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Longing
Book one of the Cylsteth
Part One: Grief
Trials
The offi cial day of testing was almost over
. T
he various Orders had fi nished their
T
rials
and
,
w
hile
nothing had been said
,
Warrick
was sure he had not been selected. As the various
Trialmasters
had lined up at the top of Whiteford's village square
for the
C
all
ing of
the Chosen
none had so
much as glanc
ed
in his direction. While the villagers of Whiteford would be upset
,
Warrick
was
relieved. He had not missed
that no female Order had sent representatives to
Whiteford this year.
Not being
select
ed
meant that he
too
would
now
be staying in Whiteford
, staying
with Jessie.
Staying to fulfi l his promise to Jessie's mother.
As he stood
waiting
in the square with the other Potentials
Warrick thought back to
th
at
day
, t
wo
months ago
. T
he day
of Harvest's End
.
The day
Jessie's
mother
had
sternly
commanded
Warrick
to
protect
her daughter
Jessie
and he had solemnly Oathed that he would.
"Mind you protect Jessie now Warrick. See that she's unhurt and unmolested by the
T
ravellers.
She's my daughter and they'll be words to your father
,
see that there isn't
,
if anything should
harm a hair on her head!"
The mock
angry words of
Jessie's mother were
laughingly delivered
as he
r
husband
,
Jessie's father and
the Farmsteader, had
helped Jessie up
on
to the cart bench
next to Warrick
,
sharing a grin with Traveller Mathews, also on the bench seat, reigns
nonchalantly held in his hands.
"I will
m
a'am
,"
Warrick had replied
solemnly
. "I won't leave her side until she's
again
in the
hands of her family
.
" Warrick had
pronounced his intention
with all the dignity of a solemn oath
,
despite
the
wide
grins of the adults.
Traveller Mathews
had
shared handclaps of farewell and a
chuckle with the
laughing Farmsteader Stevens
and his wife
before with a flick of the reigns the
cart was off.
Warrick meant every word of that promise
to Jessie
'
s
mother
and he still
intended to keep his word,
even though fulfi lling
his oath
was not something he
could
ever expected
to
now be able to do.
Warrick and Jessie
had
left for
Whiteford on the fi rst of the carts bound that way from their famil
y
'
s
Farmsteads. It was Harvests End
, for harvest not just all the cousins of the Farmsteads and
villages
but
also all those who Travelled the roads came home to work harvesting the produce from
the family Farmsteading. At Harvest End n
ot just all the
Travellers
but also all the
cousins
of the
Farmsteads and villages travelled to Whiteford to celebrate the end of Harvest Season
and
to
farewell the Travellers as they once more left on their journeys to the cities along the ways of the
Realm as they set forth to sell the Harvest
.
Contrary to the words of Jessie's
mother
the
T
ravellers were as much family and friends
to
the
F
armsteaders as their neighbours
and the surrounding
village
rs
.
W
hile it was joked and mock
snarled about
'
tricksy
T
ravellers stealing away with the maidenhood of the plains
'
,
all knew that the
only 'stealing' going on was that of said daughter's hearts and as many daughters of the
T
ravellers
were
'
tied to the earth
'
in unions with the sons of the plains
as daughters of the plains, aye and not
a few sons too, were 'entranced' by
T
ravellers into
venturing forth throughout the lands
.
Travellers were
not
once a year merchants
,
turning up at harvest time to buy the wares of the
F
armsteads for as little as possible
to
cart
to the cities for the greatest profi t they could get.
Travellers were integral to how the Farmsteads survived. They were family to the
F
armsteaders,
travelling to the cities and towns to both sell the crops and
then
purchase the needs of the great
Page
1
of
1
F
armsteadings
, bringing them back from the cities to the great
boarder plains
the Farmsteadings
spread across
. Travel
lers traveled
across the three districts
,
carting food, produce and other
needs, even droving
the
great herds of
animals to feed the peoples of the cities and
bringing back
breeders from the other districts to keep the bloodlines mixed and the herds strong.
Even a Traveller such as Mathews
,
who was from the furthest district sun
set
and wasn't actually
related by blood to any of them
wasn't a stranger. Trader Mathews had been there at Warrick's
birth
, t
heir families had been trading with each other for
three
generations. Traveller Mathews
family was he
r
ders and Mathews was here
on the day of
Harvest End to organise and pay for the
winter feed Warrick's family had been growing for them since the time of Warrick's
great-
grandfather
. A time
when the two families had agreed that a long term arrangement between the
families to supply hay and other feed for the winter herds was in each families interest, even if
some years the hay cost more then it could be gotten for elsewhere and other years the feed was
sold for less then others were willing to pay. Warrick even remembered a time
eight
years ago
,
during the bad drought
,
w
hen
the best breeding stock from the Mathews herd
had been
bought to
his family's Farmsteading so that the
bloodlines could be
preserved.
Traveller Mathews was an older man, greying and weatherworn
. H
is
advancing age
had
n
'
t stopped
him though from
outwork
ing
the tall for his
sixteen
summers Warrick
at loading the cart. B
y almost
two-to-one
Traveller Mathews had beaten Warrick in carrying and
packing the cart
as the sun rose
that morning, ferrying produce from
the barns of
Warrick
'
s f
ather's
Steading
to the Mathew's
Traveller
s
Cart and its numerous storage bins
, loading the cart full before Warrick and Traveller
Mathews had made their way to the neighbouring Steading where they had picked up Jessie.
For at
Harvests End
all th
e
work
of the harvest
was fi nished and the Traveller carts were loaded
with the fruits of the
Steadings. The
combined families w
ould then make
their way to Whiteford
,
where t
he hay and feed for the Mathews herds would be stored in the
vast sheds, specially built for
the purpose beside the river docks,
ready for the river boats to load up and begin the long haulage
to the Mathews' Herdlands
many weeks sunwards.
The combined families would
then
head to the
T
ravellers camp
to
celebrate the end of harvest all night long
. T
he next day,
vastly hung over, the
Farmsteaders
would farewell their Traveller cousins
as they began their
journeys
in carts along the
Ways
to the cities and towns
,
to sell the rest of the harvest
and buy what was needed
to keep the
Steadings healthy. In a great convoy,
waved on their way by the entire district, the Travellers would
leave Whiteford before
the Farmsteaders
would return
again
to the
ir
Steadings
.
But this year that ha
d not
happened, not
at least for the
extended
families of Jessie and himself.
Dismissing the memories, memories that still haunted him even after two months,
Warrick
returned
his gaze to the assembled Trialmasters and
waited.
Warrick stood
in the main square of
Whiteford
with
the other
P
otentials
, calmly watching
as one by one the Trialmasters
of the different Orders
stepped forth and called out the names of th
ose
C
hosen to be welcomed into the ranks of their
Order
, gathering up their new recruits and lead
ing
them
from the square
.
As
he
'd
expected
his own
name
had
not
been
called
. It
barely even registered
with
Warrick
as he
turned to leave
the square
that he was the only one
Trialling
at Whiteford that year not
to
be
C
hosen.
Blank faced,
Warrick
walked stoically through the thronging crowd, slowly
making his way
from the square.
Making his way b
ack to the Waystation. Back to Jessie
and his oath
.
******
"Warrick not chosen?
T
he only one from that pack? I can't believe it!"
Harsen
, Headman of the small town of Whiteford
,
listened to the incredulous murmurs
of the
townsfolk
around him, townsfolk who had come to watch the
T
rials
and now spilled out onto the
square to congratulate and to gossip. Grimacing
he watched Warrick leave the square
, an almost
inhuman expressionless calm pulled tight like a mask over his face
. Not since
Harsen
had
been the
Page
2
of
11
one to
tell
Warrick and Jessie that the entirety of their extended families had been killed by
Wyrdrealm Demons had he seen so much as a single expression on
that
young man
's face
. Not
pain, not tears
, d
ear Gods
certainly not laughter.
Even the humiliation of being the only one not
chosen for Orders
today
did
not
have the power to
crack
that emotionless
mask.
Two months ago
Harsen
had watched the sunlight leave Warrick's face
. A
s
Headman Harsen had
taken upon himself
the task
to
break the news
to the two
Farmsteader
children
of the bodies found
.
O
f
Warrick
'
s
mother, father
,
younger brother
; a
ll the rest of
Warrick
'
s
and Jessie's
immediate and
extended families
, both Steader and Traveller
, found dead at the scene of
a
Wyrdrealm Demon
massacre
.
For the fi rst time he saw the by now familiar expressionless
mask of
Warrick's
come down over his
face
.
Showing no emotion what-so-ever at the news
Warrick had turned
,
gently
gathered the
crying
Jessie
in his arms
, put her face
to
his shoulder and
then
half carried, half lead
Jessie
to a nearby
wall
where
they had
slumped down
together,
a now openly weeping Jessie in
Warrick's
lap
and a
thousand mile stare on
Warrick's
face
as he
gently held
Jessie
for bells
.
N
ot so much as a tear
entering
Warrick's
eye
s
while
a distraught
Jessie wept herself to
exhaustion and eventual
sleep
in
his arms
.
That sight
, the weeping girl in the arms of the emotionless boy,
had broken the hearts of the whole
of Whiteford
. I
t wasn't even discussed
but silently understood by all
that with the death of their
entire
families the whole of Whiteford was now ready to do
an
ything they could for the
distraught
pair.
Harsen heard heavy
,
determined footsteps coming his way and turned to see the angry face of
Keeper Stones. As the Keeper of the
town
's
W
aystation where Warrick and Jessie
,
along with
all
the other
P
otentials
, was
staying Harsen
understood
the anger on the Keeper's face. If anyone had
had the time and opportunity to examine all the
P
otentials
,
it was Keeper Stone
s
.
"What the hell happened there?"
Stones
growled out as soon as he was close enough for
conversation. "Warrick was easily the best of them
.
I can't understand everyone else being picked
and
Warrick
left standing in the square like that!"
"I believed he was good but you really think
he is
the best of them?"
Harsen asked.
"
E
asily, the whole two months h
e's
been here h
e's
been helping out. Never complains, never
moans. Just silently listens to yer order, asks the questions he needs to understand the job and
then just does it! And he keeps paying for the room he shares with Jessie too. Every week, hands
over the money fi rst thing. Doesn't even listen to me say he doesn't need to pay, puts the money
down and walks off with that non-expression of his."
"I thought it was agreed that Whiteford is paying his board?
"
Harsen demanded angrily.
"
And why
is he doing chores as well? His board is payed for!"
"Why's he paying if h
e's
a
P
otential?
"
w
as Stones calm reply.
"
You know that's always been free
board and food for chores too.
" Sighing Stones gave the departing Warrick an exasperated stare.
"
He's paying
'
cause I can't get him to
not
pay. He just puts his money down and walks off
,
no
matter what I say to him. Most of the time I'm pretty sure his not even listening to me. Anytime
someone tries to talk to him about what happened
he forces that heartbreaking smile on his face,
says 'thank you' politely and then
insists
h
e
'
s
'fi ne'
and walks off."
"So what are you doing with the money?"
Harsen
asked also with a sigh.
"
I've put
it aside. Hopefully he'll stop running on rote and start living again. I reckon when that
happens I'll be able to have a talk to him and give it back."
Page
3
of
3
"Running on rote?"
"Yeah, him and Jessie both. They just reported to the kitchens crack of dawn the fi rst day they
were there
,
asking what they needed to do. Don't even think it occurred to them that they were
paying guests and not supposed to work. Missus suggested they needed something to take their
mind off things so we gave them simple mindless tasks and they just kept coming back when they
were done. When the other potentials started turning up they naturally started working chores with
them. As I said, just doing things by rote, not thinking, not getting emotionally involved, certainly not
planning
," Stones paused and looked thoughtfully at the retreating Warrick. "Come to think of it,
I'm
not so sure about Jessie
,
"
he drawled thoughtfully.
"Really?"
Harsen
asked hopefully.
"Missus said that she's let some things slip and Jessie
may not be
going on rote like Warrick there
but waiting and it doesn't seem as though
she's
waiting for life to start again, more waiting for
something specifi c that hasn't happened yet."
Harsen
paused thoughtfully before with another sigh he returned to the main problem.
"So what do
we do with Warrick?"
he fi nally asked.
"Ain't that the question
,
" Stones
agreed
fi nally turn
ing
back to Harsen as Warrick turned the corne
r
and left their view. "
Missus says even Jessie expected him to be
C
hosen, apparently she'd already
packed for them both."
"Packed for them both
h
uh
?" Harsen gave Stones a puzzled glance. "N
o female Orders came this
year
, w
here d
oes
she think she
's
going?"
Harsen mused.
Stones blinked.
"You know
in the excitement this morning I didn't even think of that
," Keeper
Stones drawled.
"
Only Jessie was there for the female potentials, all the rest were boys
. T
he fact
that she
'd
packed like the rest of them didn't even twig with me
till
you asked
the
question now."
Turning both of them stared at the Waystation
just visible in the direction the retreating Warrick had
strode
off towards.
******
"You'r
e
back earlier then I expected
,"
Jessie greeted Warrick as soon as he entered the
ir shared
room at the Waystation
. "T
he
O
rder anxious to get you started or something?"
she questioned
glancing up from the bed she was just fi nishing making.
An unrelated female and male sharing a
room together
at a Waystation
should have raised eyebrows
, i
n a place like Whiteford it should
have been unthinkable
. B
ut with no other female
P
otentials
presenting this year
to room with
Jessie
and too many young male
P
otentials around to let her room by herself, putting
Jessie
with
Warrick had been the obvious solution. Everyone in Whiteford had seen how the
two
were around
each other
, especially
since their shared tragedy
,
and one look at Warrick's face when he stood
near Jessie had quite literally given nightmares to the other male potentials. No one thought
Jessie's virtue was in any danger from the rooming arrangements.
"I wasn't
C
hosen
,
"
Warrick answered emotionlessly.
"Okay and how did you manage that?"
Standing up Jessie
turned and
demanded of Warrick
accusingly, fac
ing
him with her hands on her hips and a
demanding
expression on her face.
"Pardon?"
Warrick blinked. Jessie wasn
'
t usually so
confrontational.
"Come on Warrick
,"
Jessie replied
exasperated.
"
You and I
know
that only you could have pulled
something to prevent you
r
self
being
C
hosen. It wasn't an
if
you were going to be
C
hosen, it was a
which
O
rder
!
"
Page
4
of
11
"I think the Orders all wisely decided that a
P
otential with no real desire to be
C
hosen is not a
recruit worth having
,
"
Warrick replied slowly, trying to work out where Jessie
'
s unexpected
anger
was coming from.
"You know you would have done well in any of those Orders
,
"
Jessie stated
giving Warrick a
worried stare.
"I don't wish to be in any of them, I have a promise to fulfi l
,
"
Warrick replied fi rmly
, s
taring right back
at Jessie with no compromise in his expression.
Jessie sighed
.
T
urning from Warrick she returned to fi nishing off the bed she had been making
when Warrick walked in. Looking around Warrick
noticed that Jessie's bag was packed
, neatly
waiting beside the bed she was making.
Examining Jessie
more closely
Warrick
fi nally t
ook
notice
of what she was
wearing
.
Warrick started sharply as he recognised her
traveling clothes
.
"Going somewhere?"
h
e
demanded
.
"Yes
,
"
Jessie replied simply
not looking to Warrick
.
"
I
have my
T
rial too then I will be leaving. I
packed you
r
bags
as well,
"
she pointed to the floor next to his bed.
"What trial? None of the female Orders came
,
"
Warrick questioned confused.
"Yes they did. Cylsteth
,
"
Jessie replied
a little defi antly, standing to face Warrick straight on.
"
Cylsteth
. You
r
trailing for
Cylsteth
!"
Warrick exploded shocked.
"People die trailing for them! It
s
not
pass
or
fail, its
pass
or
die
!
"
Worriedly Warrick approached Jessie carefully.
"
More of their
candidate end up dead then accepted
,
"
h
e pleaded softly. "
Even those that
pass
tend to leave for
the
O
rder on a stretcher
!"
With a sigh
Jessie
turned back to the bed. In frustration
Warrick
turned away
notic
ing for the fi rst
time that it was not
just
the bed,
the
whole
room had been cleaned
. The beddings on both beds
had
been
freshly replaced, Jessie
'
s and his belonging were neatly packed into their two rucksacks
and
the
whole
room cleaned ready
to
recei
ve
new lodgers.
"When is your
T
rial?"
Warrick asked
frowning, turning back to Jessie and stubbornly standing
before her
until she answered.
"Now
,"
Jessie said softly
avoiding his
eyes
.
"I need to go now."
"
Y
ou
weren
'
t
going to tell me?"
Warrick cried in anguish.
"No
,
"
Jessie
replied c
losing her eyes, keeping her face turned from Warrick
'
s distress.
"I was
assured you would be in an
O
rder today so I could go to my Trials with an open heart."
Finally she
looked to Warrick, tears in her eyes
silently
begging his understanding.
"I was told to tell nobody of
the
T
rials, otherwise they would stop me attending them."
"Do you honestly believe I would stop you?"
Warrick asked hurt.
Jessie looked into Warrick's eyes and for the fi rst time in months saw an emotion there. "No
,
"
s
he
sighed.
"You too know why I am doing this
,
you would never stop me."
Silently she
asked
his
forgiveness
with her eyes.
"I'm only sad I can
't
T
rial with you
,"
Warrick said his
face
betraying his
emotions
.
"Cylsteth are the
only order that fi ght the Wyrdrealm Demons but
they only take females. I'd give anything to be
trialling with you
,
"
he whispered.
"Even your life if you fail?"
Jessie
reminded him
with a wry smile.
Page
5
of
5
"Like you
,
" Warrick said calmly and solemnly. "I
would give my life for the merest chance at
stopping something like happened
to our families from happening again
."
"Not revenge?"
Jessie queried softly.
"They are dead
,"
Warrick stated, glassy eyed but
without
tears. "
I can't bring them back. All I can
do is save others in their memory."
"You're better the
n
me
,
"
Jessie stated
,
her expression hard.
"
I just want to kill demons
. Kill those
that killed..
."
Angrily
Jessie quickly bent down and
snatched
up her rucksack
, hurriedly she
turned
and
fled the
room. Without even realising what he was doing Warrick grabbed his rucksack too
and
followed.
Warrick
ran
after Jessie
catching
her
just as she stepped out of the
W
aystation
and
into the fading
afternoon light.
"What are you doing Warrick?"
Jessie demanded angrily
as he stepped up next to
her.
"I might not be able to trial with you but I can certainly stay with you all the way until you are
accepted
,
"
Warrick calmly replied,
settling the rucksack on his back and
adjusting the straps
to get
them comfortable.
"An
O
rder is like a family huh?" Jessie s
ighed
. Warrick blinked as Jessie repeated out loud exactly
what he was thinking. He quickly looked over
to
her and noticed the unshed tears in her eyes. Of
course. It was the last thing any of her family
had
ever
said in her hearing
too. E
ven if it wasn't
directed at her
, l
ike him there was no way Jessie was ever going to forget her
mother's
fi nal words
to him
,
n
or his reply either.
"Yes
,
" Warrick replied simply. Like a lot of things
further words weren't necessary between them. It
wasn't as though
both
of them hadn't examined in detail every word
they'd
said
,
e
very
action
they
had
taken, a
nything th
ey
could have
done
different
ly
that day.
A Wyrdrealm rip occurred and a pack of demons came through. Nobody knew where or how many.
Any searche
rs
that found
the demons
t
hat day
died.
Jessie, Warrick and
Traveller
Mathews survived because they were on a
small
fast moving cart
,
bells in front of the rest, almost certainly passing through before the realm-rip occurred.
Their families did not survive because
,
though
there was nearly fi fty of them
, grouped
together on
the
slow moving farm
wagons
, the demons they faced still overwhelmed them. F
ifty people, or a
hundred, it didn't matter
.
O
rdinary people where no match for even a single
Wyrdrealm Demon
, let
alone a pack
w
ithout Mystical protection
nobody
survived a
Wyrdrealm Demon
attack
. Fifty people
w
ould have been enough to attract demons from miles around
, c
ertainly with a group that size no
matter what time they had passed near the realm-rip
,
they would have been attacked
, with the
inevitable results.
Both Jessie and Warrick had thought round and round about th
at
day many, many times over the
last two months. Neither had ever suggested to the other that they were "lucky" or "saved". Both
knew that they would have changed
anything
simply to
have
be
en
there with their families at the
end. To have held them and said "I love you" one more time
.
Dying with them was nowhere near
too high a price for that, it was barely even a price at all. Many times over the last two months
Warrick and Jessie would have said it would be a blessing and have meant it
with all their
heart. At
barely the age of
sixteen,
both Jessie and Warrick had learnt the
harsh
lesson that there
is a
great
many thing worse then dying
. Sometimes
,
simpl
y surviving
was
quite possibl
y
one of the
cruelest
.
Page
6
of
11
Warrick let Jessie lead them for almost
a quarter bell
before he thought to question where they
were going
, since it obviously wasn
'
t the main square where his
T
rials had occurred
.
"The temple
,
"
was Jessie's short reply.
Warrick looked across at what he had assumed was Whiteford's only temple
, a square stone
building
that they happened to be passing and
that
Jessie had not so much as glanced at.
"Which
one?"
he asked puzzled.
"That one
,
" Jessie stated
,
pointing at what until now Warrick had always assumed was a ruin on
the hill above the town.
Looking
up
at the steep slop
e
of the hill, more rock then grass
, with what grass there was deeply
covered in mid-winter snow.
Warrick
glanc
ed
at the rapidly sinking sun
before
once again turn
ing
to
Jessie
.
"Is it really a good idea to be climbing that at this time?"
h
e enquired concerned.
"I was planning on doing it a bit earlier but someone spoiled that
,
" she replied
somewhat sharply.
"Maybe some more haste then?"
Warrick suggested with a smile.
"Oh good idea
,
"
Jessie replied
, turning slightly to favour Warrick with an
answering grin.
Jessie started to walk faster. Warrick glanced at the sun again, looked towards the shadows
already on the hill and decided a little running would not hurt. For the fi rst time in two months
he
reached out to
take
Jessie's hand
in his
,
smiling happily as she
also
clasped his hand. Then
together they
took off running for the hill
, laughing and leaping down the street in he
e
dless
abandon, running down the street in pure joy
at being
together
,
like they had not done since
coming to Whiteford. W
ithout realising what it looked like
,
Warrick
and Jessie ran hand in hand
joyfully
for
the hill, down
the Path towards
what Whiteford's residents knew as "
Lover's Leap
"
.
******
Racing the shadows up the hill as the sun sank
,
Jessie and Warrick arrived at the entrance to
the
temple complex
along with the sunset
. Shadows seemed to make the stones dance
, while
the ruby
red sunset
painted
the
temple
walls in the colours of blood.
"I assume you were told to come at this time?" Warrick queried Jessie
, glancing uneasily at the
temple complex before them.
"Of course
,
"
Jessie replied shortly.
"Got to hand it to the Cylsteth
," Warrick murmured.
"E
ven with their reputation
,
this is defi nitely a
step up in atmosphere to what I expected.
" Warrick looked around tentatively before turning back
to
Jessie
,
"
What do we do now?"
Jessie gave Warrick a considering look.
"I was told to proceed through the temple and the test
would begin
," fi nally she answered.
"
Time for us to split up
," she suggested uncertainly.
"I don't think so
!" Warrick replied forcefully
.
"
When the test starts I'll stand
apart
with the
Trialmaster. Until someone pulls me out though
,
I'm keeping my promise."
Warrick fi xed Jessie with
a simple stare, no menace, just iron hard resolve.
Jessie sighed, then close
d
her eyes for a few m
oments
. "It doesn't feel wrong
,
"
s
he murmured
eventually, opening her eyes to contemplate Warrick
thoughtfully.
"S
o I guess we'll do it your way
,
"
she relented.
"
'
Feel wrong
'
?"
Warrick asked puzzled.
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7
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7
"I've felt what would happen today for almost a month now
,
"
Jessie
murmured quietly, almost
whispered really, giving Warrick a fearful look.
"Good
,
"
Warrick stated fi rmly.
"Good?"
Jessie
blinked in astonishment.
"I state I've 'felt'
this day for a month now and you say
'Good'?"
s
he asked in disbelief.
"This is a
'
live or die
'
test
Jessie,
"
Warrick reminded her.
"These people chase demons. I doubt
ordinary people survive
the Trials to join
Cylsteth. I know I'm going to lose you today no matter
what, I still want you alive rather then dead."
Staring at him in astonishment
,
Jessie
saw the fear in
Warrick
's eyes for her.
"'Fe
e
ling' how things will be is defi nitely something I'm happy to hear you
say today."
With a pull of his
rucksack
's straps,
he gave
Jessie
a wry smile
.
"So oh master of the
feelings, how do you want to proceed?"
"I was all for going alone but you were too stubborn for that
. N
ow
you
'
re
going to listen to what I
say?"
s
he
demanded
, still perplexed by his
calm acceptance of her revelation.
"You're the one with the
F
eelings
," Warrick reminded her.
"
As long as its understood I'm with you till
the
Trial
,
I'm following what you say."
Warrick stood
unmoving,
giving
Jessie
a fi rm stare,
again
no
menace
but
resolve to match the mountains.
Jessie stared at Warrick for a second, then w
ithout saying a thing
turned and
strode
for
a gap in
the walls
of the complex. A little startled that she would do so without fi rst telling him what to do
,
Warrick quickly rushed to catch up. Noticing that Jessie seemed to be concentrating and moving
as silently as she could, Warrick decided to make use of skills his father
had
taught
both of them
,
skills used hunting the hills and forests around
the
ir
Farmstead
s
. Move cautiously. Breath softly.
Step
quietly
.
M
ost importantly, shut up and
follow silently
.
Keeping an eye on Jessie and
trying to
be
come
aware of her entire posture
,
aware
so that he
could quickly follow any instructions she gave
,
w
h
ether they be verbal or gesture, Warrick
followed
closely
behind
Jessie.
M
ove for move
, Warrick copied Jessie
as she crept through the courtyards
of the temple complex. While he strained his eyes and ears
,
Warrick
never heard anything but he
trusted
Jessie
.
N
o matter what she did, either freeze in place,
or
drop to the ground and lay quiet,
he followed suit
, as quickly as he could
and
as silently as possible
. Ev
en when
Jessie
backed up
over half a courtyard
,
leaving it behind and going what seemed way out of her way to get around it,
he never question
ed
her, n
ever
made any sound at all, merely followed her
as silently as he
knew
how
.
Warrick saw a fi re flickering ahead the way they seemed to be going but since Jessie stopped
dead at the sight
,
he just held his breath and concentrated on not making any noise
,
while paying
attention to all his sense
s
. As he was used to ever since entering the
complex
,
he heard nothing,
saw nothing, smelt nothing but still
,
Jessie seemed to be reacting to things he could not sense, so
he concentrated on being silent and following her guidance as quickly and as quietly as he could.
Eventually, after following a very indirect route
,
Jessie lead him into
the
courtyard with the fi re in it
and seemed to relax. After all that had happened in the last what felt like bells getting here, Jessie
relaxing had the opposite effect on Warrick and he tensed up and started concentrati
ng
even more
on his surroundings
. Carefully studying everything,
fi nally
he spotted the
women sitting on what
seemed a camp rol
l
in the shadows of a wall.
Jessie smiled as she saw her,
ran
up to her and knelt on the ground in front of her
,
then sat on her
feet while still sitting up straight. Warrick gave Jessie a strange look
,
he'd never seen her sit that
way before
. As he followed Jessie cautiously, Warrick
looked around
convulsively, he
just could not
feel comfortable
, certainly
siting, or kneeling,
was out of the question for him
at the moment. He
Page
8
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11
looked and noted that the wall was quite high
,
very strong
and in good repair
,
also
that there was
two walls and that the strange lady and Jessie were actually in the lee of the corner between the
m,
with the fi re burning to his right
,
between
the three of
them and the closest opening in th
at
wall.
Looking around behind him
, Warrick
saw only an inky blackness from w
h
ere they had
come
. Much
as Warrick was curious about the women and what Jessie and her were going to do
,
every time he
turned his back on the inky blackness he felt an inch in his shoulder blades and immediately turn
ed
back to face that way. Eventually he simply gave up, moved
close
so that his back was to Jessie
and stood facing the inky blackness.
"I see you b
r
ought your protector along
,
"
t
he woman commented to Jessie.
"B
r
ought implies I had a choice. He made it clear that he considers his promise to my
mother
binding until I am accepted into Cylsteth
,
"
Jessie replied wryly.
"So you told him what you intend?"
t
he lady asked with some surprise.
"I did
,
"
Jessie stated bluntly.
"And he didn't try and stop you?"
Again, there was surprise in the lady's question.
"He knows exactly why I will do this. He sa
i
d he
only regretted
not
being
able to
T
rial for Cylsteth
too,
"
Jessie explained sadly.
"You would
Trial
for Cylsteth?" Since the voice was slightly louder
,
Warrick assumed it was directed
to him
. He
turned to see the lady looking straight at him
.
"You fi ght the Wyrdrealm Demons, I would sacrifi ce anything to do so as well. I am aware that you
only accept females and that none of the male Orders fi ght Wyrdrealm Demons. I assume there is
a reason for that, so I accept I can
not
do so myself
,
"
Warrick answered truthfully.
"You would really sacrifi ce anything to fi ght Wyrdrealm Demons?
"
t
he Lady pressed Warrick.
"
You
are aware that saying things like that on
T
rial days can have the force of an
O
ath?"
s
he warned
carefully.
Warrick paused as the warning in the lad
y
'
s tone
registered with him. Then he thought about if he
really would sacrifi ce anything
. Warrick needed little contemplation before he
quickly realis
ed
that
he would not. He could not kill another human just so that he would have the chance to fi ght
demons, no matter how many others he might save doing it.
Once he realised that was out
,
he
came to also understand that no matter how it hurt, or how much he wanted it, he wasn
'
t really
able to make others suffer in anyway in order to try and fulfi l his wishes.
Warrick sighed.
"You
are
right Trialmaster
,
"
he
said bowing formally
.
"
There
is much that I would
not do but truthfully
,
anything of myself or that is mine to give
,
I would
gladly
do so
for the chance
at fi ghting
Wyrdrealm Demons
," Warrick offered with heartfelt simplicity.
With a stare that looked like it could see right through him
,
the wom
a
n
regarded Warrick with
an
unreadable expression. She then nodded sharply and intoned "
so
noted" as though a great
purpose had been decided, then seem
ed
to dismiss Warrick from further concern
as she
turned
back to Jessie.
"On this night
,
you came here of your own volition knowing what
is
to be?"
s
he intoned
formally
,
this time it was Jessie she studied intently.
"I d
o
,
" Jessie replied
calmly
.
"
I freely submit to the
T
rials as testing for Cylsteth
,
at the
peril
of my
life
,
"
Jessie
promised
solemnly
,
deliberately, not the slightest hesitation in her voice.
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9
"At the
ending,
you
submit to
what is to be?"
t
he Lady questioned Jessie.
"I do. I freely submit to Cylsteth and sever those ties of family, friendship and companionship to
dedicate to Cylsteth."
Looking again at
Warrick the Lady
challenged
,
"You who have protected her and stand here at peril
of your
own
life, will you let her go?"
"Of course
," Warrick replied quickly.
"
If she is accepted into Cylsteth
,
I pledge my promise fulfi lled.
My
Oath
ties only me and I claim no special bonds to
Julie
otherwise
,
"
Warrick replied, the formal
words coming from within, from a part of Warrick separate
but
contained.
Numbly Warrick realised
he
couldn't
have said anything else in reply.
"
Julie
? Why did
you
just call me
Julie
?"
Jessie asked confused, staring at Warrick in surprise.
"Because by your
O
ath
,
your pledge of allegiance to Cylsteth accepted
,
you are now bound and
your new name
revealed
,
"
t
he woman formally responded, before
with a look towards Warrick and
raised eyebrow
.
"I am surprised though that you kn
ow
it
?
"
she questioned him.
"I didn't. I don't. I
. It
…
just popped out
,
"
Warrick stumbled trying to explain.
Her other eyebrow raised too
.
"Well it
'
s her name now."
Coming towards Warrick she examined
him closely, fi nally asking
him
curiously
,
"What would you call me?"
Warrick
tried
to say "Trialmaster" but his tongue would not form the words. He opened and closed
his mouth a few time
s but nothing came out. Confused,
test
ing
words
that came to him, he tried
"Teacher
?
" When she just kept staring at him
,
Warrick found himself
continuing,
"Guide", then
"Taskmaster" and fi nally "Laurette".
Julie gasped as she he
a
rd the name 'Laurette' and blurted
,
"
B
ut I didn't tell him!"
Laurette just glanced at Julie before looking back
to
Warrick
.
"What title did you want to say but
could
not
?"
she pressed him.
"Trialmaster
,
"
Warrick now found himself able to say
the word
again.
Julie
gasped again
,
"But what about my
T
rial!?"
Laurette just looked at Warrick
,
seeming to invite him to reply by her silence. Warrick paused and
then quoted
slowly, prompted into putting
in a slight
emphasis by a feeling inside himself.
"'Because by your oath
,
your pledge of allegiance to Cylsteth
accepted
,
you are now bound and
your new name issued' … she's already passed her
T
rial
!
" he exclaimed
stunned.
"Correct
.
"
Laurette smiled joyfully.
"Huh, when?" Julie seemed quite confused.
Concentrating, it came to Warrick
.
"Crossing the complex
,
"
he blurted
.
"The Trial was to cross the
complex!"
"But that had you! How could that be my
T
rial?"
Confused Julie turned to Laurette demandingly.
Looking at Julie fondly, Laurette responded with a smile.
"The dangers were real and every bit
as
deadly
though
leading a non-participant through them
,
"
Laurette explained slowly.
"
Warrick neither
spoke nor attempted any sort of help, so the trial was judged fair and complete. You are now a
member of Cylsteth
,
"
Laurette
assured her
.
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