Keeper of the Veil

Warrior.

~~~Jamie.~~~

“What the hell is going on,” I whispered, backing away from every resentful glare the population of the dining hall threw at me. Everywhere I looked, they were staring at me. I didn’t even know them and it seemed that most of the people in the room despised me.

On the other hand, the supposed mythical beasts seemed to have mixed feelings about my presence. Of the few that even acknowledged me, most didn’t look as if they cared or they were curious. But in the crowd, I saw a few that craned their necks over everyone else, consumed in fascination with my every movement.

It terrified me.

They all terrified me, except Damian for some reason. When I spoke to him just now, he seemed to understand how confused I was. He promised that Denali would clear it all up, and asked to talk to me again later.  But that wasn’t what caused me to trust him.

During our brief conversation, from the sadness in his voice, I could tell he didn’t want to be here either. In some strange way, I felt connected to him somehow.

Almost forgetting he was with me, I gasped when Denali seized my wrist sending electricity to invade my senses. A small sliver of panic ran down my spine as I remembered my earlier fear of being caught. Was he the kind of guy to punch back? Seemingly sensing this he looked surprised as he pulled me down the stone hallway saying, “It’s okay, I'm not that angry.”

We walked in silence with his hand still tight around my wrist, until we reached the fork in the halls. Where I had previously gone left, he went right saying, “This is all hard to explain to someone like you, the common knowledge we all have isn’t exactly common to you.”

He peered over his shoulder at me and I saw a slight bit of dried blood on his nose. Finally he dropped my arm and released me from those strange sparks that jump off his skin, “This world, and your world are actually one and the same, we are just separated by the Veil. The largest part of the Kingdom, where we are now, spans most of your Pacific Ocean.”

I almost had to jog to keep up with his fast pace. Reaching his side I looked up at his defined face and asked, “What is the Veil?”

He smirked, “It’s basically a vast amount of untapped magic. A barricade of an invisible, untouchable, force. It’s extremely rare that someone can cross the Veil and survive. It happens by mistake, but only once every couple of years. And it never happens to one person twice.”

If what he says is true, then how was I ever going to get back home? Voicing this question out loud made him laugh, “See, there have been a few people through out time that have the ability to momentarily control the magic in the Veil. I happen to be one of those random people. When trained, a fully formed Keeper of the Veil can move large armies through the Veil. Keepers can also draw power from it, though I'm not sure how that works.”

“So why am I here?” The question had been nagging at my brain since the moment I woke up in this strange place. I felt completely out of place here.

Stopping before two giant, ornate, wooden doors he towered over me, standing far too close for my liking. Still smiling like a psychopath, his bright blue shining eyes bore down into mine. “You're here to participate in the Trails, to be the next Keeper. If the chosen dragon Bonds with you then you will stay in the palace and protect the Kingdom from those that wish to destroy the peace the Veil provides for us.”

I stared quizzically back into his eyes, he made this sound like some sort of honor. None of this made any sense to me. How was staying here supposed to be something to be proud of? “No,” I violently shook my head, breaking out of the trance his eyes were putting me into. “I don't want to do this, any of this. I don't want to be here, I don't belong here. There has to be some mistake. I just want to go home. Take me back home,” tears pooled up in my eyes and panic invaded my voice.

Gripping me by the shoulders he shook me, “Pull yourself together! The only way you're going to get me to take you home is if you finish these Trials!” The anger that flared in his gorgeous sapphire eyes terrified me.

Stunned by his shouting I bit back my tears I hiccupped, “What do I need to do?” At that moment in time I didn’t think they could have been any worse than a college class on physical education. “Trails” just sounded like something I did when I passed my yearly physicals.

“Don't sound so relieved,” he scowled at me, “this is going to be the most difficult thing you have ever done. And if I'm not convinced you’ve given every last bit of your effort into this, I'll make sure you stay here. Forever.” I could feel my mouth hanging open as I stared, horrified, at him. Seemingly enjoying my reaction his face turned into a devilish smirk, “Come on then, you have a lot of catching up to do.”

Pushing open the doors a bright flash of light momentarily blinded my vision. Shielding my eyes I was able to listen to the noise all around me. Like in the large dining hall a loud chorus of voices echoed around me mixed in with the occasional roars of dragons. Adding to that noise I listened to the rhythmic beating of horses hooves and the sharp clang of metal on metal.

With my eyes finally adjusted to the light I saw before me what looked like a medieval training ground. On either side of where I stood laid a mountain range, ahead of me was a large valley with a lake on the horizon. In other situation I would have thought this was paradise. But I was here. And it wasn’t.

All around me men and women clashed swords, shot arrows, threw knives. Their bodies were lean and toned, well suited for combat. Above me dragons flew at each other in mock fights. The way their different colored scales reflected off the sun as they rolled around in the air made the grass seem as if it was shimmering.

Watching me take in my surroundings Denali faced me, a small smile playing across his eyes, with one hand outstretched. He spoke in a very matter of fact tone, “You will learn how to survive to pass the Trials.”

Looking around one last time I finally realized what he was asking me to do. To sufficiently prove to him that I put in enough effort to his Trails, I had to become one of them.

I had to become a warrior.