The Spade Chronicles Book 0: Eagles Rising

Once again it was Atalanta that woke me for class the next morning. Once I was dressed with Kyrie on my shoulder, I walked with her to class, Luna silently padding behind us. Our first class of the day was History of Ivaline, which was interesting, but most of it I had already read in the book left by the Crystal Keeper. I mentioned this to Daedalus as we were walking to Armed Combat.

“That happens often, everyone’s first year here is essentially giving everyone a chance to catch up. Because new people keep arriving, the teachers can’t give any new material without handing the students from earlier in the year an unfair advantage. This year is mainly to ease the newcomers into life at Spade. The real learning begins next year.” He explained as we made our way into the sparring hall. Once we were all inside a tall woman in her late twenties made her way to the front of the crowd.

“Alright Hatchlings you know what to do, grab your weapons and start practicing. Sage, you’re with me.” I followed her while my yearmates started to slash and shoot at various targets. She brought me into a shelf at the back of the hall. There were a series of weapons.

“Choose two.” Snapdragon demanded, and I gazed along the various arms thoughtfully, after a while I took a halberd and a norse broadsword. Snapdragon regarded me thoughtfully.

“Interesting choices, but not bad ones. That halberd is different than most, so it has a wider range of attacks and defenses. You have a good eye.”

Snapdragon had me swinging the halberd and sword for the entire day, correcting my strokes and my form until the bell sounded. Then it was off to Basic Weapons Creation and Care, where Professor Wren, a small, birdlike man, taught us how various weapons were made and how to properly maintain them to ensure best performance and durability. Compared to the previous classes, it was a bit monotonous, and I was almost relieved to be back in the Sparring Hall, even if Snapdragon had us do physical conditioning for the full ninety minutes with only five minute breaks in between exercises. I hurried to lunch as quickly as my aching muscles would allow. On my way, I caught sight of the girl I saw at Muse headquarters, and accosted her.

“Hey your a Muse right? I’m Allie. What’s your name?” I greeted. She looked taken aback, and shied away slightly.

“I’m Kennedia, and yes I am. May I ask why?” She answered timidly, as if unsure whether I would be offended by her question. I tried to sound more friendly when I responded.

“It’s just that I thought you might know your way around the library, and maybe you could help me investigate something.” When she heard my answer, she seemed more sure of herself.

“What do you want to know?” She asked excitedly, and I couldn’t help but smile as I told her. When she saw the dragon around my neck, her eyes sparked with recognition.

“I might know what that is, come by my room after dinner, it’s the green one in the middle of the hall, I’ll have more information then.” With that, she sat down by the boy I saw her with in the library. I sat by Atalanta and Daedalus.

“Is there a reason Snapdragon works us so hard? That was brutal.” I complained, and Daedalus looked on sympathetically.

“I know what you mean. After a few months it gets easier, in fact, I’ve only been here for five months and it’s so normal I don’t get sore anymore.” He tried to reassure me, but I didn’t feel any better.

“It’s all part of being a Spade,” Atalanta interjected, “We live in a land blessed by prosperity and wealth, we have to be ready to protect it when needed. Although I can’t say I blame you, the P.T. is killer for newbies. You’ll get used to it though, look at Daedalus. When he first got here he could barely lift a dictionary.” She snorted.

“I’ll have you know I could lift two dictionaries thank you very much!” Daedalus sniffed, making a show of looking down his nose at us.

“You must have been so proud of yourself.” Their banter continued until we were called to our last class.

“This is probably the most pragmatic class out of all of them, it’s the only class that is actually independent, and probably has the most real life applications.” Atalanta told me as we walked into a room that must have been in one of the turrets of the palace. It was an octogonal room with each of the seven stained windows depicting an animal. In the center window was an eagle, with a dragon on the right and a raven on the left. The leftmost window showcased an owl and a wolf on the window opposite. The other two windows showed a tiger on the left and a serpent on the right. In front of the eagle was a massive mahogany desk, surrounded by smaller tables to form a circle. In the center stood a tall, muscular man in his forties, with brown hair and fair skin. He addressed the class with a calm confidence.

“Good afternoon Hatchlings, as you know, magic is a greatly personalized art, apart from a few very basic functions. The form your magic takes is an indication of who you are at your core. A healer may be a giving soul, and a pyro-mage may have a passionate heart. It is my job to help unlock your potential and help you use it for good. Everyone has their own abilities, and so everyone works at their own pace. This is a reminder that if I see or hear of anyone harassing their comrades because of their magical talent or lack thereof, I will not hesitate to take disciplinary action.” He let his eyes make contact with everyone in the room, coming up to me last.

“Now that’s out there, I’ll let you start practicing.” He finished, until approaching me just as Snapdragon had.

“Hello, you must be Allie, I’m Blackthorn, the magic teacher for your year. Before we begin I want you to know that some of the most powerful people in Spade started with nothing, so I don’t want you to be nervous.” He reassured, and I relaxed, his reassuring demeanor refreshing after Snapdragon’s hard teaching methods. He led me to stand by the raven window as the others started warming up, and as I looked around I could see Atalanta turn a stone into silver in her hand as Daedalus started fiddling with a box while his lizard Yucca stood nearby with a screwdriver in his mouth. I turned to Blackthorn as he started to lecture me.

“Magic at its core is energy stored up in our bodies, and with proper teaching we can channel that energy to manipulate our environment. However, this can be tricky, because just as every person is unique, so are their capabilities.” To illustrate this, he held out his hand and in it, I could see a seed produce a tiny sprout inch toward the sky. As he continued, I could see it grow. “To help determine what your ability is, we will be going through a series of exercises to help stimulate your magic reservoir.” When he finished he smiled and showed me his hand again, and I could see it had grown into a tiny sage plant before it disappeared. He started by having me concentrate on various elements to see if I could cause them to change. First it was plants, then water and fire and gems. Soon an hour had passed, and still no progress. I started to frown, and when he caught sight of it he smiled reassuringly.

“Okay I’m going to have you try something before we finish,” he had me close my eyes and clear my mind.

“Allie, now I want you to focus on the feeling of your heartbeat. Each beat of your heart sends out magic through your body as well as blood. Now try and focus that flow to your hand.”

I stretched out my hand and did as he told. After a moment, I could feel energy gathering in my hand and I clenched my fist on instinct, causing it to stretch out and solidify. I opened my eyes and saw my hand was tightly gripping a small dagger. The hilt and blade were a dark, nearly black, color with the ringed look to the metal I recognized as damascus steel. All was silent, and I looked around to see the rest of the class staring and Blackthorn spoke up.

“You have the rare ability to create. Our own queen has a similar ability with garments, and she’s put clothes on hundreds of backs in our borders and beyond. I daresay that your ability to bring weapons into being is well suited for a Spade,” he praised then shot me a warning glance. “I must warn you to use this tool wisely, lest it fall into the wrong hands.”

He had me practice summon the dagger and have it shatter back into oblivion until the bell rang.

As I made my way out the door, I concentrated and, after a few moments of focus, formed the dagger again. I turned it over in my hand to examine it. The blade was small but it felt dangerous in my hands. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy, like I could cause great destruction with a thought, and not liking that possibility at all. On my way to the Dancers I was accosted by Daedalus and Atalanta.

“Congrats on finding your talent Allie! Your magic is totally awesome.” Exclaimed Daedalus.

“The ability to create is really rare,” Atalanta continued, “There are only a handful who can do it, not to mention on your first try, so I would be prepared for some animosity because of it.”

I hadn’t thought about that, but after my life before Spade, I felt I was ready for it, especially now that I had friends at my side. Turns out the opposite happened, I kept noticing some of the other Hatchlings would keep their heads down whenever they neared me, and eye me warily whenever I passed them in the corridors of in the classrooms. I inquired about my friends’ talents when I walked with them from class to practice in an effort to keep my mind from it.

“So what are your talents?” I asked.

“I can change objects into various metals. Right now I’m working my way up to transforming bigger subjects, though,” Atalanta explained. “Daedalus can add magical properties to mechanical creations, so his is a bit different every time,” she finished, and with a wave goodbye, broke off to join the Flock. Daedalus left for practice a moment later.

I came back from dance practice slightly less exhausted than usual, which I took as a good sign as I approached Kennedia’s door, which just so happened to be right next to mine. I knocked and she answered a beat after, almost out of breath.

“Oh good you’re here! I had a hunch as to what you’re necklace might be, but I did some reading and now I’m certain. Anyway, come in I had someone bring up hot chocolate. That’s Magnolia by the window.”

She beckoned me inside. There was no window seat like there was in my room, but there were armchairs by the fireplace, with hot chocolate on a tray in between them. By the window, I could see a barn owl gazing out the window. I sat across from her and took a sip of chocolate as she started her detailed explanation.

“The thing around your neck is an amulet. In order to create an amulet, the creator has to meticulously plan out the purpose of the amulet and even how they will go about making it before even thinking about creating one, which makes them expensive. There are a few that are well known in Ivaline, but most of the time they’re a wild card. An amulet’s materials can hint at what its purpose is, for instance the Queen’s crown is an amulet depicting a silver eagle. Silver helps increase intuition, and an eagle is always associated with awareness, so her crown helps her be a wise ruler by increasing her natural perceptiveness. Now if we apply this principle to your necklace, we can deduce its most probable purpose.” She directed my attention to a book containing a list of metals and gemstones and their properties.

“The dragon’s body is crafted out of copper, which is generally used as protection against malicious forces. That alone can tell us that the amulet’s main job is to protect the wearer. But we also have to take into account that the claws and eyes are made out of ruby. Rubies are also a source of protection, but they are more specific. Rubies are said to help the wearer remain conscious and aware of their emotions.This can also be interpreted as aware of threats as well, which could explain the eyes. And then there are the claws, I think those are supposed to mean the amulet can not only detect threats but also eliminate some of them. You come from Pangaea right? So who would you know who had both the knowledge and the mean to give it to you?” Before I could answer her, my vision went red, and I could see Kyrie flying through the light rain.

She was being followed by a hawk. She tried to avoid it, but the hawk came swooping down and slashed through her wing and flew off. I paled as I watched her struggle to stay aloft. My vision dimmed to normal and I jumped up.

“Kyrie’s been injured,” I whispered, and I heard Magnolia speak up.

“Where is she?” Kennedia asked, but I didn’t have time to be shocked I could understand her.

“She’s just flown over the Forest of Trials,” I told her, setting my mug down so fast the tray rattled.

“I’ll go find her,” I opened the window for her. When she flew out, I turned to Kennedia.

“Could you to go to my room and open the window? I need to talk to someone.”

I didn’t wait to see if she did as I told. I rushed up to Hawthorne’s nest where he was resting with Ash.

“I need your help! Kyrie’s been attacked, and I don’t think she can fly for much longer.”

He immediately flew up the the edge of the tower.

“Where is she?”

“To the south, a barn owl is already looking for her,” I finished, and rushed back down the stairs. I returned to my room and waited anxiously by the window until I saw Magnolia return, holding Kyrie by the carrier strap I had Daedalus make for her after League practice. He wanted to show off his talent by making anything I asked for. I requested something that would make it easier for Kyrie to carry letters, and by the Blades he delivered. The strap was made of blue tinted leather and reduced the weight and size of any package or letter exponentially.

“I’ll call for Galen,” Kennedia said, and left the room. I heard Belladonna whine, and I looked to Magnolia.

“Thank you for bringing her to me. Did you see an eagle on your way?” I inquired, concerned for Hawthorne. She turned to look at me, her neck twisting to an almost one eighty degrees.

“I did. He was engaged in combat with the hawk, by the time I had her in hand, he seemed to be wrapping things up. Unless I am mistaken, he should be bringing the offending creature here now,”

As she concluded, Hawthorne swooped through the window, threw down the unconscious culprit on the floor before coming to perch on my padded shoulder.

“She,” he gestured, “was apparently acting as a courier and found young Kyrie’s presence detrimental to the mission.”

I frowned.

“Why would Kyrie be a threat?” I pondered, and took the note from the hawk’s claws and opened it. Immediately after my hand came into contact with it, my vision tinged red, and I could feel the dragon coil tighter. It was covered in symbols and scratches I couldn’t understand. I crumpled the paper in my hand out of frustration. It was then Kennedia returned with Galen in tow. He went straight to Kyrie’s side.

“The cut didn’t damage anything that can’t be fixed, but it will take time. She will need to be in the infirmary for the rest of the week to make sure everything heals properly.” I didn’t like the idea of being without Kyrie for the week, but I didn’t want her injured either. So I reluctantly followed Galen to the infirmary to make sure she was comfortable, caging the hawk along the way. Once she was settled in, I walked Hawthorne back to his nest.

“It will be alright, little violet.” He said reassuringly. I didn’t answer, but smiled at the pet name as I returned to my room. Kennedia was still there.

“Do you know why Kyrie was attacked?” She asked and I shook my head.

“Apparently she was a threat to the hawk’s mission, but I can’t make any sense of the note she was carrying.” I showed her the paper from where I stowed it in my pocket. She scanned the page, then looked to me.

“I recognize this, it’s written in witch’s alphabet.” She claimed, and I drew in a breath.

“Could you decipher it?” I asked, and she nodded.

“I could take me a bit, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow and tell you what I find.” With that she left quietly, and I sat by the window petting Belladonna until exhaustion drew me to bed.

. . . I don’t know if I like where this is going.

I know it looks bad now but just wait. All protagonists change and this is still just the beginning of the story.

I hope you’re right.