My routine for the rest of the first week was similar. I would wake up to the pain of sore muscles, aching joints, and tendons, then roll over and feel the uncomfortable strain of the large bruises. Before anyone else was awake, I would dress and head out for a quick breakfast and control my breathing while the others would slowly rouse from their slumber.


    Then off to training where Sacae would demonstrate hold after hold and throw after painful throw, accentuating existing injuries and creating a plethora of new ones. I was starting to head to bed earlier each night and wake up later each morning as my body tried to rest and recover.


    For the first three days of the second week I would spend my break fishing with the group, never catching anything. On the fourth day, a rough day full of leg holds, made it exceedingly difficult for me to climb up the stairs, so I stayed in the galley and studied from the books or practiced my Common.


    I studied creatures that seemed to reside primarily in areas that our group would be most likely to travel through.


    One was called a Cloigann (Kl-eye-gen), which was a bird that stood eight feet tall. It was a powerful predatory bird that would most often target large prey animals by swooping down from great heights and attaching its talons to the neck of the creature, using them to sever the spine before taking off with the prey.


    There was the Shale Clam, a large land-based clam that would disguise itself as a shale like boulder and wait for something to approach it. Once approached, the clam would use its tongue to attempt to swallow and crush the creature. Eventually, after eating enough victims, the clam would form a precious stone from the compressed bones, similar to underwater clams forming a pearl.


    The last was the Undertaker Crab. A large creature which at the front end resembled a crab, but with four arms, and two long straight horns on the top of its head, and on the rear, had more of a long lobster or centipede like body. It apparently would come out of the ocean, attack, and drag prey back into the water to drown. It would store the prey in its tail with a set of smaller arms and search for more, keeping the freshest kills at the back end of the tail. It preferred semi rotting and waterlogged flesh, which is why it would hold prey and slowly shift it up to eat. If it killed more than it could carry in its underbelly, it would dig deep graves and toss the creatures in, covering them in a preservative like slime and leave them for later, which gave it the Undertaker title.


    There were also prey animals. One, a species of deer called an Iéo (Ay-awh). It was numerous, but only in areas that could be considered relatively safe. They had an incredibly evolved danger sense, as well as night vision, enhanced smell, and extraordinary hearing. Their agility was such that they had been noted as dodging arrows from certain distances. They grew two long, slightly curved horns on their head that made for great weapons due to their hardness. Many Agers had survived numerous traps, pitfalls, and ambush predators simply by observing and following the behaviors of a lone Iéo.


    By this time, the rest of the group came in and we enjoyed some beef stew with rolls for supper. Céírde and Flint led us in studying creatures that specifically resided on the Northeast beaches of the Island.


    Sand Fish was exactly what it sounded like. A fish that swam in sand instead of water. It was four feet long, ran in schools and was omnivorous. They would avoid anything dead though.


    Sand Stars were large starfish, each of its six limbs reaching lengths of six feet or more. It would lie still most of the time, except when it was hunting Sand Fish or Giant Crabs. Although, they generally weren’t considered a threat unless they caught you while you were sleeping.


    Horned Worms were ten feet long and covered in a tough exoskeleton that burrow into the sand. They would actively hunt anything within range that was making enough noise, or seismic activity, like stomping or walking. The worm would leap from the sand and attempt to impale the creature with its horned spear-like tongue and then engulf them before receding. They would be noticeable when moving as they didn’t usually burrow too deep. If your ear was to the ground, you would be able to hear them moving underground. If you stopped moving, they would attack your last known position and they couldn’t move through hard dirt or rocks.


    The more we learned of the creatures, the more I wondered how many Cianíans had to die for this information. How many got impaled and eaten by Horned Worms? How many got dragged off in the night by the Undertaker Crab? Feasted on by Sand Fish or Shale Clams? How many more monsters were out there undiscovered? Just waiting for fresh Cianían meat to pass into their jaws.


    The fact that the northern most, western most, and northwestern portions of the Island remained mostly undiscovered worried me. How many creatures migrated south during the year? How many were just waiting for one of us to slip up and become an easy meal? My thoughts made it hard to focus during Common lessons with Céírde. We were learning all kinds of words, and how to write and pronounce them. I knew a lot of it, but still found it good to have a recap. I went to sleep plagued by questions, along with the pain from training. The others would come in for bed talking about how amazing their days were and how much they were learning.


    Leola talking about medicinal herbs and their properties. Different medical procedures and surgeries she was learning. One day she dissected a pig, that was to be used for dinner, using its skin to practice sewing skin together, as well as the proper way to use surgical tools.


    Sable was learning to use her bow, and training in agility, acrobatics, and stealth to be an effective and quiet scout. She is also training in collecting plants and harvesting or hunting animals.


    Keokin spent nearly all his time with Zanataz or Edorin observing how the ship was run, how to maintain order, remain calm under pressure, when to be fair and when to be firm, quizzed on quick decisions and told when and why he was wrong. He was also there to observe how all of us were doing, judging our progress on somewhat regular visits with Edorin.


    Flint was there for some of Sable’s lessons on proper harvesting techniques but was also taught how to sketch quickly and accurately from memory or life. As well as how to take precise and effective notes on anything encountered on the Islands with Céírde. Céírde would accompany Keokin in observing Edorin for some of the day, then break off to do long studies of the books with Flint. Focusing on those that we would most likely encounter, and they both briefed all of us when we came together as a group at night.


    Lánn and William learned cooking in the morning with Cairen, then they learned how to set up tents and proper equipment maintenance, how to skin and tan animal skins to create usable leather, how to make boots, shoes, gloves, and other types of clothes, then at night they would help Cairen with preparing dinner. Sometimes William would come to watch as Sacae dished out his punishment on me, laughing in the corner.


    The last four days of the second week, I would retire to the galley with Cairen and his usual two sailors, named Danith (Dan-yuh) and Morean (More-yun), both short haired, but Morean was thinner and wore overalls, while Danith was big like Sacae but didn’t have scars on his face. I played cards with them for a bit before retreating to the room and waiting for dinner.


    At the start of the third week when we went to Sacae, there looked to be a large pile of equipment sitting off in the corner, but I didn’t recognize any of it.


    “Good morning kids. Today, we will be focusing on fitness. I want to get a baseline on your strength.” Sacae said.


    “Why not do that earlier?” Jael asked.


    “Because I wanted to give all of you two weeks to make sure you were nice and loose.” She nodded understanding.


    “Makes sense, I guess.” She said.


    “Now. First exercise is pushups, and just so you know, yes this is a competition. I will tally up all the wins and losses, whoever loses, gets to be my dummy while I try out some particularly painful moves. Whoever wins, gets to try all the moves on second place.” Not looking forward to this. “First up are pushups. Line up right here.” He pointed at the divide between two floorboards.


    “How many exercises are there?” Klintock asked.


    “There are ten in total, but I want you all to put in your best effort every time.” We nodded. “First things first. Drop down and do as many pushups as you can, starting when I tell you.” We all dropped down and got in ready position. “Go.”


    Klintock started quick, bursting out one after the other. Jael tried to keep even with him but slowed when she reached thirty, then stopped when she reached forty-five, lying on the ground and breathing hard to get more energy to continue, eventually making it to fifty. Klintock got to forty-five before he slowed ending at sixty-five, and I made it to fifty-five. I wanted to make sure and conserve some energy, as I planned on losing anyways.


    “Good. Now on to sit ups. Get ready.” We all got into position. “Go.” Again, Klintock burst quickly into the exercise, and Jael kept pace until they got up to thirty. Eventually Jael and I stopped and Klintock won again. This same process repeated itself for all the other exercises. Crunches, standing jumps, squats, pull ups, plank, then plank on left and right side. Sacae took out a crude dummy made from a burlap sack and told us to throw it as many times as we could, then to pick it up, lift it overhead and throw it as far as we could. When all was done, I lost, Jael was second, and Klintock won. I took deep breaths to ready myself for the pain to come.


    “Yes! I’m the best and you’re the dummy” Klintock jested. Jael scoffed.


    “Well at least you both did much better than Croí here. Speaking of which, since Croí was the loser here, he gets to continue his training as my dummy.” Sacae’s words sounded somewhere in between jesting and serious, I couldn’t tell which. “Gather up and we’ll go through the moves. Now this first one is one I like to call the heel hook.” He got on the ground, and we followed. He grabbed my right foot and pulled it towards him, pinning the rest of me down with his legs. He placed my foot into his left armpit and using his forearm, he leveraged the heel of my foot to twist it counterclockwise. I could feel the strain immediately on my ankle, knee, and part of the outside of my hip. “As you can see, it puts considerable pressure on the entire leg, but especially the ankle and knee. Your turn.” He pointed to Klintock who mimicked the move on Jael, and she winced in pain.


    “Sorry did I hurt you?” Klintock asked. Jael shook her head.


    “A little but it’s fine, just take it slow.”


    “Good advice for all of these. A little too much and you’re breaking something, so be careful.” Klintock nodded. “Now this one I call the shoulder trap.” He motioned for me to lie on my stomach, then grabbed my right arm and pulled it behind my back, and up towards my head. He wrapped one leg around in front of me, putting my neck in between his calf and thigh, choking me. The other leg he used to pin my lower back to the floor. He kept the hold going, and the tension on my shoulder while Klintock watched, doing his best to replicate the move without hurting Jael.


    “And if you really want to get your point across…” Sacae grabbed my left arm and put it back with my right, putting pressure on both shoulders, as I groaned. “Use both arms.” Sacae started squeezing too hard with his leg on my neck and my vision started to go black, even though I knew my eyes were wide open, until he finally released me. It took a moment for the black to fade. “There you go, you’re getting it. Now on to the next one.”


    Sacae showed another six moves. Each one put incredible torque and pressure on large areas of the body, or pinpointed a singular painful point, like one he called the calf slicer, which focused all the pressure on a single point on the back of the calf to tremendous effect. “Ok then. Starting tomorrow we’re going to move into choke holds and holds designed for knockouts or even killing. Until then, rest up.” He walked away, leaving me lying on the floor facing away from the other two, who were focused on practicing what they had just learned. I forced myself up into a standing position and started walking towards the galley.


    “Hey Croí.” Jael started. “Are you getting something to eat?” I took a short, quick breath as I readied a fake face.


    “Yeah, that’s what I was planning, just a little snack after that workout.”


    “Good idea, we’ll join you.” Klintock said as they pushed themselves to their feet. I struggled to keep myself from limping as I continued into the galley. William was in the kitchen cleaning out some pots and pans. Lánn was sitting at one of the tables prepping some leather for use. She looked up, smiling as we entered.


    “Hey. How’d training go? Is it break time?”


    “Not yet. We got off a little early today. He worked us out pretty good and had us max out a lot of exercises then practice some grappling.” Klintock explained. Lánn’s eyes widened.


    “So you learned more moves? Wanna show me?” She asked. Klintock chuckled.


    “Maybe when we’re all on break.” He said. Lánn giggled excitedly.


    “What’s that leather for? Did you make it?” Klintock asked. Lánn shook her head.


    “No. Cairen made it for me to practice on. It’s for clothes hopefully.”


    I need some kind of distraction.


    “Lánn. Is there anything I could do to help you or William?” I asked suddenly. She tapped her chin as she thought.


    “Well, we’ve soaked, limed, and removed tissue from some hides, next we need to unhair, scud, and flesh it, but we were waiting for Cairen to finish something up first. Do you know how to do that?” She asked with a smile that almost looked like she was waiting for me to say no. I nodded instead, and her eyes opened with excitement.


    “My brothers Kixas and Ríger work in tanning and leather working. I’ll teach you if you’d like.” I said. She clapped her hands excitedly.


    “That would be awesome. I could impress Cairen by getting my work done early.”


    “Yet another reason why I should be the Guardian.” William said, arms folded near the bar. Klintock and Jael groaned.


    “Not this again. Are you still sour about that? Just accept it. Even if you pressured Croí or found him alone and beat him and took his pack, we would all go to Edorin to get it back for Croí, or just beat you and take it from you.” Klintock stated.


    “Yeah. We voted on you staying right where you are. It’s cute that you still think you have a chance at it though.” Jael said folding her arms. I’m too tired to deal with this.


    “Shall we go?” I asked Lánn. She jumped up from her chair, also happy to get away from the brewing conflict.


    “Let’s.” She said, smiling. “Follow me.” She turned to Jael and Klintock. “You two want to join?” They looked at each other, then shrugged.


    “Why not? Lead on.” Klintock said. Lánn led us all above deck and around to the bow of the ship. There was a fleshing beam with a barrel of water containing the skins, and another with clean water for rinsing. On the side of the beam there were several scrapers, a knife, gloves, and aprons. All tools I was familiar with.


    “How many skins are there?” I asked.


    “Cairen said there was three. One for him, and one for me and William.”


    “Why is he teaching you guys tanning?” Klintock asked. “If it requires all this equipment, we can’t do that on the Island.” I shook my head.


    “Actually, if we properly skin the animals we want to tan, all we need is the chemicals, or maybe a lot of saltwater and a pool of water for the beginning stages. Not optimal, especially for liming, but doable. Then we just need the scrapers, gloves, and apron and a relatively smooth tree. We have some carpentry tools that we could use to smooth the trunk and add in the legs. Then we can pull the hides from the pool, trim, unhair, scud, and flesh them. The only problem I see is tanning and curing it. That takes time if you do it right, and a lot of effort. I’m assuming Cairen has some tools or method that makes that faster or easier. After that, you need to wring or dry it, then oil it so it doesn’t dry and crack. There are a few other things to pay attention to depending on what you want to use the leather for, like if you want it to be shiny, sturdy, soft, or flexible, but the first parts can be done with fairly minimal equipment if you know what you’re doing.”


    “That’s amazing.” Came a voice from behind us. I turned to see Leola, Keokin, and Edorin. When did they get here? We saluted Edorin.


    “Captain.” In unison.


    “At ease.” Edorin said, with a small wave of his hand. I felt embarrassed running my mouth off like that. Sure, I knew what to do, but I was no professional.


    “I had no idea you knew so much about it. I mean, you said your brothers worked in leathers, but I figured it was just hunting and skinning and stuff.” Leola said, smiling.


    “Truly.” Edorin seconded. “Would you mind retrieving Cairen from downstairs? I believe he’ll want to be present for this.” Keokin nodded to Edorin and moved quickly below deck. I sighed. I was fine when it was just the four of us, but now there’s a crowd forming. I feel awkward, but why? I sighed again. I just wanted to do something relaxing, help for a minute. Maybe Cairen will take over. That would be nice. Cairen and Keokin emerged. Cairen saluted Edorin.


    “You sent for me Captain?”


    “At ease. Yes. Croí here is a rather knowledgeable tanner it would seem. I would like you to teach him along with Lánn and William if you don’t mind. Maybe let Croí try teaching if you want.” Cairen looked at me skeptically.


    “Truly lad?” He asked, looking at me.


    “Yeah, I guess.” I sighed out.


    “Don’t be modest Croí. Show Cairen what you can do. I’ll send William your way.” Edorin said as he turned and walked away with Keokin, but Leola stayed.


    “I’m supposed to practice some sewing on the leather before it gets tanned.” She told Cairen.


    “That so? Lanaea stuck you with me eh? Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt. Right then Croí, ready yourself lad. Soon as William shows his lazy hide, we’ll get to work tanning these hides.” I snickered at his joke and walked over, putting on the gloves and apron. William came up as I was pulling a hide and rinsing it in the second barrel. Let’s get this over with. I plopped the hide onto the beam and got to work, quickly peeling off the hair and rinsing it before fleshing the other side. I took the knife and shaped it in several smooth motions, then rinsed it again. I looked around for some clue as to how Cairen tanned it but came up empty. I held it out to Leola.


    “You can have it now. I’m not sure how Cairen tans them.” She closed her mouth and took it from me, moving over to a table, laying it out and getting to work on it. I peeled off the gloves and apron holding them out. Cairen turned to Lánn and William.


    “Were you watching kiddos, or did you miss it?” They nodded. Lánn’s mouth was open; William rolled his eyes. “Well, you know the drill.” They turned to each other and played rock, paper, scissors. William won. He put on the gloves and apron, then mimicked what I did until it came time to unhair it. He held the blade at the wrong angle and dug into the skin. Cairen came over and corrected him. “Like this. Don’t angle the blade down, keep it up, and move slow. Get used to the motion first or you’ll end up without anything usable.” William nodded. I started walking away. “Hold it Croí. Help Leola with her sewing, then bring me the skin and I’ll show you how we tan it.” That sounds like it could be nice. I went and sat down next to her.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    “That was impressive.” Leola said. I chuckled.


    “Thanks. I was a little uncomfortable.” She laughed.


    “Well, you didn’t look it. You looked calm and controlled.” Her hands moved quickly as she sewed up a long, jagged cut she had made near the edge of the leather.


    “Same to you.” I said pointing at her work. “You’re very graceful. I’m glad you’re the one that’ll be patching us up.” She chuckled.


    “Why, Croí, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were flirting with me.” She jested. I sighed.


    “Well, then it’s a good thing you know better, I guess.” I leaned over onto the table, resting my head on my arms as I watched.


    “What do you mean?” She asked.


    “I don’t know anything about flirting. My sisters tried to teach me, but I couldn’t figure it out.”


    “Your poor sisters. What did they say about it?” I thought about whether I should reveal any of their teachings. Thinking back on if my sisters had told me anything about this and decided I was too tired to regulate myself to that degree now.


    “Well one thing was don’t be creepy. Apparently, sometimes you’re supposed to compliment people, women specifically on certain things, but those same compliments with different wording is apparently creepy.”


    “Like what? What did they say was creepy?” I scratched my chin.


    “I’d rather not say. They said being creepy makes people less likely to talk to you. Which makes me nervous because I don’t really understand what creepy means to begin with.”


    “Well, they’re not wrong. I would elaborate for you, but it’s kind of a situational thing. It’s hard to describe.” I sat there for a minute just watching her work. When she was done, I took it over to Cairen. He laid the skin out on the floor and used a towel to dry it as much as he could, then pulled out two pouches.


    “This here.” He pulled out a bottle and a brush. “Is an incredible mixture. Crows Tears Oil, oak tree oils, alum, and vegetable tannins. We rub a solid coating of this on. Normally, we’d wait for it to dry proper like before we add the mixture, but this oughta be fine.” He poured the oil out onto the skin and moved it around with the brush until it was evenly coating the whole thing. “This here.” He held up a black powder. “Is called Charum (Car-um). She’ll bleed in deep. Stir it up, make it more willin’ to accept some change.” He sprinkled the powder across the skin. “Only a light coating mind you, otherwise it’ll get mushy, and be sure never to get it on your skin. Bad things happen.” He pointed to a portion of what looked like burn scars on his left wrist.


    I watched as the black powder spread across the surface of the skin and dissolved into it. “There now. If we let it in Kolob’s warmth for round abouts three ‘r four hours. If you avoid getting it wet, it’ll be beautifully tanned and oiled. Be as sparring as you can be with this stuff. It’s blisteringly expensive, but as you can see, it’s plenty worth it. All that’s left is scraping and buffing. Then its ready to use.” My mouth fell open in amazement. Normally those processes took days, weeks, even a full year depending on how you did it, but to see it all done in a few minutes like that…


    “It’s like magic.” I said. He laughed.


    “It is magic. Well, partly. It’s all thanks to the Crows Tears Oil and the Charum see. Without those, it won’t work.” I have to tell my brothers about this. Wait… They already know, they’ve gone through this. So why wouldn’t they use it?


    “So why don’t my brothers do it this way?” I asked. He sighed.


    “Not entirely cost effective, I’m afraid. Only used by them that need to make leather but lack the facilities. Those like Rangers, Agers, some poachers, collectors, or folk who want to charge a fortune for their work. Elsewise, better just stick with the old tried and true methods.” That makes sense. “Well, best check on the others. Run along now if you like lad.” He said, smiling and patting my shoulder.


    I waited around for a minute, enjoying the fresh air and warmth of Kolob, as well as the commotion caused by the group. A crewman came up and rang the bell for break, and the group moved below deck to get started on dinner.


    I stayed for a while but eventually joined them. We had pork that night with eggs and pickles. Pickles were new for me. At first, they were too intense, too salty and sour, like eating vinegar, but after mixing them with the other food, I eventually grew to like the taste of them, and their satisfying crunch.


    Then Céírde and Flint lead us in a study of the Redback, a large four-armed forest dwelling creature, from a group of creatures called primates. It usually traveled in groups and was incredibly fast and strong, often uprooting or ramming through trees that got in between it and its prey. They were aggressively territorial pack animals as well. I’d never seen anything like it. Apparently, there were all kinds of primates. Primates unnerved me because of how humanoid they were, they seemed so similar to the human’s I’d seen, but so different, covered in hair, with a prominent brow, and flared nostrils. The more I looked, the more differences there were, but the initial similarities were still unnerving.


    Flint and Céírde also pointed out a three-foot caterpillar called the Spotted Fang. It acted like a regular caterpillar for the most part, but when it spotted anything with blood in its veins, it used two teeth like stingers on its rear end to paralyze its victim. It would then fill up on their blood. Ordinarily it wouldn’t drink enough blood to kill a Cianían or an Iéo or something like that, but the victim would remain immobile for up to four hours. More than enough time for any number of creatures to feast on them. Once they had their fill and reached maturity, they wove blood red cocoons and emerged as giant black and blood red moths but kept their teeth like pincers as fangs. Hence the new name, Fang Moth.


    Not to be confused with the Blood Moth, a moth that was attracted to recently spilled blood but was otherwise harmless. Unless you ate it. It had eggs that would cling to the inside of whatever consumed it. The eggs would hatch into larvae that would lay more eggs in the body and eat their way out, eventually leaving nothing but a strange red moss like shape of whatever had consumed it.


    Armed with this nightmare inducing information, and some new Common words, we went to bed. The next days were filled with more lessons starting with rigorous exercise and ending in increasingly painful choke holds and twisting grapples. Rarely, Sacae would swap me out for Klintock or Jael, but would quickly switch back. Three days into the week, and I was completely beat. It was difficult to lie down at night in a way that didn’t agitate a bruise or an inflamed joint. I had given up on going above deck because my legs were in too much pain. I could force it, but I preferred not to. Mostly I used my break to take a small nap and wait for the noise of people eating to wake me.


    Edorin came in for one of his usual observational periods on the fourth day.


    “Sacae.” He said.


    “Yes Captain?” Sacae asked.


    “Is Croí always your partner?”


    “Absolutely not. I change out sometimes.” Sometimes being the optimal word there. I saw a slight look of disbelief cross Edorin’s eyes.


    “Very well. Long as all of them are ready.” Edorin warned.


    “Absolutely Captain. I’ll whip them into shape.” Sacae promised with a wide grin. Edorin nodded and walked off into the galley. “So.” Sacae said, rubbing his hands together. “Who wants to do some pull ups?”


    “Not me.” Klintock jested.


    “Ha, ha, very clever.” Sacae said sarcastically. “Now let’s get to it.” Sacae was strangely lenient the next day. Switching me out for Jael and Klintock more often. Having me be the one to perform the moves instead of the other two. At first, I was worried for Jael and Klintock, but they were more vocal about what did and didn’t hurt, and I noticed he was a lot gentler with them. So, it’s just me for some reason? Maybe it’s because I don’t speak up. Maybe I’ll try tapping out more often and see tomorrow.


    During break that day, Lánn and Leola were sitting in the galley with the three tanned leather hides.


    “What’re you two doing with those?” Klintock questioned.


    “We are going to make clothing with them. We were debating on who for and what kind though.” Leola explained.


    “Should I get everyone down here to talk about it?” Jael asked.


    “Yes please.” Leola said, smiling. After a few minutes, Sable came running into the room past Leola and Lánn.


    “Pants!” She turned to them, having to double back. “I want pants!” She slammed her hands down onto the table with a wide grin. Lánn and Leola recoiled in surprise.


    “Why pants?” Lánn asked.


    “Because I’m so small! You know what I mean.” She said pointing at Lánn, who nodded agreement. Sable continued her explanation to Leola. “They keep sagging. If it wasn’t for my hips they would fall right off. I have to pull them up regularly.” She pulled the front of her shirt up just enough for Leola to see that she had made a makeshift belt out of a rope. Lánn raised her hand slightly.


    “I don’t have hips, so I had to sew mine shorter at the top. They’re still uncomfortable.” Flint walked in.


    “I want a hat.” We looked at him.


    “Why?” Klintock asked. Flint shrugged.


    “I’ve never had a hat. Why not?”


    “I think we should start with pants for Sable and go from there.” Klintock scoffed.


    “Agreed.” Céírde said from the corner. “Pants for Sable, then we decide from there. I’ll notify Keokin.”


    “Very well then. Come over here Sable, and we’ll decide on a style for you.” Leola said, pointing to her side of the table. Lánn grabbed some of the leather and draped it around Sable’s legs, checking for sizing.


    “Who’s up for some fishing?” Klintock questioned. Flint, Céírde, Jael, and William all raised their hands. My legs hadn’t recovered, so I stayed seated. “Alright let’s do it.” They grabbed the equipment and went above deck. I turned to see the girls hard at work.


    “I need to be able to move freely in them. I do a lot of flips, acrobatics, jumping, running, crouching, stuff like that. So maybe make them baggy.” Lánn put her hand on her chin.


    “Except if they’re made of leather they won''t breathe very well. They’ll get really hot, and you’re supposed to be quiet right? If there’s too much extra material, they’ll make noise.”


    “You’re right. Maybe we should do something else.” Sable sighed.


    “Not yet.” Leola started. “I think if we make them form fit, we’ll only use one and a half of the hides, and if we add in parts from your old pants to certain areas, they’ll breathe better, will be flexible, and quiet.” Lánn squinted back and forth from the leather to Sable, nodding.


    “I think you’re right. It could work.” They all smiled at each other. Lánn and Sable picked up the materials and ran into our room.


    “Hey Croí.” I looked up at Leola.


    “Yeah?” I asked.


    “We’re going to be fitting Sable in there, is there any way we can block off the door?” She asked.


    “Block it off? Why?”


    “Because she won’t have her pants on, we don’t want anyone to walk in on that.”


    “Right. Well. I could sit or lay against it, or we could unfasten a table and shove it against the door. If the ocean is calm enough, it shouldn’t be a problem.”


    “Still.” Leola began. “I don’t like the idea of breaking down the door with a table. Would you mind blocking the door?” I shook my head.


    “Not at all.”


    “Ever the gentleman. Thanks, Croí.” I nodded and walked slowly over to the door, plopping down in front of it as soon as she passed into the room. Now to nap.


    * * * * *


    * * * * *


    I woke up to the door opening and me falling through it.


    “Oh.” Lánn said laughing. “Sorry Croí. Are you ok?” I nodded sleepily.


    “I’m fine, just fell asleep. All done?”


    “Not yet, it’s dinner time.” She said.


    “Right.” I started getting up. As I was standing, my left leg gave out and I dropped, momentarily groaning from the surge of pain.


    “Are you alright?” Leola asked.


    “Fine. Leg just fell asleep.” I lied, finally getting to my feet and hobbling over to sit at a table.


    “Are you sure you’re ok?” Leola asked. I groaned as I sat down.


    “Yeah. I’m fine don’t worry about it. So, what’s for dinner?”


    “We’re eating some pork and beef stew.” Lánn answered enthusiastically. “I’m excited for it. Oh, speaking of.” She put down her sewing things and ran back into the kitchen to help. Leola gathered up the materials and left them in our room. I waited for dinner to be ready, listening to the others chat.


    I liked the contrast between the two types of meat and the flavors they brought to the dish. I was still finishing off my bowl when Flint told us about the Arrowhead Snake. Snakes were new to all of us, as we didn’t have any on Ionad Talún.


    It was a snake that lived primarily in tunnels or caves but would venture out at night. It was black with a white arrowhead like design on its head. It had no venom but had large teeth it would latch onto prey with and either crush them after coiling its body around them or swallow them whole. Its head usually measured two feet in length, but apparently, they never stopped growing until they died, and nobody knew how long they lived. One was found and killed with a six-foot-long head.


    Céírde told us about Mace wood, a tree that was shaped like a flanged mace turned upside down. It had no branches, but was partially hollow, allowing it to fill itself up with water. It introduced minerals into the water to keep it fresh, so you could drink directly from it. However, it would introduce poisonous minerals if the water got below a certain level. Probably where the water filtering stone would come in handy.


    After learning about those creatures and having another Common lesson, we started playing cards while getting ready to sleep. Lánn went to grab a few bedtime snacks. A few minutes later, she came sprinting back in.


    “Guys! You’ll never believe it! Cairen just told me how he lost his leg and got all his scars.” Lánn said excitedly. We looked at her with interest.


    “Go on!” Sable said.


    “Ok. He told me that he got them wrestling with a shark. How cool is that?!”


    “Wait what?” Klintock asked. “He told me a wolf took his leg.”


    “And me that he lost it in a cooking competition.” Céírde said, squinting.


    “And you two didn’t feel keen to share?” Sable asked.


    “He said it was kinda private.” Klintock said.


    “He said it was embarrassing.” Céírde said. They both looked at Lánn.


    “He told me he was brave.” Keokin laughed in the corner.


    “Looks like Cairen’s been having a bit of fun at our expense.” Sable laughed.


    “That clever little trickster.” She ran out of the room towards the kitchen. We hesitated a moment, then rushed after her. Cairen was laughing hard enough to draw tears by the time I caught up.


    “Come on! You gotta tell us the story!” Lánn begged. He shook his head.


    “That’s for me to know, and you to wonder over. After all a man needs to keep some of his mystery alive.”


    “Aww. No fair.” Sable said.


    “Although…” Cairen said, catching some of the group’s attention. “Old Z might’ve overheard me tellin that tale. I made him promise not to tell… Though, maybe he can be persuaded.” Cairen said with a mischievous grin. Sable and Lánn glanced at each other, then sprinted off to find Zanataz. I snickered, enjoying their enthusiasm, and decided I’d head back to the room with Leola, Céírde, and Keokin. I was tired, so I said goodnight, and went to sleep.


    * * * * *


    * * * * *


    The next day, training returned to normal. Sacae was more focused and brutal than usual. I decided to try tapping out, but like the first time I tried, he didn’t let go immediately, instead he would wrench whatever limb he had even harder. It was even worse when Jael and Klintock were in a position where they couldn’t see me tapping. Why is he so harsh with me? Did I do something to anger him? When? What? I decided to ask at the end of the session and waited for several painful hours for the bell.


    After the bell rang, I followed Sacae.


    “Sacae?” I called.


    “Yes Croí?” I felt nervous. I’d thought about how to ask the question but now my mind wasn’t cooperating. All the sentences I’d calmly planned to say vanished.


    “I was wondering… I mean thinking…”


    “Come on Croí spit it out, I’ve got things I need to tend to.” He said it with a smile, but he looked angry.


    “Sorry. I was just wondering if I did something to anger you?” He laughed.


    “No. No of course not. Are you saying I’m being too rough on you? Too harsh for you to take?” Why is he saying it like that? Why would he think that?


    “No, I just…”


    “Then what are you saying Croí?” He asked. His mouth smiled, but his eyes made me feel uncomfortable.


    “It’s just that…Well, whenever I tapped today, you kept going, just a bit, but it made me wonder if I did something to make you mad. I don’t mean anything by it.”


    “Well, I thought you could take it. Figured you were just tougher than the others which is why I always use you. I mean when I went through my Aging, I was paired with your brother Ríger. I could never get him to tap, no matter how hard I went. I guess I was just trying to see if you were made of the same stuff. I guess not. I’ll swap you out for Klintock or Jael tomorrow…” He started walking away.


    “Wait.” I want to be like my brothers. I want to toughen up so I can be a proper shield brother. If this is how Ríger did it then I’ll push through the pain. I’ll deal with it too. Sacae turned slightly.


    “Yes?”


    “Don’t swap. I can take it. I just didn’t want to make you mad, is all.” He nodded; his smile made me nervous.


    “Very well Croí. I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow then.” I walked back into the galley to find the girls getting ready to work on Sable’s pants.


    “Croí. Would you mind watching the door again? I swear this time I’ll warn you when I open it.” Lánn said, smiling. I nodded and gave a weak smile.


    “Sure, no problem.” I sat against the door and listened to them giggle and laugh while they worked. At one point Sable convinced Lánn and Leola to arm wrestle her and beat them both. She claimed it was all thanks to her training under Gathaen her mentor. She talked about how muscular and handsome he was and how they should meet him or try to make a shirt for him so they could see him shirtless. I chuckled lightly to myself, enjoying listening to them having fun until eventually I drifted off.


    At dinner we learned of the Ciorcal Fiacla, or Tooth Circle, that I had found before. It lived on a specific area of the Island; a long ellipse shaped territory known as the Trench. It was a trench of marshland in-between two, roughly, one hundred and eighty-foot-tall cliff faces, inhabited by all manner of horrors, but if you made it past the Trench and scaled the wall to the central area, you would reach Haven. This area inside the Trench was known as a primarily safe location full of useful flora and fauna, being home to very few predators.


    As for the Ciorcal Fiacla, the circle of their teeth was usually three to five feet in diameter. The center was usually covered in a light layer of mud, dirt, or leaves, supported by a tongue like appendage that would drop as soon as a creature stepped on it. It would then launch out of the ground and use its many teeth and four spiked appendages to ensnare the creature and swallow it.


    We also learned of a dragon like creature with six legs that fed on the Ciorcal Fiacla specifically but wasn’t picky if hungry. It was called Na Trí Méara (Naw Tree May-raw) or Three Fingers, named so because it had a tongue with three finger like appendages on it, two on top and one on the bottom, and in the center was a two-and-a-half-foot retractable spike that it used to impale its prey. The fingers would wrap around and keep the prey in place as it reeled them back in to eat through a separated bottom jaw. Na Trí Méara had an armored plate on the front of its head and waterlogged hairs hanging out from the separation in its bottom jaw that it would use to dilute the acid from the worms it ate.


    Once we finished our lessons, it was off to bed. I acted as Sacae’s ragdoll for the next three days, and I worked on trying to see the pain as a good thing or shrug it off like it didn’t exist. Didn’t work at all. My only joy came from being useful as a doorstop for the girls on my break. One of the times I was thrown, I ended on my back looking up at Edorin. I saluted him, forcing my body to attention while lying on the floor.


    “Captain.” I said. He smiled quizzically.


    “At ease.” He bent down to help me up. Sacae and the others noticed and saluted him. Sacae smiled like the others, but his eyes seemed almost fearful.


    “Captain.” They said.


    “At ease.” Edorin said. I winced as one of his hands pressed against a sizeable bruise on my ribs. His brows came together, and he squinted for a moment questioningly, then glanced at Sacae and back to me. “Training going well Croí?” I looked up into his piercing eyes and was immediately nervous, looking at the floor instead as I answered.


    “Yes… Captain, just fine.” He made a small hmm noise then glanced at Sacae again and walked out, leaning over, and whispering to Keokin. I looked back to see Sacae glaring at me angrily for a moment.


    “Ok then kids. Looks like we gotta switch things up. I’ll see you all tomorrow to start your fourth week off right.” Four weeks. Man, it feels a lot longer than that. This is torturous. Well, time to be a doorstop. I wonder if the girls are done with Sable’s pants yet. I found my answer as I was yet again sitting in front of the door during break. I noticed Céírde and Flint walking through the galley, and an opportunity crossed my mind.


    “Hey. What are you two up to?” I asked.


    “We’re heading in to grab a snack before dinner. Just a roll or something. Why?”


    “Once you do, would you mind telling me about tonight’s creatures? I’m planning on getting to bed early.” They looked at each other.


    “Sure. Sounds good to me.” Flint replied. Flint sat down and talked to me while Céírde grabbed the rolls, with one extra for me. They told me about the Spitting Shadow, a creature that would blend in with its environment and mimic sounds of its prey until they got close. Then from the shadows it would spit a caustic liquid, targeting the limbs of prey, and trying to sever them. Once the prey left, the Shadow, looking like a sting ray that had loosely wrapped its wings around itself, would emerge to consume the limbs.


    There was also a creature called the Boulder Beetle, a large beetle that disguised itself as a boulder. Simple as that. Wasn’t dangerous unless provoked, then it would attempt to roll over and crush its attackers. I thanked them for the early lesson and moved aside as the girls left the room, closing the door behind them.


    “Well, they’re all finished.” Leola said excitedly. Lánn hopped up and down, enthusiastically clapping.


    “Let’s see them then.” Céírde said smiling.


    “Wait a second.” Leola ran around gathering the group to the galley, then called to Sable. “Ok, you can come out.” The door opened and Sable walked out.


    I was stunned. I watched as Sable turned, twirled, and posed in her new pants. The back of the knees and part of the back of the calf and front of her crotch were made from her old pants to help them breathe and keep quiet, but the rest was a somewhat shining black leather. I could see the muscles in her legs move through them as she posed. I got that feeling in my stomach again, but much stronger, and my heart started racing. The more I looked, the faster my heartbeat, until I noticed a very strange feeling. I glanced around to see everybody focused on Sable, paying her compliments which made her move more, making my heart pound harder.


    What is going… My thought was cut short by a feeling I had never felt. Something was moving, down below. What is this?! I moved backwards a few feet and sat down at a table as I noticed ‘it,’ whatever ‘it’ was, becoming more and more visible. Shaking with a newfound fear, I stared down at the table and took deep breaths. Why is it like this? Does it go back eventually? How do I make it go away? I looked around to make sure nobody noticed me. Is it happening to anyone else? I looked around at the other guys in the group. Nothing.


    “How do they feel?” Leola questioned.


    “They’re amazing. I hardly notice them, and I don’t have to keep pulling them up.”


    “I’m delighted to hear it.” Leola said smiling.


    “Me too.” Lánn chimed in. Klintock leaned in and whispered to Flint and Keokin, they all nodded and Klintock spoke up.


    “That settles it. You guys should make another pair, for Céírde this time though.” Leola looked at him questioningly.


    “Why?” Klintock thought for a second.


    “Well… because… because she’s always off on her own. It would be good for her to spend some time with you ladies.” Céírde shook her head.


    “I’m too busy for…”


    “Yes! Let’s do it!” Lánn yelled, interrupting Céírde. “Come on Céírde. I want to make more. They’re so fun to make and look how cute they are.” She pointed at Sable who wiggled, standing on her toes. I was breathing heavily, trying to avert my eyes from Sable, finding it difficult, and trying to see if breathing would make it go away. Go away. Leave me alone! What are you and why are you doing this? I focused on my breathing as I closed my eyes.


    “It only takes a week at most, so it won’t take up much training time.” Leola said to reassure Céírde. I ventured a glance to see how things were turning out, trying to avoid Sable. Céírde sighed with a slight smile on her face. My new visitor finally started to calm down. Thank Fomhár! I continued my breathing until I could feel it returning to normal.


    “Alright, I’ll do it.” Lánn, Leola and Sable squealed with excitement. “Now let’s eat.” They all started walking towards the kitchen.


    “Croí.” Leola said. I jumped in my seat.


    “Uh! Yeah?” She raised an eyebrow at me.


    “You ok? You coming to eat?”


    “Uh… Yeah.” She motioned for me to follow her.


    “Come on then.” I took another breath or two then slowly slid off the chair, keeping a watchful eye on the area as I stood, happy to find the ‘terrain’ was back to normal. I looked up to see her even more confused.


    “What is it? Something wrong?” I shook my head and caught up with her.


    “No, of course not, just a little sore from training is all.” I lied. She nodded and shrugged, and we went to eat dinner. After dinner I went immediately to bed, wanting to get some extra sleep and horrified that whatever happened would happen again.