Elaine Mairi had always known she would enter the Riders Quadrant. She was marked with a rebellion relic, leaving her with a future that could not be altered.
She had decided it would be better to make use of that inevitable future than give the peo...
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"Still not sure why they call it the Gauntlet," "To ensure dragons keep coming to Threshing by weeding out the weaklings." ______________
Holy gods.
That's all my mind can manage to think. We're standing in front of a massive cliff, the drop down hundreds of meters. On the side of the rocky expanse is what appears to be an obstacle course, one you would do for fun as a kid, if you slipped you fell to the ground. This course, if you slipped...You'd fall for minutes before hitting the ground in a death blow.
I gulped, feeling my hands begin to sweat.
"Well, that's..." Rhiannon begins to say, looking up at the cliff.
"Amazing." Aurelie says breathlessly. I can't find myself to agree.
Me, Rhiannon and Violet all turn to Aurelie. My mouth falls open at her comment, and my brows furrow in confusion.
"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. You think that hellscape is amazing?" I exclaim.
"I've been waiting years for this!" Aurelie responds with a grin.
Her black eyes dance in the morning sun as she rubs her hands together in anticipation, jumping back and forth from her left to right leg.
"My dad—he was a rider until he retired last year—used to set up obstacle courses like this all the time so we could practice, and Chase, my brother, said it's the best part of being here before Threshing. It's a real adrenaline rush." She explains.
"He's with the Southern Wing, right?" Violet asks.
"Yep. Pretty much desk duty for all the action they see near the Krovlan border." She shrugs and points to two-thirds up the cliff where giant poles jut from the rock. "He said to watch out for those giant posts jutting from the side of the cliff. They spin, and you can get crushed between them if you're not fast enough."
"Oh, good, I was wondering when it might get difficult," Rhiannon mutters under her breath.
"Thanks, Aurelie." Violet says and I have to admit I am grateful for any help I can get for this.
"Still not sure why they call it the Gauntlet," Ridoc says, coming up behind us. I shrug.
"To ensure dragons keep coming to Threshing by weeding out the weaklings." Says Tynan, sneering at Ridoc.
"Knock it the fuck off," Ridoc snaps at Tynan, earning the entire squads attention.
I've never seen Ridoc loose his temper. He's usually calm, hiding any emotion he has behind humour and sarcasm. I look over at Tynan who also seems surprised by this little outburst.
