(COMPLETE)
Lady Mhysra Kilpapan was blessed from birth with a distinguished family, a glorious home and a giant eagle miryhl of her own. Fully aware of her luck, she wants for nothing in life - except a chance to become a Rift Rider. The elite force...
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THE NEXT MORNING Mhysra and Derrain met up with Dhori on their walk through the city. The air was icy, promising a blizzard before dark. Not that Hethanon cared, sending them off on another punishing run. Cold to the bone, the students trudged to their training masters and went through the motions with mind-numbing weariness.
"Tired, my lambs?" Hethanon cooed, but his smile rapidly faded. "Toughen up or leave."
The next morning brought the first desertions, with not one training master retaining all their students. Sergeant Rees' line looked particularly thin. Mouse had lost his partner already and, unfortunately for him, was obliged to train with Lieutenant Lyrai instead.
"He's evil," he whimpered at midday, flexing his shoulders. "It's bad enough when he's shouting, but working with him is torture. He wants to kill me."
"You're getting off lightly." Harlan was unsympathetic. "Try having Rees on your back."
Mouse changed his tune the following quarter-moon when he was paired with Mhysra, after another student left and Dhori was moved to work with someone else. It was a day of changes. Since they could all now manage the exercises without injury, Hethanon brought out staffs for them to use.
"The staff is an all-purpose weapon, in training and in combat. Master it and you may try something more difficult. No one picks up a sword who cannot handle a staff. This is the opening exercise."
Mhysra was soon grateful to be opposite Mouse, who though shorter was of equal strength. At Wrentheria, Mhysra had taken daily staff lessons with her cousins from the age of seven, and had yet to develop any fondness for it. By contrast, Dhori looked as though he'd been born to wield it. Lieutenant Lyrai complimented the lad on his prowess and sparred with him to demonstrate how a sequence of moves should be done at full speed. Not that the rest of them did the same. For now everything was done slowly, building up their muscles and numbing their brains.
The afternoons were no better, and Mhysra finally understood her brother's complaints about the selection school. It was no wonder so many students dropped out – the boredom was staggering. Only her new friends and the thought of Cumulo kept her going.
* * * * *
WINTER MIGHT HAVE been holding Nimbys in a merciless grip, but after completing her first quarter-moon of Rider training, Mhysra couldn't remember feeling happier. That morning she'd attended the service at the Cathedral of Maegla, sitting in the seats reserved for the Riders. She'd been able to do it without fear, since her father attended the service for Heirayk, God of the Sun, held elsewhere in the city.
Now she was with Cumulo, preparing him for their first flight in days.
"Hurry up," her impatient miryhl ordered. "I've got so much to show you."
While Mhysra might not have had time for flying lately, didn't mean he hadn't been out on his own. "You've become quite the adventurer without me, haven't you?" she chuckled, running her hands under his girths to check they weren't twisted and his feathers weren't ruffled.
