The Chosen (12 page)

“David?” Luke’s wary tone suggested that he was feeling the same thing David was.

Glancing around, it looked like everyone was feeling it. The tingling changed to a brushing sensation as the cirin armor began to warp and bend around his body in minute waves. After a few seconds, David found himself wearing a comfortably form fitting uniform that fit so perfectly he could have been sewn into it.

“That’s more like it,” Tyler grunted in satisfaction.

“Are we going to have to go through that every morning?” Elizabeth asked, running a hand down the front of her tunic experimentally.

“I hope not,” Cass said quietly. “I only need to experience that once.”

“We ready?” David asked as applause began to sound.

“I am now,” Natalie chirped happily.

The spectators gave them a standing ovation while they retook their places on stage. The council members stepped forward, each bearing a large tray with the Guardian’s weapons carefully arranged on top.

The weapons presentation was one of the most important parts of the ceremony. The weapons given to the graduates today would be their companions for life. Nowhere else in the kingdom could weapons such as the ones the Guardians wore be found. The metal used in forging the sword was helcë, its origins kept secret, but the fascinating phenomenon’s resulting from the mysterious metal were well known throughout the entire kingdom. The cold steel used in the heart of the sword slowly evolved into a crystalline blade that resembled frosted ice, even a faint blue tint at the blade’s edge was visible. Harder than any known substance the blade would never nick or crack and its blade was so sharp a court lady could drop a silk scarf onto it and it would be sliced in half. A special scabbard for each blade was required due to another wonder. When heated by fire the blade would glow like a torch, holding the light for radians.

The bows were made out of a wood from an unidentified tree. The wood itself was white-gray in color and sturdy. A Guardian could leave his bow strung for weeks and it would not lose any of its power. An arrow shot from a Guardian bow by a Guardian archer could reach over four hundred yards, five hundred fifty yards if shot by a master bowman.

Only the King knew who made the weapons and he would never reveal the secret, although many had tried to pull it from him. It was the King’s honor to hand out the weapons to the new Guardians. David went first. He was presented with two daggers, two throwing knives—

to be worn either on the back or tucked into his boots, two fighting knives, a new bow and quiver, new arrows, and a new sword. Every guardian received the exact same supply of weapons. Finally after each guardian was armed with his new weapons it was time to be masked. Each council member stood behind a graduate and one by one masked them.  Now the graduates stood fully armed, fully dressed, and fully masked before the audience.

The king stood and faced them. “You have been assigned to serve in region of Rima, but who are the Guardians of Rima?”

David unsheathed his sword and held it high, his team following suit. “The Dragons are the Guardians of Rima.”

Welcome to your new home,” Lord Jasse announced. Behind him rode fourteen very tired teenagers who looked very much in need of some sleep. Jasse had once heard that growing teenagers needed at least nine radians of sleep to function. At the school they received between seven and eight. Since the ceremony a fortnight before the Dragons had spent all their time traveling to their new post, getting maybe five or six radians of sleep each day. Jasse had been chosen to guide the Dragons to their new home. They had been forced to travel during the darkness of night, using the forest routes by morning and evening, sleeping during the afternoon to avoid word spreading of a large party of traveling Guardians and sending villagers and their governors into an unnecessary panic. Now they had arrived. And the fourteen bedraggled teenagers looked immensely relieved.

“I don’t see anything,” Natalie groused wearily as they all looked around. They stood at the edge of a meadow. A meadow with absolutely nothing in it.

“You don’t see anything now, but you will,” Jasse assured her as he urged his horse forward and then completely disappeared.

Before the Dragons could react he reappeared, but with only the front half of his horse.  Just behind the cantle, the horse’s belly shimmered and appeared to be sheared off. “It’s perfectly safe,” he called as he disappeared again.

Several of the Dragons shrugged their heads to one side, and blinked several times not trusting what their eyes had just seen.  Natalie gasped and stared with her mouth open searching for words to express her astonishment. 

Matt eyes lit up and with a big grin he exclaimed, “Woo hoo! What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”  Slowly the Dragons moved their horses forward and tugged on the reins of their pack mules to prod them along. As if a veil was lifted a house, a barn, several out-buildings, and a garden materialized before their eyes.

The house stood out from its surroundings simply for its sheer size. From their particular vantage point it appeared to be a perfect square with several stories rising above the first two stories in each of the corners. Windows dotted the exterior, covered with heavy wooden shutters that would no doubt weather the harshest storms. A multitude of chimneys also grew from the roof, lending credence to the theory that the house wouldn’t be icy in winter.

“What in the world?” Tyler sputtered.

Lord Jasse rode back to them. “It’s your camouflage,” He explained as he waved his hand around, “This entire meadow is protected by Elven Magic.”

Lindsey looked at him dubiously. “I thought the Elves didn’t associate with humans. Why would they create such a place for us?”

Jasse nodded slowly. “That is very true, the Elves prefer not to associate with humans, but Guardians are not mere humans.”

“How can we not be human?” Amy asked.

“I sai
d
mer
e
human, not human.”

“Are you trying to say that there’s a difference?”

“Mere humans don’t have the gifts you do. In order for you to have any powers at all, there must be an Elf in your lineage somewhere.”

“But there is no record of an Elf in my family line,” Cassandra objected.

Jasse smiled at her. “There wouldn’t be. If an Elf marries a human they reject the ways of their people. In a sense they almost become human. They retain their power but they lose their immortality.”

“How far back can the Elf be in your lineage?” Luke asked.

“He, or she, could be your first ancestor.”

“If the Elf is that far back, how come I am the first in my line to exhibit gifts?” Rachel asked.

“Elf traits are dominant, but they won’t surface unless the personality of their progeny is compatible with the gift they carry,” Jasse explained.  “The longer it waits the more potency it loses, although it takes thousands of years for it to degrade enough to be worthless.”

“So in a sense,” David said slowly. “The gift chooses you?”

“You could put it that way, yes.”

Natalie piped up. “You said that the power slowly degrades over time, but what would happen if your mother or father was an Elf?”

“Then your powers would be among the strongest ever seen, you also might have two dominate powers,” Jasse replied slowly. “Although such a case has not been seen since the foundation of the Guardians.”

David knew that if Jasse’s suspicions about Kathryn were true, his last comment was a lie, but remained silent and instead asked, “What i
f
bot
h
of your parents were Elves?”

“You wouldn’t be here,” Jasse replied without pause, then, realizing David meant in relation to power-strength said, “You would definitely have two dominate powers and both would be incredibly strong.” He gave David an intense look, motioning ever so slightly with his eyes to where Kathryn sat a few horses to his right. Fortunately for both of them, the object of their attention was focused on the treeline and missed the byplay between them.

David understood the message: befriend Kathryn and learn the extent of her powers. Who knew, they could have a half-Elf among them. Perhaps Kathryn knew who her parents were and just wasn’t at liberty to reveal her heritage.

“Enough questions!” Jasse exclaimed as Tyler opened his mouth to ask another. “Come, explore your new home.”

“
I
kne
w
they weren’t telling us everything at school,” Tyler muttered as they moved forward.

The group dismounted and moved in different directions. Cassandra, Lindsey, and Natalie moved towards the house, the boys headed for the barn, Rachel, Elizabeth, and Leia went behind the house, while Jenna, Amy and Kathryn headed for the garden.

Inside the house the three girls were in heaven.

Natalie immediately shot up one of the curving wooden staircases in the southern corner of the house. It led first to a small alcove landing on the second floor that opened up onto long hallway with multiple doors on either side. Opening the first door revealed an armory filled to capacity with every weapon she’d ever trained with at school; as well as a few she wasn’t familiar with. Sufficiently bored, she returned to the spiral staircase. It ended at the second floor, but two smaller staircases were quietly tucked away into small niches in the far corners of the house. She picked one and continued her journey upward.

The stairway continued upward past a small landing with a wooden door which, after Natalie’s rampant curiosity got the better of her, led to a small, but comfortably appointed room with windows on two of the walls. A quick glance inside was all she needed to take the measure of the room and in another heartbeat she’d shut the door and hurried upward, pausing on the second and third landings to peer inside each room, hoping fervently that there would be something to distinguish each room from its predecessor. She was to be disappointed. Each room was exactly alike. With a pout, she flounced back down to the second floor and resumed her exploration. Opposite the door she’d originally opened was another bedroom. And this one garnered her attention. It differed from the other three she’d explored for two reasons. One, it was bigger. Not by a massive amount of space, but enough that it was noticeable. And secondly, this room possessed a desk and chair along with small niches in the walls for scrolls and other items that could be stored there. Two important details that none of the other rooms possessed.

In that instant, Natalie made up her mind. This room was to be
her
room. She didn’t care who she had to fight for it. Further along the hallway she discovered four bathing rooms, two on either side of the hall, another armory, an empty room, and another bedroom identical to the other on the same floor.

Satisfied that she’d sufficiently explored the upstairs, and found a room that would be perfect for her, she returned to the ground floor and gave her report to the other girls upon entering the kitchen. “The second floor has two bedrooms, the bathing rooms, and armories,” she said briskly. “The corners each have three levels of bedrooms. Which means that we all get our own rooms,” she squealed excitedly. “Unfortunately they’re all identical.” After sharing a room with another student for over a decade, the appeal of having her own room was intoxicating. Even if it was barely fit for a peasant. Her excited exclamation fell on deaf ears without an audience, in her excitement she hadn’t noticed that the kitchen was empty, and with a huff she turned on her heel to find someone to relay her news to. Her target was just entering the kitchen on her heels.

Lord Jasse had followed them into the house and, having heard her exclamation, said, “Early on the Guardians learned that they needed a room apart from the others to spend some time alone and in peace,” he explained to her, “Your bedroom is your sanctuary, and no one may enter unless you give them permission. As to your claim that they’re identical, your own personal tastes and preferences will set it apart from the others.”

“And we can decorate it any way we want?” Natalie asked hopefully.

Lord Jasse threw back his head and laughed. “Yes, Natalie, you may decorate it any way you like.”

“Look at this kitchen!” Cassandra shrieked as she entered the kitchen, her eyes wide with enthusiasm. Natalie turned around, arms flung wide as she spun in a circle to take in the kitchen that should have belonged in a castle.

Cass raced by her, her arms outstretched to open one of the cabinets. “Look at this!” she giggled happily as she quickly busied herself opening every door she could reach. “I could feed an entire army with this kitchen!” The kitchen was indeed large enough to feed an army, comprised of two sinks, two fireplaces for cooking, two brick ovens on either side of each fireplace, and about thirty cupboards—several of which had multiple drawers and sections. It was a kitchen that many manor cooks would have been jealous of. As she spoke she opened every one and peered inside, taking inventory of the dishes and cutlery.

“You may arrange the kitchen in any way you wish,” Lord Jasse smiled as Cass frowned thoughtfully into one particular cabinet. “You aren’t required to keep it the same way as those before you.”

“Oh good!” Cassandra said as she rushed back to one of the first cupboards she had looked inside. “It’s more logical to keep the bowls by the plates instead of the cooking pans. I’m not sure what the last cook was thinking organizing the kitchen like this,” she muttered as she proceeded to begin removing every bowl from the shelving, stacking them in neat piles on the countertops. She paused, running her hand over the wood noting the deep slices and gouges that would need to be filled in to prevent contamination. “This is going to need refinishing,” she said aloud, making a mental note to get it taken care of soon.

“As I said earlier,” Jasse reiterated. “You are free to do anything you like to the kitchen.”

Cass tipped her head to one side, considering. “You wouldn’t happen to know which of the boys are really good at woodwork would you?”

The older man thought for a moment. “Daniel might be a good choice, so would Tyler,” he suggested.

She nodded appreciatively and went back to her task of rearranging the various utensils, bowls, plates, and cutting boards.

Natalie, who had since finished exploring the kitchen and had moved on to bigger and better surprises, burst back into the room. “The sitting room will need to be redone,” she announced with a dramatic sigh. “All those dark colors. It’s so drab and dreary.” Flouncing to the other side of the kitchen she surveyed the landscape. “Oh! A warming oven! That’s going to come in handy.”

“And that’s not all.” Jasse pointed to a small door in the wall. “That door leads to the cellar—

Before he could finish his sentence, Cassandra and Natalie had raced down the steps that led below. Deciding not to follow, Jasse listened to Cassandra’s delighted cries as she discovered the hidden treasures in the cellar. Finally he heard them coming back up.

Breathless with excitement Cassandra looked at him, her eyes shining with delight. “It’s even better than I imagined it.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Jasse smiled.

Natalie looked around. “Where’s Lindsey?”

Before Jasse could reply, the two girls raced off through the house, calling for Lindsey. Knowing that they would find her in the parlor, looking through the library, he moved outside toward the barn.

In the barn the boys couldn’t believe their eyes. “We have livestock?” Tyler asked in surprise as he looked around.

David chuckled as he nodded towards the three dairy cows. “It would appear so.”

Luke frowned. “I don’t know how to milk a cow,” he admitted.

“I’ll teach you,” Matt promised a wicked grin on his face. “In fact I’ll teach all of you.”

David grinned back. “No need to teach me. I know how.”

“Hey guys!” Daniel called from further back, “We have beef cattle back here.”

Baaaa
h
.

“And goats it would appear,” David said dryly as the bleating of a very annoyed goat reached his ears.

Luke looked at David. “What do we use goats for?”

Matt stared at him, stunned. “You mean to tell me you don’t know what a goat is used for?”