บท 93: The Test of Waning: Death
My eyes were still glancing around, half-hopeful and half-despairing, when I felt the slightest of movement from the notes behind me. It was subtle, but all the training I did with Zepherin had made me notice that there was a new person amongst us. A cursory look around me, however, granted nothing about the whereabouts of the newcomer.
'Did I imagine it?' I thought.
However, the next second, a passing wind, far too warm and concentrated to be nature-born, tickled the backs of my ears. I didn't flinch or react, knowing that it might either be harmful or helpful. Then, a voice so silent came upon my ears, "We have the treasure. When the time comes, shout out his name."
I frowned slightly, recognizing the owner of the voice, but couldn't find his body at all. I whispered back as quietly as I could, calling, "Joren?"
However, he no longer replied. So, I decided to think his words over.
'We have the treasure... WE have the treasure...'
Does it mean he got Albert and Charles out from where they're being held? Or did he find other allies? Or was he just referring to "we" as in our team, and he found the treasure alone?
Frustrated with my thoughts, I almost jumped when Kendra bumped her shoulder on mine. She looked at me with frightened eyes. "Look over there. Telken seems about ready to do something drastic again."
Briefly looking away from my thoughts, I gazed over at Telken's group, arguing animatedly about something. The noble looked about ready to kill someone, and his team members cowered around, but kept talking back.
Taking a deep breath, I looked over at Kendra and Damia. They too have frightened, yet resolute faces. I told them, "Be ready. It's probably going to start soon."
And just like I had jinxed it, Telken came thundering towards us. This was already a familiar scene, but back then, it was Damia screaming at him to stop, and not his other team members.
Cursing while he stood over us, he shooed away the two guards that kept us in place, and then proceeded to glare at us.
Feeling annoyed by being stared at for too long, I finally asked, "What?"
Telken turned to me with anger on his handsome features. "What, indeed? There should be a stupid connection amongst you three, but I see none."
I glared back at him, in fear that he would see the panic in my eyes. 'Will my disguise finally be broken today?' I thought.
I was hoping to live a bit longer as a male student, but...
Unexpectedly, Telken began to recite, "What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening?"
My eye twitched at his silly riddle, enough that I was about to answer it. However, I noticed the puzzled looks on both Damia's and Kendra's faces.
With a start, I realized, 'They didn't know!'
Well, in truth, that particular puzzle would have become more popular in the far years to come. In fact, it would be so popular that it would no longer be a riddle at all. But that will happen by the time I was at least fifteen. Now, it was a puzzle to behold, just as much as it had been on the first time I had heard of it, spending long days and nights racking out my brain to think of an answer.
"... What is that supposed to be?" I ventured to ask, a confused expression plastered on my face.
"I don't know!" Telken screamed, "But that's all the the runes gave back in the treasure hold. With you three here, one for each part of the day... Yes, that's all I would imagine this to be! There must be a sacrifice for all times of the day."
I wanted to hit him in the head. 'Why is he so daft and impatient?'
It was just a simple puzzle, and if Joren had really gotten the treasure already, then he might have already solved it without Telken's knowing.
'But if we have the treasure already, then why isn't the test ending?'
Then, I remembered, 'When the time comes, shout out his name.'
'What is that supposed to mean?! Whose name should I shout out?!' I screamed in my mind. If I find myself in confusion still, then I might just scream for the devil's name right here and now.
"That..." Telken muttered, still pacing around us. "... or it's all a bunch of hogwash, and I'm just supposed to let your blood drop after all."
Before I could jump for her, he already had Kendra in his arms. Then, he carried the girl easily towards the center of the circle, dropping her nonchalantly onto the ground. She thrashed around just as much as I did, but Telken had landed a heavy foot down her abdomen while the two guards had me on a leash.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" I screamed, but the jagged rock had already passed through Kendra's palms, her hands still tightly bound at her back, and even from this distance, I could see the red blood dripping.
Kendra didn't scream or cry with fright, only glared with such a ferocity at the man, and with a lunge even I didn't expect, she broke loose from his foot, jumped upwards, and fought back with the only weapon she could have used: her teeth.
Telken yelped as his left hand was bitten down on, his face filled with utter outrage and pain. I felt the attention of my two guards grow dimmer with Kendra's daring act, and without a single hesitant thought, I had broken free from their hold, running with the wind blasting me forward. Still struggling with my hands tied, I used my head to pummel the surprised Telken down unto the ground.
As his head hit the ground squarely, we were suddenly filled with a momentary burst of adrenaline-driven victory. While the other upperclassmen were still too shocked to react, I had flicked the jagged rock up in the air with my boots, and caught it between my teeth.
Mumbling incoherently, I told Kendra to, "Shtand urhp!"
Within a few more seconds, I had sliced through her ropes. She moved to take the rock from my mouth so she could do mine, but she had unwittingly used her injured hand. With a short shout, she had dropped the rock and I knew we had lost the time to run away. The upperclassman were up on top of us now, screaming vengeance, and I could only do what I could have done.
With all my strength, I wrapped Kendra with protective notes, not even knowing if it would work, and kicked her hard on the side, promptly making her fly through the air and out of the ceremonial circle. Thankfully, when she landed on the other side, I heard her groans, hinting that she was alright. This almost traitorous action surprised the boys again, and this time, I didn't waste the opportunity. Using my teeth, legs, and magic, I brought them down one by one.
By the time I was done with them, I was filmed with sweat, and I promptly collapsed in exhaustion. The effects of the Drought and whatever else potion they had placed in my food had taken all the energy from me, and the moment the last boy had fainted, I too wanted to join him. But, not now...
"Damia!" I managed a small shout as the world spun around me.
Taking my hint, she had somehow came towards me, the two guards who watched over us now dead to the world as well, defeated by her own magic.
"So... you do have some... skills," I stammered out, utterly weary. "Take the rock... Free me."
And just like that, things became better.
Kendra seemed unharmed from my impromptu kick, and she began to run towards us. Her palm, however, kept bleeding out. She grumbled, "That nasty Telken cut too deeply."
But after wrapping it up with a piece of her dress, she was good to go.
"We should leave," Damia said, arranging her headdress a little bit more tighter. "The rest of Telken's team will be wondering why they're receiving no reports."
And almost as though the universe was pranking with us, sounds of fighting soon erupted in the forest. Among their voices was...
My eyes went wide, and although I still couldn't stand, I shouted as loudly as I could, "Charles! Joren!"
And shortly after, we finally received a reply, "We're safe!"
But the figure who came out through the foliage was an unwelcome one.
I glared at him, and Kendra screamed out, "What do you want, Jordan?!"
But movement still came behind him, and out came a familiar, black-haired head. Albert came through behind him, a small smile on his face, "It's fine. We made a compromise. Now, come on, Charles and Joren can only fight the inner ring students for so long."
~~
I didn't really know what our plan was. Incapacitate the older students enough so we could run away, and then what?
No matter, the plan was soon going downhill.
I was still too weak to fight, with me barely even managing to stumble my way into the forest. Kendra wasn't too much of a help with only one arm. Damia's expertise was obviously not in combat, and we have to face the truth: we were a group of premature students fighting older and much more experienced fighters.
Charles and Joren fought like little beasts, but based on the round beads of sweat trailing down their faces, I knew that they could only hold on for too long. And there was another problem. This boy beside me.
We were sitting behind the protection of an ancient ruin wall, waiting for Albert's signal that told us that we should make a run for it. The sounds of battle resounded behind us; screams from foes and allies alike, and blasts from elemental magics thundering our eardrums.
I sneered at my calm companion, "Why aren't you helping?"
"And why aren't you, deadweight?" Jordan spat back, a judging look on his haughty face. "It's your fault for succumbing to some minor potion. And don't you know the children of the House of Luna are weak in stature due to the ancient powers that drain us out while we sleep? I couldn't help them even if I tried."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Sure, I know of your ancient power: a power that was such a great help for us, you know, because you can always use it to bribe your way to success."
He glared at me, although I saw a moment of shame pass through his pale face, "... I regret having done that. It was uncouth of me-"
"Quite so," I remarked.
"But I still would have you know that I did it all for the betterment of my nation," he continued on, his gray eyes shining. "For the Mond Empire, nothing will boast of the prowess of the crown prince than of him passing through the Test of Waning on his first try!"
"... There's hardly anything bad about not making it the first time. His older brother didn't make it on his first cycle as well..." I muttered, but then saw his eyes, filled with firm determination. I suddenly realized something. "Unless, there's something else to it rather than just showing off... This is a political move, isn't it?"
His flinch only proved my hypothesis. Finally, he swore, and finally relented. "You're too sharp, Eleftherion, but yes. My father had me up to this, making sure his side of the party wins in this political arena."
"You want to make Charles an even better candidate than he already is," I murmured. "But he's already the crown prince. It will be hard for him to lose the position."
He sneered at me. "There are far too many things that could happen, don't you know? If Charles loses his life, the second in line could get all the benefits."
I pursed my lips at that. Even this young, nobility already knew the harshness of the courts. "... Of course. So, this isn't an act of earning his position, but of strengthening it. If he manages to outrank his older brother with his magic, then more houses will stand by him, therefore protect his position better..."
After a while, Jordan nodded. "Yes, that is indeed the case. So, I do hope you understand-"
"But that and this are different," I told him harshly. "We could have passed the test either way without the help of those upperclassmen, and definitely without your betrayal. You only switched to our side again after seeing Damia being thrown away as easily as a used napkin. I'm pretty sure you're only helping us because you know now they'll never hold their end of the deal."
After which came a moment of silence between us, while the world around us still rung with signs of battle. After a magic spell so strong burst forth that our dilapidated wall shook and dust fell on our hair, I finally heard Albert's signal. With that, I grabbed onto Jordan's arm, lifting him up to run.
But, once again, I made the same, arrogant mistake of trusting him.
"Fool," Jordan told me, as a wave of sleepiness assaulted me the moment I touched his arm.
"Y-You-" I murmured out, grogginess filling my sights. I felt the effects of his magic work well together with the aftermath of the Narcus Drought. Inwardly, I wanted to scratch at the traitor's face, but I could only shout out some incoherent curses.
"You have to forgive me, Eleftherion," he said. "But if truth be told, our childish team never had the chance to win."
'Idiot! We already have the treasure!' I screamed at him in my mind. In my half-asleep, half-awake state, I could see Telken's figure walking towards us.
"Good job," Telken whispered as he grabbed hold of me. "You've proven your loyalty, Jorish. Now, follow me, it's almost late evening, and we have to do the sacrifice before midnight."
~~
I watched as my blood dripped down onto the circle, just on top of Kendra's own dried up blood.
Aside from Jordan and Telken, no one was around the circle anymore. For reasons unknown to me, Telken was acting alone. His other team mates were probably still out there fighting with my own friends, and here we were, throwing blood on concrete grounds.
I glared at him as he pushed against the wound, letting out more of my blood. Along with the effects of the potion, blood loss was already enough a reason for me to utterly pass out, but I refused to black out. I refused to lose to this.
"Just so I'm sure," Jordan said beside me, not even caring how I was being bled dry. "Once Damia's blood is offered at sunrise, you will add Charles and I into your team, yes?"
"Yes, yes, Jorish, must I go over this again?" he muttered, a tiny smile on his face. "But I have to say that I'm more than a little bit angry at you for betraying us once. It makes me think you're a very disloyal little boy."
"Y-You have to understand that I d-did that because-"
"Yes, yes, Jorish. You've explained it once, now shut it," Telken said dismissively. "It won't be much to give up a few of my team's slots to accommodate your names. The less people of my rank advances, the better it is for me. It's all the more better for me if Sinus Fidei fills up my team."
I listened to that in confusion. 'Is that how the Test of Waning works?'
And suddenly, something unexpected happened. Once again, the circle glowed with light, and it shook as it rose up another few inches. When the shaking stopped and the light dimmed down, I was blasted with Telken's bright smile.
"It works!" he shouted in triumph. "Now all we have left is to wait for dawn, and to catch that witch, Damia. Jorish, go look for her. I have a feeling the battle is already over. If not, then I'll be more than a little bit embarrassed to have a team so weak to be so troubled against Sinus Fidei."
"Y-Yes, Sir Telken," Jordan said before running off.
Then, as Telken let my palms go, I promptly allowed myself to sit down on the ground, sighing with exhaustion. I asked, "What did you put in my food?"
Telken looked down at me with brows raised. "A drop of Narcus Drought."
I glared at him. "A child could guess that, but what else? I knew you put something there to eat away at my magic."
He looked so genuinely surprised that I almost believed him. He said, "We placed nothing else. Besides, there are hardly any ingredients around here to even make a simply Narcus Drought, much less anything else more complex like which you are suggesting."
My mind suddenly jumbled up. If he spoke the truth, then why do I feel so weak? Why can't I even muster a simple fire ball?
I glared at him. "You filthy liar."
"Come now, child," he then sat on the ground in front of me, surprising me how a noble like him would allow himself to sit on the dirt. His smile then died down, his face a mask of gravity. "I don't exactly enjoy using you like this, you know? You're only children. Talented ones, too. However, the Test of Waning has always been harsh, and if students aren't brave enough to act as harsh as it is, then they'll never pass it."
I don't know why I did it, but I spat straight at his face.
Maybe I overestimated his kindness, because after making a show of wiping at it with a handkerchief, he turned towards me, and punched me right at my face.
~~
I woke up to the late signs of dawn. I felt so at peace that I thought I was back in my room in the palace, facing the opened balcony as I lied down on my canopied and majestic bed. The sheets would be warm, but also a bit cool if I moved around, my body heat my own blanket of comfort. The sun would then greet me, along with the cold, morning breeze. Hestia would knock her customary knock, and I would rise to greet the new day.
But there was no Hestia. Instead, I saw a shawled-up woman, no, she was only a girl. She was thrashing around, her eyes furious at the boys who held her down, carrying her towards the center of a weirdly shaped platform.
'Oh,' I thought. 'I think I've seen this scene before. Once, when I was walking around a dark market's streets, I saw a woman being dragged out of her house by a man, her clothes barely ready ang hanging onto her bony frame. Ah, right, she looks like Janmira when I had hit her... No, not Janmira, no..."
My mind was still confused, but I knew that something was off about the world.
'Where was I?'
Glancing around, finding that I wasn't on bed, but on a rough bed of tough soil, I saw a few more faces, young and younger. A girl with a bloody dress and an even bloodier, bandaged-up hand. A boy with a pale face, speaking nervously with the older boys.
A young boy with the warmest, brown hair.
I blinked as I saw him. He looked so angry and so determined, even as he was held down by an older teenager.
'Who was he again? Don't I know him?'
And then, another boy with flame for his hair started screaming at me, calling me... Therion? Was that my name? I was so sure I was a girl, though...
A few of the older boys, upon seeing me waking, started to run towards me. 'Will they attend to me now?'
But the flame-haired boy's face was too honest, and the boys who approached me held ugly looks. I started to rise up.
'They're not my friends,' I thought, looking at the older boys.
Then, looking at the brown-haired boy, and the others around him, those few younger children with battered down appearances, I knew. 'Those are my friends.'
But when I looked back at the screaming older girl at the center of the platform, I didn't know what to think. But I did know that the one holding her down, the one with the ever-smiling face...
'Yes, he was my enemy.'
And with that came movement.
I started to come forward, dodging the hands of those who wished to capture me. But somehow, the wind was behind my back, and I knew they were too slow to catch me. In front, the brown-haired boy had escaped the hold of his captor as well. He dashed forward so fast that even I was surprised.
'Can I catch up to him?'
He had pummeled straight at the older boy, punching him straight at the chest. Then, like a faerie, he had jumped up, as though he had full control of the world, and punched his fist again towards the now unsmiling man, his hands wrapped with magic, a reddish glow that exuded both warmth and fury.
He had hit the older boy hard against the cheek, leaving a red welt. It was a moment of victory, but I knew something was wrong.
I felt it rather than saw it. I could sense it as danger came so quickly, as frightening as the crazed look on the older boy's eyes. I recognized this look from the beasts that roamed on the palace hunting grounds form long ago; the raving expression of a maternal beast protecting her children, or of a manic creature finding for food in the midst of starvation.
He was dangerous, and the brown-haired boy was his target.
'I can make it,' I thought. 'I can reach them before it happens!'
When I was right beside them, I saw the young boy's face. Almost at once, the word, 'Monster', came to mind, a distant memory of pain, the feeling of being imprisoned... because of him.
And yet...
He, too, was a friend.
Like water released from a broken dam, my memories came back to me, and like a flash of lightning, I recognized him.
Sure, deep down, I might still hate him for who he really was, for the title he was born into, but...
He may not be Princess Eleftheria's friend, but he was mine! This commoner boy Eleftherion won't ever abandon his friends!
The flimsy weapon may not have seemed like a major problem, but when it stabbed right through my abdomen, it made an oddly satisfying sound, like water lapping over the shore, or wine sloshing over a wooden barrel at sea.
Gasping, I realized I had made it in time to save him, but I was losing too much blood as a result.
Charles was screaming my name, and Telken shook as he stared at me in shock, staring down at my abdomen where his weapon struck home. He was pale and unmoving, probably disbelieving that he might have actually harmed a young child in his bout of dementia.
'Ah...' I thought, blood loss making the world spin round. 'I died by your hands, but at least it was my own decision this time...'
I smiled up at Charles, who had caught me just as I fell down. "Therion... Eleftherion, stay with me."
From the chaos that erupted around me, I heard Albert's and Joren's frantic voices, and names were called out throughout the area, but my mind was too groggy to understand what was happening. I saw Damia screaming, but this time out of outrage and not in fear, as she jumped out at Telken, bombarding electricity at the still shocked man.
I watched as the sun came completely out from the horizon, glowing lazily in the morning breeze. But I didn't feel fine. And it wasn't only because of the blood loss, or the pain, or the confusion.
No, I felt something come at me. I felt something evil wake. I felt it looming over me, and I was sure it wasn't death. It was far worse than that.
Blood kept seeping out from my body, and I felt an urgency to do something. But before I could greet it, my body had already failed me, and darkness swallowed me in sleep.
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Hua_Li_An
Hua_Li_An Hey guys!!! I am so sorry this came so late, but it's extra long this time.
I know this might be super confusing, with Jordan's double betrayal and the weirdness of the test itself, but it will be better explained in the later chapters. For now, I guess you have to be just as confused as Elle currently is.
Thanks for reading, and once again, I hope you leave a comment, vote, or a review!
And dearie! I can't believe we made it to 100k views, guys! I am so freaking happy! :'D
~~
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