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Chapter Thirty-Four
As they had been walking, he did not realize that Matheus had been leading him down toward the large, corral-like area where he had seen Malachai honing his impressive swordsmanship the day before. At his time of day, there was no one training there, and it was clear that Matheus was interested in observing Alex’s own fighting skills, but Alex knew that he was not a fighter.
Matheus led him within the fencing of the training corral. “Matheus,” Alex said. “I’m really not comfortable with this.”
“Oh yeah?” Matheus responded casually as he walked over to a small rack against one of the fenced boundaries and picked up a carved, wooden object shaped as a sword. “That’s what I said once.” He threw the training sword over to Alex. He made a quick attempt to catch it but dropped it clumsily. Matheus snic
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At the end of the day, once the sun had set and Alex was quite exhausted again, Matheus led him to another fire pit. This particular site was much smaller and sat near the edge of the lake. Rowan still accompanied them as she had all day. The dusk sky glowed a faint red shade as the sun was nearly gone and stars began to appear.Matheus knelt by the pit and stacked a small pile of wood and twigs to make a fire. He then took a small chunk of flint from his pocket and struck it against a stone he had picked up to spark a flame into the pit. By the time the fire was lit and roaring, the sky was dark with the night. Matheus sat down across the fire from Alex, with Rowan just beside him. The air was growing cooler at a rapid rate, and Alex moved in close to the fire to keep warm.He was growing rather tired as he gazed into the flames. For once, after the day
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November, 2010Seven months laterMore than half a year had passed since the disappearance of her brother, and Nickole was still struggling to move on. It had been the hardest summer of her life. She had been quiet most of the time, spending less time with her friends than ever and preferring to remain isolated at home with her mother as often as she could.It was not her fault - that was what everyone kept telling her, especially her mother. Nickole spent several days after Alex got separated from them trembling in her irrational, childlike fear that she would never see him again. That fear, however, became reality when the authorities were forced to call off their efforts waiting and watching for Alex to make his way out of the boundaries of the Dark Zone. Soon after that, to everyone’s horror and dismay, her brother was presumed to be d
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Miles away, deep within the Dark Zone, the mountains had grown cold with the changing of the seasons. A layer of snow had begun to make its way beneath the treelines.Alex Lee was hiking up the wooded hillsides. Seven months had passed since his accidental arrival in the Dark Zone, and he had come such a long way. He had long since repressed his desire to leave these territories. So many things happened to him over the course of the most extraordinary summer of his life. After his fireside night with Matheus and Rowan, Alex willfully complied with Delmar’s refusal to let him go and spent the next few days working on his basic swordsmanship. Though he never managed to hold his own in a friendly duel against Matheus, he certainly improved well enough to earn his respect.His first few weeks among the Ravennites in the Citadel were rough. Many of the people
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Rowan’s jaw dropped as she watched her weapon abandon her and Alex pointed his directly at her in triumph. She turned and looked at Alex over the point of his blade, an expression of astonishment and defeat on her face. Neither of them moved, but Rowan grew a wide smile and the two of them soon began to laugh. “You actually beat me!” Rowan gleefully exclaimed. “I can’t believe it!” Alex lowered his sword and lifted his eyes as though he was trying to think of something to say. “Ve’su-” he began thoughtfully, speaking the Ravennites’ tongue. “Ah’gala mahki.” He was certain that what he just said translated closest to, “You are a worthy adversary.”
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The cold air hit Robert as soon as he stepped outside. The gust gnawed at the flesh of his face. This is what the cold seasons felt like every year in these dreary hills, but he was no stranger to it anymore. Caine was already waiting for him outside the structure, just as his messenger had said. Robert glared at him through the columns of breath that escaped his nostrils. Caine absorbed his look and shot it right back at him. He opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly cut off when Robert put his hand up.“Don’t,” he snarled at Caine. “If you’re just gonna try to give me another pointless lecture, you can leave right now.”Caine narrowed his eyes at his ignorance. “I’m not here for myself,” he gave a sharp response. “I have more news from your brother.”
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Alex and Rowan returned to the Ravennites’ camp just before the sun had set. The temperature, though cold enough during the day, still dropped significantly. The Ravennites within the walls of their outpost were gathered by the firesides. Several were armed and guarding the wall on all sides. Alex had gone over to one of the large fire pits near the center of the campsite, where the Ravennites were preparing and cooking the meat of the game they hunted, which mainly consisted of deer. Alex collected two thin slabs of venison and headed to the small campfire that he set up near the wall. Rowan was sitting alone by the fire and looking down at her wooden pendant again. As Alex approached, he glanced at the charm. As usual, the first thing that caught his eye was the strange, red symbol at the top of the charm’s face that Rowan apparently could not see.Alex went to sit down next to Rowan. “
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Feeling himself growing paranoid, Alex groaned quietly and glanced back into the outpost. “What’s taking you so long, Rowan?” To his surprise, as soon as he had looked away, Alex heard another rustling sound amongst the trees, this one much closer than the first. He jolted his attention back toward the tree lines, breathing sporadically. It took a few seconds for his sight to properly readjust. Alex blinked his eyes a couple times to be sure that he was seeing this right: someone was standing at the edge of the trees, and they were looking right at him.The dark figure was tall and lanky, but also broad shouldered, standing absolutely motionless. Alex became just as still as he stared right back at the figure. It seemed like the environment all around him had gone completely silent; so silent that he could clearly hear his own low breathing. “Who-” Alex stammered, half-afraid
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Alex never felt himself hit the ground. Soon after his eyes had gone black, he regained his sight, but to his confusion, he could not remember where he had been before he was suddenly knocked out. Alex could not remember much of anything right now, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself gazing at some sort of vision.Nothing about his current surroundings felt real. Alex’s eyes were burning and his sight was slightly blurred. He was not sure where he was. The only thing he found himself looking at was a man standing a few yards away with his back turned to him. The man did not move, and Alex was unable to make out any of his features or anything in the distance, as his entire vision was cloaked by a bright light. The only thing he could see was that this man was holding something in his right hand. The object looked like a large sword, but instead of a blade, there were a series o
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