I follow behind them as we\u2019re joined by the girls down the hall. The one girl\u2026 Charinva? She still has a book in her hands with her nose buried in it. We make our way up the stairs and continue up two floors and come out in a vast corridor. Halfway through is a large doorway with two huge carved wooden doors depicting a feast of angels. The doors are open, and beyond is a giant hall with many rows of tables running vertically from the entrance. I follow the girls as we enter a line to get our food. Discussion breaks out between them as we wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can\u2019t help but drift away as I look out at the busy hall where clusters of people in brown and yellow robes settle in groups. Oddly, the groups aren\u2019t separated by the color of their robes. Some yellow robes sit with the browns and vice versa. As we get our food, which is prepared for us and provided, I follow them to a group of others in both brown and yellow robes sitting next to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They all seem to welcome us warmly. Chalia speaks up. \u201cHey all, meet the new stray, Lura. She\u2019s rooming with me now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNice to meet ya. Welcome to the club,\u201d a brown-haired boy says, raising his goblet. He wears a brown robe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Hubys,\u201d Chalia says. \u201cNo point in telling you everyone\u2019s name right now. You won\u2019t remember them all. You\u2019ll just have to get their name as you meet them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFair enough,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, little pup, did you come here by choice, or were you here because you have to be?\u201d an almond-skinned girl with deep blue eyes asks. She wears a yellow robe, which tells me she\u2019s Accepted. Then she laughs. \u201cWhat am I saying? We\u2019re all here because we have no other choice. That\u2019s why they call us strays. Let me guess, you used magic without a permit and went a little overboard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I shrug. \u201cSomething like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think you hit the nail on the head, Voborrie,\u201d a dark-skinned boy with dark black curly hair says. He\u2019s tall, even sitting down. He wears a brown robe, claiming he is a Novice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Voborrie shrugs. \u201cCall \u2018em like I see \u2018em. Besides, most of us are here because of that. We all got greedy or overconfident and went a little too far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot all of us,\u201d a thin girl with dark brown hair says. She also wears a brown robe. \u201cSome of us just want to help people. I grew up in Mid Town and was inspired when Damaris healed my sick little brother. She saw the potential in me and I accepted her offer to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe get it, Therlu,\u201d Ochilysse says with a long-exaggerated sigh as she twirls her butter knife around her fingers. \u201cYou\u2019ve told us this story a hundred times. We all know you have your nose so far up Damaris\u2019s arse; it\u2019s covered in turds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t talking to you, Ochilysse, I was talking to the new girl.\u201d Therlu\u2019s eyes thin into slits as she glares at Ochilysse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll remind her of it a hundred more times,\u201d Ochilysse mumbles under her breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome on, Ochily, don\u2019t be mean,\u201d Charinva says while reading her book and munching on her vegetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEasy for you to say, Page Turner,\u201d Ochilysse says and mumbles under her breath. \u201cAnd don\u2019t call me that in front of everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry, Therlu, I like your story. I have a similar one with Damaris,\u201d Hubys says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd here we go again. Why don\u2019t we all just share our stories while we\u2019re at it? Heck, how about I just give the gist of it since I\u2019ve nearly memorized them from all the times you\u2019ve told them,\u201d Ochilysse says, rolling her eyes before taking a big bite out of her meat. Then she tries to talk with her mouth full but gets interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome on, Ochily, don\u2019t speak with your mouth full,\u201d Charinva says, not lifting her eyes from the book. Ochily glares at Charinva, mumbling incoherently under her breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s gotten up your bum?\u201d Hubys asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, she\u2019s always this way before a test. She\u2019s trying to pass level three,\u201d Charinva says, as she looks closer at something in the book. \u201cI don\u2019t know what she has to worry about, though. I\u2019ve been helping her study for the last few days and she knows everything she needs to. She\u2019ll do fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEspecially with the notes we all can see within the books,\u201d Hubys says before earning an elbow and a sharp glare from Voborrie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not supposed to talk about it,\u201d she says as she looks over at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOchily won\u2019t have to worry, she\u2019ll pass easy enough,\u201d Charinva says as she turns the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to talk to me like I\u2019m not here, ya know,\u201d Ochilysse says before she chews off a piece of bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to behave like a child, acting out,\u201d Charinva replies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not acting out,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Charinva places her finger onto the page of her book and looks up at Ochilysse with a single eyebrow raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay\u2026 Maybe just a little. I\u2019m sorry. There! Is that better?\u201d Ochilysse asks. Charinva smiles at her and returns to her book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, Lura, what\u2019s your story?\u201d Therlu asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s really nothing to tell. I grew up in Tent City and had an accident where I used magic and was arrested for it. And thanks to Damaris\u2019s intervention, I\u2019m here instead of being sold to slavery or worse,\u201d I say, skipping the details, praying they don\u2019t ask for them. But it seems to have satisfied her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHeard that story many times before. It\u2019s basically every low-born\u2019s tale,\u201d Voborrie says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two really tall, handsome boys walk up and take a seat across from us. Both with brown robes. The one with a chiseled jaw and a warm honey complexion waves at us all. \u201cHey everyone. The little pup here just had his first run-in with Mother Chaetris.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone lets out a collective oooh. A darker skin girl in a yellow robe with thick black curly hair that seems fluffed out speaks up. \u201cWell? What happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other boy who must be a \u201cpup\u201d just like me speaks up. He\u2019s quite handsome. Strong jaw, silky brown hair, and kind eyes with a light complexion. \u201cShe is truly awful. I just don\u2019t understand why they let people like her become priests. Isn\u2019t the point to spread Light?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They all snicker. \u201cYou\u2019d think. She\u2019s like the void of Light. She sucks in all the joy and happiness from everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s strange because she wears a smile and acts so proper,\u201d the pup says between shoveling the food into his mouth. \u201cBut then she talks to you and she makes you feel like you\u2019re less than sand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYep. She\u2019s so condescending. Always talking down to you as if you\u2019re a stupid child,\u201d Cheyoise says, picking at her food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe\u2019s the worst,\u201d Inhepireth says as she stuffs her mouth full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow she achieved the rank of Mother, I will never know,\u201d Chalia says as she takes a sip from her drink. \u201cBy the way, Ralodan, looks like you have a fellow pup to study with. This is Lura. It\u2019s her first day here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The brown-haired boy takes a break from devouring everything in sight and smiles at me, and I feel my face heat up. He\u2019s got a really brilliant smile. So warm and welcoming. Particularly when you overlook the piggish way he eats. \u201cIt is very nice to meet you, Lura. I\u2019m definitely going to lean on you to learn this stuff. I\u2019m not good at studying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, sure!\u201d I spit out. I hear several sighs, and one girl mumbles under her breath how handsome he is and I\u2019m hit with instant jealousy. \u201cI would love to study with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That earns me a few side-eyed glares from the other girls. One girl I haven\u2019t got a name to speaks up. \u201cMaybe you should study with someone who\u2019s actually passed the test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh? That would be a good idea. Let\u2019s all study together,\u201d he says with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wish we could marry,\u201d Therlu breathes softly, but just loud enough for me to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, I don\u2019t understand. Are we not allowed to have relationships?\u201d I ask without thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy? Do you want one?\u201d Voborrie asks with a smirk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo\u2026 I was just wondering. That\u2019s all,\u201d I say quickly, trying to regain face as I pick at my food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnfortunately, you\u2019ll learn that attachments are forbidden. This means relationships of any kind, physical or emotional, aren\u2019t allowed. At least anything above a friendship. Duty is our responsibility as servants of the Light and attachments can make it difficult for us to perform our duty. Especially if there is ever a situation where we have to choose between duty and our attachments,\u201d Charinva says without looking up from her book. I swear, I didn\u2019t even think she was listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think that is stupid. Love doesn\u2019t get in the way of duty and neither do attachments. If I had someone I love to fight for and protect, it\u2019d make me fight harder,\u201d Ralodan says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey say that all the texts from the Angel Akrasiel himself preach about love. The one the Light sent to guide us in the time of the breaking when King Volodar left us. The time when darkness, corruption, and greed took over. Where demons attacked, nightmares became reality, and the dark took over the day,\u201d Charinva says, actually looking up from her book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, come on, you actually believe that dung?\u201d Ochilysse says, tossing up a grape into the air and catching it with her mouth. \u201cdemons, seriously? That\u2019s a load of camel turds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just what I read. In fact, it\u2019s documented in many different texts,\u201d Charinva says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe it. demons don\u2019t exist. Neither do void wraiths nor dark fiends. It\u2019s all just a bucket of goat piss they make children drink to make them behave,\u201d Ochilysse says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI believe it. Something in my gut tells me it\u2019s the truth,\u201d Ralodan says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoes your gut tell you that the sky is green? Because it ain\u2019t,\u201d Ochilysse says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, right now my gut tells me I\u2019m full,\u201d he says as he leans back in his chair and pats his stomach. I can\u2019t help but laugh along with the rest of the girls. Aside from a few, including Chalia, Cheyoise, and Inhepireth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Charinva snaps her book shut. \u201cWell, I gotta go put in hours. Still need twenty-seven more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other girls stare at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve only got twenty-seven hours left? You\u2019ve hardly been here for more than half a cycle,\u201d Chalia says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you mean by hours?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEach Novice has to do one-thousand hours of manual labor before they can be Accepted. Along with completing the ten levels,\u201d Charinva says as she pulls out a small hourglass and sets it on the table. This time it\u2019s my jaw that drops in a wide-eyed expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis hourglass is charmed to keep track of hours. You just turn it upside down and place your finger on the top. The hourglass starts counting hours. It also can tell if you\u2019re actually doing chores too. It\u2019s another charm. I believe these hourglasses are connected to another hourglass and that must have our total. At least, that\u2019s how I would do it if it were up to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I pick my jaw up from the table. \u201cOne-thousand hours!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ochilysse snorts. \u201cWhy do you think there are so many Novices and so little Accepted? The weak ones can\u2019t make the cut.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey get free labor, but since they\u2019re allowing us to sleep here with free food and everything else, we need, it\u2019s a small cost to pay. I\u2019ve been doing about five or six hours a day, so it only took me over a cycle to get them all done,\u201d Charinva says before she takes off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSix hours? Where do you get the time!\u201d Ralodan asks, but Charinva is already halfway to taking care of her tray. \u201cIt\u2019s not so bad,\u201d Chalia says. \u201cIf you start now, you can do an hour a day and have it done in just under two cycles. Besides, it\u2019ll take you at least that to get to level ten anyway, unless you’re Charinva. She\u2019s not normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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