The Wielder Trials. Franca Ogbonnaya

her third day at the college, and already she was so overwhelmed. In less than two hours, she would be meeting with the warden to decide on her classes. She had arrived on the weekend, so the last two days had been spent dealing with minutiae rather than preparing her schedule.

      First had been getting fitted for a uniform. Fortunately, the college tailor had already had something in her size. Next up had been getting a timetable and a list of rules a mile long such as the daily waking, resting, and lights-out schedule. She would have been completely overwhelmed if not for her roommate.

      “You ready?”

      Britea turned to face Danai. The older student was already dressed in her own storm-grey jacket and long skirt, both of which had fire-red edgings. On Danai, the outfit made her look regal.

      “I…I think so.”

      Danai smiled kindly at her. “Don’t worry. With time, you’ll get used to being here. So, what’s the first thing on your agenda today after breakfast?”

      Britea checked the list on the notebook on her desk. “Orientation with Warden Asteros, register at the library, and the rest says, ‘Class levels to be decided.’”

      Dania frowned. “They probably want to test your general knowledge first, before sticking you into a class. They did that with me.”

      “How did it go?”

      “I’ll tell you on the way to breakfast.”

      The girls joined the others leaving the girls-only wing on the west side of the college grounds. A long, wide hallway connected the dormitory to the main building. Its walls were old but polished light oak panels. Enormous portraits of former female teachers hung from some of the panels. Britea wondered if there were portraits of male teachers in the boys’ wing on the east side. Probably.

      From her brief perusal of the college map, she knew they were heading north to the massive dining hall. The classes and the library were close by, but she was yet to memorize that part of the map.

      “I first came here when I was sixteen years too.”

      Britea looked at Danai in surprise, and the older student chuckled. “That may be why Warden Asteros picked me as your mentor. You already know Weltonians have their own system of training, yes?”

      Britea nodded.

      “Well, I started wielding at an early age with my people’s training but…but I wanted more. For me, it was my Time of Seeking.”

      Britea dredged up her memories of her grandaunt’s stories. “That’s when Weltonian youths travel the world to find their place in it.”

      Danai looked impressed as she nodded. “Correct. A Time of Seeking can last not less than a year and as many as five. This is my fourth year in Syla.” She paused, remembering, then continued. “When I first arrived, Warden Asteros and the headmaster were a bit concerned about how I would fit in because to them, I was already a fully trained wielder. So, I was given a general test of knowledge, arithmetic, social studies, and a bunch of other stuff. My scores were satisfactory, I guess, and I was placed in a class of my peers. After that, I was put through a mild version of the Wielder Trials so they could assess my ability.”

      Britea stared at her. “Wielder Trials? What’s that?”

      “The mild version or the real thing?” responded Danai with a question of her own.

      “Both.”

      “The mild version is just a series of tests any qualified wielder can pass to show the instructors how well you can wield.”

      “But I’m not qualified,” said Britea.

      “True, but Kahl taught you, yes?”

      On the second day of her stay at the college, Britea had found herself telling Danai about Kahl, the Dyhaeri, and the Windrider. The older student had been speechless for several moments before she’d started firing questions at the novice wielder about the Dyhaeri. That had continued late into the morning until both had become quite sleepy.

      “For less than fifty days, so that doesn’t make me qualified.”

      Danai nodded. “Yet you adapted quite well. Just think of these trials as mild compared to what Kahl put you through and you’ll be fine. Once the instructors have your scores for both the tests and the trials, they’ll decide your class levels and instructors. At this college, there are three types of instructors: educational, wielder, and combat.”

      Britea almost faltered in her steps. “We have to do all three?”

      “No, general education and wielding instruction are a must, but combat training is optional here.”

      “That’s good to know.” Wait, was combat training compulsory at the other two colleges? Britea was too nervous to ask.

      Danai smiled at the relieved expression on the younger’s girl’s face. “Combat isn’t that bad. Anyway, whatever classes you end up in, I’ll help anyway I can.”

      “Thanks. I’ll appreciate that,” said Britea faintly. As if she wasn’t worried enough already, now she had to anticipate trials.

       Oh joy.

      “So, what does general education cover?”

      “History, social studies, arithmetic, economics, ancient languages—which is optional—geography, and the sciences. The sciences are subdivided into engineering and biology. Some students do both; however, you’re allowed to choose one or the other.”

      Britea felt a bit dizzy with all the information. “It all sounds so complicated.”

      Danai gave her a sympathetic look. “You’ll get used to it.”

      Britea hoped so. “So, how many years will I have to spend here?”

      Danai grimaced before answering. “That depends on your current level of education.”

      Britea just stared at her.

      “Training usually takes six years.”

      Britea felt faint at the figure. She couldn’t go home for six years?!

      Danai continued. “Most students, on average, are twelve years old when they start, which is the usual age one begins to wield. By the time they graduate at eighteen, they must have passed all the compulsory general education subjects, and most importantly, they have to become accomplished wielders, meaning, they’re fully in control of their ability and ready for the Year of Discovery.”

      Britea was speechless for a moment, overwhelmed and saddened by what she was hearing. But then she realized something alarming. “But…but you only have one more year before you leave!”

      Danai tried to smile reassuringly, but it was tinged with sadness. “Aye. There is that. Cheer up, little sister. Let us not fret. My leaving is still a year away.” She patted Britea’s shoulder reassuringly.

      Britea’s chest felt uncomfortably tight. She had thought she had just met a friend only to realize Danai would be taken from her soon. She tried to swallow past the lump of dread in her throat.

      The two students reached the dining hall and joined the queue of students as they picked up trays. Britea looked at the trays of food. She didn’t feel hungry, but she knew she had to eat something. In the end, she got two slices of toasted bread with scrambled eggs and a mug of warm tea. She glanced over at her roommate’s tray, which had a lot more on it. She couldn’t help but wonder how Danai stayed so trim.

      “Danai, over here!” The two turned to see three students waving at them from one of the many tables in the hall.

      “These are my mates. We’re all in the fifth-year class. They were away over the weekend. Let’s sit with them.”

      Britea said nothing as her nervousness increased. She had stuck like glue to Danai for the last two days, so she was yet to really meet anyone.