A ikanáro woke up that morning as usual. He got out of his nice, warm, comfy bed that begged him to lie back down for five minutes. But he couldn't. He had work to do, repairs to the castle had to be finished before the invasion and the new traps had to be reset. Now I'm sure your thinking, "what the heck are you talking about?" So, let me catch you up.
Aikanáro was just 12 when his parents sent him away to live in castle Elensar, as all boys of 12 did. This was normal; the people of Huör had been practicing this for many a year now. On the Ingwë 12th (November the 12th for all you not Nagmok people.), their parents would take all the 12 year olds to castle Elensar.
Elensar was approx. 50 angrod north of Huör. (An "angrod" is approx. two and one half miles.) The teenagers would live there until they're 18, then, they would walk all the way back home, alone. The journey was an amazing feat, for to get back to Huör, you had to scale mountains, and cross-river rapids (Which actually had a bridge 2 angrods upstream, but no one ever thought to cross it). Then, as a final test, you had to answer a question, it was the most difficult question imaginable, but I don't wish to spoil, you'll just have to wait.
Aikanáro was a normal teenager; he had brown hair so dark it looked black. H was around 2 gildors and 2 carans (One gildor is 4 feet and a caran is 2 inches, so he's 5 foot 4 inches.), which is tall for his age. He wasn't the most athletic, but he wasn't the least either, he didn't come in last, but he didn't come in first. But when it came to strategy, math, geography and history, he could out wit you in a second.
Since the war with the Agërth, Huör had been waiting for such a person. He was the most anticipated arrival at Elensar. Sarin, the Wise, who protected Elensar, had predicted his coming, and now that it had happened, he was ready.
When teenagers are taken to Elensar, they were blindfolded and put in the back of a Trin pulled cart. Trin have thick brown fur, deep-set eyes that make them look wise and old, and kind of sad. They were powerful and fast, and their eyes' did not deceive, they were smart. If something happened, they were quick to react and could solve it in their mind in a matter of seconds, they would rule humans if they had opposable thumbs. It was a bumpy ride and took 7 jels (hours) to get there.
Aikanáro took this same trip, uninterested the whole way, taking in the sites… all zero of them. He couldn't wait to get to the castle, he had no idea what to expect, since adults were forbidden to speak of the castle. When he got there and the blindfold was removed, he was astounded.
The castle was huge! It was 138 stories, and had 1000 rooms for teenagers. Made of white stone, which he guessed to be Helt (a common mineral, equal to quartz in rarity). It seemed to glimmer in the sunset; it reflected purple, blue, green, orange, yellow and red, which made it even more beautiful. At first he thought he had just dozed off on the ride, but realized quickly that this was no dream.
He walked towards the castle with confidence as the cart rode off into the distance. As he approached the castle he guessed it had been made in the Linwale Era, where Helt was the style, now a days, only very old places used it, about 10,000 year old places. He had never personally seen a Linwale Era building, but this is how the books described it at his old school, and he decided it as to much to think about right now.
He reached the large wooden doors that's polished-fine wood gleamed in suns' rays. Aikanáro looked around for some way to know on the door. After a few seconds of searching, he saw a rope that was hanging down off to the right of the door. He walked over to it and stared at it. Aikanáro followed it all the way up to see it disappear into the castle. He pulled on it. Nothing happened. So he kept tugging and the realized that there was coded text behind it. He looked at it and instantly knew what it was. The text was backwards, in both senses. He slowly decoded it. After two minutes, he figured out that is said "First Challenge, climb the rope". So Aikanáro followed the instructions. He planted his feet firmly against the wall, putting his weight on the rope. He slowly walked up the wall. His father had taken him mountain climbing like this before for training. He made his way up 100 stories; he had to take a break. He had been climbing for almost a jel now. He tied the rope around his waist so he could rest his arms. "Damned ropes," he said quietly to himself. Then he continued climbing. Finally, he reached the 138th floor. When he got off the rope and into the building he, fell over with exhaustion. Lucky enough, he fell forward. He was out. He dreamed of long corridors. When he woke up, he was still in the top floor of the building.
He looked around and saw that he was in an old room that had been long forgotten, except for the fire burning in the fireplace. There was a red comfy chair in front of it. Aikanáro approached slowly. When he reached the chair. The person in the chair said "Hello, Aikanáro." It was a female voice.
"Who are you?" Aikanáro asked.
"Don't you know?" she chuckled. "I thought you would have figured out who I am by now."
Aikanáro thought. He kept having names pop into his head but then pushed them out for impossibility. But one stuck. Sarin, the Wise. "You are Sarin, the Wise," he said slowly.
"Good job, although, many have figured it out faster," Sarin said sweetly.
"What do I do now?"
"Oh, this is your room for the next year, didn't you know?" Aikanáro stared back in disbelief. She then turned to look at him standing there dumbfounded. She then laughed. "I was kidding!"
"…"
"No sense of humor, any of you new students." She then stepped out from behind the chair. She was tall and slender. Beautiful is a good way to describe her, or even perfect. She started towards the door on the right side of the musty room. "Are you just gonna stand there and look like an idiot? Come on." Aikanáro ran to catch up to her. She walked down some spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs, then more spiral stairs. 96 floors they descended. She took a door leading to the right. Aikanáro followed closely behind. She stopped at a room numbered 42-51. She turned and looked at me.
"This is your room. You will do work here. You will have a senior member assigned to you. He or she, she on this account, will help you get around the castle. If you have any questions ask her, or a teacher. For more important questions, such as the meaning of life, ask me. Got it?"
"No, but okay. Thank you so much."
"Your senior member will come at 3 jels after sunrise. Be ready, for you have a busy day ahead. Good bye, and your welcome."
"Good bye." She then turned and walked off. After a few steps she turned and walked back.
"Forgot something," Sarim said holding two keys, one red, and one blue. "You get the red one and your senior will get the blue one, remember to give it to them. And DON'T lose it." With that, she walked off.
Aikanáro unlocked the door to his room and stepped into a new life.