The Ordainment Trials

Chapter One

There were twelve days left until the Ordainment Trials. Two days left until I said goodbye to my family and childhood home for the last time. Technically, if I survived all five trials my family would be welcomed at the feast held in honor of those who possess the best qualities our nation has to offer. I wasn't hopeful.

Sure, over the past six months my strength and conditioning classes had evolved into more or less torture sessions. I could hang upside down with my toes for thirty-seven minutes before feeling faint. I could take down a man three times my size without really breaking a sweat (my advantage was that I was faster and more agile than he was). I had endured being locked in the dark with more than a dozen wild critters. I had read correspondence after correspondence trying to discern what was real, what was fake, and what was written in code.

My knowledge of the kingdom was sure to get me almost perfect marks on the first trial, and maybe I would get lucky and get pulled like my sister. Don't hope for that, that's the easiest way to get killed, Mr. von Doff's voice said in my head.

The final trial was what was going to kill me. No one in my family (save for my cousin Jacobe) has ever possessed magick. As far back as the Scribes have preserved personal history and familial relations, I cannot find a single person with even a hint of magick in their veins.

Mother and Father were both pulled at the second Trial, both rose very quickly to being generals of their own respective squadrons. Upon serving the required thirteen years, mother wanted to settle down and have children. She left as soon as her time was up. Father stayed, but after an accident, he was honorably discharged and sent to the best healers the country had. We don't talk about the accident or the time before. That was before they knew each other. Mother signed up to take care of him, having known of his incredible feats and saw it as a privilege to oversee his recovery. The rest is history; three children and twenty-seven years later they're still madly in love with one another. My heart aches at the thought of not seeing them again, and I just hope that I don't bring them heartbreak.

"Alessia, you're home early," my dad scolded as I walked in. His gray hair was wild (to cover up the balding patches he was so adamant didn't exist), and his tan face had disappointment written all over it. His green eyes were piercing, trying to find the flaws and mistakes I had made while with Mr. von Doff.

"Yes, father, I am. Sylvia and Savannah deserve to spend time with their father before they leave. It isn't fair that I've had him all to myself these last few months."

"I pay him to make sure you do well, and that money pays for his daughters' educations. Forgoing your lessons at a time like this is disgraceful, young one. You'd do your best to not end up like Sven." This was the first time in a long time my father had brought up my brother. He was another topic that we didn't talk about. It made me envious of my sister, because while she wasn't allowed to talk about her past life, she also wasn't stuck with the elephant in the room that was my brother.

"Ask me anything you think I should know about the Trials, and I'm sure I can answer it," I challenged. My father was a hard man, not necessarily cruel, but he would never qualify for "father of the year" anytime soon. I knew he wanted what was best for his children, and I knew that he was one of seven children, and only him and his sister Irene were able to pass the Entrance Exam to take the Ordainment Trials. I tried to keep that in mind any time he irritated me or made me feel inferior to his wartime accomplishments.

"I just want you to tell me the five trials, nothing less, nothing more," he smirked at me, testing me. I knew that he knew I knew this, but it was more so a test as to whether I could follow the directions. Not following directions could kill you faster than anything else.

"Trial One is a trial of knowledge. Trial two is a trial of strength, trial three is one of commitment. The fourth trial is one of perseverance, and the fifth is a trial of magick." I recited the Scribes' notes of the Ordainment Trials, doing my best not to wince on the third trial. The trial that would forever hold my brother, seventeen forever.