Chapter One: Home sweet home TALON "The new recruits are here, sir." "Finally! What took so long?" "There were some troubles, some of them were very skilled." "Isn't that the point!" "Yes sir, ofcourse sir." "Wake them up I'll be in shortly," he told the soldier, and to himself he added, "It's time for orientation!" ~ Talon woke up to the metalic smell of blood, immediately he checked himself for wounds. He had a few small cuts which strangly he couldn't remember getting, but they had all stopped bleeding. So he came to the conclusion that the blood was not his. Talon sat up and looked to his left and saw a small girl with with white hair. She was wearing a white dress and stared at him with dark green eyes but said nothing. He looked to his right and saw the source of the blood, his stomach lurched at the sight. He was looking at a very large and muscular boy of about 17 years, he had a nasty cut running from his shoulder to the middle of his back. Healers worked furiously on him. Using their magic until they ran dry. Talon new a bit about magic although he couldn't remember where he learned it. He knew that if you tried to use more magic than you have you can get extremely sick - or worse, die. A nurse collapsed on the spot having overworked herself, she lay on the ground heaving, a different nurse that had been cleaning up the blood helped her up. Talons eyes shifted to the pile of gleaming metal that was placed by the boy. There were two long swords, one broad sword and two growing knifed. Talon wonered how he could carry all that. After taking all of this in he observed their surroundings. There were no windows, so possibly they might be under ground. The only light came from torches placed at regular intervals on the walls. There were other children, all in there teens, having injuries treated, and everyone was in a state of waking up. One boy looked as if he had been awake longer than the others. He seemed less suprised than the ones who had just woken up, he semmed only interested in his throwing knifes. The cloth sheaths were strapped in an X across his torso and the tiny knifes (much smaller than the boy with the cut had) were placed for so they would be easy to grab. The boy was tall and skinny with dirty blond hair that fell into his blue eyes. The nurse that was cleaning up the other boys blood walked over to him. "Let me heal those cuts for you." she said pleasantly. "Um, sure." I replied. After she was done with me she went over to the girl in the white dress. She held out her left arm to the healer. It had a scorch mark probably left by a spell. After healing it she looked tired, it must have taken alot of energy to heal. But then, all the healers stood at attention as a man dressed in a flowing black cloak entered through doors that I had not seen. "Welcome," he said, "to your home."
Chapter Two: The unknown RORA When Rora woke up immediatly she knew something was wrong. Her arm throbbed and she had a tingly feeling in her chest. Rora knew that this tingly feeling was bad but she wasn't sure why. Bad Rora thought again. Bad. It was just a word and she associated nothing with it. Her eyes widened in disbelief. No it can't be! Rora looked into her mind and saw nothing but her spells and a blob of white fire - her magic. This much she knew but nothing beyond that. There should be more, thought Rora. She dove into her mind again this time deeper, and there it was a wall. It was black as night and smooth as could be. A mind block! I can't climb over this, thought Rora. So she improvised she took all of her magic and pounded at the wall in her mind, a small dent appeared. This is going to take a while Rora groans internally. A healer woman walked up to her and Rora held out her aching arm. She could heal it herself but she was using all of her power on this darn wall! Then every thing got quiet and a mans voice said: "Welcome to your home." Rora then found that she was being dragged out of her mind and back into the real world like a fish out of water. The man who had spoken stared at her and then began to speak again. "Welcome to your home." he repeated, "battle camp!" Whispers of excitement raced like spiders across the room, only a few stayed silent, Rora observed those who did. A boy who had a terrible cut on his back was one, another was the boy who sat next to her he had brown hair and a long sword attached by his hip. There was one other boy who stayed silent, he had many throwing knifes. "Here at battle camp you will be put into groups of four these will be your room mates." he said after the whispers ended. "they will also be who you train with. You will have a commander to lead you, a Mage to sheild you, an archer or a knife thrower to cover your backs, and one skilled in hand-to-hand combat to protect you.". More whispers as people wondered what they would be. "I will put you into your groups now. Alex: commander." he said and waited, " Well come on up!" he said impatiantly. Alex stepped cautiosly to the front. "Jason: Mage, Jasmine: archer, Pory: protecter" they all walked to the front. "Folow the soldier he will take you to your dorm." Then without missing a beat he began again. "Talon: commander, Rora: Mage, Luke: knife thrower, Shorlorn: protecter."he called. I observed my group, the large boy with the cut was Shorlorn, our protector, Luke was the boy with the many knifes, and Talon was the boy that sat next to me, our commander. We folowed a soldier out of the big room and into a narrow hall. We were thrown together with people we'd never met before and yet we walked off into the unknown with only each other.
Chapter three: Getting settled LUKE "That girl Rora, she is a powerful Mage." "Yes sir, she is, she was one of the ones who caused trouble when we were recruiting." "I bet, given time she will be able to break down my mind block." "What are we going to do about it sir?" "We won't give her time." "Sir?" "I'd like you to keep her and the rest of her group so busy they won't have time to think about any thing but their lessons." "Yes sir." "you're dismissed!" said the man in the black cloak. ~ Walking down the long narrow hallways gave Luke time to think about what had happened. There wasn't much to think about, his whole life was waking up and finding himself in large room getting put in a group and now walking to a dorm that was to be his home. They say I'm I knife thrower but how good am I really? Wondered Luke. What if I make a fool out of myself! He thought horrified. But he didn't have time to worry about that because they were allready at their dorm. "there are duplicates of your out-fits in the drawers for you to change into." he said and before he could go on Talon our commander asked: "why duplicates of our outfits, why not something different like a..." he struggled for words "like a uniforn." he finished "What your wearing is what your most comfortable so you will learn the best in it." he answered. "So get ready your first class is in the training room." he said handing everyone a map. "Classes already?" I wondered out-loud. "I guess so." answered Talon with a shrug. In our dorm there were four beds seperated by cloth screens, for privacy Luke guessed. Each section had a table, a chair, and a dresser with three drawers, but that was all. My section was the back left, in front of me was Talon, to my right was Rora, and in the front right was Shorlorn, our protector. When we were all dressed in fresh clothes Talon led us out of the room, my room I corrected myself this is my home. He knew what a home felt like and this was not it, but he could remember nothing else so home was what he called it. When we entered the gym we were greeted by an athletic blond woman with a big nose. "Welcome to the training room, this is where you will learn hand-to-hand combat and long-range combat.". She said in a voice that was WAY to high-pitch. "every morning when the bell rings you will come here!" She demonstrated by walking over to an enormous bell and ringing it. Then We did some warm-up drills to get our blood flowing until she said: "now let's do some sparring! Talon, Shorlorn grab your swords and get in the fighting stance that we learned!" I'd HATE to Talon right now Shorlorn was twice his size and he had THREE swords strapped to his back there was no way Talon could win this fight. Nevertheless they both got into the fighting stance that had been mentioned.
Chapter four: the impossible fight SHORLORN My mind is baffled from what has happened to me. First I wake with a large cut on my back that I can't remember getting, then I'm thrown in a group that I'm gonna have to live with, and now I'm asked to fight a guy half my size. We both wore padding but it would still hurt- alot. "go on." said the gym teacher. I take a swing, he dodged so I take another. Swing, dodge, this goes on for a good two minutes before he swings at me. I lunge forward at him and he side-steps me, while I'm still off balance he knocks my sword out of my hand and puts his blade at my throat. No way. I did not get beaten by this little kid. I close my eyes and open them again, his sword hasn't moved an inch. "Well done Talon!" she exclaims. "any words of wisdom for your opponent?" "Brute force doesn't always win," he said, "you need to think stratagy." "Luke, Rora, your turn!" she says with an encouraging smile. Luke wins but only just, it's clear neither of them is comfortable handling a sword. "Let's move on to long-range practice!" she says cheerfully. Rora, Talon, and I pick up a bow for the first time, but Luke takes out his knifes as if he had done so one-thousand times before. The gym teacher talks us through the steps on how to handle a bow and I find out that I'm a pretty good aim, Rora and Talon aren't to bad either. But Luke, man he's amazing with those knifes! He stands at the back of the training room and he throws with both hands all of his knifes land perfectly in the center. The gym teacher dismisses us to our next class and rings the bell. In the hall I ask Talon, "How did you beat me?" I realized that I sounded childish but I wanted to know. "I tired you a out in the beginning and let you think I would never strike, you made more and more mistakes, and I waited until the right opportunity to strike." he stated simply. The next class was magic. In the small room there were four desks and four chairs, we each took a seat. There were two teachers for this class one to teach those who already knew magic and one to teach those who knew nothing about it. I was one of the latter and so was Luke. The teacher came over to us and told us that he would make an illusion of a situation where we would be in trouble, for that was when magic typically revealed itself. After several "life or death" situation I checked out what Rora and Talon were doing. They were creating picture in the air like our teacher was doing to us. Talon created a life like version of their teacher and I was thinking or was pretty good until I saw Rora's version it was amazing all of the details were perfect. By the end of class Luke and I had made no progress whatsoever. We were given a book and assigned to read chapters one and two, AND write a report on them by tomorow. Rora and Luke had to create a whole landscape picture and display it for them tomorow. As we walked to our next class - tactical stratagies - Rora and Talon taked about their assignment. "I hope this class is better than the last one." Luke commented. "Well it can't be worse." I said. I was dead wrong. The bell rang just before we entered the room. "You're late!" a voice bellowed, "Sit down!" I sat in my chair and looked at the front of the room and saw the man in the flowing black cloak.
Chapter five: The game room TALON Late. We were late. Talon was sure he would not like this mysterious man. "I will not punish you, only give you a warning, but if you are late again the punishment will be severe." Then as if nothing had been said he jumped right into class. "If you and and one of your dorm-mates had been scouting the area of an enemy camp and saw ten enemy warriors before they saw you, what exactly would you do, Shorlorn?" "Um... I guess I would charge in and fight?" he said unsure. "No, you and your partner would not survive, Luke?" "I would send my partner around to the back of the group and distract the enemies while he killed them." he said more confident than Shorlorn. "No, no. Your partner would surely die, but you might escape while they're killing your partner, what a hero you would be." You have to retreat Talon relized. You can't beat them- the odds are 5:1 not good! And you're scouts so unless you have to you don't fight. But still our teacher asked Rora who had no idea whatsoever. "Talon, what would you do?" he asked, sounding bored. "I would retreat." Talon said. "And why, might I ask, would you do that?" he asked, now more interested. "The odds are 5:1- not good." Talon explained. "Perfect!" he said, "Retreat is the only possible way both you, and your partner would live." He asks them questions that only Talon knew the answer to, and that was how tactical strategies went. Talon felt uncomfortable in this class. "You will recieve your assignment after lunch with everyone else." he said, and just like that the bell rang. We checked our maps and left for the dining room. It was the room that we woke up in except now there were four tables each with four chairs that occupied the room. We were the fist ones there so we took a table and waited. The other groups soon entered, but no one else came in. Someone got the idea to put all of the tables together, we did and everyone started sharing things about their days. "Did any other protectors have to fight their commanders?" Pory asked. "Cause I beat the crap out of mine!" he said with a smirk. "No you didn't!" Alex protested. "You barely beat me!" "I had to fight my commander." said a girl, "I'm Alta by the way, and I also beat my commander, Derrick." she informed us. "I fought Talon." said Shorlorn. "I bet you creamed him!" said the boy Derrick. Shorlorn face went red and he looked away. "Actually Talon won." Rora said in the silence. "Well my group didn't do anything today- they call it a day-off, and everyone gets one, the names Benet, I'm an archer." he said saving Talon from being pelted with questions. At that moment servers came out with trays laden with food, and placed them on the tables. They ate in silence, and people stole glances at Talon throughout the meal. Just as the last person was finished eating (it was Benet) the man in the black cloak entered the dining room. "Folow me." he demanded, "we are going to the game room and you are expected to report there everyday after lunch so check your maps. We did as instructed. We entered the game room and Talon observed his surroundings. The game room was a huge open space with wooden crates strewn around. Some were stacked three high, and others half torn down. "In the game room you and your group will battle the other groups. Everyday after lunch you will battle here, first one pair of groups, then the other. Your tactical strategies assignment is to work with your group to create a stategy to beat the other group when arrangement of the crates is like this. This is how the crates will be arranged tomorow." He handed the commaders a peice of parchment where the crates were all arranged all in the middle of the room stacked two high, except for the one in the very middle- that one was stacked three high. Talon handed it to Luke who showed the rest of their group. "You will recieve duplicates of your weapons tomorrow, before your first battle. They will be made of a special material with a counter spell on them, they will not hurt if they hit you. There will be a spell on the uniform that you will wear into the game room, and if a wepon with the counter spell on it hits you in the head, neck, or heart, you will not be able to move. Mages will be restricted to using attack spells, and defense shields. The first team to 'kill' all of the other teams army wins. Do your assignments and rest up, battles will begin tomorow, your battle uniform will be in the drawer below your everyday clothes. Get going!" Battles would begin tomorrow. Talon looked at the parchment sheet in his hand and grinned, a plan was allready forming in his mind.
Chapter six: The Rebellion RORA "Talon performed as expected." said the gym teacher. "Good, good. He was rather exceptional in tactical strategies as well." "I'm excited to see how he handles his first battle." "Yes, I am as well." ~ Rora couldn't sleep. With the anticipation of the games tomorow, and the dark wall looming in her brain- it was just to much. She decided to wake up Talon and tell him about the mind block. He was good enough at magic to see it. She walked softly over to Talon's bed. "Talon?" she called softly. "Talon!" she said louder this time. "Wha-What?" he said confused. "Oh, hi Rora." "I want you to go into your mind." Rora said. "Ok." he said. "Dive really deep." she whispered. He sucked in a breath. "What is that!" he said shocked. "It's a mind block, it's blocking our memories from us." Rora stated, "don't you feel like something's missing?" He nodded. "that's your memories." "we have to wake up the others." he said frantically. The others were woken up. When they heard the news they were shocked as well. "What will we do?" asked Luke "We'll keep up in our classes, win our battles, and investigate." said Talon. "But first, we need a name." said Rora, trying (and succeeding) to lighten the mood. "How about 'the investigators'." she said. "Naw, too obvious." Luke said, deep in thought. "'Lost and found?" he supplied, reffering to our memories. "No, no!" Talon said excited. "I've got one. The rebelion!" he said. It was perfect! Everyone loved it. "Now everyone get some sleep we got a big day ahead of us." he said sounding every bit the commander he was. ~ In the morning we got up early to discuss our battle stratagy. Talon, Luke, and, Rora would charge out and occupy the other teams attention while Luke climbs up the middle crate stack. Then Talon gives the signal and Luke throws his knifes, and we win- hopefully. The classes were like yesterday, except harder. We got more assignments than yesterday with promises of more to come. After tactical strategies, the man in the black cloak told them to go to their dorm, change into their uniforms, and then go to lunch. At lunch they pushed their tables together again. All of thier uniforms were different colors. Alex's group: red, Talon's group: gray, Derrick's group: blue, and the other commander named Cassie, her army wore green. The man in the black cloak came to lunch as the food was being brought in. "You will create a team name for your group while you eat." Immeadiatly everyone started talking at once. At Alex's table one person suggested Dragon, while another suggested fire. Ours was the only quiet table for we agreed on our name right away. We were the rebelion. No one suggested anything else, and no one disagreed with it. Soon, lunch was over and we all filed out of the lunch room, and made our way to the battle room. When we entered, the man in the black cloak was there, waiting for us. "The first groups to battle will be Alex's group known from now on as 'Dragon Fire', and Talon's group, 'The Rebelion'. You may enter the battle field," he said, and we obeyed, "On the sound of the bell you may begin." We hid behind the crates in the middle, but Dragon Fire just sat out in the open. "As soon as the bell rings attack." said Talon. As soon as the bell rings, attack. Rora repeated in her mind. You go for the Mage, Talon will go for the commander and Shorlorn will take the protector and the archer. The bell rang and Rora was the first one in the battle field. The other group held their ground, waiting for us to come to them. Rora spotted the Mage and sent a long-range attack spell at him, he countered with an advanced defense sheild. He's showing me what he can do, thought Rora. She smiled and sent a strong attack spell at him. While he was coping with that she checked on how everyone else was doing. Luke was just begining to climb, Shorlorn was having some trouble fighting two on one so Rora sent an attack spell at Jasmine, the archer. Sorlorn nodded his thanks as Jasmine was now stuggling. Talon was easily holding his own against Alex, although Alex was using some moves she had never seen before. Rora saw a flash out of the corner of her eye and barely had time to throw a defense sheild up before it hit her. She still felt the impact of the spell, but she blocked the majority of it. Right, no more distractions. Spell after spell it became clear Rora was the better Mage. She could have finished him off long ago but Talon had told her to wait for Luke. She risked a look at Luke. He was almost to the top of the crates. She through another attack spell at the other Mage. It was ment to drain him of energy, and she could see the effects allready. His eyes were begining to droop, his attack spells were easy to defend, and his defense ones were weak. She looked at Luke again. He was at the top and waiting for his signal. Talon was paying him no attention. "TALON!" Rora shouted, loudly. Talon looked at her then Luke. "LUKE, GO!" he said equally as loud.
Chapter seven: The volenteer LUKE "LUKE, GO!" shouted Talon. That was the signal. I pulled four knives from their sheaths, and aimed. I probably could have done this without trying, but I only get one chance, and I wanted to make sure they hit their targets. One, two, three, four. It was over that quickly. All of my knives struck home perfectly! I jumped from my perch and was greeted with cheering from my team. "Way to go Luke!" said Talon. Rora came up and hugged me, Shorlorn just nodded but even he was smiling. I looked to the other team. Their protecter, Pory, was shaking his head and smiling. But their commander wad mad. He was shouting at his archer, Jasmine, and she looked near tears. "They will get over it." said Talon who had seen him looking, "They've only lost once." "Congratulations." said the man in the black cloak, "But next time you will not get to see how the crates are arranged beforehand." A sense of dread fell hard in Luke's stomach. What if we don't keep winning? Thought Luke, then he thought, it doesn't matter! It's a game! I need to focus on getting my memories back. "Um, hey!" Talon called out to the man in the black cloak. "Yes?" he replied. "I was just wondering... What your name was." he said. Was he TRYING to get us caught! I may not have my memories, but I knew that that was BAD!!! "That is irrelevant." he replied coldly. And then he turned and left. "Congratulations The rebellion!" cried our gym teacher, cheery as ever. "Now it's time for the other team's battle so if you'll all follow me." We followed her out of the game room and up a flight of stairs. There was a small hole in the wall that we could see the battle field through. Our group watched through the window, but Alex's group sat in the corner farthest from us. Alex glared when he saw me looking. Cassie's group, chaos, won, but only just, she was equally as good at offense as she was at defense. No one did anything like the rebellion did. Derricks group, called icefire had an amazing defense, but their offense was shabby. Luke considered his group, as well as Alex's, very offensive. He would tell Talon what he observed later. He looked at his group and frowned. Talon was observing the emptey battle field (weird) but the disturbing thing was Rora. She was biting her lip and seemed to be concentrating really hard. Her teeth broke the delicate skin of her lip and blood poured down her chin. She didn't seem to notice, and if she did she didn't care. Luke walked up to Talon and tapped his shoulder. "hmm?" he said. "Whats wrong with Rora?" Luke said anxiously. He turned around and walked up to Rora and shook her. No response. "Rora!" he called. No response. Then he raised his hand and slapped her. "Stop!" I shouted. "No trust me." he said calmly. He slapped her again. "Stop." she said weekly. "No need to remind me I know well enough what I did wrong." she grumbled. "You went passed your magic limit," said Talon, as Rora wiped the blood from her chin, "You could have died!" "I know, I know." she sighed. "I was trying to break the wall in my head. I almost succeeded, but you pulled me out. But I should be thankful, you probably saved my life in the process." "Thank Luke, he's the one who noticed first." he said. "Thank you Luke, for saving my life." she said with a smile. "I didn't do a thing," Luke said, "Talon saved you." Soon after that we left for our dorm room. "Ok, we are going to discuss how we are going to get our memories back." said Talon, when we got in our dorm, safe from teacher's eyes and ears. "I think we should send someone to investigate the side of the school that we know nothing about." Rora suggested. As far as we know there is nothing beyond the game room, and the dining room. But Rora says that she saw a door leading out of the dining room into the other side of the building. "I'll go." volenteered Shorlorn. "If I get caught I'll claim that I was sleep walking." "Ok Shorlorn, the door is at the back of the dining room, it's the same color as the wall, so it's hard to spot. Just run your hands along the wall and find the crack of it and pry it open." "Ok." replied Shorlorn. "As soon as the torches are put out you leave." Talon said. We all climbed into bed and waited. Soon the light went out. Luke heard as Shorlorn shuffled out of bed, and closed the door quietly behind him. Luke realized that if this failed, who knew what they would do to them, who ever they were.
Chapter eight: New memories and old ones SHORLORN "Talon did exceptionally well in his battle, don't you think?" said the gym teacher. "Yes I do, but don't you think their team name is odd?" "Yes, it is a bit odd, and they chose it almost immediately while the other groups were still argueing in the halls." Shorlorn's heart beat faster. He had followed Rora's instructions and found a room, down the hall the door had led him through, now he was listening to the gym teacher (not so cheery) and the man in the black cloak. He had no idea that they were watching us (or at least Talon) so closely. "The girl knows about the mind block, so she might have told him, but if they are against us, what are they doing about it?" he wondered aloud. Shorlorn's heart was in his mouth now. "Well, I've got to sleep now, good night.." But Shorlorn was gone before he heard the name, to worried about his own well-being to be curious. He set off at a jog, and as soon as he got to his dorm room he woke the others. "They are watching us!" he exclaimed. "They know that Rora knows about the mind block and they suspect that Talon knows too!" "Calm down Shorlorn, what else did you hear?" asked Rora. "They said that Talon did well in his battle, but that our team name was weird, and that we chose it really fast, they said that if we are against them what are we going to do about it." he said quickly. "Ok, good work," said Talon. "That is perfect, we will do it every night, and we will rotate so everyone gets sleep." "Uh-oh" said Luke. "What is it Luke?" Talon replied. "Rora." he said simply. Talon whirled around to see Rora laying on the floor unconscious. Talon ran up to her and shook her violently. She woke up immediatly and groaned. "You did it again!" he shouted. Rora shied away from him. Her dark green eyes full of fear. "It won't happen again." she said looking away. "I broke the wall." "Rora that's great!" said Talon, forgeting his anger. "Did you get your memories back?" Rora nodded. "But I wished I didn't." she muttered. "They are awful. I found out that I was one of many kids in a rich family." she began. "I was beaten, and eventually I found out I was a Mage, then I controlled my family with my powers. My parents told the King I was out of control, I was taken away, but on the way some soldiers, belonging to the man in the black cloak stopped them and were going to take me to him. As soon as I was let go I used all my powers on them. The palace guard were easy to take out, but the others were talented, I think I might have killed one, but the other took me down with a fire spell. And then I woke up here." We were all stunned by her story, wondering if our pasts were similar. Rora climbs into bed and we all do the same. But for Shorlorn sleep does not come easily, and when it's time to get up Shorlorn hadn't slept at all that night. Tomorow was our day-off and everyone was looking forward to a day of doing nothing, but that was not the case. We got so many assignments that all we would be doing is working- some day-off! On our way to lunch Talon said: "Don't worry, I'll help with tactical strategies assignments, and Rora will help with magic, right Rora?" Rora nodded. She had been very quiet since she got her memories back. "So there's nothing to worry about, we'll have plenty of extra time." At lunch every group but Alex's pushed their tables together again. "He's probably still mad about how you pounded him yesterday." commented Derrick, commander of icefire. "He'll get over it." Talon said, once again. Lunch was over and the man in the black cloak hadn't showed so we decided to walk on without him. He was waiting for us in the game room. Shorlorn observed the battlefield the crates were all stacked in twos in random places. "The rebellion, Icefire, get on the field." said the man in the black cloak. We walked out of the field and looked at Talon. "Ok, I've got a plan. Rora you go out and climb around on the box, they will probably send their archer to shoot arrows at you, because they are very defensive according to Luke. You stop the arrows with your magic, and when you have four, send them back at them. The rest of us will occupy the others, got it?" Talon said. We all nodded. RING, the bell rang and Rora began climbing. Shorlorn ran into the battle field, and immediately saw the other teams protecter, Alta. She drew her one sword, a broad sword, at the same time he grabbed his two long swords. Alta was pretty good with her sword but she was no match for Shorlorn. He pared her every blow, but struck none of his own. He knew Talon would want him to wait for Rora. He checked on Rora, she had three arrows and the fourth was about to be fired. He grinned, their archer had no idea what they were doing, they were condemning their own team. He heard the woosh of an arrow as it narrowly missed his head. It struck Alta who was confused, first she looked at Luke, but he was still fighting, then she saw Rora, but before she could call out a warning it was over, they had won, again, and with Talon to lead them, he imagined that there would be many more victories to come.
Chapter nine: Names, battle plans, and risks. TALON It was Talons turn to go through the hidden door and listen. He was really nervous and his hands kept sweating so it took him four trys to open the hidden door, which only increased his nervousness. As soon as he put his ear to the door, he heard the man in the black cloak speaking. "... wonder what he's doing." "I know first Luke saves the day, and now Rora?" "I think that he may be showing the other teams what he can do." "That seems to be the most logical answer, Shadow." Shadow, THAT was his name! That is the wierdest name I've ever heard, thought Talon. "Next I bet it will be Shorlorn, I wonder what he will do, charge out and fight everyone at once." "Very funny, I'm sure it will be more logical than that, I mean, the boys a tactical master, and the only..." But Talon had allready left, gone to tell his roommates what he had heard, and a new plan for the game room forming in his head. ~ "Guys, wake-up!" Talon said excitedly. "What did you hear?" Shorlorn asked. "His name is Shadow." Talon said immediately. "Shadow, don't be riddiculus, that's not even a name." Rora said. "Well it's his code name at least." Talon insisted. "What else did you hear?" Luke asked. "He's figured out my battle stratagy." said Talon. "Which is...?" Shorlorn wondered. "To show the other teams what we can do, Luke, his knives, Rora, her magic, and next you Shorlorn, and your strength. We'll discuss our battle stratagy in the morning, get some sleep." They all got into their beds, closed their tired eyes and fell asleep. Talon woke up an hour earlier than the torches were lit. He decided to wake everyone up to get a headstart on our assignments. There was grumbling and groaning, but eventually eveyone was sitting on the cold wooden floor in Talon's section of the dorm. "Let's start with our tactical strategies assignment." Talon said, more enthusiasticly than he felt. "What would you do if you and three other people were cornered by eight people in the back of a cave. Saying cave made the hairs on the back of his neck go up, but he wasn't sure why, so he ignored it. "Rora?" "Umm, I would... reatreat?" Rora said. "Uh, no your cornered." Luke reminded her. "Oh." She said. "Luke, what would you do?" Talon said. "I would... I would tell my partners to try and escape, while I held them off." Luke said not so sure. "No." Talon said, "Shorlorn?" "Stay and fight." he said simply. "Yes that is what you should do, but how are you going to write three pages off of those three words?" Talon asked. "Your not. Now, write your essay, but don't think of what YOU would do, think of what I would do." he said. All in all it was more successful, Rora was still struggling with it, but it helped to think of what Talon would do. Even with helping everyone he was done with his essay before everyone else. The last person (Rora) finished their essay just after the torches got lit. We moved on to magic. Rora and Talon had to learn to blind someone with a flash of light. Luke and Shorlorn had to write an essay on basic hand movements and how they magnify the effects of magic. Talon was struggling with this spell. "No no, NO!" Rora yelled, losing her patiance. "You did the same thing LAST time you move your hands like THIS!" "I DID DO THAT!" Talon yelled back. "NO YOU DID THIS." she screamed. "Calm down, you guys!" Luke said. "Rora, he'll get it soon, Talon, folow Rora's instuctions, your hogging her, I need help too!" "Ok Luke, I'll help you now, sorry Talon." Rora apologized "Yeah, me too." Talon said. Luke got his help, and Talon practiced for a while. Then everyone was blinded momentarily, by a flash of light. "I DID IT!" Talon shouted, happily. Everyone was blinded again. And again. "Ok that's enough." Rora said, "I think you've got it down." "Yeah, there's a tiny possibility." Luke adds. They all laugh at that and soon they are all done with their assignments, and they still had two hours until lunch. "Let's discuss our battle stratagy." said Talon. "This one is simple. Shorlorn charges out and fights everyone at once, try and kill one or two if you can, and the rest of us sneak around from box to box and creep up on them and boom! Their dead!". "Are you sure I can go four on one?" Shorlorn asked. "Yeah, I'm postitve, otherwise I wouldn't put you up to the task." Talon said. I really hope you're ready. He thought secretly. Because if you're not, this could all blow up in our faces.
Chapter Ten: Into the darkness RORA Lunch is going to be different today, Rora noted. Pory, the protector for Alex's team had joined the group of tables in the middle. "Hi guys, Alex is being a jerk, I'm disobeying his jerky orders to come and sit here." Pory said. Pory was tall and well built for a teen. He carried one long sword and from their first battle she knew he was very skilled with it, he gave Sholorn a run for his money. "He's still mad at Talon for beating the crap out of our team." "I thought he'd be over it by now, after he beat the crap out of Cassie's army, no offense." said Talon. "None taken, Alex taught us how it feels to be defeated, a lesson I look forward to teaching you, Talon." she said with a smirk. "But Shorlorn won't let that happen, will you Shorlorn." Talon said, innocently. Shorlorn just smiled. Confused Cassie went back to her meal. We walked down to the game room excited for our next battle. As soon as we got there the man in the black cloak, now know to us as Shadow said: "Icefire, Dragon fire, get on the battlefield." They set off at a jog on to the battlefield covered in crates so close together, that it woulld be hard to see the enemy. Dragon fire won almost immediatly, they pounded Icefire by overwhelming them one person at a time, that seemed to be how they did it everytime, they were predictable. "The rebelion, Chaos, battlefield." said Shadow. Rora got out of the compfy, overstuffed, red velvet chair and made her way down the squeeky steps to the battlefield. "Shorlorn, go as soon as the bell rings, we'll be right behind you." Shorlorn runs straight into the army when the bell rings. He begins to fight. Rora looks to Talon, who is staring at the spot where the teachers sit, across from the the spot where other teams sat. She looks up to see Shadow laughing and the gym teacher saying something like 'There's no way'. "Talon!" Rora calls getting impatiant. "Right." he answers. We begin to creep up to where Shorlorn is fighting. It's clear he is losing, but he must have gotten a lucky shot, because Cassie is lying on the ground frozen. We surround them and strike. Rora throws a powerful spell at an unsuspecting Mage, Luke throws a knife at the protecter, and Talon, stabs the archer. "Congratulations, The rebelion!" says our gym teacher. "Let's go back to the Dining room and eat!" We walk back recieving congratulations from everyone but Alex's group. We eat our meals at the wooden tables, and discuss the battle statagies that people used. "Man, I wish I could have been the first person to beat you, Talon." Cassie complained. Cassie's hair was chin legth and blond she had sparkling blue eyes and an oval face. She was tall for her age, unlike Rora who was short. "Rora, your hair is in your gravy." Luke said. "Thanks Luke." Rora said and pulled a long white strand of hair out of her mashed potatos and sucked the gravy off of it. Her mind wandered to Talon, she glanced up at him, his dark brown hair had potatos in it, and Cassie was laughing at him. He was trying to be mad, but he ended up laughing until his caramel eyes were watering. On there way back to there room Rora asked for confermation that it wad her turn to investigate. "Yes, it's your turn Rora." Talon said. We climed into bed when we got to our room and Rora waited for two minutes, then a third before she climed out of bed. She takes a deep breath and is about to walk out then she hears a quiet: "Good luck." Although she couldn't see who said it, the voice was unmistakeable. "Thanks, Talon." she replies, and walks out into the darkness.
Chapter eleven: Just might have LUKE Luke heard Rora leave, and prayed that she would succeed. She had to. He had done the same when Talon and Shorlorn left, and he hadn't slept until they had come back. While he waited untill Rora came back he wondered what it would be like when it was his turn. Maybe the hallway would be dark and creepy, smelling of dust, and rotten flesh, maybe he would see Shadow feasting on Rora's dead body, and a door creaking open as the gym teacher came to join him... "Wake up you guys!" Rora said. Ok, I just might have dozed off a little bit, but the darkness and dust smell were both highly probable, Luke thought. "Guess what!" said Rora. "What?" Luke responded. "They said that Talon was the most talented person that had ever gone to this school!" "Tell me something I don't know." Talon yawned. "Self centered jerk." Shorlorn teased. "What, where!" Responds Talon. That sends us all into fits of laughter. "Well I can tell you something you don't know." Rora says getting ahold of herself. "This is a school, a learning facility." "So?" Luke said. "That means they aren't trying to kill us, right?" Talon asks, eyes wide with innocence. It's silent for a while, and then we burst out laughing again. "Well, they said that had ever gone, so people have gone here before us." Rora said on a more serious note. "Anything else?" Shorlorn asks. "Ummm... Oh yeah, I almost forgot with all the distractions - Talon -" she says, causing us to crack up again. "Anyways, they said Talon's performance in yesterday's battle was amazing, and almost suicidal. Then they raved on about that for a while, and I decided to leave, I mean the way they talk about you Talon, you'd think you were a god!" "Hmmm?" Talon said. "Unbeliveable! " she exclaims, "I said it was like you were a god." "Say agian?" "Its like you were a god!" she says louder. "What?" "YOU ARE A GOD!" she shouts. "Just making sure everyone heard." he says, smirking. "Yeah, I just might have." Luke says grinning. "Lets get some rest, I'vd been sleep deprived these last few days." says Shorlorn. We all agree and slip into our beds. "Talon." Rora acuses once again. We all laugh quietly, and on that happy note we fall asleep. ~ In classes we are sleepy, but it's ok, becuase all we do is discuss old assignments, and get new ones. Lunch flys by, and before we know it it's time for another battle, we are facing Dragon fire again. We get on the field and Talon begins discussing our stratagy. "Ok, I'll go out and fight them and you guys stand and watch he says. The crates are blocking out the middle of the room in a diamond formation so I'll go around and if they come around as well say, Talon's on the other side. Got it?" It takes a few seconds for it to soke in. "ARE YOU INSANE!" Rora yells, "DID ALL OF THOSE COMPLIMENTS GO TO YOUR HEAD!" "Yes, thats besides the point, but you all have shown everyone what you can do, I think it's my turn." he says calmly. The bell rings and he's off before anyone can object more. We stand dumbfounded. Alex's army comes around and draws their swords. "Talon is over there." Luke says, pointing. "Come on! This way!" he calls his army. We wait. And wait some more. ~ UP IN THE TEACHERS LOOKOUT "Did you here footsteps last night during our private conversation?" asked Shadow as he viewed the battlefield. "Yes, I just might have."
Chapter twelve: Almost caught SHORLORN Shorlorn was nervous. Talon had not been defeated, or they would have come looking for us, and the other team hadn't been defeated or they would have been called off of the fields. "I'm going to go look for him." Shorlorn said. "I'll call for you if I need help." Rora nodded, that seemed to be all of the movement she was capable at the moment. I set off and soon heard the sound of clashing metal, so he knew he was on the right track. When he found Talon he could not believe his eyes. He had killed three, and now he was fighting Pory- and winning. "Congratulations, The rebellion!" Shadow said. We had won. No, not we, Talon had won. "You did it." Shorlorn said. "You didn't doubt me, did you?" he teased. "Well the odds were not exactly in your favor." Luke said joining them. "This is just GREAT!" said Rora sarcasticly, "Now you are going to have an even BIGGER head." "My head is big?" Talon asks, just as sarcastic. "Huge." Shorlorn confirms. We laugh and watch the next battle. Icefire wins this time, by a smigen. We go off to dinner, and Talon gets even more congratulations than yesterday. At dinner there are laughs and food is flung, everyone is having a great time. Except. Alex, and his team. Pory sat with us again, but everyone else is miserable. "Hey, Rora, I believe this morning you called me a god? Am I correct?" Talon says. "That's only because-" she stopped herself, realizing that she couldn't say that here. Talon was smirking, and, by the look on her face it seemed that she realized she had just admitted to saying it. "That's only becuase you tricked me." Rora covered. "True." Talon admitted. Dinner was finished and we were on our way back to our room. "Talon." Rora accused, and no more was needed to be said. The score was settled. ~ All of those nights Shorlorn had been annoyed by how much Luke moved around when he sleeped, but now, he found he couldn't sleep without it. He couldn't wait until he got back. Some time passed before Luke came in and sighed with relief. "What did you find out?" Shorlorn asked as soon as he entered. "Nothing, and everything." he said. "You might want to sit down first." Soon everyone was sittling down waiting for Luke to begin. "I was very careful getting down there, but when I did, the gym teacher was just leaving. I had just enough time to run down the hall and shut the door, but unfortunately it closed with a bang. I hid under the tables and they ran off looking for me, I was super careful on my way back." "So where's the everything?" asked Rora. "They are watching us really closely now, so we have to be extra careful about our investigations." "Ok Luke, next time shut the door more carefully, and don't almost get caught." "Ummm... Great advice?" Luke said. "I know, but I'm tired, so let's hit the sack." They did as commanded. ~ "Where could he have gone!" Shadow shouted. "Shhhh!" whispered the gym teacher, "you could wake up the children!" "One of them was spying on us and you want me to quiet down!" "Yes! Maybe it was the wind! Why would a student spy on us!" "You know very well that it wasn't the wind, and how did they know about the door in the first place?" "It's a question to ponder on a rainy day." "Since when can we tell when it's raining?" "Nevermind! Let's get some rest, I'm tired!" "Yes, but we will find the culprit in the morning, I'll do a full brain swipe on everyone."
Chapter thirteen: A successful day TALON This morning we woke up to the sound of Shadow's voice saying no classes today. We were thrilled. But there was a catch, instead of classes, he would be swiping everyones brain for the culprit that had invaded his personal privacy the night before. He would call us out by our battle names, and we were to walk down to the dining room and wait our turn. This left us in a dismal mood. "Not only will he find out Luke, he'll find out about what the rebellion really is, and that Rora broke down the wall. This is going to be a disaster!" Talon complained. "Yeah! I'm going to die!" Said Luke. "We all are, we all did it too, they will find that out!" "No they won't!" Rora yelled excitedly. "I have disguised everything about the rebelion, including all of my old memories to look like the wall he created! I can do the same for you." Silence. "No way!" said Luke. "Nope." agreed Shorlorn. "I'm not having you in my head!" said Talon. "It's either that, or DIE!" Rora said, dramatically. "I'll have to think about that one." Talon said. "Are you kidding me!" Rora yelled. "Yes, go ahead, create your wall." "Oh." Rora said, surprised. "Well then." Everyone had a wall in their brains so everyone but Rora, the one who created it remembered nothing of importance. "You guys are funny!" Rora said. "Why?" asked Talon. "You'll see." she said with a smile. "The rebellion." said Shadow. "I don't know why he even bothers doing us, I mean it's not like, Luke has the brains to do it." Rora laughed. "Whats so funny?" asked Luke. "Later." she replied. There is nothing to worry about, thought Talon. Yet in the depths of his brain he knew he should worry, but why. They stopped outside of the dining room. They could here someone in there. "State your name." said the man in the black cloak. "Chris." someone answered. "What is your position, Chris?" "Mage." he answered. "What is your army?" "Icefire." "Now, this won't hurt a bit." "Next!" he shouted, seconds later. "It's not that bad." said Chris to Shorlorn, as he exited. "Of course not, why should it be?" Shorlorn answered, and entered. He went in, then Luke then Talon. "What is your name?" "Talon." "What is your position, Talon?" "Commander." "This won't hurt a bit." It didn't hurt. But Talon had this funny feeling that he should be worried, but he couldn't remember why. After he was done the man in the black cloak stared at him for a while, and then shouted: "NEXT!" Rora entered and exited. "That wasn't so bad." she said. "Why? Should it have been?" Luke asked. Rora removed the mind blocks she had put up. "Oh my gosh!" said Luke, "I actually made it!" "Congratulations!" Rora said sarcasticly. We walked back to the room, congratulating Rora on her success. "I'm starving! When's lunch!" complained Shorlorn. "I guess were skipping it, because of the brain swipes." Luke answered. "And battles?" Talon asked. "I guess were skipping those too." Rora commented. Talon Lay down on his hard bed, and put his head on his soft and silky pillow and waited for dinner to come. He began to doze off when he heard: "Dinner is waiting for you in the dining room, I'm sorry that you missed lunch." It was the gym teacher. We walked down to the dining room in silence. And that was also how we ate, in silence. Everyone was to hungry to talk, except for the Mage, Chris on icefire's team, who asked: "Do you think they found who they were looking for?" "I don't know." Cassie answered. Back in our room we climbed into bed and smiled. "All in all," Talon said sleepily, "a successful day. Even if there was no battle." He added.
I dedicate this poem to all who care enough to read the whole thing. Checkmate Lain out before me, a carpet of squares, Off in the distance, my enemies lair. With friends alongside me, and family around, We wait, anxiously, without a sound. Those beside me, move up one step, Trying to finish, the impossible treck. Feeling important, in the front line, Taking my place, by my friends sides. I move up and up, and clash with a knight, All my friends and loved ones, disapeer, out of sight. Me and him, him and me, Is all I hear, is all I see. At the very last moment, help finds it's way, Shining some hope, on that impossible day. Here I'm strong, and safe from harm, Comforted by, my families arms. Feeling invincible, I take a risk, Ignoreing the consequences, I throw a fist. As foolish as I was, I survive, Living and breathing, I am alive. Nothing can stop me, but I don't dare turn, For to see my family, I do so yearn. But soon I'm put down, thron into the murk, By those in the shadows, those who lurk. You are nothing, disposable, waste, The words sting, and leave somthing sour in my taste. Only a pawn, disguised as a knight, The enemy feels foolish, and will defeat me upon sight. Finally I turn, and look every which way, A feild of distruction, and there they lay. My family and friends, they lay on the ground, Asleep forever, eternally bound. With all hope lost I attach the strings, A puppet I will be, dispite the trapped feeling it brings. I am moved forward, and then to the side, The queen comes to take me, leaving the king open wide. At once I spot it, the fault in the plot, I try to warn them, but I don't mean alot. And then, and there, I decide enoughs enough, I move forward and left, proving I am tough. I feel a sense of victory, as the bishop slides across the slate, He knocks the king down, yelling checkmate. And altough I was not the one, to call victory, The other were blinded, and only I could see. This triumph is as much yours, as it is mine, Through love and hate we draw a thin line. I do not know, if this is what I want, or what I need, All I know, is that it planted a seed. Of doubt in my mind, that may never be the same, Without those that I love, how can I ever be sane? I went and I conquered, and I did it myself, But only now do I realize I needed everyone else.
Chapter fourteen: mixed feelings RORA Waking up was a long, slow process. After all of those days of waking up in the middle of the night, Rora wasn't used to a full nights sleep, and she was reluctant to leave her warm bed. Gym was NOT fun for Rora, she had to fight Luke again, and he won. The gym teacher showed her the proper way to hold her sword (AGAIN!) and she showed Rora what she was doing wrong, and what she should do, then she fought Luke again, he won. NOT fun. Magic class was a major improvement. We learned new spells, and Rora obsorbed them, like a sponge would water. Talon struggled more than her, but in time he learned them too. We recieved lots of assignments, but Rora knew it would be a piece of cake. Tactical statagies was the same. But the assignments were harder, Rora would be asking Talon for help for sure! Lunch went as usual, Pory sat with us, Alex stayed away. Rora was still dreaming of her bed, when we were walking to battles. Our team was walking on to the fields, so Rora followed. We would be fighting icefire today. "Rora?" Talon asked. "Hmm?" Rora mumbled. "Did you here me?" "you said something?" Rora asks confused. "Yes, I said something, I said that we should take them out as quick as possible." Talon said, patiently. "Oh, I'll listen more carefully." Rora promised. "Ok, like I was saying, we'll take them down quickly. When the bell rings, wait for five seconds then take off turning towards them screaming. That will be our distraction. Then just kill them as fast as you can." It wasn't our solidest plan, then again, our last two were suicidal, so this wasn't so bad compared to them. Rora opened her eyes wide and pinched herself to make sure she was awake enough to do this. Rora counted to five and streched her muscles. Ring! Talon held his hand up, counting down on his fingers. Then we screamed and ran. The most fun part was seeing their faces. They were expecting something clever, not head on. Yet, to Rora, this was clever, because it was unexpected. They were defeated before they could draw their swords or release an arrow. Icefire stared at us in disbelief. Then, their archer Chris began laughing and shooting arrows in the air like confetti, the rest of his team joined in. "No one will ever be as good as you Talon" he said between laughs. "Everyone! Please! Gather your weapons and exit the battlefield!" announced the gym teacher, exasperated. We groaned but, grudgingly obeyed. Back in the lookout tower we payed no attention to the battle. We laughed, and joked and made up fun battle strategies. Dinner was more of the same and after, Rora finally felt awake, only then she realized that she would be sleeping shortly. "Talon, can I investigate tonight?" Rora asked on their way to their dorm. "Sure, Rora." he said and smiled at her, and Roras stomach flipped, but she wasn't sure why, she didn't like Talon THAT way, just thinking about it makes my face flush with color. "Thanks Talon." she said shyly. Rora walked into the room, with her cheeks still slightly burning. "Oh, and Rora, don't listen in on Shadow this time, explore farther down the hall, and come back as soon as you know something worth knowing." Talon commented. "Is important like secret knowledge, or is it things like your a god?" Rora asked sarcastically. "Both would be fine." he said, sounding dead serious, "No seriously, I like hearing that I'm a god." "Ok, whatever you say commander." Rora said dramatically, and walked out into the dark hallway.
Chapter sixteen: a not-so-perfect plan LUKE Luke hadn't even started to fall asleep when Rora burst into the room. "You have to come with me!" she yelled excited. "You have to see to believe!" "What? Are you ok?" Talon asks. "I'm fine, but you have to come with me!" she insists. "Ok, lead the way." Luke comments. We walk down the dark hallway with bare feet. We come to the hidden door in the dining room and Rora pries it open. "Come on, this way." Rora whispers. We walk down the long, dark, hallway lined with wooden doors. Rora comes to a flight of steps and begins to climb. Up and up and up some more. It's tiring, but rewarding. "It's cold!" Shorlorn complains. "Yeah." Rora says, but this only seems to increase her excitement. We got to the top of the stairs and saw a door, wooden with a brass knob. Rora grasps the knob and turns. Oh. My. God. A cold gust of wind almost knocks Luke over and down the stairs. A flurry of snowflakes get caught in Rora's hair. We were standing on the top of a moutian. "Isn't this great!" Rora exclaimed. "We can get out of here, we're free!" "Only one small problem." Luke comments. "how are we going to get down." "I'm still working on that," Rora admits. "but still, this is a major step in our investigation!" "Good work, Rora. This is a major step, but you didn't hapen to here anything godly about me?" Talon asked. "You just can't let that go, can you?" Rora groans. "No, but let's get some rest and figure this out in the morning." Talon said with a yawn to emphisize his point. We all agree, and head back. When Luke sees the bed he has idea, but he decides it will have to wait untill morning. ~ Morning comes, and Luke can't find time to present his idea, gym was awesome, he had target practice and, although he didn't improve (The target range was much to limited for that) he had a blast, as always. Magic was terrible, boring, and the teachers nasal voice lulled him to sleep a few times. Tactical stratagies- three words, Talon, Talon, TALON! He is the only one who can succeed in that class, the rest of us, no chance. Lunch was one of the best parts of the day (besides target practice ofcourse) but the rebellion wasn't as involved as usual. We were still tired from our midnight hike around the camp. Finally, on their way to the game room, Luke told Talon of his plan. "Talon, I know a way we could get down the moutian!" Luke said excitedly. "I'm listening." Replied Talon, suddenly alert. "Our beds, we could make sleds out of the wood and slide down the mountain." Talon just stares. "Did you here me?" "Yes, I heard you, I just never expected to actually have an oppertunity to escape, it's amazing!" he explains. "Oh, I guess we should catch up with the others." Luke said. "Sure." Talon agreed. Luke could tell Talon was deep in thought, analyzing his idea, taking it apart, finding all of the possible ways it could go wrong. So he just left him alone, and walked in silence. The others were allready in the look out, so they hurried up the steps, (Steps! Agonizing!) and joined them. "So, Talon, what's our battle strategy?" asks Shorlorn. "Hmm?" said Talon, to obsorbed in his thoughts to listen. "I said, what's our battle strategy?" "Oh, I guess just do whatever, I'm sure you guys can handle it." Talon said. "Ok." said Rora unsure. Alex's group won, as always. We walked onto the field thinking of our strategy, except for Talon, who was thinking of an entirely different plan.