“You really spend fourteen years here learning to be a bard?” Sheyna asked as they joined a line-up. The system seemed to be that of every military everywhere; grab a tray, pick of the offerings of each food type and pile it as high as you would eat and retreat to table and benches to eat. Water seemed plentiful on each table, tea available by the mug at a seperate serving centre.

Sora shook her head, beads clanking. “I misled you, I’m sorry. Training at the capital is typically two to four years, depending of your level coming in. But, I spent ten years learning my arts at home before I applied for my bardship. I should say bard training is typically four year, musicianship is ten years before that. Just like I’d suspect you spent ten years becoming sailor and scout, and will now spend four years becoming Watch. Some do it faster as they come in grossly over-prepared and under special circumstances others can take longer.”

Sheyna absorbed this as the line moved up. She noticed  a few people seemed to ignore the line entirely. “Special treatment..?” she murmered, nodding to a man in dark greys who marched up, grabbed a tray and filled it without breaking stride.

“Outrider.” Sora said, “Initiates on duty don’t wait, full members not either. The rest of us take our turn since we, supposedly, don’t have the demands on our time everyone else does. Typically though, I take my meals late and just ignore the crush.”

“Thank you for catering to my stomach today then,” Sheyna replied, wishing she could see more over the bodies in front of her. “How do you know all this anyway?”

“I’m a bard, we know everything,” Sora replied, eyes dancing. Snorting at the expression that earned her from below, she continued, “You’ll know it all two by your second or third year. Its hard to live here and not just absorb everything around you. You’ll know counter schedules even if you never take anything more than the basic class. We’re a fairly mixed bag, and only the snots stand off.”

Sheyna took that mean the young nobility. She supposed she’d be the same if she hadn’t been tossed onto a ship as a toddler and made to learn to make do.

“Most of THEM don’t even eat with us, being able to afford to eat whenever and wherever they choose. The unlucky initiates who are of birth but not Watch typically take their meals with the court.” at Sheyna’s confused look, Sora continued, “Family obligations and all that. A healer can be of second rank but still get nagged by their mother to find the right wife.”

Sheyna snorted, “Glad I’m not in that mess. My family would sooner try to set up one of our ship’s for marriage than their children. My Great-Grandmother declared that we’d marry for love or not at all.. and she didn’t care what gender our partners were if they made us happy and could bait a hook.”

Sora smiled, “How unusual for you barbarians, normally you’re marrying your kids off in the womb.”

Sheyna rolled her eyes, “And how do you north-wetters do it then?”

“Like any civilized being, of course, we beat the snot out of each other until we find one we like and when we no longer like them, we ditch them and start over. Children belong to the mother, not the father.”

“Bit hard on the father, don’t you think?” Sheyna asked, seeing they were finally at the head of the line she followed the chatting couple in front of her’s example and started choosing things. It didn’t look any better than any other heat it and let is sit system but it didn’t look too bad either, even if the apple crumble looked a bit sad around the edges.

The two women grabbed a seat at a bench near the back of the room, almost back beside the door they’d come in, before Sora continued on the conversation where it’d been left. “I didn’t say we killed him and kicked him out of the clan. If the father wants to stay in his children’s lives and he supports himself within clan, he’s welcome to stay. Well, unless he’s a beater or something, but chances are he wouldn’t survive the clan mothers finding out anyway.”

Sora supposed a society that supposedly taught spearmanship along with toilet training would lead to such things. It still seemed awfully backwards to her. She decided to change the subject, “So, what can I expect over the next few days?”

Sora chewed on the overcooked meat before answering. It had taken a year of training for her to stop talking around mouthfuls of food and Fernese still occassionally threatened her for bad eating manners. “You’ll be woken up at the ‘oh my god’ of dawn, dragged out to the healers who will test your physical condition before you’re kicked out to the weaponsfield. There they’ll test your aptitude with various weapons and free form fighting. From there you’ll be tossed over to the riding field so you can show your prowess, or lack there of, with various mounts and types. You’ll get a wash and lunch before you’re handed over to the achemedics who will give you brain twitching testing to see what your scholarly abilities and aptitudes are. After being tortured in brain for the afternoon you get released for dinner. You then get a free evening before bed and the next day you get the rounds of uniforms and outfitting.” She paused to chew on another piece of meat, missing her village where she could have just eaten it off the bone, “I should warn you, you can get bounced from the Watch’s recruit list during testing. If you’re not suited, you’re just not suited. The testing will tell them what you are suited for and they’ll offer to transfer you across to whatever discipline you qualify for.”

Sheyna tilted her head to one side and said quietly, “I’ll be Watch.”

Sora shrugged, that’s what they all said. They wouldn’t apply if they didn’t think they could make it. “Do you think you can find your rooms by yourself? I have a practice room booked for after dinner and want to use as much of the time as I can.”

Sheyna grinned, “Oh, I think I can manage that fine.” If she could navigate by sun or stars, she was fairly sure she could manage a couple hallways and some stairs.

“Great!” Sora replied, finishing off the last of the cobbler she’d snagged for desert, “You finish up and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Sheyna watched where Sora deposited used dishes and her tray before returned to her meal. She should have asked Sora how she’d been assigned as her guide, but figured it was some sort of rotational duty amongst the students or initiates. She wasn’t quite sure on Sora’s rank since the woman herself hadn’t seemed to sure herself.

First place to visit after dinner was a faucility, and then she’d go discover the library. The downside of spending eight months of the year at mast was you couldn’t exactly bring a lot of books along with you!

Sheyna was told to wait for her guide in a small room that was probably used by waiting messengers. The vague smell of wet leather, sweat and rassi wrapped around her. She had never seen one of the large rabbit like creatures the messengers rode, but their scent was making her nose itch.

A tall woman ducked in under the doorway. This older section of the castle didn’t seem to have been made with the north-west barbarian tribes in mind. The woman was easily six and a half feet tall, with red hair in a wild mess of curls down her back. It was clipped back but otherwise untamed with various braids and beads hidden within. Her complexion was half-sunburnt, half-pale underneath peeling skin. Sheyna was surprised at the lack of freckles, she’d heard the north-wetters had the splatter-spots all over them. The woman was wearing worn training leathers and had a short sword at her side. “I’m Initiate Sora,” she introduced herself curtly, “If you’d follow, I’ll give you the tour and your room.” Green eyes flickered to Sheyna’s feet. “No gear, eh? I’m guessing either lord or pauper.”

“Aren’t we without rank here?” Sheyna asked with a raised eyebrow and pointed verbal expression. She got to her feet and pulled her shoulder pack with her personal necessities on.

Sora snorted, “Right Lady. That’ll happen.”

Sheyna shook her head, “Sheyna, please. I have no intention of playing high lady of the seas.”

“You’re one of the few then,” Sora said and gestured for Sheyna to proceed her out the door.

“Lots of politics then?” Sheyna asked as Sora ducked the doorway and pulled the door over behind her.

“Lots of blood suckers, oh yes. You’ll find the first year is always full of crap and nonsense. It’s mostly to weed out the useless, get the useful to where they belong and that sort of stuff.” Sora started to stride down the hall and then slowed her pace so Sheyna wasn’t jogging to keep up. “The training grounds belong to the Watch, the Guard, the Outriders and the Service.”

Three of those Sheyna had heard of, “the Service?”

Sora nodded and indicated a green and blue badge on her shoulder. “Services. Healers, Bards, Scribes, Counters.. Any who are in service and pay of the kingdom but don’t typically weild a weapon.”

That earned the woman another raised eyebrow and a pointed look at the sword on her belt.

Sora laughed, “I said typically.

They passed from the granite walls into a newer section, grey bricks still but these lighter with flecks of gold, purple and reds. Sheyna stopped to look at them and ran her hands over the brick in fascination as if she could feel if they were magic. She didn’t care if she looked like a country cousin.

Sora didn’t seem to look down on her for her open fascination and curiosity, “That’s Quartzite bricks from the eastern border. Back when we absorbed the Terrsini, they gifted the queen with enough to connect the palace into an even bigger rat warren.”

Sheya shook her head and continued in Sora’s shadow. “So you’re in services? Is every healer in this part of the kingdom? We don’t get a lot of true Bards in the south.”

“Anyone who has the kingdom pay for their training serves.” Sora answered. “For every year of your training is a year of service owed. Of course, you can wing it on your own freelance and hope you make enough to repay your debts, or if your family is rich enough you can pay your own way, but mostly healers come to the capital, take their eight years, serve for eight years then go freelance. Means that the less populated areas always have healers. As for bards, we tend to go where the battles are, and while you have your pirates, those songs are often carved by the sailors who see them; not much use for us on the waves. ”

Sheyna absorbed this, realizing while she may know the politics of her people well, she was fairly oblivious to the way the kingdom was run. She wasn’t even sure what the watch did beyond show up, make notes and decisions for the king and disappear again. She knew training was four years, but that was it. Seeing as her guide seemed chatty, she asked how long training was.

“Depends what you’re doing. Bard is fourteen, Healer is eight, Watch is four, Outriders is three.” She shrugged, “I’m going to assume you want to know about the Watch.” She winked down at the girl who was a foot and a half shorter than her. “Your first year is introduction and training. Most people start for the Watch and they’re placed where suited. It’s no shame not making the Watch, but there the demands of the job being what it is, about one in twenty make it. You’ll be tested to see what talents you have and you have the first year to get it all up to the standards of second year. Second year is perfecting your knowledge and abilities. Third year you’re partnered with an elder L’ssa and will tour the inner kingdom routes with an elder human, young L’ssa team. Fourth year you and your partner are on the outer kingdom and then you graduate from recruit to initiate and you get to choose your L’ssa partner and off you go. Partnerships are reevaluated every two years, but if the shit hits the roof, you can always request reassignment. Watch without partners tend to attend the courts and all that crap. You’re a noble, you’re probably used to that nonsense, but the King tries to keep court watch to the lower born who’ll suffer it. They tend not to get dragged in by their families.. and no matter what anyone says about the Watch having no allegiance but Kingdom and King, you’re all still human with blood ties and friends.”

Sora led them through another set of double doors, this time the walls were a reddish brick on the upper half, abused wood panelling on the lower. “And here is the classroom complex. You’ll be sharing it with the students of all four services plus any scholars or paying students who happen to show up. This corridor is the industrials; armour, weapon repair, that sort of thing.” She continued on to a four way. “To your right is the practical courses; drafting, map making and reading, wilderness survival. To your left is the book courses of laws, history, religions, yada yada. Beyond that is the conservitory and the instrument classrooms and practice rooms. Straight ahead is the student’s library and common access to the upper floor and dorms.” She pointed out the doors at the end of each hallway on the one side. “Those lead to the outside world. Stables, riding rings, weapons yard, gardens, diplo-quarters for those who prefer the outside to the inside. ”

Before Sheyna could ask to indulge in curiosity, Sora was opening a door halfway up the library hallway. “Down here is the messhall. Up the stairs is the dorm. They’re over the other to mooch warmth in the winter and fortunately for us they don’t cook a lot of warm foods in the hot month.” The stairs were well worn but clean. “Rooms are organized by arrival section. If you switch from Watch to Outriders you won’t be forced to move rooms, so they tend to get a bit mixed bag by your third year. Coming in just before year start, you won’t have a lot of room’s to pick from, but I’d recommend one near the baths and away from the utilities room.”

Sheyna was a little surprised to learn the two were seperated. The bathing chamber had only two faucilities, while the utilities room had about ten. She could see why one might get a little tired of the traffic.

“People tend to only use the bathsroom if they’re bathing or their room happens to be nearby.” Sora offered as she showed Sheyna what she felt was the pick of the available three rooms. Only one window, high above the bed and facing south. The bed wasn’t particularly wide, and the closet was about a third of the size of her one at home, but there was a weapons rack, a desk, bookshelf and the room was of decent size she supposed for a dorm. It would have fit inside her sitting room in her personal suites at the keep. Of course, she hadn’t exactly spent a lot of time in those rooms and she didn’t think she’d be spending a whole lot in these ones either.

Sora wrote Sheyna’s name on the chalkboard beside the door with a symbol she said represented the watch. “You’ll find people use these as message boards as much as anything since lodestone sticks to them nicely. Now, shall we see about getting you dinner?” Sora stopped at the door back down to the cafeteria, “Er, I suppose I should ask if you have any more questions?”

“What instrument do you play?” Sheyna asked. She knew it was hardly relevant, but her brain was so busy trying to process the dump of information she was grasping.

Sora laughed, “My primary is harp, my secondary is fortepiano. The latter is a bit hard to lug around, so I make do with what I can find during my journey training. But as any good bard will tell you, if it can make music I can do something with it.”

“So modesty isn’t apart of music training?” Sheyna teased.

“Of course not!” Sora looked mock offended as she opened the lower door once more, “All bards learn ego and brass in their first year!”

Was ‘Yum’ an appropriate thought when given first glance at your king? Probably not, but at least it was neither treasonous or truly disrespectful Sheyna of Kirolis decided as she stood in the line awaiting her sovereign’s attention. Her elder brother was busy with the thoughts in his own head and looking importantly bored. She was free to stare at the King Ronis.

Blond hair that seemed to be fading from lack of sun curled at his collar. His beard was neatly groomed, covering lower cheeks, chin and upper lip. His eyes, a dark brown not unlike her father’s had been, seemed tired and he seemed restless. His clothes were not as fancy as those of his courtier’s, soft leather that seemed to bridge between the ranger’s leathers he was said to wear in his younger years and previous to becoming heir and the soft silks that those who danced to his whims wore.

She felt sympathy for him, for the great circles under his eyes. Third born of the second wife of King Filors, Kirolis should never have seen the throne. He should have been left to leading the kingdom’s rangers and messengers. However, disease was an unkind foe and had taken his parents and elder brothers from him along with half the court and a quarter of the population. The fire fever had blazed through the populance before cause or cure could be found. It was the fever that had taken her own parents and left the fourth daughter of a sea roving family free to make her own choices when the brothers ruling their house didn’t know what to do with her.

“House Kirolis, Master Saris and Lady Sheyna.” The herald announced as the elderly couple ahead of them moved on. Apparently they’d been asking for an heir for their House to be chosen from the man’s off-branch. Paperwork and nonsense ran a kingdom, her mother had once observed with a free laugh.

“And what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from Clan Searover?” The king asked, his voice melodious and seemed to carry without effort. Brown eyes seemed to study her carelessly after a brief glance at her brother.

They patrolled and watched the waters of the southern coast. While technically noble, they rarely came to court and even rarer still to play the politics of the kingdom. Their tanned skin and calloused hands from working the ships in their teen years made many of the elder families sneer at them, the southern clans, once pirates and sailors, sneered right back. Better to teach your children discipline and freedom of the sea than have them be wastrels thought the southern clans, while the northern thought any nobles who couldn’t afford to have others do their work for them weren’t true nobles at all.

Saris looked down at her with a pointedly raised eyebrow. She sighed. His opinion was definetly “Your problem, you want this, fine go after it.” He wouldn’t stand in her way, but he wasn’t about to help either. If he hadn’t had to come to the throne town with the tax records, she’d probably have been tossed on the back of a wagon with trade goods on her own.

“I am here to petition the king to join the watch.” Sheyna said, hoping her voice didn’t squeek. She knew it caried, she was more than able to bellow across a deck, but yelling at lazy sailors was a bit different than speaking to the leader of your realm, keeper of your life and safety.

The king straightened, looking somewhat more interested, “And why is that?”

Not exactly the interview she’d been expecting. She’d been dreaming halfway through his casual dismissal with fear and his casual acceptance with a waved gesture of bored hand for weeks. She knew she didn’t exactly look like the warrior type, small even amongst the short southerners, skin dark from sun and breeding, coarse black hair tied in a simple braid rather than elaborate maid created style. But she knew her strengths, she may be small, but she was quick in reaction and movement. She was strong enough to weild weapon and climb ropes and she had endurance of the seas. “Because too many of the watch assigned to the south borders do not understand us or our ways, Sire. I feel that while I can serve well even without the knowledge, I feel I can serve the kingdom better with my experiences of home and family.” A bit arrogant, perhaps, but her father had always said to move boldly.

That brought a hint of a smile to the king’s face. “Ah, of course. It’s not many of your kin and clan that wish to spend the time in the rain and misery to learn our ways to serve their kingdom.”

She felt he was making fun of her, but there was no real response you could make in a viper’s pit when you didn’t want to get bitten. “Yes Sire.” she felt was safe enough.

There seemed to almost be a flash of disappointment in his eyes before he waved over his herald. “Please see the Lady’s titles transferred and have her enrolled.”

And with that she was dismissed from his presence and freed from her brother who seemed more than happy to go find some pretty young maids to flirt with. He’d not marry any of them, but nothing prevented some sport before he went home.

A last glance over her shoulder as she followed the herald, an ancient example of humanity, and she could only wonder if the king had a younger cousin kicking around who had time to chase deer and climb trees.