Healer's Boon

[Friday]

Brown hair flying in every direction, green eyes dancing mischievously, a small girl and a very large cat played in a yard in front of a neat little house. The little girl couldn’t have been more than seven or eight. The cat was obviously being gentle with the girl that was less than half its size. Kitty, the cat, had a red gold coat of fur that glowed with health. Kitty showed signs of well care and love.
“Zera!” A voice called, the little girl whirled around to face the house to see her mother standing in the doorway. The woman beckoned the girl inside, “Come on in it’s time for dinner.”
“Coming mother,” Zera yelled back as her mother disappeared inside. “Come on Kitty,” she said dropping a hand on the cat’s head. “Momma’s making steak tonight, I’m sure she left one raw for you.” With that Zera skipped off to the house with Kitty lopping along behind her.
When Zera came inside everyone was already sitting around the table. Her father was sitting at the head of the table which was unusually crowded tonight. Besides the usual residents of the house, Zera and her parents, Missy, her older sister, was at home for the night. With Missy was her first apprentice, Jalin.
Missy was a ranger and a good one at that. She had been given the honor of having an apprentice that accompanied her everywhere she went and learned how to be a ranger from her. Not many people were considered good enough by the masters to be given a protégé. Kitty was Missy’s animal companion and together they were part of a group of people that protected the kingdom of Nolan .
Missy was a very pretty young lady. She had bright green eyes like her father and Zera, long wavy brown blonde hair that was usually adorned with flowers, which at this time were purple. She was rather short just hitting 5’ 2”, but she was still taller than her mother who was only 5” 1’. Her clothes were made of leather and well worn. But besides the obvious well use, they were nice, showing the best quality of material. She seemed that she would be more at home outside than in. Which she was.
Jalin had the same aura around him that he would be more at home outside than in. His attire matched Missy’s being made of leather, his though was not the best of quality like hers was. He had jet black hair and dark eyes with a full set mouth. A small grey wolf sat curled up beneath his chair and was barely more than a cub. The wolf was Rascal and Jalin’s animal companion. Most rangers had an animal companion sometimes known as a pet. Together a ranger and their pet made a formidable team. They often were closer than most people could get to another person. At the age of seventeen, Jalin had been training for a little over a year to be a ranger and was almost ready to be out on his own. Until Missy declared him competent and he took the tests, he would be with her.
Everyone when they turned the age of sixteen had the choice of joining the Protectors of Nolan. Not many people attempted the rigorous trials it took to attain their official rank. And rangers weren’t the only part of the Protectors. They had healers, mind-warders, fighters, necromancers, and elementals. Each class was unique and had its’ own positives and negatives.
Rangers, like Missy, were the most knowledgeable about nature. They were a part of nature and knew the plants and animals around them on an almost personal level. Rangers usually made good scouts because they knew the land and were usually quick. Preferring distance over hand to hand combat Rangers favored bows or crossbows and were ranged fighters. Most Rangers, not all but the better majority, had pets. Like Kitty and Rascal, who had formed a bound with their ranger counterparts and would be loyal to them forever.
Healers as their name implied healed. They had developed skills to knit bones and stop bleeding. They were vital to the survival of the Protectors. Without them there would be more deaths than the ranks of the Protectors could handle. Not everyone could be a healer. Only a few people had the skills and abilities to heal. You either could or you couldn’t. That’s what made healer so special, the few of them that there were cherished dearly. In the time of peace that Nolan was in now there were fewer healers than there would be in a time of war.
Mind-warders were illusionist of the mind. They could manipulate a persons mind and make them believe almost anything. They stole energy from unsuspecting victims, which proved extremely valuable. Energy was the key behind any Protector, or that of their enemies. Energy is what provided the power behind their skills. The more energy the longer you could fight, the stronger you were. Mind-warders were generally underestimated by the general public and the other Protectors themselves. Not many understood or trusted someone that could warp minds to their will.
The most known and probably most popular class was that of the Fighters. Zink and Missy’s father was a fighter and had been a good one before he went into retirement with the birth of his second daughter. Fighters were the basic core of any attack unit. There main goal was to deter enemies from advancing. These brave men and women were possibly the strongest of the classes. They had to be able to withstand torrential onslaughts of attacks and were often the only thing between enemies and their goals. They provided a bulwark for the other Protectors that used their mind more than physical force. While Fighters block attackers, the spell users diminished their health and energy.
The darkest and most solitary class had to be the Necromancer. Like the healers they gave life, not to the living, but to the dead. Exploiting corpses, Necromancers raised an undead army to their calling and were a deadly force. Their minions could over take almost any opponent or at least overpower them through sheer numbers. Each Necromancer could control what a corpse turned out to be and how powerful the minions were. The more powerful the Necromancer, the stronger the minion. But this came at a price. To give life to the dead it was rumored that these solitary elite had to sacrifice some of their health and energy. Without control over their minions, the animated corpses were free to do as they willed generally attacking anything around them, friend or foe.
Flashy and arrogant were your Elementals. These generally loud and bright people formed a connection with the living earth around them and could control the life elements around them. Fire was by far the most powerful, but water, air, and rock were also popular. These people were not a force to be reckoned with. Mostly reckless, these Elementals could rage with a deadly force of nature. But such a show of force had its prices. After a major spell you had to wait a while for the energy of the elements to gather to perform that spell again.
Last was the treasured profession of assassin. Most were loyal almost to a fault and would rather take their own life than fail a mission. Not much is known about these stealthy humans. Secretive and dark these few had agility like a cat and the fierceness of a tiger. They were truly a deadly force.
Zera was debating still if she even wanted to go to the Academy where they were trained. Maybe she wouldn’t even go at all. Her mother hadn’t been to the Academy to be trained as a Protector. It’s not like she had to go.
As good portions of meat and vegetables, all cooked to perfection, were passed around the table, everyone getting their fill, Missy started giving her parents the latest news. “Those mongrels are starting to mobilize in the South,” she started as she grabbed a piece of raw meat left separate from the others and gave it to Kitty, who accepted it happily.
Zera’s father, grabbing a fully coked steak for himself, tuned to Missy and asked, “You don’t think it’s serious do you?”
“I’m not sure, they’ve made raids before but this seems different. More organized than usual,” Missy replied with a worried edge to her voice. It wasn’t often Missy was concerned about the actions of the minotaur like creatures with human intelligence that had long given Nolasca problems. Apparently this time was different.
At this point Jalin decided to add his thoughts to the conversation, which it was obvious his mentor did not approve, “I don’t see why you’re so worried about them. They’ve made raids hundreds of times.” Jalin was obviously not afraid to share his opinions. “It doesn’t take much to put down a raiding group. You and I can take out one by ourselves. Missy, this time isn’t any different.”
Missy just gave him a reproving look. “I don’t know who you’ve been listening to at the Capital.”
And then came the lecture of the year. Missy tore into Jalin, giving him all the reasons why this time wasn’t the same. Jalin’s eyes were wide by the time Missy was half way through and still going on. He hadn’t realized all the subtleties of the situation. From the lack of raids recently to the increasing amount of organized, planned movement the Riphants had been seen doing. By the time Missy had finished, everyone was done eating and Zera had curled up in her father’s lap and was fast asleep.
“I’m truly worried for the Kingdom,” Missy finished, a serious tone to her voice. Her eyes seemed sad and distant, as if the end was near.
Jalin just started at the floor, a perfect vision of a scolded child. “I’m sorry, Missy. I did not realize the gravity of the situation.”
Around the entire table the mood had changed, the cheerful air that had been in place was long gone. In it’s place can the somber mood this grave news had brought. Even Kitty seemed stilled, head down, wide eyes. It was almost as if she understood. And she probably did. The pets ranger had were usually far smarter than their feral counterparts.
Soon Lily and Jalin went to bed, leaving Missy and her father still sitting at the table. Leaning back in his chair to accommodate the sleeping Zera in his arms, Dranum sighing heavily said, “This is going to come to war, isn’t it?”
Missy reluctantly nodded her head. “I’ve never felt so nervous before,” she admitted reluctantly. “If we go to war it will be a long, hard one.”
“We went to war with the before and didn’t have too much trouble,” Dranum pointed out.
“Yes…” Missy amended, “but that was twenty years ago. Most of the Protectors now are young and have no field experience. Some haven’t ever left the Capital. These past twenty years have been relatively peaceful. A few skirmishes here and there as Jalin pointed out, but nothing just the two of us couldn’t have handled. Our number of recruits lowers each year.”
“This is more serious than I feared,” Dranum said, almost as if he was talking to himself. Looking down at the small child in his arms he added quietly, “I didn’t want this for her.”
Missy reached over to him and put a hand on his arm. “Dad,” she said, “Zera is smart. She won’t get herself killed easily without a fight even now. Now granted she probably will be required to join the Protectors, but she’ll be safe.” Looking down at her baby sister again she added, “I’ll watch out for her. I promise.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ecnash watched as once again one of his brothers walked out the front gate to the open country beyond. Unruly blonde hair all over his head looked like it hadn’t been combed all day. His crystal blue eyes struggling to hide tears. This was his fifth brother to leave the house to go to the training academy of Nolasca.
At nine years old years old, he was the youngest of seven, all boys. Only one brother was still at home, and that was Rykeir at fifteen. Rykeir would be leaving for the academy in a year when he would turn sixteen. Ecnash’s family in general was very well off. His father was a high ranking merchant who traveled everywhere selling his wares. His mother, Sarah, stayed at home taking care of her beloved boys.
“Mama?” Ecnash said, looking up and taking her hand. “When do I get to go to the academy with them?”
“Ecnash, baby, when you’re sixteen you can,” she said in a sweet, soothing voice while patting his hand with her free hand. For having seven children, all of them being hearty boys at that she still looked amazing. At 5’ 2” she was a small woman with an overall petite build. As a young woman her hand in marriage and been very much sought after. Now even after gray was starting to show in her blonde curly hair, she was still known as one of the prettiest women around.
“Who am I going to play with when Rykeir leaves?” Ecnash asked seriously questioning what he was going to do for fun. Through his entire life there had always been playmates around in the form of his brothers.
“Sweetheart,” his mother started kneeling down beside him and hugging him, “ you know very well all of your brothers visit often. And there is always the McLane boys down the hill. Don’t worry about it. It won’t be very long and you’ll be walking down that road too. Besides, when Rykier leaves I’ll need someone to keep me company when Daddy is gone. You’ll be then man around the house when that time comes. You think you can do that for me?”
After his mother’s speech Ecnash drew himself up, making himself as tall as possible. He took on a determined look and nodded his head bravely. His mother smiled lovingly at him. “Good, now run along and feed the cow. I can hear her braying from here. When you get back breakfast will be ready.”
With that Ecnash turned and ran towards the barn. About half way there he stopped himself. Men didn’t hurry and scurry about. Puffing out his chest he strutted the rest of the way. He would be a man for his mother.
Sarah watched her youngest child stop and carry on with his job with his new strut. She laughed watching him and a sad look came over her eyes. It wouldn’t be long and her baby boy would be a man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nine year-old Vamp held out his hand to the two rats that were poking their noses out from under his bed. He had been bringing those two rats food for a few weeks trying to get them used to him. Today was different though. Those poor innocent rats, so trusting, so stupid. In his hand, Vamp held more than just a chunk of bread. The bread was laced with poison and these were the last moments of those poor rats lives.
The braver of the two rats was just standing up on his hind legs to grab the bread, when Vamp, evil smile on his face, heard his father’s voice reverberate through the house, “Jamie!” Vamp grimaced. He hated that name. How was he supposed to become the greatest necromancer the world had ever seen if he had a name like Jamie? To Vamp, for that’s what he had taken to calling himself, it was a very girly name.
Standing up, Vamp put the untouched bread on a high shelf where the rats wouldn’t be able to reach it while he was gone. Looking down at them and cooing at them softly Vamp said, “Don’t worry my darlings. I’ll be back before dinner, and then it’s play time.”
Vamp walked out into the yard where his father was standing hands on hips. Even though Vamp was still young, the astonishing likeness between father and son was astounding. Both had striking black hair and even at his young age Vamp could produce the same figure of dominance his father projected. “Jamie,” Murray, his father, began. Vamp again grimaced at the use of that name. “I thought I told you to pull the weeds out in the garden.” It wasn’t a question.
Vamp mumbled a reply in response. “Speak up boy, I can’t hear you. Did I tell you to?”
Vamp stood up straight and said with a definite air, “Yes, sir!”
“Then why, pray tell, isn’t it done?” His father pointed over at the garden where the weeds were sprouting up everywhere. Vamp could feel his fingernails starting to dig into his palm. That was no use in saying anything. “I will not tolerate this any longer.”
The next thing Vamp knew, he was sprawled out on the ground. He could feel his left eye start to swell where his father had struck him, blood trickled from a cut in his eyebrow. “Now get up. And I want this done,” Murray stated and then stormed off inside.
Vamp glared at his father’s back, hate burning in his eyes. Suddenly killing those rats seemed just that much more important. If he was successful in exploiting their corpses to his will, he would be that much closer to his life long goal. The world’s greatest necromancer. He wasn’t going to settle for just Nolasca.
Getting his arms beneath him and pushing himself off the ground, Vamp hissed through his teeth, “Your corpse will be the first one in my minion army.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nine years later…
Sixteen year-old Zera walked through the gates to the Capital, amazed at all the changes 4 years of time had wrought. The city once full of commerce, had been a lively place. All green and bright. Merchants along every street selling their goods, kids playing with their neighbors, friends greeting on the street. Those days were over. Now in it’s place was the headquarters for the war Missy had predicted all those years ago. The Riphants had attacked and strongly. For three years, war had raged between them and Nolasca. The end was still not in sight.
Zera, like all the others come of age, had been recruited to start training for the war. Everyone who was sixteen now required to join. The limited numbers was stretched thin to protect the borders, and Nolasca was suffering from the many gaps that were still left open. They needed all the help they could get.
Zera had traveled to the city with all the other new recruits from her area, and she was ready to be rid of them. The five boys that were with her did not impress her at all. In her opinion they were all immature idiots.
“So where do we go now?” The tallest, and the dumbest in Zera’s opinion asked.
Zera just rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, “We turn around and go back home now.”
The boy blinked his eyes at her stupidly, “Really?”
Another boy, whom Zera had privately been calling Rock because he was so stoutly built that nothing could get through him, pushed the other boy slightly. “No, she’s being sarcastic. We go over there.” He pointed towards a table off out of the way where a group of teenagers like themselves were huddled around. It was obvious they were new recruits as well, mainly because of their attire. They were all wearing plain homespun clothes just like Zera and her group were. Most of the other people were wearing some sort of uniform or armor.
Together the six of them made their way to the table. The group before them was already being led away by an older woman.
Two people were sitting on the other side of the table which had stacks of parchments weighted down by rocks made into paperweights. The five boys crowded around the table, effectively blocking Zera from view since all of them were much taller than she was. Trying to see over was impossible, and getting in front the same, so Zera crossed her arms over her chest and just waited.
She listened as Rock boy and the dumb one were both enlisted as warriors, as well as one of the other boys. The tiny, stick boy, as Zera saw it, was enlisted to be an assassin. The last one, who had remained quiet the whole trip was going to be an elemental. That left Zera.

[Friday]

She moved to stand in front of the table as the boys moved to the side, eagerly discussing their new roles. The young man who was recording the records for the new recruits looked up from his sitting position and smiled at her sweetly. “How can I help you, sweetheart?” He asked. Zera was slightly taken aback. He had addressed all the other boys directly, assigning them all training groups efficiently.
“I’m here to sign up for the Protectors,” she said confidently. The young man smiled wider and chuckled.
“Listen, sweetheart, you have to be sixteen. And pardon me, but you don’t look a day over 14.”
She was shorter than most standing only at 5’ 5” and her slight build gave her a younger appearance. “I turned sixteen last month,” she corrected him.
He just shook his head and settled down to business. “Name?”
“Zera.”
“Age?”
“Sixteen. I told you that,” she replied quickly losing patience with him.
“I know, sweetheart, but I got to ask,” he said never taking his eyes of the paper he was writing her information down on. “Class of what?”
“I’m not really sure,” Zera started when her sarcasm took over, “I was thinking about warrior.”
He looked up at her with the are-you-kidding-me look on his face. “I’m not an expert on this, but I’d say you’ll probably want to do something else. I hate to break this to you, sweetheart, but you’re just not built for that.” His eyes moved up and down her slight, feminine figure as he said this. Zera had the sudden urge to cross her arms over her chest and looked away in disgust, as he just chuckled. “Here, for now you can go train with the rangers. If the master there decides otherwise, they can move you.”
Zera just nodded and walked over to stand with the boys. “Hey, sweetheart!” The guy called and Zera turned to face him. “I’d get used to it. It’s not often we see the likes of you come through here.” Zera turned and ignored him, thoroughly disgusted with him.
She joined the boys but didn’t add anything to their conversation. She was completely caught up in her own thoughts. She had waited for this day for years. She had loved hearing Missy’s stories that were always adventure filled and laced with excitement. Zera wasn’t feeling excited today though. Maybe it was the war time attitude that infected everything. It turned the normally cheerful world bleak and grey. This war was becoming a hassle for all. Even Zera herself, who had resisted the mood for so long with her natural happiness was starting to feel it.
Zera was startled out of her thoughts as two older people, a man and a woman, approached. The boys all stopped talking as the two drew closer. The man looked vaguely familiar to Zera. He had black hair and dark eyes. He was in ranger attire and a large grey wolf followed at his heels. Looking at him thoughtfully Zera suddenly remembered. “Jalin!”
The man, for that’s what he was now, looked at her in confusion until recognition flashed across his face. “Well if it isn’t little miss Zera,” he said with a surprised smile on his face. “Zera, you’re coming with me. Boys, ya’ll are to go with Mistress Marel. She will show you to your bunks and training areas,” Jalin said as he motioned the boys over to her. Putting an arm around Zera’s shoulder in a brotherly way, they started walking off in the opposite direction.
“So where’s Missy?” Zera asked Jalin as he led her through the city turned war camp.
Jalin replied easily enough, “She’s out on a training run with some of the advanced recruits. She should be back tomorrow or the next day.” Jalin had grown up well and had obviously turned into a fine ranger.
Zera’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Missy will be training me!” She exclaimed.
Jalin chuckled and flashed Zera a lop-sided grin. “Yeah, she does a lot of the training for the advanced recruits,” he replied and then winked at her. “You’ll see her if you make it, but I don’t know if you will. You’re kind of a little one.”
“Hey!” Zera exclaimed, a look of mock hurt on her face. Setting herself she pushed Jalin with her shoulder. He stumbled away a few steps clearly faking it.
Regaining his “lost” balance, Jalin slug his arm around her shoulders again. As the two continued walking along Jalin said, “Come on girly, let’s show you around.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Friday]

Darkness had settled around the city and a single fire glowed outside the walls.
the fire stodd on a hill less than a mile away. Two figures sat around the fire where the smell of cooking rabbit wafted into the air. The armour worn by both identified them as Protectors. Their voices carried into the clear night air, both reminiscing of times past. The two young men, who had previouslt been stationed at a boder fort, had been called back to teh CApital. For waht, they didn't know.
A loud deep laugh could be heard coming from the larger of the two figures. Solidly built with a height of six feet, the armor he wore clearly identified him as a fighter. Unruly blone hair covered his head and he gazed out with blue eyes. Ecnash was no longer a little boy. He had acgived his fighter status.
His counterpart on teh other hand had a darker more mysterious aura about him. Black hair hung down over his emerald green eyes that seemed depthless. He was pale, but it wasn't unhelathy looking. His skin was just white. A small smile played across his lips as Ecnash gave his deep throated chuckle.
Seeing his friend not sharing in his mirth, Ecnash nudged him slightly and asked, "What's going through that head of yours, Vamp?"
Vamp blinked and pulled his eyes away from the fire. "Oh, nothing," he replied vaguely, "Just thinking."
"You do that a lot. You know that?" Ecnash stated as he picked up a stick and started to poke at the fire.

[Friday]

They went about their business in the camp efficiently. They didn’t have to discuss about who did what chore, it just automatically happened. Vamp cut the rabbit and split it into two portions, the larger of the two by far going to Ecnash. Thy were both silent as they ate. Neither one talking to fill the silence in the night air. But it wasn’t an awkward and tense silence, it was comfortable.
After dinner had been finished and everything cleaned up, they slowly resumed talk. Vamp and Ecnash were both very skilled in their classes for the Protectors, regardless of their young age. Ecnash had been the top fighter in his training group, while it had bee been rumored of Vamp that he might be the most powerful necromancer going through training. The war had made it imperative that both of the boys leave training and take up posts in the war effort. While most recruits spent at least two years in training and then six months of apprenticeship, Vamp and Ecnash had been done in close to a year. They had attained their professional rank, and both were probably master lever. But because of the war, neither one had been able to take the master rank test, leaving them without the master title.
After their abrupt training, the two had been placed in the same scouting group, and ran the scouting routes for six months. After that, they had both been assigned to Fort Duncan on the southern most border. Just a year of war time duty, and Ecnash and Vamp had more experience than most Protectors got in a lifetime of peace.
“It’s hard to believe just two years ago we were walking through those gates for training,” Ecnash remarked.
“Yeah,” Vamp agreed nodding his head. “At least we aren’t dead, corpses in an enemy necro’s minion army.”
Ecnash just looked at Vamp in disbelief. “Well Vamp, I think that’s the most depressing, pessimistic thing I’ve heard out of that mouth of yours. And that’s saying a lot,” Ecnash said shaking his head.
Vamp was about to reply to Ecnash when a cry went up into the night sky, causing both young mean to reach cautiously for their weapons. Ecnash’s hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword, while Vamp’s hands started to glow green no even bothering with his staff. “Ho, there travelers.”
Ecnash took his hand off his sword and the green faded from Vamp’s hands when they realized it was just a sentry from the Capital. Ecnash responded in his deep voice, “Ho, there sentry.”
A woman stepped into the circle of light cast by the fire. She was a ranger, like most sentries, and since she was stationed at the Capitol, she wore the standard Protector uniform, and not armor of her own. She walked over and sat down near Ecnash, who smiled warmly at her. “No need to ask who ya’ll are,” she replied smiling slightly back at him, “The King has been waiting on the famed Ecnash and Vamp for days. I’ve been out every night looking for signs of ya’ll. The King won’t be pleased to find ya’ll sitting right outside. He wanted to see ya’ll immediately upon arrival.”
“Well, we haven’t technically arrived yet have we?” Vamp replied slightly annoyed that the King had been waiting for them. He couldn’t help but feel that a trap was being closed around them.
“Well, no, I guess not,” she stammered moving closer towards Ecnash. This Vamp character gave her the creeps, Protector or not. He seemed so powerful but full of hate and something else. Something akin to loneliness, like no one could, or possibly would, understand him.
Ecnash gave Vamp a look of disapproval and started talking with the woman. Vamp just rolled his eyes and stood up, moving away from the circle of light and into the night. From experience Vamp knew that it wouldn’t be long before Ecnash would start flirting with the pretty, young woman. He was notorious for it. He was handsome, and smart enough to appreciate the company of any woman. Vamp suspected that the ranger would end up spending the night with his friend.

[Friday]

He didn't understand how Ecnash could find happiness in a woman without love. The war drove people to seek companionship with others, and even he himself had succumbed to his bodily desires a few times. But it never felt right. He could never find someone that would understand him enough to find pleasure in a relationship in more than one way. And even that was temporary and didn't last long. He doubted he would ever find someone that would truly love him. But Ecnash seemed to be able to partake in it with anyoen at anytime, no moral strings attached.
Looking up at the stars Vamp sighed. He was getting tired of the war. when he had been younger the war had been everything he could have asked for. An excellent excuse to get away from home, many oppurtunities to perfect his necromancer skills, and most importantly, a way to lose his own feelings. But now he just wanted it all to be over. No more death, no more traveling, forced to attack enemy forces, no more fighting.

[Friday]

And now a summons to the castle. He felt the ominous clouds hanging over his head. They were told it was nothing important, but a scout out watching for them said otherwise. What could they possibly be wanted for? True, they were good, but neither one of them had their master rank. Surely if it was something truly important they would have masters dealing with it.
It was a while before Vamp headed back to the campsite when he was finally able to pull away from his thoughts. The fire had died down and Ecnash was already asleep in his bedroll. It didn’t escape his notice that the ranger girl was with him. Vamp was grateful he had missed whatever had gone on between them.
Pulling out his own bedroll and blankets, he laid them on the opposite side of the fire. He tugged the blankets around him and faced away from the fire and Ecnash. Closing his eyes, Vamp drifted off to sleep with nightmares of being alone surrounded by enemy forces.

[Friday]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zera was startled awake by Jalin shaking her gently. Looking up she groaned seeing no sunlight flooding through the window facing East. Giving Jalin an evil glare she mumbled, “I thought you said dawn....”
He just grinned cheerfully at her, wide awake despite the early hour. “I said be ready by dawn,” he called as he walked out of the room that was now hers.
Crawling out from under the blankets, Zera continued to mutter under her breath. She made her way to the wardrobe where all her trainee uniforms were stowed neatly away. Grabbing the first set of clothes that came to hand, Zera slipped into the soft, supple leather pants and a loose fitting cotton shirt. She pulled them on and then turned to look at her self in the mirror. Even in the dim light she could tell that both the pants and shirt were too big for her. She frowned slightly at her appearance. The clothes she couldn't help. Reed, the quartermaster had found the smallest set of clothes, and then altered them to as small as he could get. Sometimes she hated being so little. Sleep was still heavy in her eyes and her hair was tousled and the girls hung loose in every direction. Fumbling around in the semi-darkness, Zera made her way to the desk and found her ties. She ran brisk fingers through her hair to get rid of some tangles. Pulling her hair up she tied it up at the back of her head in a ponytail. Satisfied that she looked a little better she, pulled on her old boots. They were in good shape and besides that, Reed had not had any that would fit her. Clothes that didn't fit were one thing, but shoes were another. The wrong sized shoes would give anyone a hard time.
Finally, all ready, Zera left her walked outside her room to be greeted by the barest sliver of the sun touching the sky. Taking a deep breath she could almost smell the early morning. Birds were waking up and a few were twittering their songs. She saw other trainees emerging from their rooms but she was one of the first. Spotting Jalin standing in the middle of the courtyard, she started off towards him uncertain of what to do.
Jalin was still smiling cheerfully as Zera and the other students gathered around him. All of the trainees had the same expression of half wakefulness. Obviously, the other trainees, like Zera, were not morning people like Jalin seemed to be. Everyone was wearing the same basic uniform as Zera was. Zera watched as everyone emerged from their rooms and joined the group. She counted nineteen trainees including herself, plus Jalin followed faithfully by Rascal.
Jalin counted head and seeing that everyone was accounted for he began their day. “Alright,” he called getting everyone's attention. Nobody had been really talking yet and he didn't have to talk very loud to get everyone's attention and the few scattered conversations to stop. “We're going to start off today with a little run,” he told them. At his words the majority of the trainees let out an audible groan. Zera glanced around at them confused. She didn't understand what was so bad about a little run. “We have a lot to get done today so let's get this done. Preferably within a half hour. Three laps around the outside of the walls. Barret, Jillian, lead and set pace,” Jalin finished and then crossed his arms over his chest standing back watching them.
Hearing how long the run was, Zera let out an inward groan. Now she knew why everyone else had that response. There was nothing little about Jalin's “little” run. Around the walls was over a mile long and three laps would be work. Zera took a deep breath and settled herself to the test. She didn't want to disappoint Jalin on the first day. All the trainees seemed to be dragging their feet as they headed towards the huge entry gate into the inner wall. The double doors could easily allow two wagons to travel abreast together and have no issues. The whole city thing was still new to Zera, she wasn't used to walls and giant gates. She knew it would take her some time to get over missing her wide open fields at home. Walking through the gate Zera felt very small and insignificant. She didn't think that feeling would ever go away.
When the trainees had gotten through the gate Zera could see the worn path running along the wall. It was obvious that this run was common to the inhabitants of the Capital. One of the older boys, who Zera assumed was Barret, waved the trainees over to him. “Ok guys, everyone needs to keep up,” he said shooting a glance to Zera as he said this. “Remember, we finish as a unit. We aren't solo yet.” One girl who looked to be the oldest, Jillian, joined Barret at the front of the students but didn't say anything. “Off we go,” Barret said and turned and started running along the path. The other trainees fanned out behind him and Jillian in pairs leaving Zera alone at the end of the line.
“I'll show them I can keep up even if I am new,” Zera said to herself no more than ever determined to do good. Already the students seem to think she wasn't as good as them. The pace they set was brisk but wasn't too fast as that she would get tired out quickly. Zera found her rhythm quickly and settled in for the run. Being at the back gave her the opportunity to watch the others. They all appeared used to this and Zera was almost certain this was a daily thing. Zera was so absorbed in her run she didn't notice that they were already making a close to their first lap. She felt her breathing getting heavier but she was still doing fine.
In the second lap Zera looked about her and saw that the sun was almost completely up now. They were making good time. She had kept up so far but halfway through the second lap her muscles, unused to this kinda of work, started to protest. She had stitch building in her side, but she just kept going. She couldn't stop. As they completed their second lap two travelers were approaching the gate. One looked to be a big, jolly fellow while his counterpart was smaller and darker and didn't draw quite as much attention to himself. Zera's eyes met the second man as she neared him and something inside her sparked. There was something about this man that pulled at her. Her eyes seemed locked with his and it was a surprise to her that she just actually kept running. A part of her just wanted to stop and stare. Something told her this would not be the last time she saw that mysterious figure. Once she had passed by him, only able to see him if she turned around, did the spell seem to break and she was able to focus once more on the churning feet in front of her.

[Friday]

As the third lap started, she was pleased to notice that she was not the only one with labored breathing. “I can do this,” she told herself. She was over halfway done, she wouldn't give up now. Watching the bobbing heads in front of her she saw one of the other girls pull out and drop back beside her. This girl seemed in fairly good shape and it made Zera self conscious of her own labored breathing compared to this girl's just winded breathing. Seeing the look Zera gave her, the girl flashed her a smile. “Hey, My names Kassidy, but you can call me Kass,” the girl said.
“Zera,” she replied not wanting to waste her breathe on more words than that.
“You know, everyone was taking bets on how long you would last in this run. No one thought you would make it to the third lap,” Kass said, still running easily.
Zera just gave a slight grunt in response. She didn't expect any different. She was the new girl. Most of the new trainees probably didn't last as long as she had.
Kass chuckled slightly, she knew the feeling. Kass had been in training for three months and was used to the running, but she still remembered how hard it was in the beginning. Especially the first week. “It will be worse tomorrow, but after that it will start getting better. And besides you earned respect finishing it today. Now everyone knows you are in and willing to work,” Kass said.
Zera couldn't help it, she laughed. She stumbled slightly but quickly recovered herself. “Still be glad when this is over,” she replied.
“You and me both sister,” Kass replied and Zera left it at that running alongside her in silence. It was odd to think that just a little run had proven her determination. It wasn't before long and the gates appeared in sight and the pace quickened as their goal neared. Zera accelerated with the group ready to get done running as fast as she could. Everyone came to a stop as they reached the gate. A lot of the trainees were fine, nothing wrong but deeper breathing. Some other though collapsed on the ground. Zera herself was glad just to be standing still. Although now that she had stopped she could fell her calves and thighs throbbing and her legs felt wobbly. She almost didn't trust herself to walk, afraid she would collapse if she did. Instead she shuffled over to the wall and leaned up against and started taking deep, even breathes in an attempt to get her breath back.
A shadow fell over her and Zera looked up to see Barret standing over her his face expressionless. Taking a breath she pushed off against the wall and straightened her shoulders and looked up into his eyes consciously trying to breath slower. Barret, who seemed barely winded, crossed his arms over his chest before he said, “Good work newbie.” He face softened and he gave her a slight smile. Zera held her head up and gave a shy smile back. She had proven her worth here at least.
“Alright, trainees,” Jalin's voice rang out as all nineteen pairs of eyes turned to focus on him. They all stood up a little straighter and the labored breathing was quieted in Jalin's presence. “Go get breakfast from the mess hall and report back to the training arena in half an hour. Eat light, we've got a lot of work to do today.”
All the trainees started making their way towards the mess hall where smoke could be seen coming from a chimney where the cooks were already cooking for the day. Zera hung back and watched them go. For some reason she didn't feel like she fit with this group of rangers, there was something about their outgoing, fun-loving nature that she didn't see in herself. Even now, a group of boys was joking around after the run pushing each other around. Another group, this one of girls, was giggling over some rumor or another. Zera wasn't like that, and she felt oddly left out. Just then, a girl pulled out of the group and stopped turning to face Zera's direction. “Come one Zera,” Kass called waving to her, “You don't want your food to get cold.”
Zera's lips twitched up in a smile, and she broke into a jog and slowed to a walk when she neared Kass falling in beside her. Well even if she wasn't the same as all them, maybe she could still fit in somewhere in this bunch. She hoped that things would be a little better with Missy here. Jalin had said she would be getting back in the next few days. It would be nice to see her sister. Pulled out of her thoughts by a red-headed girl asking her where she was from, Zera set aside her worries and joined in the conversation. It was obvious she would be accepted, and if not quite meshed with the other personalities of this group, she could handle herself.

[Friday]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vamp and Ecnash broke camp in the morning efficiently just as the sun was coming up, the ranger leaving them to make there way to the castle by themselves. Ecnash, ever in a good mood, was whistling to himself as he rolled up his bedroll and blankets. Vamp grumbled, and once again wondered how the two of them got along so well. Ecnash was just too cheerful, especially after his jaunt last night, he was in an all too cheery mood.
Even at the early hour, the two of them could see the city start to come to life. Trainee's begining their daily work, and the switching out of the guards on the wall. "We need to find you a girl while we are here," Ecnash said suddenly to Vamp who jsut snorted.
"How about you keep her?" Vamp returned genuinely not interested.
"Vamp, I promise, you'll feel better, and be in a better mood. You should think about it for my sake," Ecnash said mostly giving his friend a hard time, with very little serious in the statement. He knew how Vamp felt about women, and knew him well enough not to push him about it.
"When I find the right one," Vamp answered, but knew it was useless. There wasn't a right girl for him.
The two of them had finished breaking camp and started heading down the hill towards the city gates. It wasn't long before they had reached their goal. They slowed down as a trainee group approached, taking their morning laps. "Look at them, I don't miss those days," Ecnash commented watching the group run.
"It wouldn't hrt either one of us to start that up again though," Vamp replied watching them run past as well.
"Mmphmm," Ecnash replied producing the sound in his throat, "Let's see, my guess is rangers, look at how puny they are." He gestured with his hands as he said this, and pointed to one girl at the end. "Oh new kid, she is out of breath..."
Vamp's eyes followed to where Ecnash pointed as his friend continued to talk, and what he found suprised him. Ecnash's observation had been true, the girl was small, but more than that, she felt alive to Vamp. As if she could feel his eyes on her the girl looked up and met his gaze with startling, almost glowing green eyes. His breath caught in his throat and he couldn't pull his gaze from her, just as her eyes seemed to be rivited to his.
In his world of death, this girl held a spark that was alive and almost burned his senses. Even surrounded by others, none of them seemed to hold the life that she did. Vamp had never felt a life that held so much life. Especially at first glance. It was easier for him to read someone the longer he knew them, and with one glance this girl lit up his senses. He continued to watch her long after her path had torn her eyes away.
"VAmp. Vamp?"
A hand on his shoulder pulled him free from the binding of her and he looked up at Ecnash's blue eyes. Ecnash had a funny expression on his face.
"What?" Vamp asked, not really sure what had just happened.
"Nothing," Ecnash mumbled and shook his head. "Let's go find some food."