The World Walkers: Gaelom: Aurelia: Training

[k_a_webb]

It was my first time choosing a quest, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Honestly the last thing I thought might be a possibility was for my mentor to hold a bag out, with slips of paper in, for us to pick one out. She said it made everything fairer because it was pure luck which one of us got which and as it was our first time she wouldn’t let us swap. We had to deal with the option we’d chosen, by chance, no matter how hard it ended up being. “Remember, trainees, if the quest becomes too difficult for you it is possible for you to walk away, but you only have ten available, so use them carefully.” Nodding, I hoped I wouldn’t need the button at all, but I was grateful they’d thought of something like that, just in case something did go wrong. “Your weapons will be there when you step through the portal, as will any other supplies you may need, and take your time. This is the first quest – if it takes you a week to complete then so be it. Don’t let any competition between you stop you from being careful. You won’t die, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be injured. Some trainees have come out of their quests with broken bones, swords in places they really didn’t want swords, and one even lost an eye.

“Today you will be going in alone. Other days you’ll be going in as a group. What happens always depends on how many people step through the portal and if you go through alone the training will be easier than if you went through with a group, although there will come a time when that will change. Your future at this school does depend on how well you do during your first five quests, as well as your actions in your classes, so don’t treat them as a game, because they aren’t. Any questions?”

Silence followed the question. We’d gone through what was going to happen over and over, told by numerous teachers, prepared for anything that might happen, even though they kept saying it was impossible to fully ready us for what was coming. Until we stepped through the portal ourselves there was no way to understand what we were going to deal with. Breathing deeply I waited as she made her way along the line, with the bag, and no one said anything about the quests they’re received, but I did notice a couple of people surreptitiously swapping their quests with the person next to them. Finally it was my turn and the quest I picked out – Swamp Temple.

“Anyone who hasn’t followed the rules will be banned from this quest unless they swap back right now,” she said, once she was at the end of the line, and as it hadn’t been me I knew I was safe, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to be. I watched as the people I’d seen swapped back, looking embarrassed. “Thank you. Now I’m not going to do something stupid, like ask if you’re ready for this, so I’d like Anders to be the first to go through the portal. What you do is throw your slip of paper through the portal first and then go after it.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.