26
KAILIN
The road to destiny is carved in stone that crumbles beneath my weary feet, and what seems solid from below becomes treacherous the higher we go.
—From the journal of Kailin Strom
"Break's over," Lysara, our team leader, called out.
I tucked the journal into my backpack and took a small sip of water from my canteen before rising to my feet. We hadn't been told when we could refill and had been advised to conserve.
Hopefully, the organizers were taking health concerns into account and wouldn't let us become dehydrated, but I wasn'tsure if I could trust them to do so. After all, the pilgrimage was the official start of our military training and was considered a rite of passage. Coddling wasn't part of the program.
The aim was to weed out the weak.
It was survival of the fittest. Those who couldn't make it were taken down by the rescue medical teams and later assigned jobs that didn't require demanding physical activities and endurance. Only the most capable individuals were selected for the combat units, and from those, the best were chosen for the elite forces. Naturally, the dragon riders were the absolute pinnacle of Elucia's formidable military might.
To outsiders, it might look as if our entire national focus was on our military, and to some extent, that was true.
Defeat was not an option for Elucians. Our enemies didn't wish to conquer and rule us. They wanted to slaughter every one of us. Their aim was our complete annihilation.
We had to win if we wanted to live.
Still, despite the constant fight for survival, we prided ourselves on much more than just our dragon squads and the other branches of our military. We were also innovators, scholars, artists, and philosophers.
Once the compulsory service was done, some Elucians stayed on to pursue military careers, but most continued to pursue their dreams.
I hoped to be in the latter group, but the chances of that were slim. I'd be lucky if I got to keep sketching as a hobby.
With a sigh, I waited for the rest of our group to get in formation.
The initial stretch hadn't been too challenging, a well-worn trail winding up the lower slopes of Mount Hope. However, we all knew that the terrain would become increasingly difficult the higher we climbed. The real test of how well I managed myphobia would come when we reached the top section with its narrow ledges and steep inclines.
"Remember to pace yourselves," Lysara called out as our entire group started moving. "This isn't a race to the top, and you shouldn't go ahead of your group or lag behind it. Your goal is to maintain a steady pace and not slow everyone down."
Shovia and I exchanged glances, with me nodding in agreement and Shovia shaking her head. She wasn't happy about having to keep pace with the slowest-moving pilgrims in our group.
"Maybe you can request to be moved up to the lead," I said, adjusting my pack straps.
Shovia shook her head. "First of all, I'm not leaving you behind. I promised to get you to the summit, and I intend to fulfill that promise. And secondly—" she glanced around and then leaned to whisper in my ear, "we are being watched, and how we work as a team is as important as our other abilities. If I asked to be moved to another group, it would indicate that I'm not a team player."
I nodded. "With how many of us are going, cooperation is a must."
Over a thousand pilgrims were trekking up Mount Hope, and keeping formation was crucial for everyone's safety. Many challenges awaited us and, with them, opportunities for showing valor and leadership skills, where Alar would no doubt excel.
Drak. I shouldn't be thinking about him and how handsome, intelligent, and capable he was or how well my family had received him. Those kinds of thoughts made me breathless, and it was already difficult to breathe while walking uphill in the thinning air.
Shovia hooked her thumbs under the straps of her pack. "I wonder what hurdles they are going to throw our way in addition to the difficulty of breathing further up."
I paused. "Are you saying that they will try to sabotage us?"
Shovia shrugged. "It's all rumors and speculation, but I prefer to be ready for anything, including sabotage."
"You should preserve your energy," Alar said from behind us. "Less talking, more walking."
I cast him a baleful look over my shoulder. He wasn't wrong, but it didn't give him the right to talk to me like that. Still, that one brief look was enough to bring him back into the forefront of my mind, and that wasn't good.
I tried to focus my attention on the auroras above, but between my preoccupation with Alar and the growing steepness of the trail, it wasn't helpful.
