Renevere Mars: Part One

Episode 1: Not A Warrior

Ren, last name Mars, which meant she wouldn't be called until half the other trembling 10 year-olds had been beaten down. Or fried to a crisp.

"Henry Daushua!" called the announcer, and the line backstage shuffled forward as a figure that Ren couldn't quite see waddled onto stage. Everyone before and behind Ren was wearing their school uniform, comfortable and durable grey fabric, made to be lightweight and easy to fight in rather than fashionable. Ren had untied and retied the laces of her shoes twice already so she resisted the urge to twist her ancle around to check the tightness of the laces once more. They were never quite tight enough before they were suddenly too tight.

"You look like you're about to throw up," chuckled a boy with three thousand freckles on his nose.

"Am not," Ren hissed, and look forward pointedly.

"I don't know what you're so worried about. There's no way you of all people is going to be the first kid to pass this stupid test in the past two years."

Ren rolled her eyes and didn't respond. He was right though. She wasn't going to be the first person to pass this stupid test in the past two years. She of all people was probably the least likely.

"Gigi Farraway!" called the announcer, and the bodies bobbled forward once again. The backstage of the amphitheater was still outside, so the sun cracked down on the crown of Ren's head, cooking her black hair until it was hot to the touch.

"That was a fast one," she muttered.

"They've all been fast," the boy behind her barked. "I'd forfit if we were allowed to!"

But they weren't allowed to. If they were, would Ren? She wasn't sure. She had been training for this moment for what seemed like a lifetime, though hers had yet only spanned 10 years. She never considered the idea of forfeit until this moment, but now that it was mentioned, the idea that they were all in line awaiting an almost certain beating seemed somewhat barbaric. But this was how things were in the world. Every town across the continent trained young ones for the same exact test that she was about to take now. Every year, the new batch of 10-year-olds came up to face their foe, and those that passed went on to train to be warriors.

Ren wasn't even sure she wanted to be a warrior, but again had never contemplated such thoughts until now, her heart picking up pace as her name drew closer on the list. She wasn't afraid, though. Something in her stomach was running wild, but she didn't dislike the feeling. If this was what being a warrior meant, perhaps she did want that future for herself.

But who was she kidding? Ren was not even average when compared to her classmates. She stayed after class and trained for twice as long and worked twice as hard, but that didn't matter. There was something wrong with her, they said, or something different. They didn't have to say wrong for her to know her differences were a bad thing. She was unable to produce an elemental cha, the easiest class of energy attacks in a warrior's arsenal. They were the first taught and the first learned, and Ren had never managed to squeak out even a one. Depending on the attacker she faced, she would be all but helpless.

The sound of the crowd gasping made Ren's head twist, and through a crack in the stone wall of the amphitheater she caught a glimpse of bright, hot light. Fire. When she listened closely, she could hear someone sobbing, footsteps rushing around stage. Something hungry in her stomach, but it wasn't for food.

"Billson Hemm!" The line shuffled forward.

The town of Parinth was a small farming town. Having a child become a warrior would bring honor the likes of which the town had not seen in years. The test was simple, but not easy. The children were to face a fully recognized warrior one at a time. That warrior would attack with one cha and the child would be expected to overcome it and land one blow on the warrior. This was by no means an even fight. Most warriors knew a dozen cha, so facing one using only a single cha by no means demonstrated a real fight. A few children had passed the test here and there, but no true warriors had been born in Parinth since before Ren was born. But what if I'm the exception?