by S L Gassick
As they were led into the Valhalla, Rose wondered if every day was like this, it was certainly very exciting. All that she could hear as she walked down the long corridor leading to the Great Hall was the shuffling of feet. No-one dared speak a word. The eyes of numerous paintings of people she didn’t know looked down upon them as if waiting for them to utter a word so they could punish them.
Rose had walked inside the Great Hall before but it was just a huge empty space. There was nothing particularly incredible about it but its sheer size. However, as she now stepped inside she was shocked by how full it had become. It felt like the entire room would burst at the seams. There must have been hundreds of students sitting in the middle and a good number of teachers sitting against the walls.
They took their seats and she found herself between Hemero and a large overweight boy with messy brown hair who looked like he was going to pop from his tight white shirt and horrid brown trousers. Rose thought it was utterly disgusting that someone should wear something that small for their body size as it wasn’t flattering in the slightest. His chubby, red-cheeked face gave her a smile and she managed to give one back before turning to the empty stage in front of them.
The silence was tantamount to deafening. She could hear her heart beating, the heavy breath of the overweight boy beside her and the annoying noise of Hemero chewing on his nails. She looked back to see everyone still taking their seats and she gave a little sigh. It was certainly a true test of stamina to be able to be quiet for so long. She itched against her seat and found herself getting uncomfortable until finally Theus appeared on the stage.
“Hail the Chosen. Gaea commends you.” Theus boomed around the hall. His voice bounced off the ancient stone walls. She could see behind him the engravings of the names of all the Chosen who made a significant contribution to Norheath. She knew it was a great honour to be put on that wall, or so she had been told when she was shown around the school, but as there were so many names up there that to Rose, in a strange way, it made them seem quite the opposite. It was just a list of names.
She looked around a bit more and dotted around the Great Hall were busts of all the former Headmasters, including Theus. Underneath these, looking mostly bored, were the Valhalla teachers. There must have been about a hundred or so, all specialising in different areas, and all were deemed Chosen, no matter if you were Valhalla trained or not.
Among the different areas of specialties were the mastery of kyu, swordplay, hand-to-hand combat, riding, archery, strategy, languages, gymnastics, summoning and lots more. They all looked completely different, some teachers dressed appropriately with sensible hair; others were quite radical and wore garments such as cloaks, armour, masks, hats, hoods, glasses, jackets and tight, skimpy outfits of all different variations and colours. It reminded Rose somewhat of a kaleidoscope, or one of Delaniford’s monthly fashion disasters.
She looked up to these Chosen teachers with great respect and admiration because Rose wanted to be one of them. She did not want to go on missions or to be involved in wars like some of the others, but to be a teacher. It’s what she always wanted but she knew it would mean having to be the top of her class, and if Nayakax was as powerful as he seems, then that might be a problem.
“Gaea commends you.” The pupils chanted back.
“Today you might have noticed the alarm bell that went off. Firstly, may I say thank you to the teachers who acted responsibly to keep their children safe.” At this point Rose noticed Theus was staring at Cyrene, who was looking at her feet. “This was not an attack but a stealth operation to seize a valuable item from within the tombs of the Valhalla. We believe it to be the work of the Dark Clans, but we are currently finding out how they got past our defences so effectively. We believe they escaped …”
Theus was suddenly interrupted by a boy standing up shouting, “But Naya almost had one of them! Na-ya-kax! Na-ya-kax!” Suddenly the room began chanting his name but Nayakax looked completely emotionless and just continued staring ahead at Theus with his cold eyes.
“That’s enough!” Theus shouted to quieten the rabble. “Nayakax put himself and others at risk by deciding to fight him. It would have been far safer for the stranger to have escaped rather than back him into a corner. None of you are Chosen yet, so do not act like you are!” Theus was now staring intently at Nayakax, who was merely sitting there looking right back at him. “Now, we believe that this person triggered an alarm and stole the first thing they could. Therefore nothing of great worth has been stolen and there is no need to worry. I want everyone to know that classes will resume as normal …” The pupils groaned “… as from tomorrow. Now go home and enjoy the rest of the day in the sun.”
Everyone got up and cheered as Theus walked off the stage and out of the hall. Rose could see Hemero was watching Theus, his expression worried. She followed his gaze and noticed Theus in a small, stone corridor by the side of the stage talking to what looked like a tall man with many gangly spider-like arms. But she couldn’t quite make him out. Was it a Titan?
“Who’s that?” asked Rose, expecting Hemero to reply but instead the overweight child answered.
“Him? Well, that’s the caretaker, Aslo. You must be new. Aslo looks after the place, he’s a Titan, and a nice one at that, been here for as long as Theus I’ve been told, if not longer.” Rose felt the boy’s eyes looking at her dress. It made her feel slightly sick. The way he spoke was fast and yet slurred, like he was trying to push out all the words as quick as possible before taking the next breath. “I’m Balius, nice to meet you.”
He stuck out a great big grubby hand. Rose thought he smelt funny and she suddenly noticed his white shirt was stained and that he carried a small dagger on his hip.
“I’m Rose. Yes, I’m new.” She shook his hand and unconsciously wiped it on the cushioned chair afterwards. Balius looked behind her, “Hey Hemero” he said.
“Hey Bali, how’s everything?”
“OK thanks. Mum’s still pretty ill but the doctors said it’ll clear up soon!” Balius had a big grin on his face similar to the smile Rose had this morning. Hemero smiled back, “That’s good Bali. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
As the students started to walk back out into the courtyard, Rose grabbed Hemero’s hand as they stood at the side of the hall. “See? That’s a friend isn’t it?”
“Balius? He’s hardly here. Either he’s ill or his mother is ill or someone is ill. His father died and they used the money he left to buy him a place here as a student. It happens a lot, if you have the cash to spare. Buy your kid a fast ticket to become a Chosen. Doesn’t matter if you even turn up.”
“That doesn’t seem fair, does it? I had to work hard to get here.”
“You’d be surprised. It happens more than you think.”
The Great Hall was almost empty but Hemero didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
“Shouldn’t we be going as well?” she asked.
“Go if you want, I want to see what’s going on.”
With the hall empty, Hemero quietly walked towards the side of the stage, looking around carefully as he did so. Rose started to follow him.
“Oh. Okay. I’ll stay. So Balius’s mother is sick? That’s terrible. How long for?”
“I think it’s been a while. I doubt she’ll last much longer.”
“That’s a horrible thing to say, and anyway he said the doctors could clear it up.”
“I know that’s what he said …” Hemero murmured as he started to walk towards the corridor by the stage. Something was clearly on his mind.
“Oh. Where are you going?” she began looking around to see if anyone was watching.
“I need to speak to Theus, he …”
Just then they heard a shout coming from one of the offices down the stone corridor. It startled them and they didn’t move in case someone had spotted them. It had gone quiet again. But after a few moments, they could hear voices a little way down the hallway.
> The volume of the voices started to rise again, but it was indecipherable. They kept walking further down the corridor. An argument, maybe? Rose couldn’t tell but they were definitely getting closer to the source.
This was it. This was where it was coming from. A sign was on the door in large gold letters – ‘Headmaster’s Office’. Rose clung to Hemero. She wasn’t sure this was such a good idea on her first day, but she liked the adventure and wanted to know what was going on. Suddenly the voice seemed to be right behind the door.
“We have to get out there and find it right now!” Rose couldn’t tell who it was but she was quite sure it wasn’t the Headmaster. Whomever it was sounded like they were about to open the door. Hemero and Rose froze expecting to be caught.
“We can’t. It’s too late. You’re weak. Just give up.” Was that Theus? Rose wasn’t sure. The two voices sounded too similar behind the large door.
“What do you mean we can’t?! On Gaea’s blood, we will both be dead in a little less than a month if the prophecy is true.”
“If? Prophecies are created to be true, otherwise they would only be guesses. Let’s face it, the artefact has gone.”
“There you go then! On your head be it. Once the Dead Army rises, let alone if the Ker get involved, then all that Gaea has created here will be destroyed. All of it! I thought we decided we would be working together from now on. As allies.”
“Then,” said a calm voice, “We had better not act without care. Our very existence depends on it.”
“But …”
Suddenly Theus’s voice boomed out like an explosion of sound that both Rose and Hemero had to shield their ears for fear they might be damaged. “Do not keep questioning my orders!” He shouted, “I am in charge here now. Not you.” The voice settled slightly. “Aslo, you can leave, I’m sorry you had to witness that – and take care not to trip up on our little eavesdroppers outside.”
Rose and Hemero stared at each other. How could he have known? Just then the door opened and they saw that on the other side of the room was the spider man, Aslo, looking quite scared. Was he the other voice?
The creature looked incredibly terrifying up close. He had a long nose and squinty eyes with a dark, black stubble and buck teeth that made him look absolutely gruesome. His clothing had been adapted to fit his eight long skinny legs that poked out of his tiny human-shaped body. He wore a dark green suit that had got rather scruffy and tatty through years of use – torn and sewn together over and over again.
Aslo quietly left the room, leaving the two children staring at the huge figure of Theus standing in the doorway.
“Come in,” he gestured.
As they entered his room they saw that it was unlike any other room in the school. It was completely dark. There were sheets covering the windows blocking out the sun. As they peered around the blackness they could see that it was messy - books were left open on the floor, glass beakers broken on the ground and a strange stale odour filled the air. There were mirrors, clocks, chalk symbols on the wall, candles dotted around to offer mere glimpses of light and it filled the two of them with complete dread. Rose couldn’t believe there was a room of such darkness in a building so full of light.
“So I imagine you heard all that?” Theus asked as he sat behind a cluttered desk.
“Yes sir.” They both replied.
“Well, can’t be helped now I suppose. No need to worry though, I know exactly what I’m doing.”
Theus gave a great laugh that ended with a horrible wet cough. His powerful presence had been somewhat diminished now that they had entered his room, he looked smaller and weaker than before. Neither of them dared to laugh along with him.
“Well, I have a little job for you two.” Theus stood back up and walked slowly towards them and then seated himself on the front of the desk. “I need you to be my eyes and ears within the Valhalla. My guess is someone here had a part to play with this little robbery today and I want you two to listen out for any information or suspicious behaviour.”
“Yes sir,” replied Rose but Hemero remained still.
“Young Hemero? Do you not wish to accept this important mission? I thought you would be first to rise to the occasion.”
“I’m not a grass Sir.”
Theus smiled and patted the young boy on the head.
“Didn’t I look after you Hemero? Wasn’t it this Valhalla that took you in after what happened with your village? With your mother? Haven’t I brought you up here like one of my own?”
“Yes Sir but …”
“I understand that you wish to make friends here Hemero rather than enemies, but you must understand, this is very important. If you were to aid us in finding the culprit, then you would be more of a hero than say, Nayakax was by trying to stop the intruder.”
“Really?”
“Oh, very much so young man.”
“Then I accept” answered Hemero with a wide smile covering his little face.
“Off you go then.”
Theus watched the two children walk out of the room and listened to them walk down the corridor until he could no longer hear their footsteps, nor any others.
Then out of the darkness in the room, a voice arose.
“Are you sure he is the boy?”
“Yes,” Theus replied, “he has to be. Or all is lost.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Seeing as they were late coming out of the meeting, Rose and Hemero found themselves alone outside of the gates.
“Do you want me to walk you home?” Hemero asked.
“That would be lovely” replied Rose. She took his hand and they began walking. As they started walking past the villagers, Hemero noticed people were watching them and whispering. Some were scowling and tutting, but it didn’t seem to bother Rose – she was skipping on regardless. He thought it best to keep her busy talking, before she’d start to notice.
“So where do you live?” asked Hemero.
“A tiny village called Dortinth. On the outskirts of Norheath, it’s going to be quite a walk I’m afraid. You don’t have to come along if you don’t want but …”
“No. I want to.”
She nodded, giggled, broke her hand away and started skipping off into the distance. Hemero laughed and caught up with her.
“What about you then? Where do you live?”
“Oh. I live just outside the Valhalla.” Hemero replied. Rose stopped her skipping short.
“Forgive me! I don’t mean for you to walk me so far then. You should go home, I’ll be fine.”
“I told you. I want to.”
Rose smiled. “Well, if you insist.”
“I’m meeting up with Phin later anyway.”
“Your friend?”
“Yes, he’s more than a friend though, he’s like a brother.”
“A real one?”
“No.”
“Do you have any brothers? Sisters?”
“No. No family. They all died.” Hemero took a deep breath. “Theus took me into the Valhalla when he found me. He brought me up and I’m very grateful.” Hemero was being so matter-of-fact about it that it made Rose uneasy.
“Found you where? What happened?”
“The Dark Clans attacked my village during the Great Massacre of Hullala and my people perished. I was the only one to survive. Theus found me and took me to be trained as a Chosen.” Hemero scratched his neck. “But people here thought I was bad luck, evil, a freak. They just don’t like me I guess.”
Rose slowly took both his hands in hers, she could feel his anxiety and it calmed him down. “Theus sticks up for me though. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know where I’d be. The Dark Clans might have taken me if they had found me, to think I could have been with them. I wonder if I’d have been the same?”
“Hemy I’m … I’m sorry.” She stood still and looked deep into his eyes. There was a wildness hidden deep inside them – an anger she couldn’t place. They were so wide, so inhuman, that perhaps looking into them
, they were reflecting back her own soul. Absorbing her. Breathing her in.
For a moment, she was frightened and took a step back. Hemero let go of her hands and she quickly snatched them back up.
“I’m sorry. I thought I saw something.” Rose could tell Hemero was about to speak and she did not have an answer for whatever he was about to say. “Listen, I want you to come and have dinner with my family tonight.”
“But I …”
“No excuses. Come on.”
Rose walked ahead and Hemero diligently followed. He was fascinated by her. Never before had he felt like this and he savoured every moment, every breath and every step. He knew he would remember this moment forever, as it was the first time he could safely say he was happy.
They had been walking for over an hour before they reached the crest of the hill overlooking Dortinth. The sun was setting and behind them they could see the orange glow shining onto the other villages they had passed and the majestic Valhalla standing above it all. It reflected the sun’s last light bathing the rest of the land in its warm glow. As they looked down in front of them, they saw the colour of the sky floating along the river, making it look like a stream of fire against the bright green grass. A world ablaze.
“There! That one’s mine!” Rose pointed towards a small group of houses below them and set off down the hill. Hemero enjoyed the sensation of running downhill, he felt like the world was helping him, pushing him forward and he could feel the rush of being alive. They laughed as they got to the bottom and continued to walk on. Hemero could start to feel the evening chill in the air.
“Aren’t you cold?” he asked Rose.
“A bit.”
“I don’t really feel the cold.”
“Do you not? Maybe it’s because you have a warm heart?”
