her answer. Surely he didn’t want her to run out into the field and put a stop to it right now.

“If I was anyone else but myself, I would. But the last thing these boys need is for me to stand up and defend them. That would only make matters worse.” She replied.

“True” He said with a nod. “But if you had the power to do it, the authority to make the changes that go against tradition… would you?”

“Of course I would. Tradition doesn’t make something right, it just makes it repetitive. If it was wrong back then it’s still wrong now, no mater how many times you do it.”

“That’s good to know.” The Kid said with a smile. “I’ll see you around Kile.”

He pushed himself off the fence and moved into the thick of the spectators before she could stop him.

Daniel came up behind her. “Who was that?” He asked.

“I have no idea.” She replied.

“He knew your name.”

She slowly turned and looked at Daniel. “I’m the only girl in the entire academy, by now everyone knows my name.”

At that moment the doors to the main office opened and there Sir Oblum stood in all his glory filling the door frame quite nicely. As he stepped out, the cadets fell silent and quickly parted, creating a path for him and his two dogs. Kile could now see that it was Gorum who entered first, followed by Hunar as they looked menacingly at the new boys. She knew the two dogs enjoyed this part of the ritual, and she couldn’t help but smile as the rest of the cadets watched nervously.

They walked to the center of the fenced in area and took their place, three feet apart, staring at the new recruits. Oblum entered next, walking across the field with military precisions, turning and stood between Gorum and Hunar. This part of the ritual was flawless as it had been last year.

“Line up, three deep.” Master Pike called from the back of the group. The new cadets fell into unorganized columns. Only when they settled down did Oblum speak.

“I am Sir Oblum.” He said in his strong loud voice. He clasped his hands behind his back as he looked at each one of the new cadets, watching them cringe under his gaze.

“I was not only a certified level one Hunter, but a knight of the World, and it is my duty to make sure that you do not bring disgrace to this institution. You are here because you have passed the entry examinations and therefore must possess the qualities to become a Hunter, but by looking at you now, I find that hard to believe.”

This must be the same speech he gives every year Kile thought, but for some reason it just wasn’t as intimidating as it had been when she first heard it. Was it because she wasn’t on the receiving end, or was it because she had seen this man playing with his dogs in the early hours of the morning.

“Do not fool yourself into thinking that you are already a Hunter. You may have passed the entry examination, but that does not make you a Hunter, it only bestows upon you the privilege of attending this Academy. Survive here, prove yourself to me, graduate from these halls and then, and only then may you take the title of Hunter.

“Look around you, there are only two ways out of this compound, the western gate and the eastern gate.”

And we just conveniently forget about the large gate on the south wall that you just came through Kile thought as she pushed herself away from the fence. She looked up and down the line to see that the other cadets were hanging on Oblum’s every word. This was the same speech some of them had heard three times already, and they were still listening intently, that is, all but one. For some reason Eric didn’t seem to be very thrilled either as he quietly slipped away from the group. She wouldn’t have given it much thought, let him go, it wasn’t like she was going to miss him, but he wasn’t heading back to the dorms, he was heading up toward the great hall.

In spite of wanting to stay as far away from Eric as possible, she felt the need to follow. His behavior of late has been anything but normal, or at least normal from Eric’s point of view. With all the attention focused on the new recruits, no one saw Kile leave the group.

Whatever it was he was up to, it wasn’t good. He kept looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being followed. Kile stayed some distance behind him. It wasn’t difficult to figure out where he was going as she followed Eric all the way up to the doors of the Great Hall. He paused for a moment and looked around to make sure he was still alone before he entered. She waited until he was inside before running the last stretch across the open ground. She reached the door just before it closed and stopped it from latching. Holding her breath she slowly pushed it open. The entry doors to the Great Hall were never locked, only the individual rooms, but she was sure that cadets were not aloud in the Great Hall after dark.

She watched from the doorway as Eric moved from one exhibit to the next, he was looking for something but it didn’t look as if he knew what it was that he was looking for. He had that sort of dazed look about him as someone who had so many things to choose from, but didn’t know which one he wanted. He finally stopped at the exhibit of Quaineess Nyn the Hunter that had defeated Gator the Ash Creator; that was if the story could be believed. He pulled out a small metal object from his belt and began to pry at the display case.

What was so interesting about this hunter, or more importantly, what this hunter had on display?  As far as she knew there was nothing of real value in the gallery, just keepsakes from each hunter’s adventures. She slipped through the door, letting it close quietly behind her as she moved quickly to the left to get a better view. She had never noticed the simple armor display that stood beside the door. An old helmet perched on top of a wooden frame that showed off a battered shield. It was a shame she had not seen it before, she wouldn’t have run into it otherwise.

With quick reflexes that surprised even her, she snatched the helmet out of mid air just as it was about to hit the ground, unfortunately she never had a chance with the very large shield that struck the floor and echoed through the empty gallery likely the ringing of a gong that announced her arrival. Cringing as the echoes died down she looked over at the exhibit of Quaineess Nyn but Eric was long gone. Gorum was right; she would have made a lousy thief.

She set the helmet back on its wooden perch and walked over to the exhibit. The legendary dragon slayer loomed above her on his painted canvas, but she was more interested in his keepsakes. The only things he had on display were a few scales which supposedly belonged to Gator, as well as a long knife and a small golden ring. Which item could have possible interested Eric so much that he would risk stealing it?

“I should have figured it was you.”

Kile turned to see Eric step from the shadows to stand in the middle of the gallery, his right hand lit up in a ball of flame. Too bad she didn’t smell him this time; she wouldn’t have been so foolish as to get caught.

“You’ve been a thorn in my side since day one.” He said as he stepped closer.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot.” She replied swallowing hard. “So, what’s so important that you would risk being thrown out of the academy for stealing?”

“What do I care about this academy?” He asked. “It’s nowhere near as good as they made it out to be, not if they let people like you in.”

“You must care something about it; you tried three times to get in.” She replied.

She looked to the main entrance, it was a good distance away and the closed door would hinder her escape. The only other option was deeper into the great hall where she would be able to get out through the back entrance. She could make a run for it but her success would depend a lot on Eric’s edge. He could manipulate fire, but could he throw it. If he could hurl balls of fire, which looked very likely, she was toast.

“I should have ended this a long time ago.” Eric smiled as he pulled back his arm.

“Who’s down there?”

Saved by a voice from above.

Eric quickly doused his flame and Kile took advantage of the sudden darkness to make for the exit that lay deeper in the great hall. She hadn’t gotten far as Eric grabbed her by the arm. She quickly spun around but couldn’t break his grip.

“Is someone down there?” Master Adams called out, his voice was getting closer.

Eric looked at Kile then at the staircase above them; she could tell he was trying to decide what to do next. His grip on her arm tightened as he pulled her closer.

“Neither one of us was here.” He said in a harsh whisper and then suddenly released her. He didn’t wait around to see what she would do next, he ran toward the corridor that lead deeper into the Great Hall, disappearing into the darkness.

Kile was left standing alone in the middle of the gallery. It wouldn’t do for her to be caught here after dark, there were some that were still looking for an excuse to kick her out, and something like this was all they would need. She heard Master Adam’s footsteps on the stairs just above her. She couldn’t make it to the door without him seeing her, her only choice was to follow Eric and hope that she didn’t run into him again. Taking the corridor deeper into the Great Hall, she follows it through to the back doors and back out into the compound.

She had to tell someone what she had seen, tell someone what Eric tried to do, but he never succeeded in doing it, so what proof did she have. It would be her word against his, and let’s face it; her word didn’t go as far as his. A farmer’s daughter couldn’t very well accuse the son of a Lord of stealing, but he, on the other hand, could accuse her. Neither one of us was here he told her, maybe that was what he had in mind, maybe Master Boraro was right all along, a hunter should have some social standing in order to be effective.

 

It was the first full day back to the routine of the academy life since the crossbow incident over a month ago and Kile was starting to look back fondly on those long boring summer days. She was up before the sun and was even out on the field before Master West, who was recovering nicely, rang the morning bell. Now, as a second year cadet, she took her new place in the lineup and waited for the crowd to gather. A new group of third year cadets ran the morning procedures, but having gone through them for two years, they had no problems with their new responsibilities. It wouldn’t be long before the third years all chose their chores for the coming term and then the second years would be required to pick from what was left. Kile had no idea what she wanted to do, and given the number of third year cadets left, she would have a fair amount of chores to choose from. Their numbers seem to be dwindling by the day, and that was evident by the list of names that Sir Oblum read out that morning. It was a staggering number, somewhere around thirty or forty cadets had failed to show up after the summer.

She stood through the names, listening to them one by one and was even able to put a face to a few of them. One name that surprised her was that of Robert Little, the red haired boy that knew her brother and had bet on her to last only a year. The way he spoke she didn’t think he was the type to drop out that easily, but then she would never really know the reasoning behind his decision.

After the names were read Oblum went on about the requirements of a hunter and how hunter’s never quit and something about abandoning one's post, but Kile wasn’t really interested, for today was a special day in a hunter’s training. Today was the day that the hunter received their mounts. She could hardly believe they were actually going to give her a horse. She had never owned anything like that before. Tree had explained to them that once they reached their second year, they would be taught how to ride, but a year seemed so far away back then, and now the news was that the horsemanship training was being moved up and would be starting today.

There were no calisthenics on the account that Oblum had taken so long relaying the messages of the day and read off each name and judging its overall reaction from the cadets. The group was dismissed to the dinning hall for breakfast which returned to the standard fare of eggs, sausage, toast, potatoes, juice and anything else the kitchen couldn’t get rid of the night before. Kile still couldn’t bring herself to eat the sausage and the eggs weren’t looking very appetizing either, having spoken to a few birds had turned her off what was once her favorite part of breakfast, so she just settled for a plate of fried potatoes and a glass of juice.

“What’s your rush?” Kile asked as she watched Alex put away three sausages and down a glass of juice before she even sat down at the table.

“I don’t want to be late for class.” He said between mouthfuls. “Last person there gets the nag.”

“I doubt if that will happen.” Daniel said. “I’m sure the horses that the academy uses are top of the line. I can’t see Luke caring for anything less.”

“Or Boraro accepting it.” Kile added. “It would be a disgrace to the academy.” She added in her best Weapon Master’s voice.

“I don’t think you have to worry about Master Boraro, he doesn’t teach horsemanship.”

“Really.” Kile said, suddenly her day looked a lot brighter.

“Yeah, it’s Master Pike you have to worry about.”

Suddenly her day looked a lot darker, surprising how that can happen with just a few simple words. She had never had to deal with Master Pike directly, but he was the one that locked away the crossbows after the incident so no one could inspect them. It may have just been an oversight on his part or there could have been some kind of malicious intent, either way, he was either ignorant or mean spirited, not exactly the best of choices.

“What do you guys know of Quaineess Nyn?” She asked as she started in on her own breakfast. She didn’t tell them what happened that night in the Great hall, she didn’t see the gain. It seemed pointless to trouble them with something that didn’t concern them and what with Alex’s big mouth, she didn’t want the information getting out. There was no telling what Eric would try if he thought that Kile was starting rumors about him.

“He slew some type of Dragon… didn’t he?” Carter replied.

“If you believe half the stories they tell you.” Daniel said.

“Stories do have to come from somewhere.” Alex added as he finished his breakfast and was away from the table before anyone could respond.

This was not exactly the group to be asking. Carter was too interested in the physical aspects of the academy. If it had nothing to do with perfecting his skills then he just wasn’t interested in it. Daniel was too practical; sometimes he was too grounded in reality. She was sure he still doubted that she could speak with animals even after what he had seen, and as for Alex, well Alex was Alex. If he could find a story in it then he was interested, although the story that he heard and the story that he told were often unrecognizable from one another.

“Why do you ask? Why the sudden interest in Quaineess Nyn?” Daniel asked.

“No real interested, it just kind of came up.” Kile replied as she finished off her own breakfast and got up from the table.

There had to be a reason for Eric’s interest in the artifacts of the long dead Hunter, but why and which artifacts. There didn’t appear to be anything of true value there. The ring maybe, but Eric was the son of Lord Byron Rimes of the Callor Province, one of the wealthier provinces in Aru. The value of the ring was nothing compared to what he already owned or could own if he desired it. The long knife was just that, a long knife. It was nothing of great value or great worth, nothing to get branded a thief and tossed out of the academy for. That left only the dragon scales, if they were dragon scale, but why, and for what reason. Could you sell dragon scales? Did it all come down to wealth after all? She figured scales from a dragon would be worth something to someone somewhere.

“Kile watch out.”

She turned, but not in time as a young first year cadet loaded down with a breakfast tray collided with her. Juice, potatoes, and some mysterious gray slop went everywhere and she managed to get the worst of it. The sound of laughter throughout the dinning hall and the guilty expression on the young cadet’s face lead her to believe that this wasn’t just a chance meeting. He looked nervously over his right shoulder and Kile followed his gaze to a rather smug looking Eric sitting on the side of the table. He gave her a smile and a nod before leaving with Murphy and Richard.

“You alright?” Daniel asked as he ran up to her.

She was picking scrambled eggs out of her hair. “Yeah… I’m alright.”

“What, you couldn’t see her?” Carter yelled at the young boy, who, although was younger, was still taller than Kile.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” He stammered.

“It’s not entirely his fault.” She replied as she pushed past the growing crowd of spectators. It was always entertaining to see someone made a fool of and even more entertaining when it was her or at least that was how it appeared to her. When she got outside she wiped the gray slop from the front of her tunic. She wasn’t sure what it was but it smelled bad and she didn’t remember seeing it on the menu.

“That was uncalled for. He saw you; he didn’t even try to stop.” An irate Daniel said as he stepped out of the dining hall behind her.

“Yeah, well, there’s nothing you can do about it now.” She replied.

“But he did it on purpose.”

“I think it was more out of fear than anything personal.”

“What do you mean; you think someone forced him to do it?”

“What does it matter now?” She said as she started walking back to the dorms.

If a kid could be so easily persuaded or scared into doing something that he didn’t want to do in the first place, there was no chance he would survive a year at the academy. She was sure it was just a matter of days before she heard his name mentioned in the morning lists, even though she didn’t know his name.

“Where are you going?” Daniel asked as he came up behind her.

“To get changed.” She said as if the answer was obvious.

“Class is starting in a couple of minutes.”

She stopped and turned to face him.

“I am not going to class looking… and smelling like this.” She said.

“Sorry… I’ll wait for you.”

There was a general look of split loyalties in Daniel’s eyes. One side of him wanted to be the good friend that stayed and waited until she was ready to go, the other side of him wanted to get to class early to pick out his horse.

“Go.” She said, letting him off the hook. “As Alex said, you don’t want to be late, last one there gets the nag.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, go, I’ll be fine. I shouldn’t be that long.”

“Well… if you insist. I’ll try to reserve one for you too.” Daniel shouted as he ran off.

“Yeah, you do that.” She mumbled a reply.

She walked into her cell and shed the foul smelling tunic as quickly as possible, dropping it on the floor in the corner of her room. She would have to wash that a few times before she ever thought of putting it back on.

-Kile smell.-

Vesper commented as his head popped out of the bottom draw.

“Yeeesss… Kile smell.” She replied as she slipped off her boots and out of her pants and dropped them in the corner as well. She would have to do something with them otherwise, by the time she got back tonight; they would stink up her entire room if not the entire dorm.

She went into the lavatory and looked at herself in the mirror. Fortunately the foul smelling gray slop didn’t get any higher then her chest, but the eggs in her hair was not exactly a fashion statement. She would love to take a bath right about now, but if she did that she wouldn’t definitely be late for class. She washed her face and brushed out her hair, tying it back with a leather strap.

It was a good thing that they issued three uniforms, otherwise she would have to put on her civilian clothes and she wasn’t sure how that would go over with Master Pike, especially on her first day with the Horse Master.

-What happen?-

“Let’s just say I had a run in with a breakfast tray.” She replied, as she sat down on the bed to pull on her boots.

-Don’t smell like breakfast.-

Vesper commented as he jumped up on the bed beside her.

-Can come?-

“Not during class.” She told him. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

-Eric?-

“Well, that’s not what I was thinking about, but yeah, I’m sure if he knew you were my friend he would try to do something to you.”

-No… Eric.-

Vesper said again as he jumped down from the bed and ran to the door.

Kile stopped pulling on her boot and waited. This time she could sense someone in the hall even over the pungent aroma of the laundry. It was the same sent that she had smelled in the stables that night, the night Eric spotted them getting a confession from Charles. She finished pulling on her boot and quickly looked around the room for a weapon. She didn’t really think he was crazy enough to do something to her in her own cell, but she had been wrong before, especially about him. His scent was getting stronger and she could now pin point it right outside her door. It hovered for a moment then something dragged across the front of her door, and the scent began to move off.

-He leaving-

“Too easy.” Kile said as she reached for the door handle and gave it yank. She wasn’t surprised that the door didn’t move and she cursed under her breath.

-What matter-

“He locked me in.” She said as the realization of Eric’s full plan unfolded before her. She had underestimated his cleverness, what with the lunch tray, knowing that she would want to change before going to class. He wanted her to be late for the first day of horse training or maybe not show up at all. She went to the window and tried the shutters, but there was no exit there. Somehow he had managed to bar those as well, probably before she ever came into the room. How long had he planned this little stunt?  She was trapped in her own cell.

-Big bar across door-

Vesper told her.

“What?”

-Bar. See bar across door.-

This time his words carried the vision of what the outside of her door looked like at that moment.

“You saw it? Of course you did, you come and go with the door closed all the time.” She said, but knowing that and what the bar looked like didn’t help her much.

“Vesper, could you move the bar.”

-Bar too big, take many yarrow to move it. Can get many yarrow-

She could picture that, a sea of yarrow coming over the horizons, storming the dorms. That wouldn’t go unnoticed.

“What about the bar on the window, could you move that.”

-Don’t know, didn’t see.-

Vesper replied as he shot under the chest of drawers and through a small hole in the wall. She waited for a while, and then tried the door again but whatever it was that he barred it with was solid enough. The door wouldn’t budge even a fraction of an inch. A sound at the shutters caught her attention.

“Vesper?” She called as she got close to the window.

It was the sound of something fanatically gnawing on the other side. She gave the shutter a gently push and this time it moved, enough that she could actually see out of. She peeked through the small opening and saw vesper sitting on the ledge.

-Metal-

The yarrow told her and the word carried with it a vision of a long knife wedged between the two handles of the window shutters. He had been chewing the wood around the outer edge of the window, loosening the end of the long knife.

“Very good Vesper.” She told the yarrow.

He started in on the wood again, but this was taking longer than she had. She could only hope that he had done enough.

“Get clear Vesper.” She called thought the crack, and then picking up the chair and using it as a ram she shoved it at the window with all her might. There was a satisfying crack, or it was until she realized it was from the chair and not the window.

“Perfect.” She said as she dropped the pieces of the chair on the floor. “Now what?”

She pried off one of the chair legs and worked it in between the shutters. Grabbing the other end with both hands and bracing her feet against the wall she pulled as hard as she could. The shutter flew open and she flew backwards across the room, colliding with the far wall.

-Kile okay?-

Vesper asked from the now open window.

“I am now.” She grinned as she got up. “Thanks Vesper, I might actually make it to class on time.”

-Hunar here.-

“Hunar, what’s Hunar doing here?” She asked as she got up off the floor and leaned out the window. Sure enough the large black Shinar mastiff was sitting under the window staring up at her from the ground. There was a rope around her neck and she was tied to the one of the trees.

“Hunar, what are you doing here?” She asked the dog.

- I think I’m supposed to keep you from getting out.-

Hunar replied, and those words carried a tone of embarrassment. She had somehow been tricked like Kile, and Hunar was not very happy about it.

Kile dislodged the long knife from the other window and pushed open the shutters.

“Watch out, I’m coming down.” She warned the dog as she dropped from the window, landing softly on the grass below. “Who did this to you?”

-Tricked me, led me here, tied me up.-

“Who tied you up? Who led you here?” Kile asked as she tried to untie the knot. She should have brought the long knife down with her. It was strange that Eric would leave a long knife to bar the window when any old piece of metal would work, but if Eric used the knife there had to be a reason for it. Was he expecting her to use it on Hunar in order to escape? That seemed a little drastic, even for Eric.

- Don’t tell Gorum-

Kile had to smile at that one; Gorum was always lecturing Hunar on her being too rash and headstrong. If he found out that she was so easily tricked, she would never hear the end of it.

“Don’t worry, this will be our secret.”

With that reassurance, Hunar’s disposition changed. She was no longer embarrassed, now she was only fuming.

-Boys will pay.-

The dog growled, and Kile received a very vivid image of what Hunar was planning to do to the boys, one that sent a chill down her spine.

“Hunar you can’t.”

-Why?-

“Because, you don’t respond to a practical joke by disemboweling.”

-Why?-

“You just don’t okay. Promise me that if I release you, you won’t do anything rash.”

-Fine.-

“Thank you. Now, let me go back up and get the knife, I can’t seem to untie this rope.”

“What’s going on here? Stay away from that dog, are you crazy? What do you think you're doing with my dog?”

Kile spun around and looked up at the huge man that was racing across the field. She did not think that Oblum could run that fast. She didn’t think Oblum could run.

“That dog will tear you to shreds.”

Kile backed away from the rope as Oblum stood between her and Hunar. He glared down at her with his one good eye.

“You better have a damn good explanation.”

“Sir, she was tied up to this tree, I was just trying to free her.”

“Free her?” He asked as he looked back at Hunar as if seeing the rope for the first time. “How do I know that? You could have been tying her up.”

Good point, she thought.

“I… I was on my way to class and I saw her tied up. I knew she shouldn’t be here so I was going to free her.”

Oblum looked suspiciously at Kile, then back and Hunar, then back at Kile. Hunar walked around her master and came to Kile’s side. She dropped her head under Kile’s right hand, and Kile scratched the mastiff behind her ear. Oblum seamed to be torn between what he wanted to believe and what he had to believe.

“Well… I guess if you DID tie Hunar up, she would have torn you apart by now.” The headmaster replied. This was a reluctant way of saying he believed her and was sorry that he accused her. He pulled out his own long knife, bent down and started to cut the rope.

“Who did this to you girl?” He asked her, but unlike Kile he didn’t expect an answer. “If I find out who did this to you, I will personally kick them so far out of the academy that they won’t land until they reach the sea.”

Oblum held onto the rope after he cut Hunar free, he didn’t want to risk Hunar seeking revenge.

“You better get back to class… cadet.” Oblum said as he led the rather embarrassed dog away.

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

4

 

Eric had succeeded in delaying Kile for nearly and hour, by now most of the good horses, if not all of the good horses, had already been taken. Hopefully that was all he had planned for her today. When she finally reached the western gates, she was grateful to see the other cadets in a large, wide open field just outside the walls. It meant that she was in the right place. There were only about forty cadets left in the second year and they were spread out over the field, each one standing beside their newly selected mounts. Daniel was right about one thing she thought as she slowed down and started to walk across the field to where Master Pike was waiting, the horses were top quality, but then she wasn’t an expert on horses. The only horse her family ever owned was an old gray nag, and she couldn’t compare that to these.

“Nice of you to make time for us cadet Veller.” Master Pike shouted while she was still halfway across the field. It was not meant for communicating, just to focus the attention of the class on her. She didn’t bother shouting back. Partially because she didn’t want to embarrass herself any further, but mostly due to the fact that she had just run across the compound and was so out of breath at the moment that, if she had tried to shout, she would have just squeaked and probably fallen over.

Master Pike was a tall, lean man with long brown hair that he kept tied in a tail, and a bushy mustache that looked awkward on his long narrow face. He looked very much like the horses that he rode as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back. She had seen him around, often lurking behind Master Boraro and she wondered if he was as much a toady as Master West was.

“Sorry I’m late sir.” Kile said as she got closer.

“I assume you have an excuse.” Not that he really wanted to hear one.

“I was doing something for Sir Oblum.” She replied with a simple smile.

“I see.” Master Pike said, but then he really didn’t and it wasn’t as if he was going to go running back to find out if she was telling the truth or not. “Very well then…” He added with a grin that made Kile uneasy. “You may… select your horse.” He finished with a sweep of his arm.

Kile turned around to see that the only horse left in the paddock could hardly be called a horse, although it did sort of resemble one. It was probably one of the most dreadful creatures she had ever had the misfortune of setting her eyes one. It was stockier then the normal horse, but even that was difficult to say for certain, since it was covered in a long, black, shaggy coat that draped around it like an old mop. Its legs were rather thick and ended in huge tufts of hair that covered hoofs the size of serving platters. Even its face was difficult to see since the hair that grew from its head fell down over its eyes. It stood there unapologetically looking at her, as if daring her to come closer.

“I’m afraid that is all that we have left, at least until we get a new shipment of horses in.” Master Pike replied unsympathetically, and although he said it with a straight face, she was sure he was laughing behind that facade.

“When will that be sir?” She dared to ask.

“Oh, by next month I should think, or possibly the month after that, don’t really know. Until then… he should suffice.”

“Yes sir.” Was all she could say.

“Well, mount up.” He told her as he started to walk off. “We will be riding up the road a bit, and then through the countryside to get better acquainted with our mounts. I’m sure one of your… friends… will be glad to hang back and tell you what you’ve missed.”

He didn’t wait to see if anyone did stay back, he just walked over to his own horse, a tall black mare, slipped on his riding gloves, grabbed hold of the pommel and effortlessly threw himself into the saddle. He raised one hand to motion the riders to follow him and then set off down the road without looking back.

Kile watched as those that knew how to ride quickly fell in behind Master Pike and those that didn’t had a little more trouble getting their mounts started, but once most of the horses began to move, the other soon followed in spite of the naiveté of their passengers. Hunters were suppose to be some of the finest horseman in all of Aru, and as she watched the cadets bobbing around on the backs of their mounts, she had a hard time believing that one year was going to make that possible.

When she was sure that Master Pike and the rest of the cadets were out of earshot, she turned back to the shaggy black horse.

“Hello, my name is Kile.” She said, but there was no reply. The horse just stood there and stared at her. At least she thought it stared at her, it was difficult to tell without being able to see his eyes.

“Do you have a name?” She asked, but there was still no reply. Could he even understand her? Could she even speak to horses? She had spoken to one in the stables last year, surely it couldn’t be all that much different. Maybe he just didn’t understand her she though as she looked closer at the horse, or maybe he was just ignoring her.

“Where have you been?” Daniel asked as he rode up to her on a dappled gray. “I tried to stall as long as I could but Master Pike wasn’t going for it.”

“Got a little side tracked.” She replied.

“Did it happen to have something to do with Eric and his gang?” Daniel asked as he dismounted. She could tell that he was one of those that already knew how to ride by the ease at which he dismounted.

“What makes you ask that?”

“He came back just before class started, and he seamed abnormally pleased with himself.” He said as he picked up Kile’s academy issued saddle. She looked from it to the horse and had her doubts that it was even going to fit.

“I should be doing that.” She said, although she made no attempt to take the saddle from him. He had chosen to go to class rather than escort her back to her room so that she could change. Of course she had told him to go, but that wasn’t the point. If he had been a gentleman he would have ignored her wishes and stayed with her or something like that. Either way he had some blame in her getting stuck with this hairy monstrosity, she would just have to figure out how.

“I’ll saddle him today, we can go over the rest later.”

Daniel definitely knew his way around horses and could have probably saddled Kile’s mount with very little effort that was if the horse had been more cooperative. Every time he tried to throw the saddle on, the horse stepped out from under it. It was one of those old heavy saddles, not like the ones the hunters used today, so each repeated attempt wasn’t even as close as the last one.

“I think he’s doing it deliberately.” Daniel replied after the third try, dropping the saddle on the ground in order to catch his breath.

“I know he’s doing it deliberately.”

“Well, talk to him, make him understand.”

“You don’t think I’ve tried?” She replied as she attempted to hold the horse still for one last try, but the beast was just too strong for her and pushed her over as he sidestepped the saddle again.

“You can always go bareback.” Daniel suggested as he dropped the saddle.

Kile got up and dusted the dirt from her pants. There was probably some academy regulation about riding bareback, but if they hung around here too long fooling with the saddle, Master Pike would be returning with the rest of the cadets. She was determined to get on this horse one way or another.

“Doesn’t look like I have much of a choice.” She replied. “Just help me get on him.”

“Okay, come around to his left side.”

“Why, what difference does it make?”

“Don’t really know, but my father always says you should mount from the left side.”

“It’s like waiting on tables.” She mumbled to herself, “Serve on the left, remove from the right. I’m showing courtesy to a horse that ignores me.”

“Just get on before Master Pike and the others get too far ahead.”

Kile gripped a handful of mane, and there was quite a bit to grab, as Daniel boosted her up. The horse unexpectedly lurched forward and she quickly lost her balance, tumbling off the back and landing hard on the ground. She looked up at the backside of the animal, and the horse turned its head to look at her. If she didn’t know better she would have sworn he laughed.

“Are you okay?” Daniel asked running to her side.

“Oh, just fine. If I’m not dumped on my ass at least once a week it just wouldn’t be the academy.”

“Look you can’t ride this thing.” Daniel said as he helped her to her feet. “Why don’t you take my horse and I’ll wait until the next shipment comes in. I already know how to ride, I won’t miss too much.”

It was a generous and extremely tempting offer as Kile looked from the black hairy mass that stood before her, to the sleek lines of the dapple gray, but she wasn’t going to be so easily defeated. She was the only cadet in the history of the entry exam that got that little ebony box out of the testing area. Even if it did major structural damage to the building and  no one knew she had done it, but she had a reputation to uphold, and she wasn’t going to let this lumbering beast get the better of her.

“You go on ahead.” She told Daniel. “I’ll be there shortly.”

“How?” He asked, “On foot.”

“Go, I’ll be along shortly.”

“Well… if you say so.” Daniel replied as he walked over to his mare and mounted up. He made it look so easy that it actually annoyed her.

“I’m not going fast, I’ll take my time.” He said as he turned toward the road. “You better catch up before I reach the others.”

He had just started when Kile stopped him.

“One moment.” She called out.

“Changed your mind?” Daniel grinned.

“Not likely.” She said as she walked up beside him and stroked the noise of the mare. “May I have a word?”

“Of course you can.” Daniel replied a little confused.

“Not with you.” She told him, and then turned back to the horse. “Could I speak with you?”

-With me?-

The mare replied with a bit of confusion. She had never spoken to a vir before, or no vir had ever tried to speak with her, but she seemed actually delighted to speak.

“My name is Kile, what’s yours?”

-Cloud-

The mare replied, although Kile could tell that the mare didn’t really like that name.

“Cloud?” Kile repeated as she looked up at Daniel. That wasn’t the mare’s name that was the name Daniel had given her. “Cloud?” She repeated.

“Well… yeah… because she’s gray and all.” Daniel replied, trying to defend himself.

“Oh please that is so cliché, do you know how many gray horses are named cloud?” She asked him. “Unless it’s a male horse, then they’re usually called Storm Cloud.” She said, turning back to the mare. “What is your name… your real name?”

-Miliea-

The mare answered, and this time there was a note of pride in her voice.

“If I can’t call her cloud, what should I call her?” Daniel asked.

“You should address her by her name, Miliea.”

Miliea seamed to approve the sound of her name spoken out loud even by a vir.

“Miliea huh? I like it. Okay Miliea it is.”

“It’s not like you have much of a choice, it is her name. It would be like me meeting you and calling you Edward.”

“How was I supposed to know her name? In case you’ve forgotten, not everyone can speak with horses.”

“Fine, now that we’ve gotten that settled.” Kile said, as she turned back to the mare. “Miliea, what can you tell me about… him?” She asked, indicating the hairy four legged beast that stood in the paddock watching them suspiciously.

-Not much-

“Anything you could tell me, or show me would help.”

-He traveled with us. I know nothing more-

“How about a name?” Kile asked. “Did he have any names that you know of?”

-The men called him many things, some not so nice. He did respond to… Grim-

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Kile said as she stepped away. “Thank you Miliea, you guys get going, I’ll catch up.”

“Are you sure, I can stick around if you want.”

“No, I’ll be fine.” She reassured Daniel, but she wasn’t all that sure herself.

Daniel turned Miliea toward the road and they moved at a slow even pace. Kile watched them go and regretted not having taken him up on his offer of claiming Miliea, she seemed like a pleasant enough horse.

“Grim.” She said as she turned around and the horse shook out his mane. “Look, I don’t know if you can understand me or not, because I don’t really know how this works, and at this moment I don’t really care. I’m not having the best day of my life here and you’re not making it any easier, so how about we just get through today with no more problems and we can work it out later, what do you say?”

Grim said nothing as he stood there and stared at her, or at least she thought he was staring at her, it was still difficult to tell under all that hair. She moved around to his left side, got two handfuls of mane and pulled herself up on his back, and he launched her clear over the other side with a well timed buck. She hit the ground again and stared up at him from the dirt. This was taking spirited to a whole new level.

“Enough.” She shouted as she got to her feet and turned on the horse. “You will calm down and let me ride you.”

Grim did seem to calm, for a moment, but she still didn’t trust the beast.

She moved back around to his left side and didn’t hesitate as she grabbed two handfuls of mane and jumped. She laid a crossed his back for a few minutes, expecting to be thrown off, but this time Grim didn’t move.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” She said as she swung her leg over and sat astride him with a little difficulty. He was a large horse with a wide flat back. If she had a blanket and pillow she could have made a bed out of him, but she doubted he would let her.

“Go.” She commanded him, digging her heels into his side.

Grim set off slowly.

“Come on. Let’s try to catch up with the others.” She told him.

He picked up his pace and moved with a strong steady gate. He was surprisingly smooth for a large beast, but not very quiet as his great serving platter sized hoofs struck the ground.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Daniel called out as he saw her coming up quickly. “I would never have thought you could have done it. How did you…” But he stopped in mid sentence as she got closer, and his face when from excitement to concern. “Kile are you alright?” He called out to her.

Miliea staggered as Grim and Kile got closer. The mare sidestepped and tried to bolt. It was all that Daniel could do to keep his horse under control.

“Kile.” He yelled as she raced past him.

She didn’t hear him, she didn’t hear anything. She didn’t even realize what was happening, what she was doing. The black tendrils of the Maligar had entwined them without her knowing about it, without her even trying. She had been so angry with Grim that she would have done anything for him to listen to her, and that’s exactly what she did. Grim wasn’t obeying her because he wanted to; Grim was obeying her because he had no choice. As the darkness began to engulf them, her identity began to merge with his.

She was no longer riding him across the countryside, she was him, she was charging across the tundra, climbed the steep cliffs of the northern lands as she ran with the herd racing the cold north winds. There were so many of them, but so few. Once they had dominated the frozen highlands by the thousands, now there were but a few hundred left. The vir had seen to that. They were out in number today, and the herd was being pushed toward the open ravine. Dozens of them went over the edge, some chose to jump rather than be forced into servitude; others were just swept up in the stampede as they fell upon the rocks below, all in a vain attempt to avoid capture. She wasn’t as lucky as the ropes found their way around her neck. They would try to tame her, they would strip her of her dignity, she would become another beast of burden for the vir, but they would never break him.

Kile’s identity snapped back into her head with such force that she had no idea what was happening. One moment she was running on the tundra toward the ravine, now she was running through the forest toward the lake. Grim had somehow managed to break the Maligar’s control. Before she could grasp what was going on, Grim slammed his feet into the ground, ducked his head and launched her over his shoulders. She flew a good twenty feet before hitting the water.

-NOBODY CONROLS ME-

The voice exploded in her head and it carried with it such vivid images of horses lying broken at the base of a ravine along with the pain and the torture that was inflicted upon him by the vir that Kile nearly lost what little breakfast she had.

“Geez Kile, are you alright?” Daniel called as rode up to the lake's edge. He jumped down from his horse and waded into the water trying to help her out.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She lied as she pushed his hand aside. She didn’t want anybody’s help at the moment, she didn’t want anybody to touch her. She didn’t want anybody to feel sorry for her. “Please, just… just go… just... leave me alone I’ll be fine.” She said as she reached the shore and fell to her knees on the river’s bank. Grim’s words still echoing in her head with such hatred, so much pain.

“Kile you’re not fine.”

“Probably not, but it's nothing you can fix, just… go find the others, I’ve got to find Grim.”

“Grim? Who’s Grim?”

“My horse.”

“What? You can’t go after him. That horse tried to kill you. He threw you in the lake.”

“That was my fault.” She said as she got to her feet. “Look, just go catch up with the others if you still can. I have to make sure Grim’s okay.”

“It’s not like he waited around to see if you were okay.”

She climbed up the bank of the lake to where Miliea was standing, the horse shied away from her.

“I’m so sorry.” She told her without getting any closer. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I didn’t mean for any of it to happen.”

-He went back to the stone buildings-

“Thank you, and… I am sorry.” She said as started to walk back down the road, back toward the academy. It wouldn’t be too difficult to find, what with the towers of the city of Azintar rising high above the tree line.

The walk was very humbling, not that she had to be any more humiliated than she already was. She was soaking wet, covered in mud and realized she only had one more uniform until the next laundry day, not to mention the fact that the last one was, at this moment, stinking up her cell. That was going to be a pleasant thing to return to she thought, but that really wasn’t what bothered her at the moment.

She had used the Maligar, she swore she would never use it and she did. Could she even say it was by accident, or did she do it deliberately? She wanted to control Grim. She wanted to prove to Eric, to Master Pike, even to Daniel that she could overcome anything that they threw in her way.

Up ahead, on the road, she could see the dark shape of Grim walking slowly back to the academy. It didn’t appear that he wanted to go back there any more than she did, but neither one of them had much of a choice, neither one of them had anyplace else to go. In many ways they were very much alike, so far from home, neither one really fitting in, just trying to survive. She picked up her pace to walk along side of him.

“Would it help to say I’m sorry?” She asked.

Grim said nothing as he plodded along on a steady course. At least now she knew she could communicate with him.

“Look, I didn’t mean to do that, I just… I can’t control it. I really don’t know how it works. I’ve only done it once before and I don’t ever want to do it again. Can you at least believe that?”

They passed the training field with the paddock, but Grim wasn’t stopping there, he was probably going to the stables.

“Look I know what you went through, okay, maybe I don’t really understand what happen, but I saw it. I saw the ravine, I saw what they did to you, what the vir did to you, what they did to your herd. What I did to you was inexcusable. All I’m asking for is another chance. Just give me another chance and I promise I’ll never do that again.”

She only stopped talking when she realized that she had just passed through the Western gates. Several of the guards as well as the entire third year class were watching this young girl who was soaking wet and covered in mud pleading with her horse as she followed it to the stables. If they didn’t think she was strange before, there was no doubt in their minds now, but right now the only opinion that mattered was Grim’s.

“What in all that’s natural happened to you two?” Luke exclaimed when he saw them.

Grim ignored Luke as he walked passed the stable hand and picked one of the stalls that had fresh feed.

“It’s my fault.” She said. “I didn’t mean to do it.”

“Do it? Do what? And what are you doing with that beast outside the stables, he’s wasn’t suppose to be removed.” Luke demanded.

“I was riding him.”

“Riding him, what nonsense is that? That’s not a riding horse, that’s a mountain pony. You don’t ride them, they're not exactly the friendliest of horses.”

“Master Pike said that was the only horse available.”

“That's ridiculous.” Luke snapped, and she could tell that he was angry, but fortunately not at her. “The cadets’ mounts are ordered over the winter. There were ninety cadets then, there are only about forty now, that means you have at least fifty to choose from, not… not that one.”

“But Master Pike said…”

“It would appear that Master Pike was… mistaken. I will have a word with him about it. As for you young lady, you should change into something a bit dryer. I will take you up to the northern field myself and you can choose another horse.”

“But what about Grim?” She asked.

“Grim… who’s Grim.”

“That’s Grim.” She said pointing the shaggy black horse.

“Yes it is.” Luke mumbled to himself, and then turned to Kile. “You’ve named him already.”

“Well… yeah… no… sort of.”

Luke sighed and shook his head.

“I’m afraid… Grim was a mistake. He was accidentally shipped here with the rest of the horses, he should have been sent up to the Northern province, which is where he will be going as soon as possible.”

That wasn’t right Kile thought, she knew what they would do to him up there, what they had already done to him. She couldn’t let him go back, not back there.

“Can’t I have him?” She asked.

“What? A cadet is only allowed one horse.”

“I know… I chose him.”

Luke looked from Kile to the mountain pony, and then back to Kile.

I’m afraid that would be a mistake. As I’ve said, they don’t make very good mounts.”

“Why not, is there something in the guild law that says what kind of horse a hunter must ride?”

“Well… no, but mountain ponies are not the most sociable of horses, they are a headstrong stubborn breed.”