CHAPTER THREE. TESTS.

"The true test of bravery is when you sacrifice, even when there is nothing left to be sacrificed."~ Athika.

***

Fire. Everywhere was on fire and I was in the middle of it all. I heard people scream and beg the gods for help. The smoke entering my lungs was nothing compared to the fire burning in my heart.

"Xari, take my hand. We have to leave!" The voice was urgent and even in the clouds of smoke, I could still make out the bluest eyes and blonde hair. Arthur. It was Arthur tugging at me.

"We cannot leave without Maze and Drake," I shook my head, coughing as the fumes became too much. The fire was spreading and about to reach my floor.

"Xari, this is not the time to be Athika. We need to get out of here. Mazikeen and Drakon will take the tunnels and meet us outside. You know that" He grabbed my hand, leading me away from the fire.

Twice. If I turned back, I might never see them again. I had to help them. They were my best friends, my family.

"But Arthur-"

"They will be fine. We will all be fine. Trust me" He reassured me and I did. I trusted him when I should have stayed with all of them.

"Arthur! Drake! Maze!" I shouted, but no one answered. The whole building was on fire and I was outside. I survived.

"Please! Arthur, please! Malax! Athika! Oceania! Someone, please help!" I also needed help. The burns on my body hurt like crazy, but I needed my friends.

"Arthur you promised me! Please! Don't leave me!" I was on my knees. I was alive. 10,000 people in the building and I was the only one that survived. It wasn't fair.

***

I blinked away the tears threatening to fall. I couldn't cry in front of the hundreds of people, waiting to start the tests.

I sighed. I knew I was going to die, but now the certainty I felt in my bones had increased. Before we could start, we had to say our names to an attendant at the foot of the steps.

"Xarian-Jarda, of calyptex Ruby." Everyone stared at me like I was a meal. I was going to be a meal.

Eldor the Dragon was not a god, but I prayed to him like he was. He was alive and although dragons were mystical beings, he could not hear me, but I still tried my luck.

I wore the same outfit I wore for Flame Day except this one was white.

My hair which was darker than a raven's and almost rivaled the night, was done into two braids. That was how black my hair was and I loved it because it shined when it was wet. Beauty and outshining everyone in a room, had never been a problem. I was beautiful enough to be considered the goddess of the night. Which was fair because there was already a god of the night, Verdia.

But none of that was important after the death of my friends. Maze always called me Verdia's wife. She could also be a goddess. The goddess of nature. Her green eyes made it easy for her to become that. She should have survived. If I had only went with Davikon, I could have saved her. The guilt always played on my heartstrings, along with the betrayal I felt.

I wore a cross-body bag that had bread, ointments, and water. In my leather pants, I attached a sheath that I learned to make and put the only weapon I had, a dagger.

The first test was to climb a staircase. Each step was wide enough to contain 3 to 4 persons. However, underneath the stairs was nothing. Nothing held the stairs. It had a beginning, which was where I was standing, and an end I couldn't see. So, if you fell sideways let's just say you would have the privilege of meeting Davikon, the god of death.

I was part of the first batch of people climbing. Despite the hateful and murderous stares, everything seemed easy. Maybe Eldor did hear me.

I tripped on something and I was about to fall when firm hands wrapped around my waist steadying me.

The hands released me when I stood properly and I saw my savior. He had black eyes, and dark brown hair and he wore earrings. He was handsome.

"Why did you save me?" I said in askance. A normal person would say 'Thank you', but when everyone wanted to kill you, normal wasn't going to cut it.

He looked at me blankly and explained like it was a chore for him to do so, "I do not like you. I only saved you because that's what a knight would do."

Right. So he was a man of honor.

"He saved you, but don't think you are safe. I will kill you myself" A feminine voice threatened from behind me. I didn't turn around to see who spoke, but the voice was very familiar.

We kept walking with the boy who saved me, in front of me, and the girl who wanted to kill me, behind me. This was a wonderful setup.

"I didn't think you'd come to the capital, Eritrea." The boy said, obviously talking to the girl behind me.

"Me neither. But the Emperor is scared of Persidia turning her back on him, so he asked that some people come train in the capital. You shouldn't be surprised, Jon. He's a coward. He spared someone who murdered thousands of people, why won't he resort to begging his subordinate?" The girl, Eritrea, replied. Her tone was mocking both the king and me.

The kingdom of Elpeca was divided into four kingdoms: Northernburg, Quinoha, Crystal, and Persidia. The Emperor was the ruler of Elpeca, which was the combination of the four kingdoms. The capital was Caramat.

Each kingdom was ruled by a king. The kingdoms had villages which were ruled by Lords and there were the Calyptexes. They were the nobles. There were four Calyptexes: Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, and Jasper.

I was born into the Calyptex Ruby. Being a noble meant that I knew that Eritrea wasn't wrong. The kingdom of Persidia wanted to rule. There was a time that the four kingdoms were independent, before Maverick, the first emperor, united the four kingdoms through war.

"Be mindful of what you say, Eritrea. Besides, the Training division of the knights in Caramat is the best." He said and Eritrea clicked her tongue.

Everything was peaceful when I saw something shiny. They were very small and I couldn't tell what it was. As a Wyn, being observant was a must. Someone couldn't have dropped them, because we were the first batch. So, it must be a part of the test. I didn't know how I saw them, but I did. I guessed they were pearls. The marbles weren't that shiny.

I was about to warn Jon, but he already slipped on them. I wanted to help him, but out of nowhere someone who was behind me, pushed him and he fell sideways.

He was screaming, until we didn't hear his voice again. He had saved me. He had dreams and a future and he was robbed of that.

The person who pushed Jon didn't have the opportunity to revel in his victory, because Eritrea pushed him down too.

Both of them were dead. Gone, just like that.

I gulped because Eritrea said to me, "Don't worry. You're next" The voice was just too familiar. I just couldn't place it.

I was starting to think she was a good person, but that went out of the window. She just pushed someone to their death. These knights to be were cruel.

Out of 725 people chosen, 25 had died. I wasn't counting. Someone else was and the news entered into my ears.

The next thing on the stairs were spikes. After getting through the spikes, narrowly, someone shoved me and I fell sideways. Luckily, I held on to the edge of the stairs. But my culprit decided to step on my fingers. I looked up and saw Eritrea staring down at me. I almost stopped breathing. I remembered the face.

"Maze," I breathed.

"She's dead because you killed her and I am going to kill you". She was Maze's twin sister. Maze was my best friend but her sister stayed in Persidia and she stayed in the capital. They looked so similar, except her hair had different strands of colors and her eyes were brown, instead of Maze's green eyes that reminded me of nature.

The other people passed, snickering, laughing, and feeling content about what was happening to me. So much for the knight code.

I removed my hand from under her boots, but she stepped on the other. The pain was so much and I felt my hand slipping. Out of all the ways to die, this wasn't how I was going to go.

I managed to get my dagger out of my sheath stabbed Eritrea in her ankle and pulled it out. She let out a scream and stumbled backward.

"You bitch!" She shouted and went up the stairs, leaving me to die.

With all the strength I had, I hoisted myself up.

The rest of the stairs was uneventful, except for the black oil that made me slip, again. Ten more people fell. I didn't know how I was alive, but I was.

I took off my boots for the black oil. Friction would make me slip. I wasn't a knight, but I was a Wyn.

We reached the top of the stairs and I cursed every god and every person who created the tests.

We were going to climb a 500-foot wall. However, it seemed like I was one of the few people surprised because almost everyone had ropes.

I wondered if it was too late to jump down the stairs. The stairs! Cadvere's wisdom! I went back to the stairs and removed two spikes.

Close to the wall, I grabbed a stone.

I planned to use the stone to hit the spike, creating a hole I could put my hand in and climb. It was going to take a lot of time but I did it.

I made it to the opposite side of the wall and I was tired. It was almost nightfall. I was about 30 feet to the ground when 3 people on ropes were closing in on me. One was on my right side and two were on my left.

The one on my right swung so close to me and stabbed a knife in my waist. The one on my left, put a knife in my ankle and the one on my right put a knife in my shoulder and they all pulled out the knives. They were going to kill me.

I had two options: Die in their hands or jump down. As crazy as it sounded, I jumped down before the one on my left stabbed me. I fell and hit my head on a stone.

The last thing I saw was Arthur smiling at me before I passed out.