Ellen followed her father patiently through the narrow streets of Ol’Haran.  Half a metre behind, as was proper, was where she stayed.

Keeping the appropriate spacing required a weird half-stepping gait but Ellen wasn’t so impudent to complain. Not while her father was discussing the very tumultuous topic of her future.

Waiting for dinner had been grueling as she went about her study during the day. A thousand questions whirred through her brain, and they’d only been emboldened as she watched her father talking with the Viera Courfelt.

After dinner, they would have time was what her father had advised. Once they arrived at the Silver Spoon, she and her best friend, Wosche, would join the adults as they spoke and her father had assured her that he'd ask her questions.

Ellen turned as she continued down the hill, spotting Wosche still lagging behind with a goofy smile on his face. Even though they’d spent the entire trip down discussing their new start, he would have his own list of questions that he’d want asked while they ate.

She could warn him that he shouldn’t ask the questions at the dinner table but it seemed farcical. There was little chance that Wosche would do anything but make some derisive comment about silly House rules and then do whatever he wanted anyway.

A high lilting laugh from the adults made Ellen swivel back around. Viera had laughed at something and wrapped her arm around Alexia’s elbow as they continued to descend down the hill. Being just out of earshot was maddening as she tried her best to eavesdrop.

Inching closer, pain lanced through her left calf as it struggled to accommodate for the hill’s incline. After walking up and down the hill three times and a prior two days' journey in the saddle, her legs ached to their very core.

Viera had joked that they would need to get used to the hill in the coming months when she’d noticed Ellen’s soreness. As embarrassing as the comment was, the implication gave her tingles. After months of being stuck in her room, Ellen was in the city of Ol’Haran, high atop its namesake hill, Hill Haran. Way down the bottom, the Harbourkey River snaked its way far into the distance and all the way back to the northern provinces. For eight months, Ellen and her friends would call this city their home. Eight months and then she’d be able to head back home.

Clearing her throat, Ellen looked out over the gentle rolling farmland that lay before her in favour of trying to listen in. There were months of time ahead to ask Viera questions and each one of those months would be with her father pleasantly far away when she asked them. Her father and her tutor, Shorn, would return back to the capital and leave her alone for the first time in a long time.

From where she stood, she could make out quite a lot of the town. Tall, narrow buildings hugged the litany of cramped streets that worked their way through the limited space on the side of the hill. The main road that led up the hill was large enough for several carts and snaked lazily back and forth as it climbed up to the House Hiford’s main estate at the summit. Far down at the hills base, The Southern and Eastern Gates held back the outskirts as they spilled out into the nearby farmland and riverbank.

The view was impressive, even if Ol’Haran was more of a town than city in reality. Having done her fair share of travelling, Ellen couldn’t compare the likes of Sanctuary in Breisachia, the shining city of Ilreana, or even the larger cities in the Northern Isles to the sleepy hillside town she found herself in now. There was charm to the town and some beautiful views of the valleys, forests, and farmland around them but, city, it was not.

Storied, as well. Undoubtedly, the southern province, the lands of House Hiford, was a fascinating melting pot of different folk, meeting at the edges of the Dark Forest, the Golden Plains, and the Great Jungle with all of the complexities that occurred by being where they intersected. Ol’Haran itself had been a battleground many times in its life, with its name mentioned in Ellen’s history classes many times while she was in the Academy. When Viera had invited her down to the Valleys, she’d assumed her parents didn’t know about the invitation. When she’d heard about the idea of going on contracts and studying at the Institute, she thought there was no way they’d let her go, let alone that it was her mother’s idea.

Coming down south, she’d not known what she was going to find. That morning, they’d ridden through the scattered mix-mash of farmland and forest and she’d been entranced by just how different her life was going to be. Far out on the horizon, she could see the Central Mountains, hazy blue sentinels rising up to hint at what adventures might be to come.

Adventure was what Viera had said when she’d offered Ellen a chance to study down south. An opportunity to study once more, to attend the Exams at the end of the year, and to redeem herself after she had been expelled but the word that had been bouncing around her head in the middle of the night was adventure. Time away from the capital was necessary, everyone in the family agreed as much, but to be given a chance like this one, with Viera Courfelt of all people, was too good to be true.

“...Ellen.”

Hearing her name piqued her curiosity once more. Her father walked to one side of Viera, looming over her as he stalked along the side of the road. Ellen had the height of her father but, thankfully, her mother’s size. Thin as a whippet, her father had a reedy figure that he often complained about. With his size, he was never taken seriously, always seen as foppish or unwell by the other Families.

“There are two baths inside the city gates and both have attendants to ensure propriety. And, a new theatre opened up only six months ago but has already hosted several popular troupes. It obviously pales in comparison to the capital’s theatres but I am sure that Ellen and Wosche will just enjoy a night in the red seats.” Viera laughed lightly as she glanced back at Ellen.

Letting out a small laugh, a surge of excitement surged through Ellen. That was until her father matched Viera’s glance, his face upturned as he glowered back at her.

Immediately, Ellen scuffed her feet and dropped back a step more. Her father had made no attempt to hide his displeasure in the recent predicament that Ellen had made for them. From flatly ignoring her to creating any manner of unpleasant punishments, the last few months had made it clear to her that she’d lost her father’s favour.

When Viera had made her offer for Ellen to come to the south, he’d spent half an hour railing against the idea in front of Viera herself. He’d aired Ellen’s shame with no thought of the Family and Ellen had believed she was going to be grounded forever.

Waiting for Viera and her father to continue on at a more appropriate distance, Ellen dropped back closer to Wosche. Her father clearly didn’t want her to listen to what they were talking about and it seemed like no one cared that Wosche was further back than was customary for children.

Since the day she had been expelled, she was perpetually grounded in her own special circle of the Hells. A retinue of trainers and tutors had been organised by the end of the first week, with every minute of every day being accounted for.

After Viera had come to visit, her father had come to talk to her, haranguing her about the need to prove themselves to the Houses again. Those same evenings were when Ellen could hear her mother and father fighting well into the night.

When her mother was home from her travels, she’d come in to see Ellen. A few times, she smuggled a gift and told Ellen to keep her chin up. Her father would come around. The opportunity to be tutored by Viera was too good to pass up. Even her father could see reason that another opportunity at the Exams, with the added benefit of private tutors with one of the country’s best mages, would be the best of all options they had.

Ellen hadn’t had the heart that she could hear the arguments through the walls of their estate. No matter how many walls were between her room and her parent’s lounge, her father’s voice carried when he shouted. A boarding school in Breisachia to teach her how good she had it in Weidenland and the injustice of her being rewarded for her poor behaviour. Ellen shuddered at the memory; hearing the hatred in his voice as he spoke to her mother had terrified her.

The day afterwards, he had come into her room and yelled at her. He’d told her that she was a mark on their Family’s great history and that finding a way to absolve the Family of her misdeed would be the death of him.

No reaction came from her as she sat on her bed. She didn’t give him the benefit of seeing her heart rend as he screamed at her. With her future in tatters and any hope of going to the south gone, she had withstood his assault and only cried when he had left. Shorn had allowed her ten minutes to cry before he began teaching her arithmetic for the day.

The feeling was surreal as the pain hardened deep within her and she focussed on the algebra written in her notebook. Even the thought of that day made her chest tight.

“I can’t wait to see The Cliff Crypts,” Wosche whispered as he eventually caught up.

With only a grunt as a response, Ellen worked to edge closer again to her father’s conversation instead. She was owed some information on what was going to happen in her life.

“I am not worried about her enjoying her leisure time or her learning about the fine arts. She has her Exams in fourteen months and I need her focussed on catching up to win Lead at the end.” he continued.

Ellen clenched her jaw but didn’t correct her father. She had placed top in the Academy in her class-based results. She didn’t need to catch up on anything, she just needed to be allowed to do the Exams. Not that the theatre interested her. She’d gone with her parents before and found the whole experience to be bizarre and quite tedious.

Viera flashed her a smile as she checked on her again. A kind face holds a gentle soul was the saying in the north. It was certainly true for Viera; Ellen knew as much as soon as she’d met her. They’d never talked before that fateful night that Viera came for dinner but her mother had always spoken highly of the most talented and genuine mage she’d ever met.

The way that her mother talked about Viera made it seem as if they were the same age but Viera looked substantially younger. There was a way that she floated down the road that made it hard for Ellen to determine just how old or young she was.

Those who walked past her were entranced by her levity, with the commonfolk splitting to make way for her as she talked to Alexia and her father. Like the parting of waves, everyone made way for someone like Viera, whispering excitedly as they moved past Ellen and Wosche.

No doubt people whispered wherever Viera went in Weidenland. She was beyond famous. She was one of the Queen’s closest advisors and, arguably, the country’s greatest mage. With all of that fame and prestige, Viera carried herself as if she was as light as a feather as if she hadn’t a care in the world.

“Why, Reginald. Do you think I wouldn’t be rigorous enough with the education of your daughter? Or Alexia’s son? They’ll be not only studying at the Institute, a college that has produced students that have rivalled the Academy in the past, but my own list of tutors and trainers that will elevate them beyond anything the capital could do.” Viera haughtily told her father.

Before Ellen’s father could reply, Viera continued, “And I will be instructing them as well. I am not ashamed to admit that I am the greatest mage of our time and I will be personally moulding your daughter into one of the most influential people in the north. Do you doubt my ability to do so?” Viera said, somehow playful and firm at the same time.

Ellen’s father grimaced, “Viera, you were raised in Kudraul with annual school trips to Ilreana for your artistic pilgrimages, as you call them. You earnt your way and reached the very top of Weidenland’s court through your own merit. But educating my daughter will take time. Time that you may not have. What you suggest is amazing but Ellen will need a firm hand to get her life back on track.”

“Almost the top.” Viera corrected him, “And I am busy but I will be in the town keeping close tabs on our wayward cherubs. I am committed to instructing them every week where we will be reading the most current literature and the latest developments in magic. She will have her training at the Estate with trainers that I have selected and my personal assistant, Thredrin Shipeur of the House Ahlaf.”

Ellen’s heart raced as she listened. Hearing Viera say it for herself was intoxicating, like she was being told her fortunes by a High Soul of the old ages.

“They will experience contracts and real fighting with the likes of the Red Damnables who can equip them with the most valuable weapon of all in battle: experience.” Viera slowed to a stop and faced Ellen’s father while she continued, “And then, she will return for her Exams. A phoenix, reborn.”

Her father stood, still glowering but said nothing.

Waiting patiently for Ellen and Wosche to join them, Viera only began speaking when she was sure they would hear as well, “Ellen and Wosche and all of the children will get an experience that none of their peers could even dream of sitting in the dusty classrooms of the Academy.”

Ellen watched in awe as her father faltered. He’d told Ellen how Viera was a force of nature many years ago. Before all of the drama of Ellen being expelled, he had complimented Viera’s vigour when they had their weekly Sunday Family dinner and told Ellen and mother that Viera would bring real change to their country.

“She might even come to miss her life in Kudraul, Reginald. Absence can make the heart grow fonder as Mage Propertius said.” Alexia added from the other side of Viera.

Throughout the whole day, Alexia had simply said that she was pleased to let her son join Ellen and the others down south. Apparently, she had been less pleased when Wosche told her that he’d be skipping the Exams for the year so that he could join them in the south but there was no indication of her anger any longer.

Alexia was a loving, kind mother for all that Ellen knew. Wosche was lazy and spoilt but incredibly talented as well and having two very successful parents had been part of how he had managed to be so notable at such a young age.

Ellen’s father had told her that Alexia had once been just as promising as Wosche when she was younger. Smart, powerful, and ruthless, she had risen quickly in the court until she’d met Wosche’s father, Hult. Then, as so many of the lesser courtfolk did, that spark that had interested so many was lost and her Family’s name never reached the Houses.

Both Alexia and Hult were still incredible mages and very successful in their fields, but her father laughed at how the sweet life had fattened the both of them up. Discipline and duty were what set the Houses apart from the rich and Wosche’s parents were just more evidence of that fact.

Ellen tried not to look at her father as he let out a huff and walked away from the conversation. The fact that he had taken her to Ol’Haran personally had buoyed her hopes initially but even that had been tainted when he’d complained about how his mother had forced him into such a predicament. He had been asked to personally accompany her to the south but there was no compulsion for him to be happy about it. And now, hundreds of kilometres from her mother, he was more than happy to let Ellen know how angry he still was.

Viera moved first, following her father with Alexia in close pursuit. Hanging back until she was ready, Wosche loitered and mimicked her taking a deep breath.

One breath in, one breath out.

“Thanks.” Ellen whispered as she felt her head stop spinning. Now at Ol’Haran, Viera would work her magic and, with Filienne’s Grace, he would come around, “If I stay, I am going to buy some looser clothes. Mother gave me some coins to buy new clothes that suit the weather better.”

“You’ll be the talk of the town.” Wosche replied playfully as he began to follow the adults once more. Being a head shorter than Ellen and still in his lanky teenager phase, it was a shock to many when they found out that he was actually twenty one.

It was also the absent look that was constantly on his face, forever a dreamer. A dreamer and a layabout but a maddingly brilliant when he wanted to do something. And, most importantly, her closest friend.

Rumours had circulated when they were younger about them marrying but it didn’t take folks in both families long to realise that they were far more like cantankerous siblings than anything.

Quite the unique looking siblings if it were true.

Wosche had curly sandy brown hair and a golden brown skin while she was a pasty white complexion and a dark brunette head of hair. She favoured black clothes that showed off her impressive physique in contrast to his flowy light green and yellow outfits that he preferred. Rings adorned his fingers in a gaudy display of his wealth and Ellen would rather be caught dead than wearing jewellery. A smile drifted up to her lips as she remembered when she’d confronted him about his love of rings a lifetime ago.

Well, when you win tournaments, you can choose when to wear the champion rings.

He was an absolute scamp, drifting through their schooling at the Academy, with little regard to how often he got high scores. Sleeping in class when he knew the content and no professor brave enough to do more than subtly wake him up. It was outrageous but he’d keep getting away with it because of how so damned naturally talented he was.

It wasn’t even the first time that he’d been through his final years. Wosche had skated through his first studies at the Academy the year before, leaving for the tournament circuit halfway through the year only to come back and score in the top ten of his class in the Exams. Tournament champion at nineteen, top of History class when he finished his Exams, and somewhere he picked up the guitar well enough to play at First House of Thenfeld’s End of Year celebration. Then, with only a few weeks before the tournament season began again, he dropped everything to go back to the Academy to join them for a second run at the Exams.

Initially, having him join them had caused quite the stir in their group. Teon was on the verge of complaining to the principal about the fairness of having someone much older join them return for another go at the Exams.

The golden child of the Academy from the previous year, Wosche was going to be welcomed back with open arms, whether Teon or Ellen liked it or not.

It hadn’t taken much to convince Teon not to cause a stir. She could see how having Wosche join them was better in the long run.

They already had Riu and Rean, as well as each other, to contend with for Lead Student, what was one more competitor?

Then, he’d proceeded to sleep through most of his History classes, only working hard when he wanted to distract Teon and Riu and getting lower scores than the rest of them. If he hadn’t been her best friend before the beginning of the year, he sure as the Good Gods’ love was now.

When Ellen pressed him on how he could be so casual about his studies, he told her that his path had been paved by Daelos. Paved it in gold, Wosche bragged, and who was he to go against Daelos’ wishes if so clearly favoured.

The gall still made Ellen mad even thinking about it. He’d chosen History, Martial Studies, Northern Literature, and Arithmetic classes for his classes and had mucked around the entire time. The two of them had shared History and Martial Studies classes back at the Academy and Ellen had had front row seats for his antics.

To her surprise, the Martial Studies class were the more outrageous of the two. With a rapier, Wosche had trounced everyone in class in the first month, even beating the instructor on a few days. Well and truly in his prime, and, still, Wosche had sworn off tournaments for good.

Not enough fun and much too much stress was what he’d told her when she’d pressed him for what on Coia he was thinking. Even for Wosche, his response was ridiculously flippant.

“He’ll come around, Ellen. He wouldn’t have dragged you all the way down here with all your luggage if he wasn’t going to let you stay.” Wosche responded with that same textbook flippancy.

Ellen was caught off-guard as a throaty chuckle came from deep within her, “You’d think that. Trust me, he’d be fine with me carrying my bags all the way home on my back. That or we just go straight to Breisachia after.”

“Oh,” Wosche responded and then frowned, “I hadn’t considered that.”

The knot in Ellen’s stomach tightened again. Her mother had put her foot down last week in front of the Family to make her father finally relent. Her outburst had caused quite a scene at High Garden and Ellen’s father had been advised by several of the other House members afterwards that he should concede to her mother.

After that fateful night, their trip to Ol’Haran had been organised quickly, with her father telling her to pack enough clothes for two weeks. Travelling to Breisachia would take a while longer but Ellen knew better than to think her father’s threats were ever idle.

Visiting the holy lands of Breisachia was one thing but Ellen loathed the idea of staying there long-term. Their nobility were said to be depraved and whatever boarding school her father had found would be as far from a holiday as he could manage.

Ellen’s hand brushed past the hilt of her sword and a shiver went up her spine. With all the travel, there hadn’t been much time for training. After so many years of daily training sessions, she’d developed an itch that came whenever she skipped a day or two.

Playing with the sword’s clasp, Ellen watched the commonfolk as they passed them by. Much like those of the capital, there were countless folk that went about their business, a different life to her in many ways as they went as they pleased.

Ellen clasped her sword again and crossed her arms. She’d not worn a heavy enough jacket for walking on the hillside and not realised how poor of a choice it was until she’d felt the evening breeze brush past her.

In the morning, she’d be able to practise her Forms and stretch. If everything went well at dinner, her father might even let her go to one of Ol’Haran’s training grounds if Wosche came to visit.  Which meant he’d need to wake up at a decent time to come and free her.

Ellen frowned at the idea, “After training tomorrow, we can try that restaurant we walked past before or we can visit the River Markets if we start early enough.”

“No training for me tomorrow. I’m exhausted.” Wosche said as he stifled a yawn, “If I wake up feeling better, maybe.”

Ellen tried to stop herself from rolling her eyes, “You said we’d get some training in. Why don’t you head to bed early tonight and then we can have an early start?”

“We’ll see,” Wosche replied unphased. He walked alongside her, gently gliding over the weathered steps of the hill’s footpath, with his gaze fixed on the southern neighbourhoods of Ol’Haran, “We could also skip the training and just go for a bit of a walk around merry old Schlupunt instead.”

“I wish,” Ellen let out a resigned sigh.

What she would give to be able to explore the town with Wosche. Schlupunt was the previous name of Ol’Haran and there was so much to learn about the Hiford’s province while they were there. In different circumstances, Ellen would have loved to walk the streets of the ancient town and delve into its history. A year ago, her father would have been just as eager to walk the streets, making comments about how the Hifords and the south were often more trouble than they were worth.

To her father’s credit, the court’s opinion of the Hifords matched her fathers, with many voicing their concern of how their Families handled the unruly south. The Academy teachers would lament the issues that the south brought to their country and Ellen had heard many Family members from different Houses complain about the constant hostilities that constantly arose between Karitia and Weidenland.

“It will be interesting to spend time in the Hiford province. Once it is just us, we might be able to get some time to sight see.” Ellen slowed her pace to keep with Wosche’s smaller gait.

“When we go on contracts, we’ll get to see a lot more than just Ol’Haran as well. Camping under the stars and eating fire-cooked meat and vegetables.” Wosche replied dreamily.

Ellen brimmed with excitement at the idea. Stories of adventurers and their contracts had become a fad in the courts over the years. Their heroics in the Northern War had become commonplace at the fetes and tournaments as parties of hardened groups of common folk had defied the odds to bring glory to their homeland.

While the army had battled tooth and nail to hold the ursa tribes back, adventurers had travelled to the Mevikian lands far in the frozen north with impossible missions of subterfuge. Many of the Families agreed that the actions of the adventuring parties like the Reeth Walter Party, the Red Damnables, and the Golden Hour had changed the tides of the war for Weidenland and the Queen had honoured many of them when they returned with their own fete.

At some point in the future, Ellen would meet the Red Damnables according to Viera. There was a real possibility that the Red Damnables would even train them at times, giving them the opportunity to share their experiences of the war and how they’d done the unthinkable.

Her heart still ached when she grieved her old life in the Academy, but the promise of real adventures and a tailored tutelage gave her the briefest glimmer of hope deep down.

Ellen increased her pace, eyes fixed on her father as he was in a heated conversation with Viera and Alexia yet again.

This time, they were at a crossroad, not arguing about Ellen’s future, but rather which way to go. Dropping in close behind them, two metres felt correct as her father railed about how they were wasting precious sunlight.

Saying no to Viera wouldn’t happen. After she had personally invited them and organised their place in the Institute, rejecting her kindness just to hurt Ellen was foolish. The court would talk about how her Father had snuffed Viera if he said no and the last thing he wanted was that. The Viera Courfelt would not take no for an answer. No one said no to Viera, not even Ellen’s father. Surely not.

Before Ellen could work up the courage to try and listen in again, Viera pointed down an alley that cut to the left. Alexia and her father followed quickly, with Alexia beckoning Ellen and Wosche to hurry to join them.

With a warm smile and a half-assed wave, Wosche increased the pace of his meandering but not nearly enough for Ellen’s liking.  Catching up to her father, she shadowed him half-a-metre behind again as she willing her footsteps to be silent.

At sixteen, she’d reached the same height as him, but far outstripped his width. After so many years of training, her muscles had grown and matured to place her as one of the strongest of her peers. Even many of the adults of the court couldn’t compare to the sheer size that she had put on once puberty hit.

Many had remarked about her strength when they came to call on her parents at their estate and every time the praise was music to her ears. It hadn’t been easy for her to get to where she was, working ceaselessly since she was young to be the very best. Her father welcomed her determination. He’d never cared what his children chose to do with their lives, so long as they were the best at whatever they decided to do. To become the Queen’s Guard had fit perfectly into his aspirations and life had been perfect when her path to Captain of the Queen’s Guard had been so clear.

Then, her expulsion had shattered her dream into a thousand pieces and her father had gone ballistic.

When he heard about her expulsion, he had gone ballistic. Ellen had had the misfortune of being home when the attendant had brought the principal’s letter to her home. For half an hour, her father had yelled at the poor messenger and Ellen had done nothing but sit and wait for his ire to turn onto her.

When the messenger was eventually released, the words he said to her next were burnt into her very soul, “You are a disgrace to this Family. Go and get your coat.”

The rest of her day was a blur after that as she joined her father to go to Principal Ade’s office where he cursed at her and made vows that she would lose her job if the expulsions stood.

For all Ellen knew, he had not talked to principal Ade or contacted the Academy since that day. He had erased the day from his memory and not discussed it unless it was absolutely necessary.

Even after so many months, Ellen and her father hadn’t talked more than was absolutely necessary as they rode to Ol’Haran. Most of the day, he would ride with Alexia or by himself and at night, he would make his own campfire to rest by.

Ellen pulled at her shirt’s collar, freeing the top button as she moved. The weather might have been quite cool as the afternoon moved into evening, but Ellen’s exhausted body was primed to overheat at even the slightest of exercise. After only a slight walk, she could feel her back starting to sweat through the bottom of her shirt. //

Once dinner was over, she was going to wash and then collapse. Back home, she’d ask the servants for a bath after such a long trip and scrub herself red. As guests of the Hifords, her father had instructed her to wait until they went to the town’s baths instead and only ask the servants to bring her hot water and cloth for the time being.

Staying at their Estate was tense and her father had warned her to be on her best behaviour when she was around the Hifords.

“It should be to the left from here. This is the street, I believe.” Viera had a finger to her lips, deep in thought. Alexia and Ellen’s father waited patiently, watching the crowd bustle around them and Ellen and Wosche moved back in close to them.

Viera had assured them that they wouldn’t need an escort nor guide for their trip to the Silver Spoon Tavern. When a House guard suggested they could join them, she had scoffed and told him she had no need to be led around the town like a tourist. As they travelled down the main street, Ellen had watched as her father became increasingly terse about Viera’s uncertainty about where they were going.

In Ellen’s mind, the guard would have been a good choice regardless. None of the crowd would be able to pick them out as Housed folk but they did have enough finery to be placed as rich. Wealthy travellers who weren’t sure where they were going wasn’t a good look and the chances that some less scrupulous commonfolk had already picked them out of the crowd was quite high.

Scanning through the crowd, Ellen could pick any faces she recognised before. To be a King’s Guard, one needed to be constantly aware of their surroundings and ready to act. Shorn had instructed her on how to be vigilant in crowds since she was young and Ellen knew the signs to look for. Familiar faces and curious activities could tip her off theoretically but, now she was in the streets, the flood of new sights, sounds, and folk overwhelmed her.

“Let’s have a little look see. It seems as if we should have got that guide.” Viera crossed the street and went down one of the smaller streets and everyone followed.

“I agree. That’s why I suggested we get the guard to join us. You told us you know where we are going, Viera.” Ellen’s father grouched nearby as he approached a street sign for the narrow street they stood in front of, “Diawent Alley.”

Ellen mouthed the name beside him and felt a tinge of strange familiarity. The houses on the side streets of Ol’Haran were tall and skinny, with most having at least two storeys. The shadows had begun to encroach on the narrow street again and the tall houses helped to block the sun from the street they walked on. Folk behind them pushed through to get into the busy little alley and Ellen scanned for any sign of malfeasance. There was an occasional glance in Viera’s direction but nothing more as everyone passed them by.

Many of the folk on the hill were oruk, much to Ellen’s surprise. Seeing so many of them was a bit of a culture shock that she hadn’t seen coming. Not that she had anything against oruks.

The Academy had had a few oruk students and she had worked with them in class and they were lovely. Just seeing so many of them in the city was strange, even after being told about how many oruks had come from Karitia in recent years. No small wonder the Hifords had so many issues with Wild Magic in their province with so many oruks wandering around.

“Would it help to ask someone for directions?” Alexia suggested next to Ellen, sucking in deep breaths as they waited for Viera to make a decision.

“We will if we need but I think it is,” Viera paused and walked quickly ahead into another busy crossroad before she continued, “right here.” She pointed across the crowd to a busy four-storey tavern on the corner of the street and let out a bated breath. A large sign swung overhead with its name, The Silver Spoon Tavern.Ellen followed her father patiently through the narrow streets of the city of Ol’Haran. She watched his feet carefully and slowed her own pace minutely. She was, approximately, half a metre behind the adults, as was proper for a House child but it was hard to tell as they travelled downhill.

Her father had advised her that she could ask questions after they’d had lunch. She could join Viera, Alexia, and her father while they ate but she was to be seen and not heard until they had discussed everything.

Ellen checked behind for her childhood friend, Wosche, again. He was still lagging at the back of their group but seemed to be happy with his decision. Ellen couldn’t hear what the adults were talking about. Alexia, Wosche’s mother, had just said something that made Viera laugh but Ellen was just a touch out of earshot to make out what it was.

She wanted to inch closer but her legs refused to accommodate her curiosity. It was the fifth time that they were walking back down the hill that day. The city of Ol’Haran sat on top of its namesake hill, Hill Haran, with roads that sloped steeply down towards the Harbourkey River. After two days in the saddle and several hours of going up and down the hill, her legs were aching down to their very core.

She’d had a morning tutorial in the Hiford Estate and she’d spent the entire time sitting and working through her study materials. She’d hoped it would go someway to help her legs recover from her journey but given how much pain she felt heading down the hill, she was dubious.

Not that she particularly wanted to spend more time holed up in the study. Her father had tasked her with revising her arithmetic and Old Common from the workbooks that her tutor, Shorn, had set for her and it was mind numbing work.

Ellen looked up to take in the vista at the top of the hill again. The view was impressive. Ellen had done her fair share of travel and had seen the likes of Sanctuary in Breisachia, the shining city of Ilreana, and even travelled to a few of the Northern Isles one time. But Ol’Haran had its own particular humble charm.

The southern town was caught between the forested regions of Weidenland and the Karitian jungles of the south. Its location had made it a battleground for millenia, so it was said, lived in by generations of humans and oruks who constantly fought for control of the Valley kingdom, so she was told.

Ellen had not known what she would find when she first arrived that morning. She’d relished the mix-matched scattering of farmland in between the thick forests that made up the edges of the Dark Forest and she’d enjoyed the sight of the green-blue the Harbourkey River snaking out across the landscape.

Ellen had loved the slow forming of the Central Mountains in the distance, having lived on open plains most of her life. Their blue silhouette across the horizon in front of her promised excitement and adventure not far away.

Excitement and adventure was what she had been told to expect. It was what she had hung her heart on in the recent weeks since she found out she might be able to travel to Ol’Haran. She knew the importance of coming down south for a fresh start and some time away from the capital.

She was just hopeful that she could make her father proud. Her main goal, if her father permitted that she could stay, was to impress Viera and then return home next year to prove herself to all of the Houses by getting Lead Student in the State Examinations.

Ellen heard her name in the conversation in front of her and looked up towards her father. He didn’t look back and she chose to risk a half-step closer.

“There are two baths inside the city gates and both have attendants to ensure propriety. And, a new theatre opened up only six months ago but has already hosted several popular troupes. It obviously pales in comparison to the capital’s theatres but I am sure that Ellen and Wosche will just enjoy a night in the red seats.” Viera laughed lightly.

Ellen let out a small laugh from behind but cut it short when her father didn’t join in. He stalked next to Viera and glowered back at Ellen for a second before facing forward again. He was a tall imposing man and even on a good day, he was somewhat grumpy. And today, and every other day recently, had not been a good day.

In the last month, her father had made no attempt to hide his displeasure in the recent predicament that Ellen found herself in. He’d railed against the idea of her moving to the south to join the Haran Institute. Ellen was grounded in perpetuum and he had forbidden her from leaving their Estate since she’d been expelled.

Not that Ellen was allowed to sit and rot while she was grounded, her father had created a schedule of trainers and tutors for every minute of the day that the sun was up and one of the few times he had talked to her, he had instructed that she would be working hard to prove herself again. In the evenings of the last few weeks, Ellen could hear her mother and father fighting most days as her mother worked to convince him to let Ellen join her friends in Viera’s program.

Her mother had talked to Viera three days after the incident that had led to Ellen and her friends losing their place at the Academy. Viera had offered the three of them the opportunity to move down south so they could be tutored by her. Viera had also promised that they could study at the Ol’Haran Institute, study magic with her personally, train with the very best adventurers from the war, and be given the opportunity to complete the Exams in the following year.

Her father had been of the opinion that sending her to one of the boarding schools in Breisachia so she could learn how good she had it in Weidenland. He had railed at Ellen’s mother about how Ellen was spoilt and her anger shouldn’t be rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Ellen shuddered at the memory. She’d been terrified when she’d heard him yelling.

The day afterwards, he had come into her room and yelled at her. She’d cried her eyes out as soon as he left. It had been a bizarre, heartwrenching pain to sit in her bed and see her future in tatters in front of her and she still remembered the intense pain she’d felt as she curled up and hugged her pillow and bawled her eyes out. It felt surreal to be studying at the top school in Weidenland at the top of her class one day and then waking up the next day disgraced and with her bright future stolen away. She focussed on breathing through the panic that tightened her chest and keeping close enough for her to hear what her father was saying to Viera.

“I can’t wait to see The Cliff Crypts,” Wosche whispered as he caught up to her.

She grunted in response and tried to close the distance with her father again.

“I am not worried about her enjoying her leisure time or her learning about the fine arts. She has her Exams in fourteen months and I need her focussed on catching up to win Lead in her results.” he continued.

Ellen clenched her jaw but didn’t correct her father. She had placed top in the Academy in her class-based results. She didn’t need to catch up on anything, she just needed to be allowed to do the Exams. And she didn’t want to go to the theatre anyway, every time she’d gone with her father, it had been really weird and much too long.

Viera looked back and flashed her a smile. She had a kind face and a gentle soul, so Ellen was told. Ellen had only ever talked to Viera a few times over the years but when she spoke to her, she was struck by how genuine and kind Viera was.

Viera must have been as old as her mum but she floated on her feet as she walked with her father and Alexia. She had this way that she moved amongst the people travelling up and down the hill that was enchanting. Everyone would part to make way for her seamlessly with many of them whispering excitedly as they did so.

No doubt people whispered wherever Viera went in Weidenland. She was famous. She was one of the Queen’s closest advisors and the country’s greatest mage. With all of that fame and prestige, and Viera carried herself as if she was as light as a feather.

“Why, Reginald. Do you think I wouldn’t be rigorous enough with the education of your daughter? Or Alexia’s son? Ellen and Wosche will be not only studying at the Institute, a college that has produced students that have rivalled the Academy in the past, but my own list of tutors and trainers that will elevate them beyond anything the capital could do.” Viera haughtily told her father.

But Ellen’s father could reply, Viera continued, “And I will be instructing them as well. I am not ashamed to admit that I am the greatest mage of our time and I will be personally moulding your daughter into one of the most influential people in the north. Do you doubt my ability to do so?” Viera said, somehow seeming playful but firm as she argued.

Ellen’s father grimaced, “Viera, you were raised in Kudraul with annual school trips to Ilreana for your artistic pilgrimages as you called them. You earnt your way and you reached the very top of Weidenland’s court through your own merit. But your plan requires time and you are busy with so much. What you suggest is amazing but Ellen needs a firm hand if she is going to get her life back on track.”

“Almost the top.” Viera corrected him, “And I am busy but I will be in the town keeping close tabs on our wayward cherubs for the year. I am committed to instructing them every week and we will be reading the most current literature and the latest developments in magic. She will have her training at the Estate with trainers that I have selected and my personal assistant, Thredrin Shipeur of the House Ahlaf. They will experience contracts and real fighting with the likes of the Red Damnables who can equip them with the most valuable weapon of all in battle: experience.” Viera slowed to a stop and faced Ellen’s father while she continued, “And then, she will return for her Exams. A phoenix, reborn.”

Her father stood there and glowered at her but said nothing. Viera waited patiently until Ellen and Wosche joined the three of them, “Ellen and Wosche and all of the children will get an experience that none of their peers could even dream of sitting in the dusty classrooms of the Academy.”

Ellen watched in awe as her father faltered in front of Viera. Her father had told Ellen how Viera was a force of nature. Before all of the drama of Ellen being expelled, he had complimented Viera’s vigour when they had their Sunday Family dinner and told Ellen and her mother that Viera would bring real change to their country.

“She might even come to miss her life in Kudraul, Reginald. Absence can make the heart grow fonder as Mage Propertius said.” Alexia added from the other side of Viera. Throughout the whole day, Alexia had simply said that she was pleased to let her son join Ellen and the others down south. Wosche said that she had been less pleased when he’d told her that he’d be skipping the Exams for the year so that he could join them in the south.

Ellen’s father said that Alexia had been thin long ago before she met Wosche’s father, Hult. Ellen’s father laughed at how the life of nobility had fattened the both of them up. Discipline was what set the Houses apart from the rich was what he told Ellen and bragged that Wosche’s family were evidence of that fact.

Ellen tried not to look at her father as he huffed and stalked away down the road and away from the group. He had taken her to Ol’Haran personally and he had agreed to meet Viera to discuss the idea of Ellen moving south. Personally. But he hadn’t promised to be happy about it and now Ellen’s mother was a few hundreds of kilometres away, he let his anger show completely.

Viera followed Ellen’s father with Alexia close behind. Ellen stood with Wosche and tried to focus on her breathing. It was a good sign that he would come down and he was negotiating with Viera. It was in Filliene’s hands now and Ellen had faith that he would come around.

“If I stay, I am going to buy some looser clothes. Mother gave me some coins to buy new clothes that suit the weather better.” Ellen brought up off-handedly before starting to make off after the adults.

Wosche caught up with her again and walked quietly next to her. He was a head shorter than Ellen and still in his lanky teenager phase, even though he was twenty one. He had an absent look on his face while he walked next to her but it wasn’t an unusual expression for him. He was a dreamer and a layabout and maddingly brilliant when he wanted to be and, most importantly, one of her closest friends. He always told her he loved how she grounded him and she, on rare occasions, admitted that he lifted her up.

He had curly sandy brown hair and golden brown skin that matched a lot of the light green and yellow that he preferred to wear. Most of his clothes were tight fitting to show off his impressive size and he wore several gaudy rings on his hands, several being his tournament champion rings that he swore he just liked to wear because they were pretty.

He was a scamp and he drifted through their schooling at the Academy all year, with little regard that he was getting high scores despite sleeping through some of the classes. And he’d keep getting away with it because of the simple fact that he was so damned naturally talented.

He had skated through  his first studies at the Academy and received some of the highest marks of his year in the Exams, then he became a tournament champion at nineteen, picked up the guitar well enough to play at First House of Thenfeld’s End of Year celebration, and then dropped everything to join the Academy once again so he could do the Exams a second time. Ellen had been worried when he’d first returned to the Academy in her final year. She was already having to contend with Teon, Riu, and Rean with all of her studies and then to have him suddenly come back for a redo made Ellen very nervous about her chances of getting Lead Student.

He’d then proceeded to sleep through most of his History classes and distract Teon when he could instead of studying. And she and him became fast friends outside of class.

When Ellen pressed him on how he could be so casual about his studies, he told her that his path had been paved by Daelos. And he paved it in gold, Wosche bragged, and who was he to move against Daelos’ wishes.

Wosche mucked around in the classroom and breezed through the martial lessons in the training grounds. He was decent with most weapons but truly incredible with the rapier and the instructors at the Academy had lost to him several times. He told her that duelling was great fun but that he found the tournaments to be unnecessarily stressful. Ellen could feel him only half-assing his sparring with her until it was the final bout and it drove her insane.

“He’ll come around, Ellen. He wouldn’t have dragged you all the way down here with all your luggage if he wasn’t going to let you stay.” Wosche responded flippantly.

Ellen barked a laugh and whispered back, “He’d be fine with me carrying my bags all the way home and on my back too. That or he said he might just take me straight to Breisachia after this.”

“Oh,” Wosche responded and then frowned, “I hadn’t considered that.”

The knot in Ellen’s stomach tightened again. Her mother had put her foot down last week in front of the Family to make her father finally relent. She’d caused quite a scene at the High Garden and Ellen’s father had been advised by several of the other House members to let Ellen join the others in Ol’Haran from what Ellen had heard.

Ellen didn’t want to move to Breisachia. It was said to be the holy lands for humans but she’d heard such horrible stories of how depraved the Breisachian nobility were. The idea of her being taken away from her friends and family to be sent to the jaws of their high society sat like lead in her stomach.

The idea of travelling there was especially galling to her considering her other option was to join Viera. Ellen had to pinch herself at the idea of Viera herself coming to her rescue. She could remember the day when she’d spotted the gold laced carriage coming up the driveway and Viera stepping out to her parents in front of Ellen’s own home. The talk of adventure and redemption when Viera had pitched the idea of Ellen and her friends coming down south had lit a fire deep in Ellen. Even the thought of her moving to Ol’Haran filled her with energy. If Viera could just get her father to let her stay, Ellen knew she could show Viera that she was the Academy’s very best.

Ellen’s hand brushed past the hilt of her sword and she felt a shiver of excitement. She hadn’t trained for several days, and she was starting to really feel the itch. She had trained every day from when she was young, being pushed to learn not only the shield and sword but spear, lance, and bow during her years at the training grounds. She and all of her friends had been brought up to not only succeed but excel and their parents had encouraged them to stick close together as they prepared themselves for the Weidenland court.

Ellen unclasped and then reclasped her sword scabbard out of habit. She’d have to wait until the following morning to get her practice in, realistically. Her father told her not to expect to be home until supper and he’d want her back working through her arithmetic work to make up for the last afternoon as soon as they returned home.

And then, she’d only get to really train if Wosche managed to wake up and make his way to the Hiford Estate before her father called on her. Ellen frowned at the idea. There was little hope of him getting up early when he wasn’t in the Academy and whenever their sparring was self-imposed.

“After training tomorrow, we can try that restaurant we walked past before or we can visit the River Markets if we start early enough,” Ellen brought up casually.

“I don’t think I will be at training tomorrow. Too tired from the road.” Wosche stifled a yawn, “if I wake up feeling better, I will stop by maybe.”

Ellen tried to stop herself from rolling her eyes, “You said we’d get some training in. Why don’t you head to bed early tonight and then we can get an early start?”

Training by herself meant she’d be limited to conditioning and stretching, both being a far cry from real sparring. And if he made it to sparring, he would enjoy himself.

“We’ll see,” Wosche replied unphased. He walked alongside her, gently gliding over the weathered steps and his gaze fixed on the southern neighbourhoods of Ol’Haran, “We could also go for a bit of a walk around the city and learn about merry old Schlupunt.”

“I wish,” Ellen let out a resigned sigh. What she would give to be able to explore the city with Wosche. The history of Ol’Haran was fascinating and the southern province’s bloody history was said to be written all across the city. Ol’Haran had once been the capital of the previous kingdom, the Kingdom of Schlupunt, that ruled over the Valley of Shadows, and learning about it had always been fascinating to Ellen. It was a hotly contested region in the north and several of the greatest battles in remembered history were fought there.

Since Weidenland annexed the Kingdom of Schlupunt, it had brought only strife to the Houses that tried to control it. Ellen’s father would talk of the issues that plagued the south when they talked and scorn the Houses foolish enough to try and manage the unruly southerners. Ellen had tried to block out their conversations about what he would have done if he were the Head of House Hiford.

To her father’s credit, his opinion was shared with many in Kudraul. Ellen’s teachers in the Academy would lament the issues that the south brought to their country and Ellen had heard many Family members from different Houses bicker and complain about the constant hostilities that arose between Karitia and Weidenland. The issues that arose were constant and the southern Houses struggled to do much about it.

“It will be interesting to spend time in the Hiford province. Once it is just us, we might be able to get some time to sight see.” Ellen slowed her pace to keep with Wosche’s smaller gait.

“When we go on contracts, we should be able to see a lot of the south. Camping under the stars and eating coal-cooked meat and potatoes over the campfire.” Wosche replied dreamily.

Ellen brimmed with excitement at the idea of contracts. The idea of working with adventurers had captured her imagination when she was young but only ever as a passing fancy. She’d heard of their heroics in the Northern War and marvelled at what the adventurers were meant to have done. The army had battled tooth and nail to hold the ursa tribes back and the adventurers of Weidenland had been at the very forefront of the war, doing what others could only dream of. Many agreed that the actions of the adventuring parties like the Reeth Walter Party, the Red Damnables, and the Golden Hour had changed the tides of the war for Weidenland.

And, at some point in the future, Ellen would be meeting the Red Damnables according to Viera. Viera had told her that she’d get to learn from them first-hand. Ellen was devastated to lose her chance at her final year prom and her Exams but the idea of real adventures and a tailored tutelage from the Red Damnables had gone some way to soothing her wounds.

Ellen increased her pace to catch up to the adults again. Her staying in Ol’Haran was dependent on if her father gave his permission. Her mother had left it up to him at the end and she would be no further help back home.

Her father had rejoined Viera and Alexia and they were in a heated conversation once again, only this time at a crossroad on the corner of the street. Ellen hovered close by the edge of the group but made sure not to get too close to draw attention.

The idea of her father saying no to Viera was doubtful in Ellen’s mind. The fact Viera had come to visit them and now met with them personally in Ol’Haran meant a lot. It was the Viera Courfelt. No one said no to Viera.

Viera pointed to the left down a side street and coaxed Alexia and her father forward. Ellen checked on Wosche behind before following the adults. When she checked back again, Wosche smiled warmly and gave her a little wave as he turned the corner.

Ellen caught up and began to shadow her father again. She had a similar stature to him by the age of sixteen and in the last few years, she’d only continued to put on mature muscle from her training. She was stronger than most of her peers and relished in how much she was able to lift and the power she had in her body.

It hadn’t been easy for her to get to where she was, she’d had to work ceaselessly since she was young to be the best and she refused not to be the best. Her father agreed. He didn’t care what his children chose to do with their lives, so long as they were the best at it in all of the kingdom.

Her dream to be the Queen’s Guard fit nicely into his aspirations at least. He had asked her to change her goal to be the Lead of the Queen’s Guard and she happily complied if that was all he wanted.

To get there, it required her full focus. And since that day, she’d performed her duties, trained tirelessly, and worked her ass off to prepare herself to win the position of Lead in her final school year Exams. She had conditioned herself to deal with stress and excel in it to be great not only through the grace of the Good Gods but through their own determination and resilience.

When he heard about her expulsion, he had gone ballistic. She had been there when the attendant had brought the principal’s letter to their home and shrunk into the corner of the room to avoid his ire. He had screamed at the attendant for half an hour and then dragged Ellen to the Academy to yell at Principal Ade in person on the same day. He swore up and down that she would lose her job for expelling Ellen and she and her father hadn’t left until the sun went down.

To Ellen’s knowledge, he had not talked to principal Ade or contacted the Academy since that day. He had erased the day from his memory and not discussed it unless it was absolutely necessary.

Even on the trip to Ol’Haran, he had not spoken to Ellen unless he’d had to. He rode ahead and refused to acknowledge why they had made the trip south with Wosche and his mother.

Ellen pulled at her shirt’s collar and undid her top button. She dabbed her forehead with her handkerchief and gave the back of her neck a once over. She had changed her shirt before they started their walk but she could already feel her back starting to become sweaty again. The street began to curve and slowly descend down the hill again, with one of the town’s gates coming into view.

In the neighbourhood below, Ellen could see the crowd waiting at the gate as the traffic brought everyone to a slow grind. Peaking just over the gate, the expansive green jungle spread out before her.

“It should be to the left from here. This is the street, I believe.” Viera had a finger to her lips and was deep in thought. Alexia and Ellen’s father waited patiently, watching the crowd bustle around them.

Viera had assured them that they wouldn’t need an escort nor guide for their trip to the Silver Spoon Tavern. She’d waved away a guard who offered to join them. Her father shook his head as he watched Viera try to orientate herself and Ellen had no doubt he was fuming about it internally.

Ellen checked her belt again and watched the crowd pass them by disinterestedly. To them, they were surely just some wealthy travellers. That was unless someone recognised Viera.

“Let’s have a little look see. It seems as if we should have got that guide.” Viera crossed the street and went down one of the smaller streets. She walked confidently and the rest followed her.

“I agree. That’s why I suggested we get the guard to join us. You told us you know where we are going, Viera.” Ellen’s father grouched next to Ellen. He took a few steps forward and looked up at the street sign for the narrow street they stood in front of, “Diawent Alley.”

Ellen mouthed the name beside him and felt a tinge of familiarity. The houses on the side streets of Ol’Haran were tall and skinny with most having at least two storeys which she found fascinating. Despite only being an hour after noon, the shadow had begun to encroach on the narrow street again and the tall houses helped to block the sun from the street they walked on. People crowded around them and pushed them along the little alley packed with activity. Ellen tried not to stare as she passed through the crowd, conscious of the people hurrying on both sides of them.

There were so many oruks down south, it had been a bit of a culture shock for her.

Not that she had anything wrong with oruks. The Academy had had a few oruk students and she had worked with them in class and they were lovely. It was just seeing so many of them in the city was strange. It was no wonder the south had such issues with Wild Magic.

“Would it help to ask someone for directions?” Alexia suggested next to Ellen. She was breathing heavily from the walk and used a large ornate fan to cool herself down.

“We will if we need but I think it is,” Viera paused and walked quickly ahead into another busy crossroad before she continued, “right here.” She pointed across the crowd to a busy four-storey tavern on the corner of the street and let out a bated breath. A large sign swung overhead with its name, The Silver Spoon Tavern.