Hunters of Sian - Book 2. The Užaren Canyon

Trial by Blade

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Chapter Fifteen

Trial by Blade

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Nell and Jeremy watched from the safety of the fence line as their demon mentors rode their dracks over several fallen logs.

'They make it look so easy,' Jeremy muttered.

'Yeah, and they've been scent training Scorch and Thorn daily, too. I'm pretty sure Sallos is training with the other hunters as well. He comes back really late and sometimes with injuries. He was limping last week,' Nell said in a low voice. They were standing quite a long way off, but the demons had sensitive hearing.

'Limping?' Jeremy said.

'Yes, so you know it was probably bad.'

'Well, I guess it's not that surprising. They have to stay sharp, just like we do. Do you think demons take exams?' Jeremy wondered.

'I reckon so,' Nell said. He paused, watching as Shade neatly leapt over a massive fallen tree in the paddock. The stronghold had a few riding paddocks scattered about between the crop fields and rolling hills. This one was reserved for advanced students and demons only. Nell was thankful for that. He really didn't think he could stay in the saddle over these massive jumps. That's if Thorn didn't just plant his feet and shake him off first.

'We just have our combat exam left,' Jeremy sighed.

'There's always the Solar Festival and feast,' Nell said. The Solar Festival was one of the largest celebrations the demons had. It was a changing of the guard. Those hunters who left for the winter hunt would return and farewell those leaving to hunt in the summer. The festival went for several days. People came from far and wide to the stronghold to celebrate. On the last day was a massive feast and fireworks. Nell had enjoyed the festival very much the year before. It was a good send off.

Another perk to being a demon's apprentice was that each student was given a small wage. How much was entirely up to their masters, but that wage could be spent at the many new stalls and shops that popped up during the festival. This was... perhaps the only opportunity some apprentices had to spend any coin.

More times than Nell could accurately remember, Cadric had complained that humans were too fragile. It was not unusual for the majority of a first year class to be killed in their first season of hunting. The human survival rate was low for the first several years of their education. Cadric had often made the morbid joke that he couldn't be bothered to learn any of their names because the likelihood was that they would never come back.

Nell knew Sallos viewed the coming festival with a more somber demeanour. To the ebony demon, the Solar Festival was a yearly reminder that many of his friends and allies had been killed and were never coming back. Demons lived a long time, but the life of a hunter seemed short regardless of the species.

'Yeah, the festival was good last year. Maybe it will be even bigger. I promised ma and pa I would send them back something this year,' Jeremy said happily, cheering up at the thought of the stalls.

'You're still writing to your family, then?'

Jeremy shot him a sideways look. 'Yeah, of course. It's pretty cool, being able to boast to them about being a hunter. They were... well, they were worried when Furcus first recruited me.'

Nell nodded. 'Yeah, that makes sense.' He wondered then. If his parents had still been alive, would they have approved of Nell becoming a hunter? There was no real future in the tiny village Nell had been born in. No one there made any real coin. Would they have approved of him risking his life? Maybe not, not if his father had also been a hunter. Maybe the man had seen enough bloodshed and decided on the tiny village as the furthest place away from harm. Until something had hunted him down.