Locorum

Chapter 1: Adrestia

I hate spiders.

Why in Kroi's name do spiders exist. 

As a child, I was told that Kroi gave us two legs because it made us more god-like than any other being in Locorum. It always made me wonder, did more legs mean more power or more pain? As I stare at this leering arachnid in front of me, I assume the later. This was not the wakeup call I expected on my 18th cycle day, nor was it the expected send off from my home. 

I shot up out of bed and angrily swatted at the pest, but to no avail. It crawled out the window and into the humid, misty morning. I took this chance to look out my window for presumably the last time. The metal sill, still wet with dew, framed the pristine image of the jungle surrounding my family's tree hut. As my tree is one of the larger ones in the village, I can see everyone and everything inside the village walls. The village streets bustled with early morning activity and the trees began their daily cycle of blossoming their colorful extremities. The children ran from their homes to the field, preparing for their classes, and the adults either filed towards the surrounding wall or stalked towards their nearest inn or tavern. 

Father came up behind me and grabbed my shoulder. "Isn't it amazing Adrestia?"

Though I knew he meant our village, I instead focused on the sunrise over our neighboring realm, ShaNeu. Unlike ShaKroi's steamy jungles and raging rivers, ShaNeu had a flat, expansive desert with mountain ranges that block our rain from reaching them. The daggers of light going through the jagged spikes of the mountain made the glow from the sun dance and spiral through the mist and dew-dropped leaves. It is beautiful.

He mistook my silence for agreement, a common occurrence, and began to ramble on about my new responsibility of adulthood. I didn't listen. I gazed at the children in the field. They were resting in a circle around the Teacher, Nakita, getting the same talk that every child gets at some point. The same talk I assume my father is giving me. I can hear her words clear as day. 

"To be an adult is a responsibility that absolutely nobody is prepared for." I certainly am not. I am like everyone else, torn between pursuing greatness in battle and settling down to live as well as I can. Both come with their dangers, and though I've had a lifetime to figure it out, I haven't. I wonder if I ever will.

I zone back into the conversation just to hear Father say, "...and General Shanelle will be visiting to recruit you for the war. I expect you to accept of course, to follow your mother." I turned sharply and stared at Father. He knew never to mention Mother... especially not on my cycle day. He realized his mistake immediately and seemed to retreat a bit. I softened my gaze and went to sit on my cot. There was silence for a few minutes.

"What makes you think I want to go to war?" I could tell he expected the question, but the suddenness seemed to shock him a bit. He sat next to me as gently as he could, but despite his efforts the bed fell a bit and shuddered. I looked at Father as he gazed at the image of my mother on my wall. He was a larger man with dark hair like mine and deep amber eyes that shone in the dull morning light. He sighed.

"I had hoped you'd want to be just like her." He watched me lovingly. "Ever since you were a child, I could see you did not want to be like me. I settled, and allowed your mother to go out into the world without me. She even had you on the battlefield." Father laughed. "She was a stubborn one, and didn't let a child stop her from living out her dream." He glanced at the picture again with a weak smile that quickly faltered. "My only hope is that your story will continue longer and not have such a sad ending..." I didn't let him see my tears that began to leak from my eyes. Father hugged me tightly and I felt a drop hit my shoulder. 

We finally released each other and he chuckled, wiping away his tears. I said jokingly, "What's so funny?" He laughed again, and headed towards the door. "Kroi made 18 a happy age, and yet here we are crying about it!" I giggled out of sympathy, Father had the weirdest sense of humor. As he left, I began to contemplate what he had said. He was right. I didn't really want to settle and have to fend for myself in the village, but at the same time, I didn't want to lose my life in the same way Mother had exactly 7 cycles ago.

I have always had an obsession with war though. It fascinated me, but not in the way many battle hungry people are. I was more interested in strategy. Being able to plan a battle so precisely that you can estimate losses and gains with each footstep of a soldier. Seeing a landscape and predicting exactly where you need to defend to succeed. That was my passion, but it was one I assumed I would never be able to express. Maybe General Shanelle would have an idea of what to do with me.

I changed into my favorite outfit. A short blue shirt, a long skirt that was cut higher in the front than the back, and my Mother's turquoise necklace. It was one of the only things she left behind and I try to wear it often in her memory. I decide to go barefoot for now, but I do put my long, raven hair into a thick braid down my back so as to not look too casual. 

I hear the familiar sound of footsteps coming up the ladder and I know that General Shanelle would be inside my living room in a few short moments. I finish up my braid and leave my room hurriedly. I round the corner and am surprised to see that there is a second visitor in my living room. He was a thin yet sturdy and had deep, ocean blue eyes that I've never seen before. I realized I had seen him before, but I couldn't remember when or why. I approached Father who was busy greeting General Shanelle. She was an extremely husky woman whose dirty blonde hair was chopped short. Her most defining feature was her scar across her face and left eye. Her other brown eye sparkled with a passion I rarely saw. I strived for it.

"Oh, Adrestia! Let me introduce you to General Shanelle and Collinle. They have come to propose an interesting job for you." I gasped as I realized where I have seen Collinle. He is the village leader and has been for almost my entire lifetime. I had only seen him once before when he came over to our hut to check on Father. My father had known Collinle before he had even been called Collinle. All village leaders are gifted a suffix at the end of their name so that everyone who hears it knows their power. Men get -le, women get -la. It is a sign that Kroi blessed them with the powers necessary to lead. 

I bowed immediately, embarrassed I hadn't done so beforehand. He nodded, signing that I could stand back up. We all sat at our table and General Shanelle began. 

"Well, Adrestia. You are in for quite the ride today..."