After my first battle, we met up with the others and continued on our way. We kept a respectable pace throughout the afternoon until reaching the castle. As we went over the rolling hills, and beneath the tallest trees I’d ever seen, I rode alongside Edryd, who lay in the back of one of the carts on top of a few sheets of now blood-soaked linen.

I honestly should have thought about the possibility of that happening. I now know why they always warn us never to use an untested spell in battle. You're a fool, Thoma Fayren. Just like your father, I mentally kicked myself.

As if hearing my thoughts, Bernar pulled up next to me, carefully eyeing us both before speaking. “He'll be alright,” he began to say after seeing the worried look on my face. “He's a strong boy. Well, stronger than you anyway, but then again, that's not hard to be now, is it?” he said, obviously trying to cheer me up in his usual way.

I slightly raised my eyebrows and grinned from the corner of my mouth. “You're an asshole,” I scoffed, holding the same expression. “Like I said, I wouldn't worry about him. He'll heal in about two days,” he nodded. “It was my fault,” I said curtly, my line of sight moving from my brother to Celer's nape as my eyes began to water.

“I know I should’ve tested the spell before today, and now my friend has paid the price for my stupidity,” I managed with an ever-growing lump in my throat. “You managed to save him from being outnumbered and killed. Nothing more, nothing less,” Bernar said as if stating the obvious. “I'd be focusing more on that fact, if I were in your shoes,” he shrugged with an upturned lip.

I looked back at my brother with stinging, bloodshot eyes as the tears began to well. I forced myself not to let one fall, but the lump in my throat made it difficult to speak. “Thanks,” my voice cracked as I nodded. “Eh, you don’t have to thank me, just do your best to focus on the positive side of things from here on, okay?” he reached to put a hand on my shoulder, shaking it to get me out of my own head.

I looked at him with no small amount of surprise. I hadn’t expected him to be so mature about these kinds of things, but I wasn’t about to complain. “I will,” I finally nodded.

“Good. Glad we got that cleared up,” Bernar said, patting me on the shoulder. “Do your best to clear your eyes and get that slime out of your nostrils. We're almost there,” he finished and rode ahead to be at the Master's side again.

I did what I could regarding his suggestion, but the skin around my eyes would likely still be a bit red. We rode over the last hill, and at its peak, we saw it in the distance with its mountainous backdrop.

Coltend Castle.

I almost couldn't believe my eyes. Granted, they were still full of tears, making my vision a little blurry, but from what I could see, it was massive. I forced myself to blink a few times to clear up my eyesight, but I still struggled to believe what I saw.

The walls were well over forty meters high and made of solid granite slabs. On top of the walls stood guard posts made from the trees of the nearby forest, placed at regular intervals along the circumference of the wall.

The Western Gate stood tall and mighty at twenty meters tall, and was made of steel and cedar. It was a formidable obstacle for any invasion attempts or against almost any form of enemy, though I never really thought any army would’ve been dumb enough to try.

The palace, where the royal family resided, stood in the exact center of the circular wall. The towering structure rose far above the wall as it gleamed in the late afternoon sun, reflecting the last rays out towards the countryside.

It’s like a lighthouse on land, I thought of the only comparison I could make.

“We're almost there,” the Master called out. “Now pick your jaws up off the ground, and let's get a move on,” he shouted back. Everyone put their heels to their horse’s sides and trotted down the hillside. Irun and Batch rode up next to me, whose eyes were only now clear enough that I could lift my head and look around without embarrassment, and trotted alongside me. “Have you ever seen anything like that? 'Cause I sure as shit haven't,” Batch began. “I have once or twice before being inducted into the Synners,” Irun replied.

Batch and I looked at him curiously. It wasn’t like Irun to share much about his past, but we both knew this was an opportunity to let him share it with us.

“My father was a trader. He and I would often travel together to deliver our village's goods as taxes to the king. My mother was a Synner, but after going on a few trips with my father, she decided that being a trader wasn't a life I should want or have,” he began, but something didn’t feel right.

“Your mother was a Synner?” I asked. “Yeah, she was,” he said distantly, but I didn’t want to prod much further. After a silent moment digging through what I could only imagine were difficult memories, he looked back at us.

“She was a very strong-willed Harutian, but after the accident, she just wasn’t the same, nor were things at home,” he shook his head, clearly leaving out the rest of his story. I looked to Batch, but he could only offer me a shrug and a shake of his head. “Well, after she passed, I was brought to live in Codrean by some old friend of hers, apparently,” he sighed, glancing up at the afternoon clouds.

“All that to say that I’m proud to be able to follow in her footsteps, even if I’m nowhere near her level of skill,” he chuckled to himself, shifting his gaze away.

“I’m sorry,” I said after digesting his words. “I had no idea that was how you came to be in Codrean,” I continued. “No, it’s fine. Only the Master and maybe a handful of others know about that,” he waved his hand. “Does Isla know? You might want to tell her before she asks to meet your parents,” Batch leaned in. “Batch,” I glowered, shaking my head. “W-What?” he raised an eyebrow. “No, I haven’t told her yet. I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to, either,” he sighed. “But you like her, right?” I asked, to which he only nodded his head and blushed. “Well, then you’ve got to say something,” I grinned wryly.

He paused, looking at me momentarily, then closed his eyes and chuckled. “If I’m being honest, I don’t think I deserve her, but thanks,” he smiled, letting a few moments of silence pass between us. “If you ever need to talk… the other stuff, I’m always happy to lend an ear,” I leaned in. “Oh, it’s alright. It’s been so long now that I don’t remember much about her. I just want to have my own stories to tell,” he painedly smiled.

“Well, we’re about to reach Coltend Castle. What better place to make those stories of yours, right?” Batch punched Irun’s shoulder, making him flinch slightly. “You’re right. Let’s try to make the best of our time here,” he nodded.

Batch and Irun looked at each other and then back at me, who held an obvious and almost boastful grin on my face. “Be honest, Thoma; do you really think the Master, Master Garett, and your brother will allow us to meander about, spending our small amounts of pocket money on taverns and women?” Batch asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

It was a reasonably rhetorical question; however, I could only shrug in lieu of an immediate response.

“I think after what we pulled off this morning, we should be allowed a little time off the leash they keep us on,” he said after a few moments’ pause and with no small amount of sarcasm in his voice.

“I agree. While I’ve never had a woman, nor ale to go along with one for that matter, I think it’s about time boys of our age learn about that, no?” I asked, my mind running rampant with what that might actually be like, and whether I even could do anything about it in the castle.

My inexperienced ass, of course, was wrong.

“Best not get too far ahead of yourself, young one,” Garett said, forcing a ghostly expression on our collective faces. He had overheard the entire conversation and now knew what our late-night activities would be, should they be able to leave their rooms. He looked at us and pushed his bottom lip out a little.

“I’m merely disappointed, though not surprised. I suppose that’s what I’d do, were I in your boots,” he said with a face of someone who’d just thought of a good memory. “Just pray your asses are going to be allowed out after dark,” he said, turning his head back towards the castle. We looked at each other, probably all wondering whether going out at night was even possible for us.

I can’t put my finger on it, but I can feel there’s more to him saying that than we think, I thought as I looked over at the trio of riders ahead of me.

We were approaching the castle’s walls. It became evident just how massive the flags in the castle were. From where we were, I gathered it was almost a kilometer, and I could finally begin to see the details on the flags that flew above the massive gate.

The square flag of Coltend Castle had sewn on it the image of a griffin devouring a sun, while crushing the moon with its talons above an unfurled scroll with indecipherable words on it. To be honest, I had no idea what they meant, if anything at all, as they were still far too blurry for me to read them.

As the sun was just about to set on the distant horizon behind the hills we had ridden over earlier in the day, the entirety of the castle’s face was illuminated by the golden rays.

“The size of these walls is starting to make my neck hurt from looking up at them,” Irun said, rubbing his nape. Batch and I agreed with his statement, catching ourselves also rubbing our napes. About fifty meters from the gate, the guardsmen’s faces were becoming increasingly detailed, but then again, so were ours.

“Keep your mouths shut unless you want flies getting in,” Bernar grinned, speaking quietly over his shoulder. Batch and Irun chuckled, but followed his orders promptly. When we were about fifty meters from the gate, a voice called out through a steel hatch on a much smaller doorway built into it. It was heavily reinforced like the rest of the gate, so it wasn’t a weak point, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t invincible.

When we got close enough, the hatch opened fully with a sharp crack. “Hallo, there!” the voice called out. It was a man’s voice, and judging only by the sound, I knew the man to be reasonably large.

I thought guardsmen were meant to ask the age-old question of who we are, but it struck me as odd that he didn’t ask our names. Not to mention, he had the weirdest way of saying hello I think I’d ever heard.

“Hello, there! I am the Master Synner of Codrean and am here for the council meeting. “Oh, then you’re welcome, Master,” the man on the other side replied cheerfully. “I presume you know why we’re here,” The Master said.

“Of course I know why. I already knew who you were even before I opened the hatch, Master,” the man said. “I’d seen you from the top of the wall, and recognized your armor shortly after. Took me a while to pinpoint where it was from, but I got it right. You simply confirmed it,” he chirped, closing the hatch.

I could hear orders being barked from behind the gate as its chains became taut, lifting the massive gate. The chains creaked and strained to lift the mighty gate, wrapping around a large drum winch tightly.

Batch, Irun, and I tried peering under the gate to see who could get the first glimpse, but Bernar whistled softly to get our attention, subtly shaking his head to prevent us from doing so. With no small amount of dejection, we settled back into our saddles.

Once the gate was fully raised, the man stepped out from behind the nearby pillar of the guardhouse. He was a huge man indeed, as I had guessed from the sound of his voice.

Well I’ll be damned. He must be one of the descendants of the giant tribes in the North, I thought.