Sword and Veil (Everstone Series book 1 preview)

Chapter 3

"Maelyn Mercer and Laranna Nightingale! Into the circle with your partners!" Captain Renard announced, reading off a stack of papers one of the observing Operatives handed him earlier. Glancing around the room, Eli guessed at least a hundred recruits were present..

The first four stepped into the ornate stone circle, filtering out of the crowd.

"Announce your names for the record." Renard ordered the four standing before him. Two women and two men, each looking physically capable. If any of them were nervous, they didn't show it.

"Maelyn Mercer! Captain Renard, sir!" Maelyn reported. The shortest of the four, her skin was a few shades darker than the others. She stood with her hands behind her back. By how she carried herself, Eli assumed she had some military in the family.

"Finn Adler, Captain Renard, sir!" Finn reported next, standing a good head taller than Maelyn. His red hair in stark contrast to his brown armor, which loosely formed his skinny frame. Judging by how less confident Finn appeared, he assumed Finn asked Maelyn to be his partner, or maybe they knew each other.

"Just sir is fine. Let's keep things moving." Renard grumbled, making a small mark on the parchment for each name announced. He turned to the next pair expectantly.

"Laranna Nightingale, sir!" Laranna stood average height with beautiful shoulder-length auburn hair, standing with a more relaxed stance than her peers. Either she was confident in her abilities, or it took a lot to shake her psyche.

"Sol Richter, sir!" Sol's deep voice carried through the stone room. A beast of a man, he stood a head above the entire room. He was bald apart from the small patch of hair running down the center of his scalp, which revealed a long scar along the left side of his head. He appeared to be growing a beard, which had yet to reach beyond a stubble.

Let's see what he does with all that braun

"Very good." Renard replied, making one final marking on the parchment and placing his arms behind his back. "Alright. You all heard the rules. The fight starts and stops on our command."

He strolled out of the circle, stopping along the perimeter. The surrounding recruits gave him a wide berth.

The four recruits stood by their partners on opposite ends of the circle, the room now silent. The closest recruits shuffled around, moving in for better viewing angles. Others, those on the farthest reaches of the room, accepted the fact that they wouldn't see much.

Renard glanced back and forth between each pair.

"BEGIN!"

Sol charged, rushing in like a bull, throwing a punch for Finn's head. Finn, smaller and more nimble, dodged the blow and threw a jab in response, hitting Sol across the right side of his face. Despite the attack finding purchase, Sol was unfazed. The giant replied with a wide sweep of his right arm, catching Finn on his right side, shoving him toward the inner part of the circle.

Maelyn ignored the battle between Sol and Finn and ran up to Laranna, who lost her relaxed posture and met her opponent half-way. Laranna struck forward with a right jab which Maelyn dodged with practiced technique, and responded with a punch to Laranna's ribs. A muted grunt echoed in the room before Laranna threw an elbow to Maelyn's head, just grazing her jaw.

The fight between the two pairs lasted longer than Eli expected. It was clear after a short time that Finn's inexperience was a poor match for Sol's size. Maelyn and Laranna couldn't seem to break their stalemate, though Maelyn held a slight edge. Her form was tighter, yet Laranna remained right alongside, not yielding any easy damage. Both appeared to have experience with fighting prior to now. Eli assumed many recruits would and already felt behind the curve.