Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. Durh.

Three more weeks passed. In these three weeks, Tobe learned the extent of his power. He could call many horses, as he had already found out traveling with Keladry in Scanra. Learning to enter the mind of a horse, however, was harder. To see through their eyes and hear through their ears, he had to place his mind in theirs. He confided his frustrations to Stefan about this, and the hostler said it may be because Tobe ate fish and beef but horses didn't. After many series of trial and error, though, Tobe succeeded. It was an eerie feeling, he decided. He also felt odd, as if he shouldn't be in there, as if he was prying and invading the horses' space. Tobe also learned to heal, help deliver a foal, and all about the anatomy of a horse.

Tobe knew that he would soon have to leave for the Riders, but he didn't know when. He broached the question when he and Stefan were cleaning the stables.

"So," Tobe asked carefully, "When do you want me to leave for the Riders?" Tobe knew that Stefan was a bit antisocial around people, putting up with Tobe only for the boy's horse-heartedness. Tobe didn't take it personally; if he were Stefan, he would find himself a nuisance, having to teach himself how to learn his magic and give him room and board.

Stefan looked a bit taken aback. "Well, in a week or so, they start to recruit ya, and then you're put in a barracks wi' the other folks in yer group. Till then, you're staying here. I ain't turning you out without a home fer a week or so."

Tobe nodded. "Thanks, Stefan." That's considerate, he thought.

That last week was a peaceful one, in which all Tobe did was sign up for the Riders, help around the stables, and chat mind-to-mind with the horses. Six days after he signed up, he was sent a message to meet in the Riders' stable the next day for a debriefing. Truth to tell, Tobe was a bit nervous about all this. What if he didn't make it into the Riders? What if it was too hard for him? What if he never made friends? He tried to shrug these off, saying he had plenty of experience when he served Keladry, and telling himself he would make friends. This was a futile task.

Tobe's last morning at the stables came, sunny and mild, as if there wasn't going to be anything major and possibly life-changing that day.

He approached the hostler quietly. "Stefan," he said, "I'm gonna be on my way now. I just wanted to say thank you for being so nice to me, teaching me, and letting me sleep here an' all."

Tobe cringed. He was just about ready to implode from the embarrassment. Well, at least he wouldn't be staying here anymore. The hostler didn't turn around, but Tobe knew he was listening. "Well, bye then, Stefan," he said.

As Tobe was approaching the doors, he heard the introverted hostler softly call out, "Good luck, boy."

The Riders' stables were chaos. Young men and women of all sizes and colors milled about, asking if this was the right place, talking, or just shoving through. Tobe, not being very tall for his age, wasn't really acknowledged; he had a hard time trying not to be stepped on. Finally, a tall blond man called out for silence. He stepped onto a bale of hay so all could see him. Almost the instant he climbed up there was silence.

"Young men and women, I am Evin Larse, Commander of the Queen's Riders. As you should hopefully know, you're here because you signed up for the Riders. Don't think this will be easy. It's a hard shift, and if you feel that you must drop out, then you should. Training will be hard. Hunting bandits will be hard. Cleaning up villages will be hard. Having to rely on other people and yourself in a life and death situation will be hard. It's a pretty rough change, going from the life of a civilian to being an actual Rider." He went on to describe what it meant to be a Rider, what they did, what they would be covering in training that year, among other such things. He also introduced each leader of each group, and the instructors that the trainees would be taking lessons from that year. Tobe recognized the pretty woman, Ariah Otani, in the instructors group.

After Evin was finished, they were sent to the barracks. Tobe walked into a large room that had many assorted bunks in it. Each boy walked through and staked out his bed. Tobe chose a top bunk close to the front door and a large window, thinking that because he was rather small, he'd have an easier time of climbing up and down and not knocking his head each time. He also liked the fact that he could escape in multiple ways.

The person in the bunk below his was a lanky, large-nosed Bazhir. He had a swarthy complexion, shoulder-length black hair tied back, and intelligent eyes. He was dressed simply in a shirt and breeches. He gave a shy grin to Tobe; Tobe grinned back.

"I'm Tobe," he said, deciding he might as well know what kind of person he would be bunking with. Of course, the hyper-sensitive part of his brain did remind him that this boy could be a sociopath killer. The calm side of his brain argued back that if the boy was that way, that he didn't have control over it and may as well make a new friend (or enemy) sooner rather than later.

"Halim ibn Mirhaz," the adolescent replied. Tobe then slung his basket up onto his bed and climbed up after it. Tobe just nodded, and climbed up to his bunk. There was a wide shelf attached to the food of his bed that he assumed was for his pack. Placing it there, he observed his settings.

The room was simple, but functional. It had several fireplaces to heat them in the winter. Next to each bunk, top and bottom, were a row of hooks for hanging clothing. Along one wall were numerous shuttered windows, and down the hall were a series of doors that he assumed were privies. There was also a section of wall that was a long mirror, most likely used so the trainees could clean their teeth and, if need be, shave. Below the mirror, on a table, were a series of washing basins and jugs to fill with water. To bathe, they would use the men's baths.

The deafeningly loud bell tolled suppertime. Tobe got down from his bunk, not sure where to go. He had never seen the Riders' mess hall.

"Do you have any idea where you're going?" asked his Bazhir bunkmate when Tobe got down.

Tobe shook his head, eyebrows raised. "Not in the slightest."

Halim gave a wry grin. "Let's just follow them," he said, pointing to the others in their barracks. "They might know."

As it turned out, the people they decided to follow hadn't the foggiest idea of where the mess might be. When Halim heard this, he burst out laughing, gaining an odd look from the others. Tobe just smirked, seeing the irony. Finally, after about twenty minutes of wandering about aimlessly, Halim walked up to a seven foot tall lizard and asked for directions ever-so-nonchalantly.

Standing in line when he got there (eventually), he placed a bowl of beef stew, bread, and some vegetables on his tray, with a mug of chamomile tea. The lady Kel had been a bear about vegetables, and old habits died hard. He sat down at a seat between Halim, his bunkmate, and a black girl. Her ebony hair was in many thin braids, and tied in a ponytail that reached down to her shoulder blades. He slid into the seat and began to eat in silence. The girl next to him was also eating in a very businesslike manner. During their meal Commander Evin Larse stood up and told them all that they had tomorrow to get themselves together, such as getting their practice clothing and unpacking. The day after, training and classes would commence.

The next day Tobe joined the fray in purchasing books for all of his lessons. He never knew so many books were needed for geography and cartography, magical studies, field healing, mathematics, and other such things. Not only that, but the books were so expensive! He was very relieved to learn he could sell them back for money.

Worse than buying the books was buying the uniforms and materials. The tailors and seamstresses were so brusque in their movements that Tobe received tape-measure whiplash on more than one occasion. He had three uniform sets for classes, which were basic tunics and breeches in brown with a small stitching of a red pony rearing on the upper left of the tunic. He also got three practice sets, which were looser, undyed cotton breeches with a matching shirt. Luckily the Lady Kel had supplied him with his footwear and weapons.

When the first day of training came, Tobe woke at his usual time, before dawn. He was excited, not knowing what the day would bring. His old mistress had told him several times that training was some of the toughest work she ever had to do.

That morning wasn't very hard. The horsemistress, a K'mir named Onua Chamtong, set all of the sprightly mountain ponies out into a large pen. The trainees would choose two each. Tobe walked through, greeting each horse he passed. After careful selection, he chose his two mounts: a spunky mare with a gray coat, and a brown male. He didn't know what to name them yet. Looking about, he saw that the girl he sat next to last night was having trouble. She obviously didn't have any experience with horses. Her eyes were rather wide, and she looked a bit nervous.

"Need help?" Tobe asked politely, walking up to her. She was an inch taller than he was, with warm brown eyes and full lips. She looked over at him.

"Yes, actually," she said, smiling nervously and showing her white teeth. Tobe grinned. He helped her to choose some less rambunctious horses for her mounts. When the girl had made her selections, Tobe asked her name. "I'm Yasha Doje, from Carthak," she explained. Then she added, somewhat embarrassedly, "I know very little of horses. My family was in the carpentry trade, so I'm more used to boards and nails than horses and tack."

Tobe smiled. "You don't really need much horse experience around here. They're supposed to teach it to you. I'm Tobe, by the way." Tobe walked off to get his mounts in their tack when the girl called out "Thanks, Tobe!"

After the trainees had saddled their mounts and the trainers had inspected them to make sure they had done it properly, they were led to a field. Tobe thought this was a bit boring. All they did was just basic horsemanship, like mounting, dismounting, walking, stopping, and such. Tobe was a bit bored by all of this.

Halim walked his horse up to Tobe, leading the other by the bridle. "Have you had your fun today?" he asked in a falsely excited voice.

Tobe grinned wryly. "Oh, I think the fun is just starting," he replied with a slightly wolfish smile.

"Where I come from, we have nimble, dainty mares. 'Children of the Wind,' we call them, for their speed and agility," he said wistfully, looking down at the sturdy young mountain ponies. Clearly he preferred the horses of his home to those he had currently.

"I've heard of that. I've longed to see them," Tobe replied.

"Maybe someday you will."

"Hopefully."

When the riders were finished with their rigorous training, they all hobbled off to the different bath houses to get washed and dressed. Sitting on a horse for approximately three hours was hard on anyone's legs, even Tobe's.

Tobe soaped and rinsed quickly, drying himself off briskly and trotting off to lunch. His stomach felt attached to his backbone, he was so hungry.

He stood in line next to Yasha.

"It wasn't as hard as I expected," the girl told him. "I thought I'd be falling on my rear the entire morning." Tobe grinned.

After lunch were afternoon classes. Tobe, being a teenage boy, inhaled all of his food and left for his afternoon classes. He had absolutely no idea where they were. Asking the other trainees was no help; they didn't know either. Finally, one of them had the brilliant idea to ask a palace servant. After receiving the directions, the group moved off to the first class on their agenda. They stayed pretty close together. One of the trainees, a boy by the name of Yosiff, muttered to Tobe in passing about getting lost in a group was more interesting than being by yourself.

"And," he added, "you can blame the person next to you for bad directions if you're in a place you shouldn't be," he joked.

Tobe arrived at his first class, geography and map-making, a few minutes early. He waited outside the room with the rest of the group, shifting from foot to foot as he thought back to the stories Kel told him about her old classes. Her stodgy Mithran priests, her tough training master, and Sir Myles of Olau. He hoped that at least one of his new teachers would be like Sir Myles. Fingers snapped right in front of his nose, bumping him back to reality in a most unpleasant way. It was Halim.

"Sorry about that," Tobe's swarthy bunkmate apologized, "but you didn't appear to hear the bell, and I figured you didn't want to be late."

Tobe blinked a few times, surprised at himself. "Wait, if the bell just rang, isn't it a bit late to be worried about being late?"

Halim gave him a look, one eyebrow raised. "I'm praying to all the listening gods that that wasn't intended to be a bad pun."

Tobe snorted. "No, don't worry," he said.

Tobe and a few other trainees walked into the classroom, to be greeted by the stare of a shaven-headed man in red robes. His eyebrows and neatly trimeed beard framing his mouth were red. All the trainees were lined up, so the latecomers hurried to join the others. The priest then read their names off a slate, and assigned them seating. Tobe sat behind Yasha and next to the fairly tall brunet boy trainee Yosiff.

The priest looked at them all. "Well, I'm glad most of you made it here on time," he addressed them. They all noticed he had a northern accent, slightly Scanran. Tobe and the other latecomers shrank back. "As it's your first day, however, I shall let it pass by. Just today, though." He turned around and busied himself with papers at his desk. "I am Master Preshki. As you should know, this is your geography and cartography lesson." After he finished his introduction he went onto the lesson, talking about the bordering countries and referring to a map of Tortall as seen from a bird's eye tacked up on the wall. After assigning them to read a few pages in a book he handed out, he addressed them all.

"I assume," he said, "that like all my other previous groups of trainees that you have absolutely no idea where you are supposed to go next." This comment was met by much fervent nodding, and a bark of laughter from Halim. Master Preshki grinned. "Your next class is about medicine and healing and such. Just go down this hall, take a left, and it's the third door on your left."

"Thanks!" a lot of the trainees called, racing off to their next class. Master Preshki just shook his head and grinned.

"I love that man," Tobe said fervently to a grinning Halim.

The day passed much like this. Their instructor in healing was a woman named Kuri Tailor. She started the class by asking if any of the trainees had healing magic. No one did.

"Good," she said. "That simplifies my life and yours. Now I don't have to assign you to another teacher for different lessons." She proceeded with the lesson, teaching them about infections and assigning them, as Master Preshki had, some pages in a book she handed out. His other teachers weren't nearly as interesting, just a mixed lot of serious Mithran priests.

During the day, Tobe made new friends in Halim and Yasha. He learned that Yasha was form Carthak, and that her family was in carpentry, as he had learned previously. He also discovered she did not like parsnips, and she was very partial to salting everything on her plate. Halim was from the tribe of the Bloody Hawk in the desert. Halim's mother was one of the young girls trained to be a shamaness by Alanna the Lioness herself.

"Are you serious?" Yasha exclaimed.

"Yeah, actually. I even met her once, when I was really young," he replied.

"I think that's amazing, that your mother was one of the first female shamans. Women still aren't allowed to do as much in Carthak as they are here. That's why I was sent here." Yasha said.

"I keep forgetting the rest of the world isn't like Tortall," Tobe said quietly. "You know, the lady I served before I came here was Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan?" he added.

Halim raised his brows, grinning, while Yasha's eyes got wide. The second they started pelting him with questions, however, the bell rang for classes.

At dinner that night, Tobe entertained his new friends with stories of his mistress's knight training. They both raised their eyebrows a bit at her rigorous schedule of rising before dawn to strengthen herself, and trying to cram all of her class work in with her hazing patrols at night.

"I wonder if I shall have to do exercises early and such to try to strengthen myself," Yasha speculated, half to herself and half to her other friends.

"It's really not too bad, actually. It gets easier. I always rise before dawn," Tobe assured her.

"And it's stunted your growth," Halim grimaced. "I vow to always sleep with a dark cloth wrapped around my eyes so that your overly-bright candle won't blind me at the ungodly hour you awake at."

"You," Yasha mumbled through a mouthful of salted potato, "are overly dramatic."

Halim grinned. "But I keep you entertained, don't I?"

Tobe had by now realized that Yasha and Halim enjoyed bantering back and forth with each other. Tobe shook his head, smiling. Those two were so amusing. It reminded him of the lady's friends, Sir Nealan and Sir Owen and all the rest of the "study group."

When they finished cramming their gullets with as much food as in reach, as teenager are wont to do, they shuffled up and returned their trays, heading off to their barracks.

Author note: wow, this chapter was pretty long (for me anyways).

Personally, I think that my story needs a bit more plot, because it seems really boring to me. I dunno how Tammy P. does it, but even if nothing very major is going on, she makes it really interesting.

I know it took me forever to update, but I didn't get any reviews at all, so I was discouraged. Luckily I got back on track :-D