"Dragons aren't dragons if they can't eat you." — Jordan B Peterson

I forgot to add the italics and line breaks. This is the proper version now. Sorry.

Grass. Lots of grass. Sky. More sky. Hey, is that a tree? Nope, more grass. And more sky. Lots of blue and lots of brown.

"Are we there yet?"

Sophie was afraid if Keefe said that one more time, Iltaurielle would dump him in a river.

"You will know when we get there." Iltaurielle's voice was calm and emotionless, never betraying how close she was to snapping, if she was at all.

Marella and Biana were deep in a conversation about school and other shallow topics, occasionally causing Iltaurielle to yell back at them to hurry and catch up.

"When will we be there?" Fitz asked, sitting up where he'd flopped on the grass during one of the few breaks they were allowed.

"Later today. You will be able to see the city soon. Calm down."

Fitz pouted.

"Alright, break's over. Back on the horse."

Three hours later, Iltaurielle halted her horse and gestured in front of her. "This is Egaeta."

Sophie's eyes widened. On the horizon before her, a massive white stone city rose. Well, city was an understatement. Her brain couldn't think of the proper word for a structure of this size. Both monolith and metropolis came to mind, but neither was really right. It was shaped sort of like Minas Tirith, it had the same kind of tiered layer cake look, but it was massive. She'd thought maybe it was about the same size, but three hours later it didn't look any closer.

"How big is that city?" Tam asked, shielding his eyes against the sun. "It must be just huge."

Iltaurielle nodded, taking a swig from her waterskin. "It is an enormous structure. It easily houses ten to twenty million people. We're still a few hours away yet. We'll be there by late afternoon. I've made all the arrangements remotely, so when we get there, you lot can go get settled into your rooms. Tomorrow, you'll report to my personal office and we'll hash out the details."

"If the city's that big, how are we supposed to navigate?"

"You won't be leaving the upper citadel without me for the first several months. Within the upper citadel it's hard to get lost. You just need to know how to find your rooms, my room and the training greens. If you can find that, you'll survive for a while and slowly learn where everything is during that time. And everyone's very friendly, you can just ask for directions. Alright, we'll stop for a quick break up here. We need to have a brief discussion."

By now, Sophie knew the word 'discussion' actually meant. Usually something like 'I'm about to take your view of life and shake it violently. You know this fact/custom/law/tradition in the Lost Cities? It doesn't exist now. Work around it.'

Sophie stopped her horse and dismounted, groaning when aching pain flared through her hips and thighs. She heard similar soft noises of pain as the rest of her friends swung off their horses. Fitz flopped backwards onto the grass, muttering under his breathing as he did.

"Sit up, Vacker." Iltaurielle did the strange thing where her legs collapsed under her into a perfect cross-legged position. "This is an important topic we need to broach." She waited for Fitz to sit up before she continued. "All of you are going to have to take off, and leave off, your family crests here. I let you wear them before, but I'm afraid you won't be able to continue wearing them in the capitol city. You're welcome to keep them, you should keep them. I can get you a small pendant necklace with the symbol engraved on it if it's that important to you, But you cannot openly wear the crests."

"Why not?" Dex reached up and loosely grasped his crest, running a thumb lightly over it.

"Because in order to give you the tools you need, I need to mold you into the perfect team. To do that, we need to break you down and find out who you are. Outside of everything you know, everything you've been told that you are. Those crests carry a meaning to you and that meaning's often not a positive one, or at least not positive to what I'm trying to do. They're not just a tie to your family, they're a symbol of status, of rank. They carry expectations and bad memories and old weight that is dragging you down. If you want something that's a reminder of your family, then I can get that for you. I personally have a locket bracelet with pictures of my husband and children in it. But I need you to find out who you are outside of that. Your surname should be just that, a name. Nothing more, nothing less. You can be proud of it, but it shouldn't define you."

Sophie was getting the feeling that it was mostly directed at Fitz and Biana.

Tam was the first to unfasten his pin and hand it to Iltaurielle. Linh followed. Both twins looked a little freer with the knowledge that they could build themselves into the person they decided they wanted to be, not the personas society had chosen for them.

Sophie didn't want to give hers up, but she unpinned it and put it in her saddlebag. At first, she'd grumbled internally at Iltaurielle's words, but the Ancient elf was right. The crest did indeed carry the promise and love of her family, but it also carried the expectations of the Lost Cities, the pressure to fit in, and the glaring problems of the Lost Cities' system. It was time for her to change herself, not be molded by outside forces.

Keefe unpinned his crest, staring at it. His eyes misted slightly and he quickly blinked the moisture back. Before he could second-guess himself, he tossed the pin to Iltaurielle, sitting up just a little straighter.

Fitz and Biana both looked unsure. Sophie could see on their faces they understood the point Iltaurielle was making, but they didn't want to give up what they felt was their only link to home. Biana fiddled with the clasp, clicking it back and forth. Fitz clung to his, the edges of the pin probably digging into his hands.

"You don't have to give them to me if you don't want to. Or take them off immediately. But they will need to be off and put away before we enter the city. For those over sixteen, you are legal adults in Adeala. As the apprenticeship isn't legally binding yet, I still have paperwork to do, I cannot order you to do anything. This does not apply to anyone under sixteen. If you are sixteen or older, I cannot order you to do anything until the apprenticeship is finalised and I have legal authority over you. So you could keep your pin, but for your safety and for the reasons I already stated, I would suggest you don't."

Biana sighed. "Fine." She unfastened the pin and pulled it off reluctantly. "As long as I can get that necklace."

"You have my word." Iltaurielle tucked the two Song pins and the Sencen pin into her saddlebag.

Fitz looked up, eyes defiant. "I'm keeping mine on. I'm sixteen. You can't make me take it off."

"Alright." Iltaurielle shrugged, unconcerned. "Keep it then. Marella? Dex?"

Marella bit her lip. "I do want some kind of memento. This is my first time leaving home."

Iltaurielle's brow furrowed. "You didn't go to the Black Swan with everyone else?"

Marella shook her head, braids swinging. "No. I wasn't part of the Black Swan. Sophie and I weren't really friends and also I didn't break the law."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize that. Hand me your crest please?" Iltaurielle dug around in her pocket and pulled out a length of leather cord. Marella unpinned her family crest and handed it to Iltaurielle. The Ancient elf tied a complicated knot around the pin so it would now function as a necklace and handed it back. "Will that work for now until we can get you something less bulky?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Marella pulled the cord over her head and tucked the crest pendant under her shirt.

Biana looked up, indignant. "Why can't you do that for everyone?"

"Because life's not fair, Princess Prettypants. You're not five. Marella's situation is different than yours. You're going to have to deal with other people getting things when you don't. I'm not going to go out of my way to placate your feewings. Feel free to call yourself a Vacker, but that name means nothing here."

Dex unpinned his crest and tossed it to Iltaurielle. She caught it a few inches from her palm and sent in to her saddlebag with a wave of her hand, still staring Biana down.

Biana flinched at the old nickname and looked down at her lap, chastised.

"Break's over. Thanks to Miss Vacker, we're cutting it short. It's about time all of you learned your actions have consequences for everyone. Get back on your horses and get started cantering. You don't get to slow down until I tell you."

Sophie groaned. She was going to be so sore and tired.

Dex shot Biana a glare as he remounted his horse. Most everyone else followed suit and Biana ducked her head, getting back on her gelding without a word.

Sophie was stunned as they rode up to the gates. She craned her neck as far as it would go and she still couldn't see the top of the wall. The gates went nearly to the top of the wall, the massive metal panels arching up to meet each other. The walls were made of enormous stone blocks, did they even count as blocks when they were this size? They had to be the size of a house! From the gate, the white stone stretched on in the distance, curving around the city. Sophie knew they were only seeing a very small section of the city's outer wall.

This was a truly incredible feat of engineering.

"Whoa…" Dex let his reins drop and his horse came to a stop next to hers. "This city has got to be bigger than anything I've ever seen before."

"I think it's bigger than Ravagog, and that's an entire mountain!" Keefe shielded his eyes, looking up at the wall.

Iltaurielle stopped, giving them a few minutes to gape at the sheer size of the city. Sophie noticed she was smirking.

Fitz opened his mouth to say something and closed it again. He stared dumbfounded at the massive city gates.

"Okay. Wow. That's a big city."

Sophie twisted in her saddle to find out where Marella was. She was behind and to Sophie's right, fiddling with the cord her family crest was on. Like the rest of them, she was stunned by just how big this city was.

"When you said between ten and twenty million people, I don't think I got how big that actually is.

Iltaurielle turned her horse around, trotting in a ring around their group and herding the horses back together. "The populated section of the city isn't actually as big as you would think. It's designed to be both a centre of commerce and the capital city of the Adealan Empire, but it's also a stronghold. We can withdraw the entire civilian population into the upper city and house most of the villages in these plains without putting a real strain on our resources. And we have the gulf and docks where we can retreat by sea. The first ring of the city houses just the armies and guards of the city. The second and third are mostly markets and taverns and the living space for the majority of the populace. That is where the commerce and trade takes place. There is also a direct road to the docks on the Rasajan Gulf to the south of the city from the third level, which is where Linh will be doing the majority of her training, on the cliffs above the ocean. Between the second and third levels is another large wall that we can retreat behind and leave the first and second levels to house our military and fight without endangering the people."

"Are we actually going to go inside or stand out here and listen to you talk?" Tam nudged his horse with his heels and urged it forward a few steps.

"Don't worry. I'm just waiting for the idiots at the gate to realize we're here. It's a game we play. They're supposed to be able to recognise telepathic presences and let people in. We have a time limit and if they don't sense me within five minutes, they pay me a jaria for every minute until they do. If they sense me and let me in within that time, I owe them five jarias."

"What's a ya-ri-a?" Keefe asked, looking confused.

The massive gates creaked and slid back into the walls a few feet each, leaving an approximately eight-foot gap. "There we are!" Iltaurielle grinned. "Jaria is the main currency in Adeala. It's worth a bit more than a luster apiece. There are other currencies, but every shop in Adeala is required to accept jarias as a method of payment. It's what all of you will be paid in."

"Wait, paid?" Fitz's nose scrunched up. "Why would we be getting paid?"

"Because you will be performing a service for the city throughout your apprenticeship and it would be remiss not to? Besides, you're going to need to buy things and for that you need money."

"Why can't we just use our birth funds?"

Iltaurielle stared at the city's wall like she desperately wanted to bang her head against it as hard as she could. She turned her horse and trotted inside the gates.

Sophie cringed. She knew by now that meant Iltaurielle could not believe what had just come out of Fitz's mouth and had to take some time to process the stupidity of that question.

They followed Iltaurielle into the city and were immediately distracted from getting the answer to Fitz's question.

The city was bright and welcoming already and they were only in the military ring of the city. It was only going to get more impressive as they went up. They were riding on a wide avenue between a few buildings that probably served as barracks and other military structures and large courtyards and greens with archery ranges or sparring rings. The area was heavily populated from soldiers doing drills in the stone-tiled courtyards to who Sophie presumed were military officers discussing affairs outside a large building labelled in words she couldn't read. All of the signs were written in words she couldn't read.

Iltaurielle was greeted by cheers and salutes. She was clearly loved by the soldiers here and she returned their affections, waving to them and calling out to the ones she knew. Sophie was expecting to be able to understand what everyone was saying, but to her surprise and dismay, it sounded like gibberish to her. She glanced around and everyone else looked just as confused as she was.

Except for Dex.

A few people were calling out greetings to them and Dex was answering in the same language. He didn't seem to register that they were speaking a different language or that no one else understood anything.

That was weird.

She leaned over to whisper to Biana, "Can you understand what they're saying?"

Biana glanced around and shook her head. "No. What are they saying?"

"I have no idea. I don't think my Polyglot sense works here. All of this is really weird, but I haven't been able to understand anything beside the weird common language everyone's been using with us."

"That's bad."

"Really?"

"I mean, I don't know what else it would be. That's never happened before."

Sophie had seen a picture of the upper citadel before, believing it to be the majority of the city. She was having a hard time understanding the scale of the city, despite her exposure to structures like Luminaria and Eternalia. The massive gates that separated the upper and lower city were pinholes compared to the monumental size of the gleaming iron doors in front of her. If she had to guess how big they were, she would say easily taller than Evenglen as a whole. They weren't as big as the main city gates, but they were plenty intimidating.

"Why are the gates so big?" Fitz asked, staring up at the molded design on the front.

"Dragons." Iltaurielle glanced back just long enough to give them a knowing smirk, then turned back to the gates, trotting through as they opened.

If she'd had a positive reception before, this was pure hero worship. The streets around them were packed with people waving and cheering. There was less of the diversity Sophie was used to, but her eyes widened when she realized that none of the people in front of her were the elves she was used to.

The majority of the crowd were humans and elves. They are about equal with each other, scattered around and packed together. The elves were more what she'd been expected when she'd first gone to the Lost Cities, tall, willowy, and graceful pointed ears. There were children of both races running out of the crowd to wave to Iltaurielle.

In between the humans and elves, mostly in front of them, were dwarves. Thick beards, short and stout. Again, what she'd initially been expecting. But startling after living in the Lost Cities for three years.

Iltaurielle dismounted, happily accepting hugs and small trinkets from the children that congregated to her. The adults didn't try to stop their children from joining the small mob, often encouraging them instead. And Iltaurielle accepted each and every gift she was given with a bright smile.

"She's really popular here." Keefe looked around, confused. "But you know what's really weird? My ability has been flipping out ever since we got here. At first I thought it was just the stress and stuff, but the closer we got to here, the worse it's gotten. I can feel everyone's emotions without physical contact. It's like a barrier I didn't know was there is gone and now all I have to do is think about someone and I know what they're feeling. I can't do that with Iltaurielle though, and certain others. It seems to just be random though."

Sophie pulled her horse back to ride level with Keefe. "Mine are being weird too. My Polyglot sense isn't translating anything. We knew my telepathy was being weird, but now it's being weirder. There's ton of humans around and usually their thoughts are blasting into my head, but it's just silent. The kids I can get a feel for but the adults are just, it's like they're not there. I don't know what's going on."

"That's starting to be the running theme of this thing." Tam commented.

"Starting to be?"

"Yeah, you're right. Has anyone ever known what was going on?"

Iltaurielle remounted her horse, continuing to wave to the crowd. She had to go much slower than before, stopping frequently to distribute hugs and handshakes and accept gifts. She couldn't reach everyone, but she made an effort to give a moment of attention to every child she could.

Sophie was beginning to get a little tired of the whole thing as their trek through the city stretched on to a full hour.

Fitz steered his horse to ride next to her and leaned over to mutter. "If this is what she has to deal with every time she goes through the city, I don't blame her for being grumpy."

"Um, guys?" Keefe shot Sophie a nervous look.

The crowd they were passing that had seen their fill of their Lady General now turned to her apprentices. All joy instantly bled from them. Parents steered their children away, murmurs swept through the throngs of people like wildfire. Staring with thinly-veiled distaste at the newcomers.

But not at all of them, Sophie realized.

None of the muttering or glares were directed at Dex. Few at Keefe or Linh. She herself was mostly ignored. But at the Vackers and Marella, the dislike was scathing. Especially since most people were staring right at the pin on Fitz's throat.

She didn't dare speak out loud, but telepathy was only marginally more private. It would have to do in the situation.

Fitz, there might be a reason she told us to take our pins off.

What?

Look around. Most people are looking at you.

So? I'm used to it. Famous family remember?

She cringed slightly as the air turned boiling angry. People were starting to take notice of her and apparently some of the telepaths in the crowd realized she was talking to Fitz, implying some familiarity. Yeah, I don't think it's that kind of famous here.

What are you talking about?

I think you're Twilight famous, not Harry Potter famous.

He gave her a confused frown. What does that mean?

Sorry. Human books. Twilight is famous for being terrible in almost every aspect. I think that's their general attitude towards you. Seriously, put your pin away. These people have no problem getting violent, remember?

Iltaurielle won't let them get to that point.

How much do you really believe that? Sophie yelped when her horse tripped and stumbled forward. She glanced down, confused. A young child, about ten, had their hand raised as if using telekinesis. They smiled when her horse stumbled and lowered their hand, vanishing into the crowd.

The reality of the situation briefly flickered across his face. But stubbornness and ego hardened his features and he pushed on, abruptly cutting off the connection.

Sophie kept her head down, murmuring to herself, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

The initial heat got better as they continued riding. People stopped paying attention to them on the fourth and fifth levels, going about their daily lives with nary a glance to spare at the newcomers. They still waved to Iltaurielle and a few small children ran up to greet her, but they seemed far more used to her presence.

There was a final large gate between the main levels of the city and the citadel. This one was far fancier than the other ones, inlaid with gold and jewels and carved with a level of craftsmanship Sophie had never seen before. She glanced around and noticed even Fitz looked impressed.

The gate opened and this time Iltaurielle didn't keep riding. She dismounted and led her horse to a long low building with large openings on either end just inside the gate. Sophie wasn't sure what she should do, so she nudged the horse with her heels and walked forward.

Iltaurielle was chatting amicably with the stable hands as she untacked her horse. She went to put the saddle away and a younger boy about thirteen nabbed it off the back of her horse before she could. The Ancient elf laughed, chasing him a few paces before scooping both boy and saddle up and tickling him until he gave up the saddle and let her put it away.

The same younger boy came running up to Sophie and reached up to take her reins. He asked her a question in Adealan, blue eyes bright.

Her brow furrowed. "I'm sorry, I don't understand you."

He looked confused and then smiled, switching to the Enlightened Language. "Sorry. Can you understand me now?" His accent was odd, but his voice friendly and musical.

"Yeah."

"I asked if I could take care of your horse for you. That is, if Isha will let me. She prefers it if people will take care of their own horses."

The way he spoke their language without spitting out every word make Sophie smile. "I actually had no idea how to take care of a horse. If you could show me, that would be great. Who's Isha?"

"Isha means auntie." He grasped the reins next to the horse's bit and led it into the stable. "Duck your head coming in. Iltaurielle's my auntie. I usually help out in the stables when I'm done with my bookwork. I like taking care of equines. Elmarsë says I might be able to work at the Bryjiskr when I'm older."

"The…what?"

"The Bryjiiskr. Do you know how to dismount?"

"Yeah. I can do that. I need help with untacking still."

Iltaurielle sighed, pacing the length of the balcony attached to her rooms. She would never tell her apprentices, but she was a little worried. Ever since they set foot on Adealan soil, they'd become increasingly more powerful. She'd expected them to be average strength, maybe a little more. But without the strange restrictions of the Lost Cities, their true abilities were unfolding. The only thing stopping them from reaching for it was the psychological barriers and brainwashing they'd endured their whole lives. If they figured out what they were capable of without proper training to restrain themselves and keep their personal discipline, she would be a little more than worried.

She'd be scared.

Iltaurielle leaned against the railing, watching her nephew show them around. Endual's talent with people would be wasted on a remote island like the Bryjiiskr. In five minutes, he had six out of eight completely at ease. Sophie was smiling as Endual pointed out the training arena, archery range, and sparring ring that were restricted for Iltaurielle's personal use and those she authorised. The wind was starting to pick up, Endual's collarbone-length platinum blond hair flying in his face. He laughed, brushing it behind his ears.

Iltaurielle smiled. She remembered when her only nephew was just a tiny thing. His mother had finally relented and let her son take the journey to the capital city to study and perhaps apprentice to one of the skilled Horsemasters of the city.

Fitz said something that made a confused look pass over Endual's face. Iltaurielle's brow furrow, stretching out her mind to feel the emotions around the conversation.

Fitz was angry. Sophie was shocked, and embarrassed at his behavior. Endual was confused and a little hurt, not understanding why Fitz was angry and wondering if he'd done something wrong.

She sent him reassurance and a telepathic message. Don't worry, nephew mine. You did nothing wrong. Could you bring them up to my personal office please? I need to talk to them and get them settled in their rooms. Also, your tutor told me you are studying the Oakenshield Company in history. May I suggest talking to your uncle? He knows the story very well.

He met her eyes across the distance and gave her a slight nod. Endual started running toward the hidden door leading to the small passages that ran through the walls, waving for the others to follow him. Iltaurielle smiled, being sure to wave a hand and disable the trap and locking mechanism on the door. She turned and walked back to her desk, sitting primly with her hands steepled in front of her. It would take some time for them to get up to her, so she used the time to school her expression into that of the Lady General.

Unbidden, a picture of their cat when he was a tiny kitten popped into her head and ruined everything. She groaned, slumping her head on her desk.

To say Sophie was shocked would be an understatement. She was looking everywhere except where she was going.

She'd through Eternalia was impressive. It couldn't touch this.

Vaulted ceilings stretched above them, white stone carefully carved around windows and doors and the occasional huge archway that led into other halls and sometimes just to a ledge outside, the city sprawling out below them.

When Tam frowned at the large open arches with no way to cover them and asked what they were for, Endual just shrugged and said, "Dragons."

The door to Iltaurielle's personal office looked very similar to every other door they had passed. Solid, dark wood hard enough to stop a missile, according to Endual. How he knew that, Sophie didn't want to know.

Endual knocked on the door. "Isha, it's me. We're here!"

"Come in. I believe you have practicals you are supposed to be doing, my young nephew."

He pouted. "But I'm your favourite nephew right?"

Iltaurielle chuckled. "You're my only nephew."

Endual left and Sophie pushed open the door.

Iltaurielle's 'personal office' was a bit more than an office. It was large, like pretty much everything in Egaeta. There was a large archway in the opposite wall that led out to a wide balcony. Sophie didn't get much time to study the room. Iltaurielle stood, hands clasped behind her back. Her desk was in front of the archway, but with ample space between the two.

"Please don't linger in the doorway, you're letting in a draft."

Fitz scowled. "You're standing in front of a giant opening in the wall. If there's a draft, it's not from the door."

Iltaurielle raised a scathing eyebrow. "If you would rather I not be polite, I can do that."

Fitz took that as his cue to be quiet.

There were only two chairs in front of Iltaurielle's desk. Fitz lounged in one, disdain clear in his posture. Biana took the other without hesitation

Iltaurielle gave him a look. "I see they don't teach common courtesy."

"What are you talking about?" For once, Fitz looked more confused than angry.

Iltaurielle sat down again and sighed. "When there are not enough seats, you always defer to the injured, your leader, and the ladies, in that order. You are none of those things."

"But—"

"I wouldn't argue, if I were you." Green eyes flashed gold and her tone dipped into dangerous territory. She gave Biana a look. "In this case, your injured would be Tam. Your leader is Sophie. When it comes to seating arrangements, you will always defer to Sophie. She will defer to those that are injured in a manner that leaves them incapable of standing for long periods of time. Am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Biana grumbled. Both Vackers stood. When no one else made a move to sit, Iltaurielle sighed again.

"Tam, Sophie, in this situation, you would be the ones to sit. I had hoped you could derive that from what I said, but if I have to spell it out, that is what I will do. Hopefully, this lesson will stick and I will not have to repeat myself in the future."

Sophie glanced at Tam and both of them took a seat.

"Alright. I've completed the paperwork for your apprenticeships and the only thing left is the contracts. I need each of you to sign one which I will also be signing. They aren't anything special, just a code of conduct really. But they outline a few important things."

"Like what?" Tam narrowed his eyes. "I'm not signing until I know what's on that paper."

There was a flash of pride in Iltaurielle's eyes. "Would you like to read it?"

"Yes please."

She handed him the paper. Tam glanced at it and scowled. "This is written in Adealan. I can't read it. Do you have a copy in the Enlightened Language?"

The corners of Iltaurielle's mouth tilted up slightly and she handed him a copy written in the Enlightened Language.

"Do we have to sign now?"

"No." Sophie was getting the distinct feeling that Iltaurielle was pleased. Which was strange because Tam was being very distrustful and standoffish and even a little rude. She would've thought Iltaurielle wouldn't like that, but the Ancient elf had a pleased smile on her face as she said, "You don't have to sign now, but legally you have to sign by the end of the week or go home. I don't think you want to go home at this point, so I would suggest signing sooner rather than later."

"Are we allowed to make changes?" Tam frowned as he read the paper carefully. "If so, how drastic?"

"No. It's the standard contract for every apprenticeship of your level. If you have a large concern, talk to me about it and we'll find a solution."

"Okay." He finished reading and handed it back. "It looks fine, but there's a few things I don't understand. Can I talk to you later about them?"

Iltaurielle was almost preening now. "Of course. If I'm not in this office or my military office, just ask most any of the guards or my nephew if you can find him."

Sophie reached for the translated contact. "May I read it?"

"Of course."

It had a lot of legal fluff, but it boiled down to: they would follow orders, respect Iltaurielle's authority over them, respect local customs, understand the chain of command and their place in it, and accept correction when it was given. Sophie did notice how loose it was in terms of what Iltaurielle could have them do. "It looks kind of like you can just have us do whatever you want."

"That is exactly what it is saying. In order to teach effectively, I need a lot of free rein. Many others disagree with my methods, but no one can deny their benefit."

"What is there stopping you from, I dunno, sending us on a suicide run?"

"The law and my conscious. We are required to always provide adequate backup and reinforcements when we send our apprentices out on a mission without an experienced hand. I will send you out on what will look like a suicide mission. But I am required by law to have enough reinforcements to be able to get you out of the situation safely in every eventuality. I'm not required to tell you about these reinforcements and you may never know they are there. But I have to have them there."

"This seems really loosey-goosey for a standard contract." Marella wrinkled her nose, reading it over Sophie shoulder.

Iltaurielle leaned back in her chair. "It is standard for my position. I am a Senior Lady-General. The way the ranking works is you first have General, which is the same rank as generals in human or what-have-you militaries, then you have Knight- or Lady-General, Senior General, and lastly Senior Knight- or Lady-General. Each rank is extremely hard to attain and one only gets to this position in the military and the Empress's court if you are an exceptional tactician, a skilled fighter, and in my case a brilliant spy. As such, those at my rank are allowed much more freedom than any other rank above or below us. It's why many choose not to be promoted above it."

Sophie handed the contract behind her to Marella. "I'll sign now."

"Alright. Can you write with a quill?"

"Uhhh, no."

Iltaurielle laughed. "Tell you a little secret, I can't really either." She pulled five or six ballpoint pens out of her desk. "Here. I sign with a quill for the practice, but most of my writing is done by hand."

Sophie signed where Iltaurielle pointed and handed her the pen. Iltaurielle signed her name with a flourish and set the pen down.

"You are now my apprentice. That means whatever I tell you to do, you then have to do. Drop, ten pushups, now."

Sophie rolled her eyes.

"Now, Miss Moonlark."

"Is this another lesson?"

"Yes. Making sure you know how to do a proper pushup. Physical fitness is very important."

Sophie sighed and stood, walking over to a clear space and dropping down. Her arms weren't strong enough to do full pushups, so she was on her knees.

"Not quite. If you're going to do them on your knees, treat them like the fulcrum on a level. Shins at a ninety-degree angle from your thighs. All the way down until your nose touches the floor and back up, ten times."

She adjusted her position and counted slowly, standing when she'd completed the set.

Iltaurielle nodded. "Good. Is anyone else signing now?"

Marella set the translated contract down on her desk. "I will."

"Here's your contract and a pen, unless you can write with a quill?"

"Nope. Never learned how." Marella signed her name.

"And there's mine." Iltaurielle grinned, adding her swirling signature. "Drop, ten pushups."

She groaned, flicking her braids over her shoulder, but she dropped and did ten pushups anyway.

"Anyone else? I've got the contracts all ready for you."

Dex stepped forward and picked up the pen. "I'll sign mine now. I trust you."

She didn't hand him the contract. "Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you trust me?"

"Um, I don't know, because you're a friend of my dad's?"

"Wrong. You shouldn't trust me until I have earned that trust. That isn't a free pass to disobey orders" —she gave Fitz a pointed look—"but it does mean always fact-check until that person has irrevocably earned your trust. Even then, ask questions. Check sources. Get a second opinion. Always. It's much harder to fool someone who asks questions."

Dex nodded. "Okay. I still feel comfortable signing."

"I didn't say anything about that. I said don't trust me until I've earned it." They both signed the contract and Iltaurielle added it to the pile.

"Let me guess, ten pushups."

She narrowed her eyes at him and smirked. "Fifteen."

Sophie almost ran into Iltaurielle, not realising she'd stopped. The halls they were in now, that apparently housed other apprentices of high-ranking generals and member of the Council of Kings, were much more ornate than the ones they'd passed before. The carving on the walls were embellished with gold and the arched windows in a common study area between wings of rooms had the clearest, cleanest glass Sophie had ever seen.

"Do try to keep your balance, Miss Moonlark." Iltaurielle raised an eyebrow at her. "This will be your room during your stay." She opened the door and Sophie's jaw dropped.

It wasn't her room at Havenfield, but it might just be better.

Like everything else in the citadel, it had been carved directly from the mountain. The room was large, with a high, vaulted ceiling embellished with gold and other metals. The large bed was set against the lefthand wall with a plush area rug underneath it. It was plainer than she was used to, but the polished wood and gold-leafed engraving made it regal and impressive. There was an end table next to the bed and what looked like a large closet behind a set of thick curtains.

Iltaurielle led them inside. "This is a fairly standard room. We mix things up in each room so that it is not too standardised, but they have all the same amenities."

Sophie looked around. "Wow."

There were three large arched windows in the righthand wall. The centre one, directly across from the foot of the bed, opened to a large balcony. There was no door or obvious screen from the outdoors, like nearly every other balcony in the city.

"What's stopping cold air and bugs and birds and stuff from getting in?" Sophie gestured to the open archway.

"A very handy invention discovered by my Ilfinarugën cousins. It's a weather screen. It works like a wall, but allows most beings to pass through it at will. The settings are modifiable, one can allow or block sound, on hot nights let a breeze in, allow a specific creature you may have tamed or otherwise know, things like that. We do appreciate glass, but it can make a space feel too enclosed. The other two windows are glassed."

"Cool." There was a large desk under the left window, showered with light. It was simple and study, but the craftsmanship was exquisite. There was already stacks of paper and a quill set with ink and blotters waiting to be used. The right window lit a small sitting area with a bookshelf, two very comfortable looking armchairs, and a thick plush rug.

"I kinda like this room."

"Good. You'll be living in it for the next two years." Iltaurielle turned on her heel and went to leave.

"Wait what?" Sophie whirled around. "We'll be here for two years?"

Iltaurielle turned to face her, confused eyebrow raised. "How long did you think you would be here?"

"A few months, if that."

Iltaurielle snorted out an incredulous laugh. "A few months? Sophie, a normal apprenticeship can take up to eight years depending on your area of study and intensity of the course! You should be taking a four-year apprenticeship, but I shortened it to two years because you don't have that long to wait and I thought the Council might mind if I borrowed their moonlark for that long. In what world does an intensive military apprenticeship take a few months? Not even our most expendable of soldiers are ever sent into battle with only a few months of training."

Dex was the only one who wasn't taken by storm. Fitz looked like he was going to throw a fit. "We're here for two flipping years? I thought this was maybe a month or so! I have school! In September! All of us do!"

"I am aware. I will be taking charge of your next two years of education. I guarantee it will be a much higher quality than anything the Lost Cities can provide you and far more interesting."

"But what about my parents?" Marella looked a little green.

Iltaurielle sighed. "They will be fine. I am a master at nearly all forms of the telepathic arts. Your parents will know you are safe. I cannot share any information about the Adealan Empire, but they will know you are safe."

"You can't do that! It's illegal!"

"Considering nearly everything I do is a violation in one court of law or another, you'll have to be a little more specific, Master Vacker." An accent was starting to slip into Iltaurielle's voice, lending her words a lilting quality.

"You can't just mess with people's minds!"

She sighed. "And what exactly do you propose I do instead?" Iltaurielle took a long stride forward, staring down at Fitz with the easily eight inches of height she had on him. "As it is your parents are terrified. They're sure you've been kidnapped. Your Council is scouring the known world for you. What would you rather I do? Violate your antiquated law system or leave your parents to believe they've lost all their children? As a mother myself, I would much rather have someone messing with my head to have that reassurance that my children are okay."

Iltaurielle left the words hanging in the air, staring Fitz down. After a few seconds, his eyes dropped to the ground and he took a step back. "I'm sorry. That was out of line."

"Yes it bloody was," she muttered under her breath. "Sophie, familiarise yourself with your surroundings and see if the clothes in the closet fit you. We can of course have them altered. The rest of you, you'll follow me. I will show you to your rooms. You will all have an hour or so to acquaint yourself with your accommodations before I expect you to report to the armoury and be fitted for stand-in weapons and armour. After that, one of my battalion commandants will show you how to find the training grounds. Pay attention and make sure you remember the path. The evening meal begins roughly half an hour before sunset at this time of year. You're either there or you don't eat. Ask any old sap how to find the mess hall and don't forget it."

Iltaurielle strode out of the room, back ramrod straight. The others glanced between themselves, discomfort and anxiety echoed in each face. They left after her without a word.

Sophie flopped down on her new bed and sighed. Adeala and her apprenticeship just kept getting more complicated.

So! As I said in the first chapter, I am taking November off to work on other projects. I will be back on the first Saturday of December. I will still be responding to reviews and pretty active on this site, just not updating. At least I didn't leave you on a cliffhanger like last time. The same policy applies on review, reviewers will gett a teaser for the next chapter, just let me know if you don't want one. Guest reviews will be answered at the start of the next chapter. I'm sorry I didn't do that for the one a few chapters ago. Bad Ruby. I'll try to be better about that.

Shine brightly and see you in December!

Ruby