NEVEN

Naveera followed an icy path of isolation — a constant, lonely melody.

"Get some gear from the Trainee armory," Majen said when he led them into a large building carved out of the caldera, twisting higher with the structure of the natural mountain face. Air stifled in his nose at the layer of dust inside the obsidian, double-stacked room. Stairs went upwards into different sections. Variants of actual weapons sat on the racks, all wooden for safety purposes; from swords, short and long, to polearms. Another section carried runic knuckles. Neven stumbled when the Trainees bustled past him to grab at weapons without due consideration of their skills, weaknesses, and preferences — and the weight of each. He squeezed himself out of the small crowd and made his way alone to the polearm section. He ran his finger across the runes carved down the shafts, picking one to test the weight with his spin.

"Try not to make too much of a mess," Majen scolded the Trainees who fought over swords.

Hm... Neven balanced it along his held out arm, using his fingers to aim at an imaginary enemy. He rested it across his shoulders and set himself in his habitual stance. It's hard to gauge, this space is too tight... but maybe that's the point? He dropped it from his shoulders to tap the ground with both ends, shaking his head at the quiver of the wood. No... If I put too much magick into this one's runes it'll shatter. Polearm back on the rack, he moved down the small space as most of the Trainees filed out.

"Try not to take too much time," Majen called to him. "The others have gotten their gear already. Just grab something for today's purposes. We can sort out finer details later, after the first run of the Gauntlet." He knocked on the entrance before leaving to rejoin the bulk of the Trainees outside, wriggling with excitement, but he found himself full of stone in his stomach.

Worse comes to worse, I guess I could... use ice to fashion a glaive. Neven hauled a polearm with a weighted top. In his palm, he balanced it before repeating the process from before. Far from home, from his original weapon tailored to him alone. In his peripheral, Kemal snatched one of the last few longswords, hesitating at the entrance before turning to him. "You can go on without me," Neven said as he held out the polearm, but a lick of dissatisfaction drove a wedge into his heart when he slammed it on the ground. Wind whispered from the contact, carried through his magick. Dust particles fluttered into the corner, and he scoffed when some caught on his feathers and sent prickles of agitation through the stems. Kemal stood there, ignoring his request. "Why are you waiting for me?"

"You heard Trainer Majen," Kemal pointed out. "Teamwork is what's going to keep us alive."

"I'm just testing a training weapon, Kemal." He brought the polearm closer, a faint song against his shoulders when he let it escape his lips with a sigh. Shame and guilt mixed in his confusion with an ideal target painted on his back once more, though for a different reason. He strapped it on his back and turned to him. "You do not have to do that. I'm the one who didn't help you when Trainer Majen knocked the others to the ground and left you stranded." But, if this was Naveera, that's to be expected. It was always one-on-one training. Always one-on-one testing. We never... fought together. There was never any need to. We always fought against each other, if anything. He clenched his fists and slipped his fangs over his tongue. We had our pride. We had to be the best. Alone.

"Well, if you're done, we should go see what all the fuss is about with this Gauntlet," Kemal said without replying to his statement, and pointed at the huddled group around Majen. Neven followed his pace, and jumped when Kemal asked a question, as expected, "So, you've done this sort of thing before? You told me you had a little training, but you reacted like you've done this for Turns." Though his tone wasn't accusatory, the fib bit at his throat all the same as they caught up to the other Trainees, some of them eyeing Neven.

"I guess..." Neven tucked his hands on his belt.

"Now that you're all ready, let me explain how the Gauntlet works." Majen shepherded them around an outside table before flattening out a map of Euros before pointing at a marker. "Here is where the Gauntlet starts. One path leads onto the patrol route you will often take during your time. The Gauntlet runs around the mountain, breaking off into sections to different 'fields' for battle training." He prodded the deep sloping one. "We're heading down to the south beach, but if you think it's to kick back and relax underneath the sun, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. This is an all day activity, and I want you flattened by the time we're done. It's a test of endurance until we reach the south beach, and there are several hurdles to pass. Anyone left standing gets to duel it out with the weapons you've chosen at the end."

I knew it.

"Understood?" Majen finished.

Everyone nodded, but Neven bristled when Yusari spoke up with a pointed tone, "How will you decide who fights who when we get down there?"

And why are you asking that?

Majen considered her. "You can find that out - if any of you get that far. I might just leave it up to whoever gets there first. Or I might just leave it up to chance. Or however I'm feeling when we get down there. Now." He folded up the map and put it away.

"If?" Neven whispered.

"I have to make Storm Wardens out of you somehow, Lotayrin," Majen pointed out. "Not everyone has skills built in when they come here. In fact, people with previous experience are not the norm." Neven scowled and his feathers tickled the sides of his head when Majen strolled to him with an eerie grin on his face. "Oh, but don't you worry, I'll be pushing you to your limits. I'm afraid the Gauntlet shows no mercy no matter the skill level, and we'll see if you can make it to the south beach in one piece. Yes, Lotayrin, if." He returned his attention to the rest of the group, who dragged their eyes off Neven. "Remember what I've said when you do your first run of the Gauntlet. Everything goes, as long as you get to the south beach in my timeframe. Let's say..." Majen took out a moonwatch, whose hands twisted around numbers with tiny clicks. It was a far cry from the watches made in Naveera, meant not to tell time, but to provide only the slightest of guesstimates through the blizzard nights. "Late afternoon."

Late afternoon... is that when the sun is past its highest point? Neven traced the horizon westward. We're not quite at high point, does he really think it's going to take us that long?

"I'm going to take you to the entrance of the Gauntlet, but after that, you're on your own until you reach certain checkpoints." Majen led them to the entranceway guarded by hippogryph monuments. Guard towers grew around them with Storm Wardens inside. "I will be following a different path in case something goes wrong. But I'm hoping a situation like that won't arise after what I've proven to you all earlier." He glanced at him in particular, and Neven dropped his shame to his feet — at his instinctive reaction to fight, to act alone. "Understood, Wardens?"

"Yessir," they all responded in uneven waves.

Majen smiled. "I suppose I can work on the cohesivity later. Alright." He led them onto the largest path swinging around the side of the caldera. Cobbled steps brought them onto a plateau hidden among the mountainous outcroppings, craved with obsidian. A signpost swung off one of the rock claws, where the words 'Gauntlet' scratched itself on the wood with erratic writing. Majen stopped at the edge, where the path gave way to a gravel texture. "Here is the starting line. This will also put some tracking and navigation skills to the test as well. Find the south beach marker, and you'll reach the end." He stalked along their group. "Take caution, I will not interfere unless I feel there is genuine danger to any of you. I'll be watching closely." He stepped to the side. "I'll see all of you at the first obstacle course."

"Aren't you going to go first?" Kemal asked.

"No, I'll let you have a head start." Majen twisted a small dial on the top of his moonwatch, and his feathers shuddered at the insistent clicking noise when he pressed it. "So, what are you waiting for? Time doesn't stop for anyone, and neither do Derelicts. Show me what type of Storm Wardens you are, and how fast you can act between Point A and Point B."

Ah... okay.

It was all the encouragement the front leaders needed to burst into a run. Neven shuffled out of the way when a couple pushed him to the side with Yusari sprinting ahead. Kemal and a few others took their sweet time over the starting line, but soon broke into a rush over the pebbles without fear. Majen eyed him, then tipped his head. Neven took the silent command and stretched out his legs before running after them. Hippogryphs flew above his head and sent their shadows along the ground. Lichen covered rocks and made the path harder to wade through. The consistency underneath his feet spurred him onward. It's just like back home running through the Irimount caverns in a way... Yeah.

The bulk of the pack disappeared, including Kemal. He used the training polearm to climb over larger rocks or vault around corners when he anchored it with his sapphire trimmed glyphs. It sparked against the andesite cracks, and he scrambled to catch up when he spotted Kemal, who remained focused on the goal ahead. His pace slowed when he shouldered the weapon, slipping down a damp rock. His hands scrambled for the tiny openings.

Another cradle within the mountain awaited them, and he slammed to a stop at the others. Majen sat on top of an intricate contraption spanning across a small cavelake. "Welcome!" He hopped to his feet. "Here's the first endurance test." He pointed downwards with both hands. Poles rose out of the water. Water slid into the runes and glowed, bursting the dampness into magick particles. "Rules are simple. Get across by any means necessary, but don't fall into the water, and don't go around. Oh." Majen balanced along the contraption before landing at the side bank, motioning at a lever with a snide smile, then pulled it down.

Some of the others took an anxious step back when the pendulums swung across the visible path on their own momentum. Neven noticed the wispy runes along the surface. Ah, probably won't break our bones, but—

"That's going to leave a mark," Kemal finished his thought with a grimace at Majen, then asked with a louder voice, "Are you serious?"

Majen chortled and called, "I did say the Gauntlet wasn't for the faint of heart, Tyronai. Besides, as a Storm Warden, a bruise is the least of your problems. Good luck." Their Trainer disappeared into a whispering illusion along the rock wall, and it became clear how Majen beat them to the first test. Left alone without instruction, some of the others shifted.

"Now what?" Evani whispered.

"I'm not going first," another boy complained.

"I don't think going last will help you much," Yusari pointed out.

"Someone's got to go," he mumbled. "We don't have much time..." Neven jolted when every head twisted in his direction.

"Why don't you go first then, feather boy?" Yusari asked, cold. "Since you seem to want to take control of this."

"Why do you call me feather boy?" Neven raised a hand around his downy feathers, heat washing up to his cheeks. "I was just pointing out..."

"You're the one who let the rest of us take the brunt of Trainer Majen's attack," Yusari snapped. "You left poor Kemal left out to dry. I'm sorry not all of us have your skills, but it seems most of us have more experience when it comes to Derelicts! What? You saw one Derelict and you think you know everything about them?"

Some of the other Trainee's nodded with their own pointed whispers among each other.

"Can I not be dragged into a petty argument for once in my life?" Kemal grunted, sticking his hands on his belt. "I got enough of that with my siblings..."

"He did sort of just stand there while Majen pummeled you, Kem," Evani pointed out.

Kemal folded his arms. "So? Trainer Majen was fast, it's also on me for not reacting in time, having to put everything on someone's shoulders. Sure, that'll turn out great in the real deal."

"Just go, Lotayrin," one of the Trainee's complained with a nod at Neven. "Or else we're going to be stuck here."

"I wasn't expecting him to sweep the entire group," Neven argued. "I didn't think-I thought most of you would be able to react and send out a counterbalance of magick!" He clenched his fists. "I can't do that for you. You're just going to have to learn to be faster."

Yusari scoffed. "Yet you could've acted once you realised it, and you didn't. It was obvious what he was doing."

Everyone turned when Kemal rushed for the lower posts. "Oi!" Evani gasped. "What are you doing?"

"You guys can sit here and argue like a bunch of broody hens! I ain't waiting," Kemal bit and climbed onto the highest posts. Neven winced at the sway in his legs in a fight against his own body when he closed in on a pendulum. Kemal stretched his leg, using a deep brown glyph to push himself to the next post.

Broody hens? Neven stifled a laugh at the proverb, but his amusement died when Kemal slipped, too heavy on one side and caused everyone to flinch in preparation. He sent a sharp vine through the water, straightening himself out. Balance could be taught with time, but Majen gave them none. As the others cheered on Kemal, Evani called out, "Pendulum, Kem!"

Kemal swung to the side, bringing up a thick green glyph to block its path for him. It shattered the edges, but he used the momentum to push him onto the next. His heel grazed the top of the post, and Neven came closer to the bank, studying the balancing posts. Barely enough for two feet... and if you don't act quick enough... He raised his attention at a gasp from the others.

Another pendulum swiped through a zig zag pattern, with Kemal too focused on the damp post beneath him. On his knees, Neven held his hand at his side. Icy sapphires danced at his fingertips, and the water rippled in a reply to his magick song. It hummed in his ears, and he sent the wave into the bottom of the offending pendulum. It clipped the runes, and Kemal cursed when it missed him by a hair. Light danced and scattered along the surface, disappearing into the depths.

Neven let the magick go.

The other Trainees sighed and whooped when Kemal leaped to the other side, rolling onto the floor. Kemal bounced to his feet, wiping off the dirt on his pants.

"There!" he called over. "Now the rest of you don't have any excuse!"

Everyone looked at him again.

Neven hopped onto the post, and readied his polearm.

"That ain't going to help you." One of the Trainees sneered.

It will in certain aspects. Neven timed the swinging pendulums, but found them unpredictable and uneven in their swings. No... I just need to breathe. Mist gathered in his lungs, and he took the first step on thin ice. A threat of a frozen death when the world went slow. Using his weapon as a counter balance, he hopped along. When one pendulum slipped his way, he slid out of its path with a gentle swing of an unheard song. He ducked out of another when it grazed past.

The world danced to its own tune.

He matched it with his own.

He used the sides of the posts to send him to other ones. "Kemal!" he called, causing the other boy to stare at him. "I need you to move!" At the speed of the pendulums, he found himself in a rush when a larger one went to block his path. Magick rippled on the other side, expanding into a glyph, twisting along the ground. On the final length of posts, he focused on the pulse of tendons in his legs. The flight of wyverns. He used the spring of magick underneath him, sent through the polearm to send him into a small jump. Out of the way of the pole, he aimed for the center of the glyph. Wind pushed through, the force of his landing when he rolled into it. On his knees, he met Kemal. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Neven straightened himself out and looked behind.

The other Trainees stood on the first posts, glaring at him, but he turned to Kemal and found himself smiling. "He did say by any means necessary."

"You know what, you're right." Kemal matched his expression. "I didn't think to jump, and that was pretty cool use of springloaded magick using your weapon as a way to send yourself into the momentum." Neven jolted when he elbowed him. "Though... I don't think I could do it. Guess it helps to be a lanky stick, aye?"

Neven glowed at the welcoming praise of the other boy. "I guess weight does matter... would change how much magick you'd need—" He gasped when Kemal grinned and bolted out of the cave. "Hey!" He checked on the other Trainees, some supporting whoever was closest to them while the pendulums continued on their paths, so he ran to catch up with Kemal, the one person he owed for his failure from before.