by Nyssa Renay
“Thanks.” I grimaced in pain.
“Shepherd on deck!” the door guard shouted.
I ran with the other boys to the platform at the front of the room, finally getting to move from the back row to the middle row for the first time as a Tier II Necra sect potential. For some odd reason, I felt as though I’d accomplished something special and it gave me the courage and confidence to accept whatever came next.
“Good morning, gentlemen!” Shepherd Diabelle called out as she crossed the scaffold and made her way down the stairs.
“Good morning, ma’am!” we quickly replied.
“So, I come bearing news,” she said, pacing back and forth in front of us. “This year’s crop of potentials has one particularly special snowflake in the bunch, and I’ve been ordered to warn you about him.”
The Shepherd Academy wasn’t a place where people got special treatment, especially potentials. So, this unorthodox announcement came as a bit of a shock to all of us.
“Prince Raxis of Telshakra will be joining us this year, and he’ll be arriving today through a special archway in the arena for this year’s orientation. His sect hasn’t been determined yet, but Ein help you all if he’s sent to ours. No matter what happens, you will be polite to him! You will be courteous to him! And most important, you will be respectful to him! Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am!” we replied in unison.
In the six years I’d known Shepherd Diabelle, she always spoke forcefully. Now there was something different in the tone of her voice that usually wasn’t there—she sounded worried.
“Laureate Cerisen, front and center!” she snapped.
“Yes, ma’am?” Cerisen said as he stepped forward.
“Walk me out,” she demanded.
“Yes, ma’am,” the laureate replied, following her up the stairs and out of the dorm.
“That’s messed up,” Ownie grumbled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief as walked past me.
I quickly caught up with him as he made his way toward his locker. “What is?” I asked, hearing his disapproval.
“A member of the royal family qualifying for the Shepherd Academy.”
“I don’t get it. Why is that messed up?”
“Because there’s never been one!”
“And?” I replied, completely clueless.
He sighed heavily. “Just think about it, Vigil. Shepherds can live for two thousand years. That’s a really long time to have the same king, don’t you think?”
“I guess.” I shrugged it off.
Like most potentials, I just accepted things at the academy as they were. I never questioned the establishment that controlled my life, but one day I would come to understand his concerns.
-30-
The drums began their ceremonial beating as the crowd in the grandstands of the coliseum jeered and taunted the recruits as they were spat from the archway. I knew the panic and urgency the new potentials felt in this moment. I remembered the overwhelming sense of chaos, the unfamiliar surroundings, the pounding drums, and the seemingly hostile crowd noise. It was maddening.
Once Shepherd Machoji had gotten the new recruits to their seats, trumpet fanfare blared over the loud speakers, announcing the imminent arrival of the royal guests. The floorboards under my feet rumbled and vibrated as a ring of bright white light seeped out from beneath the platform at the base of the obelisk.
I watched in amazement as the platform rose ten feet above the arena floor, revealing four thick pillars under the stone pyramid. A huge ball of light churned and spiraled in on itself at the center of the pillars as two silhouettes appeared. A tall figure and one much smaller figure walked out onto the arena floor.
Within moments of their arrival, my uncle’s voice chimed over the loudspeakers. “All hail King Lexani and Prince Raxis!”
Everyone in the coliseum respectfully rose as the royal pair approached the two blackbrass thrones adorned with blue and gold fabric situated a considerable distance away from the other potentials.
Slowly, the obelisk platform descended back into the floor as my Uncle Vantaru appeared at the door in the back of the arena. He walked triumphantly toward the king and prince, smiling proudly from ear to ear as his voice boomed over the speakers once more.
“It’s my greatest pleasure to welcome you, King Lexani and Prince Raxis, to the Shepherd Academy,” Vantaru formally declared. “We shall spare no effort to ensure your beloved son is well-kept during his time with us. Ein be praised for this royal potential shepherd who stands before us!” Vantaru knelt to kiss the king’s ring. The coliseum broke into an awkward applause, unsure if this royal presence at the academy was a good thing or not.
As Shepherd Machoji gave his traditional demonstration for the new potentials, I noticed my uncle whispering and laughing with the king throughout the entire orientation. I felt it was extremely disrespectful, and judging from the irritated glances from those potentials who knew Vantaru was my uncle, they did, too.
At the close of orientation, I rushed back to the dorm to avoid any backlash over my uncle’s behavior. When I got there, I quickly grabbed one of my old text books and sat on my bed to give the impression I was engrossed in its pages and didn’t have time to talk to anyone about Vantaru. It didn’t work as well as I’d hoped.
“What the hell is wrong with your uncle?” Ownie grumbled as he walked by me on the way to his locker. “He was completely out of line.”
“I know, right?” I snapped, tossing the book onto the bed. “He’s always giving me shit for supposedly embarrassing him…saying I should be more like the model potential he was back in the day. And then, he goes and does shit like that. It really pisses me off!”
“Yeah, a lot of the guys weren’t too happy about it, either,” Ownie said, hanging his robe in his locker. “Someone needs to say something to the guy.”
“Well, it can’t be me.” I realized what he was driving at.
“Why not? After all, he’s your uncle. If anyone could get through to him, it would be someone from his own family.”
“I doubt it! He goes out of his way to criticize me for every little thing I do here. There’s no way in hell he’d ever listen to me.”
“You never know unless you try, right?”
“Honestly, I don’t want anything to do with him.”
Ownie grimaced. “Look, all I’m saying is that if he were my uncle, I’d say something to him. That’s all. You do what you want, Vigil,” he said, shutting his locker and walking away from me.
I felt slighted whenever the subject of Vantaru came up. Throughout my years at the academy, the other potentials constantly made a point to remind me how lucky I was to have any sort of relative here to watch out for me. I absolutely hated my uncle, but that never seemed to make a difference to anyone. And no matter how hard I tried to distance myself from him, he always found a way to make things worse for me.
“Laureate on deck!” the door guard shouted.
I tossed my book into my locker and headed to the platform, standing at attention while Laureate Cerisen appeared on the scaffold and descended the stairs.
“Gentlemen, I’ve just come from Chow Hall Four,” Cerisen began as he joined us on the platform, scowling. “Shepherd Scullery informed me that Shepherd Voronto has specifically reserved the use of that hall to entertain the King’s Royal Guard for supper. Unfortunately, that is also where we’re scheduled to be, which means that tonight, we won’t be able to eat until after the guards have gotten their dinner.”
A slight groan and a few angry glances came my way from the front of the platform.
“Furthermore!” Cerisen shouted, trying to regain control of the room. “You are not to talk to any of them. Hell, I don’t even want you looking in their general direction! Do I make myself perfectly clear?”
“Yes, sir!” we called out in unison.
“Vigil, front and center!” Cerisen barked. I rushed to
stand at attention in front of the laureate.
“Yes, sir!” I replied.
“Shepherd Voronto needs a few extra potentials to help cater a special dinner in the prince’s honor at the shepherds’ private banquet hall. He addressed the issue with Shepherd Diabelle, who brought it to me. They’ve agreed that you’re the logical choice for this task, and thus, your kitchen duties have been extended until further notice.”
“This is bullshit!” I complained. It was a breach of etiquette, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I’d done my time in the kitchen, and it was finally my turn to be served a Festival of Ein dinner rather than to serve it. My uncle had gone too far this time, and it was driving me mad. “It isn’t fair!”
“I don’t care what you think is fair! You’re nothing here until the day you graduate! Shut your mouth, follow my orders, and report to Shepherd Scullery in the shepherds’ private banquet hall, now!” Cerisen shouted, pointing for me to leave.
I gave up. I was powerless in this decision and I knew it. “Yes, sir,” I said dejectedly, making my way up the stairs and across the scaffolding.
As I left the room, I looked down and noticed several of the other potentials smirking at me. It seemed to me that the joy they felt from watching me suffer was somehow a form of karmic payback for my uncle’s actions earlier that day.
-31-
The shepherds’ private banquet hall was unlike anyplace I’d seen at the academy. Every possible square inch of the room was opulent. There were large blackbrass statues of the Children of Ein scattered between plush blue drapes intricately embroidered with shiny gold thread. Extravagant Festival of Ein decorations filled the walls. Lavish red and orange ribbons hung from large gold-tinted stars made of lakeglass crystal and reflected the light from the roaring fireplace. I had seen much smaller versions of the stars at the Viewing Fields when I was younger, but they did not compare to these elegant baubles.
Several well-preserved animal skin rugs made from the hides of creatures I’d only seen in books covered the highly polished marble floor. In the center of the room, there was a long banquet table crafted from the finest curling sandalwood trees on Telshakra surrounded by twenty blackbrass chairs. An arrangement of blackbrass candlesticks shaped like talons clutched slender silver tapers atop the crisp white linen tablecloth. Their soft orange flames flickered, casting dancing shadows over the detailed mural that spanned the ceiling.
Scullery had put me in charge of setting the table with a knife, fork, and spoon at each place. The royal seal of Telshakra adorned the handle of each piece. The gold-rimmed plates were made from the purest clay fired in the kilns of the Divine Mountain. Everything was so pristine. It made me anxious to walk around the room, fearing one wrong move might cause me to break something.
After six long years of working in the kitchen, I had hoped this day would have brought me the newfound excitement of starting my new Tier II duty. Instead, it seemed I was destined to be on kitchen duty forever. It wasn’t right, and I was fed up with this treatment because of my uncle’s actions.
I felt two taps on my shoulder. When I turned around, I broke into a grin. “Eeliyah!” I shouted. We hadn’t worked with Brio sect in the chow halls in a really long time, and I couldn’t wait to talk to her. Over the past six years, Eeliyah had grown up a lot. Her red hair was long and curly and she was now slightly taller than me. It was hard not to smile every time I saw her.
She had on a long white serving dress and I wanted to give her a hug, but didn’t want to risk getting it dirty or making Shepherd Scullery mad. He was operating at a higher pace than normal—running here and there, checking on pot after pot of food, and trying to make everything perfect for the royals. I didn’t want to add to his stress.
“Hi, Vigil!” she said cheerfully.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I replied. “Looks like you got stuck doing kitchen duty again tonight, too, huh?”
“Yeah, Laureate Caliana just told me a little while ago. I was so excited to finally get to eat a fresh Festival of Ein meal rather than serve it, you know? This really sucks.”
“I know! I felt the same way,” I admitted happily, knowing I had at least one ally to commiserate with.
She flashed me a quick smile. “Well, at least we’re here together, right?”
“Right.” I returned the smile, feeling my cheeks burning bright red.
“Okay, okay, okay…enough of this chatter!” Shepherd Scullery came toward us, waving a spoon in his pudgy hand. He pushed Eeliyah and me apart and gave another glance around, making sure things were still perfect. “Eeliyah, I’ll need you on wine service,” he instructed. “Do not let a glass go empty at the king’s end of the table! Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied calmly.
“Vigil. You, Jeral, and Phomus will be our runners. Make sure you bring as many dishes from the kitchen as possible…and serve ample portions…not like we do in the chow halls. If they ask you for anything, make sure you bring it to them right away! Okay, now. They’ll all be here any minute, so finish what you’re doing and man your positions. I want this dinner for the prince to go as smooth as possible.”
“Yes, sir,” we said together as Scullery darted off like a small tornado, compulsively adjusting and readjusting everything he deemed not perfectly set up.
I finished setting the last few places at the table while Eeliyah stood nearby with a crystal pitcher filled with wine, ready to serve. I fell in line by the kitchen doors with the other unlucky potentials who’d also been selected for extended kitchen duty.
We all waited for about twenty minutes, passing the time by trying to make each other laugh until Scullery put a stop to it. Finally, the small door near the back of the room opened, and in walked the heads of each sect at the Shepherd Academy, followed by a few select administrators. They were all dressed in their finest clothes for the event. Their hands, necks, and chests were heavy with colored stones and medals reserved for wear at only the most exclusive of occasions, and they sparkled in the candlelight of the banquet hall.
A few minutes later, the musicians began to play a noble melody I hadn’t heard since I was six—the Anthem of Telshakra. The main doors to the banquet hall slowly drew open, announcing the arrival of the royal party. I gave a quick glance at Eeliyah and felt comforted to see that she was just as nervous as I was.
First came two royal guards dressed in their finest blackbrass armor. The sight of them made my stomach flip, bringing back a good deal of anxiety from the day my mother had been killed right in front of me. The royal guards took positions on both sides of the door, still and stoic, as King Lexani, Prince Raxis, and my Uncle Vantaru stepped into the banquet hall.
“…and this is our esteemed private banquet hall.” Vantaru’s grin was a combination of happiness and desperation as he did his best to impress the king.
“Hmmm,” King Lexani said as he took a good look around, nodding and giving the impression that everything seemed to be up to his standards. “You’ve gone to great lengths to prepare for my son’s arrival, Shepherd Voronto. Even Ein Himself would no doubt be pleased by your dedication.”
“Thank you, Sire. Thank you,” Vantaru replied, humbly bowing.
“What do you think then, Raxis? Are you hungry?” the king asked the boy.
Although I’d seen the prince from the grandstands of the coliseum earlier that day, this was my first close glimpse of him. He was small and frail, and his jet-black hair was neatly combed. He looked around the room with his intense green eyes and back to his father with a simple nod of approval.
“Okay, then, let’s eat!” Lexani shouted cheerfully and led his son to the table.
As they sat down, there was a crash as a plate dropped and shattered in the kitchen. The royal party briefly looked up, but Eeliyah quickly jumped into action, distracting them by pouring the wine.
“Thank you, my dear,” Vantaru said with a smile. Eeliyah didn’t reply, but she genuflecte
d politely by his side before walking away to tend to the other glasses. As she left, my uncle gave her an awkward stare and then quickly returned his attention to King Lexani. Something didn’t feel right to me. In that moment, I made it my mission to keep an eye on Eeliyah for the rest of the evening.
-32-
With the first course underway, the room had eased into conversation. Their voices were low and dignified, yet still audible enough for me to pick up a few bits and pieces as I circulated to serve their next dish.
“Yes, yes,” King Lexani said in a slightly somber tone as I moved in to place a bowl of white-peppered bison stew in front of him. “I’m afraid we’ll need many more brave, young souls now more than ever.”
Vantaru leaned in closer to the king. “The reports I’ve seen from the frontlines are disconcerting to me, too, Your Majesty. Our forces are struggling to keep them back. It worries me deeply that without a significant increase in our numbers, it could get much, much worse.”
Lexani’s face fell a bit as he dropped some crackers into his soup. Noticing Raxis looking up at him with an expression of deep concern, the troubled king quickly forced a smile and swung his arm around, patting his son on the back. Lexani’s elbow nearly knocked the bowl of soup I was trying to place before his son out of my hands when his sudden movement caught me off guard. I steadied myself, keeping the bowl from falling to the floor, and looked up to notice Eeliyah’s panicked yet amazed expression at my nimble efforts. We exchanged a few relieved sighs before returning to our work.
“But that’s why we have brave young leaders like Raxis, here!” Lexani bragged. “He’ll bring us all out of the darkness!”
“Hear, hear.” Vantaru raised his glass in a toast. In one large gulp, he drained his wine and waved for Eeliyah to come and pour him yet another refill.
