I was up early the next morning, sitting at the table closest to the training room, finishing my rolls, when I saw Gathaen come down. He gave me a slight nod, and I nodded back.


    “Seen Sacae yet?” He asked.


    “Not yet. He might be in the training room.”


    “Thanks.” He said, moving into the training room. A few moments later, Gathaen returned, stopping near the bottom of the stairs and waved towards the stern. I followed his gaze to find Sacae smiling and waving back to him.


    “Morning Gathaen. To what do I owe the pleasure?”


    “Ready?” Gathaen asked simply. Sacae looked a bit nervous, scratching the back of his head.


    “Fraid not. Think they’ll need another week.”


    “A week?” Gathaen asked. Sacae nodded.


    “Fraid so.” Gathaen made a deep sigh.


    “Why?”


    “Got one a bit slow on the uptake. Should be sorted by next week though.” Gathaen stared at Sacae for a moment, then nodded.


    “Fine. I’ll tell the others.”


    “Much appreciated. I’ll get right to work on them.” Sacae said, smiling. But as soon as Gathaen left, his smile dropped. He pointed to our room. “Get Klintock and Jael for me would ya Croí?”


    “Yes sir.” I said, stuffing the last of the roll in. We immediately jumped straight into an intense training session.


    “Harder Klintock.” Sacae urged. We had been training for nearly seven hours, and now Klintock had clamped his arms around my neck harder and my airway was closed off. “There you go. Now his airway is completely blocked. If you just hold it like that for a bit, he’ll pass out. Of course, there is another choke that is far more effective that I’ve been meaning to teach all of you.” I started getting tunnel vision. “Ok you can let go now.” Klintock released and I gasped.


    “You good Croí?” Klintock asked as he put a hand on my shoulder.


    “Yeah Croí.” Sacae said bluntly. “You good?” I looked up to see him nearly glaring at me.


    “Fine. Let’s move on.” I nodded.


    “Good boy Croí.” Sacae said. He moved behind me, a second later I felt his left hand on the back of my head, and his right arm looped around my neck and interlocked into his left elbow. Suddenly, I felt enormous pressure on both sides of my neck. “This is called the Blood Choke.” A few seconds later, my head started to feel a little light, and I felt uncomfortable. I blinked slowly.


    “Croí are you ok? Are you ok?” I jolted awake, suddenly aware of every detail in the room. Jael and Klintock looming over me, wrinkles in between their brows and across their forehead, conveying concern. Sweat had built on both of them from the exercise we had done today. Sweat I could smell, along with the scent of wood from the ship. What just happened? How did I get on the floor? I shot up. My vision seemed delayed, and my head was fuzzy.


    “What…” I felt the pain of a headache. “What happened?” I asked. Sacae crouched over me.


    “I choked you out. Knocked you unconscious with the blood choke. When properly applied, it only takes ten seconds, well, most of the time less than that.” I could feel Jael and Klintock’s hands holding me up.


    “It was weird. One second you were up, then you looked sleepy and then you were out.” Klintock explained. Jael turned to Sacae.


    “Did you have to do that?” She asked. Sacae nodded.


    “I plan to do it to all of you. I want you to know what you’re doing to someone when you use that move.” I lightly shook my head, trying to get rid of the headache, only to make it slightly worse. “Don’t worry. I’ll do it one at a time, then you have the next hour to get ready for dinner. As Jael won exercises today, I’ll supervise her on Klintock, then once he’s awake, I’ll knock her out. All clear?” Jael and Klintock looked to me.


    “What was it like?”


    “Does it hurt?” They asked simultaneously. I thought for a moment. My brain felt, foggy.


    “Not really. I felt uncomfortable for a moment, strange. Then I woke up with a start. I have a bit of a headache and my brain feels… slow. I guess.” They looked at each other and sighed, saying.


    “Ok. Let’s do this.” Sacae got them both on the ground and guided Jael’s arms around Klintock’s throat and told her how and where to apply pressure. I saw Klintock’s eyes convey discomfort.


    “Like this?” Jael asked. Klintock’s eyes started to look sleepy.


    “Just like that. Keep going.” Klintock’s eyes closed. Sacae waited one second, then tapped her arm. She released quickly and he started to fall over. Jael caught him and rolled him over onto his back.


    “Is he ok?” She asked, eyes wide. Sacae nodded as he put Klintock’s feet up.


    “He’ll be fine. The blood choke is great for safe knockouts. It’s rare that something goes very wrong. Unless you apply it for more than ten to twelve seconds.”


    “What happens then?” Jael asked.


    “They die. Stops blood from getting to their brain for too long and they just stop functioning.” Jael looked back to Klintock, then to me and gulped. She lightly tapped Klintock’s face a few times.


    “Klintock. Klintock wake up. Come on, you ok?” She sounded worried, near frantic. My brain was still having trouble catching up with what was going on as I watched Klintock’s eyes shoot open, and he took a deep breath, looking around dazed and frantic. He groaned.


    “My head. That is so weird.”


    “There we go. Right as rain. Jael, if you don’t mind, it''s your turn now.” Jael took a deep breath, glancing at both of us, then nodded. Sacae moved in behind her, slipping his arms around her neck as me and Klintock watched. The same thing happened. She just went to sleep and Sacae laid her on the ground with her feet up. I went over and patted her cheeks.


    “Wake up Jael. Time to wake up. The headache isn’t all that bad if you don’t move too fast.” I tried to explain. She was breathing but didn’t wake up for about fifteen seconds. I was starting to worry. Then her eyes shot open, and she immediately reached up to her neck, gasping. She slowly got confused, looking at her hands as if they were foreign to her, and laid her head back down on the floor, groaning.


    “That’s so weird.” She said.


    “I know right?” Klintock agreed. Sacae laughed.


    “Well, that’s it for today. See you kids tomorrow.” He stood up and walked away. We all laid there dazed until Leola came in with Sable, Lánn and Céírde for break.


    “Are you guys ok?” Leola asked. Klintock put a thumb up for a moment. I slowly stood up as I spoke.


    “Sacae used a blood choke to knock us all out. It’s a little weird to wake up from. You get a headache and your brain feels slow for a bit.”


    “Are you ok though?” She asked. I nodded.


    “Yeah. We’re fine now.” Jael and Klintock nodded in agreement and started getting up. I walked into the galley, ready to sit by the door again. Leola just shook her head and went into the room with the others. Jael and Klintock decided to come and sit next to me. Flint woke me up later, and I realized that Klintock and Jael were both leaning on my shoulders.


    “What’s this?” He asked.


    “We got knocked out for the first time today. It’s kinda tiring. Time for my lesson?” He chuckled and nodded.


    “Sounds like you’re having fun. Kind of envy you guys. I just get filled with nightmares all day. Speaking of which.”


    He told me about the Giant Harpoon Fin, a fish with side fins resembling harpoons. It was a large fish that would only eat smaller ones. They typically grew to be roughly eight feet long and resided mostly in deeper pockets of river.


    He also told me of something classified as a jellyfish called the Hypnotic Eye. It was a glowing creature shaped like an eye when viewed from above. When viewed from the side, it was revealed that it was more of a spherical mushroom shape thirty-five feet in diameter with many dozens of tendrils dangling two hundred feet below it. Apparently, it would float up from the depths of the ocean near the surface of a particular portion of the southern cliffs, at which point it would begin glowing. Primarily it would be white or silver, with small highlights of pink throughout, and viewed from above, it created an array of shifting colors that would entrance prey to move towards it and relax. Anything that drifted into the tendrils was immediately met with shocking, searing pain and paralysis. Prey that died tangled in the tendrils would eventually be consumed over time. Being mindful not to look into the ‘eye’ too long and keeping in mind what the creature did would help prevent prey from being entranced. This meant it was generally not considered dangerous for sentient, thinking creatures.


    Cairen came out looking for Lánn to start dinner just as soon as she knocked on the door to be let out. Me and Flint woke up Klintock and Jael and moved to one of the tables to wait for food. After eating dinner, I retired to the room, early as usual. The others stayed up for a while playing cards with Cairen, or Zanataz occasionally, or talking about their days and what they had learned. I heard Leola asking some of them if they’d noticed that I’d been going to sleep early every night and telling them she was worried about me.


    Looks like I need to stop that, or they’ll get suspicious. Sacae doesn’t like it when people get suspicious.


    I did my best to toughen up over the next three days. Everybody else got busier as well, coming back later from training looking tired or sore. I asked Lánn about it and she said that all of them were doing special things with Zanataz, and it was a secret. I accepted it and moved on, but kind of missed sitting at the door for them. Blocking the door made me feel strangely useful after doing nothing but getting beat all day.


    Days later, on the morning of the sixth day of the fourth week, Zanataz was standing in the galley. I noticed him wave, but not at me. I looked down the hall to see Sacae walking over.


    “Good morning Zanataz.” I said as I moved into the kitchen. Zanataz smiled and nodded at me.


    “Good morning Croí.” I got my usual roll and cheese but hesitated before leaving the kitchen as I heard them speaking.


    “…were supposed to be ready to join the others by now. What’s the holdup?” Zanataz asked.


    “One particular student is slower on the uptake than…” Zanataz interrupted.


    “Then you would like. I’ve heard that excuse already.” He said.


    “It’s no excuse Zanataz. He’s a special case. Like I’ve been telling the other mentors.”


    “Really? I find that hard to believe. I don’t see him as being all that difficult.”


    “He’s been difficult since day one. He shows plenty of promise, but he’s real particular with how he learns. He’s close though. Shouldn’t take more than a week.” Sacae said.


    “A week? You’re joking right?”


    “Fraid not. Look I’m frustrated too. Him being a Geal and all, I planned on him being more like the rest of his family, but he just isn’t.” Sacae said sweetly. Geal? Wait, they’re talking about me? My heart sank. I’m holding everyone up? How? I’ve been doing everything I’m told. Maybe it’s because I conserve my strength sometimes. But if I don’t, I can’t last all day. It’s too painful.


    “All the more reason to start group training. More mentors means more teaching styles and more eyes.” Zanataz said.


    “That’s not the problem. I know how to teach him. I’ll admit though, kid was hard to figure out.”Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    “So why not join now? Or at least let me join in from now on?” Zanataz asked.


    “You can if you’d like, but it would be counterproductive. You know his type. He’s timid and nervous. Extra pairs of eyes all over the room will make it worse. I’m just at the last stages of getting him used to being watched, breaking the shell. You see how he socializes now. That’s all my doing.” Sacae pleaded. Zanataz huffed.


    “It should not have taken you this long.” Zanataz accused.


    “I know. I’m sorry. Just… Trust me. I know he’ll be ready; I just need a little more time.” There was a pause. “It’s my last journey on the Pony Zanataz. I just want to make sure this is done right. Please.” Zanataz made an irritated grunt.


    “Fine. I’ll tell Edorin. He’ll have the final say.”


    “That’s all I ask. Thank you.” Zanataz didn’t say anything. I heard both of them walk away. Am I really that weak? I can’t let that happen. I have to toughen up. I can’t let myself hold back the others. I pushed out into the galley and eagerly waited for the others so we could start training. “Today, we will practice sparring.” Sacae announced.


    “Sparring?” Jael asked.


    “Yes. I’ve been teaching you dozens of moves for nearly four weeks. It’s time to see you put it to the test. These will be mock battles in which you will try to get your opponent to tap out to win. Just don’t go breaking anything. Winning isn’t that important yet.”


    “Ok. So, do we just start hitting each other or something?” Jael asked. Sacae laughed.


    “No. Square off. Face each other with your stance like this.” He crouched down slightly with his hands up in a defensive stance facing me. I mimicked him, realizing it was demonstration time. “Then when one of you says go, we attack each other and try to pin or tap out our opponent.” They took a step back. I was nervous. I’d taken beatings from him before, but I was expecting them. Now he could use any move at any time, and how was I supposed to defend myself against him. I’d only practiced with my brothers, and with Sacae it had only been ‘practice’ taking blows, not dealing, or avoiding them. Jael breathed in.


    “Go.” Sacae didn’t dive straight in, he started rocking back and forth from his front to his back foot. He lunged then stopped mid lunge. I flinched and he smiled. He threw his hands out and, again, I flinched. A small chuckle came from him. I was getting more and more nervous.


    Maybe I should just make a move. Waiting is driving me nuts. If I’m going to get beat, at least I can decide when. I targeted his leg and dove in for it, trying to wrap it up. His leg vanished as he jumped back and he pushed on my back, shoving me to my hands and knees. I tried to swipe out with my left hand and grab an ankle, but he reached down and caught my wrist. I immediately felt pain as he twisted my wrist. I looked up and analyzed the situation. He had my left hand and was twisting the pinky around to try and meet my thumb.


    If I can free up the twist and pull hard, I should be able to free myself. I put my legs beneath myself and pushed, rolled, and pulled my arm free. As I was standing, Sacae lunged for me, grabbing ahold of my right leg, and threw it to the side. All my weight dropped onto my left knee, slamming into the hardwood floor. I hissed in pain. He moved behind me, wrapping my neck up with his arms and stepped on my left calf so I couldn’t stand. I was trapped, sitting there squirming, grasping at his arms trying to tear them away as he tightened his grip.


    “You’re weak Croí.” He whispered in my ear.


    “Wha…” I gasped.


    “You’re weak. Like Ríger was.” Why is he saying this? Is this another of his stupid ‘tests’ to see how we react? I shoved my left hand up, forcing it in between his arm and my neck. “Maybe I’ll switch targets though. Give you a break.” Think Croi, think. All of his weights behind me, if I do the window move, I could toss him. It’ll hurt my calf, but it’ll break his hold. I leaned back into him slowly, trying to push him back and make the move more effective when I leaned forward. “But which one of them should I target? You obviously can’t take it. Edorin’s noticing you limping around, taking naps. I can’t have that.” He taunted.


    “Come on Croí! Don’t give up! Protect the throat!” Jael yelled, worry on her face. I could feel the blood rushing to my head, and the lack of air as I gasped.


    “Follow her advice like a good little boy. Or how about this. I’ll use Jael. She’s gotten so strong; it’ll be fun to break her.” I focused everything I had on curling forward and to the right, then twisting left. To my amazement, it worked, and I still had hold of his right arm. He flipped over me, but at the last second, twisted himself to nearly land on his feet. I fumbled, trying to pull up on his wrist, and down on his elbow and lock his arm, but he just used his strength to pull me towards him.


    I leaned back trying to wrench my arm free, but his grip was too strong. He yanked on my arm, stepped back, and pulled me past him then let go, sending me sprawling across the floor. I’d barely stood when I felt his hand on my wrist, pulling me in again, but this time he tripped me, making the tumble more painful.


    The third time, he grabbed my right wrist, twisted his back into my chest, and pulled my arm over his right shoulder as he bent over. My legs left the ground, and I swung through the air, landing flat on my back. I laid there breathless, cringing in pain as he stood over me talking idly to Klintock and Jael. “…and that’s the best way to continuously loop throws. Because he couldn’t recover fast enough, I had free reign over how I wanted the fight to go. If he had capitalized on his throw earlier, things might’ve gone differently. If he wasn’t weak, his throw could’ve been much harder, that’s why we’ll be starting strength training…”


    Sure. You being significantly bigger, stronger, and more experienced had nothing to do with it. Then it hit, he was distracted. Just for a second, he looked up as he was talking to the other two. His stance was leisurely, most of his weight on the right leg. I moved quickly, snatched his left ankle, put it under my armpit, and rolled. It forced him to the floor and twisted his ankle painfully.


    Tap out! I’ll show you weak! I felt his hand on my leg, then the change in elevation as he pushed himself onto his free leg. He smiled. He rolled away from me, yanking his leg free. As I scrambled to my feet, he rolled back. I backstepped, trying to gain distance, but he caught my free left leg, twisted, and lifted it, before forcing me into the ground. He imitated me, locking my foot in his armpit and twisting, but unlike me, he had used his legs to pin me. I couldn’t stand, twist, or yank my way out of it. I pulled with my arms, trying to drag my way out, until I felt a pop in my left ankle. I yelled through my teeth in pain. He pulled harder, spreading the pain up to my knee.


    “Tap out Croí. Come on.” Klintock said, urging me to stop the fight. I reached for any part of Sacae, trying to turn this around, not to win, just to stop the pain and panic. He was too far away from me, and he twisted my leg further. I could all but feel the bones in my ankle starting to dislocate. I pounded the ground three times and Sacae released. I felt a tendon pop back into place. I grunted through my teeth from the pain and anger. I felt the hands of Jael and Klintock as they rushed over to check on me.


    “Now that was a fight Croí. I had to pull out more than a few tricks. I’m impressed.” Sacae said. I rolled over onto my back and sat up.


    “Are you ok?” Jael questioned. I looked at Sacae. There was a menacing feel to his eyes and smile as he glanced at Jael, raising an eyebrow, and widening his smile. I understood what it meant. I nodded.


    “I’m fine now. That move just messes with your leg a bit. It’s you and Klintock’s turn now. Don’t be stupid like me, ok?” Klintock shook his head, chuckling.


    “Stupid’s not the right word for you Croí.” Sure it is. Thinking I could beat Sacae. Thinking I was anything but weak. I’m a punching bag. And I’ll keep it that way so neither of you have to be. Sacae clapped his hands together.


    “Now then you two. Square up, and when I say go…” They nodded and walked to a more open area. Sacae circled around them and crouched near me. “Go.” They danced around each other, searching for an opening. “I wasn’t lying. You’re not bad, but I didn’t lie about you being weak. You moping around all the time is making Edorin think I’m not doing my job. I’m training all of you for that Island Croí. I’m going to toughen you up like I did your brother. He survived, right? But if Edorin so much as looks my way again because of you, I’ll give up on you and switch to Jael. You get me?” Jael grabbed Klintock’s hand and flipped him over, trying to put him in an arm bar, but Klintock reversed the hold, pulling her in and pinning her neck against his shin while pulling on both of her arms. So, it’s special training. Like what he did when we met him. I hate it. But it’s me feeling pain or them. I sighed and nodded.


    “I’ll do better.” He smiled and sat back, folding his arms as Jael tapped on Klintock’s arm.


    “Good Little Croí.” Sacae said in a small voice. I don’t like when he calls me that. I only like it when Bacta says it. It makes me feel uncomfortable. It feels more like a taunt than a nickname.


    “Dang. I really thought I had you. You’re slippery.” Jael said, helping Klintock up.


    “Ok then. Looks like it’s back to me and Croí.” Sacae turned to me. “Be sure to give it your all.” He said. I nodded. For four hours, I continued to fight against Sacae, only taking small breaks to watch when Jael and Klintock sparred.


    By the end of it, the three of us were too exhausted to do anything but sit in the galley come break time, but I grabbed a book and forced myself to stay awake. If I was seen slacking off in any way, they would be punished.


    Flint came by and told me about the Blind Salamander, a ten-foot-long lizard that preyed in thigh deep water. It had no eyes but could feel movement through the water up to eighty feet away.


    The Rolling Caterpillar was a carnivorous, five foot tall and twenty-five-foot-long armored caterpillar. When it spotted prey, it would roll itself into a donut shape and, using its thick armored shell covered in spikes, it would run the prey over, then eat them.


    I showed him a creature that I had learned about called the Corpse Stalker. It was another giant caterpillar-like creature. Five feet tall, and fifteen feet long. It had an armored hide as well, though it was more like armored rings with small feet. On one end was the mouth, circular with many rows of long teeth leading into the mouth. Just below the mouth it had two small limbs like appendages that would scrape up dead creatures or bones and shovel them into its mouth. It moved very slowly and would only eat dead creatures. There was a drawing of a Cianían waving from directly in front of the mouth, even touching some of the teeth.


    The others filed into the galley, all seeming exhausted but satisfied. They had towels on their shoulders and were hungry and thirsty. I recognized these symptoms as my own after every day of training with Sacae. Were they all training in combat? Who with? I decided to test my theory.


    “Good workout today?” I asked Sable. She nodded.


    “Yeah, really good. Though not as hard as the other days.” Céírde nudged her.


    “Learn any cool moves?” I asked. Sable looked at Céírde, both looking confused.


    “How did you know?” Céírde asked. I smiled triumphantly.


    “Oh, that was dirty.” Sable said, glaring. “But also, very clever.” She couldn’t help but smile and neither could I. I’d fallen prey to that very same tactic many times with my family. It felt nice to finally be on the winning end of that trick. The familiar deep tapping of Edorin’s boots made us all look over as he entered the room with Keokin.


    “Captain.” We said collectively with a salute.


    “At ease.”


    “Captain, I’m sorry, we spilled the beans.” Sable blurted out. “We didn’t mean to. Croí tricked us.” She pointed at me. I huffed a laugh and smirked. Edorin held up a hand.


    “That’s fine Sable. That’s why I’m here. I’m going to be making an announcement to the crew before dinner is served. So, Cairen.” We all turned to see Cairen poking his head out from the kitchen.


    “Yes Captain?”


    “Don’t put the food out like usual. I’ll send the crew down after the announcement.”


    “Yes Captain.” Cairen said.


    “That’s one hour for Lánn and William to help with dinner tonight. The rest of you will meet above deck when the bell is rung. Understood?”


    “Yes Captain.” We said at once.


    “Very good.” He turned and walked away, leaving Keokin with us.


    “So… What is it?” Klintock asked Keokin. Keokin looked at all of our curious faces.


    “I can’t say. Just wait for an hour or so and find out like everyone else.”


    “Oh, come on, you’ve got to be able to at least hint at it.” Flint pressed.


    “Fine.” Keokin said, thinking. “It’s something that will help our whole group, some more than others, eventually. That’s all I can say.” We all thought about it for a minute, unsure what to think about it.


    “Well, at least it’s beneficial.” Céírde stated.


    “Yeah. I was worried we were in trouble or something.” Lánn followed with a sigh of relief. I stood up and started my journey above deck. I wanted to take my time. Unfortunately, I was followed by everyone but Lánn and William who went into the kitchen to help Cairen. Once above deck, I separated myself from the group, walking to the bow of the ship. I peered off into the distance looking for anything that resembled islands or creatures. Far off to my right I could see dark clouds and the occasional lightning bolts but that was it. There wasn’t even much wind blowing. I heard footfalls coming from behind me and turned to see Jael and Klintock.


    “Hey Croí. We just talked to Sacae. He wanted us to tell you that he’s introducing striking the day after tomorrow.” I moaned quietly.


    “I’m excited. I always loved striking.” Klintock answered. Jael agreed. You haven’t been Sacae’s dummy for four weeks. And now he’s moving on to striking?


    “Great… That sounds great.” I lied. Klintock raised an eyebrow.


    “You don’t sound very excited.”


    “I did some training in striking with my brothers. Some of them couldn’t pull their punches and I guess I just had a bad experience with it.” A partial lie.


    “Makes sense, but don’t worry, we’ll go easy on you.” Jael said smiling as she nudged my shoulder. I winced from pain, bringing my hand up to the large bruise she had unknowingly hit. She looked at me, confused and worried.


    “Gotcha.” I said, faking a slight smile. She scoffed and shook her head.


    “Yeah you did.”


    “Yeah. You were just… too tough for me there ya know.” I said, trying to keep the joke going. She held up her fist, flexing her bicep.


    “You could bet on that every time.” She said. Klintock laughed at her, and she slugged him in the arm. He still laughed but not as hard. The bell rang five times to signify gathering on deck. We could hear the chatting of the entire crew that had gathered outside of the Captain’s quarters. We started to make our way over to hear Edorin’s announcement, the door opened, and he emerged with Zanataz.


    “Captain.” We all said, saluting.


    “At attention.” He said. All the crew straightened up with their heels together, shoulders back, and arms to their sides. Our group followed suit as Edorin spoke.


    “Tomorrow marks the end of our fourth week on this voyage. As a point of celebration, I have been preparing what should be a fair bit of entertainment. There will be sparring matches between the Agers, wherein, each will face off against an opponent in a grappling only match. Ale will be served to the crew, followed by dinner for all, and a tankard of ale for the winning Agers.” Looking around I could see excited smiles break on all the crew members faces, except Sacae. He seemed worried. “At ease.”


    As soon as Edorin said that the whole crew cheered. One of them shouting ‘Ale!’ at the top of his lungs. Edorin held up a hand, a very slight smile on the left side of his face and the crew quieted. “The tournament will start after training for the Agers is completed tomorrow and will go until all matches are decided. If the Agers would step forward please.” He motioned for us to step forward and held out a bowl.


    I nervously made my way to him through the crowd. Eventually making it into the space with the rest of the group. He held out the bowl. “Croí, Keokin, Flint, Lánn and Jael. Take one please, but don’t read it yet. The rest of you make a line.” We each grabbed a folded piece of parchment from the bowl. “Now, read your notes.” I unfolded mine, heart pounding. It had a name on it. Klintock. I looked up at him. His eyes went wide. “Now go and stand in front of the one named.” I stood in front of Klintock.


    My heart was pounding, and my stomach felt uneasy. “There we have it. The person standing across from you will be your opponent tomorrow. Now, everyone report to the galley.” Edorin walked back into his quarters. The crew cheered and shook the shoulders and ruffled the hair of Agers they passed on their way to the galley. I was scared, but looking around, everyone else was excited, especially Sable, standing across from Lánn. Keokin was with Leola, and Céírde with Jael.


    “Oh. This is going to be fun.” On my left, Flint and William. I’m glad I don’t have William. I wouldn’t trust him to stop even if I tapped. Kind of like Sacae really. Klintock was the best option.


    “Alright then. Let’s get some food, do our lessons, and get some shut eye. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.” Keokin said loudly. We headed off, getting food before heading into our room. Though extremely tired, I forced myself to stay awake until the others started going to sleep.