Wielder's Awakening

by T. B. Christensen

  Kalista especially wished she had her mother to talk to right now. Her father was talking about her getting married soon, but she didn’t know if she was ready for it yet. He was not pressuring her into marriage. He was just dropping hints about it. Her nanny had also been telling her it was about time that she should marry. Kalista had nothing against marriage. She was seventeen and would be eighteen in the spring, but she did not know if she wanted to marry yet. Her mother had not married her father until she was nearly twenty, so she did not feel too rushed. But with all of the talk of marriage, she was beginning to feel a little uneasy. As soon as she was done braiding her hair, she got up from her padded stool, grabbed a purple velvet cloak to keep her warm, and left her room.

  As she made her way through her sitting room, her two chamber servants rose quickly from their embroidering. She handed them her cloak, and they deftly put it on her. They then took her archery gloves and slid them onto her outstretched hands. When they were sure that everything was on her perfectly, they asked if there was anything else they might do for her. Kalista told them that she had everything she needed and thanked them for their help. They both made deep curtsies and sat back down to work on their embroidery. She did not know how they could spend all day just sitting there embroidering and talking to each other, but they always seemed happy. Servants were strange sometimes. She left her sitting room and headed for the back courtyard.

  She walked quickly down the lower stairs of the southwest tower and onto the upper floor of the palace. She had her bedroom on one of the lower floors of the tower and rarely went up to the middle and upper floors. The southwest tower was set aside for the children of the High King, but as she was the only child at the present, most of the tower remained empty and unused. Every once in a while she would climb to the top of the tower. It was quiet up there, and she could sit and think while she either looked out over the great ocean or over the land of Kalia. The top of the tower had a great view of all the area surrounding the city, and she could see for miles. She sometimes wished that she had brothers and sisters to share the tower and view with, but she unfortunately was the only heir to the throne.

  The High King had his living quarters in the northwest tower. While Kalista used one of the lowest floors for her room so that she was near the bustle of the palace, her father had always had his rooms in the middle floors so that he could get away from the bustle of the palace and be alone when he was in his personal chambers. The northeast tower was used mainly for storage. There were things in there that had not been touched for hundreds of years. Kalista had gone in that tower several times with the idea of climbing to the top floors to see what was in them, but it was so dusty in the tower that she always came back down before she had gotten past the first few floors. The southeast tower was a whole different matter. While the others were fairly quiet and empty, the southeast tower was always full of people and activity. It was used for matters of state and governing. The royal clerks, advisors, and so on lived there and had their offices on the lower floors. The upper floors held the lodgings of all of the tower’s many servants. Kalista sometimes wondered what it was like on the upper floors of the southeast tower since she had never been there.

  She nodded to the liveried servants that bowed deeply as she passed them in the halls. She had always made it a point to nod to them, acknowledging that she was pleased with them. She had learned that from her mother. While many of the nobles refused to even acknowledge the peasants around them, Kalista’s mother had taught her to show respect to those lesser than herself. Although they were only commoners, they were still people with families and lives. She smiled when she finally made her way down the last set of palace stairs and out onto the back courtyard. Her archery instructor named Pegwin was already waiting happily with her bow in his hand. He was a skinny old man with grey hair but was still one of the best shots in all Kalia. He smiled as she approached and made a deep bow.

  “Right on time as usual, my Princess,” Pegwin said as he straightened himself.

  “You know that I would never be late for an archery lesson, Pegwin,” Kalista said with a smile.

  “I do not know if they are really lessons anymore. I think you are better than me now,” he said with a chortle. “The only thing I can do for you now is keep you practicing so that you don’t get rusty.” Kalista smiled as Pegwin handed her bow to her and fetched his own. “Today I moved the target back another ten feet. We will see if that affects your aim at all.”

  Kalista smiled as she pulled an arrow out of the bucket between her and Pegwin and fitted it on her bow. She then pulled the string back as she brought the arrow’s shaft even with her eye. As she stared down the shaft of the arrow at the far away target, she let everything else around her fade away and disappear. She let the target fill her vision. When it was aligned perfectly with the bull’s-eye, she gently released the arrow from her bow. She smiled when the sharp metal point of the arrow met the center of the target with a thunk. She repeated her shot two more times with the same result before turning to Pegwin with a smile. He was standing with his hand shading his eyes as he squinted at the target far away. He whistled through his teeth and turned to Kalista with a big smile splitting his face.

  “Well, I guess that proves that it does not matter how far away the target is. I guess it wasn’t just a fluke that you always hit the center of the target.”

  “You knew it was not a fluke,” Kalista said. “You were just hoping I wouldn’t be so accurate on my first try if you moved it back, and then you would finally have a chance at beating me.”

  “I cannot believe that you would accuse me of such a thing,” Pegwin declared looking deeply hurt. “I am just trying to help you improve, and you accuse me, a simple man, of trying to cheat a beautiful young woman. I just cannot believe it.”

  “Don’t even pretend that you were not thinking that,” Kalista stated. “Admit that was what you were hoping. Come on, admit it!”

  “Okay, maybe I was,” Pegwin said as he cracked a smile. “But you have to realize how I feel when you continually shoot better than me over and over again.”

  “You know the only reason I shoot so well is because I was taught by the best.”

  “I have to agree with you there,” Pegwin announced with a chortle. He then proceeded to shoot three arrows. All three of them ended up in the bull’s-eye of the second target that stood next to the one Kalista had shot at.

  “See, you are still as good as ever.”

  “Yes I am because I spent all morning practicing at this distance,” Pegwin said as he started laughing.

  “I knew you were up to something you crazy old man. I knew you had a plan to win,” Kalista said as she pointed at Pegwin with her bow and joined in laughing with her friendly instructor.

  “Easy there, Princess. Do not get carried away. I may be crazy, but I am not old.”

  That sent them into another wave of laughter. After they composed themselves, they took turns shooting at the targets. Kalista always loved her sessions with the wizened archer. She could pretend that she was a warrior on an adventure with her bow as a deadly weapon. When she was concentrating on the target she could forget that she was a princess and put all of her worries behind her. She always lost track of time and of what was going on around her, and Pegwin enjoyed archery so much that he always seemed to lose track of time also. When they had emptied the bucket of arrows the second time, Kalista realized she was late for her governing lessons. She quickly thanked Pegwin for helping her practice and hurried off through the palace to her room.

  As she ran through the sitting room her chamber servants rose to help her, but she waved them back down. She would be able to get ready faster without them getting in the way. Once she was in her room, she quickly pulled off her gloves and cloak and threw them on a chair. She grabbed her book only to set it back down as she paused in front of her mirror. She quickly tried to fix the loose wisps of hair that had come out of her braid. She then picked up her l
esson book and hurried to where her nanny conducted her lessons on the other side of the palace.

  As she burst into the study room, her nanny set down the book she had been reading and directed a stern gaze at Kalista. Nanny Frieda was a plump, old woman who had also been Kalista’s mother’s nanny. Frieda always had her white streaked brown hair pulled up into a perfect, tight bun directly in the center of the back of her head. She was dressed in gray as usual and was still wearing her reading spectacles as she rose to confront her tardy pupil. Kalista groaned to herself in anticipation of what was coming. The problem with Frieda was that the plump woman continued to treat her as if she was still a child who did not know anything.

  “Kalista, this is the third time you have been late in the last five days,” Frieda began. “And from your looks and the way you are breathing, I assume you would have been even later if you had not run like a mad woman through the halls of the palace just to get here.”

  “I am sorry Frieda, but I lost track of the time while I was having my archery-”

  “I do not care why you are late, child,” Frieda cut in. “There is never a good reason for being late to an appointment. What are we going to do if we have a queen who is always late for important meetings?” Frieda paused to shake her head back and forth disapprovingly. “One of these days you are going to have to learn some responsibility, young lady.” Kalista just stared back at Frieda blankly. Frieda sighed with frustration. “I do not even know why I bother! Let us start on today’s lesson.”

  Kalista settled down at her desk to listen to the day’s lesson. Frieda began by reviewing what they had gone over the day before. Luckily Kalista had actually been listening to how the customs in Balthus differed from those in Kalia and was able to answer all of Frieda’s questions. Frieda then began to explain some more of the customs of Balthus. Some of them were fairly close to those in Kalia while others were quite strange. Apparently in Balthus they buried people standing up so that they would be ready to walk into a new world. When her mother had died, she had been laid down in the earth so that her body might have eternal rest as was proper. Kalista found many of the customs interesting and was disappointed when Frieda stopped talking about them and brought her letters to practice copying. She hated copying the same letters over and over again. She found no point in doing it since she already knew how to write fine, but Frieda insisted that as a future queen she must have perfect penmanship. She insisted the only way to have perfect penmanship was to practice it continually.

  Kalista was grateful when the servants delivered her lunch to the study, allowing her to take a break from her penmanship lessons. She took as long as she possibly could in eating the small lunch of crackers, cheese, and fruit. When she finished her spiced drink and the last of her crackers, Frieda made her resume her penmanship lessons straightaway. Kalista muttered to herself as she once again set about copying down the letters and words. When she finally finished copying all of the pages, she took them up to Frieda. Her nanny set down her book and began to scrutinize all of the papers thoroughly. She flipped from page to page while clicking her tongue. After a thorough review, Frieda set them down in a neat pile and turned back to Kalista with a smile.

  “As much as I hate to admit it, you copied your letters almost perfectly. You are beginning to achieve a very fine hand, young lady. Maybe all of this practice is finally paying off.”

  Frieda then rose and had Kalista sit back down at her desk. She sighed as her nanny launched into a boring lecture about proper protocol. She had heard all of this many times before and quit paying attention to her nanny. She wished she didn’t have to sit there while her nanny went on and on about things she had been taught since she was little. She was tired of all of the useless repetition of the lessons. Maybe if she did get married, Frieda would have to admit she was grown up and she would finally be able to get out of these lessons. Kalista leaned back in her chair and stared blankly at Frieda as her mind took her somewhere else far away from the study.

  18

  As Traven approached the steps of the merchant school, he realized that he had forgotten to change into his nice clothing. He couldn’t believe he had almost walked in without changing. If he went in looking like he did now with his soiled traveling clothes, he wouldn’t make a very good impression at all. He wondered where he might be able to change before going inside the merchant school to check in. He turned away from the school and continued down the street. At the end of the street there was a narrow alley that wound away from the street between tall buildings.

  Traven got down from Pennon and after looking around to make sure that no one was watching, led him back into the alley. When the alley abruptly ended at a stone wall, he set Pennon to block him from view from the front and pulled his black clothes from his saddlebag, quickly changing into them. Once he had stuffed his dirty clothes into his saddlebag, he tried to smooth out the wrinkles in his brand new silver threaded black clothes. He then tied his red cloth back around his arm and buckled his sword belt on. He squeezed past Pennon and led him back out of the alley. A few people looked at him strangely as he emerged from the alleyway but continued on with their business. Traven walked down the street leading Pennon, confident in his new appearance.

  After leaving Pennon with a stable boy at the side of Kalia’s Merchant Academy, Traven took a deep breath and walked up the stone steps and into the reception area of the school. The room was quite large with a fireplace at the end and several couches to sit down upon and visit. He spotted a middle aged, overweight man doing some paperwork behind a large desk and approached him. The man was intent on what he was doing so Traven waited patiently. He was surprised that there were not more people checking in. He had been told that check in was anytime during the week before the term started. He was only a day or two early and had thought there would probably be others who would be arriving about the same time. From what he understood, the schooling would consist of six days in a row of classes and then he would have a day off before starting another six consecutive days. Other than that he really didn’t know what to expect. The man behind the front desk finally set his papers down and came over to help Traven.

  “Sorry about the wait, young master. Can I help you?”

  Traven was so surprised at how the man had addressed him that it took a few moments for him to answer back. He guessed that he really did look like he was wealthy in his new clothes.

  “Hello, sir. My name is Traven, and I’m here to check in for the winter and spring term.”

  The man looked at Traven with confusion for a few moments before walking over to a notebook and opening it up. He flipped through some pages before a smile crept on to his face.

  “So you are the one who has come all the way over from Oak Tree. My name is Mr. Kiscin, and I’ll be one of your instructors,” the man said as he came over to Traven and shook his hand. “I am glad that you finally made it. It is a good thing you showed up today. The headmaster instructed me to strike your name from the role book if you did not show up by tonight.”

  “Excuse me, sir, but I don’t understand. I was told that registration went all the way up to the beginning of the term. Was I misinformed?” Traven asked the man.

  “You are right about that, but the term started six days ago,” Mr. Kiscin answered. “The starting time was changed about a month ago. We sent out notices to all of the young men who would be attending, but it probably did not get to your home before you left.” Traven couldn’t believe that he was a whole week late. “Do not worry about being late. Not much has really been going on this first week except for orientation and class assignments. You will be able to get into the swing of things fast enough.”

  “Thanks, I’m sorry I’m late.”

  “Oh, do not be sorry. It was not your fault. Nobody besides you is from anywhere farther than Four Bridges. Most of the young men are from Calyn itself.” The instructor stopped and chuckled. “Listen to me carry on. You probably want to get up to your room and rest
before dinner starts. I am sure your journey has been long and tiring. I will just finish up here, and then I will take you up to your room. Go get your belongings from the stable. I will be ready for you when you get back.”

  Traven thanked the man and went back out the front doors and down to the side of the building where the stables were located. After he retrieved his saddlebag from Pennon’s stall, he went back into the building and found the instructor waiting to show him to his room. The man greeted him with another friendly smile and led him up the stairs that were almost hidden at the back of the front room. Once on the second floor, the man led him down a long hall lined on both sides with doors. Towards the end of the hall the man finally stopped and opened one of the doors. He then stood back and let Traven enter the room first. The room was small but seemed comfy. There was a soft looking bed, a wardrobe, and a desk in the room. The one window at the back of the room looked out over the street in front of the merchant academy.

  “This is where you will be living while you are here. It is not as spacious as most of the other rooms in the hall, but it is livable.”

  “It’s just fine,” Traven told the instructor as he set down his saddlebags.

  “The dinner bell will ring in a couple of hours. Until then you can get unpacked and rest. The other students will be done with their classes in about an hour if you want to meet any of them before dinner,” the man then paused before going on as if he was uncertain if he should say something or not. After a moment he started up again. “Now, Traven, there is something I want to tell you. You had me fooled into thinking you were some wealthy lord’s son when you walked in at first, but I know who you really are. I know you want to make a good first impression, but the others will see through it so do not try to fool anyone. I have to be honest with you. Most of the students here come from very wealthy families while the others come from fairly wealthy families. You on the other hand are one of the few people who come here throughout the years because your family has been saving up and sacrificing for years to send you here. Many of the teachers and students here do not have very open minds when it comes to regular peasants. I myself am the son of a peasant who married into money and do not have that prejudice. Some of the others might give you a hard time, but do not let it bother you. Just keep on going and fulfill your dreams.” Mr. Kiscin patted him on the back. “I have to get back to my duties, but you remember that okay.”