Duality | Fourth Wing

Chapter 1: Confidence

Conscription Day. Or the day of hell as some would call it. The day when twenty-year-olds would come from all Navarre's provinces and join one of the four quadrants. Scribes, healers, infantry or riders.

And Verena would join the riders. The deadliest of all the quadrants, but also the one with the highest reward: The honor of bonding with a dragon.

Ever since she had seen her grandfather's dragon Sgaeyl at four years old she had known that she wanted to be a rider and have her own dragon one day. While her father had wanted her to join the infantry just as he had done before her, he had eventually relented and accepted her wishes, and he started to teach her what would be necessary for her to excel at Basgiath.

It had all came down to this day, and now she had an even bigger reason to succeed.

Before her was the stairs, two hundred steps high, and it would lead her to the parapet.

Tens of men and women had already started the acent, and even more was behind her, waiting for their turn.

Once the person in front of her was five steps up, she herself started the climb. Her rubber soled boots made a dull sound with every step, until due to the speed she was going at led her straight into the heels of the one in front of her. With a sigh she slowed down, but it was probably for the best so she wouldn't tire out by basically running up the steps before the parapet.

To calm herself, her hand went to touch the hilt of the dagger strapped to her ribs, tracing the familiar runes and knots from her home. Once she crossed the parapet there would be no way for her to have any contact with her family, so she made sure to pack a few things that would remind her of her brother and father.

After what had probably been ten minutes, but felt like eternety, she stepped out if the torchlight, and into the sun once again.

Steps approached quickly from behind her, and her hands flew to the sword on her back just as a hand fell on her shoulder, and a cheery voice spoke.

"I've been looking for you forever Rena." Nyla Adair exclaimed, and Verena turned around to look at her childhood friend with a small smile tugging at her lips.

They hadn't seen each other for a while, but Nyla still had her familiar dark-blue hair, sun kissed skin and infectious smile on her face. Due to her almost constant happiness, and what she called being "vertically challenged", many back home, at first glance had doubted her chances at surviving the Rider's Quadrant, but once they saw her fight that opinion quickly changed.

"It's good to see you Sunny." Verena spoke to her friend as they started walking towards the scroll keeper ti give her their names.

It would ve good to have a friendly face, as well as a person she could be sure to trust.

Above them, the sun was beaming and threatening to blind her if she looked in the wrong direction. When they reached the keeper she asked for their names.

"Nyla Adair."

"Verena Riorson."

"Go over there and wait for you turn." she spoke, pointing to where another man in rider black stood.

As terrifying people make the parapet out to be, from her place looking out over it and the various people on it, Verena could not help but disagree.
It was roughly the same height above the ground as the top roof of the Riorson house back in Aretia was from its perch near the mountains.

In the last couple of years, to further practice her balance she had taken to test herself on the spine of said roof, and when she had finished treading back and forth, she would sit down and look up at the night sky filled with stars.