Sometimes when we find out a secret that has been kept from us for so long, it's not the secrecy that kills us, but what is actually unveiled.
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Xaden Riorson x Oc, Liam Mairi x Oc, Oc x Oc, Ridoc Gamlyn x Oc,
Sawyer Henr...
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The sparring ring is where riders are made or broken. After all, no respectable dragon would choose a rider who cannot defend themselves, and no respectable cadet would allow such a threat to the wing to continue training.
— Major Afendra's Guide To The Riders Quadrant
(Unauthorized Edition)
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Chapter Four
| Wrenley's POV |
"Elena Sosa, Brayden Blackburn." Captain Fitzgibbons reads from the death roll. He's flanked by two other scribes on the dais as everyone else stands in a silent formation in the courtyard. The sun is a little too bright for my liking, causing me to have to squint my eyes. Seriously, this day already sucks, why is the sun so peppy?
This morning everyone is in rider black, there's a single silver four-pointed star stitched onto my collarbone, the mark of a first-year, then there's a Fourth Wing patch on my left shoulder. We were given standard uniforms yesterday, summer weight tight-fitted tunics, pants, and accessories after Parapet was over, but not flight leathers. There's really no point in handing out the thicker, more protective combat uniforms when pretty much half of the cadets won't live to experience Threshing. The armored corset Mira made me isn't regulation, but I still put it on and still fit right in with the rest of modified uniforms around me. I was, however, pretty much the only cadet that had chosen to put long sleeves under the tunic.
After the last twenty-four hours and one night in the first-floor barracks flew by, I'm coming to the realization that the quadrant is an odd mix of we-might-die-tomorrow people, and brutal efficiency in the name of the same reason.
"Jace Sutherland." Captain Fitzgibbons reads, yet another, surprise, surprise name off of the roll. The scribes shift beside him, probably to try and avoid fidgeting. "Dougal Luperco."
I think we've gotten up to somewhere in the fifties. I lost count somewhere in the thirties. I didn't see anyone fall off the parapet since I was only the second one on. This is the only memorial the names will get, the only time they'll be spoken of in the citadel, It's screwed up. The whole system is screwed up. I try to concentrate, to remember as many as I can, but there's too many to be able to do that.
