Ragnarok Unwound: The Awakening

Chapter 5

Tyra awoke to find herself in freezing under thick wool blankets. She looked out into the darkness of the room and allowed her eyes to adjust. Slowly she could start to make out the forms of her four roomates. They had met on the plane and Tyra found that they had all experienced something similar to what she had. They had bonded on the cart ride up the path, even though they were freezing. Excluding Serena, there was Claire, Val, and Allison. Claire was sweet, and a bit timid, and was equally taken aback by the incredible situation they were in, as Tyra. Val was strange, reclusive and cynical, though her quick-wit had provided much entertainment as her and Serena exchanged their banter. And Allison, Allison was strange. She was charming and quickly tried to make friends with everyone in the cart. And she seemed to be interested in getting to know their new teacher.

Tyra shuttered from both the cold and the thought of their new teacher. She seemed to have something just so chilling about her. Her image was stuck in Tyra's head. She had a dusky toned frame, hair the color of night, a solemn face with sharp features, and strange cold ruby eyes. Something about the girl caused Tyra's head to hurt, something about her was so familiar. But Tyra was positive that she had never in her life met someone that strange, that cold.

After several minutes Tyra found that she was unable to sleep. She found her thoughts racing now and her curiosity rising. They had been placed in the same hall as their new teacher. Tyra slowly rose from bed and crept to the door. Looking back for a brief second, Tyra made sure that her companions were still asleep. Taking in a deep breath she pulled open the large, old, wooden door, which to her surprise didn't creak. She stepped out into the hall, being hit by a bone-chilling gust of wind. She gasped and quickly shut the door, only remembering afterwards that she wasn't wearing shoes.

Why? Why do I do these things? Tyra wondered suddenly feeling sick with her decisions. She sighed pressing forward down the hall to the door not too far from theirs. The hall was lit by torches, but Tyra noted that they provided no warmth. There were only six doors in the hall, two on the right for the new female recruits, two on the left for the males. The door closest to their room was a large iron door that lead to spiraling stairs that lead to the armory, the room that lead to the ravens, and the courtyard where they would train. The other door at the end of the hall was also heavy iron, but it led into Keir's room. Tyra noticed that for some odd reason both doors were open.

She could see that the dim-lit room at the end of the hall was empty. Turning to the exit she could hear the faint sound of grunting and metal clashing together. Her curiousity peaked and she found herself moving towards the sounds. Her feet pressed against the cold steps and Tyra shuttered, rubbing her arms for warmth. Her clothing didn't provide much. The standard pajamas given by the school were a long black tunic and dark green trousers. That went along with a pair of very soft slippers or boots. Tyra could feel a small ache in her freezing feet at the thought of footwear. With each step she found herself regretting her decision. With every step her curiousity got the better of her. As she rounded the final curve, she found the door to their tower wide open, with a pair of fur boots left unguarded. Without thinking she rushed over and tossed herself into them. The sounds she had heard rang loudly now.

Tyra stepped through the threshold into several inches of snow. Looking outward, she took in the scenery that she had been too tired to look at after the feast. The training area was three football fields wide and three in length. Surrounding it was the stronghold-like castle that they called the Academy. It was split into four areas; an archery field, the beginners field, which was located closest to her tower, the field for the more advanced, and an arena like structure that Keir didn't bother explaining. In the center of the four sections was a tall tree that seemed to reach the sky. Tyra had seen it on their way up to the school, even then she couldn't see the top, only where it entered the clouds.