Shakira Barveen
109

Prologue

"Hand me the pain-killers!" Duana shouted, but even as the words left her mouth she knew it was too late. She had been trying to stem the bleeding for hours but her efforts had not helped in the least. There was no hope for the mother-too much blood had already been lost. The only thing that could be done for the mother now was to ease her passing, but there was still hope for the child. She could still be saved.

Duana took a deep breath before closing her eyes in order to reach the clarity of mind she needed. 'What if I fail?' she thought. Both mother and child would then have died in vain. 'Well, I'll just have to succeed then', she told herself firmly. Besides, there was her reputation as a Master Drui to think about.

Three hours later, a baby's cry was heard somewhere in the outer regions of known civilization.

Master Duana could feel her strength failing. She hadn't been the same after healing that Gryphon, and delivering the child had left her oddly drained. She knew what she had to do.

"Talean", she called her apprentice. "Get me the transfer crystal", she demanded when the boy entered the room. "But Master, the crystal's drained!" the boy replied.

"I know that child, now bring it to me, quick!" the old woman said. Questions, questions, and more questions; that boy could be too inquisitive at times. He would make a good Drui though, of that she was sure, and in fact he might even become a Drui Lord. The Drui were in great demand now, more than ever. As were other practitioners of the Arcane Arts. Dark times were approaching, but Duana knew she would never get to see them.

Talean wondered why Master Duana had asked for the crystal. Despite having been her drui apprentice for quite a few renewals or years, as some called them, she still puzzled him at times. Transfer crystals were extremely rare and were given to a drui once he reached Mastery. The only purpose he had seen the crystals used for was to replenish a Drui's energy after too much energy had been expended during a healing.

'Unless she meant to use it for..no!' denial raced through him. She couldn't mean to undergo the rite of passage. Only dying Druis underwent it by emptying their life energy into the crystal. This was done so that it could be used by another-it was their way of making sure Mother Nature's bounty was not wasted.

Raindrops pelted his cheeks; Talean could taste salt as his tears mingled with the rain. One thought kept echoing over and over in his mind; he had been too late.

Chapter 1- My Life

The scent of bread wafted through a tiny room and its occupant stirred in her bed. The room, along with five others, led to a large common area which had a connected toilet.

The dormitory was just one of many in a building on a huge compound, which was surrounded by vegetation on one side and a cliff on the other. Anyone who felt off the cliff was sure to meet a certain death on the rocks which were jutting above the sea surf. The only way out was the long-winding road which led to the city.

During spring, the place was anything but foreboding. At the front entrance hung the words 'Karian Institute for Talents', and if one listened hard enough, the gay chirping of birds could be heard over the loud chatter of students.

Janein POV

'Yum, the bread smells so good' I thought, waking up to the sound of waves dashing against rocks and Master Pharian's shouts just as I had done for nearly my entire life. I pitied the poor souls who were out there getting bruised by her and thanked my lucky stars. Today was a rest day for the Level 4s, which meant that we had no practice or lessons.

Still, we had certain obligations to fulfill and this made me drag myself out of bed. After all, I did not want a couple of Danarians breathing down my neck. Namely, the two Danarians known as Raphael and Silianae. Not to mention my Level head Cassia who would be very angry.

I hurried down to breakfast just in time to grab a bite of the freshly baked bread and catch the briefing-or rather its end.

"Thus, all Level Fives who wish to take the trials this year will have to get parental consent for the trials. You are also to inform your parents that the trials will be held two weeks from now!" she concluded with an emphasis, all the while fixing me with that death glare of hers.

Before, I could have hoped to get away with a light scolding, now I knew she was going to ground me for sure. If only I had known the briefing was about the Trials! The trials were a very important stage in a Karian student's life.

Upon passing our first Trials, we became apprentices and later on journeymen before undergoing another set of trials to reach Master Level. A student at the Karian Institute only got a few chances (depending on their age) to take the Trials. The first time was when we reached 14 and we took the trials each subsequent year until we passed.

The Institute's progression system was very different for that of other Institutions of the Arcane Arts. The situation was such, that our fellow classmates might be older or younger than you by several years. You progressed to the next level after mastering a skill or strength. Thus, students took anywhere from a few months to a year to progress to the next level. The minimum amount of time a student remained in a Level was a term, consisting of 3 months.

Pupils were tested for potential in the Arcane Arts and admitted to the Institute at the Beginner Levels (1 or 2) from the time they were 11 to the time they reached 13 years of age.

To take the Trials, you had to be learning Strength/Skill 5 or be at Level 5, besides being 14 years old. These trials, unlike popular opinion, are not at all like normal examinations. They are instead designed to test how we would react in real-life situations with our particular skills.

The Trials coincide with the annual gathering of all alumni Master Level practitioners for a particular reason-the Masters scout for journeymen at the Trials. If we were lucky, we would get chosen to be journeymen and leave the Institute after a year or two (depending on your whether your Master thought you were ready)-the rest of our education would be taken care of by the Masters. Very few got chosen by a Master at their first Trial. I hoped that I would be one of that lucky few.

"Janein! Are you even listening to me?" Master Cassia shouted. I winced as she brought me back to reality (there was no way I would be chosen), she was always scolding me for day dreaming and punctuality. "Janein, this is your future we're talking about. The Trials are very important. You have to pass them!" I grimaced as her voice reached a higher pitch.

"You have kitchen duty tomorrow, and if I ever catch you late again, I'll sent you to Master Pharin!" she exclaimed. I knew it was an empty threat though; Master Cassia had known me since I was six and had never once sent me for detention. In fact, sending me for kitchen duty was not a punishment- I had practically grown up there.

I was an orphan and all my conscious memories were of the Institute. My playmates as a child had been kitchen boys and young maids. The students had been too old and everyone else was an adult. I had been brought to the institute after a difficult birth which had resulted in the death of my mother and a Master Drui.

Since I was old enough to join the other students, I had had less time to spend with my other friends and Ulena, the head cook who had taken me under her wings when I was in my swaddling bands. As I made new friends and matured, my playmates and I had slowly drifted apart. Still, I welcomed the opportunity to see Ulena again.

My friends appeared in front of me. Just as I predicted, Raphael had an annoyed look on her face and Silianae just looked puzzled. "I don't get it. Master Cassia just gave you extra duty and you have this goofy grin on your face?" she questioned me. "She gave me kitchen duty", I explained. Silianae or Silia/Sili, as her friends called her, grinned back at me, her confused expression gone.

Raphael though, still looked angry, and I bet I knew what it was about. "I can't believe you made us wait half an hour for you! Master Cassia nearly gave us detention 'cuz of YOU!" she screeched loudly in that annoying accent. Sili tried to sooth her as heads turned in our direction. "I only asked Sili to wait, not you", I pointed out icily, a little mad at her. I knew I had deserved a yelling but Master Cassia's scolding had still worn my nerves thin. Maybe if Sili had been the one chiding me I wouldn't have minded.

Sometimes, Ray (Raphael's nickname) and I are the best of friends, yet at other times, we just rub each other the wrong way, like now. Furthermore, I've always had little patience with her theatrics, and she had been exaggerating. I found out later from Sili that they had waited just ten minutes before an impatient Ray had dragged Silia down to breakfast and Master Cassia had just raised an eyebrow at them.

Silia was the peace-keeper of our little clique. She was often being torn in two directions and dragged into quarrels by Ray and me. I don't ever want to get her angry though-they say the quietest ones and those which erupt violently.

I would say that Ray's the most "normal" one of us. She loves clothes, boy- talk, and music. She's the drama queen, she will be angry one moment and cheerful the next. She's very unlike Silia who needs a long time to cool down. In that aspect, Ray and I are alike. We both have quick tempers and sharp mood swings.

Me? I'm the clown and dreamer in the group. I'm often in my own world, dreaming of faraway lands and adventure. When I'm in this world, I clown around a lot. Times like this, when the differences between us are so glaring, I wonder what holds us together. Perhaps, it is the fact that we are Danarians-being human and elf hybrids, we belong to neither world and exist in between. That is our only shared characteristic.

"Janein! Would you stop day-dreaming? You look freaky when you stare at nothing", Ray tried to needle me. I just stuck my tongue out at her. We needed to stick together.