The Journey Through Ferramoust Ch. 1

1. The Soldiers, Panri, and the Castle [Alek]-

Alek sat up drenched in sweat and grabbed the amulet around his neck. He'd been dreaming about the last time he'd seen his mom again. That was a long time ago and this dream only happened when it was drawing close to the Full Moon Festival. It took him a couple of moments to pull himself together. Once he'd done that, he quietly rose from his cot and slipped out of his tent. It was still dark out but he had been living here long enough that he knew his way around.

The training grounds was where he'd lived for the last seven years. It was the best place for the soldiers to train because it had most of the different terrains of Ferramoust all in one area. There was a huge lake that was partially surrounded by trees. Not too far off in the distance near the trees, there were the mountains, and then it turned into grassy plains. The farther you headed towards the castle and away from the mountains, the hotter it became. Though you didn't have to deal with the sand until you got to the far side of the castle.

He jogged silently down the path around some trees to the lake not far from the training grounds. He slowed down once he got near the water, then turned right and followed the edge of the water, leading him farther away from camp. Perfectly aligned for sunrise. The brush got thick and then opened up to a small area, hidden from anyone on that side of the lake. He wasn't sure how long until the sun would rise, but he knew it wouldn't be long. The first light was starting to make everything turn grey, bringing the small forest to life.

Alek sat down on a log not too far from the water and shut his eyes. He made himself listen to the forest, all the different sounds. At 18 moons he'd become a promising soldier and would soon be considered to be the next commander, at least that was his father's ambition. He was now as tall as his father and his hair was short like his father's, making him resemble Bastien a little, and he even carried himself like his father, but he still had too much of his mother in him. He had her big emerald eyes, wrinkles around his eyes when he smiled and looked every bit as kind as she was. Alek wore light-brown trousers and a tunic with some dark brown boots, as did all soldiers and warriors.

Alek just wanted to finish serving his time with the soldiers, go to his station for the 3 moons that are required of all soldiers, then go back to his little village in Ezri. He missed the villagers. He missed helping heal the sick; telling stories and singing to the elderly and the young; milking the Plok; most of all he missed his old life.

His mother, Maudi, died when he was 5 moons old. She went to a Mountainroamers village called Orrana about a day and a half away on horseback. She went with his father, Queen Mylah, and the guard of 10 soldiers. She went there to help nurse some injured miners back to health after they had been attacked by a Remo going down into a new cavern looking for more minerals to mine. The trip to Orrana was safe as the queen had seen in her vision and with Maudi's talent, she and the village doctor were able to heal the injured miners back to health.

She spent a total of 10 days there and on the evening before she was to come back to Ezri, she went into a mine looking for the perfect amulet for Alek. She found a green emerald and went to one of the miners in the mine and asked for him to use his power from the spirit to make the emerald glow when he was headed in the right direction of whatever task was at hand.

After the miner was finished and gave her back the amulet, the cavern started to grow dark, despite the mineral-made lights being all around them. They were attacked by a Remo who had found its way into the cavern. The brave miner told Maudi to hide in one of the carts and stepped in front of her as if to block her from the Remo. But he didn't know where the Remo was or how close the Remo had been to them both.

The Remo lashed out with its power and stabbed through the miner's chest into

Maudi's stomach as she was climbing blindly into the cart and had just turned around to crouch down. That was the only thing that saved her from becoming Remo dinner. She laid there silently putting as much pressure on her stomach as she could to slow the bleeding. The cavern was filled with gut-wrenching screams as the Remo slaughtered the miners, who were blindly trying to find their way out to go get help.

After what seemed like forever, the cavern grew quiet. Maudi remembered that she had some Plok leaves and flowers that were in her pouch and had attempted to cover the wounds with those to heal herself, but in vain for she didn't dare to hum her song to change the wilted plant to a healing solvent. She ended up passing out several times from the pain. Finally, she came to and heard voices calling out in the cavern, looking for survivors. She could see the mineral lights bouncing off the walls again. Either they had burned the Remo to a crisp, or it had moved on to another cavern.

Maudi made a move to pull herself up from the cart, but she cried out in pain and slumped back against the cart. But this was enough for someone to hear her. Fighting to stay conscious she heard someone walk over to where she was and then she saw a blurry face peer down at her for a moment, then disappear and yell, "I found Maudi! She's hurt badly, but seems to be alive!" She heard nothing else after that; she'd slipped out of consciousness again.

When she woke it would be for the last time. With Bastien, the queen, and the doctor all standing around her, she told them what had happened in slow gasps. She knew it was too late for her to be healed, and that she'd never get to see her little one again. She'd accepted that fate down in the cavern but was determined to at least give farewell to the love of her life and her best friend. She gave the amulet that the minor had made for Alek, to Bastien and made him promise that he'd give it to Alek and tell him that his momma loves him and her spirit will always be with him to protect him. Maudi would not be able to keep her promise to her son to be back before the Full Moon Festival.

They'd told Alek only what he needed to know when he was young, but when he joined the army, he demanded that the Queen tell him the whole story. He wanted to know what exactly had happened to his loving mother.

Rustling in the trees to his left brought Alek back to his senses. He knew she was trying to be quiet, but she'd never been as good a tracker as he was. When she got close enough to hear him, he called out, "Come on Zeeta, you have to at least try to be quiet. I heard you the moment you stepped off the path!"

Zeeta stepped into view pushing past the last of the bushes that were hiding Alek from the rest of the world. "Maybe I wanted you to know where I was," She pouted walking over and plopping down next to him on the log. Zeeta is 19 with big light-green eyes, and wavy blonde hair pulled back into a big braid that goes to the small of her back and with medium-length bangs that she tucks behind her slightly pointed ears. She is a soft and slender-looking woman that is very strong for her size. She is about a head shorter than Alek. They both sat there for a long moment in silence, listening to the animals waking up and moving around to look for food. "I knew I would find you out here." She spoke quietly though it wasn't necessary.

"I knew you would come looking," he replied somberly. "I had that dream again. About us, the day before momma left."

Zeeta didn't say anything for a while but looped her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder. Finally, as the sun started to creep onto the surface of the water she said, "She would be proud of who you are and what you do... you know that... right?"

Alek smiled, "Yeah. She would be proud of you too. Probably praising you for keeping me away from trouble."

Zeeta laughed, "Speaking of trouble, we should probably head back to camp before the Sargent thinks we abandoned them and became deserters."

"With me being the commander's son, and you being the queen's favorite since you started talking? Nah, we could get away with murder." He joked but stood up anyway, making Zeeta drop her arm and lift her head. "Time to head to the castle and get this week over with." He murmured more to himself than to Zeeta.

She nodded. "Don't worry, we'll be together, we got this."

---

They made it back to camp on the training grounds to see everyone getting up and moving. They were all getting ready to go to the castle for the Full Moon Festival that is held every year. That is also when soldiers graduate from the academy and would be divided into groups and sent to all the villages on Ferramoust. This year was the year that Alek hoped that he and Zeeta would graduate as warriors.

As they neared the tent that they shared with five other soldiers, they were approached by two of them. Identical twins from the Waterwakers tribe, 19 year old Kianna and Zenya are about as opposite as could be personality-wise. Even their hair and powers are opposite of each other. Zenya is always calm, organized, always has a plan, and keeps her hair up tight and out of her face. Her power is the ability to create ice with a flick of her hand. Kianna is energetic and very disorganized. She is always carefree, smiling, and happy. Her hair is short, just below her ears, and always falling in her face. Her power is the ability to create fire with a flick of her hand. They both have dark-blue eyes and hardly any fat on their bodies.

"Hey, the Sergeant was looking for you two! You're in trouble!" Kianna said the last part in a sing-song voice.

"No, they aren't, stop causing a fuss where there isn't one." Zenya scolded her sister. "But he was asking for the two of you. He asked us to go find you. We are packing up and moving out soon. He doesn't want anyone left behind. Especially the son of Commander Bastien."

Kianna reached into her pouch that hung on the side of her hip and pulled out two rolls and two green apples. She handed them to Alek and Zeeta. "Napped these from the mess hall before they started packing up. You two are so predictable. Always gone in the morning that we head to the castle. Almost like you two don't want to go."

Alek sighed. She wasn't entirely wrong.

One of his first memories was of him and his mother traveling to the castle to visit his father and the queen. That was the only place he loved to be other than his home in Ezri. But it just didn't feel the same going to the castle now, without his mother. But it wasn't the fact that they were going to the castle that made him feel this way. It was the fact that he didn't see much of his father anymore. And when he did, his father wouldn't talk to him long. It was like looking at Alek reminded him too much of his mother, and it hurt Bastien too much to spend long periods with him.

The queen on the other hand was always dragging Zeeta and Alek around the castle, showing them things that she had found on her latest journey, asking about their training, or just sitting with her in her study room. She explained one time about 2 moons ago that Bastien wasn't the same since he lost his partner. "There are just some wounds that you cannot heal." She had said. That was the best way she could explain it to them.

It made sense to Alek. He understood very well that his father wasn't the same after losing the love of his life. It was easier for his father to hide it... at first. Alek believed he did it more for him to not worry about his father and be a kid. Now he noticed his father didn't care enough to hide it anymore.

Alek stayed with Zeeta and her parents until Alek was about 11 moons old when they both were showing their special powers. Zeeta had been showing her powers long before she'd turned 11, but the earliest a child can be taken to train as a soldier is 12. Alek got to go early because his father was the commander and advisor to the queen. And he wasn't going to be left behind while his best friend went off and trained without him.

Zeeta's power was that she could see people's intentions. She'd been able to see them since they were little and always looked out for Alek when he'd hang out with someone who had ill intent for his friendship. It also came in handy in a fight. She would almost always win because she could see the intent of the person's next move.

Alek's power was the power of healing. He could heal someone who had been injured. It started that he could only heal a cut. Now he could heal deep gashes and heal more every day. He also could self-heal. This was very good for him. Most of the healers in the army could either do one or the other. He was the only one who could do both.

Zeeta broke the awkward silence by saying, "Come on, let's go roll up our cots and help take down the tent." She looked at Kianna and smiled. "It's not that we don't want to go to the castle, we just couldn't sleep from your snores." Then she made a loud snoring sound, laughed, and ducked under Kianna's arm as she made to punch at Zeeta. Zenya thought it was hilarious and let out a loud laugh. Zeeta then wrapped an arm through Alek's arm and nudged him towards their tent where they could now see the other three they shared their tent with and started taking off the thick canvas cover to break it down.

Alek gave Zeeta a small smile. "Thanks for that." He murmured. Zeeta shrugged and smiled back. He was happy that he had such a great best friend. "Let's get this wrapped up!" He said to all of them starting to take the lead of things.

---

The trip to the castle was pretty uneventful and hot. Alek and his team trotted on their horses in the back of the group of 200 soldiers that he trained with, some for several years, as they made their way across the plains towards the castle.

As they entered Panri, the village surrounding the castle, you could smell all the different foods the villagers were making for the full moon festival. Panri was a village of all cultures.

This was one of Alek's favorite parts about coming to the castle was all the different types of ways people cooked their foods. He looked at Zeeta and at the same time, they both inhaled deeply and grinned at each other. He could smell what smelt like lamb-roast cooking not too far away, but that was cut off by someone roasting potatoes, he smelled something spicy, but sweet like it had a fruit cooking in with it. He saw a white-haired woman roasting a whole hog on a spit, it was huge and golden brown. Almost ready. There was a big burly man with dark hair and skin next to it at a table chopping up fresh apples to cook down in a pot with some onions to make a sauce to drizzle over the hog.

They all walked down the main path through the village to the castle. Some of the villagers would wave as they passed, or shout about how some of them should come to visit during the feast and eat some of their food, and some would even toss apples or fruits to some of the passing soldiers for them to eat. Panri was one of the most hospitable villages in all of Ferramoust. One of the villagers tossed a bundle of carrots toward Zeeta who caught them, thanked the woman, and passed them out amongst Aleks team.

Any other time of year, entering the gates to the castle it would get quiet with all the villagers being on the other side of the gate, and they would close the gate. But when it was the Full Moon Festival, the gates were kept open and there were tents pitched all over the castle ground so that everyone could have a taste of everyone's food, listen to music, or could look at different paintings from the different cultures, there was an area set up to show the younger generation how to make clay pots, bowls, cups, and different odd little trinkets.

There was a tent Alek saw had a man from the Earthlians tribe showing how, with his powers, he made the staffs that the soldiers wore on their backs and how each one was made uniquely for each soldier depending on their powers and their needs; and another tent right next to him that had a woman from the Mountainroamers tribe showing how, with her powers, she made the stones that went into the top of the staff for the warriors and how each stone would turn orange when finished and was tied with the soldier and their specific needs, and according to their powers.

The closer they got to the castle the less crowded it became. Soldiers had started to spread out, some looking at the food, talking to villagers, and going to enjoy music. The festival hadn't started yet, but that didn't stop everyone from enjoying themselves and walking around. They still had time before the festival kicked off for them all to get situated.

Alek and his team went to the corral to put up their horses and feed them the carrots the villagers gave Zeeta. When soldiers first get sent to the training grounds to become a warrior, they get placed with a group of five to ten other people from different tribes that they would be with until they all finish serving as warriors. Alek and Zeeta got lucky that they were close to the queen and commander. That is what kept them together. They didn't like using that as a pull but in this situation, they hadn't minded at all. They got put with five other soldiers; twins Kianna and Zenya from the Waterwakers tribe, Zyn from the Sandsifters tribe, Tensym from the Mountainroamers tribe, and Earo (Ee-are-oh) from the Earthlians tribe.

Zyn standing a little taller than Alek, has cocoa skin, honey-brown eyes, and short curly hair that is pulled back into a ponytail. She is very muscular, slim, and toned. Zyn is the oldest of the group, 21, and also the most naive. Her power is animal imitation. She did not discover her gift until she was 14 when she was watching a bird flying around and wished that she could fly like a bird, and then suddenly was a bird.

19-year-old Tensym is the shortest of the group and has grey eyes, extremely fair skin, long white hair, and a beard both braided and stops mid-belly and back. He is muscular and the fastest runner in the group, despite his size. He is always laughing and smiling and has a happy-go-lucky kind of spirit about him, he is humble, generous, and wise for one so young. Tensym's power is the power to erase and insert memories. He is extremely careful of this power. He used it once on his sister and made her forget she had a brother. It was hard for him to undo that spell since he wasn't sure then how to insert the lost memories back and it hurt them both emotionally.

Earo is also 19 and is almost as tall as Alek. He has light brown eyes, and hair, which was shaved on the sides and back of his head, and the top was braided and down to his shoulders. He has a baby smooth chin. He hardly ever smiles, and always tries to act tough. He is a very skilled fighter and likes to pick fights and usually ends up winning when he stays calm, thanks to his power. His power is the ability to mock another person's power as long as they are within a certain distance of him.

When they all left the corral, they headed up to the castle to find their room and freshen up. They all walked up the castle steps and through the main doors. Once they entered a maid led them to a corridor on the left that led off to a wing that had hundreds of common rooms that held enough beds for up to 10 people to sleep. They passed 21 doors on their left side before the maid turned and opened. Without a word, she made a quick curtsy and then quickly made her way back to show the next team of soldiers to their rooms.

They all stayed in the same room, just like they camped in the same tent when they were at the training grounds. When you are put in a team you are supposed to treat the others in your team like they are your brothers and sisters. This was especially true for Alek's team. Alek trusted his team with his life, and they trusted him the same.

The room was round with the beds spaced far enough away that two people could stand on the same side of the bed and not bump into each other. At the end of the bed sat an empty trunk for them to place their belongings in while they stayed at the castle. On the left side of each bed sat a side table with a little lantern that set off a soft yellow light. It was not a flame. They got their lights from certain minerals that the Mountainroamers fused together with their powers. Across from the door that they entered was another door that led to the bathing room, and next to that, the latrine. Thanks to the Earthlians and Sandsifters working together they had running water and a way to get rid of the waste and leave the latrine in a more sanitary state.

Alek got washed up, changed into a light blue tunic and clean pair of light brown trousers and then laid down on the bed closest to the door to rest his head. He had hoped to get a little sleep before the queen came looking for him and Zeeta. He was sure he had some time. Zeeta and Zyn did the same as Alek by getting washed up and changed before lying down.

Zyn had changed into a tan tunic and pair of trousers. She started digging in her sack for something. Zeeta had changed into a blue dress that stopped just above her knees. Alek noticed that she had let her hair out of its braid and brushed it out. He thought she looked breathtakingly beautiful. The other four soldiers took the opportunity to go roam the castle grounds.

Though Alek was the youngest he was the leader and looked up to in the group. That didn't happen because his father was commander. No, Alek had to earn his way to that position. He didn't ask for it either.

Not long after getting placed in the group, Earo found out that he was the commander's son and thought he was going to bully Alek. Alek dealt with it for a while but quickly got tired of Earo constantly nagging him and trying to pick a fight.

One day, while they were in training, they were asked to be placed in pairs for hand-on-hand combat. As usual, Zeeta and Alek paired together. But before they could get started Earo started making sly comments just loud enough that they both could hear him about how weak Alek must be to always pair up with her. Zeeta looked at Earo and rolled her eyes then told Alek to prove to him how wrong he was and to finally shut him up. Alek nodded. So, he walked over to Earo, while Zeeta walked over and stood next to Tensym.

Once the fighting started the other soldiers in the groups surrounding them started to lightly spar but their attention was focused on Alek and Earo. Zeeta was confident in Alek's victory. She was more interested in seeing Earo's ego get crushed.

The two circled each other for a moment sizing each other up, Earo still taunting, grinning. "You can't even beat a girl, that's pretty pathetic for the son of the commander. Is that why you only spar with her? So that nobody knows how weak you truly are?" Alek didn't say anything but started to step forward as he and Earo circled, closing in the space between them slowly. "Or is it that you get off on hitting a woman? I bet that's what it is. Alek lost his mommy when he was little and now, he's got to beat on women because the one person he trusted left him alone and afraid. And of course, daddy was always off at the castle playing advisor to the queen. So, you were basically orphaned, weren't you?"

Alek stopped circling an arm's length away from Earo, shifted his left foot behind him, making himself a smaller target, and put his hands up while bending his knees. Putting himself in a defensive fighting pose. Still, he stayed silent. His eyes stayed locked on Earo's and he smiled. Earo stopped, and took a similar pose, now only smiling. "Oh, did I touch a nerve? Good. Then it must be true." An edge had started to creep into his voice. Alek was starting to get on his nerves.

Alek's only response was to close his eyes and take a slow breath, still smiling. This made Earo frown. It was bad enough that Alek wasn't responding to him, but then he had the nerve to mock him by smiling and closing his eyes? Earo saw this as an advantage, thinking Alek was being cocky, and took this moment to close the space between Alek and took a fake jab at Alek's gut, then a hook to Alek's chin.

Alek wasn't fooled by the fake jab and blocked the hook easily, then moved back into the same pose as before. He took a slow breath out and opened his eyes to look at Earo's face. Earo was furious. Earo swung another hook towards Alek's face and this time Alek took a step forward and to the side, blocked the hook again, and did a sweep kick, knocking Earo on his back. Alek then stepped out of Earo's reach and back into his original pose.

Earo did a kip up, snarled, and lunged at Alek, trying to tackle him to the ground. Alek danced out of the way, always keeping his right side facing Earo, and watching his body language. Earo spun around and screamed, "Fight me, you coward!" As he threw a jab and a punch toward Alek. Alek easily dodged the jab, grabbed the punch with his right hand, and punched him in the gut with his left hand. Before Earo had time to pull his fist away, Alek grabbed his upper arm with his left arm and wrapped his right around Earo's wrist, lifted his right foot to Earo's stomach, and rolled back to his back, bringing Earo with him and throwing him over Alek. Earo hit the ground hard enough that it knocked the breath out of him for a moment. When he finally got up Alek was already standing, back in the original pose.

Around them, everyone stopped sparring and formed a wide circle, their attention now on the fight. Even the sparring teacher watched the fight without interruption.

This time Earo approached cautiously, taking a similar pose. They stood there for a moment staring each other down. Alek's face was blank of emotion, Earo was baring his teeth at Alek. Alek jabbed at Earo's face; Earo blocked. Alek jabbed again, this time toward his stomach. Earo again blocked it. Alek faked a quick jab at Earo's stomach, Earo took the bait, and Alek quickly jabbed Earo's face, landing on his nose. Then quickly followed through with his left fist and hooked him in the jaw with such force that it knocked Earo out.

When Earo fell, Alek dropped his arms, straightened up, and stood at attention. When Earo came to, Alek leaned over Earo, held his hand out to him, and said, "I don't have anything to hide from anyone. You don't know my past because you never asked. You are a great fighter, but you judge Zeeta too quickly because she is a woman and looks soft. You wouldn't stand a chance against her."

Earo knocked his hand out of the way and sat up. Blood was dripping from his nose and his chin was already swelling where Alek had punched him. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and spit some blood on the ground between his legs. "Your power, it's healing, isn't it?"

Alek nodded. Earo nodded then used his power to copy Alek's and healed himself. Alek offered his hand again, and this time Earo let Alek help him up. Once up, Earo shook Alek's hand and said, "Thanks, man. Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I shouldn't have said-"

Alek held up a hand to stop him, "No, you shouldn’t have. If you start talking like that to me again, I will put you back on the ground. And I won't give you a warning. Oh, and you better look out for Zeeta. She'll be getting revenge for your remarks about her." He flashed a grin and looked past him at Zeeta, who stood with her arms folded staring coolly at Earo's back. Then Alek got serious and his face dark, "Oh. And don't ever disrespect my family again."

"Yes sir."

---

"The trees sway in time with the child,

as if the wind was dancing along.

The frogs sing and the crickets play,

joining in his angelic song.

The fairies of the forest all gather around,

to dance and sing and play.

Unaware is the swaying little boy,

That the fairies are out today..."

The beginning of a Woodlling lullaby that Zeeta was quietly singing was the last thing Alek heard before nodding off to sleep.