10.

Lynn Jet picked at his food. The beautifully prepared cuisine now mangled under his fork. His brain swam. Dozens of ideas flew through as he contemplated his next course of action. The most tempting of the options was simply to hole himself up in his room for a few days until the other applicants tortured one another into retreat. It would be the least amount of work for him and would most likely keep him out of harm’s way. But, it would also put him in a position where he would be isolated from the other applicants. It would be easier for alliances to be made against him if he didn’t stay within sight. But then, who should he approach? Obviously not the Quartz’s due to their hatred for his family. Quinton Silver still seemed more brutish than intellectual. Maybe he could use that though. Nyx seemed to find him fascinating but she also was completely airheaded. Fitz Jasper still remained an enigma so he might be able to persuade him to join up. Kaylin Garnet had come off as bland and uninteresting on the ship but he didn’t necessarily need interesting people currently. Just people who might keep him from dying prematurely for a little while. Naturally, thanks to his usual fortune, the three people he might have been able to count on were already eliminated. Alexis Jade not passing the previous test, Lord Diamond having already stepped down, and Vivian Topaz technically never even being an applicant.

Lynn sighed and glanced at his servant who sat, obviously savoring the cut of roast on his plate. Being an unfriendly cripple certainly had a few downsides, not even his servant seemed anything more than civil toward him. He knew everyone already acknowledged him as the weakest applicant. Lynn stood, leaving his food unattended, and hobbled away toward where Kaylin Garnet sat. Weaving through a throng of cloaked Silvians with his serving boy reluctantly following behind. To his surprise, Lynn found Fitz Jasper sitting beside her.

“Do you mind if I take this seat?” He asked, sitting on the bench opposite of them.

“Not one bit!” Fitz Jasper said quickly and with what appeared to be genuine enthusiasm. “You’re Lynn Jet right? The last of a long line of Jets. That’s amazing! I can’t believe you came and decided to sit next to me! Did you know you’re the only applicant to actually own land? Well, other than Diamond.” Fitz Jasper wrinkled his nose. “I’m glad he’s not a thing anymore. He’s so old. But you have his ranking among nobility as well as being young. Who do you think will be the next person booted out of the library? I think it’s going to be Quinton Silver. He’s not very bright. What do you think? Maybe Nyx Opal? She’s pretty strange.”

Lynn blinked at the torrent of words. Fitz Jasper was not what he had expected in the least. “Ah, I’m not certain. That’s why I came by. Are either of you interested in entering an alliance with me? I have absolutely no intention of backing down but I’m well aware we’re all targets of one another. If we group together we can easily remove other applicants through teamwork.”

“Do you have a specific plan in mind?” Kaylin Garnet spoke as if intrigued. A good sign.

Lynn smiled and snatched up a goblet that a servant was carrying by their table. “I have a few ideas but it’s probably better if we don’t discuss them here. How about you Jasper? Are you interested?”

Fitz Jasper smiled widened but just as he opened his mouth to speak there was a thunk as a fist hit the table to Lynn’s left. Lynn turned and his heart dropped as Ivan Quartz’s glare punctured him from mere feet away. As if to make matters worse, Quinton Silver loomed behind him like a bear over a wolf.

“I know exactly what you’re attempting, Jet. As it stands, you two still have a chance of both making it through the application process as only three spots have been claimed by Quinton, my sister, and myself. But, if any one of you decides to assist Jet I will make it my eternal objective to eliminate you, even if it means going under the allowed amount of applicants. He will be taken out of the process and I don’t recommend going down with him.” Ivan Quartz grasped Lynn’s goblet in hand as if to make a point and downed it in just a few gulps before slamming it back to the table. “Let’s leave this group of failures Quinton.” Silver grunted in response and the two began to lumber off.

Lynn sighed once again. “If that farce didn’t scare you off, meet me in my room at midnight. I promise I won’t let either of them do anything nefarious to you.”

“I don’t know you have the ability to keep that promise Jet,” Kaylin Garnet murmured. She slid off the bench, leaving a half-eaten crab in her wake.

“Ivan Quartz is stupid and Quinton Silver is stupider,” Fitz Jasper declared. “I’ll be there Jet! Isn’t it neat that we can leave our rooms during night time? I used to have to climb out the window to go outside but when I tried to do that the first night here a man tackled me. Apparently he thought I was an assassin or something. Can you believe I was mistaken for an assassin? He told me to go out the front door next time. Free reign!”

“Ah, yes. Well I’ll see you tonight. It was a pleasure meeting you Fitz Jasper.” Lynn slid off the bench awkwardly.

From there, he waved his servant away and wandered out to the gardens that overlooked the broken city. It reminded him of the months he had spent in his family’s summer home atop Mount Tyn which looked down at Nornex. A year after his city’s collapse, he had returned to the summer home and begun his studies in preparation for Silvian Island’s applications. However, time after time, he found himself simply standing outside and staring down at his birthright. And every time, without fail, Lynn’s blood pumped faster and his heart always turned to an inner rage that screamed with vengeance and passion. He felt an echo of that passion when looking down at this other city. His right hand closed into a fist and his missing left hand attempted to do the same. He felt a warm stream trickle out of the clenched fist as his hand’s wound reopened.

“Ya feelin’ alright mate?” An accented voice came from behind causing Lynn to twist around quickly, almost falling as a result. The speaker was a handsome man, thin with long blond locks and deep blue eyes that could have been stolen from a pup. He seemed around Lynn’s age, maybe a year or two older or younger, Most notably, his skin was perfect, not a blemish to be seen.

“I was admiring the view.” Lynn relaxed, releasing any anger still pent up in him. “Can I help you?”

The pretty man flashed him a perfect smile. “Might be you can, you see, I’m looking for my brother, a lout of a man. He went down into the city and I was sent to fetch him. Company would be appreciated. Would you like to join me?”

Lynn eyed him warily. “Who are you?”

“Ah, name’s Constell. I’ve been a scholar here for a year now.”

“A year? But the silts only retreat enough for entrance to the island every two years. How did you begin studying one year ago?”

“Walk and talk, mate.” Constell waved Lynn over. Lynn hesitated for a second but caved to curiosity. “You see, every other year the Silvian library takes individuals from Neo Regnum, as you know, but what you’re blissfully unaware of is that the off-year for Neo Regnum is the year those natively born on the island have the opportunity to begin studying.”

“You were raised on the island?” That concept hadn’t occurred to Lynn.

“Born and never known anywhere else. We’re not permitted to leave unless we’ve studied at the library. That doesn’t stop some from trying to get off though, my brother managed to smuggle himself away a few years back. It took half a year before my dear mum found him and dragged him back.”

“Why would you want to leave?”

Constell chuckled. “Why wouldn’t we? Just because it’s warm and there are books doesn’t make this paradise. I think you’ve spent too long trying to get here to understand why we’d want to leave.”

They reached the edge of the gardens and Constell shouldered his way through two hedges, Lynn followed and an old wooden gate came into sight just beyond the hedges. Rotted steps led down the side of the drop.

“So how do you get off the island?” Lynn timidly tapped the steps with his false leg before beginning his descent.

“You have to finish studying at the library and become a full fledged Mystic. After that we’re free to go wherever we please.” Constell bounded down the steps carelessly. He wore a light blue short cape cut off at the small of his back which fluttered with every step. “They say it’s because that way we don’t go spewing half-truths about the library. ‘You can sharpen your wits or we can dull your tongue with a knife,’ that’s what my mother used to tell us.”

Clutching the rail with his good hand as he descended, Lynn glanced up from his feet to look at the man Constell. “Your mother sounds...less than kind.”

He shrugged. “Harsh? Yeah. But she does her best to make certain we don’t end up in a mass grave. Just the same as most mothers.”

Lynn’s muscles relaxed as he stepped off the stairs and onto a stone path. The city seemed entirely built of stone. Stone buildings surrounded them as Constell led him under stone archways. Stone, stone, stone. No variety at all.

Just then, it occurred to Lynn that this might all be a plot by Ivan Quartz. Quartz could have easily bought this man to lead him away into the city and dispose of his corpse without anyone else knowing what happened to him. He would rid himself of an enemy and rival while not losing any favor with potential allies with the other applicants.

Lynn slowed his step, putting a bit of distance between himself and Constell who continued on, unaware of Lynn’s new concerns. However, Lynn hadn’t been paying close any attention when they first entered the city. He might be able to find the stairs, the castle loomed above them so he at least knew the general direction. But the time it would take, he had promised to meet with the boy Fitz tonight and Kaylin Garnet might be arriving as well. They would likely be slighted and ostracize him from their company if he bailed on them. So Lynn shook off his concerns, more than likely, Constell was just what he looked like. He was jumping at shadows and maybes.

“What is this city?” Lynn asked.

“Ya haven’t been told? This is the great city of Kalorin which Silvis supposedly split from Regnum and sent to the sea after his final battle.”

Lynn stopped in his tracks. “Wait…do you mean to say that the castle we’re currently living in-”

“Yes, yes,” Constell cut him off. “It’s the same that Tyr and the Queen of Death supposedly fought in for a thousand years. It used to be that this city was a thriving port while the castle was shunned but now it's swapped. Nobody up there even likes to mention the city. Funny, right?”

“What happened to Kalorin? Where did the residents go?”

“Mate, I don’t know. Nobody talks about it. Illness, war, or politics maybe? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe an angry god tore through with a storm. It’s safe enough now though. I spent years scurrying through these alleys as a boy. And I wasn’t the only one, there are a few people who come down here from the library or the surrounding villages. Kalorin makes for a great location for being alone, ya’d be hard pressed to bump into anyone unless ya already know where they’re at.”

“Those stairs are used often?” The concept seemed bizarre. The steps could easily crack and break away under the right amount of pressure.

“Nah,” Constell replied. “That was the quickest way down so we took it. There are at least a dozen ways into the city from the castle. That I know of, there could be a hundred.” The boy ducked under a low arch.

“Next time you’re guiding a one-legged man I recommend one of the other 99 ways down.” Lynn buried his irritation with a tone of utter dryness.

Constell turned around and began walking backwards, now eyeing Lynn’s leg. “Oh! Ya’re Lynn Jet? I suppose I should have bothered to ask your name before we left. Ya do a bang-up job hiding your missing leg. And arm and ear too I suppose. Ya should walk more stiffly so people know who ya are if ya want them to notice and not lead ya down broken staircases.” Constell laughed. “Then again, ya’re probably even more likely to be shoved down broken stairs after they realize who ya are. I heard ya’re not making many friends among the candidates.”

Lynn didn’t smile back. “How do you know my relations with the other candidates? And what do you know of them?”

“Of course we know all about how each of ya is doing, see, every year there’s a bet on the candidates to see which will get knocked off and which will stay. I’ve got quite a bit on Nyx remaining myself. I figured that, despite her social reclusiveness, her genius wouldn’t be left behind. Plus, she’s a blood mystic! I don’t know when the last one of those popped up. But your odds aren’t high from what I’ve heard. First ya’re a cripple but ya’re also barely able to create a few meager flecks of frost and your only friend is the only person not in the running. Ivan Quartz’ little band has the best chance of pulling through because they have his leadership, the cleverness of his sister, and the brute force of Quinton. They’re essentially already a team.”

Lynn considered this while they continued weaving down the alleys. “What’s to stop one of you from stepping in and pushing the scales to your favor to win the bet?”

“Well technically I’m not permitted to be interacting or speaking to any of ya until ya’re completely accepted. I thought ya were just some servant. But I doubt anyone will complain if they find out. No one placed money on ya so it’s not as if I’m cheating.”

Lynn bit back a sour retort as he heard clanging down the street. They stooped under a half destroyed doorway and entered a large circular stone amphitheater’s top stands. The amphitheater lowered into the ground until it reached the flattened orchestra of the structure where a man swung a metal broadsword with two hands at a wooden post in front of the stage, leaving deep gashes in the wood but keeping his blade from catching in it. His technique was completely unique to what Lynn had practiced before the loss of half his body. As they approached, the man turned and faced them. Lynn noted the man’s similarities to Constell but, more notably, the differences. His coarse blond hair covered his chest and he wore ragged shorts over his legs whereas Constell wore a lavish outfit more fitting for his station. The man was broad shouldered and muscled where Constell was lean and thin. Even from this distance, Lynn could smell his odor of sweat where Constell emitted a scent of perfumed roses. Constell kept his shoulder length hair in a clean fashion to match his clean cheeks where the man looked as if he cut his hair with a knife and kept a spotty and disgusting beard on his face. But they still had the same blond hair, cheekbones, blue eyes, almost unseen eyebrows, and their heights approximately matched one another.

“You’re brothers?” Lynn asked.

“Yes. You’re not supposed to be here.” The man glared at Lynn.

“How did ya know that, Owen?” Constell asked his brother.

The man with the sword, Owen, answered, “He has a limp, a false eye that wanders, and his left arm doesn’t swing in time with the rest of his body. He’s the cripple the others keep jabbering and laughing about. They’re all surprised he hasn’t died yet.”

“Ya know, with observation skills like that, ya should really apply yourself to studying. Waste of potential. Ya could go so far in the field of academics,” Constell said with a grin.

Owen spat. “Yes, Mother.”

Constell laughed and the corners of Owen’s mouth twitched.

“I assume she sent you to fetch me?”

“And ordered me to bury ya alive if ya weren’t reading a book. Thankfully it seems ya’re studying Theories of the Four by Kelsey Granite. She’ll be so pleased to hear ya shifted from your barbaric ways.”

Owen grunted in response. “She’ll probably ask me to quote it.”

Constell shrugged. “Say ya forgot. She won’t believe it but it’s not as if she could prove differently. Anyway, Lynn, allow me to introduce ya to my brute of a brother Owen. Owen, this is my new friend Lynn.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Lynn said. “You were standing in a different posture than what the soldiers of Neo Regnum. Are you self-taught?”

“No. I was taught by a knight on the other side of the ocean.”

“Ah no, don’t get him started on his knight. He’ll never stop praising him as if every compliment will get him closer to knighthood himself.”

Lynn’s brow creased in curiosity. “I thought you couldn’t leave the island?”

“Well you see, my dear brother here got a bit restless and decided the rules didn’t apply to him. A few years back he snuck onto a boat bringing some of the finer things to us from the other side of the ocean. It took our dear mother days before she even noticed he was gone but, when she did, she immediately took off after him. He eluded her for almost half a year before she brought him back kicking and screaming.”

“I wasn’t screaming.” Owen interjected with a glare. Lynn noted he didn’t protest the kicking.

Ignoring Owen, Constell continued. “But that wasn’t quick enough to prevent thoughts of grand battles and swordplay to invade his thoughts as he squired for a knight. Now he comes down here and swings metal sticks at bigger wooden ones in an attempt to be a knight himself. He ‘studies’ at the library because it’s the only way off the island which won’t result in our mother flaying him.”

“You learned how to fight from a Mortium knight.” Lynn’s voice became coated in content. “I didn’t realize those bastards had knights. I thought they were reserved for noble people.”

“They are.” Owen’s own tone became ice. “I was taught in the kingdom next to it. Paxanimi. They don’t take kindly to being compared to Mortium. The Paxan people are the sole reason Neo Regnum hasn’t been invaded by Mortium companies. Do you not know anything of the countries on the other side of the sea?”

“Brother, of course not. Just as ya obviously don’t know anything about Neo Regnum. Most of the people in Neo Regnum don’t even know that any people across the ocean exist, let alone the politics between them. A select few individuals are told about Mortium and Paxanimi and handle all affairs involving them, which aren’t many seeing as Neo Regnum is inaccessible due to the silt flats for the majority of the year. The population is kept ignorant, as far as they’re aware, Silvian Island is as far east as the world goes. I’m surprised Lynn knows anything about Mortium.” He examined Lynn quizzically.

“I found a book that told me about them buried in the ruins of an old library.” Lynn told him, not untruthfully. But he had also been searching the library for that exact book.

“Well,” Constell said, “Now that we’ve put that matter to rest. Let’s head back. I know a way back that doesn’t involve rotted stairways if ya’d prefer that.”

Owen grunted once again stalking off into the back room behind the stage and returned, now lacking his broadsword. The rest of the trip through Kalorin was filled with Constell’s idle chatting about how the sunset could never rival a sunrise’s beauty and how every other bird had inferior singing in comparison to the orange tipped parrot. The subjects fell on deaf ears as neither Owen nor Lynn seemed to care much for the topics and simply nodded agreement with whatever Constell believed.

The other way Constell had mentioned consisted of a pulley system with a large basket at the bottom. Constell coaxed Lynn into the basket and Owen heaved him upward as he clung to the rope in fear of the fall. Finally, he scrambled out of the basket to the ledge above. Constell and Owen followed on a ladder beside the pulley system.

“Now that wasn’t so awful, now was it?” Constell beamed at Lynn.

“Silts take you. Next time I’ll take the stairs back. I could have died.”

“Not so! There’s a safety mechanism set up to catch the basket so, just in case the puller accidently let go, the turnips and cheeses wouldn’t tumble to the ground.”

“Turnips?! You put me in a basket meant for turnips?”

“No need for that sort of attitude. Ya made it up didn’t you? Anyway, I’d better not be seen talking to ya, goodbye Lynn Jet. It’s been a pleasure.”

Lynn sighed. “The pleasure was mine. Thanks for all the information Constell. I learned a lot. I’ll see you after I pass this ridiculous test and begin studying.”

“Ah, one favor before ya go, Lynn,” Constell said. “Any chance ya could make certain Nyx passes? I have a lot of money riding on her.”

Lynn shook his head and smiled. “I’ll try to keep her alive.”

He turned away from the brothers and began back towards his living quarters. With luck, Fitz would be meeting him in a few hours to discuss methods of how to dispose of the other candidates. Something he still had no plan for. As he turned a corner, he barreled into Vivian, knocking them both to the ground.

“Lynn!” Vivian looked aghast.

“Vivian!” Lynn copied her aghast appearance.

“Lynn…I don’t think you should go back to your room. There might be some um…less than friendly people waiting for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, ah, people might blame you.”

“And what am I being blamed for might I ask?”

Vivian paused as if making sure he wasn’t pulling her leg. “Ivan Quartz’ death.”