(Starla)
As I walked toward the door, I glanced back. Azkan was still sitting at the table, his hands clenched, his gaze fixed on me. Terrifying with a hint of distrust, and yet I didn’t fear him.
Alistair was waiting for me with Doodles snugly curled up in his arms.
"I hope brother broody didn’t give you too much trouble."
I shook my head. "Nothing I can’t handle."
"That’s the spirit." We began walking.
The corridors of the Last Stronghold were busier now, full of people going about their duties. Alistair navigated them with ease, greeting everyone he passed with a wave or a joke.
"How do you do that?" I asked. "How do you make everyone smile and be so carefree even with me? You don’t even know me?"
He glanced at me, his ocean eyes soft, almost twinkling.
"I learned a long time ago that life is too short to be serious all the time." He paused. "Our mother taught us to be happy and positive no matter what life throws at you. Azkan forgot that lesson. Aksel and I didn’t. I remember her saying that laughter was the best weapon against the dark."
His smile dimmed, became nostalgic. "She passed away a few years ago."
I felt something twist in my chest. "I am sorry. You miss her."
"Every day." His grin returned, but it was softer now. "But I think she would be happy to know I am still laughing."
I returned his smile. "She will be proud of you."
"And regarding you. I don’t know, but I have this positive feeling about you. Like you are someone we had been waiting for a while now..." He brightly smiled at me.
But behind that smile, there was something he wasn’t telling me. I could sense it. Alistair had a secret, and I needed to find out what it was. No Beastman could trust a human in merely hours of meeting them, especially when distrust ran so deep.
We reached a massive door, and Alistair pushed it open.
"Welcome," he said, sweeping his arm dramatically, "to the Academy."
I stepped through and stopped. It was a vast, open, stony area
Everywhere I looked, there were children.
Young Beastmen of every shape and size filled the place. Some were practising with wooden swords, their movements clumsy but determined. A few were training in beast form, small wolves, bears, and something that looked like a fox with too many tails. A few grown Beastmen were guiding them through it.
"The Academy," Alistair said, his voice soft with pride. "Where we train the next generation of sentinels."
I stared at the scene before me. The children were so focused, so serious. They reminded me of something. Of someone.
Me. When I was young. When I first learned to guide.
A few curiously glanced in my direction, halting their training.
Even their trainers watched me with unease, their foreheads furrowed.
"Come," Alistair said, tugging my arm. "I want to show you something." I followed.
He led me deeper into the chamber, past the training grounds, past the study areas. We reached a wall covered in massive colourful banners, each one bearing a different symbol, a different crest.
Awestruck, I observed.
"The clan banners," he explained, gesturing. "Every clan that has pledged their warriors to the Wall has a banner here. The Wolf Clans. The Bear Clans. The Raven Clans. The Fox Clans." He pointed to a banner near the centre; a blue dragon coiled around a mountain peak. "That one’s ours. The Dragon Clans," he proudly revealed.
I walked closer to the wall, mesmerised and studying each banner. There were dozens of them. Each one represented a Beastman family, a history, a legacy of sacrifice.
"Every child who trains here comes from one of these clans," Alistair continued. "They bring their traditions, their magic, their strengths, their energy. The Academy blends them and teaches them to fight as one, to stand as one." He paused, his voice growing quieter. "It’s what makes us strong. Unity. Even when the clans disagree, even when they hate each other, they come together for the Wall."
I felt something shift in my chest. Alistair hadn’t said it, but I knew they all gathered to fight one common enemy.
Humans. There were monsters too but humans were the ones they hated the most.
"It’s fascinating. Thank you for sharing and showing it to me."
"My pleasure."
We continued our tour. Alistair showed me the observation deck, where Sentinels kept watch over the Wall stretching for miles in either direction. He showed me the armoury, the forge, and the library filled with ancient texts. So many leather-bound books under one roof left me fascinated, and I knew this would become my favourite spot in my leisure time.
And then he showed me the training arena for young adult Beastmen.
It was a massive circular space, surrounded by tiers of seats carved from black stone. In the centre, a group of young Beastmen were sparring and fighting, their movements swift and brutal.
"They are training for their trials," Alistair informed me, leaning against the railing. "Every child must pass the Gauntlet before they can become Sentinels. It’s the hardest test they will ever face."
I watched as a young wolf-beastman was knocked to the ground by his opponent. He scrambled to his feet, his ears flat against his skull, and charged again.
"What is the Gauntlet?" I asked, curious. My eyes were taking in everything this fascinating place had to offer.
"A series of challenges. Combat. Strategy. Resilience." Alistair continued to explain. "And the last test, the one that breaks most of them, is the Trial of the Mind. They must face their deepest fear and overcome it."
I felt a chill trickle down my spine. Face your deepest fear and overcome it.
What would I see? What would break me? Seeing my sister get hurt?
I pushed the thought away and shook my head.
So," Alistair said, turning to me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I have been showing you everything the Stronghold has to offer. But I haven’t asked you the most important question."
"What is that?"
"What can you do?" He leaned closer, his gaze sharp. "I know you are a guide. I know you reached Aksel. But there is something else, isn’t there? Something you haven’t told anyone in a long time."