When eighteen-year-old Isren Castennali gets chosen for a role she does not want, she does everything she can to avoid it. However, since she is the only one in a castle filled with Esterals who wield elemental magic, she must train and become one o...
Isren hadn't been able to eat a suitable amount of food for dinner that evening. Her stomach felt queasy, and she, herself, felt sick and tired. The long walk back to the training room hadn't helped her feel better either. Her body was probably cursing her.
Omar was already sitting at the table when she opened the door. It startled her for a second, seeing him there with only one candle illuminating the room. She closed the door gently behind her, forcing each of her movements to be soft and silent like Omar had taught them. No matter how quiet she tried to make her steps, her Eysatix ears could still pick them up.
"You're almost late," Omar said.
"I was helping the scullery maids," Isren replied. She came closer to the table, waiting for him to speak. She stood behind him, hands clasped behind her back, awaiting instructions.
"You know, don't you?" Omar asked. Isren looked at his back confusedly.
"Know what?" Isren asked. There were many things she knew. A lot of things that she was forced to learn in the past week with him. Isren felt brain-dead as Aerelle put it. Aerelle would complain each day about the work, but she had the most improvement. She knew that Omar knew it too.
"The Greaters."
"We were taught about it in school," Isren answered. She tried not to think where this conversation was going. She was wondering if Omar knew how to read minds now that he seemed to voice almost every single one of her questions. It was eerie and made her take great precautions to not let her mind wander. She already had a wolf who could speak to her through her mind whenever she was in the library. She didn't need the Captain of the Valirus Guard to start conversing in her mind either.
"The real Greaters. The other day you hesitated when you named them. You were going to say Solaris for the Greater Esteral of the Sun, weren't you?" Omar turned his head around, looking at her. The candle in front of him flickered.
"Then you know too. Why change the names?" Isren asked. Omar sighed, shaking his head, and gestured for her to sit across from him. Isren sat down.
"It's a long story." He stated.
"Well, you wouldn't have called me in here without a reason." Isren leaned her back against the chair. The relief of finally being able to sit down coursed through her.
"This isn't something that can easily be told," Omar growled. "The king had ordered for the history of the Greaters to be altered. It's the way it has been for years. How did you get that information?"
"I found a book," Isren said. She was playing it cool. She hoped Omar wouldn't see the panic that was fluttering in her heart. "And I read it. It told me some information about each of the Greaters. It showed me a torn map of Axcia too." She paused. "Why are we hiding the fact that there's more land than we know?"
Omar pinched the bridge of his nose. "Exactly for that reason. We don't want anyone knowing that there is more land. It'll cause more problems. Besides, there's still more you don't know."
"Then tell me." Isren slapped the surface of the table. "Why haven't we expanded our land? With each passing day, it gets harder and harder to hunt for food and find medicinal herbs or anything that could be used to sell. Eysatixes are going hungry on the streets. You should know."
"I do know." Omar glared at her. "I see it when I pass through the streets."
"Have you? Have you seen the sickness and the disgust? People are becoming living corpses on the streets." Isren's anger was rising. Why was Omar finally talking to her about this? She's been waiting for answers. Searching for them.
"I've seen ten times more gruesome things than you have seen your short lifetime. Trust me, when you have lived more than half a century like me, you see things you can't unsee no matter how hard you try." Omar shut his eyes and rubbed at his temples with his fingers. The candle wavered from his breath.
"But why?" Isren asked. "If we can expand our land even a little, we'll have more resources than what we have now."
"It's not that simple. The Greaters had purposely divided the regions with the same amount of land. Expanding the borders would cause conflict if one region were to have more land than any of the other three. Just because the Eclipse Court is the highest and strongest court, doesn't mean we have leeway. We're trying to not start any problems."
Isren sat up straighter. "You keep talking about conflict and how you're so focused on preventing it. If there's a threat, why hasn't the court taken care of it yet?" She could tell Omar was getting very irritated. Did she care? No, not at the current moment.
She continued when Omar didn't answer her. "What are the relics?"
This time Omar's eyes flashed with angry panic. "Do not speak of that so loudly."
"Why? I keep asking you these questions but you don't give me a straightforward answer. Why did the king rewrite history? Why change the names of the Greaters that we worship? Why is there a torn map when there is still more land out there?" She regretted her next words as soon as she said them. "Why is there a trapped wolf in the library, and why can he only see me?"
Omar stood up, his expression was hard and grim. The candle went out from the rush of his sudden movement. It took Isren a few moments to adjust her eyes to the darkness. She could still see him. His figure and his basic shape but she couldn't see every detail on his face.
"Listen Castennali. We have rules for a reason to stop curious little Eysatixes like you from questioning everything. You found out about things you're not supposed to know, and if you have been snooping around in the forbidden section of the library, I'll make sure you never step foot out a training room." Even in the dark, she could see that Omar's eyes were narrowed at her. "I'll make your life a living hell, and then we'll see if you will ask so many questions. That wolf is a prisoner. You will not engage with him. For any reason at all."
A growl from the base of his throat followed his words. A threat. Isren raised her chin. She could feel her fangs threatening to come out in her anger. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from talking out.
"Have you told anyone else about this?" He asked.
"No." Isren replied. A lie spilling as easily as she once had told Jakru.
"Then don't. Not even your squadron. Don't try to start problems when we already have enough on our plate. I don't need another Eysatix to start a scene."
Another Eysatix? She forgot to keep her thoughts quiet.
"If I hear a word about anything you have said spreading around in the castle, I won't hesitate to throw you in a cell."
Isren pushed her chair back, her fangs coming out and piercing her lip hard enough to draw blood. She stormed out of the room before Omar could stop her.
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Don't forget to click that little star on your screen! If you knew there was more land that could benefit your court, would you take it? Or would you leave everything as it is?
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