Mari's world is changing as war rages across the continent and she grows closer to being expected to be the head of her family. One thing that hasn't changed, is the school year, something she can't wait to throw herself into. But strange things begin to unfold around her, derailing her studies.
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Mari walked at a slow pace, glancing all around her. The Drove was always her favourite place to be. It made her feel excited and ready to adventure with all the different people from across the continent piled onto the one road.
There were those with dark skin and their brightly-coloured, artificial hair from Eilios, speaking in the lilting tongue of their land; there were the copper-skinned Risoldians, decked in their animal skins and carrying their longbows, swaying gracefully like a razorlion; there were those from Sirarie, some with their skin pale as ice and others with their skin dark as coal, all sporting swirling blue tattoos; there were the flighty, jittery, scholarly people from the far-east of Armaytlya lugging chests of books; and finally there were those from Velenne, like Mari. From Velenne came the stern-looking and hard-working Flatlanders, skin sun-beat after a long, warm summer apprenticing on the Flats. The Highlanders stood tall and proud, muscled after weeks of swordplay. Then the Valedwellers with their creamy skin and russet hair, weaving through the crowd like the golden fish through the Searace Rapids.
Mari loved being of the Vale, because it meant she didn't have to travel far for school each year. The City of Dreams was only twenty kilometres from the City of Knowledge, and Sarianna Academy just beyond. With the summer over and the Drove finally on the move again, Mari felt free from her responsibilities back home.
You only prayed for the half-hour last night, Marianna. Be sure to pray the hour tonight.
Cook Lysander a soft meal, Marianna. His teeth are loose again.
Give Alessander a blessing tonight, for his courtship.
Teach Zander to do the Fairvale Dance before school is back.
Being the only woman born to a Valedwelling family was like a curse. She loved her brothers – even if Lysander made it difficult for anyone to love him at times – but households were handed down through the matriarchal line, which meant she would be left with a household when her mother passed on. A household full of dependant brothers and a dependant father, and a household that would tie her down, when all she wanted to was to travel the continent, maybe even sail across the Frozen Sea.
"Mari, watch your footing," Alessander grumbled, catching Mari's arm before she slipped into the ditch on the side of the road. He was older than her by ten months, Mam having wasted no time in trying to secure her family's lineage. He was taller too, and broader, Mari only reaching his shoulder and being nearly half his width, even though he was all muscle.
"Sorry, I was stuck in a cloud," she said, waving him away. He rolled his eyes and they fell into compensable silence, watching Zander chat and mess with his friends. It was Zander's first year, and Mari would be expected to make sure he fell in with the right crowd.
