Sword from the Sky
Page 6
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Inside the school, the students gathered in the Ceremony Hall located near the rear of the building. Luca, Vehru and Pabru stood quietly together; their minds were on the testing. They allowed nothing to break their concentration—that is, until someone passed by Vehru, gently brushing against his shoulder. Disgruntled, he turned to the person who disturbed his peace. He saw first a soft smile, followed by a landscape of freckles on a pair of porcelain cheeks, and he was no longer irritated but even more nervous than before.
“Pardon,” Luleh said as her white and green ren flapped into Vehru’s personal space.
Speechless, the boys could do nothing but stare at the girl, and after a few seconds, a second girl, much older, happened upon them, rudely bumping into Vehru’s shoulder once again. She was a couple years older than the boys and had long locks of red hair; it was as if a meadow of flowers bloomed throughout the strands of her mane, and to most, it reminded them of the red honeysuckle beauty that grew in the meadows of the coastal lands.
She had a striking face, beautiful but battleworn, and overall, it was more intimidating than welcoming. Her name was Lereh bal Heatheranla; she was Luleh’s older sister, and as she passed the three boys, she sliced through their souls with a brutish glance, obviously protective of her younger sibling. Luca kept his eyes on Lereh longer than he should have. This was a first for him.
“Wait! Those are them!” Pabru was referring to the “Flowers of Heatheranla” as they were known; the sisters had a notoriety throughout the lands of Esterra as being champions of the people and the youngest to ever see battle as Davinian warriors—and they were feared by most boys.
“So Vehru fancies a Flower of Heatheranla,” Pabru said. “How interesting.”
“I don’t fancy anyone,” Vehru said.
“More like a Thorn of Heatheranla that older sister is,” Pabru said. “At least you picked the right one.”
“Leave him alone, Pab,” Luca said. “He needs to focus; we all need to focus.”
“You’re right,” Pabru said. “We need to focus.” Pabru turned to Vehru, who was still eyeing the sisters as they walked away from him, and gently turned his friend’s face away from the girls. “All of us.” Vehru agreed, sort of, but began to focus nevertheless.
Yet, his plans were thwarted by an unexpected turn of events.
“Aren’t you Mastro Vohro’s son?” a freckled-faced beauty said as she popped into his space. Vehru turned to Luleh but said nothing, only whimpered.
Pabru discreetly bumped Vehru in the middle of his back. “Speak, for Ave’s sake.”
“Wha?” Vehru stammered.
“Goodness,” Luca added. “My friend is in his own world; he’s that focused on his testing. I’m sure you’d understand. So, tell me, Pabru mentioned you girls are the true Flowers of Heatheranla?”
Suddenly, Lereh broke into the conversation, appearing like a ghost, a presence only felt by the corner of Luca’s eye. “Flowers?” she said. “You think us delicate then?”
Pabru quickly whispered in Luca’s ear, “I forgot to mention they hate that moniker.”
Nice, Pabru. Luca sighed, but regained his wits. “I figured the nickname was due to...beauty,” Luca said in a sincere manner. “I meant no disrespect.” Lereh fell quiet; the last thing she thought herself as was beautiful.
“Yes, I’m Mastro Vohro’s son,” Vehru said—finally. Everybody stared at him with concern, but Luleh smiled.
Pabru put his arm around Vehru. “He’s special, this one.”
“I heard you guys do a bit of traveling,” Luca said, continuing with his inquiry. “Have you seen much of Esterra?”
“What’s with all the questions?” Lereh replied, a bit unnerved.
Luca stepped back, putting his hands up. “My curiosity got the best of me, Servantu Lereh.” Lereh was a seventh-blade, thus a Blademaster, and reverence was due to her by the lesser blades, otherwise known as “Jubahns” or the “young ones.”
“Is it true you have a false leg?” Lereh said, harshly.
Blademaster or not, Lereh bringing up his friend’s disability in such a manner was an unwise move. Abruptly, Vehru was no longer shy, and he donned a great scowl, and his spirit grew immensely.
Humbled, Luca spoke, “Yes, here is my wooden leg.” He showed them.
“Then you are truly a remarkable person,” Lereh said, “to get this far in the Order.” Luca’s eyes gleamed, but he hesitated to show his fondness for the girl. “But you still have to make it to your seventh blade. Then, and only then, will you garner my utmost respect.” Lereh broke off from them with her flaming hair loose and wild and that green-laced ren flapping with an authority only a Flower of Heatheranla could ever command.
“Your sister is...well, quite brutish,” Pabru said.
“She can be a bit overbearing sometimes,” Luleh conceded.
“You’re testing for your seventh blade, are you not?” Vehru said, now with a quiet confidence.
“Yes, though I fear the bird will not call my name,” Luleh said, turning her head towards the imperial presence perched up near the corner of the room. The bird met her eyes with an icy stare.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Mor,” Luca said.
“When the Order was first started,” Luleh said, “it was said that the Blademaker befriended a Mor during his pilgrimage to Esterra’s highest peak.”
“I didn’t realize he had gone to Morland,” Vehru said.
“History says he was intent on reaching the clouds,” Luleh said. “There, he met one of the cloud beasts, the kings of the skies. It’s written that he spoke to the massive bird, and that the Mor was impressed that a creature of the ground could speak the things of the sky, and in time, they became friends, and they talked of the things of dirt and of the wind.”
“How do you know all this?” Luca said.
“My sister has access to the Davinian Registry in the tower,” Luleh said. “She likes to tell me stories on our travels.”
“The Registry?” Luca said.
“Luca, doesn’t your father have access to the Registry?” Pabru said.
“Yes, but he’s never taken me there.”
Out of the blue, a loud crack was heard, coming from a large wooden stick. It was the ceremony staff that Siel held in his hand. The Spadas had finally begun.
“Well, I’m off,” Luleh said. “It was a pleasure.”
“Yes, it was!” blurted Vehru, forcing a smile from his affection.
The boys convened with each other after Luleh lost herself in the crowd. “What did she mean by ‘she’s afraid that the bird won’t call her name’?” Pabru said.
“I’m not sure,” Luca said. All three turned to the Mor, who cut their stares with its own, and the boys quickly turned their heads.
Siel walked up to the crowd of students, holding his hands up in order to quiet down the chattering. “We shall commence with our testing!” he said. The students screamed at the top of their lungs; they’d been waiting for this day since they entered the Order, but the excitement circulating throughout the room would soon come to a deafening halt. A feeling of uneasiness filled the hearts of all students. The hall fell mute as the sound of a creaking door was heard. It had been opened, and someone had stepped into the hall without being noticed by the large number of souls occupying the spacious room.
Following the door opening, strange sounds popped off in the air, like hoofs clomping down on the marble-like floor, but these were not hoofs, but the heels of a pair of blood-red boots. This creature came forth from the back of the crowd and made its way through it.
The students broke open like the parting of a sea, and there she was, standing like a statue made of fire and porcelain, and she walked with the scepter in her hand, blinding the jubahns’ eyes with its diamond top as they watched her pass by.
Vohro glided over to Siel’s side, and the rest of the instructors throughout the hall stood alert, with blades at the ready. The wo
man made her way towards Luca, and after reaching the child, stood over him like a grand eagle casting a shadow over its prey.
She turned to Siel and spoke, “I have come for my sister’s son.”
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