Skylar tore open sticky eyes with a groan. Light streamed through the small window of his room. For a moment, he was unsure of where he was. He crawled over to the foot of the bed and peered from where the light came. Fields of wheat swayed like rippling waves upon a golden sea. Small figures, so small they looked like ants, moved about in pairs and groups, tending to the land with sweeping strokes of their scythes.

  Right. Memory came about. Painful memory. He bit his lip. Barker, Hug…. The Stronghold…

  He remembered yesterday, too, of meeting Morgana and Fowl, of learning about radiance, the immortal and mortal lands, the war and competition.

  I wonder why she picked me.

  The events of the past day made no sense to Skylar. The woman had told him his talent was not the same as the others, so why was he here and not with his friends?

  Shaking his head, Skylar raised his left hand. Around his ring finger, like a band of the sky, snuggled the blue snake he had yet to name. It raised its head and flicked its tiny, forked tongue, beady eyes unreadable.

  “You don’t understand anything either, do you?” He patted it with a finger, feeling its scaly surface of slight, thin ridges. The scale were smooth and soft, gleaming in the morning light entering from the window.

  Skylar remembered the wounds as he sat there. He prodded his stomach, shoulders and arms. The scratch marks from the roses were gone. Just gone. Only a few pink lines. Strange.

  As he sat in thought, knocks at the door suddenly made him stiffen. It seemed urgent, three quick knocks in succession, and he quickly uncurled his little friend from his finger and hid it under one pillow before the door flung open, a man appearing in its place.

  “Good morning, Skylar.” said the man. He was a thin fellow with heavy dark bags under tired, green eyes with which he peered inside the room with interest.

  Skylar cleared his throat. “Good morning…?”

  “Daren’s the name, a servant of the lady. I was told to bring you to the yard for training. And we are a bit behind schedule.”

  The man donned a languid black robe. Skylar squinted and saw there was a red pattern stitched onto it. Thin streaks of red, like bloody spikes, danced across the fabric. Looking closer, he observed they were roses.

  Morgana’s faction.

  “Oh, okay. One moment.”

  Crawling out of the bed, Skylar was about to reach for his clothes and boots when a bundle of something flew toward him. He yanked it out of the air.

  “For training.” said Daren.

  “Right.”

  Skylar put the shirt and trousers on, astonished by the light, white material. Daren also threw over a pair of sandals, footwear he had seen Morgana, the radiant masters and the people in fanciful coloured robes use.

  “The clothes are bamboo.” Daren explained as if he could read thoughts. “From a radiant master in immortal city. Very smooth, right?”

  “Very.” agreed Skylar. “How is it made?”

  Daren shrugged his shoulders, “The matters of high society are not for a servant like me. This way, please.”

  The man led him out of his room and through the maze of what was the west wing and into one of the servant tunnels. They came out into an open space soon after, having passed many servants who ignored them.

  There, ahead, stood a man bigger than normal, even bigger than Hug, clad in a similar attire as Skylar now wore. He had a sharp face, all hard edges bereft of softness, brown hair tied into a ponytail.

  “Ah, the boy.” The man walked over. He was even more intimidating up front, brown eyes intense. His muscles stretched the white fabric so veins could be seen.

  Daren dipped his head. “Will that be all, Master Meliodas?”

  “You may go, Daren.”

  The man spoke is a voice as rough as his appearance.

  Daren turned to Skylar. “I’ll come get you later. Have fun.”

  Fowl said servants or “fifths” are worth less than dirt here, but everyone speaks very casually to each other. How strange.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  As Daren left, Meliodas beckoned him over to where he had stood when they came. It was on a rectangular patch of sand, like the beaches in the villages near the sea.

  “So you are Skylar.”

  Skylar nodded.

  “That would be yes master.”

  “... Yes master.”

  “I’m Meliodas. I will train you for the coming year and I expect you to be here this time of the day every day without exception. Got it?”

  “So she picks me but won’t even train me herself.” muttered Skylar without thinking, sour about Morgana splitting him up from his friends.

  Faster than thought, something struck him like a hammer. He keeled over, all air blow out of his lungs.

  “Yes master, is the answer you should have gone with.”

  Skylar tried to speak, but couldn’t breathe. He looked out only to be met with another punch.

  The world blackened, and Skylar struggled to stay conscious as the edges of his vision frayed and spun.

  The first thing he saw as clarity returned to the world was hairy, bare feet. Skylar lay flat on the ground, his mouth filled with dry sand. He coughed, spat and looked up to see Meliodas stand over him, mouth pursed.

  “Get up.” said the man. “Or I will start kicking.”

  Skylar forced trembling legs to work. Soon, he stood mostly upright, pressing a hand toward his side and blinking away tears. The pain pulsed every time he took a breath.

  “Next time you speak ill of her, I will break something. Understood?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Great.”

  Melodias took a step back and smiled fiercely. “First lesson of the day, then – always be aware of your surroundings. Had you been more attentive, you would have seen the blow in time to dodge. Instead, you were stuck in your own little head, thinking about the worthless things kids think about. Words have consequences, understood?”

  Skylar gritted his teeth. “Got it.”

  The man’s smile grew wider, which made Skylar frown.

  Dammit. Realizing his mistake, and seeing the man lunge, Skylar threw himself out of the way. The punch brushed his ear.

  “At least you have some survival instincts.”

  The punch stung like a wasp sting but worse.

  Melodias backed up again, relaxing. “You seem like a kid that needs to learn his lessons with his body. Radiance is fickle, as is life. I happen to teach it best with pain, so I think we will get along really well. Sit, let’s talk.”

  Skylar stood still, his legs bent. He looked at the big man, expecting more violence.

  “Sit or I’ll make you sit.”

  Gulping, Skylar sat, his legs stretched out in front of him. The sand was soft, and he pulled his arms over his knees, breath ragged as he focused on Meliodas.

  “Radiance can be broadly divided into five categories.” Melodias squinted at him. “Do you know what a category is?”

  “No, master.”

  “Alright, say you have an ox, chicken, pig, hawk and a sheepdog. Do you use them the same way?”

  Skylar frowned. “What? No.. master.”

  Melodias grinned. “You’re learning, great. So, why do you not use them the same way?”

  “Well, they are good for different things. Oxen pull things, they are strong and big. Chickens lay eggs and–”

  “Exactly,” interrupted the big man. “Animals have different functions, different things they are good at, and are categorised as such. Some are good for eating, some are good for helping out on a farm, which you must be well aware of, right?”

  Skylar noted the condescension in the last part but ignored it. “I don’t understand what this has to do with radiance.””

  Melodias moved quicker than the boy could react and he was once again sprawled on his back, this time with a bruised lip.

  “You know what, I’ve changed my mind.” declared Melodias. “Let’s just see what type you are and work around that. I don’t have time to explain everything to you.”

  Hearing this made Skylar feel both helpless and annoyed. “What the hell was all that for, you old codger? I was just asking!”

  “And I was just telling! It’s not my fault you’re stupid.” The man kicked Skylar in the side, who rolled across the sand. “Call me master or feel pain.”

  Skylar rose to his feet and charged, sand in his eyes but to angry to stop.

  The big man smiled and lifted a foot, and that was all Skylar saw before he woke up on his back. How much time had passed? He sat up, blinking his eyes. Everything hurt.

  “Want more?” asked the big man, sitting cross-legged some distance away, brown eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

  “If I could fight you I would… master.”

  “I bet you can, kid.” Melodias laughed. “in a thousand years.”

  Skylar spat at the man.

  “At least you have some grit for a peasent”

  “Eat shit, master.”

  Melodias grinned. “Be respectful and I’ll break your legs.”

  Skylar forced a gigantic smile. “I was just joking with you, master.”

  “Sure you were.” Melodias grabbed a pinch of sand and let it fall. “Now, sit like me and listen to my instructions.”

  The boy crawled into a cross-legged position.

  “Close you eyes and relax your body. Try to feel everything. Skin, muscles, organs. Feel the way your bloods flows along its channels.”

  Then look deeper. There is something more there, something that belongs solely to you. The heart is the focal point of your body, cauldron of the farm. Feel its beat with your mind and soil, align the trinity and call upon your radiance.”

  Skylar just looked at the big man, wondering what in the Wakkarim the man was going on about. “How can I feel my blood flowing, master? Even a peasent like me knows that’s just not possible. And a cauldron, do you mean a kettle? Why would that be in a farm? And–”

  The big man formed a fist and raised it.

  “Right, right. I’ll do it.”

  Skylar closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. He imagined the things he were told, and actually, to his surprise, felt something there. Deep beneath his sternum, something stirred; growing and making itself known – like a long lost friend; like that thing which you loved when you were a child but had forgotten.

  Instincitivlly, the boy understood what his radiance was. Opening his eyes, he smiled.

  “Oh?” Melodias stared intently at him. “Feel something, kid?

  “Yeah.”Skylar suddenly opened his mouth, spewing out a white mist-like substance. No, not mist-like– cloud-like, bundles of swirling clouds. They blocked out the area in front of Melodias, who frowned in return. It was as if the sky itself had descended to land.

  Out of nowhere, Skylar lunged through the clouds, his right fist crashing into Melodias and taking him by surprise. It connected with the man’s iron-hard chin but still sent him reeling. The man stumbled back, and took a knee, looking up at Skylar, eyes large and pupils dilated like a whipped bull.

  “How do you like that, master?”