Chapter One
December 21

THE TOWN OF Edulation was, perhaps, a little large to be called a town, but it was not quite large enough to be termed a city. As such, it tended to be overlooked by the other inhabitants of the province of Kentish, which had other cities with much greater populations, and were therefore of greater importance in the grand scheme of things. The inhabitants of Edulation didn’t much care about their importance to others. They were perfectly content with being important to themselves.

Edulation, itself, was on the outskirts of the province, farthest away from the centre of its country. It rested on the bank of the River Vien, and so its major function was as a layover point for travellers entering or leaving the small country of Staline. Those visitors mostly kept to themselves, rarely venturing from the marina provided and the small inns they were to sleep in. Although the citizens of Edulation were a friendly bunch, others just tended to forget they existed.

The town was quite pretty, as far as towns go. It was largely wooded, finding itself partly in the gigantic forest of Ilanys. Upon its construction, the builders of Edulation made a small clearing in the trees and simply built within them. All the houses and shops in Edulation were made of wood. That is, of course, excepting the palace.

The palace was called Tharian amongst the people of Edulation, who were called Azrakes. They were a peaceful group, numbering five thousand, and were quite handsome as a general rule, but this was hardly unexpected of the descendants of the Humans and the Elves.

Our story today focuses on two Azrakes in particular, the first of whom was very special, and the second of whom was not. Not by Azrake standards, anyway.

Axia Trothan was aged thirteen years. She was of the Preylon race, and so, like the majority of Preylons, she had very light colouring. Her particular shades of colours, though, were unusual. Her hair was a peculiar blonde, wavering between pale yellow and platinum depending on who was judging. Her eyes were blue, in the simplest terms, but upon looking at them for longer than a split second, one became aware that they were precisely the same shade of blue as the sky above the Edulatic forest. Of course, she was expected to be superior in appearance. It was only befitting of a princess.

You see, Axia’s father was the Umbraxia of Edulation. In another land, the Umbraxia would have been called a king. He headed the town, governed the goings-on, and acted generally important. He was an intelligent, approachable Azrake, and ruled with a fair hand, although his fair hand was rarely required; the Azrakes of Edulation were a law-abiding bunch.

Our other important Azrake was named Caden Bromm. Like Axia, he was also thirteen years of age, but that was just about the only thing they had in common. He was part of the Seckeens, the second race of Azrakes, and so was predisposed to his dark brown hair, and equally dark eyes. He didn’t have any royal blood in him. In fact, he was about as common as they came, in that sense. His father was a tailor – the best in Edulation – and his mother stayed home to raise their five children, of whom Caden was the oldest. There was his brother Q’evaan, age eleven, sister Lanoria, ten, brother Artur, eight, and baby sister Pielacle, who was five, and all of them thought the Edulatic sun rose and set with their oldest brother.

Axia and Caden went to school together. They were in the highest grade of the junior school level, and that day was special because it was their last day before they moved into higher schooling. That night was the Sleeping Ceremony, which would further their growth to such a level that they would be mature enough, upon wakening, to attend higher schooling.

“But I don’t understand why we have to sleep, and no one will explain it to me!”

Simultaneously, Axia gave a sympathetic look, and Caden a withering one, to the girl who’d spoken. Because it was the last day of school, their teacher was giving them a step-by-step walkthrough of the proceedings of later that night, and answering any questions the young Azrakes might have about this rite of passage.

“Okay, Gammie, that’s fine,” the teacher, Ms. Janwait, responded soothingly. “Who else isn’t sure why you have to do this?” As at least three fourths of the class raised their hands, Axia’s brow furrowed, and she glanced around at her classmates, a little unsettled. Did they know nothing of their people?

“Who are we descended from?” was the next question Janwait posed to the class, and Gammie hesitantly responded.

“Elves and humans.”

“Right. Elves and humans are two different species, and so when they reproduced, their offspring was unable to mature entirely on their own.” She pulled down a diagram of a dissected tree and pointed at it. “In order for us to bypass this and reach maturation, Azrakes who have reached the Stunting must crawl into these pods at the bases of the trees in the Ilanys Forest and go to sleep. The pods close, and then, for the next twenty-seven months, the trees feed you nutrients to help you grow passed the age of Stunting. When you wake up, you’ll be fifteen or sixteen, and able to grow on your own until eighteen, when you reach adulthood.”

“Does it hurt?” At Bryun’s question, Caden’s gaze snapped in spite of himself to the teacher, his dark eyes widening with mild apprehension. No one had said anything about it hurting.

“No,” Janwait said with a smile. “You won’t feel it at all. It will be just like going to sleep at night, except when you wake up, over two years will have passed. You’ll feel refreshed, rejuvenated, and you’ll probably be craving meat of some kind.” The class laughed collectively. “I’m serious. When I woke up from my Sleeping, I had a deep-seated need for turkey.”

Her anecdote was interrupted by a gentle ringing, and the students immediately began shovelling their school supplies into their packs.

“Class dismissed. I’ll see you all tonight!”

& & &

“MOTHER, IS THIS really necessary?” the young princess asked in mild irritation as the silky white dress was pulled over her head, her arms forced through the correct holes. She rather hated being treated as a dress-up doll, but since she was an only child, Axia allowed her mother to indulge on occasion.

“Yes,” the older female insisted, pulling the zipper up along her daughter’s spine, and then lifting the curtain of yellow hair from the collar. “You’re going to be asleep for over two years. You need to look your best while you’re doing it.”

“Why can’t I just wear pyjamas? That’s what you normally wear when you sleep. Right?” she added, directing the confirmation to Posey, her pet puff, who was watching with a shy sort of interest from the foot of Axia’s bed. The puff gave a soft woof.

“This is a special kind of sleep.” The high lady’s thin fingers gently pushed a stray strand of wavy blonde hair from her daughter’s forehead. “I can’t believe that, after tonight, you’ll be almost sixteen the next time I talk to you.” The proud smile on her lips wavered slightly, and Axia frowned.

“You aren’t going to cry, are you?” A sigh escaped her elder’s lips.

“No.” High Lady Laekya straightened, running her hands over her gown to smooth out any wrinkles that might have formed during her fussing. “I’d best get back to the umbraxia. You can finish getting ready yourself?”

“Of course,” the princess responded almost automatically. She found it surprising her mother had actually assisted at all. She was used to dressing for these sorts of ceremonies on her own.

With a slight bowing of her head, the high lady ducked out of Axia’s chambers.

& & &

“GET OFF ME!” the young Azrake snapped as his brother jumped up and ruffled his neatly-combed chestnut hair. Caden, who had been straightening the collar of his dress robes in the mirror, turned and shoved Q’evaan back into the wall. “Why can’t you just leave me alone for thirty seconds?”

“Mooom!” Q’evaan whined loudly. He stuck his tongue mockingly out at his older brother and, when Caden raised hand, threateningly curled into a fist, the eleven-year-old took off running into the kitchen.

The little girl sitting on the bathroom sink reached out toward Caden’s head and her chubby little fingers patted down his hair. He gave her a slightly amused smile, his fingers wrapping around her tiny wrist and gently pushing it away.

“Thanks, Pie, but I have to brush it again anyway.”

“You’re pretty,” Pie announced with a giggle, and Caden frowned.

“No way. Girls are pretty. You’re pretty.” He poked her lightly in the nose and then returned to fussing in front of the mirror. “I,” he emphasized, “am dead sexy.” His little sister gaped at him for a moment, and he shot her a playful wink.

“You’re a heartbreaker alright,” came the voice of their mother, Burline, who appeared in the mirror over his shoulder.

“Damn skippy.” He turned around to face Burline, scooping Pie off the skin and balancing her on his hip.

“Terrorizing your brother again?”

“He started it,” came the cliché reply. “Didn’t he, Pie?”

“Yep,” the youngest agreed immediately. Burline eyed the pair of her children carefully.

“I’ll let it slide, if only because he’s going to have a couple years without having to deal with you.” Caden smirked, trailing his mother into the kitchen of their little home.

“So, if I were to shave his head…”

“No.”

“But you said –”

“No.”

“Come on, everybody!” Roget Bromm, Caden’s father, poked his head in the front door and waved his arm. “The sun is setting! We have to get to the Clearing for the ceremony.”

They began to shuffle out of the house, and as Caden passed through the doorframe, Roget laid a hand on his shoulder.

“I hope you’re ready for this.”

& & &

THE CLEARING WAS lit with paper lanterns hung by string from the branches of the trees above each pod, twinkling happily in the dim light of evening. The fifty thirteen-year-old Azrakes who were to begin their Sleep that night sat in two rows of twenty-five each, and behind them lined parents, friends, and siblings.

Three clearings were provided for the Sleeping, since the previous years’ clearing would be occupied still by Azrakes encased in its pods until their twenty-seven months were up. This generation would Sleep in Clearing Two, which was the flattest and had a direct line of sight from the platform to the full white moon.

The Umbraxia had taken position on the platform across which all the new Sleepers had to cross before they slipped into their pods to begin their Sleep, the high lady waiting patiently next to him. He cleared his throat and a hush fell over the crowd of Azrakes, hundreds of eyes focused on the front of the clearing.

One by one, names were called, starting with “Andrawl, Sachryn” and working through the alphabet to “Yental, Wolla”. As each child’s name was called, they crossed the platform, shaking hands with the Umbraxia before going on to their pods and standing patiently at its side as they awaited instructions.

The proceedings were professional, yet wistful. Although the Sleeping was a rite of passage that each Azrake went through, everyone there was sadly aware that the family member or friend going into a pod that night would not be seen for over two years. This knowledge lent a funeral-like undertone to the ceremony, and not one Azrake failed to notice the way the Umbraxia’s voice wavered when he called his daughter’s name.

When each thirteen-year-old stood next to a pod, they appeared dwarfed by the gargantuan trees behind them. Dressed in their finest robes and dresses, they may have seemed out of place to someone not intimately familiar with the ways of the Azrakes. They slipped into their pods and laid down in the most comfortable position they could. Once everyone was in position, the pods closed all at once, hiding each little Azrake, Caden and Axia included, in their fluffy green innards.