The Champion's Exam promises riches, adventure and the title that creates legends.
Only on problem; it is known for killing its applicants.
Eko Malone, a twelve-year-old boy stuck on an island his entire life, has only known one thing about his pa...
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Bullets of rain pounded down, causing severe cold in the night air for any who lingered outside.
People holding umbrellas made desperate sprints from one side of the road to the other, reaching buildings or finding their homes with the help of a flickering candle. The girl watched as one after the other, families ran past her squatted form to flee from the downpour. Her skin was chilled from the wet, her clothes soaked and her shoes squelched if she tried to move.
She hugged her thin cardigan to her shivering body, and allowed herself to curl into a ball, hoping the numbness of the cold would save her from the feeling of her trembling hands. She felt her jaw twitch, causing her teeth to chatter, as she curled herself closer to find some sensation, or to achieve none at all.
Raindrops splashed on the ground, the road soon becoming nothing more than a shallow, muddy pool. Horses huffed in discomfort as they trotted in the rain past her, men snapped at them for showing weakness and forced them to continue.
She felt a wave of muddy water fall on her from the sudden galloping of the horses drawing a cart. The new chill startled her as she yelped, her cry getting drowned by the storm's noise.
The girl felt her lips quiver, her body tremble due to a growing need to cry. She bit down on her lower lip to muffle a whimper as she forced her face back on her knees, trying to prove to herself her tears were the rain.
Someone's voice broke through the rain and reached her ears in a calming voice. "Are you okay?"
The girl looked up and saw a boy, couldn't be older than herself, holding an umbrella above the two of them with a small torch in his hands aimed at the ground between them. He tried to protect her from the rain, so much so his back was exposed. He released a violent shiver and a girlish squeal from the sudden cold and laughed, "It sure is cold, isn't it?" He beamed her a smile.
She had seen him around, usually during the day when he went to the markets or went for a walk. This was the first time he was speaking to her.
She felt her chest heaving from trying not to cry, but despite never talking to him before seeing his glowing face made her too smile. He squatted so he was the same size as her and awkwardly shuffled his way closer. "Hold this," he said handing her the umbrella handle. She stared at him oddly as she managed to grip the polished umbrella handle. He placed the torch in his other hand on the ground and unzipped his jacket, slipping it off and wrapping it around her shoulders before she could object.
Taking back the umbrella, he stood up. "Come on! We're gonna freeze to death out here!" The moment his bare arms were exposed to the air, he released another violent shiver, "Strawberry Cripes it's cold!" His exclamation was followed by his vigorous rubbing on his arms.
The girl seemed shocked as she stood up, collecting the torch and aiming it at him. "Wait, where are we going?" she asked.
His teeth were chattering; it was then she noticed he was dressed in a singlet and two quarter pants.
