The Chosen (11 page)

The two boys exchanged a look. “Progression?” Luke finally ventured.

Holding up one hand, Rachel began to tick her points off on her fingers. “First class of the day is history where we learned about the legend of the first family of Guardians. The second class of the day is science where we, on that day, learned about botany and how plants live. The third class was tactics where we discussed the legend of the Great War and how the fabled first Guardians broke tradition and killed the Wanderer leader together, as a team.” She spread her hands and gave a smile. “After that I kind of just…I don’t know…understood.”

Luke and Matt were staring at her, eyes wide. “That settles it,” Matt said firmly. “Yo
u
definitel
y
had different instructors than I did.”

From the looks traveling around the circle, David could see that a few people doubted Rachel’s explanation. He himself wasn’t completely sure of the history behind the emblem, but in his mind her explanation made sense. The one to champion Rachel and her explanation was the last person he expected through. “Rachel’s correct,” Kathryn spoke up.

Everyone’s eyes flew to her and while she didn’t shift or fidget under their gaze, he got the distinct impression that she was uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

“How do you know that?” Lindsey asked.

Kathryn was still for a moment, as if debating how much of her knowledge to reveal. “Lord Jasse told me,” she eventually.

David blinked. He had once asked Lord Jasse for an explanation and the older man had just laughed and said “if you think about it you will figure it out”.

“Lord Jasse?” Luke asked in surprise. “He’s one of the hardest instructors to get information like that out of.”

Kathryn gave a brisk shrug. “Well, he told me.”

David suspected that there was a lot more to what Kathryn had told them but decided that here and now was not the place to pursue it. “In any case,” he said quickly before Luke could add anything else. “We’ll finish the family histories later—

He ignored the look that flashed in Kathryn’s eyes.

“… Right now we need to get ready for the ceremony.”

The group disbanded and each went to their own rooms to prepare for the ceremony.

Kathryn went to her room, knowing it would be the last time she would spend radians reading in the privacy it promised her, knowing it would be the last time she would sleep peacefully for several months. She packed her few meager belongings and went in search of Jasse.

She found him on the training mats, a ridiculous grin on his face.

The courtyard was completely full as the sun began to sink behind the horizon. The moon Firea was at it its apex clothing the grounds in a purple hue. The shadowy edges cast by the battlements were more pronounced with the vibrant color giving a sense of regal importance to the ceremony. The trainees were eager to see their friends become Guardians and dream about the day when they would be up there instead of in the audience.

A huge platform had been set up and on it sat the fourteen council members. The King and Queen were present. Off to the right stood a huge metal tree, fourteen torches burning beneath it. The tree had four roots, and eight branches.

Off to the left were fourteen unoccupied chairs. The graduating trainees would take their places once the ceremony began.

Finally the King stood. It was time to begin the ceremony. As he strode to the center of the platform the trainees quieted down, waiting for him to speak.

“Good evening,” King Darin began, smiling at the audience before him. “As you know tonight is a special night.”

He waved his arm around, gesturing towards them. “Tonight we honor those who have completed their training and stand ready to take their place as Guardians of this realm.”

He paused as the trainees clapped and cheered. King Darin held up his hand for quiet. “As I am sure you are all quite aware, being chosen to actively serve is a huge responsibility.” He grinned at the crowd. “I am sure your teachers and mentors remind you of this constantly, but I will also take the time to remind you exactly what a Guardian is.

“A Guardian faces life and death situations every day. I will not lie to you when I tell you this realm has had more than its fair share of Guardian deaths.” A murmur began to pass through the younger trainees and the King held up his hand once again for silence. “Yes,” he agreed, “It is dangerous work, but the rewards are immense. Not only does a Guardian serve as a warrior in times of war, but during the times of peace, they keep the order within this realm.”

“A Guardian will willingly give his, or her, life to defend and protect this realm. And tonight we honor those who are entering into that commitment.”

As he said this, the fourteen graduates, led by David and Kathryn walked down the center aisle of the chairs. They received a standing ovation by the trainees, even the council members stood and bowed as the group approached.

David led his new family to the waiting chairs and took his place before the head chair. The others followed his example. They waited until the King told them to be seated.

King Darin spent a few more minutes speaking of the honor a Guardian served, then relinquished the floor to Lord Geral.

“Tonight,” Lord Geral began in a loud voice. “We have heard the honor it is to serve as Guardians. Now we honor those who have made that commitment.” He motioned with his hand and the council members stood.

Starting with David, Lord Geral called the new Guardians up to receive their new uniforms. They were much different than the basic trainee tunic. These uniforms were black, rather than the tan color of a trainee, and embroidered with the emblem of the Guardians on the front. The uniform consisted of three parts, a bodysuit, a shirt, and an over-tunic.

The bodysuit was made of a special material called Cirin, woven into a fabric that a sword could not easily cut. It would cover their entire body from just under their chins to the tops their feet. The shirt had a rigid neck to protect against sword-thrusts and its sleeves were slit at the elbow, to provide flexibility in sword fighting and archery. Both the bodysuit and the shirt were slit at the elbow but it had been done in such a way that the slits overlapped so that the Guardians would not be without protection. The lower arm was protected by vambraces or gauntlets, while the upper arm was protected by conforming strips of Cirin. The over-tunic was sleeveless and bore the embroidery of the Guardian emblem on its front. The tunic, unlike the ones Kathryn had seen Princess Jasmine and her companions wearing on the day she was rescued, which had different hem lines for men and women, reached to the knees for both sexes and were slit along the side up to the hip to allow freedom of movement when fighting. Its hem was weighted for battle. The boots were knee-high and also made of Cirin. Gloves for the hands reached to the elbow and could be laced to the sleeves of the shirt.

Besides being extremely light and flexible, Cirin had a unique and mysterious property that caused it to be one of the most closely guarded secrets of the realm. Cirin fabric was not merely just fabric, it was a living substance harvested from the thin bark layer that rested on the heart of the Sebacus tree, trees that only Guardians who had the gift to influence plant life could cultivate and only after years and years of intense training and dedicated practice.

When Cirin fibers were woven together using a technique originally developed by the Elves it would repel all sword thrusts, except those made by a sword forged of the metal helcë, and when damaged it would repair itself. It would also provide protection from fire as it did not absorb heat or burn easily. Although extremely tough, Cirin was very soft to the touch and felt like a shirt made of the finest silk to its wearer.

Cirin’s most fascinating property was that it was symbiotic. It drew minute amounts of life energy from the Guardian and forged an eternal bond after the Guardian wore the garment for two weeks. Cirin could sense the Guardian’s physical needs and would wipe away sweat and body heat to cool during periods of strenuous activity or return heat to ward off frostbite or hypothermia during the coldest of winters.

If a Guardian were to be injured, Cirin would bind itself around the wound to prevent extreme blood loss and secrete a natural fluid-like sap to stave off infection. Cirin also naturally repelled most insects, although the nature of that particular ability was not fully understood.

Because of the symbiotic bond between Cirin and Guardian, it would reject any other who attempted to wear it. On more than one occasion, young Guardians had failed to keep their uniforms segregated and mistakenly donned their roommate’s uniform resulting in a very ugly skin rash that the victims couldn’t stop scratching for weeks. To prevent reoccurrence an edict was issued from the Council of Tëlban nearly two centuries ago requiring separate rooms for each Guardian.

Rumors and legends reported that Cirin had actually killed adversaries who had been brazen enough to remove the garment from a fallen Guardian and attempted to make it their own. The usurper suffered a slow and agonizing death as the Cirin constricted the victim as if surrounded by a large serpent. Together, these properties resulted in a uniform that would last a Guardian’s lifetime. 

The uniform was to be worn while in battle or on patrol. It was designed to make it difficult for an aggressor to injure a Guardian, while giving the Guardian an edge. The only others in the realm to wear Cirin reinforced uniforms were the Royal Guards.

The Guardian emblem consisted of two parts. Similar to the ceremonial torch tree, an eight branched tree stood on a hill surrounded by darkness, its four roots diving deep into the earth. The tree represented the intimacy of the families, each part doing its own, but needing the rest of the parts to do their own work for theirs to succeed. Fourteen stars surrounded the tree representing the number of guardians that made up a family, the stars representing their life-long dedication to justice and peace. It was all done in dark red cirin on a black backdrop. The Royal Guards wore the opposite color scheme, making them easy to spot in the palace. As well as differentiate them from the Guardians—never mind the fact that the Palace Guards never ventured outside the capitol city without the King, or royal family, in tow.

Once the uniforms had been dispersed, David led his new family off the stage and into a low building off to the right, out of sight of the spectators. Quickly, each new Guardian found an empty classroom and changed into their uniforms.

David struggled to squeeze his well-toned body into the uniform he had been given. Across the room, Luke appeared to be having similar difficulties.

“I think they gave me the wrong size,” his roommate grunted as he struggled to pull the bodytunic up his torso. He gave David a wry grin. “Do you think I’d win any awards for being the first Guardian to break his armor on the first day?”

“Probably not,” David said as he forced his arms into the sleeves that felt like they’d barely fit Kathryn or Leia. Digging two fingers beneath the neck, David adjusted the fabric so that it didn’t feel like it was strangling him. His motions severely hindered by the tightness of the bodytunic, David began to pull the shirt over his head. From across the room he could hear Luke’s muffled grunts and the occasional stomping sound that told him his friend was having as much fun with this as he was
.
And we’re supposed to do this every morning for the rest of our lives
?
The thought was unappealing.

Finally, both boys had their overtunics on and belted. The gloves and boots were as tight as the bodytunic and David winced every time he took a step.

Someone knocked on their door. “Come in,” David called.

Tyler and Daniel entered the room followed by Matt. All three looked as miserable as David felt.

“Is your armor—“ Daniel began.

—Tighter than a snake’s embrace? Yep,” Luke grumbled as he took a step. “I think we got the girl’s uniforms.”

“But think!” Matt interjected cheerfully. “Right now the tightness of our uniforms really enhances our toned muscles.”

David couldn’t help it, the whole situation was so ridiculous he burst out laughing. “I guess that’s one way to look at it, Matt.”

“You both are crazy,” Luke muttered.

“Come on,” Daniel said moving to the door. “I think the speeches are winding down.

The girls were already waiting. “There they are!” Amy exclaimed quietly as they approached. “What took you so long?”

“We got your uniforms,” Luke replied sourly.

Someone giggled. Cass, David guessed. Looking around, he could see that the girls’ uniforms were far too big for their frames.

Natalie looked exceptionally unhappy. “There is no way in the kingdom that I’m going out there like this!” she said emphatically.

“We have to, Natalie,” Lindsey told her quietly. “They’re getting ready to announce us again.”

“I look like a cow! I’m not going!”

David resisted the urge to tug at fabric that seemed intent on choking the life out of him. “Yes, you are. We’re all going out, even though I’m sure we all feel uncomfortable.”

Natalie opened her mouth to retort, but David’s attention was yanked away by a tingling sensation running across his entire body.