Insufferable. Handsome. Dangerous.
“Competent,” I settled on. “They’re teaching us some survival skills for when we’re on the Arcs, and having us lift a thousand pounds of rocks. It’s a lot like the mining work we did at the Reformatory.”
It wasn’t at all the same. Mining rocks for the barriers in the bowels of Mount Kael was ugly, unsafe work. Almost no sunlight reached the area of the mines attached to the Reformatory. The air was thin and stale with rock dust. Breaks only came when you collapsed from injury or exhaustion. And the next day, you’d do it all again.
Wearing a weighted belt, anklet, and wristlet while doing push-ups under the infinite sky felt almost pleasant by comparison. Sure, I had to lift substantially more weight than a single rock at a time with each push up, but the breeze was tart with salt, and the sun warmed you while you trained. Anyone who collapsed was allowed to rest and provided water.
And of course, there was the attractive view of a certain obnoxious instructor.
“I haven’t seen any ways to sneak in or out yet, but I’ll let you know if I find anything. It’s incredible on the inside though, I bet you’d enjoy exploring it. I’d love to hear you play your new sour licks sometime. It’s not cold here, but that might be because it’s still summer. Do me a favor and keep backing me on the Jessarian thing. I’m still planning on breaking off that mess, no matter what Papa says. You know how he gets. I’ll try to remember what you said, too.” The clamor outside from thelunch rush moving back into the courtyard carried through the door. “I’ve gotta get going or I’ll miss the food. Love ya, bitch.”
Tapping the mirror twice, I set it down on my nightstand.
Tucking my notes under my arm I headed out, hoping to multitask a round of studying with my meal.
The remainder of the day went by in a blur of studying, training, and more studying. It didn’t occur to me until days later that I’d left the mirror out on my nightstand.
Chapter 11
Navigating Deep Waters
Henrik was grating on my nerves. He’d taken to piling his books and bag onto my typical bench seat every day, and only moved his stuff after I arrived. Even now, one of his books dug into my hip, it was wedged so closely between us.
We’d been served a gourmet breakfast today, three times as much food as normal, and told to eat as much as we could handle. Today's lesson had been run of the mill, nothing to warrant the feast.
“Being able to tell direction, to orient yourself and determine which way the wind tends toward, is critical for any Voyager.” Instructor Garcien had slicked her silver-touched dark hair back into a pragmatic bun today. It suited her.
My new habit was to bring a few sheets of peeled bark with me to take notes on. It was something I hadn't thought of during my first lessons, and I had wished for when I'd seen the detailed drawings of the different cloud shapes. Luckily, Sarina had taken better notes than I, and shared hers with me.
“Directional awareness is more than cardinal. You need to be able to tell ordinal directions, uphill from downhill, which direction the sun faces, but critically: safe from unsafe. Being somewhere cold like the peaks of Mount Kael and traveling away from the sun is certain death.”
“The only thing dying right now is my will to live,” grouched Henrik, and I tried not to let my lips quirk. It was impressive he was still showing up for lessons each day, but then again, the alternative for us was very unappealing.
“Your scores on our last written exam speak to a lack of intelligence, not will to live, Mr. Ravenscroft.” Instructor Garcien had turned her attention to Henrik when he interrupted, as she did to any disruptive students. I smothered a laugh, it was entertaining watching her discipline the rowdier students like Henrik. “But you know what they say, water seeks its own level.”
Henrik scowled, but didn’t respond.
At this point, it was nearly a daily occurrence for him to punctuate lessons with some witty jab, and Instructor Garcien to fire back some scathing retort. It didn't feel malicious, Instructor Garcien went out of her way to help each of us learn, especially Henrik, despite his compulsive misbehavior. Sometimes he had good comebacks too, and it was engaging to watch them go at it. By my count though, she had him beat eight to three.
“Following a river downhill only to discover stagnant undrinkable water will not help you.” Instructor Garcien picked up her lecturing cadence again without pause.
My mind wandered to how many mountains and water-filled lakes there were on the outer islands. We had several natural lakes and rivers on Mesmoria, but they were finite and precious resources closely monitored by the Ascendancy. Of course, we always had snow at the top of Mount Kael in the case of an emergency, but it wasn't easy to reach. Or transport.
“There are multiple means you can use to tell ordinal directions, such as knowing that miasma waves move parallel to cardinal directions. Sand will also form dunes based on the prevailing wind, which blows westward on Mesmoria. Specific vegetation only grows facing one way, like moss, and tracking shadow's movement over time will help you determine direction. The Tide of the sun never changes, as all good things don't. Some vegetation you can look for includes specific types of ferns and flowers, like—”
I scribbled pictures of the plants she held up, mind wandering. My stomach grumbled in irritation from the hefty breakfast.
She handed out slimstalk twigs. “I will demonstrate how to tell directions over the course of the next 10 minutes, then we will be taking a field trip to see how much you each retained.”
I perked up. We hadn't been able to leave the outpost since arriving, and it had been nearly four weeks now. The outdoor meals and lessons were the highlights of each day, but it wasn't nearly enough time outside for me.
The desire to revisit my cliff overlook and watch the miasma was desperate at this point, but even getting outside far enough to see some trees would be refreshing.
Instructor Garcien held true to her word. She marked two points on the end of the shadow and then drew a line between them, explaining how it related to the sun's directional movement and how we could use it to orient ourselves. My stick was crooked, but I was still able to identify true north.
“This won't be a play date,” Instructor Garcien looked directly at Henrik as she said it. “Anyone who meanders off and doesn't return with the group will be locked out of the outpost after we return. Since we are halfway to our midterm, today will be the first of several practical lessons to ensure everyone is ready.”
I was admittedly nervous about the midterm. There was a lot of material being covered in the lessons and the training sessions were gruelingly intense. I had thought that having enough existing strength to qualify would carry me through the physical training required to become a Voyager, but I had grossly overestimated my level of fitness. Almost every day at this point, I went back to the barracks nursing sore muscles and mild bruises.
