Indestructible

Chapter One

"Samuel!"

A loud call rang out across the target range. A light brown-haired boy lowered his bow towards the ground and turned to look in the direction of his commander. He sighed for the umpteenth time as the sturdy man came marching angerly towards him.

"What have I told you about shooting out of time young man?"

"Sorry sir. I'm still not accustomed to leasing arrows at the same time as some else. " Then, as he shifted his gaze to the targets further down the row, he noticed several of the other archers had missed the center mark and had hit off to the side. "But I did hit the bullseye, sir," Samuel added in a matter-of-fact tone.

The commander rolled his eyes and snorted in annoyance. The boy had a tendency to get on his nerves with all of his smart-mouthed replies. "Well, get used to it," he snapped. And with that, he returned to his post at the right-hand side of the field.

Samuel watched him stomp off. He shook his head, pulling another arrow from his quiver and nocking it in his bow. Drawing, he pulled the string back until his forefinger touched his cheek, then waited for the signal. Samuel was almost at the end of his training, with only two weeks left to go. This was his third year as an archer, but fifth of training. Originally, he was to become a Ranger, but his mentor had died suddenly from a mysterious disease that killed him within just a few days. Samuel had been close to Ivan, his former mentor, and couldn't bring himself to accept finishing his training under anyone else. So he'd switched over to the role of an archer.

The commander bellowed out an order, and instantly twenty-five arrows launched through the air, thudding into the targets set up at a fifty-meter range. More of the arrows hit at satisfactory locations than before. Then, within about ten seconds, another set flew forward, then a third and fourth.

The group of archers moved to check their results and retrieve their arrows. As usual, every one of Samuel's had hit the center. He pulled his arrows out of the wooden circles and pushed them back into his quiver. Samuel strode back to the line and whipped around. He was about to shift back into position when the commander called it a night. Glancing up, he noticed for the first time that it was beginning to grow dark. Shrugging indifferently, Samuel slung the bow over his shoulder before pausing to wait for his friend. As was their custom, Tylier would join Samuel at his post on the left side of the field. From there, they would stroll slowly to the mess hall for the evening meal, discussing events in their life on the way, though they were relatively similar.

Oddly, on this particular evening, both Samuel and Tylier remained silent. Both were lost in thought about the future. Not just their own, with the next stage in their life approaching quickly, but also the happenings in the outside word. By now, the news of the Zurxthens's growing power had spread like wildfire throughout the capital city. It was the subject of most conversations in Arendall. Some now lived in fear, others with a strengthening desire for action. After all, the kingdom had been at peace for some years now, and many of the warriors had began to grow restless.

"D'you think the King will start taking action soon?" Tylier didn't need to state the topic of his question for Samuel to know what his friend was talking about.

"I don't know. I'm not him. But I do know that he is definitely no fool. He knows that we can't wait too long before making a move. They'll gain immense power if we wait a long time. We've already heard tales about what they're capable of." Samuel kept his eyes glued intently to the path in front of them. His mind was the complete opposite, however, bouncing from idea to idea, as it always did when he was pondering over a matter.

Tylier nodded slowly in acknowledgement. He knew little when it came to planning an attack. It wasn't something he was trained for. All he was truthfully useful for in a battle was shooting down enemies. As far as simple archers go, Tylier was quite good at it. Then again, he wouldn't be near as good as he was if it hadn't been for Samuel. His friend had shown him all the tricks of the trade over the past few years that they'd known each other. He smiled slightly, knowing that, although Samuel had taught him much of what he knew, Tylier had been the one to give him tips on staying in tune with the other archers. Samuel was used to fighting alone, not in a group. He'd definitely improved drastically, but still struggled from time to time, such as today, for example.

Samuel reached the steps of the mess hall first. He lept gracefully up each stair, but paused at the top for Tylier to catch up. Samuel pushed open the thick oak doors to the hall. Instantly, a wave of tempting aromas filled his senses and his stomach growled. He made his way over to his usual spot, which was neatly set with a bowl and spoon. Must be some sort of stew tonight. He pulled out his chair and sat down. The normal buzz of conversation floated around the room. The age range was quite significant, as everyone dined at the same time. While many of the younger boys were huddled close together, occasionally snickering over inside jokes, the more elder ones were turned to each other, speaking in low, serious tones of voice. Samuel secretly strained to make out some of their words to no avail. After several long minutes, he finally gave up on the struggle.

The doors to the kitchen opened and, like Samuel had predicted, steaming pots of beef stew were carried out. He waited until all of the others near him had served themselves, then reached for the ladel and spooned himself out a bowl. As he began to take a bite, Samuel failed to noticed how hot the food truly was, and instantly recoiled as he burnt his tongue.

He was much more cautious after that. Soon, Samuel made his way up to his room. He entered into the dimly lit space, easing the door shut behind him. His roommate was sitting in the corner, repairing the damaged feathers on the shafts of his arrows. Stryker looked up from his work as he took note of Samuel's presence.

" 'Bout time you got here," he stated gruffly. Stryker set his arrows aside and rose to his feet, stretching and yawning. "I hate it when you sneak in here after I've gone to bed. Silent figures in the shadows give me the creeps."

Samuel smiled to himself, which stretched into a yawn of his own. Tired after another a long day, he plopped down onto his bed. He kicked off his boots and nestled into the thick blankets without bothering to change into night clothes. The room plunged into darkness when Stryker put out the flame in the lamp. Eyes closed, Samuel heard the familiar creak as Stryker then climbed up onto the top bunk. He released one deep breath before slipping deep into the comforts of sleep.

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*Well, there's my first part! Sorry that it's so boring and uneventful. I need to start introducing the characters, so bare with me! I've decided to give Wattpad another shot. I've been staying busy with a different novel, one that I'm going to be self-publishing.

Please give me feedback and tell me what you think! I'll try to release as often as I can.*