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Chapter Thirty-Two
As he entered, the light of the nighttime sky and the unnatural reflections of the Oasis’ environment quickly evaporated from Alex’s peripheral vision. He could barely see his hand in front of his own face. Looking up, the immense clusters of mountain laurel were so cluttered that they formed a natural roof over the small, rocky passageway, completely blocking out the light. Alex was growing uncomfortable as he stared as hard as he could into the darkness, trying to find his guide.
He followed the narrow path for over a minute and soon the rock had expanded away from him. He realized that he was now outside of the Oasis, but the trees and plant life around him were so dense that his sight was still reduced to nearly nothing. And worst of all, Rowan was nowhere to be seen.
“Rowan?” Alex quietly called out as anxiety began to grip him. The
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When Alex opened his eyes, he realized that he was exactly where he had been that night; lying on his patched mattress in his oversized tent. The events and images of that night were the first things to begin flashing through his waking mind. Though he woke in the same place in which he had fallen asleep just the evening before, it felt like he had been away from here for an eternity.What happened last night, Alex asked himself. He could recall Rowan waking him and sneaking him outside the Citadel walls. As soon as she had taken him off of the high plateau, Alex felt as though he was walking into yet another world, seemingly separate from the real world around him.Right now it all felt like an elaborate dream. Maybe it was a dream, he thought. Alex hazily remembered everything Rowan had led him into last night; from his astonishing close call on the cli
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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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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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