The Awakening (14 page)

Jahrra finished her sandwich and rose from her perch upon a stone bench. She stretched and took out her map once again. Her next class, the one on the wildlife of Felldreim, was close by in a smaller building named Carlhoren House. If she remembered correctly, Carlhoren was one of the stars in the constellation that represented the Baherhb in the night sky. The memory of the dragons’ symbol pricked her heart for a small moment, for it also reminded her of Hroombra.

Jahrra dusted herself off and left her bench behind. She decided to get to her next class early, taking her time moving through the grove of trees indicated on the map. As she walked, she breathed in the fresh air of late spring. A paved trail wound its way around the trunks of the mixed deciduous and evergreen trees and the babble of a small stream gradually overtook the sound of a thousand voices and shuffling feet. At one point, the stream passed below the path and Jahrra had to pause on a small foot bridge to watch the stream pass over a cluster of large rocks.

Eventually, the trail curved off to the left and Jahrra found herself gazing at what appeared to be a sizeable stone cottage. According to her map, this was Carlhoren House. She was half an hour early, so she wasn’t surprised to find no one else about. The building was rather secluded, separated from the main campus by the small wood that encroached upon its southernmost corner. While she waited, Jahrra examined her surroundings to pass the time. The house sported a chimney and two windows and a rather large door. A porch ran around half of it and Jahrra could see an open glade on the other side.

Twenty minutes passed before she saw another person. A girl her age came strolling up the path, her hands thrust in her pockets and a look of bored resolve on her face. Before Jahrra could even smile in her direction, more students began filtering down the path, joining in conversations with people they knew or standing around idly trying to ignore everyone else. Jahrra decided to be one of the latter; she had made her friend for the day.

The sound of a doorknob turning brought everyone’s attention forward. A young man, maybe five or so years older than Jahrra, if she was judging correctly, stepped out from the large door and eyed everyone present. Was this their professor? He seemed a bit young.

“Hello everyone,” he said, sounding slightly nervous. “Professor Anthar is running a bit late and would like me to let you in.”

Jahrra lifted an eyebrow. Maybe this man was his assistant. She took a breath and joined the crowd that was now shuffling in.

A voice just behind her whispered, “That was close! I got lost and nearly didn’t make it!”

She turned and smiled. It was Senton and he did look rather flustered. The girl who had arrived after Jahrra turned back and gave them a pointed look. Her skin was several shades darker than Jahrra’s own and her black hair curled into thousands of tight ringlets. Jahrra tried a smile but the girl simply turned and focused once again on getting inside the building.

Do I have something in my teeth?
Jahrra wondered. She shrugged and let the thought drop. She was curious to see what this new classroom would be like. The interior of the building was rather plain with little or no furnishings. The windows let in a good deal of light but the trees blocked out most of it.

“Anthar, uh, Professor Anthar will be here soon. He asked me to start introductions until he arrives, then we’ll get on with the lesson,” the man from before announced.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He was about as tall as Senton, maybe a few inches taller, and had dark brown hair he kept pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes were a pale blue-green and partly hidden behind a pair of narrow spectacles. He was neatly dressed in a tunic, vest and trousers and it was only after he cleared his throat and started talking once again that Jahrra noticed his very pointed ears.

“My name is Dathian and I am Professor Anthar’s aide, but I’ll be taking part in this class as well.”

He shuffled his feet nervously before continuing on.

“In the coming months, you’ll be learning about the creatures and plants that populate the province of Felldreim, primarily the ones that contain magic.”

A hand shot up from someone in the crowd and Jahrra noticed it was the girl who had given her and Senton that withering look on their way in.

“Yes?” Dathian asked, his dark brows arched above his glasses.

“Yeah,” she said, “where might the professor be? It’s a little unprofessional to be late for your own class, don’t you think? Especially on the first day.”

Jahrra felt her jaw drop open and Senton made a strange sound in his throat. Dathian, the poor soul, began to turn slightly pink. But the girl stood and waited as if what she had said could never in a million years be construed as rude. When Jahrra got over her surprise she realized that the girl hadn’t asked the question in a flippant manner, but with the confidence of someone like, well, like Jaax.

Dathian took a breath and said, “I don’t know the answer to that, but I’m sure he has good reason.”

“Aye, that I do,” someone said from the doorway. “Forgive me, I was just securing a few extra,
supplies
.”

Jahrra jumped and nearly bumped into the three girls standing next to her. They gave her a harassed look and she muttered an apology. It seemed it was a day for surprises. The person standing in the doorway, their professor, was the very centaur she had spoken to that morning, or, who had spoken to
her
. This time he donned a leather vest covered in too many pockets to count.

He stepped forward, flicking his black tail over his buckskin hide and nodded towards the nervous elf standing in the center of all the students.

“Thank you, Dathian, I’ll take over from here,” he said. “As you might have guessed, I’m your professor for the class titled Natural Wildlife of Felldreim. My name is Anthar and you can call me thus or place the title ‘Professor’ before it, but I don’t mind either.”

He looked at Jahrra, smiled, and nodded his head ever so slightly as if recalling her from that morning. Jahrra grinned back, feeling suddenly sheepish.

After his introduction Anthar began to describe what the class would entail in great detail. They would be doing much of their studying and learning outdoors and would even be traveling outside the city and into the wilderness beyond to see what they could find. The reason he was late, it turned out, was because he was having trouble gathering a collection of butterflies that resembled flower petals.

Before the end of the class, everyone was to examine their butterfly and using a field guide, match it up with the flower it mimicked. Jahrra paired up with Senton for this assignment, being that he was the only person she knew. To their great delight, they learned that their butterfly resembled a flower whose petals could be used as an antiseptic if placed against a wound and secured snuggly. This, in turn, started a discussion on the flowers they were researching and how they might be of use. By the end of the class, Jahrra decided it was her favorite, even knowing she had two more new classes tomorrow.

The class lasted an hour and a half and as the students poured out of the large cabin, they were all abuzz with what they had learned. Senton offered to walk Jahrra to the University stables where she had left Phrym early that morning, but she informed him she wanted to check out the practice fields Jaax had told her about.

“You know how to use a sword?!” he asked, his eyes wide in wonder.

Jahrra shrugged. “I hope so. It’s been three months since I’ve practiced.”

“Oh, you have
got
to teach me! Can I come with you? My father won’t need me home until after sundown.”

Senton sounded so eager and Jahrra did need a sparring partner, so she happily agreed. As the two of them walked, they talked about their classes and their likes and dislikes. To Jahrra’s great relief, Senton didn’t ask too much about her past. Nor did he question her about Jaax either. She did admit that she knew several forms of fighting and defense and that she also enjoyed archery, but Senton seemed more eager about the fact that he’d found someone to teach him than curious as to how she had learned everything in the first place.

Once at the University stables, Senton retrieved his horse, a chestnut gelding of mild temper, while Jahrra found Phrym. The semequin was overjoyed to see her, making his excitement known by whinnying and tossing his head to the point of annoying the other horses.

“Alright Phrym, calm down! How could you think I would ever leave you anywhere for good?”

She placed her palm against his nose and pressed her forehead against his. He rumbled in pleasure and she smiled. When she finally led him out, fully tacked, she found Senton standing next to his own horse, his eyes wide once again.

“That’s a semequin,” he said rather quietly.

Jahrra shrugged as she scratched Phrym’s neck.

Senton swallowed. “Who
are
you? You associate with famous, powerful dragons, you are skilled in all the arts of battle and you own a semequin?”

Jahrra shrugged again. “I guess I’m just lucky.”

Or the human promised by Ethoes, thus making it necessary that I should have all these attributes. Oh yeah, any minute now, he’s going to realize who I am
, she thought with some fear. Would he bow down and cry out praises, right there in the stables? Jahrra tensed and waited for the inevitable, but Senton only shook his head and climbed into the saddle.

“Lucky indeed,” he muttered as they urged their horses out into the main fray of the city.

Perhaps he’s a little more obtuse than I first thought
, she mused.

Some adept maneuvering and twenty minutes later, they were dismounting and tying their horses to the thick pole fence that followed the boundaries of the practice field. Jahrra looked around in delight, glad to see several rings for sword fighting, a run for speed exercises and footwork, and several targets set off in the distance for archery. The open space was sparsely occupied by a dozen or so swordsman and archers taking aim at a distant target or clashing their weapons together in one of the rings.

“What shall we do first?” Senton asked.

It was then that Jahrra realized she didn’t have any weapons with her.

“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think we’ll be able to practice much today. My gear is back at home.”

“I think we’ll manage,” he answered, his gray eyes sparkling as he indicated a large barrel standing next to a tree.

It was full of wooden swords and bows. A sign on the barrel read:
Practice Equipment; please return when finished
. Jahrra’s face split in a wide grin. She jumped the fence and ran over, choosing one of the swords that wasn’t too splintered or damaged from overuse. She chose a similar one for Senton and the two of them went through a warm up routine before Jahrra made him square off with her on a patch of empty grass.

The practice was fun at first with Jahrra laughing at her new friend’s attempts at getting past her guard. After half an hour they were both breathing hard and Senton, she was sure, was sporting a few bruises, though he refused to admit they bothered him.

They stopped to rest, both pressing their hands to their knees and letting their swords drop to the ground. After a while Senton looked up. His look of exhausted joy disappeared only to be replaced with a frown.

“Hey, isn’t that the girl from our class? The one who was being so bold?”

Jahrra stood up and glanced to where Senton was looking. Standing against the fence, her elbows supporting her, was the dark haired girl who had found it offensive for their professor to be late. What was she doing here? Had she followed them?

She simply stood there perfectly at ease, watching them the way one might watch a river rush by. Finally after several seconds she jumped the fence with extreme ease and walked over. Jahrra froze and she felt Senton do the same beside her.

Once she was five feet away the girl stopped, rocked her weight onto one leg and crossed her arms.

“Not bad with a sword,” she said to Jahrra, ignoring Senton. “Do you really know what you are doing or are you just playing warrior?”

Jahrra couldn’t tell if the girl was being purposely uncouth or if her question was simply honest curiosity. After a moment of turning it over in her head, Jahrra gritted her teeth. Could this be Ellysian all over again? If it was, Jahrra wouldn’t tolerate it this time around. Instead, she would fight back.

Donning a look of cool composure, Jahrra answered, “Would you like to see for yourself?”

Taking Senton’s sword onto her toe, she flipped it up with her foot and grasped the wooden blade, handing it out for the girl to take. The grin that crossed her face was pure malicious delight, or so Jahrra thought. Senton mumbled something incoherent and stepped aside, not at all wanting to get caught between two young women intent on outdoing one another.

The girl lunged first and Jahrra quickly slipped into the years of training she had received from the elves. She seemed to have the upper hand at first, but the other girl soon began showing her true colors. She was good. More than good. She was a match for Jahrra, both in speed and technique. The two sparred for several minutes, Jahrra ducking her opponent’s swings or parrying a strike in her direction. Both girls managed to make contact with the other’s skin, and Jahrra cursed inwardly at the discomfort. She was going to be black and blue tomorrow. Despite her weariness and pain, she wasn’t about to give up.