Read Online Jabberwocky by Daniel Coleman - Free Book Online Page A

Chism. Tjaden couldn’t figure out why anyone, even a wild man, would pick such a small boy as a Fellow. Until the boy grew half a foot, he wouldn’t match up with the next smallest recruit in a fight. As he tried to figure out the lad, Tjaden saw that the boy ate meticulously. Pick up fork, then knife, cut meat, stab, lift to mouth, lay down fork, lay down knife, wipe mouth twice. He repeated the pattern with every bite. Each time he laid down the knife and fork they were perfectly straight.
    I guarantee his blades are free of rust and his forms with weapons are precise. There were things he could learn from each one of the recruits, whether Elite or Fellow.
    Rodin joined the group, and again Brin-Dar was the first to make introductions. As soon as the last recruit was finished, Rodin went to work like a bear with a barrel of salmon. Rodin and Zarin—Tjaden caught the pale young man’s name the second time around—became instant friends and rivals. For some time the only interruptions in Rodin’s recounting of valor were Zarin’s tales of incomparable skill.
    They droned on and on.
    “That’s almost as good as the time I rescued a baby black bear from a cougar. Its mother came along thinking I was the threat! I fought her off without hurting her too badly.”
    “Oh yeah? When I was hunting a pair of Jubjub birds I stumbled into a grizzly den—”
    “And I once slew eight giants with a single arrow!” Ollie interjected loudly, referring to the legend of Bindle Surebeam. Everyone at the tables laughed uproariously at Ollie’s audacity.
    That won’t make him popular with those two , thought Tjaden. But Rodin and Zarin got the point and yielded a portion of the conversation to the group.
    As they finished dinner the recruits returned to their barracks, eager and apprehensive for the following day.
    The next morning, Tjaden and Ollie arose and donned their new uniforms. Both wore pale blue. Not the hallowed colors of Elite or Fellow, and roughly fitting, but a peacock with a thousand tail feathers wouldn’t be prouder of his attire than Tjaden was to be outfitted in soldier’s garb. After inspecting every inch of each other’s uniforms for dirt, scuffs, and stray threads they made their way to the Assembly Hall.
    Tjaden entered the hall and stopped, gazing at the huge vault of the auditorium. He’d never seen a room so large and wondered how the ceiling could stay up. What supports it?
    Ollie interrupted his astonishment, urging him to take his seat alongside the other recruits.
    On the stage of the Assembly Hall were two rows of twenty-one chairs in front of a large Circle and Sword banner. Some of the Elite recruits were already seated in front of their Fellows. Tjaden was shocked to see the young boy, Chism, in the front row and his gray-haired companion in the rear with the Fellows.
    The walls and columns were adorned with pale blue, to match the recruit uniforms, and midnight blue for the Elites. A half dozen Elites stood at attention along each wall. Nearly two hundred people were in attendance, mostly family of the recruits. The hall could’ve held ten times that number.
    A lieutenant, Markin by name, opened the ceremony by reading the names of all twenty-one recruits. After enthusiastic applause from the audience, Lieutenant Markin introduced Captain Darieus to more thunderous applause.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, the young men seated behind me have been chosen from thousands of candidates across the kingdom. Each one has already proven himself to be a superb fighter. They will soon join the preeminent fighting force not only in the kingdom of Maravilla, but in the world.”
    More applause.
    “Even at their young age, the recruits seated in front of you have accomplished many admirable tasks. Collu endured twelve rounds in Palassiren’s tournament this year, winning every match. Polane single-handedly killed a voracious wolf while defending his family’s flocks. Our youngest