Year 1464 of the Holy Calendar – Road to Larethin
The road to Larethin was basically repeating pattern!
In the morning Torren woke them early, checked the horse and the cart, and set a steady pace. By noon everyone's feet ached. By evening they were too tired to talk much before sleep. It was the same for several days.
Alaric had never been this far from Saint Elyss's Rest.
Every step is further away now. No turning back unless I fail.
On the fourth day Torren called from the front of the cart, "Look ahead. You will want to see this."
Alaric pushed himself up on the bench. Jarik, sitting beside him, did the same.
The road curved around a low hill. Beyond it, stone walls rose from the ground. Square towers watched the land around them. Flags with the seven pointed star of the Church fluttered above the main gate.
Larethin.
It looked bigger than anything he had imagined from maps.
Jarik let out a low whistle. "Better than our muddy village, that is for sure," he said. "If I pass, I am bringing my mother here just to see it."
"You think you will not be too busy training?" Alaric asked.
"I will make time," Jarik said. "Otherwise, what is the point of having a cool place to show off?"
Torren guided the cart into the line at the gate. Guards in simple armor checked the people coming in. When they saw the Church emblem on the cart, one of them just asked, "Exam group?"
"Yes," Torren said.
Inside the walls, the noise grew louder. There were more people on this one street than in the whole border town near the orphanage. Carts rattled over stone. Shopkeepers called out prices from narrow stalls. The smell of bread, smoke, and too many people mixed in the air.
Alaric tried not to stare at everything at once.
Do not look lost. You are here for a reason.
The Church building was easy to spot. It was taller than the houses around it and had a carved star over wide double doors. Torren stopped the cart there.
A priest in neat robes came out to meet them, followed by a younger clerk holding a writing board.
"Candidates from Saint Elyss's Rest and the north villages?" the priest asked.
"Yes," Torren said. "Three boys, all still breathing."
"Good." The priest's eyes moved over Alaric, Jarik, and the quieter boy, Toben. "You arrived on time. The exam is tomorrow morning. Brother Calen will show you your room."
Brother Calen, the clerk, led them inside, along a short corridor and up a set of steps. Their room had four wooden beds, a wash basin, and a plain chest at the foot of each bed.
"You may wash and leave your bags here," Calen said. "There will be food in the hall at sunset. Until the exam is over, do not wander the city without permission. We do not want to waste time searching for lost candidates."
He left them with that.
Jarik threw his bag onto the nearest bed and flopped down beside it. "A real bed without five people snoring in the same room is a Luxury," he said.
Alaric set his own bag gently in a chest and tested the mattress with one hand. It was not soft, but it did not sag in the middle either.
After washing the dust from their faces and arms, they went down to the hall. Supper was bread, stew, and a bit of cheese. The room buzzed with other children from different towns, all about the same age or a little older. Voices rose and fell, full of nerves and forced jokes.
Jarik talked through most of the meal.
"My village is called Norvale," he said between bites. "We have one main well. It broke twice last year. We had to haul water from the stream. My parents said if I can get into the academy and earn real coin, I can help fix things, maybe build another well."
"That is a good reason," Alaric said.
"What about you?" Jarik asked. "You are younger than most of us. Why are you here?"
Alaric stared at his bowl for a heartbeat.
Because I watched one place burn to nothing. Then another village burned around me. If I stay weak, the same thing will happen somewhere else and I will only watch again.
"I want to be strong enough to stand in front when bad things come," he said aloud. "Not just hide and hope someone older stops them."
Jarik blinked, then smiled crookedly. "You think big," he said. "I just think about wells. Maybe we will both get what we want."
After supper they went back to the room. Toben lay down without a word and turned to face the wall. Jarik talked for a few more minutes, then sleep took him mid‑sentence.
Alaric lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.
His chest felt tight, thinking.
Elaina is probably putting the younger ones to bed right now. Rin is pretending she is not sad. Kellan is doing extra practice so he can catch up. Lia is…
He cut the thought off.
I said I would write. I will write.
His mana felt full, almost buzzing under his skin. Tomorrow it would be emptied again under the eyes of examiners.
Sleep finally dragged him under.
Morning came with a knock.
"Up," Brother Calen said through the door. "Wash, then come to the side hall. Names will be called in order."
They did as told.
The side hall was long, with chairs along the walls and a plain table at one end. A priest sat there with a list in front of him. Children filled most of the chairs.
"Sit," the priest said without looking up. "When I call your name, you go through that door."
He pointed to a closed door beside the table.
The room settled into a low murmur.
Alaric sat between Jarik and Toben. His hands rested on his knees. Mana pressed under his skin, ready.
It is just another test. Like with Seron. Only more people watching. Do not freeze.
Names were called one by one. Each child stood, went through the door, and did not come back, at least not through the same entrance.
"Jarik of Norvale," the priest called.
Jarik stood. "See you after," he said under his breath, then walked to the door and disappeared inside.
Several more names followed.
Finally the priest spoke again.
"Alaric of Horsin."
Alaric rose. His legs felt solid. He took a breath, then another.
Go.
He walked toward the door and reached for the handle as it swung inward.