Soletus walked with purpose down the corridor. Running would make him appear like he was a warder and going too slow would make him appear dismissive. Both were immature and he didn’t want that. He was a second warden now. He had to stand tall, keep his stride long and hurried. That the sash around his waist wasn’t heavy and undeserved, weighing him down with impending failure.
He entered the master’s hall. He was late for the meeting going on there. Most first wardens were standing. Some were sitting at their desks. His father was leaning against his desk, keeping his gaze forward until Soletus settled beside him. Soletus tried to relax. He wasn’t completely late. Master Tyr was at the front with the cloth map of the province and sticking pins in the location where drass beasts were spotted.
“There has been an unusual number of beasties in the north. These roads and paths should be avoided. All travelers should be stopped, warned, and escorted until outside of this zone. Several bands will be assigned to hunting.” He then flipped through the reports and his face twitched a little. “First Warden Oeric, is there really nothing to report along the eastern roads?”
“No, unless First Warden Rodea comes across something today, there is nothing,” answered Oeric.
“And Second Warden Soletus,” said Tyr staring down at his sheet. “Any reason why you couldn’t attend to the first portion of this meeting?”
Soletus swallowed to clear his dry mouth. “I needed to discuss a few things with others in our band. I was aware of the meeting, however, this discussion was impromptu and needed my immediate attention.”
Tyr stared at him. “How so?”
“Personal matters, Sir. One wanted secure shelter for two family members who arrived unannounced and will be living here for the foreseeable future, and the other needed to have a private discussion with me.”
Soletus would rather have dealt with Tyrus’ problems that day than having to talk to Doran about what was expected out of him. In fact, Soletus had to cut that discussion short, as he needed to be at that meeting.
“You know these meetings are important,” said Tyr.
“Very aware,” replied Soletus. “And I managed my time so that I wouldn’t miss the entirety of this meeting that I didn’t need to attend. I was assured by my first warden that he could relay everything today as if I couldn’t make it. He knew what I was doing.”
“Securing housing isn’t part of your duties.”
“Helping my men is. If a brother is bleeding, don’t give him directions to the infirmary. You take your sash and tie it around his wound,” said Soletus.
Tyr stared at him. There was some snorting in the silence as well as shifting heads, and some nodding. Soletus stood tall with his face neutral. No expression as he could manage. He wanted to be at ease and to be taken seriously, but he didn’t want to be stiff. He didn’t want to be afraid and, furthermore, he didn’t want to go into detail about it all. Tyrus was already in a mess about the entire thing. He didn’t need the entire order to know his family lost the land they lived on, and his family had to split up. His two sisters were now his responsibility. One of them was mute, and the other had a reputation for being a thief. Soletus didn’t want to be in his shoes.
Master Tyr, cleared his throat. “Anyway, we need to talk about the southern road and the brushfire that’s still burning. Are there and farms or homes in the path?”
The rest of the meeting passed, and Soletus breathed a sigh of relief.
“Tyr is going to test you constantly,” said his father matter-of-factly, and he moved behind their shared desk.
“How is that different than before?” said Soletus. That was his entire training experience with Master Tyr. Constantly being tested.
“True, but we all have to go through the proving grounds,” stated Oeric. “Some experience more tests than others. Tyr wants you to display your weaknesses. And not to necessarily to put you down, but to make them clear so you can work and improve on them.”
Tyr was about working on weakness and forcing him as a warder to deal with them.
“Which, by the way, how is, Tyrus?”
“He’s not panicking anymore. I’m going to take him out tonight and talk to him a little more while at a quiet tavern in town.”
“Good,” said his father. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow. And what about Doran?”
“We talked circles. I don’t know if he’s going to agree to joining the band,” said Soletus. He didn’t know if he wanted the former friend and betrayer in the band. He was surprised that his father would extend the offer to the young man who hadn’t been on the rooster at all. I was part of his punishment, and he was to seek penitence for what he had done. Doran chose to volunteer at the stable for the order. He seemed content on mucking out stalls and tacking horses all day long. When they spoke, his disinterest was clear. e was disinterested in coming back as a junior scout warden.
“Talk to him again,” said Oeric.
“Papa, you can’t pressure him to join if he doesn’t want to,” Soletus told him. And he let that “Papa” slip in purposely. One the man didn’t discourage it and that seemed to get his attention a lot more than simply “First Warden” or “Sir.”
The young monk then watched the corner of his father’s mouth quirk up in a wry grin that reached his eyes.
“I’m not the one pressuring him. That’s your job,” he said lightly and then, like a flash of light, it faded gradually but not into that dour expression that gave him the name, “Master Dour,” from many warders in the past. It was lighter resting face, but still his resting face.
“I know Doran. You can’t make him do something unless by force,” said Soletus.
“Well, you know what not to do. You should be able to figure out what to do.”
Soletus knew his father wanted him to figure it out on his own. That didn’t mean he had to like it. Doran wasn’t worth bothering with, in his opinion. But his father wanted to fill out the last two spots in their band. Doran was one of them. And Soletus had an idea of the other person to fill the spot but he didn’t know how to approach the person he wanted.
After years of hunting and observing drass beasts, Soletus knew a thing or two about stalking. He learned how to blend into an environment with his target, oblivious to his presence. He knew how to carry his weight across a forest floor littered with dry leaves. He knew how to breathe so not to call attention to himself. He knew how to observe the wind so he could always be positioned downwind. And he even knew what he could smear on his skin and clothing to obscure his scent. However, none of that helped him with elves.
Fen elves were more complex than a drass beasts and creatures. Elves were unpredictable and predictable. They liked normalcy, stability, so day-to-day ran with ease. Change was sometimes a little difficult to bolster in, but once it was settled in, it was welcomed if you weren’t too old. Change had begun for him once boyhood changed to todhood and everything was turbulent. He didn’t want it to be so rough with Espen. However, the former “farm boy” lived a wraith like existence.
One moment, he would be seen and in the next instant, he would vanish. At first, the young monk thought it was a coincidence, but now he was convinced that he was avoiding him. The only option was stalking him until cornered. But that wasn’t the ideal way to approach someone. In fact, it was a good way to find oneself face-to-face with a fight. He decided he needed other minds on the matter and thus Soletus asked his friends for advice.
“You made him piss himself,” said Kiao to him while they ate dinner. She was eating down a massive platter of food that she was sharing with Mien. She had healed a band who found themselves face-to-face with a small rockslide in a ravine they were patrolling. Mien told him it was five men injured with lots of broken bones. And three severely injured with head wounds. The young priestess looked tired. Her face pale, dark rings under her eyes with her irises taken on a more violet hue.
“I did not,” said Soletus. Or at least he was certain he didn’t. “Figuratively, sure. I’ll admit that. But that was kind of the point. It’s not like I hurt him.”
She gave him a flat stare before stating, “Sol, if someone summoned a bear that nearly ripped my face off, and then had it sit on me so he could get me in deep trouble, I would avoid him too.”
“I get that, but this is more than just avoiding looking at my direction, this is actively trying not to be around me.”
Mien then cut in after chewing methodically on a piece of bread. “I think he doesn’t want to be associated with you. Not because he made an enemy out of you, but because he is like you. He’s hiding it, remember?”
“Sure, but talking to me once isn’t going to make people suspect anything. All I want to do is open the door for communication.”
“And what if he doesn’t want that?” injected Kiao.
Soletus shrugged. “I don’t like the fact that he’s alone. I didn’t want to be alone. I wanted to at least appear to be customary, so I wouldn’t be.”
“But that’s you, not him. For all you know, he wants space to figure it out. Didn’t you need space?”
“Yes but—”
She stopped him with a shake of her head. “The issue here is you don’t want him to make a mistake. However, you forget that you feared the reactions of others when they learned the truth. Maybe he actually has something to fear. Your parents didn’t care. Maybe his family does.”
Soletus was at a loss for words. He should’ve considered that.
Mien then added. “But you need to say something. I saw him walking with Yunus today. From the way he acted, I don’t think this is the first time they’ve spoken.”
That wasn’t good. Soletus couldn’t imagine what Yunus suggested to Espen. One thing he wondered about was the fact he hadn’t taken the trials yet. Honestly, he should have. He was, despite being a farm boy, a skilled warder and it would be a shame if Yunus recruited him for inactive work such as becoming a peaceguard. And he didn’t want that. He wanted to prove to all the men that a neth male was worth his salt and having two prime examples would do a world of good.
Kiao then offered one piece of advice. “Do what Hickory had to do with you and wait. Espen may come to you. Believe me, Hickory wanted to talk to you badly. You just made it difficult for him to do that.”
The young monk believe that was the best option. Waiting too long would give Yunus, for example, more time to influence him. However, Espen was too flighty. And keeping a distant eye on him might be his only choice. Luckily, the farmer’s boy had friends. In fact, he hung around a group of lads that Tyrus often associated with. Ones who weren’t generational Brotherhood. It wasn’t a group that Soletus was very fond of himself.
Often, they acted like anyone who was generational like him were full of themselves. And a few were, but many, including him, weren’t. Some were troublemakers and pulled hard against the rules and such. If anyone actually paid any amount of attention, Soletus avoided both groups. Neither were better than the other, both could get him in trouble, and he liked a small group of friends not a large pack. Now that was all slightly going to shift since he was now a second warden and being one didn’t allow him to hang out with the lads.
He had to be mature now. Most of his dealings would be with adults older than him. Though Soletus couldn’t say he felt like an adult. He couldn’t really compare himself to others as those younger than him did young elf things like mess around and talk to girls. Things he didn’t do. His free time was often spent working, training, or doing something for his mother and the women’s society, or the huntresses. Now his time would be spent being a second warden.
There were some benefits. He was now allowed in the master’s hall without question. He was able to get his own room and lived on the same floor as Mien. All masters, first and second wardens were given a workspace. He still shared it with his father. It was worth the ability to sit at a desk and work.