Chapter 1: Just another day
Sighing, Karigan wearily placed the last annual report for hay consumption on the top of the pile. 'Thank the spirits', she muttered, 'any more and you would begin to think I was one of my father's accountants, not a green rider". She stood and stretched muscles tight from too many hours of paperwork. She mulled over her options for the remaining hour off. In the end, the root of her need to become a rider gave her direction. Karigan pocketed an apple and headed in the direction of the horse pastures.
"Condor!" she whistled, "Here boy." The horse in question ambled over in his own time and stared Karigan down. "I know," she murmured guiltily, "I promise I haven't neglected you on purpose, I really have been busy". Condor seemed to accept this apology, or more accurately, the offering of a bribe and whickered in her ear before giving her a gentle nudge. Karigan laughed and once he had finished the apple, saddled him up. As they began to canter around the practice fields, she felt all the concerns of the last few days plus a few she hadn't realised she was carrying melt away with the warmth of the sun on her back. The feeling of freedom she experienced when riding with her special friend always seemed to make the cares of the world matter just a little bit less. After the warm up and fresh air had put both of them in a better mood, she walked Condor into the stables to give him a quick groom and change his water bucket. Just then the bell rang to signal midday and she swore. She hadn't realised how late it was! Leaving the rest of Condor's care to a stable hand, Karigan raced to the practice grounds and arrived just as the last bell rang, with not a breath to spare.
"Girl', growled Drent, 'you're late!"
Karigan mumbled an apology, which Drent ignored. "No use apologising with words girl, it won't save you in a fight. Do an extra 5 laps with double the weights." Karigan stared at him then trudged off to collect her apparatus, knowing that to disagree with Drent would mean even more weights and laps. She began running and was cursing Drent a quarter of the way though for changing their practice time to midday bell, the hottest part of the day. Builds character, he had said. Well, she thought to herself grimly, I happen to like my character as it is. By the end, Karigan was weak, hot, irritated and dripping with sweat. She stood there mute as Drent prepared the next exercise. Grinning evilly at her, he held up a pair of iron torture devices designed to keep her feet hobbled together and slowly pulled them tighter than usual. "Now, let's have some fun girl…"
Karigan's legs trembled. Her fingers trembled. She was pretty sure even her ears trembled. She did not know how she had managed to reach the Rider's Barracks from the practice yards. The distance had seemed as far as an eternity. She collapsed into a bath that some thoughtful rider – probably a thoughtful, young male rider – had readied for her. Groaning at the joy of beginning to feel human, Karigan cleaned herself then rested her sore muscles in the heat. She woke to find the bath on the colder side of warm and heaved herself out. Once she was dressed, she headed for Captain Mapstone's study as per her orders.
* * * * *
Captain Mapstone hid a smile at the look of Karigan's face. 'I don't think I've ever seen someone so happy when ordered on an errand to Mirwell Province" she thought. 'Maybe it has something to do with Drent!' Of course Karigan was ecstatic; a week on the rode with herself, the horse and the star studded night sky. How could any rider wish for more than that? And of course, it also helped tremendously that Drent would not be there to torture her on a daily basis. She didn't know if it was her imagination, but it seemed like he took extra pleasure in training her and pushed her far harder than any of his other students. Karigan bowed to her Captain, "Certainly, Captain". The captain nodded briskly. "Good. Be prepared to ride at dawn tomorrow. It should be a simple ride. Send these dispatches to Lord Timas, liaise with Beryl and report anything unusual." Karigan noticed the emphasis the Captain placed on the word 'should' and she barely restrained herself from pointing out that not all of her rides ended up like a mystical fantasy; that was, of course, until she remembered that they did.