Siren's Elegy Volume 1: Orphans of Ashen Earth

Chapter 27: Shakti

August 01, 4021 08:00 [Matriarch 04- Shooting Range]

Gunfire rattled through the air. Shells fell to the ground with an audible clatter. Load, aim, steady, fire, reload. Indra repeated the mantra in his head until the Crow stopped handing him ammunition. The cacophony of bullets quieted as the trainees ate through the last of their magazines. As the smoke cleared, the wire racks started to move, bringing the targets closer to the firing line so that the Crows could observe their work. Indra felt a sense of relief, looking over the towering Crow's shoulder to see that most of his shots met the mark. He glanced over to Prasanna who was biting her nails nervously. He could see why. Not a single shot had hit the black silhouette on the canvas.

"Shit! This is terrible!" she groaned. "How did you guys fare?" She turned to them hopeful to share her misery.

"I did decently," Indra replied apologetically.

"Same here."

They took a peek at Emil's canvas. Every single shot had landed.

"How could you?! You couldn't even miss one for me?" Prasanna pouted.

"Enough," a monotone voice interrupted from behind them. He addressed them with tired eyes, a cold, calculating gaze aimed at Indra. It sent shudders down his spine as he gripped his chest reflexively. The Hyena had tied his hair back, deviating from his usual style. He sported a DIVE Suit underneath his cloak and his goggles hung over bandoliers holding daggers carved to resemble feathers.

"Relax, I'm not here to put a hole in your chest again. I need you three to come with me. We need to talk about the criteria for promotion. Grisha, Jin, and I will assess you over the next ten weeks to see who's fit to lead and who isn't."

"Wait, but I'm not—"

"You were Traitless when you got here, I know. Regardless, your Trait is something special, so I nominated you for promotion. You won't be going through any processing. I've already vetted you so there's no cause for concern in terms of the risk you pose to national security."

"That's great, Indra! Looks like all of us are getting promoted!" Prasanna slapped him on the back.

"Slow your roll, little miss. There are other candidates as well. Some of you will be trained by me and others will be trained by those two." He pointed to the woman above them and a man standing near the entrance of the shooting range. "Being nominated doesn't guarantee you a spot."

"O-of course! I understand that!"

Tengri scratched his chin, squinting at her. His eyes darted between Emil and Prasanna, a look of realization on his face. He snapped his fingers.

"That's where I know you from! You're the greenhorns from Matriarch 05, right? You two have come far."

They beamed at his praise.

"Just as well, Grisha opted to train you both. I would have run you into the dirt had I known you were from my Matriarch. You better not ruin my reputation. I expect maximum effort from you two," he warned.

Their expressions faltered. I hope to God I'm not on his team.

"Well" —he placed a hand on Indra's shoulder— "I guess you're with me."

Indra forced a smile. Wonderful.

"By the end of these ten weeks, I will turn you into a warrior. I promise. Either that or you'll die. No in-between."

Even better.

Tengri turned his attention to the giant Crow staring at him silently. "I know what you're thinking, you big ox. You're coming too. If you insist on staying a Crow then you'll have to follow my orders. You're going to help me oversee this guy's training, capisce?"