The Induction

Lunatis the Indestructible had well earned the name. During her sixteen cycle reign as High Priestess of the Rock and Regent of the Amonu Empire several assassination attempts failed to remove her from power. A dagger thrust in her back failed to end her life. On two separate occasions arrows pierced her heart. She survived. A crossbow bolt pierced her eye, but she lived and retained her sight. Her carriage went off a thousand foot cliff and she escaped unharmed. Lunatis truly seemed indestructible. This was a gift from Na'Salom. Nothing could harm her until she met Zarazul Ag'Aprekt and fell victim to her charms that she became stricken with a mysterious, persistent and debilitating illness.

That was two cycles before Lunatis came into their lives one cold and stormy night.

A cloaked woman left them, Wywavern and Gaylespan, then infants, at the gatehouse of the palace of Kyos in the Karoc Isles. There was a note that said simply:

High Priestess of the Rock,

I am leaving these children in your enlightened care. One is Wywavern of the Sa'Asulek House of Shadowleaf and the other is Gaylespan of the Tauthan house of Blacraezur. You will find a clan marker and signet ring. Their mothers wished them to know who they are. Please care for them as though they are your own. They will make excellent companions for the Mighty One.

May you shine in the light of Na'Salom,

Avil Cavi'Graze

Lunatis adopted and raised them, showing as much love as a mother could. They were treated the same as Adula and given all of the benefits of being members of the Amonu Royal Family. Lunatis even ordered The Amonu Triskedrian counsel to ignore the fact that neither girl was Amonu. One of the things that made people love Lunatis was her unconditional love for everyone and everything. However there was Zarazul.

Zarazul Ag'Aprekt, an Ag'Asulek Warrior from Nav cast a spell on Lunatis, A powerful charm that even though everyone around them knew that they should not be bound, Lunatis could not help it. Against her own better judgment they were bound in a highly publicized ceremony. Lunatis made Zarazul her consort and gave her command of the Amonu Army, much to the dismay of the Triskedrian Counsel.

Zarazul never liked Wywavern and Spanner, but she did take a particular interest in their belongings. She was mesmerized by the sight of them; the Sa'Asulek clan marker, which was a genuine artifact of the House of Shadowleaf and the Imperial signet ring that was once worn by the first Warrior Queen of the Tauthans. She did everything in her power to try to wrest the two objects from the girls. They assumed that she wanted them for the great monetary value they carried. Custody of the two objects was categorically denied her by Lunatis.

Lunatis, the elder of Maya's two daughters, fulfilled her murdered mother's wish to protect her sister Adula with her life.

Wywavern and Gaylespan were drunk last night and did not hear the sound that came from deep in the souls of the Kiraluu people. Yes, they did remember Adula howling in the middle of the night, but it never occurred to them what it meant; they just thought it was because of the voluminous amount of alcohol she consumed.  Adula was prone to howling after drinking large amounts.

In the middle of the night a moan rose up from the Children of the Gem. The death of the High Priestess of the Rock struck at the shard of the Heartstone in each of their hearts. It was a horrible, mournful, agonized sound; an ache deep inside them from Gem Children everywhere which swept around the world from the Guf of Moachin to the Gates of Bohabbilade. It shattered the calm and told everyone 'Lunatis the Indestructible is dead'.

Everything in her body told Wywavern that something was wrong. Adula was supposed to meet them hours ago. Beyond punctual and always early to any engagement, even if it was just to meet someone to goof off, Adula was a devout student of the mantra 'if you're on time, you're late' and was merciless in meting out punishment to any cadet who was late.

Gaylespan already spent two hours convincing her that Adula inevitably received a lecture from Mistress Di and she was long winded sometimes, but even that was four hours ago. Wywavern reminded her that Adula was also adept at extricating herself from lectures and especially when she had a prior engagement.

“Wywavern, come here!” It was Gaylespan. “At the double!”

She leapt from her seat, cycles of training caused her to pick up her bow and run to the common area.

The three headmistresses and Gaylespan stood just inside the doorway. She looked to the three for some sign of what may have happened but found only their veiled and expressionless faces.

"What's up?" Wywavern asked, caution caused her to hesitate when she noticed the livid appearance of Gaylespan's face.

"Silence is the best option for you." Mistress M said with Cavi'Asulek calm. She surveyed them both and took a deep breath. Her eyes, also spoke of danger colored by what might have been fear. Even Mistress D, who never spoke allowed her eyes to show that she, too, was serious. Gaylespan's reflexive reaction to being dressed down was always to let her mind wander to some useless bit of information about the person. This time she realized that these women must be triplets, everything about them was similar.

"Somebody snatched Adula!" Gaylespan replied much louder than necessary.

"What?" Wywavern shouted back. Of all of the things that she expected to hear this was the worst. The words 'catastrophic failure' entered her mind.

"Don't worry about Adula, she is safe for now." Mistress M grumbled. The Headmistresses moved as a unit when they were together, like one person with three bodies. Adula once said that she, Wywavern and Spanner should attempt to be more like them. M, the obvious leader of this unusual triumvirate of teachers whose face never cracked a smile, this they knew even though her face was always veiled to them, leaned her head from side to side stretching the muscles in her neck as she always did before she would strike.  Without a prompt such as the usual off-color comment from Gaylespan, and possibly just because she needed it, she drew her whip and cracked it once in front of both of their faces making sure that she had their undivided attention.

"She's much safer than the two of you. You are supposed to be with her at all times. You've failed." Mistress Di intoned. Di was always the speaker when all three were together.

"But we've got to-" Wywavern started, but stopped short as the whip cracked in front of her face a second time. Though her face was veiled M’s purple eyes spoke volumes about anger and intent.

"Listen well; Zarazul Ag'Aprekt and members of the Triskedrian Counsel believe that Adula assassinated Empress Lunatis yesterday. That is not possible as we know exactly where Adula was at all times. The army is coming here to arrest Adula for the crime. Apparently they have witnesses. They are fifteen hours away."  Mistress Di, always direct in giving information rattled off the numbers of soldiers they could expect to arrive in a short time. "You have thirteen hours to empty this school of everyone and everything before they get here. Staying and fighting is not an option; you are only cadets. You will have no chance of surviving a battle against a trained and experienced army. Worry about Adula later."

The cadets, stunned, stared at each other. Two disastrous happenings in one day were more than they could handle.

"I know you're used to having Adula think for you, but this time you are on your own. Remember what you've been taught. We cannot help you either; we have our own mission, so you'd better make a plan. You now have less than thirteen hours." The headmistresses vanished.

After a long, stifling, thought filled silence, Gaylespan spoke: "This sucks, this bites and this wipes."

"Lunatis is dead?" Wywavern asked into the air. She spoke just to be certain that she at least was exhaling. The news seized her and threw her into conscious shock. "She's dead. Lunatis is dead... They killed her." Wywavern said, to herself still making sure that she was breathing. Fighting her tears she tried to clear her mind. She wondered how Headmistress Di could deliver the news so cold and heartless.

"Wywavern, snap out of it." Spanner said, trying to avoid the subject. What she wanted was revenge and in her mind she uttered 'Giagathai'. She did not want to talk about the death of the High Priestess of the Rock. She knew that someone had to be killed for what had happened. What she wanted to do was go back to sleep in hopes that this was just a nightmare induced by the excessive consumption of alcohol.

The sudden feeling of vacant emptiness made Their bungalow reek of the simple domicile that it was. The wood reinforced tent walls let the north wind in as though there was nothing between them and the outside. Two minds found themselves alone with their world collapsing around them.

"I can't believe she's dead." Short hours ago they stretched out in the glory of graduation from one of the toughest schools in the world and prepared to face the challenges of the future. They were on their way to the City of Witches for two weeks of vacation before assuming their new duties. The Festival of X in Chadizah was the biggest party in the world and they all wanted to be there for the celebrations. All of the graduating cadets were going. It was an unsanctioned class trip.

"Wywavern, listen to me!" Spanner shouted. The most important thing to her was to yell and make noise so that she would not cry. It was her way of dealing with any issue. "Please, don't lose it, we don't have any time."

"I don't understand. Why would anybody believe that Adula killed Lunatis?" Wywavern asked still checking her respiration. "That is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard. Who would set up Adula?"

"Where do you want to start on the list, Hanai Debrichisa, perhaps? There are members of the Triskedrian counsel that have been trying to take control of the empire…"

"Adula wouldn't do it!" Wywavern screamed, at last allowing her tears to flow. She was well aware that the thirteen members of the Amonu Triskedrian were not all believers in the laws of ascension. In fact Hanai Debrichisa was adamant that their leaders be elected and not chosen by the Denizens. She had gone so far as to say that her ancestor was the one who should have been the leader of the Amonu. "You know it was Zarazul!"

"Wywavern, Adula didn't do this. That is the point. Somebody's set her up and we do not have time to figure that out right now."

Except for trips to the lavatory, Adula had not been out of their sight for the past seventy-two hours or more. The past few days they spent partying, drinking to excess and making a general mockery of the rules and, regulations of decorum and deportment of the trained Giagathai. Thrown out of every bar and tavern in the immediate vicinity of the school they were reprimanded countless times by the teachers. In fact the only time Adula was on her own was when she went to the Headmistress' office, which incidentally was the same time she was kidnapped. Unless Adula was able to be two places at once there was no way she could have killed Lunatis. However, the Army was on its way, and somebody very high up in the Triskedrian Counsel managed to convince the others that this notion could be a possibility.

There was another enemy to worry about, one that was possibly more dangerous than Zarazul Ag'Aprekt; an enemy deep inside the Amonu people with the ability to coerce the Triskedrian into dispatching and army.

Gaylespan dismissed the thought as much too frightening to deal with at that time.

 "You know it was Zarazul. You know she did it. We should have been there with her!" Wywavern growled.

Spanner looked at her for a moment. "We can't do anything right now." Spanner shouted back startling herself with her own comment. Struggling with the idea herself she decided that it was a much better idea to deal with everything other than the staggering news of the assassination.

"You know Zarazul did it. I would stake my life on it. We should have been there with her." Wywavern said again.

"What, and be dead too, because we would be dead. Fucking Zarazul did this. I don't know how or why, but she did this." Gaylespan's half-hearted scolding failed to touch Wywavern. "I want to know how she managed to convince the Counsel to send the army after Adula. I want to know who is involved in this conspiracy!" She yelled as an affirmation of her disbelief and steadfast loyalty to Adula. Zarazul Ag'Aprekt and the Triskedrian Counsel were now the enemy.  

"Nobody would believe that Adula was capable of killing Lunatis. Adula adored her. Nobody with a brain would believe it. Somehow Zarazul convinced the Counsel, or tricked them, or something. We will take the time to figure this out, but not right now." Wywavern bit her thumb just to make sure that she was indeed awake.

"I bet there isn't a chance of negotiations with Zarazul." Spanner mused aloud.

"I would have to be a complete and righteous idiot to take that bet." Wywavern started filling her quivers with arrows. She inspected each one before placing it. Now she progressed into pure anger and she too whispered a silent 'Giagathai'.

"We need to worry about this later. The Amonu army is marching on us." Spanner reiterated.

"Spanner, this blows!" Wywavern stated. "This is dragonshit." No words but expletives filled her mind. Her rage was at its peak and she held one arrow in her hand vowing that she would lodge it between Zarazul's eyes if ever given the chance.

The two young women stood in silence glaring at each other wishing things were completely different: as fate would have it, everything that could be wrong was wrong.

So much can happen in a moment in time. It was only a few hours before that Wywavern and Adula streaked across the campus because they lost a bet. It was only a few hours ago that Spanner tried to break the all time drinking record at a local tavern. Time can catch up when least expected. Adula was somewhere and presumably a prisoner. Lunatis, the only mother they ever knew, was dead. An army from the Karoc Isles was descending upon the school. Both now painfully sober and standing in awe found themselves thrust into command of the cadets of Nerrovar.

The purpose of the Nerrovar School was to train the cadets to follow Adula.  The school was a Toyan solution for ensuring that the Mighty One had a loyal army that would follow and understand her orders. The plains of Nerrovar were the perfect location with all of the natural resources necessary for training soldiers; rough terrain and plenty of Dhulkrayen to kill for war games. Being close to Diamonathe and just far enough away from Chadizah to raise any suspicion that the High Guildmistress had anything to do with it, the School's mission remained a secret. Nerrovar was a nation placed under martial law by the Kevan, Raisa Noduri, who also happened to be the Regent of Chadizah. Even with that distinction the High Guildmistress rarely acknowledged that it was part of her nation and had little or no interest in the country. The school was placed in Nerrovar since that nation retained great relations with the Amonu and Chadizans. The fertile land rich in minerals made it and excellent location for the many weapon smiths that kept workshops there. The school openly trained soldiers and officers for all armies but had the covert agenda of training an army for the Mighty One (One day, as it happened, Ilias Sa'Otain, Raisa Noduri and the Darkraels got drunk and gave birth to this plan; the High Guildmistress of Chadizah agreed to the idea, mentioned it to the High Priestess of the Rock and made it happen). It worked; the cadets flourished under Adula's guidance and, given the opportunity, would follow her anywhere.  There were few commanders in the world who could boast the unswerving loyalty of the cadets of Nerrovar. She chose Wywavern and Spanner to be her first and second officers and now they hoped that the rest of the cadets would respect her choice and follow them.

Things could not possibly be worse. Wywavern Shadowleaf and Gaylespan Blacraezur faced life without a mother, a country and Adula.

"We have thirteen hours. What do we take? Where do we go?" Spanner asked.

"We'll take as many weapons as possible and everything else we can carry. We have to make an announcement to the cadets. We are going to go to Chadizah. That seems like it should be safe." Wywavern said, uncertainty causing her voice to quiver. It seemed the logical place to go but it did feel dangerous to escape to a nation alleged to be hostile toward the Amonu Empire.

For some mysterious reason there had always been the outward signs of strained relations between the Amonu Empire and Chadizah. This was a fact of nature since the reign of Dia Zabadu. There was neither reason nor rhyme for the state of affairs: occasional derogatory comments were the only signs that the two nations did not get along and even these statements seemed compulsory or even planned. General jocularity and good will seemed to be the tone of the relationship for the peoples of both nations. However, the High Guildmistress refused to meet with the High Priestess of the Rock in Diamonathe, insisting that all of their conferences be held in Ethapi or in The City of Ackraven. No one knew why, but everyone believed that it had to do with Dia the Insane and her lunatic claims of being Chadizah.

"Yes, Chadizah is where we'll go." Wywavern reiterated for her own good. She had intense reservations about meeting the High Guildmistress. "We should be safe there."

"Did you say 'should' twice?" Spanner asked.

"Yes. Look, do you want to take charge, because that would be fine with me. I'm not taking any crap from you right now." Wywavern snapped. For a short time she toyed with the notion of punching Spanner but gave it up. The two of them could not afford to be fighting at the present time and she really did not need another ass-whipping from Spanner.

"I'm sorry; it's just that Adula hates that word. It's a good idea; the High Guildmistress likes Adula." Spanner supposed. "I think that's what Adula would do."

A long, awkward silence passed between them as they questioned every action they might take. Spanner took her sword from the wall and strapped it across her back. Wywavern tested her bow-string and contemplated switching to another.

"What would you do?" Wywavern asked deciding to switch the bowstring. She convinced herself that she might be making a major mistake.

"I'd take everything and run like the wind to Chadizah. It's the only safe place." Spanner said. "We just have to worry about General Sa'Otain." The army of Chadizah was exceedingly aggressive with anyone attempting to cross their borders. They made it clear that no army would approach without a challenge. A covert crossing would be impossible and a direct approach problematic. Their only hope was to come within reach of General Sa'Otain seeking sanctuary.

"And the High Guildmistress, Spanner, you keep forgetting that she's there." Wywavern added with care.

"I'm not afraid of her, you know? She's not a monster and I'm pretty sure that she has to be on our side." Spanner mentioned after a short silence.

"Who?"

"The High Guildmistress, she has to be on our side." Spanner said.

"Is that true? I mean, you really aren't afraid of her?" Wywavern asked. "You aren't afraid of Her All-That-Ness?

"You know, I've never really believed any of the things they've said about her. That she kills people on a whim. That's all just crap people told us so that we couldn't find out anything about her. Can you look me in the eye and say that you actually believe all of those things Zarazul said? About her being a Suldranis and a cold blooded killer? You believed Zarazul?" Spanner said astonished.

"Some of it sounds feasible. She is part Suldranis." Wywavern moaned thinking of how silly she must have sounded at that moment.

"We're talking about the High Guildmistress of Chadizah. Why would she harm us? Haven't we both been accepted into her army? Why should we be afraid of her? You know, sometimes I wonder where you get these ideas. The High Guildmistress likes Adula and Lunatis trusted her."

"Lunatis was the High Priestess of the Rock. She trusted everybody, even Zarazul." Wywavern warned.

"Wywavern, we don't have a whole lot of choices. I know that Ackraven is closer, but think about why Chadizah is the logical choice; You and I do not know the Kyle, Chadizah is farther away from  the Amonu Empire and the Kevan of Nerrovar is the Regent of Chadizah... I know that you have a hard time trusting anybody, but right now you just have to have faith. "

Wywavern realized for the first time that Spanner had a lot of faith in the unknown. She sighed acquiescing to her optimism. "How many battle launches do we have?" Wywavern changed the subject by deciding that they were not acting fast enough. She knew that Spanner would follow any orders that she gave.

"We have the Instigator, the Dagger, and the Gust, Adula's yacht. That should be enough space for everybody."

"If it's not enough space, the rest of us can ride our Uroks, and you just used that word." Wywavern stated.  "I can't believe that Lunatis is dead."

"I know. I know." Spanner said, still trying hard to avoid thinking about it.

"Good, let's call assembly and take care of that."

"We're gonna find Adula." Spanner said optimistically.

"I know that. Let's get banging."

Gaylespan acquired her nickname because she was able to manipulate the span better than anybody else at the school. The span was an ability that few people used to its potential or even understood. When spanning a person can stop time, or at least slow it down so that they could move from place to place without being detected. The span was not as easy for many of the other students, causing the class to be the hardest in the curriculum. This ability made Spanner an excellent scout because she could move faster than the average eye could perceive. It was all about manipulation of molecules, although Gaylespan never thought about it that way. She just 'sped herself up' in her words.

She spanned to the bell tower atop the administration building and sounded assembly.

It almost caused a panic. Nobody expected it. The term was over and all they were waiting for were the launches to take them home for their break or better still, to Chadizah for the big party. The unexpected alarm sent them all running to the auditorium in a less than orderly fashion.

Wywavern, questioning her every motive, took charge; she was Adula's first officer. Watching the cadets enter the auditorium she felt the now too familiar sinking in her stomach which always happened when she stood in front of a large audience. She silently prayed to the Four Winds not to get the hiccups. Now more than ever she wanted Adula there with them. Adula was at home in front of a crowd and reveled in the recognition as she was a member of the Imperial Family.

Seven hundred sets of eyes locked on Wywavern, but also searched for their leader. Surveying the assembled student body, she saw the agitation begin to build as they noticed Adula's absence. She saw Flight Leaders look to each other with heavy questioning glances and she knew that they were asking where she was. She also saw a group of new students. They were young, barely able to dress, scared and green. They looked to the seniors for guidance. The seniors looked to Wywavern. The cadets stood and saluted.

Her palms and brow dripping with sweat, mouth dry and hot she said: "Please be seated." Wywavern wished she could turn around and leave the room. She remembered her first day at the school, how she felt lost and alone. 'This is a school of war' echoed in her mind. It was the first thing Headmistress M said that day… She exiled the thought of remaining to defend the school as it crossed her mind, swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and spoke. "Good afternoon; this is not a drill. Earlier today our cadet commander was kidnapped by agents of an unknown origin. We have reliable information that she is safe, although her present location is unknown." A murmur ran through the hall.

"Unknown, Colonel? Who would kidnap her?" A senior asked.

"As I said; we don't know but we have been reassured that she is safe." The rustle of whispers started to accent the mood like wind in leaves.

"Are they looking for a ransom?" Someone else asked.

"We don't have that much information-"

"Let's find her!" Someone yelled.

"As I said, we have reliable information that she is safe. There are other more important and pressing issues. Last night the High Priestess of the Rock was murdered; our cadet commander has been implicated in the assassination of Lunatis Zabadu."  It incited a new thunderous response from the collected students.

"Never!" Came ringing from the back of the room.

"We have very little time to evacuate this school." Wywavern was shocked that she managed to get the words out of her mouth.

"Colonel Shadowleaf," a student shouted, "why are we evacuating?"

"The Amonu Army is marching on our school to take Adula into custody. I believe that they've been misinformed: lied to by Consort Zarazul Ag'Aprekt, the commander of the Amonu Army. I need no proof; Adula had nothing to do with this appalling and reprehensible crime. There is something much uglier in the Amonu Empire than we ever imagined. Adula is the Charul of Kyos and I follow the Charul of Kyos. If the Amonu army believes that she had anything to do with this, if they are marching here… then they are the enemy."

"Then why don't we stay and fight?" One of the seniors asked.

Spanner stood and took the podium noticing that Wywavern seemed about to faint. "The last report we had was that there were two thousand soldiers headed this way. They aren't going to listen to reason, you can guarantee that. We aren't about to be attacked by another school; these are not war games. This is the Amonu Army, a well trained and experienced army. Zarazul Ag'Aprekt will march in, raze this place and kill everyone here if she doesn't find Adula. This is a fact. Now, we have to break camp and run. We can't leave anything of use behind. We cannot leave any supplies for them, nothing at all that can help them. Every second counts."

Wywavern stepped forward again. "Those of you who are not Amonu are free to return to your homes, the rest of us who are Amonu are going to Chadizah. We will hide there."

"We are going with you!" A Padachan student called out.

"We'll stick with the runt!" An Ag' Asulek sergeant shouted. The auditorium burst into cheers of "Runt! Runt! Runt!"

"Let's get banging! You have your orders." Spanner shouted, capitalizing on the momentum.

The Cadets of Nerrovar dispersed from the auditorium and into the campus to set bug out in motion. Wywavern watched amazed by their efficiency; they performed this drill once every cycle but she never dreamed they would ever