Blade Archer ~ Four
Nov. 5th, 2004 03:12 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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yrae
As was so often on the day of the Summer Solstice, Ni-Yana found itself at the beginning of another heatwave. The only respite the city was allowed was the complete lack of wind. The only breath of wind came from the beating wings of a bird, and even those were few and far between.
It was the kind of day when Ni-Yana’s residents contented themselves with resting against the western wall of their house in the morning, then make the long journey to the eastern side in the afternoon. Not even the strictest of foremen would have shown annoyance for lazy workers. Annoyance made too much heat. Tolerance was much cooler.
For this reason, it was ordinarily the kind of day Kael loved, in short bursts, at least. Any longer than three or four days and he began to get bored. However, today he actually had an appointment.
“Ye should leave now,” his mother mumbled to him from her position against the wall.
Kael gave a non-committal grunt in reply, not bothering to open his eyes.
“Mama,” Elara asked, “Why in Lin’s name don’t they move the Aeia-damned celebrations to a day that isn’t so stinking hot?”
Kanathi gave a grunt that imitated Kael’s. “The royals are strange folk, Elara me dear.”
The family sat in silence for a while longer, until Kael finally gathered the energy to stand up. “How long do the celebrations go for?”
“Couple hours,” his mother answered.
Kael groaned and stared at the palace walls.
“We’ll be cheering ye on from here, right kids?”
Grunt.
“’ere you go.”
Kael rolled his eyes, then rested against the corner of the house and tried to plot the best course between the houses that would allow for his feet to be on shaded sand for the most amount of time that was humanly possible.
“Aeia,” he sighed, then began tip-toeing his way over scorching red sand, cooling them slightly on the patches of shade by the western walls of the houses and wishing he owned a pair of sandals. A few people cracked an eye open as he stepped over their outstretched legs, but nobody could be bothered asking him what in the goddesses’ names he was doing.
Once he reached the Main Road, he was able to walk under the shade of the palms to reach the palace’s gates, which was open to the public for the only time in the year.
There was a surprising amount of people in the palace grounds, in spite of the heat, though most of them were men in army clothes. The Summer Solstice was, in Ni-Yana at least, very much a military-focussed occasion. The other people of the kingdom were given recognition as well, but the army was the focus.
His feet in the relatively cool shade of the palace gate, Kael groaned as his eyes surveyed the wide, cobbled expanse of the palace’s main courtyard. Even if he sprinted, there would not be much left of his soles by the time he reached the barracks. Thankfully, they lay on the eastern side of the palace grounds, and he was able to follow the wall around to the stone buildings. The high walls still cast a hint of a shadow, wide enough at least for him to walk in.
The route took him around the back of the white dome he assumed must be the healing house. A small garden shaded by a single palm tree was nestled at the back, and Kael caught the sun’s reflection in a pool of water. He debated darting over to the pool and standing in it for a short while, but decided against it. Chances were that the sun had heated it anyway, and any water that clung to his feet would evaporate by the time he made his dash for the barracks.
Instead, he made his way along the outer wall until he was level with the barracks, where he was able to edge his way along the wall of one of the buildings in the dying shade and stumble inside.
As the General had told him a month ago, the massive room was filled with about two hundred other boys, all his age. Kael had no doubt that on cooler days, the room would be buzzing with excited, nervous chatter. However, the only buzzing to be heard came from the half a dozen blow flies that defied the heat in order to pointlessly circumnavigate the room.
The boys all took up the same position of the rest of Ni-Yana, resting with eyes closed and backs against the wall, or flaked out on the floor. A few groups who were obviously friends or brothers held quiet conversations, but aside from that and the flies, the vast room primarily used for sword training was silent.
Kael shrugged and flaked out on the floor himself, making certain none of his skin was in contact with any other, including his own.
He had just about dozed off when a sharp clap started him, and evidently the boy beside him, whose leg shot out and jabbed him in the knee.
“Sorry,” the boy said. Kael grunted and cracked an eye open to see the First General standing by the doorway, a sheet of parchment in one hand.
“Happy Summer Solstice, boys,” he began, “I’m going to read out fifty names. If you are not among them, you are permitted to either leave or join in the celebrations. If yours is one of the names I announce, you are to remain here. Division one, swordsmen…”
Kael closed his eyes again as the General read out the list of boys admitted to army training with swords… then the list for those preferring to take the bow as their weapon of choice… and finally the blade archers. The list was short, consisting of only eight names, as compared to the eighteen on the swordsmen list. Kael only half registered that his name was among those eight. For now, all it meant was that he didn’t have to move when the General finished reading his list.
“And thus concludes the list,” the General finished. Kael heard the rustling of paper as he stuffed the parchment in his pocket. “Now, all swordsmen gather in the far corner, archers in that corner, blade archers the corner by the door—” Kael grinned. He’d chosen his position well. “—pikemen in that corner and siege operators in the middle of the room.”
General shuffling ensued, interspersed with the odd apologetic mutter and forgiving grunt when someone tripped over another’s legs.
The group of blade-archers-to-be grouped with Kael, most standing because they couldn’t be bothered sitting down only to get back up again later on. The faces of the boys wore much the same expression as Kael’s, half yawning themselves out of the doze they had been quite content with in their scattered ends of the room.
Kael struggled into a sitting position as a short man with a cropped beard approached them, looking very much as though he would rather have been somewhere else. The purple shirt he wore that marked him as a blade archer was dusty and faded from years of use. It was the closest Kael had been to a genuine army shirt. It was made from two pieces: the under piece, with the shoulder on the right, was cut from the incredibly thick hide of the nira and served as armour. The top piece was linen, died in the respective colours of the warrior’s division.
“Congratulations, boys.” The well wishes were obviously regulation rather than what the blade archer actually thought. He held one hand out and pointed lazily at the three wooden crates behind him. “Shirts, shorts and sandals,” he explained, indicating each crate with his finger. “They’re all the same size, so if it doesn’t fit, tough. I trust you all possess your own daggers, if not, you couldn’t possibly be Raykinian. Change and gather in the courtyard by the healing house.”
Kael could see the other boys exchanging glances as the blade archer left. Walking took too much effort in this weather. Even breathing was more than a number of people could manage.
Finally, one of the taller boys gave in and picked an item of clothing from each box. The others, Kael included, followed suit.
Being of average Raykinian size, the clothes fit Kael well, if a bit baggy, but he was sure he would grow into them. The clean material was certainly a change from the stiff, dusty clothing he normally wore. The shirt was in much the same style as that of the army, only crafted of one piece and made to look like two. The right shoulder, which would ordinarily have been part of the nira-hide armour, was instead plain, undyed linen. Regulation army shirts wouldn’t be issued until they passed their examinations in seven years time. Until then, linen would suffice in training.
Kael’s sore feet rejoiced at the leather against their soles in place of the scorching cobbles, which were quite literally hot enough to fry an egg on. He knew of people who had done that very thing on their rooves. He sat down and rested his back against the cool white wall of the healing house, knowing he was in for a long wait. The cool smell of mint wafted from the horizontal, slit-like windows of the healing house, refreshing at least Kael’s lungs if nothing else.
Various groups of army personnel grouped along the northern wall of the palace, where the gate was. Closest to the new trainees were the orange-shirted pikemen; the huge group of red-shirted swordsmen—an army on their own—was in the far corner.
Kael noticed that at the top of the wall, where the guards usually stood, were the two army generals. The First General was in taupe pants, like the rest of the army, and a black shirt, while the General of the King’s Own wore all black. Kael might have pitied them if they didn’t so bare resemblance to the crow that woke him up every morning with its incessant cawing. Either the crow or over-stuffed roosters, he couldn’t quite decide.
Soon enough, the queen made her appearance, and was helped to the top of the wall where she would make her speech. She apologised in advance should she happen to faint due to the heat, which she promptly did less than a minute into her speech. The two generals carried her down and into the healing house, and the queen’s daughter, Princess Alurié took her place.
Kael paid no attention to any of it, contenting himself with the same position he would be in were he at home, only now he was in the sun, and with no chance of sidling over to the eastern side of the building. He considered pretending to faint at one point, when the queen was taken into the healing house, but decided he couldn’t be bothered.
Finally, the princess finished her mother’s speech, then came over to ‘personally’ congratulate the new trainees and welcome them to the rigorous training for the Raykinian army.
‘She’s worse than I thought,’ Kael thought to himself, ‘Shorter, too.’
Once the princess left, the boys were left to their own devices, most choosing to go home. Kael took the opportunity gratefully.
“Have fun?” Elara asked him upon his return, not bothering to crack open an eyelid.
The new blade-archer-in-training grunted, then flopped down in the sand, retaking the customary heatwave position.
~ ~ ~
Chapter~ 1923
Total~ 7049
Time~ 1hr, 48mins (I'm surprised at that Oo woulda thought this of all chapters would grind, but there you go =D)
Total~ 9hrs, 26mins
It was the kind of day when Ni-Yana’s residents contented themselves with resting against the western wall of their house in the morning, then make the long journey to the eastern side in the afternoon. Not even the strictest of foremen would have shown annoyance for lazy workers. Annoyance made too much heat. Tolerance was much cooler.
For this reason, it was ordinarily the kind of day Kael loved, in short bursts, at least. Any longer than three or four days and he began to get bored. However, today he actually had an appointment.
“Ye should leave now,” his mother mumbled to him from her position against the wall.
Kael gave a non-committal grunt in reply, not bothering to open his eyes.
“Mama,” Elara asked, “Why in Lin’s name don’t they move the Aeia-damned celebrations to a day that isn’t so stinking hot?”
Kanathi gave a grunt that imitated Kael’s. “The royals are strange folk, Elara me dear.”
The family sat in silence for a while longer, until Kael finally gathered the energy to stand up. “How long do the celebrations go for?”
“Couple hours,” his mother answered.
Kael groaned and stared at the palace walls.
“We’ll be cheering ye on from here, right kids?”
Grunt.
“’ere you go.”
Kael rolled his eyes, then rested against the corner of the house and tried to plot the best course between the houses that would allow for his feet to be on shaded sand for the most amount of time that was humanly possible.
“Aeia,” he sighed, then began tip-toeing his way over scorching red sand, cooling them slightly on the patches of shade by the western walls of the houses and wishing he owned a pair of sandals. A few people cracked an eye open as he stepped over their outstretched legs, but nobody could be bothered asking him what in the goddesses’ names he was doing.
Once he reached the Main Road, he was able to walk under the shade of the palms to reach the palace’s gates, which was open to the public for the only time in the year.
There was a surprising amount of people in the palace grounds, in spite of the heat, though most of them were men in army clothes. The Summer Solstice was, in Ni-Yana at least, very much a military-focussed occasion. The other people of the kingdom were given recognition as well, but the army was the focus.
His feet in the relatively cool shade of the palace gate, Kael groaned as his eyes surveyed the wide, cobbled expanse of the palace’s main courtyard. Even if he sprinted, there would not be much left of his soles by the time he reached the barracks. Thankfully, they lay on the eastern side of the palace grounds, and he was able to follow the wall around to the stone buildings. The high walls still cast a hint of a shadow, wide enough at least for him to walk in.
The route took him around the back of the white dome he assumed must be the healing house. A small garden shaded by a single palm tree was nestled at the back, and Kael caught the sun’s reflection in a pool of water. He debated darting over to the pool and standing in it for a short while, but decided against it. Chances were that the sun had heated it anyway, and any water that clung to his feet would evaporate by the time he made his dash for the barracks.
Instead, he made his way along the outer wall until he was level with the barracks, where he was able to edge his way along the wall of one of the buildings in the dying shade and stumble inside.
As the General had told him a month ago, the massive room was filled with about two hundred other boys, all his age. Kael had no doubt that on cooler days, the room would be buzzing with excited, nervous chatter. However, the only buzzing to be heard came from the half a dozen blow flies that defied the heat in order to pointlessly circumnavigate the room.
The boys all took up the same position of the rest of Ni-Yana, resting with eyes closed and backs against the wall, or flaked out on the floor. A few groups who were obviously friends or brothers held quiet conversations, but aside from that and the flies, the vast room primarily used for sword training was silent.
Kael shrugged and flaked out on the floor himself, making certain none of his skin was in contact with any other, including his own.
He had just about dozed off when a sharp clap started him, and evidently the boy beside him, whose leg shot out and jabbed him in the knee.
“Sorry,” the boy said. Kael grunted and cracked an eye open to see the First General standing by the doorway, a sheet of parchment in one hand.
“Happy Summer Solstice, boys,” he began, “I’m going to read out fifty names. If you are not among them, you are permitted to either leave or join in the celebrations. If yours is one of the names I announce, you are to remain here. Division one, swordsmen…”
Kael closed his eyes again as the General read out the list of boys admitted to army training with swords… then the list for those preferring to take the bow as their weapon of choice… and finally the blade archers. The list was short, consisting of only eight names, as compared to the eighteen on the swordsmen list. Kael only half registered that his name was among those eight. For now, all it meant was that he didn’t have to move when the General finished reading his list.
“And thus concludes the list,” the General finished. Kael heard the rustling of paper as he stuffed the parchment in his pocket. “Now, all swordsmen gather in the far corner, archers in that corner, blade archers the corner by the door—” Kael grinned. He’d chosen his position well. “—pikemen in that corner and siege operators in the middle of the room.”
General shuffling ensued, interspersed with the odd apologetic mutter and forgiving grunt when someone tripped over another’s legs.
The group of blade-archers-to-be grouped with Kael, most standing because they couldn’t be bothered sitting down only to get back up again later on. The faces of the boys wore much the same expression as Kael’s, half yawning themselves out of the doze they had been quite content with in their scattered ends of the room.
Kael struggled into a sitting position as a short man with a cropped beard approached them, looking very much as though he would rather have been somewhere else. The purple shirt he wore that marked him as a blade archer was dusty and faded from years of use. It was the closest Kael had been to a genuine army shirt. It was made from two pieces: the under piece, with the shoulder on the right, was cut from the incredibly thick hide of the nira and served as armour. The top piece was linen, died in the respective colours of the warrior’s division.
“Congratulations, boys.” The well wishes were obviously regulation rather than what the blade archer actually thought. He held one hand out and pointed lazily at the three wooden crates behind him. “Shirts, shorts and sandals,” he explained, indicating each crate with his finger. “They’re all the same size, so if it doesn’t fit, tough. I trust you all possess your own daggers, if not, you couldn’t possibly be Raykinian. Change and gather in the courtyard by the healing house.”
Kael could see the other boys exchanging glances as the blade archer left. Walking took too much effort in this weather. Even breathing was more than a number of people could manage.
Finally, one of the taller boys gave in and picked an item of clothing from each box. The others, Kael included, followed suit.
Being of average Raykinian size, the clothes fit Kael well, if a bit baggy, but he was sure he would grow into them. The clean material was certainly a change from the stiff, dusty clothing he normally wore. The shirt was in much the same style as that of the army, only crafted of one piece and made to look like two. The right shoulder, which would ordinarily have been part of the nira-hide armour, was instead plain, undyed linen. Regulation army shirts wouldn’t be issued until they passed their examinations in seven years time. Until then, linen would suffice in training.
Kael’s sore feet rejoiced at the leather against their soles in place of the scorching cobbles, which were quite literally hot enough to fry an egg on. He knew of people who had done that very thing on their rooves. He sat down and rested his back against the cool white wall of the healing house, knowing he was in for a long wait. The cool smell of mint wafted from the horizontal, slit-like windows of the healing house, refreshing at least Kael’s lungs if nothing else.
Various groups of army personnel grouped along the northern wall of the palace, where the gate was. Closest to the new trainees were the orange-shirted pikemen; the huge group of red-shirted swordsmen—an army on their own—was in the far corner.
Kael noticed that at the top of the wall, where the guards usually stood, were the two army generals. The First General was in taupe pants, like the rest of the army, and a black shirt, while the General of the King’s Own wore all black. Kael might have pitied them if they didn’t so bare resemblance to the crow that woke him up every morning with its incessant cawing. Either the crow or over-stuffed roosters, he couldn’t quite decide.
Soon enough, the queen made her appearance, and was helped to the top of the wall where she would make her speech. She apologised in advance should she happen to faint due to the heat, which she promptly did less than a minute into her speech. The two generals carried her down and into the healing house, and the queen’s daughter, Princess Alurié took her place.
Kael paid no attention to any of it, contenting himself with the same position he would be in were he at home, only now he was in the sun, and with no chance of sidling over to the eastern side of the building. He considered pretending to faint at one point, when the queen was taken into the healing house, but decided he couldn’t be bothered.
Finally, the princess finished her mother’s speech, then came over to ‘personally’ congratulate the new trainees and welcome them to the rigorous training for the Raykinian army.
‘She’s worse than I thought,’ Kael thought to himself, ‘Shorter, too.’
Once the princess left, the boys were left to their own devices, most choosing to go home. Kael took the opportunity gratefully.
“Have fun?” Elara asked him upon his return, not bothering to crack open an eyelid.
The new blade-archer-in-training grunted, then flopped down in the sand, retaking the customary heatwave position.
Chapter~ 1923
Total~ 7049
Time~ 1hr, 48mins (I'm surprised at that Oo woulda thought this of all chapters would grind, but there you go =D)
Total~ 9hrs, 26mins
no subject
Date: 2004-11-06 06:43 pm (UTC)am now feeling hot.. despite snow being sprinkled on my lawn at the moment =P great description! will read ch 5 tomorrow, too tired right now z_z
no subject
Date: 2004-11-07 06:32 am (UTC)