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Lyra
Seventy-eight days. That's all that stood between me and my twentieth birthday – my freedom. The world held its breath at the continuously raging war while I was counting every second of it faster. Daniel was monologuing again about it, eyes locked on me, yet his voice kept fading in and out.
"And Xaleon is not the worst place on the Continent to stay after, you know. Lyra, you keep avoiding…" His words kept slipping away.
Meanwhile, a trainee whose face seemed familiar slipped off the beam. Body went down hard with a sickening crack as his nose met the rocks. Exploding in blood. Another man down. Classic.
"Lyra, I don't think you're liste…" Daniel's voice drifted again.
"No, no, I am." I cut him off.
A wave of queasiness hit me watching two senior officers haul trainee by the arms and marching him off to the healers. Tension buzzed over the practice grounds like a heavy fog, while trainees hovered around the arena's edges. With quiet arrogance they were seizing up each other with a smirk and unyielding confidence. I didn't have it in me to look at all of this blood like it's nothing. Honestly, I shouldn't have even cared after ten years of being here in the Rasfalian Military Training Camp. But the truth was, I did. Daniel's words flew past me again, as I froze when General Varley, the man nearing his retirement age, squared his muscled back and began scanning trainees. Then, his wandering eyes froze onto mine. Shit. I guess today was my lucky day.
"Come on Kahler, show me what you got." He said with a slow lift of his greying eyebrows. I went forward, kept my eyes straight, not wanting to catch Daniel's hollow encouragement.
"Maybe today is the day!" A voice burst out of the crowd mockingly, as I passed General Varley and his pearl white grin. The towering structure of the wooden beam soared above the practice grounds. Narrow and unforgiving. It rose more than twenty feet off the ground, barely wider than a few inches gleaming its slender spine under the sun. I felt vertigo wash over me. One slip meant I would fall hard.
"Come on Kahler, get going! I need something interesting to report to the King." General Varley said.
The sand beneath my feet felt off this time. Wobbly legs felt like it was made of stone. The exhaustion of sleepless nights and the weight of endless nightmares trailing me since my childhood, finally caught up with me. Perfect timing. With slow and deliberate steps I inched up the ladder. I went fast, two rungs at the time. I didn't dare to look down. It was way too far from the solid ground anyways. The old wood of the ladder creaked loud, making me stop. If I slip or fall, for all the trainees it would be one less worry to go to sleep tonight with. But I launched again –not daring to slow down. When I finally hauled myself onto the platform, my lungs burned.
"Go on Lyra! Like we trained." Daniel's voice hit me before I could even catch my breath. Easier said than done. Balance was never my strength, but it was Daniel's as everything else. Each time we trained in anything – combat, drills, tactics, sword and dagger fighting, I would walk away with bruised ribs, swollen ego, questioning all my life choices, while the golden boy would leave with just a smirk on his face and like he hadn't just wiped the ground with me. All I needed was a flicker of magic. Tiny push. Smallest pulse. Just enough to give me a lift – making me light as a feather. If only I could feel the bond right now. But it was silent. And even if it was there, I could've barely bonded enough magic to move a mug, let alone a body. I shut down the thought fast. Why am I even thinking about it? If anyone saw, I was dead. Not maybe, not probably. Certainly dead. Magic was heretical, treasonous, something to fear, not to embrace it during the balance training, with the place filled with the smartest, strongest and the most self-serving soldiers in Rasfalia.
Trembling knees, quickened breath – were not exactly a promising start, and I hadn't even touched the beam yet. My heart pounded so hard against my chest that I could feel it pulsating across my whole body, like I was standing at the edge of the cliff. God Xelin give me bravery. I forced my foot forward, slow and steady with hands stretched open wide. The beam creaked beneath me swaying from the slam of the wind. Cold sweat broke out of my skin. Focus. I need to focus. Then I pushed the other foot. I swallowed my fear and kept moving. Forcing the world to go silent. My foot softly scraped on the beam, while I controlled each and every breath. In and out. Eyes locked tight. Another step.
The shifting wind threatened to push me down, but I was poised for battle. No way I was giving up this fast. Another step. Carefully placing my left foot in front of the right one, my boot curled around the narrow beam like a claw gripping the prey. I won't look down, I kept repeating to myself like a prayer. I stood stubbornly upright despite the dizzying sway. Another step. I was almost there, I just needed a couple of more steps. The second my foot overstepped I felt it instantly. Muscles seized as I stopped breathing. Do not panic. It was alright, even if I placed my foot wrong. Through my mouth locked tight I slowly forced slow breath, pressing my lips into a hard line, as if a stronger exhale will throw me off the balance. I had to move. Shit, it's even worse than the previous one. Time stood still. A bead of sweat went down my spine, gluing the thick navy leather uniform to my skin like an armour, making it all cling tighter, suffocating me in the hot and heavy choke. Now, the pad of my boot was sliding slowly off the beam like it was made of smooth glass, as I with all my trembling muscles tried to keep it in one place. But it was too late. Violently swinging to all sides with my arms flung wide and my foot still hovering trying to find the beam, I couldn't balance. Unless…I take a large leap. There was no time for thinking. I jumped. Lunging at the platform in front of me–
With my right foot now completely out, I could only hear a sudden gasp of Daniel and voices shouting – as I was free falling. Every second of it stretched to eternity, yet the ground was ready to hug me with a speed that only meant one thing – I will crash hard. After all these years of falling, crashing, bruising and breaking, I wasn't sure I had extra lives to spare for another break. My body locked tense for the crash, but instead I slammed into something which oddly didn't feel like a ground. There was no pulsating pain coming after a couple of seconds and my back imprinted onto something that felt like a padded stone.
"LYRA! Are you alright?!" Daniel brushed my cheek. I blinked hard, once, and then twice trying to blink against the blur, instead my vision only scattered making my head spin more. Then the agony of pain spread like fire, searing every nerve and like a snake it wrapped around my ribs, legs, and arms. But it could have been even worse. I exhaled with relief when I realised I was laying on the woven mattress. With my head thrown back the bluest sky filled my vision, as high above a flock of birds were heading south.
"Lyra! Do you hear me?" The blur faded just enough for me to glare at Daniel's bronze eyes.
"She doesn't seem alright, Lochstar." The voice of one of the trainees cut through the air.
"You'll need to take her to the healers." Now, the low and steady voice of no other than General Varley slid into my ears. "She'll be alright, I saw her falling worse a couple of months ago." I barely made a sound, but for a brief moment we locked eyes. General Varley hated weakness, and with his cold stare he pinned to the ground with the darkest verdict – disappointment.
"Nothing to look at here," He addressed the trainees yet his gaze remained steady on me. "Who will be next? We already saw Kahler falling as always, I want someone to finish this damn beam!" With a quick turn and fast march General Varley disappeared into the crowd.
Pain sliced through my right arm, twisting in different directions and pulling me away from the judgment of Varley.
"I think my arm might be broken." I whispered through my teeth, feeling like every word cut through like a shard of glass.
"You think?" Daniel's eyebrows raised in disbelief. I wasn't natural, I couldn't fight clean nor ride smoothly. I fell – a lot. Way more than I cared to admit. The odds of losing a leg or an arm? Constant crashing, stumbling, bleeding and falling, only proved it was better than average. Proof was carved into my skin like a scar – I didn't belong here. And every attempt at convincing the world otherwise only left me more wrecked than before. Daniel pulled me into him, looping my unresponsive arm over his shoulder.
"I can walk, you know." He just scoffed and moved fast, almost angry in his breath.
"I know you can. It's just too windy today and–,"
"– I fell, Daniel. There's no excuse for that. Losers don't get a medal, no matter how hard they try." I interrupted him firmly. He looked at me with lips half-opened, like he was about to say something I didn't want to hear, but then swallowed it whole. When your life revolves around one goal that one day you'll meet face to face with your enemy, you would be tough. You would train twice as hard, jump twice as high and run twice as fast, until one day – you're ready. Every night, his presence clung to my nightmares. It haunted me, every night the same waking hell. No matter where I ran – the odd scent of humidity and moisture trailed me like a ghost, lingering beneath my skin long after I woke.
Barely supported, my feet staggered over the mud, unbalanced in a half-carried manner, as we crossed the camp. Everyone kept their heads down, eyes locked on something else. I could hear the lightning striking somewhere still far, but making itself heard. The camp's field sprawled as far as you could see, blending its edges into a horizon. Obstacles covered in splintered wood, rusted iron and tall walls. To the east of the camp lay a large empty field filled with brown clay like ground, designed specifically for the body-on-body combat. Both me and Daniel almost simultaneously noticed the short brunette standing tall with arms leaning against the fence. It was officer Baro. She quickly shot me an icy stare, before her gaze lingered lower at the injured arm. Something shifted behind her eyes, her body tensed. Clenching her lips, she motioned us forward.
"What do you think she wants?" I asked through my teeth so she's unable to read my lips.
"Nothing good, that's for sure." Daniel's muscles tensed. Baro never liked me. Varley once mentioned that I reminded her of someone, but I never discovered the depth of her hatred. My spiked pulse and tensed muscles were not the only indications that officer Baro was making me feel uneasy, but also the fact that I completely forgot my pain when I stood face to face with her.
"Not so great of a fall?" Her eyebrows lifted, as she again glared at my broken hand. Her hands settled on her hips.
"It's beyond windy today, officer Baro." Daniel's hold tightened around me as if of a protective brother.
"Right…" She replied slowly. "I got a letter from his majesty King Roe," My eyes snapped wide. No, it wasn't supposed to be the time. Not yet. "About your assignment once you turn twenty," She handed me a dark navy letter with a golden wax seal with a lion's head imprinted on it. No, it was too early for that. My plans. The plan. "His majesty, is requesting your service at Xaleon Governorate." The realization hit me like a slap. I could feel Daniel's grin. With my free arm I grabbed the letter from her hand and with trembling fingers I opened the letter.
Lyra Kahler to serve in Xaleon, under the Lord Lochstar.
I stood there, reeling. Roe made me believe that once I turn twenty he'll give me a mission to fight Erdonal, to help destroy them and to meet the one person that has destroyed everything for me. Roe was afraid to lose me, thinking he's protecting me by sending me to the most actionless and boring place on the whole Iritis Khad – Xaleon. Baro didn't blink, she was studying my reaction, on the other hand Daniel's grin was beginning to annoy the living hell out of me, especially knowing that I would be serving his father. It was his dream all along, the calm of the countryside and the invisible protection of his family. Heat bloomed behind my eyes, as the fire began surging through my chest. It twisted and churred until it reached the ends of my fingers. No! I couldn't allow it, not in front of everyone. Yet, it was so wild and consuming, one breath too deep and my power would've erupted in front of everyone.
"I won't accept." I snapped roughly. Barely controlling the pulse surge through my clenched fist. Baro's eyes shot up wide with shock. "I won't stay hidden. I already did that for ten years. No Xaleon." I caught my breath from the overwhelming fear of losing it. "Please pass on the message to his majesty, that I want to go to the frontline for the real fight. I want to fight." Daniel whipped his head towards me, completely stunned.
"It's a royal order, Kahler." I believe in this moment Baro wanted nothing more than to punch me right in the face. But I twisted from Daniel's hug and turned my heel away.
"Well, then he'll have to order me this personally!" Baro said something under her nose, but with my aching ankles and ripping arm pain I marched away. Daniel went into a light jog trying to catch up with me. Even if I was disobeying the orders of his majesty, I knew Baro understood me. The large scar covering half of her face from the combat with one of the Erdonal soldiers, left her with a scar and the soldier dead. She craved battle as much as me. So I didn't even turn around to see if she was following me, I knew she was not.
"I won't hear it, Daniel. So don't waste your energy." While I could feel the sharp pain shooting up my broken arm, the magic firing up inside of me was a way bigger problem.
"Lyra, stop!" Daniel grabbed my wrist, yanking me toward him, but I pulled away with fury, too scared to hurt him. He looked at me with the kind of pity and sadness that I hated. One step, it was all it took, when I raised my hand with a warning.
"Don't…" I knew he could see hurt in my eyes. "Just don't."
"Lyra…" He said beggingly. The cold wind rushed past me with a chill that soothed my burning skin.
"You don't think I know it's your doing."
"Lyra…" He tried reaching for me again hesitantly, but stopped mid-way. "Xaleon will be the best place for you to stay, and you know it." I shook my head in disbelief.
"Know it? Daniel, you know that one thing I know for sure, is that I want to kill Aslan. And if Roe is too scared to send me to the frontline, I would do it myself." As if the reminder of where I was, the Watchtower gleamed in the sunlight exposing the copper colored blocks that rose tall in between the grim trees. The sole purpose of the tower, in the eyes of an inexperienced soldier, was to purely monitor potential threats outside of the camp. Although true in some sense, it was also watching us. Every step, unsafe conversation or heretic talks, were monitored from the tower. I forced myself not to look, the taste of worry settled heavy, as I swallowed it hard.
"And what about Elyie? It's been more than two weeks." Even asking this was putting me in danger, but I couldn't stop thinking about what happened to her. One night she just left. Ran away, without leaving any trace of herself. Secretly I envied that. Even if camp was an opportunity for a new life, and proving Roe what I was capable of. Yet for others, Rasfalian Military Training Camp was – either a punishment or training school that not everyone was leaving alive or in one piece.
"No news. Or at least they're not telling us," It pained Daniel as much as me. The three of us were tight, but it made me doubt it once she left, making me feel like I only knew that part of her that she allowed us to see. Daniel edged closer, leaning towards my ear. "You shouldn't be asking too many questions about Elyie. It's dangerous these days." My head whipped towards him, if that was dangerous to ask he didn't want to know about the thousand's of more slamming into my lips. Daniel scanned around, before gently taking my non-broken hand and helping me walk forward to the healers. "I heard from my father that the soldiers patrolling the South Border with Isildra didn't come back to the station. And there have been more incidents like that." He paused before exhaling deeply. "It's tense in the Commandership, Lyra. I think Roe is just trying to protect you by sending you to Xaleon."
"Protect me from what? And how can a group of highly trained soldiers and assassins just disappear out of the blue?" My jaw clenched enough to hurt, holding onto Daniel's shoulder like it was the last thing keeping me up standing on the ground. He suspected the following question, so the second I opened my mouth, Daniel blurred it in whisper.
"There had been rumours…" His words caught my breath. "They kept it hidden for quite some time, but even the royal seers have been talking."
"About what? Don't drag it out, just tell me!" I snapped.
"They say these attacks are not independent, but someone is orchestrating them from the shadows." He stopped abruptly turning fully face to me.
"You think it's Erdonal?" He lowered his gaze.
"There are some dark times coming, and my father said that they don't know if it's Erdonal's doing or there's something else at play."
"Dark times? You mean like the ones before the rebellion?" My gaze intensified, while Daniel was trying to find the right words to say. During the rebellion, the Continent had bled with witch blood. It killed and exiled all magic users – witches, mage's, esoterics, keeping only court seers with their blurry future predictions. Children died, families got separated, temples and libraries burned and resultatively forbidding and turning magic into heresy of the darkest kind. The books telling stories about the rebellion were destroyed, but every human across the whole Continent knew that those were the darkest times we have faced, so if Erdonal was inciting this, we were in bigger trouble than anyone thought.
"King Roe is trying to keep it quiet, but he can't any longer. Too many disappearances, burned villages on the border of the Tri-Kingdom, signs and marks left on the door of the houses," Daniel scanned the place around again for any curious ear, before saying the next words. "People whisper about a certain – Shadowed One." A large gulp got stuck in my throat, this meant one thing – they'll be looking for any magic users, for anyone who even had suspected power. I was dead, if they find out anything. I had to move, before they sent me to Xaleon.
"But these are just the rumours, right?" Daniel's worried face was saying something else.
"If the rumours were just rumours, would people die protecting it?" Sudden cold from the wind wrapped around my shoulders tightly squeezing any sound of fear that was about to come out. Daniel lowered his head even closer to mine, something only I could hear, before placing his hands on my cheeks. "You remember Lord Edney?" A chill ran down my spine.
"Yes." I nodded. Remember? More than that. Lord Edney was a teacher here in the Military Camp, at some point a general, then he turned into a map explorer and that was the last time I heard about him. Couple of months ago he sent me a cryptic letter about Isildra – the vast valleys and the animals he had seen, all the types of birds and lizards he encountered. I never got another letter again.
"Well, he claimed to have seen witches' settlements while on the expedition to the Uninhabitable Lands and he claimed to have met Him. Face to face. Edney came back running to Roe, but no one didn't believe him." He paused again, as we continued walking, almost reaching the healer's residence.
"So what happened to Lord Edney?" I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it.
"They hanged him." The ground vanished from under me and my stomach dropped with it. Whatever Edney found and knew was important enough to kill him for it. I could have only imagined what would have happened if they found a real magic bonder.