XXIV | TOO MANY CHOICES
It was the last class of the week, and Kael was seated in the large lecture hall for Darron to start their lesson. He caught a glimpse of Garun's red scarf, but didn't attempt to contact him. He played Garun's threat over and over again in his head, wondering what else the boy was hiding away from the world. He shrugged. It was none of his business, and frankly, he cared too much about his neck to push any further than he already had.
"I wonder what we're going to do today," Rita said, her voice muffled by her flat cap resting on her face. Her braided pigtails hung like vines as she rested her head on the desk behind her, her chair teetering on its back legs.
"The test is in four weeks," Wynt said. "Maybe he'll talk about that since we know nothing about it yet."
Just as Wynt finished his sentence, Darron slammed down a large book on the podium, gaining everyone's attention. Rita let her chair fall forward, her hat dropping to her lap in the process.
"The Weapons Choosin' Test is in four weeks," he said.
Wynt grinned and mouthed 'I told you so' to his friends. Kael smiled.
"Now, I'm gonna tell you kids what to expect. More than a hundred of you are going to be eliminated. Those of you who just pass will be allowed to stay in class. But, there'll be a special class created for the top players of the test that guarantees your success after graduation, an' only thirty of you, max, will be gettin' in."
This information spurred murmurs among the students.
"Now, you all got four weeks to prepare. In your next fitness-combat class, you'll be choosing a weapon to practice with. Wooden ones that have the weight an' balance of the ones you'll be usin' in the test. With that, you'll start thinkin' of your sigil core in your weapons and sigils class. I'm sure Maya will be quite happy with that."
Kael perked up. He'd been dreaming of his own sigil core for years. It was a special thing because students could design it in their own special way and power it with their uthra so their sigil could only respond to them — a sort of signature. Like himself, the other students all seemed to be excited.
"Quiet down, quiet down," Darron said over the chatter that erupted amongst the students. "Don't get too excited. Only those of you who pass will be able to use your sigil. The rest of you will have to take on an apprenticeship and get a casting license through the guild if you want to use yours. That's why this test is so important, do you understand?"
The classroom went quiet at the prospect of elimination. No one wanted to go home after working so hard to get into the academy. Their hard determination to do their best electrified the air.
"Before you start, I want all of you to write — in this form that I will hand out — what element you will choose to cast and what weapon will be your vessel. You have two days to figure it out."
Darron gathered a pile of papers in his hand and handed it to a student sitting at the front, who jolted from the sudden attention.
"You, pass this around to the others," Darron said, slamming the pieces on the boy's desk.
"M-me?" the boy stuttered.
"No," Darron grumbled. "The big ol' horse sittin' next to you."
The boy swiveled his neck side to side as if looking for the horse.
"Of course it's you, you buffoon! Go on! Get on with it."
"Y-yes, sir!" He gathered the papers in his arms and scrambled to get up.
"Leave one for yourself, you crazy." Darron shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose while returning to the podium. "Damn kids."
The boy passed out the papers at a slow pace, struggling to slip a single piece to every student with shaking hands. Apparently, it was too slow for Darron because the teacher eventually trekked forward and snatched the slips from the boy.
"All right, you moseying fool. Get back to your seat. I'll finish the rest of this."
Afraid, the boy nodded and sprinted off to the front.
"Why couldn't you move like that when passin' these around?" Darron yelled. Sighing, he put a pile of papers in each rows and instructed the students to pass the slips on. "I'll give you a couple 'a minutes to look through."
Kael got his slip of paper before handing the pile to Rita. He tapped his pen on his chin, thinking about what weapon he'd use. His obvious choice would be a sword.
He read through the form and his eyes widened. He hadn't known there were so many types of swords. Scimitars, seax blades, rapier swords, machetes. How was he supposed to pick a weapon with so many choices?
"Whoa," Wynt muttered. "There are a lot of weapons."
"There's an option to put in your own weapon," Kael said, noticing a blank space next to the word, 'other.'
"What are you thinking of?" Wynt asked, putting his form down.
Kael shrugged. "A sword. But there are so many, I don't know what to choose."
Wynt quirked a brow. "I thought you'd take a whip. Like your brother."
Kael pursed his lips. "I don't know. I'll have to sleep on this. I've always wanted a sword, but I didn't think there'd be so many. A standard double-edged sword would do for me."
Rita slapped her hand over her form, making Kael jump. She yawned. "Aah, man. I'm tired."
"Rita, what are you going to choose?" Kael asked.
Rita shrugged. "Not really sure, duke. I'm thinkin' a long-ranger."
"A long-ranged weapon, huh?" Kael studied the other options. Under the long-range, there were bows, crossbows, and a whole new section just for guns.
"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Kael said. "Maybe I should go with a gun? Oh, I don't know. Too many choices. How are we even supposed to know it's the right one? What if we end up hating our weapon?"
"That's all right, duke," Rita said. "We only have to write down our choices so they know they can provide enough for us. You don't have to stick with it. Hell, I don't think anyone ever stays with their first choice. We do still have three years after this."
"I guess you're right." Kael sighed. "This is just too difficult for me. I can imagine myself with any of these."
"Why don't you try working backwards?" Wynt suggested. "Eliminate the ones you're certain you won't use."
Kael read the list again, noticing the foreign weapons that he knew he wouldn't have the right vigour to learn. "That's a great idea."
He crossed off several sections, but the list was still too large. He'd barely scratched the surface of weapons. Still, he was set on getting a sword, so he knew he'd have to look at each type of sword before deciding.
"Hey, guys!" Fadhia bounced over to them, and Kael now noticed that plenty of students were out of their seats to ask their friends about the choices.
"Hey, Fads," Rita said. "Did you decide on something?"
Fadhia giggled and nodded with excitement. "Yup. I've been waiting for this for a while. I was wondering when they'd let us choose our weapons and elements."
"So," Kael said, peeking at her form. "What did you choose?"
"Oh, that's easy," Fadhia said. She slapped her paper down with confidence. "I'm going with a glaive. And since I'm from the desert, I figured sand will do just fine for me."
"Wow," Wynt marveled. "You knew what you wanted from the start? Lucky."
Fadhia grinned. "Of course I did. I've always known what I wanted. In fact, I've already quite improved my skills with the glaive. My usta — my teacher — and I always practiced together."
"That's amazing, Fadhia," Kael said, looking at Fadhia's dark pencil stroke on the paper that clearly indicated no hesitation. "It's going to take me forever to find the right one."
"Start with the element," Fadhia said. "I find it easier since the choices are more limited. There are only fourteen of them."
Kael flipped the form to the element side. As Fadhia had pointed out, only fourteen choices were given, which made sense since there were only fourteen known elements casters could use.
"Oh, the elements are easy," Kael said. "I'm going with fire." He proceeded to mark his choice.
"Fire?" Rita said. "Cool. Er, I mean hot." At Kael's pointed stare she shrugged with a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Nox is growing on me. So, what about you, Wynt?"
Wynt rubbed his chin as he studied his form. "Well, I'm not sure yet. Even with only fourteen choices, it's a little hard."
"I get you," Rita said. "I think I'll leave it till the day it's due before I mark anything. Gives me a whole two days to think." She grinned, and Kael suspected it was because she couldn't bother with it right now that she pushed it off. For someone who didn't know what she would pick, Rita just seemed too laid back about it. Almost like Nox would, Kael thought with a slight smile.
"I wonder what the others will pick," Kael said, gazing around the room at the students pointing at their forms and discussing with each other. Once again, Garun was tucked away from everyone else, staring at his paper. He wrote something down before pushing it aside and retaining his usual position.
Kael couldn't help the lonely images of Garun's memories that flashed in his mind. He felt that he had to do something, anything, to help the broken kid, but he suspected that Garun would break his bones before he got any help from Kael.
"Tyra!" Fadhia shrieked. "Come on over here!"
She sauntered over to the armored girl and grabbed her before pulling her back towards Kael's table.
Tyra seemed flustered by being yanked from her seat. She rubbed the back of her hand when Fadhia let go.
"Excuse me," she said, her voice surprisingly melodic. "Why did you bring me here?"
"Loosen up, Tyra," Fadhia said. "The Silver Wolf gang is here!" She laughed excitedly.
Not all of them. Kael's eyes strayed to the slumped figure at the edge of the classroom.
"That reminds me," Rita said. "Have you guys done anything with the pendant they gave us?"
"Mmhmm!" Fadhia pointed to her bicep, where a swirly silver bracelet circled around. Fadhia's light brown skin peeked through from the small gap between two parallel strips of silver lining around her arm. At the ends of the bracelets, the Silver Wolf pendant filled the gap to connect it.
"Wow." Rita perked up. "When did you go and get that done?"
Fadhia cocked her head and thought with a finger on her chin. "Oh, the day after the party, I think. I went down to the blacksmith and got him to attach the pendant to my armlet. The silvers really work well together, don't you think?"
"They do," Kael said, thinking about his own pendant still resting by his bed. "You have everything down, Fadhia."
Though Fadhia was loud and had childlike energy, Kael could respect that she knew what she wanted. He admired her ability to discern exactly what she would do for herself. She was well grounded — a trait he wouldn't have attributed her to, considering how sporadic she could be.
"So, Tyra." And she was jumping away from their conversation. Kael smiled thoughtfully to himself. "What did you pick? Come on, tell us!"
Tyra looked uncomfortable from the unwarranted attention. She rubbed her exposed arm and averted her eyes from Fadhia.
"I don't see why I should tell you," she said.
"Tyra, was it?" Kael held out his hand. "I'm not sure I ever introduced myself to you. I'm Kael. It's nice to meet you."
Tyra hesitated, her eyes meeting Kael's in surprise. "Oh, um." She reached out and grabbed Kael's hand and smiled. The vambrace on her forearm grated with her movement. "It's nice to see someone who knows how to talk to people."
Her hand had a strong grip, and her skin was not soft like Kael thought it would be. It made sense, considering how most of the students were already well-practiced in some kind of weaponry. And — Kael once again took in her armor — Tyra was probably used to hard combat. They pulled their hands back.
"This here's Wynt," Kael said, jerking a thumb towards his Sqorjican friend. "And Rita. Though, I'm sure you've already met them before."
Tyra nodded. "At lunch."
He recalled that she would occasionally sit with them. Or rather, how Fadhia would occasionally make everyone sit together.
"So," Fadhia insisted. "Tell us, Tyra. Please? Pretty please?"
"Cut it out, Fads," Rita said with a laugh. "You're making her uncomfortable"
"Oh, am I?" Fadhia's hands flew to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! Are you uncomfortable? Do you need a seat? Maybe I should call the doctor!"
A ghost of a smile touched Tyra's lips, but she hardened her expression. "No, it's fine. I guess it wouldn't matter if I told you." Her deep blue eyes met Kael's before she looked away. "But this doesn't mean I'm your friend."
She cleared her throat and pulled out her folded paper from behind her belt. She smoothed out the form and gently placed it on Kael's desk. Fadhia, Rita, and Wynt leaned in.
"A bow?" Rita said.
Wynt hummed in thought. "Interesting. And here I thought bows would be extinct because of guns."
Tyra snorted. "Guns are for barbarians. In my country, we respect tradition and the ways of our ancestors. Guns are forbidden there with only licensed casters allowed to use them."
"You do know our teacher uses guns, right?" Kael asked.
She shrugged. "I am just stating my beliefs. If you want to choose a gun, go right ahead."
"Say," Rita said. "Where are you from?"
"I come from Rumivia," Tyra announced, almost proudly. "It is a country east of Bijou. Some say it is the heart of Hearth because it is in the middle of all countries."
"I really hope we get to learn about all these countries," Wynt said, his eyes sparkling with interest. "There are people from all over the world. I bet SCA is the only place you'll get so much diversity."
Kael wrinkled his nose. "Eh, history really isn't my thing. I want the fun stuff. I wonder when we're going to actually go hunt phantoms. Now, that's what I can't wait to do."
"History is an integral part of the world," Tyra said, surprising Kael with her sudden tone of authority, as if she was a mentor. "It is important to learn it if you want to learn why things are the way they are today and what could possibly happen in the future. It is also good to learn from other people's mistake. For example, in Rumivia, a great warrior, Siphona Azoual, tried to lead her army through the mountain range to attack her enemies from behind. She did not take into account that they were ill prepared for harsh weather, and by the time she reached her destination, she'd lost a third of her warriors, and the rest were unable to fight. She was captured by the enemy and executed. From this, we learn to prepare ourselves by first studying the conditions we will suffer, we learn to not be rash in our decisions, no matter how desperate we are, and we learn to take care of our support because without them, you are more open to failure."
"You know so much, Tyra!" Fadhia gushed.
"Oh, I never thought about it like that," Kael said, scratching his head. He had to admit, putting history in that light made sense as to why everyone was so intent on teaching it to him. "I guess you're right. Doesn't make it any more fun, though."
He yelped when he felt something hit him upside the head. "Idiot. You don't learn for fun. You learn because it's mandatory."
Kael rubbed his head, sheepishly looking at Rita, who was putting on her flat cap with which she had hit him. "You didn't have to hit me. And you used the hard part, too."
Bang!
The classroom went quiet. As he usually did, Darron had caught their attention with a shot of his gun.
"That has to be against the rules," Rita muttered.
"All right, quiet down. Get back to your seats."
The students complied, slowly at first. Then like a trickle of water bursting into a stream, they all moved to return to their seats.
"Good," Darron said. "Now, let's get back to class. You've had enough time to chatter about your decisions. Today, I'll be teachin' you how to find phantoms by beatin' the information out of folks who don't like to talk."
The class collectively gasped.
"That's definitely against the rules," Rita again muttered.
Darron laughed. "No, I'm just messin' with you. That'll come another day. Today, we'll be learnin' how to stay low when goin' in search of a phantom. Disguises, actin', stuff like that. Sometimes, for the safety of yourself and the safety of your client, it's best if your identity stays a secret." He cracked his knuckles. "Shall we get started?"
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A/N
Aaaaahhhhh! Sorry for the late update, AGAIN!
Sooo, I've decided I'll just update this book on Saturdays. Fridays are too iffy for me with it being the first day of the weekend and all. Idk. I just feel like I have too much to do then. :/
Anyway, I really had fun with this chapter, but I'm worried that it might come off as filler. Nothing much really happens, but I really wanted each main character to show their personality through the method they use to choose their weapons/elements and the type of weapons they choose.
I hope it wasn't boring. I have the rest of the book written out, and I've realised that I might not have as much conflict/magic/action as I would like, so I may have to go back and rewrite several chapters (these are chapters that have not been released yet, so don't worry about getting lost in the story).
Basically, I might have to skip a few weeks of updating, but hopefully, it won't come to that. :S
As always, I hope you enjoyed, and I usually don't ask, but do vote and comment if you enjoyed. It really lets me know that I'm going in the right direction. ^_^
Thanks for reading! <3
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