Chapter 4 The Iron Trial

The morning bell rang. Aria jumped out of bed. Wolves around went through their normal activities in preparation for regular training, but for Aria it was different.

Today was the Iron Trial. A test she knew nothing about.

"Whatever this is, I've been through worse," Aria muttered under her breath as she arranged her space and got herself ready.

"Remember, you don't wait for life to rush at you, you take on life. You're the boss."

That was a quote from her rogue mentor, Shadow.

So many thoughts ran through her mind, but only one was at the center - survival. No matter what happened today she had to stay alive.

The next bell came in timely. She went to the dining hall. She would have been rushed with so many questions and rumors save for the fact that no one was allowed to talk in the dining hall. Aria ate her meal fast and sat still waiting for the next bell - the training bell, but for her - a call to the Iron Trial or maybe a death sentence.

The next bell rang and wolves rushed into the training hall. They spread out in different sections and trading soon began.

Aria stood halfway into the hall and observed everywhere. Something was different from yesterday.

"He's not here," her mind picked that fast.

Kael wasn't on the watch tower. He wasn't in the hall at all.

"Lyra Vane!" A voice called out, loud and sharp.

Aria turned around to look. It was General Thorne.

"Come over here." He said, waving his hand to Aria who was halfway into the hall.

Aria walked smartly towards him and he led her to another hall.

"Lyra, you might not be prepared for this and I don't know what skills you have, but one advice I have for you is: whatever you do, make sure you're swift." He said as they walked together to the next hall, his voice calm and sympathetic.

"Now that was a different advice from the other people." Aria thought to herself.

As they approached the gates of the next hall, a sign post read: "out of bounds to non shadow warriors." As they got to the gate it was drawn open from the inside, almost like someone's been watching them walk towards it.

They walked into the hall. A large space filled with quite a number of wolves. Their uniforms were all black and each one had a tattoo on their right arm. The walls stretched so high into the sky. The training site was filled with all manners of weapons: razors, swords, blades and so many others that Aria had never seen.

On the watch tower sat four wolves: Kael, the Alpha, Lucan, the soldier who fought with her yesterday and two others that Aria couldn't recognize. One silvery white wolf who sat next to Kael on the left and another black wolf on the right. All on black hoods with long capes that swept around.

Still she stood fearless, notwithstanding the crowd and species.

"Another, born to die." Yelled a wolf seated at one corner of the hall.

Aria looked around. The Iron Trial wasn't an easy bone to crack. She could tell it was going to test her strength, endurance, speed and other abilities she didn't even know she had.

"Go into the ring." General Thorne ordered. His voice bold but calm.

Aria went in immediately. She was faced by a first test - combat. She was to fight with a really huge wolf, one who looked really tall, but without enough balance.

Lucan read out the rules of the Iron Trial and before he could finish Aria moved fast, attacking the giant wolf before her. She had indeed learnt to make her move before the last instruction.

Aria fought like a shadow, her rogue training kicking in. She dodged, struck, and countered with cold efficiency, surprising even herself. She fought with fire not just in her eyes but in her soul.

The bell rang; Aria picked herself up from the dust, her shoulders and knees protesting, but she had to keep going. That was only the first.

"Next!" Kael ordered from the watch tower.

This time Aria had to run a sprint around the hall. It was no ordinary sprint. Arrows would be shot at her and she had to do her best to be fast enough to miss them.

"Start." General Thorne ordered, his voice sharp.

Aria began. She was swift. This wasn't meant to be a challenge except for the arrows. Aria ran with good precision, arrows grazing through her legs and sides. Almost to the end of the race, three arrows were shot at once, Aria jumped and swayed past them, landing her back on the finish line.

This got Kael on his feet alongside everyone on the watch tower. No one dared to remain seated.

"This was designed to kill her. Most people died at that point." He thought as the wolves around picked Aria up. "This is beyond exceptional, how could a wolf trained by rogues miss arrows fired by trained archers?" Kael pondered.

Aria was to move to the next phase of the Iron Trial - the test of strength, but Kael...

"That's enough." He ordered, as he descended the watch tower. "Come with me." He said pulling Aria out of the hall with him.

That was unusual. There was meant to be a funeral or a festival after the Iron Trial, depending on the fate of the contestants. But Kael was confused. He needed answers and so he walked out of the hall, dragging Aria along as he went.