Divine Reborns: Chronicles of Noxvelum

Noraya

Year 3092

Month of Fiyiz

Noxvelum

The storm was quiet, but dark. I stared through the invisible dome of enchanted glass. I hated this kind of weather, but I knew Noxvelum was famous for it. The sun rarely shines brightly in this rift. Cloudy, foggy, gloomy weather is common here. It rains several times a week, and storms strike at least twice.

Still, I wouldn’t change my decision for anything. When the time came, I had two choices: accept the invitation from Noxvelum Academy and become a student, or refuse it and be branded the cowardly princess forever.

Every person of noble rank receives an invitation to the Academy when they turn nineteen.

Of course, some students did not belong to any noble family. They were the lucky exceptions, admitted because they were considered special enough.

The Academy is not for the fainthearted. Its students are divided into two tracks: mahyar, the warriors, and sihir, the intellectuals, who are mages of a sort.

Students are free to choose either one, but everyone has to undergo a test to confirm their choice. Occasionally, the test results in a reassignment, though that is rare.

I had chosen thesihirtrack. I did not consider my body strong enough to become a warrior, especially since my studies in secondary school had focused on traditional medicine and poisoncraft.

I looked down at the maze spread out before me. The first-years’ test was an obstacle course built as a labyrinth, filled with plants and traps that could prove fatal. It was not particularly large, but it was not small either.

We have as much time as we need. Success doesn’t depend on speed, but on what we do inside.

The girl beside me, now deathly pale, began muttering under her breath as if chanting a mantra that might save her from dying. It irritated me, but I did not tell her to stop. I did not want to hurt her chances. If I snapped at her, I might throw her off badly enough for her to make a grave, possibly fatal mistake during the test.

Instead, I checked once more that I had everything I needed. Before the test, we had been given shoulder bags and allowed to fill them with whatever tools we thought might be useful.

We had half an hour to gather our equipment. I took a sickle, a dagger, and a multipurpose pocketknife. I was surprised they even had one here. It was a human tool, and there are no humans in Noxvelum. They have a separate world where they can safely live out their short, fragile little lives.

I counted my bottles and vials again, then checked the two bottles filled with water. I had also taken a pack of chalk, a box of matches, and wood shavings. Bandages had been available, but they had offered no other useful first-aid supplies.

I had everything I wanted, including a length of rope, though I don’t know yet whether I’ll need it. I refused to leave anything to chance.

Mr. Leryme, the headmaster, stepped onto the platform. He was an ice-blooded draken, and he looked down at us with cold, ice-blue eyes. When he spoke, his voice was cool, almost emotionless, with an air of complete indifference.

“If everyone is ready, form two lines. Warriors on the right, mages on the left.”

I joined my line. The pale girl who had been standing beside me ended up behind me. Gritting my teeth, I endured her continued muttering.

“Name?”

A surly man addressed me when my turn came. Judging by his uniform, he was one of the guards. Countless guards patrolled the Academy grounds, watching over the students. They were not prison guards. They were there for our safety.

“Herlock.”

I gave him my family name. That’s all they ask for, and I’m the only member of my family here. There are no other Herlocks. My younger sisters still have several years to go before they can join.

The guard raised his dark-gray eyes to me. He looked me over as though judging how delicate a little flower I might be.

People always looked at princesses that way. I’m not fragile, but I’m not strong enough to be a warrior either.

“Go ahead.” The man nodded.

I quickly moved on, down the stairs and straight into the jungle. The moment I crossed the invisible threshold, the air turned hot and humid. Even so, I kept my jacket on. I had already tied my purple hair into a loose bun to keep it out of the way.

I chose a direction at random. I had memorized the routes from above, but I had noticed something else as well. We had been given half an hour to prepare. It had taken me ten minutes to collect everything I might need, and I had spent the remaining time studying the course from above. That was when I noticed the subtle changes.

My guess is that the maze shifts every half hour. Which means the longer I stay inside, the more the route I memorized will change.

But this test isn’t about getting through the course as fast as possible. How I do it is what matters, and I knew exactly how I was going to complete the task.

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Half an hour. That was how long I had been inside. I was still moving along the edge of the course, collecting samples and conducting tests. I was making substances I could use to defend myself.

I did not know how many students had already finished or how many remained inside. I did not particularly care. I was sure one group was still here: five boys who plan to join the warriors. They had formed a team so they could work together.

I had overheard them discussing that and other matters while we waited. They planned to hunt down their rivals, and I intended to teach them a lesson. My sense of justice was simply too strong to ignore them.

The rules did not forbid us from turning on one another. Only one thing mattered: no one may kill anyone. We can use only a minimal amount of magic, too: the most basic kind, which every species can wield.

That restriction did not affect me. Even though I had been born a vene, I could not use magic. Not even the ancient bloodline running through my veins had helped. My power, my magic, refused to emerge.

I had a feeling it never would. I felt nothing within me. I could not hear the whisper of power flowing through my blood.

So I had to rely on methods anyone can use. Even an ordinary human.

As soon as another batch of explosives was ready, I set off to find the group. If I incapacitate them, they’ll still pass the test. All that will happen is that they’ll begin their climb through the warrior hierarchy at the very bottom.

Anyone who earns a high score on the test can become a team leader immediately. But if someone has to start from zero, they may remain on the sidelines for quite some time. Everyone will be better off if those five boys end up there.

Once I found the right spot, I quickly set my traps. As much as I hated storms, I found this one useful. The rain could not reach us, but the lightning and thunder created a suitably menacing atmosphere.

The clouds and the enormous leaves overhead cast the course into darkness. I climbed a tree, high enough that they would not see me while I could still see them clearly.

I waited. It did not take long for the group to arrive. I tossed one of the stones I had collected. The black-haired boy leading the group raised a hand, signaling the others to stop. He pointed to the blond boy, then toward the sound. Blondie nodded, drew his sword, and headed in that direction.

I watched him step on the vial I had deliberately left there. I had prepared a mixture capable of inflicting severe hallucinations on its victim.

The blond boy inhaled the invisible, odorless substance, and it took effect immediately. He screamed and began flailing.

I threw another stone, then one more. Fortunately, the boys were every bit as foolish as I had first assumed. They scattered. Two more traps contained hallucinogens, while the final two held explosives. I had mixed a poison into each one, not enough to kill them but enough to leave them unconscious for several days.

The explosives were meant as a stronger warning. Their injuries will heal, but they’ll have ugly, blotchy rashes for weeks, accompanied by unbearable itching.

I watched each of them stumble into a trap and soon lose consciousness. I wrapped my scarf over my mouth and nose so I would not accidentally inhale any lingering substance, then climbed down from the tree.

After checking the boys’ pulses and finding them steady, I set off in search of the exit. I must have been inside for an hour, perhaps an hour and a half. If the plants follow the pattern I noticed, I can get out by heading in the direction I started in.

I moved quickly but did not run. I watched my surroundings and kept to the darkest areas, moving without a sound. I could not trust anyone.

All first-years are rivals. Competitors. I could not risk being incapacitated for weeks and falling behind in my studies.

When I spotted the exit, I deliberately slowed my steps. It had grown too quiet. Suspiciously quiet.

I crouched in the deepest shadow and waited.

There are two exits, but this one was closer. I did not know whether the exits held any special significance or had simply been added to make things easier for the students. The other exit is at the opposite end of the course. By the time I got there, the routes would have shifted again, since the journey would take much longer. I have to use this exit.

I looked around and assessed my surroundings: the plants, the ground. I thought through my options. I could cast this area into darkness, but I would need an asael flower with black roots, and I had not seen one anywhere on the course. I could substitute rigel root, but there isn’t any nearby.

I had just begun reviewing the available ingredients and the possible combinations that might replace those two plants when I heard a crack behind me.

I made a split-second decision. Pulling out a bottle filled with explosive liquid, I hurled it toward the sound. The instant the glass shattered, an explosion erupted, and flames began devouring the surrounding vegetation.

I sprinted toward the exit. Shouts rang out behind me, but I knew my action had given me a head start.

The moment I crossed the threshold, the shouting died away, and the protective darkness swallowed me.

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I emerged from the dark tunnel, a shabby excuse for a test of courage, and found myself in a circular hall. Five other students were there, all wearing combat uniforms. They studied me intently as two men approached.

“Name?” asked one, holding a clipboard.

I answered, unable to think about anything except why the hall contained only warriors.

“Congratulations, Miss Noraya,” said the other man. He had orange-red hair and vivid freckles. “You have been accepted into the Sapphire Owls.”

Only then did I notice the silver brooch above his heart. It depicted a barn owl. This freckled man is the right-hand man of the Sapphire Owls’ squad leader.

Nausea rolled through me as I realized what was happening.

“The Sapphire Owls are a squad. They’re warriors,” I said slowly, stating the obvious. My throat felt parched. I cleared it and swallowed. “I applied to become a mage. I did nothing in there that should qualify me for the warrior track.”

The other man wore no insignia, though he looked older than his freckled companion. He rolled his brown eyes before answering.

“If you’d taken only the sickle and left the dagger behind, we might still have placed you with the mages.”

Unlike the other man, he addressed me informally right away. It did not bother me. More accurately, I did not care at all. Something else took priority at the moment: what the hell am I going to do among the warriors?

I said nothing. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw approval in the older man’s eyes, but it vanished almost at once.

“Kaz, take her.”

With that, he walked away, leaving us alone. I turned to the freckled man.

“So, Kaz,” I began. “How do I get transferred back to the mages?”

Kaz merely chuckled. He slung an arm around my shoulders and steered me down another corridor as dark as the one that had brought me here, though this one was shorter.

We soon emerged into a passage that grew brighter with every step. Sounds of laughter and merriment drifted from somewhere ahead.

“You’ll soon learn that every squad is different,” Kaz said, keeping his arm around me. “You’ll fit in with the Owls. We are the warriors of the night.”

I rolled my eyes. We rounded a corner into another corridor, which opened into a large room furnished with a fireplace, a pool table, several other tables, and comfortable sofas and armchairs.

Brown wood paneling covered the walls. The scents of orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg hung in the air. More students occupied the room in groups of various sizes, talking, playing games, and laughing together.

“Nikolai!” Kaz called.

A boy standing beside the pool table, watching a match, turned toward us.

Kaz waved him over. I could tell he had no desire to join us, but he did so anyway. Like Kaz, he wore combat clothes and a silver owl brooch above his heart. His did not depict a barn owl, but a great gray owl. Why were they different?

“This is the new recruit, Noraya Herlock,” Kaz said, introducing me. “Noraya, this is Major Nikolai Krjovich. He’ll show you around.”

Without meaning to, I glanced around again, searching for a girl who could give me the tour instead, but I saw only boys.

“Don’t you have any girls here?” I asked.

“The last one graduated last year,” Kaz replied cheerfully.

He gave my shoulder a gentle pat and left me alone with Nikolai. I looked up at the dark-haired, light-blue-eyed major. He could not have been much older than I was.

The Academy’s program lasts two years, but it provides thorough training. Classes continue even during the summer, with no break. We can return home only for the winter holidays.

Nikolai looked me over with open hostility. I did not even try to force a smile. I was angry and frustrated that they had assigned me to a warrior squad instead of a mage order.

“I’ll show you your room and the main facilities,” he muttered.

He set off. Reluctantly, I followed, memorizing every route we took.