The Dance of the Keepers

Chapter 25 The Evaluations

All too soon Solomon and I had to part, though he promised he would send another note as soon as he had time to get away again. Apparently, his duties in the palace kept him quite busy. Knowing what my brother was doing for me, sacrificing his convictions to simply be near me to offer support, was humbling. He was perhaps the most selfless, loving, person that I knew. It was too bad that more people weren't like him, Esha, and Vienna. The world would have been a much kinder place.

Over the next couple of weeks, my life began to fall into a routine, albeit a strange one. Kyle would have me practice for several hours in the afternoon, having relented to my pleas for some shut-eye after my watch.

Then Jasper and I would get dinner together. This gave the Brainiac and I a chance to swap training theories and potential plans for the arena. Half the time he unintentionally talked over my head, but I enjoyed spending time with him anyways, especially when I felt like Vienna was slowly pulling away.

Glass had approached me with the idea that we could spar together in the evenings, which turned out to be quite helpful. The two of us worked well together and often exchanged techniques that improved our skills. It was nice to have someone more human than Jasper or Kyle to hang around.

I'd then catch a few hours of sleep before heading to the palace for Keeper Amica's shift watching King Valdimar. Kyle insisted I come an hour early and he would always stay an hour late, so I had sufficient time to work on my Latin. It wasn't proving as hard as I had assumed it might be, but that didn't mean it was a walk in the park either. Kyle was a much better combat instructor than a language teacher.

A few days after the gala, Ranen had sent over a servant with a note requesting me as a sparring partner. I had less than politely declined, claiming I had a full schedule that day. When he sent another servant a few days later, I pretended to be sick. I had no interest in spending any further time with the Prince. Having to stand guard over my enemy was bad enough, without also becoming friends with his son. No matter how friendly Ranen seemed, he was still an Amir, and would one day follow in his father's footsteps.

Before I knew it, the first of the evaluations was upon us. Three separate times throughout the Magna Season, each of the fifteen trainers would choose two challenges for their competitors to complete individually. Unlike in the arena, no one was meant to die, rather prove their skill and show what progress they were making. The event was televised and the competitors scored on their performance. Afterward, the top five scorers would be interviewed by the camera crew and reporters.

Kyle had determined that I was to complete a battle (presumably in the simulator) and demonstrate my Wind Wielding on the targets. He said I needed to appear fierce, show my talent with the sword that I had never had a chance to fully demonstrate in the arena and display the rare gifting of wind for all to see and admire. Since there was no killing involved, I was mostly fine with it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have butterflies in my stomach though, as fourteen of us competitors waited outside the training facility while Isla Bollano took the first evaluation.

"Would you please stop pacing? I'm going to have an anxiety attack just watching you."
Glass complained, sitting cross-legged on the grass.

"How are you so calm?"
I grumbled.

"Worrying isn't going to change a single thing, so why waste the energy?"
She replied with a shrug.

"She is right. Worry is an illogical emotion that hinders your performance."
Jasper commented, leaning casually against the brick wall of the building.

"Have you met me? I'm the poster child for illogical emotions!"
I crossed my arms and huffed.

"Hey, guys! What'd we miss?"
Vienna asked, breathing heavily as she and Kairos slid to a stop beside me.