* * *
Sessions with Master Slew were cut short, since the Evaluations started early. He tried livening up the atmosphere by praising everyone, but the Little Ones knew better. They were about to go to war, as far as they were concerned, and in the end, words never mattered on the battlefield.
The Young Ones were either stretching or meditating at the grounds with Teacher when Aly and Catty’s class arrived. There were sixty-four participants taking part in the test altogether, half of them coming from Aly and Catty’s class, while the remainder came from Young Ones as young as nineteen.
And the difference between the older children was horrifically apparent. They towered over the younger students, with the exception of Aly. Their tentacles were fully colored, from the ends to the base of their foreheads, and their muscles were more defined. All things considered, they were more powerful and were going to be much more brutal.
Still, in spite of the odds, the younger class hid their nerves as they prepared. Aly and Catty’s classmates followed right in sync with warm ups, and the older kids didn’t make any gripes about it. They knew the younger children well, and understood why they got paired up with the likes of them.
Teacher had a black robe on today, and everyone thought the color was fitting since black meant the possible beginning or end of things to a Goolian. When the Mature Aged cleared his throat, the participants stopped warming up.
“I shall keep this simple, since you all know what be the stakes. This is the first of your ten lifelong analyses to follow your permanent record, thus it be important to start out strong. Be that as it may, I pray that the lot of you take heed of your bodies. Never in our history have we paired such varied age groups together, yet the times change, and so shall we when we are called to do so. And yet, I still insist this: obey the rules, show the proper respect, and you all shall return home safely, very good?”
“Very good, Teacher,” everyone said.
Teacher grabbed a large sheet of papyrus and stuck it onto a tree with a nail. It was a graph showing the designated groups.
“Whoever does not have a team, I beg, make it known now.” No one raised a hand as he paused. “Very well.”
Aly held her stomach as the butterflies inside churned. It was happening. The Evaluations were actually happening, and there was nothing she could do about it. For years, she thought she’d be able to jump four stories high when this moment arrived. Now that the time was upon her, however, she didn’t want to jump at all. She just needed to run away and hide instead.
“It be a simple concept,” Teacher said. “Survive the wilderness as long as possible while eliminating opponents. All training has thus come down to this. If you lack reflexes, then you shall lose. If you lack agility, you shall lose. If you lack proper control etiquette...”
He stopped, looked at Aly, and looked away.
“...you shall lose. If you do not know how to fend for yourself or others, you shall lose.”
Catty thought she was going to pass out, knowing she was out of her league. She turned around and looked up at the Young One behind her. Of course, she’d known him her entire life, but in that instant, he became a terrifying stranger that only wanted to bash her eyes into her cranium.
Glani rubbed Aly’s back. “Are you well, dearest? You seem a tad pale. Breathe.”
Aly nodded but didn’t say anything.
“We can do this,” Glani said. “Truly, as long as we are to work together, all shall be fine.”
Aly inhaled and flapped her hands, like keeping her composure was a fight on its own. She looked around and studied the trees as if she’d never see them again.
Teacher pointed at a tent he set up hours ago. “I shall remain here for the duration of the event, as always. Be sure you and your mates document each other’s performance throughout the course. And remember, there be no point in cheating. If you are taken out by an opponent and continue to fight, you shall be found out. Every person here is not only a participant, yet a rule official, as well. Thus I shall say no more in this regard, very good?”
Even though Teacher gave the warning, the Goolians already knew they didn’t have anything to worry about. Dishonesty was beyond shameful. One might as well get exiled for being called a “liar.”
“Now, these be my final words.” Teacher stood up straighter and folded his hands behind his back. “I have only been hailed as Teacher for nine years, yet I declare these to be the grandest days in my existence. In you, I am well pleased, and I have been greatly honored and privileged in directing your paths in being Goolians of honor.
“May Truth’s Grace provide blessings to you all. Take care of one another. Respect one another. While you endure the struggles of the wild, discover what being a true Goolian means, yes?”
He placed two fingers together and held them between his brows, giving a Goolian salute. The other Goolians did the same.
“We are not a person, yet a unit. While one may remain standing in the end, do not forget that it took an entire village to bring you to that moment of grand opportunity. There be nothing beyond the tribe.”
“There be nothing beyond the tribe,” everyone answered.
Silence. No more talk. It was simply do or do not. Win or lose. Keep to the course, or go home.
“And so we begin. The first group into the wilderness includes Cattalice, Requai, Glani, and Alytchai.”
The four mastras went to the front, already eyeing the first tree they were going to hop onto.
“I hear the fruit in the wild is quite extravagant beyond all reasoning, Mastras,” Catty said, wanting to kill everyone’s nerves. “What say you?”
“Perhaps they taste better than Master Shanvi’s cooking,” Requai said.
Aly smirked. “Perhaps. Let us find out.”
Glani pointed into the darker unknown reaches of the forest. “Then I shall race you to the nearest batch.”
Teacher held up a hand. “On the mark. “Prepare…”
Their feet dug into the gravel. Their hearts pounded against their sternums, eyes locked straight ahead. Ears heard nothing beyond the sparring priest’s breaths, longing for the final order to begin the Evaluations of the Tribe. And then, it finally happened.
“Engage.”
* * *
Evaluations of the Tribe - Prossia Book 0 : A Coming of Age Space Opera Page 25
