"You worked with Isaiah?" Erin asked.
"Oh yes. I was his apprentice. He took me on after I'd completed Initiation, but that was quite a few years ago now. I'm the second apprentice he's ever trained, which the Chief Kazi's sister introduced herself as Uma, then led Erin to a washroom. Without another word, she had cut Erin's mangey hair to shoulder length before shoving her underneath a shower. She made Erin scrub herself with soap and a coarse brush until her skin was red a raw. Once dried, Erin put on a pair of clean pressed trousers, a vest and boots like the ones worn by the other children she had seen. The new clothes felt strange and the boots felt a bit clunky, but she was pleased to note that her movement wasn't hampered. Uma then took Erin into the dormitory. A row of beds ran down two opposing walls and a trunk was pushed up to the foot of every bed.
"Boys sleep on the left-hand side, girls sleep on the right," Uma explained. "That one is yours," she said, pointing to the bed furthest away on the right-hand side.
"Inside the trunk you will find spare changes of clothes and spare bedsheets. Keep your space clean and tidy. Failure to do so will result in punishment."
"Can I keep my stuff?" Erin asked, pointing the bundle of her clothes and belongings in Uma's hands.
"No," she said coldly. "You are a recruit now, and all recruits are treated equally, which means no personal property. You can have your things back when the Crucible is done with you."
Erin scowled at this. She disliked Uma already. She started to wonder if agreeing to Isaiah's proposition had been a bad idea, but the thought of learning more about magic dispelled this doubt.
"Wait here," Uma commanded. "Someone will come by soon to give you the orientation tour. 'Til then, sit tight and don't give me a reason to hate you."
She left, shutting the door to the dorm behind her, and Erin slumped down onto her bed. She felt warm and clean and she fiddled with her newly cut hair, unused to its new shortness.
Presently, the dorm door opened, and a woman walked in. Erin guessed her to be perhaps in her mid-twenties, but she was unlike any woman she had seen before. She was everything Erin wasn't. Like Erin, the woman was dressed in thick boots, trousers and a vest, but where Erin's thin frame made them hang loose, the woman's powerful build made them swell with muscle. Her huge arms looked as if they could snap Erin in two, and her head had been shaved bare. Erin might have been frightened if it weren't for the kind eyes that smiled down at her.
"You must be Erin," the woman said brightly, shaking Erin's hand with crushing enthusiasm, "my name in Valarie. Isaiah's told me about you. Looks like I'm going to be giving you the orientation tour."
"He's told you about me already?" Erin asked shrewdly. "I thought he had a meeting or something"
"Oh, yes I think he does, but you know what he's like. He told me about you yesterday."
"Yesterday? How could he have known about me then?"
"He has the Sight, of course. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. It used to irritate the hell out of me when we worked together."
isn't happy about, so I hear. Most Inquisitors take dozens of apprentices throughout their career."
"Why has he had so few?"
"I'm not really sure. He doesn't like to talk about it, but I think things went wrong with his first. That was way before my time though and nobody who knows anything would dare to speak about Isaiah behind his back."
Erin nodded and mulled this over. It seemed that there was a lot more to Isaiah than he let on. She'd witnessed nothing but respect and possibly even fear for the man, and when she thought about the way he had dealt with the men who had followed them earlier, it wasn't hard to see why.
"Right, there's no point standing about," Valarie said. "Let's get on with this tour."
Erin followed her out of the dorm and back up the long passage towards the Main Hall. As they walked, Valarie began to explain the Crucible.
"You may have noticed a long door in the training hall. That's the Crucible. The best way to understand the Crucible is to imagine it as a thing or a person rather than a place. Like may things in the House, it was built centuries ago by the Founders and has remained here ever since. What lies behind that long door is impossible to describe simply because it is never the same twice. The Crucible was made using some very complicated magic, magic which has since been lost, and this magic makes it change depending on who enters. It exploits your weaknesses and fears, forcing you to face them and destroy them. If you do, then you come out stronger. If you don't, then your training is over, and the House throws you out. Either way, the group of recruits becomes stronger. It's a harsh system, but it has given us the most dangerous and capable House members since the birth of the City."
Erin couldn't decide if she was scared or excited. She was keen to beat Initiation and practice her magic, but she was beginning to think that the Crucible may be more of a challenge than she had anticipated.
"How long is Initiation?" Erin asked.
"Well you've skipped the preparation that recruits usually go through, so you could finish training within a month. But be warned, Erin, it'll be the longest, hardest month of your life," Valarie said, a knowing smile on her face.
"You said I'll skip some preparation or something. What does that mean?"
"Well most recruits are brought into the House at a much younger age than you are. Children older than ten are usually not admitted, but it seems you are a special case. Recruits usually undergo a few years of conditioning and education to give them the attitude and knowledge of magic that they'll need to pass Initiation."
"A few years?" Erin asked, suddenly worried at how badly prepared she was. "I know nothing about magic or the House or anything," she gushed, "I'm just a kid from the street. How am I supposed to pass a test that people take years to prepare for?"
"I wouldn't worry, Erin. Isaiah wouldn't have given you to Kazi if he didn't think you'd stand a chance of succeeding. He's a very good judge of character."
Erin mind swirling with conflicting emotions. Twenty-four hours earlier, she'd woken up in her warm bunk in the Rathouse after a night working the market, well-rested and safe in the security of the familiar. Now she was alone in a strange place with strange people where she was about to take on an unknown and possibly dangerous test. Never had she so craved the filth and the stink of the streets that she knew so well. But, she thought, magic.
The House was her best chance at learning more about her magic, and that was something she wanted desperately. She wanted to feel the elation she had experienced the night before when she had flown passed people and horses, leaving the masked men far behind her. And that was another issue. The masked men. If Isaiah was right, they would be looking for her, and she knew that if she was found, luck wouldn't save her from death a second time. Best to stay down here in the House where they couldn't get her.
They had come back to the Main Hall now, and Valarie led Erin across it to another corridor from which hot, dry air wafted out.
"First stop is the Armoury. Lots of cool stuff in here," Valarie said.
They followed the passage into a large workshop where soot-covered figures beat pieces of glowing metal and shovelled coal into huge foundries. The sound of hammer strikes, hissing steam and crackling flames filled the smoky air, and everything was tinged in a flame-orange glow.
"This is where all our weapons and equipment are made," Valarie said over the cacophony. "We have smiths, woodworkers, leatherworkers, jewellers and runesmiths, all members of the House who are trained to make magical objects."
"What's a runesmith?" Erin asked, eagerly drinking in the sights before her.
"They study the runes that make up the ancient language of magic. If inscribed onto an object, the runes can imbue the object with special qualities. For instance, if you wanted a very durable breastplate, a runesmith might carve the rune for hard onto the piece. It can be a very dangerous process though. The slightest imperfection in the carving can cause very nasty things to happen. It also takes years of study to memorise all the thousands of runes."
A pot-bellied man looked up from the metal he was pounding and saw the two new arrivals standing in doorway of his workshop. He took off the goggles he was wearing and walked over to them.
"Ah, Valarie," the man said in a thick voice, "I was wondering when you'd be stopping by. I've had your tools enhanced as you asked. I think you'll be pleased with the result."
"Thank you, Isak, I'm sure they'll be perfect as always."
"Yes, well I hope so. The runesmiths did most of the tweaking and you know what they're like. They take a bloody age to get anything done."
Isak cupped a hand around his mouth and bellowed to someone down at the other end of the workshop to bring Valarie's commission.
"Erin, this is Isak," Valarie said. "He's the First Engineer here at the Armoury. Isak, this is Erin. She's a new recruit, Isaiah brought her in this morning. I'm giving her the tour."
Isak squinted at Erin, seeing her for the first time. He was a short man, not much taller than Erin, but he was easily twice as wide. He wore a leather apron and grubby overalls, and a fearsome moustache twitched in the middle of his soot-blackened face.
He stuck out a huge, hairy hand which Erin shook uncertainly.
"Isaiah brought you in, eh? That doesn't happen too often. You're a bit old for a new recruit, aren't you? I wonder how Isaiah got that passed the Chief. Mind you, with all the things he's done for the House over the years, he could probably get away with anything, the sly dog," Isak said, snorting with laughter.
A young man soon crossed the workshop and handed Valarie something wrapped loosely in a cloth before returning to his duties. Valarie unfolded the cloth to reveal a pair of silver-coloured brass knuckles. She smiled before sliding them on and flexing her fingers.
"Tap them together," Isak instructed.
Valarie touched her knuckles to one another and the pieces of metal flared with blue light. On their surfaces, a sequence of strange symbols now glowed.
"Careful now," Isak warned. "Try them out on that," he said, gesturing to a heavy punching bag that hung nearby.
Valarie walked over to the bag and gave it one quick jab. As her fist connected, there was a loud snap and the side of the bag split wide open, the sand inside pooling onto the floor. Valarie grinned.
"The runes inscribed on them are the magical symbols for lightning," Isak explained. "On contact, they shock the target with an amount of electrical power that is frankly terrifying. I'm very proud of them," he smiled.
"Thank you so much, Isak, you've outdone yourself once again," Valarie said, carefully slipping the metal knuckles off her hands.
"It's been a pleasure as always, Valarie," Isak said. "If you pass Initiation, you might find yourself down here before long," he said to Erin. "If you do, then remind me who you are. If Isaiah thinks well of you, then you're worth my time. How's that cane of his doing by the way? I hope he's putting it to good use, it took me long enough to make."
"Yeah he's, um, putting it to good use," Erin frowned, remembering the violence of that morning.
"Well it's been lovely seeing you Isak, and thank you for these," Valarie said, shaking the brass knuckles, "but we really must get on. I have a lot to show her," she said, nodding to Erin.
"Yes, you must go. I have to get on too, the Seers up in the Oraculum want me to make a device to channel moonlight, and you know how impatient those bastards can be."
Valarie and Isak shook hands, then Erin followed her out of the workshop.
"I think Isak likes you," Valarie said.
"Likes me? He doesn't even know me."
"He's seen enough to make a decision. He makes his mind up very quickly about these things."
Erin smiled to herself.
"Valarie, if you don't mind me asking, what's your magic?" Erin asked. "It's only that I don't know much about magic and I'm dead curious."
Valarie laughed before replying. "Well there are many different types of magic. Some let you see into the future like Isaiah, and some help you make the finest weapons and armour in the City, like Isak. My magic is different, my magic is physical. It changes the way my body performs."
Erin looked up at her in confusion.
"Basically, it makes me strong," Valarie explained.
This made sense to Erin. She looked jealously at Valarie's thickly muscled arms and decided that if she had met her on the street, Erin would have made sure to not piss her off.
"From what Isaiah's told me, your magic is physical too," Valarie said, "but your magic makes you fast rather than strong like me."
Erin was pleased with the idea of being like Valarie. Valarie was a dangerous, strong young woman, the kind people avoided if they had any sense, but she was also nice to Erin.
"And are you an Inquisitor too?" asked Erin.
"Yes, I am. When I was still a recruit like you, Isaiah saw potential in me to become a good Inquisitor, so, when I passed Initiation, he took me on as his apprentice."
Over the next few hours, Erin saw almost every part of the House, and with every room she saw, her desire to be a part of the House increased. She saw a maze-like library full of magical scholars, the Greenhouse where exotic plants flourished, the Shooting Range where marksmen honed their skills, the Oraculum where robed Seers communed with hidden powers, the cavernous Moot Hall where members feast and debate, the Cells where magical criminals where imprisoned, the Dojo where members sparred one another, the Nursery where young recruits are raised before Initiation, and many more places that came together to form the vast underground labyrinth that was the House.
Valarie had bombarded Erin with information as they walked, telling her how the House worked and about the levels of hierarchy.
She learnt that not everyone who passes Initiation becomes an Inquisitor. Depending on their skills and area of magic, members take on one of a variety of roles. Spymasters, administrators, magical plant and animal breeders, armourers, researchers and engineers were but a few of many positions that are essential to the running of the House. However, it hadn't taken long for Erin to decide that none of these jobs were for her. She wanted to be an Inquisitor like Isaiah and Valarie, fighting and keeping order in the streets, not scurrying about the House away from the wonderful chaos of the City. It seemed slightly strange to Erin that she wanted such a job: after a decade of breaking and avoiding the law, she now desired to uphold it. But the more she thought about it, the more this desire made sense. The Inquisitors weren't like the Watchmen or any of the other law keepers in the City. The Watchmen upheld laws designed to protect the wealthy and keep the poor downtrodden, but the Inquisitors fought for everyone. It seemed to Erin that they worked for justice, for true justice, protecting all who would be harmed by magic or the mundane, regardless of where and how they lived. For all its filth and turmoil, Erin loved her City and she loved her people. The people of south. As an Inquisitor she could fight for the streets and the people that made up her world, the streets and people that so frequently suffered at the hands of the rich and corrupt.
Valarie also took the time to explain the history behind the City and the Houses, though Erin already knew some of what she said. Centuries ago, a great war was waged between two magical city-states in the land now known as the Southern Kingdoms. Many thousands died before one faction rose as the victor. Before the losing city was razed to the ground, three of its dominant magical families, Dominus, Bellator and Vigilate, fled north as refugees. They travelled together for months until they were sure that their enemies had grown bored of trying to hunt them down. They eventually settled at the mouth of a great river, now called the Serpent, where the families founded a small settlement. Their new home was colder and wetter than what they were used to, and their neighbours, who knew little of the wonders of magic, cowered at their arcane powers.
Over the coming generations, the three families worked tirelessly to grow their settlement. They built, traded and fought their way into new wealth, their village growing in size as others joined them in hope of sharing their new power. Soon, the three families were the commanding head of a prosperous town, using their magic to accrue more wealth and keep firm order. They organised themselves into three separate Houses, each taking specific roles involved in the running of their town. However, tensions soon arose between the three families. They could not govern effectively with so many conflicting opinions, so they decided to create on unified voice that would fairly represent each family. A human sacrifice was made, and, in a powerful magical ritual using blood from all three Houses, the body was burned. From the ashes, a baby was born, a living product of magic that contained the flesh and blood of all three Houses. The baby was raised and became the first king of the City, ruling unanimously in the interest of the families of Dominus, Vigilate and Bellator.
The City is still ruled to this day by the descendants of this first king, the Royals, though the bloodline has grown weaker throughout the centuries as the kingsblood is through marriage. The three magical Houses are no longer populated by descendants of the magical families, but instead take on any who show the appropriate character and magical ability. Since the rule of the first king, the Houses each play a specific role in the keeping of the City. Dominus manages the wealth of the City and its squabbling aristocracy, Vigilate seeks out and preserves magical knowledge, and Bellator fights both magical and mundane threats in the field.
"So the Royals up at the Palace where created by magic?" Erin had asked with childish wonder.
"The first one was," Valarie corrected. "The first king was born out of a magical ritual that has since been lost. It is the blood of that first king, the kingsblood, that flows in the veins of the Royals today. That's what gives them the right to rule. Over the centuries, many people have forgotten this and, as you may have heard, some people don't think they're fit to rule any longer. There's been a lot of malcontent in the aristocracy lately and if Isaiah's right then Dominus also. . ." Valarie caught herself. "Well, if you pass Initiation then you'll hear the gossip."
It was gone midday by the time Valarie returned Erin to the training hall, and when they did, it was empty.
"They'll be in there," Valarie said, pointing to a side door. She wished Erin luck in her training then left.
Suddenly, Erin was alone. She walked to the door Valarie had pointed to and hesitated, wondering what she'd find on the other side. She'd been dropped into a strange place with no one to watch her back and she wasn't sure what to expect. She breathed deeply and composed herself, keen not to show any weakness or doubt. She was the queen of the streets, nobody could match her. She'd won (and lost) more fights than she cared to remember, and she wasn't going to let a roomful of kids and a cocky drillmaster intimidate her. She pushed the door open and went inside.
Chatting and laughter greeted her. Boys and girls of her age where seated at tables scattered around the room, talking animatedly with each other. In one wall there was a hatch through which more kids collected bowls of steaming food.
The door swung shut behind Erin and heads turned towards her at the noise. Conversation died as the kids eyeballed her, sizing her up like an opponent in a boxing ring. Erin squared her shoulders and took the time to stare back at them, her jaw clenched hard. All kids on the street learn how important it was to make a good first impression: one whiff of weakness can mark you out as a target, and Erin was anything but a target.
At length, the simmer of conversation rose again, and the recruits turned away from Erin's cold stare. Unsure what to do, she followed her stomach. It had been growling at her relentlessly throughout her tour, so she joined the queue of recruits leading to the hatch.
Eventually, she was given a bowl of hot stew and she sat down at an empty table. Just as she began to eat, the door swung open again and in walked Kazi. All the recruits immediately fell silent and jumped to their feet, standing rigidly to attention. Keen to not make a target of herself, Erin stood and copied the others as best she could.
Kazi stood by the door for a moment, surveying the kids in front of him.
He sniffed.
"What's that smell?" he said softly. He sniffed again. "What is that smell?"
He wondered forwards into the middle of the room, sniffing heavily all the way.
"Stefan," he said, pointing to a boy at a nearby table, "can you smell that?"
"No, sir," the boy replied stiffly.
"Mallory," Kazi said, pointing to a girl, "can you smell it?"
"No, sir."
"Hmm, I can. I wonder where it's coming from."
Kazi turned slowly on the spot, eyeballing the recruits. Erin cast her eyes downwards as he turned to face her direction.
"I think it's coming from over there," Kazi said mildly.
He walked towards Erin and she swallowed hard, knowing something unpleasant was about to happen.
"Yes, it's definitely coming from over here, the smell is getting stronger."
He stopped right in front of her, his expression unreadable. He was so close that she could feel his breath on the top of her head.
"Ah, there it is. That smell. Do you know what smell that is?" he asked Erin gently.
She shook her head quietly and he bent down so they were face to face.
"It's the smell of a fucking imposter!" he erupted, spraying Erin with flecks of saliva.
He straightened up and glared at her.
"What have you got there? Kazi said, pointing to Erin's bowl of stew.
"Food, sir?"
"And did you earn that food?"
"I-"
"Did you toil hard in the training hall this morning to like everyone else to earn the right to eat?"
"No but-"
"So you think you're better than the other recruits? You don't need to earn your food you just deserve it, am I correct?"
"I didn't know-"
"Shut the fuck up, maggot, I didn't give you permission to speak. You came here because you managed to convince someone that you are, for some reason, special. You're here by chance, scum, not because you're worth it. You see all these recruits here," he said, waving an arm behind him at the others, "they earnt their right to be here. They spent years preparing to challenge the Crucible, but you decided to walk in here on a fucking whim!"
The other recruits were glaring viciously at Erin now. She could see hatred in their eyes and she wanted to tell them it was all lies, that she didn't think she was better than them and that Kazi was wrong, but she was smart enough to stay quiet. Kazi held all the power here and fighting back would only bring her more trouble.
"I couldn't give a shit if you pass Initiation or not," Kazi continued, "but if you want to survive here, there's something you should know."
Erin's cheeks were burning with embarrassment. All eyes were on her and all she wanted to do was run, but she was stronger than that. She straightened herself and clenched her jaw hard.
"In, here there is only one rule that matters." Kazi said. "Recruits, what's rule number one?"
"Obey Kazi," they echoed.
"That's right, maggots. Obey Kazi. If you piss me off, I'll have you running laps of the training hall until you puke. Do you understand, scum?" he said, poking a finger hard into Erin's chest.
"Yes, sir," she mumbled.
"I can't fucking hear you, scum!" he screamed. "I said do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!" she shouted, her voice wavering slightly.
Erin was trembling. Kazi had embarrassed and scared her, and she didn't know what to do about it. If she was only the street, she would have attacked him, or run, or both, but she wasn't on the streets. She was in the House now, and she had to play by House rules. She needed to be here if she was going to defend her City from the rich and the corrupt, and it was going to take more than a brute like Kazi to get rid of her; she'd been dealing with dangerous men all her life.
"Okay recruits, playtime is over. Get your shit together, sparring drills start in five minutes," Kazi said.