When Peri finally found her way back to the Great Hall it was just past 6 bells and the tables were laden with food and people hungry to fill their plates. The overwhelming noise, smell and amount of bodies pressed into one space as the new Novices and returning Chasers gathered made the uncomfortable ache from the outside streets return. The only thing that Peri could make out from the crowd were the color differences between the brown Novice tunics and the blue, gray, and gold of the Chasers flight leathers and not a familiar face in sight. She was about to head back to her room where at least she could breathe in peace when she ran face first into the ice-eyed boy from the Rookery.
This close, he stood a good five inches taller than her, his grip on her shoulders firm but not painful. The Morozov boy tilted his head, recognition sparking in his eyes before there was a lingering sigh just behind him.
“Do you mind moving? Some of us are hungry.” Peri blinked, turning from the boy before her to the two people standing just behind him wearing equally haughty expressions.
One was a delicate looking young woman the same height as the Morosov boy with sharp cheekbones, two moles and dark blue almond shaped eyes. Her silky black hair was braided over her shoulder with shiny pearl clips interspersed through it, any one of which could have bought the entirety of Dolgoon without a second thought. She had her hands clasped in front of her elegantly, held in perfect composure despite the chaos that clambered about in the Great Hall, though the slight curl of her lips suggested she wasn’t nearly as content with the place as she appeared.
The other was the same height as Peri, though their hair looked like they had taken a set of shears to it, chopped short and uneven to their jaw, freckles splashed across their cheeks and nose. Where the girl was elegant and refined, this person was busy chewing on their pinky nail with a bored look, their golden gaze lazily drifting around the Great Hall without showing any real interest. All three were dressed in the same Novice uniform that Peri was but while she felt like she was a child playing pretend, they looked powerful and confident, as if it had been tailor made for each of them. Considering the company she was in, Peri didn’t doubt they were personally made to each of their measurements.
“Any time now,” the tall girl hummed.
Peri frowned, a spitting retort on the tip of her tongue before another hand wrapped around her arm, this time far more harsh in its grip.
“Peri!” Tuya hissed, pulling tightly on her arm. “I’ve been looking all over for you! I’ve got us seats.”
“Good, now you can be on your way,” the girl said before wrapping her hands around the Morosov boys upper arm with a simpering smile. “If you’ll excuse us.”
The trio seemed to float past the two friends, people scattering from their path as they walked to the table closest to where the Headmaster and other Masters sat on the far end of the hall. Even from that distance, Peri could make out the familiar shape and hair of the Salhi’s that they had traveled with on the train that morning meaning that the other two people could have only been Nobility like the Morosov boy, as if she couldn’t have suspected that from their general awful demeanor.
“I can’t believe you were that close to the Morosov, Shimizu and Lei heirs!” Tuya hissed as she dragged her to a table far away from where the Nobility sat, tucked into the back corner and shoved onto a pillow with at least twenty other people crowding the table with them. The itchiness she had felt previously returned with a passion as Peri fought to remain seated instead of running away. Her only distraction was when Tuya started shoveling food onto the plate in front of her with an angry frown on her face.
“What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I was just standing there and somehow that became a problem,” Peri hissed to her before shoving a piece of flatbread into her mouth.
“You know what Elder Davaa told us,” Tuya pressed as she spooned some of the aromatic curry from the center table onto her own plate with fluffy rice. “It’s not like the Valley of the Wind here, or anywhere in the South. The Nobility don’t like disrespect!”
“Tell that to the Salhi’s,” Peri retorted, gesturing to the skittish looking Southern Nobles where they sat with their heads down with the gathered Morozovs, Lei and Shimizu. “You think they’re the picture of grace and sophistication? The size of their herds and their stupid lineage are the only thing that give them any sort of status. They have to muck out their goat pens just like the rest of us!”
“Please Peri, we’ve only been here a day and I would rather like you to last longer than that!”
“You make it seem as if I go looking for trouble!”
“You’re looking to get your head fried for that stunt you pulled earlier, goat herd,” another voice added as a hand slammed onto the table top. Tuya jumped back with a squeak, head snapping to the side at a speed that Peri found concerning as she watched Khan Zarena lean over where they sat. Peri however continued to chew on her bread, never losing eye contact with the upstart heiress. She felt a cruel sort of satisfaction when looking at the bandage she saw on Zarena’s cheek, even if nicking her with her knife had been an accident.
“I’ll make sure that your life here is more miserable than any northern winter. You’ll wish you never left your little speck on the map when I’m done with you.” Behind her, two other golden-eyed and honey-skinned Novices snickered, no doubt from some offshoot of the Khan line that also found perverse pleasure in making other people feel small. Unfortunately for them, they were dealing with someone Elder Davaa had once accused of being ‘blunt as a rock with a personality twice as stubborn.’
“Fly back to your perch, songbird,” Peri retorted coldly, ignoring the fearful whine that escaped Tuya. She leaned back just enough so Zarena caught sight of the knife that she had sheathed at her waist. “I’m sure your golden cage misses you.”
The air around them crackled with electricity as Zarena’s hair stood almost completely on end, her teeth bared like an angry barn cat before she was quickly pulled away by one of her cousins. She looked ready to turn on them as well before she saw where they were looking. A Chaser in gray flight leathers was headed directly for their table.
Schooling her expression back into haughty indifference, a default for the children of Nobility it seemed, Zarena tilted her chin up as the Chaser approached, Peri watching them warily as Tuya tried her best to disappear into the cushion she was sitting on.
“Novice Zarena? Novice Peregrine?” The Chaser looked at the gathered Novices with a searching eye, waiting for the two girls to speak up. They were somewhat stocky, close cropped hair and the same coloring that Tuya and Peri had. Another Southern born Wind Chaser, though unlike the two girls, this person carried an authority and confidence that Peri longed to have. The Chaser waved their hand, gesturing for someone to answer them.
“I’m Novice Peregrine,” Peri said before gesturing to Zarena with her remaining half of bread. “That’s Novice Zarena.”
Zarena let out an insulted huff, as if even having Peri gesture to her was an insult but the Chaser paid her outburst no mind.
“Master Taymour would like to remind you both that your punishment for your earlier confrontation in the inner courtyard starts tomorrow before dawn in the training building behind the Novice block. Someone will be by in the morning to collect you.” the Chaser explained. They cast a serious eye between the two parties before settling on the Khans.
“I would return to your table, Novice Khan, before you lose your chance to finish eating. We don’t do room service here,” the Chaser stated bluntly before turning on their heel to head back to where the other Wind Chasers were reclining near the fire pit.
Zarena let out an irritated sound that sounded like an angry horse whiny before sending one final glare in Peri’s direction. When the other girl didn’t flinch or hide like Tuya was trying to do, she turned back toward wherever she had come from, stomping away with her cousins on her heels.
“We’re never going to make it to final exams,” Tuya groaned, her head pressed into the table top as her hands twisted nervously at her braid. Peri meanwhile watched as the Khans headed not for the table where the other Noble children sat, but to another separate table, sending glares over their shoulders as they went to sit back down. Peri took another bite of her bread, the itchiness under her skin still present but overshadowed by the strange intersection of people she now found herself in. The rules were rigid, the class barriers firmly in place but despite the all too rocky start to her day and the crushing feeling of the city pressing in too closely, Peri couldn’t help but feel a twinge of excitement creep up on her as well.
“Look on the bright side,” Peri mused. “At least Elder Davaa isn’t here to lecture us anymore.”
Peri narrowly managed to dodge the piece of bread Tuya tossed at her head before they both dissolved into a fit of giggles that faded into the cacophony of the Great Hall.
With no lectures or classes to prepare for, the Novices were all free to spend the evening as they wished. Many gathered in the small inner courtyard that was located between their living quarters, the Great Hall and the Academy Chapel, laughing and talking in their various groups while others mingled through the halls, in and out of their rooms. Tuya and Peri had gone their separate ways after dinner, Tuya to go see if she could get a peek at the Academy’s substantial library while Peri retreated from the crowds and people back to her tiny room with its tiny bed and quiet. It wasn’t long before the urge to move crept back into her bones and muscles.
She could always go and visit Tsas but after the scene she caused with the Morozov boy in the Rookery, she wasn’t tempted to press her luck with the Rookery Keepers patience and visiting her companion would only rile the little bird up and cause the rest of the birds to spend the night ill at ease. That definitely wouldn’t gain her any favors with the Keeper.
Peri looked at the little desk with its writing set and candle at the ready. She could always write to her parents. Even though it had only been a day since she had seen them, it felt like it was a lifetime away and they were expecting her to write them. Then again, what would she tell them? She didn’t like the city with its sounds, smells and overcrowding, she had already gotten into a fight with a member of the Nobility as well as forcing her way into the Rookery and landing herself with two weeks of extra training. It didn’t sound like the glowing report that she was sure her parents were expecting from their pride and joy. She would write to Elder Davaa about it but she was sure he would only say it confirmed every suspicion he had ever had about her behavior before telling her not to mention she was his student to anyone important - like the Nobility she had already irritated.
Looking out the window to the world beyond made her feel like she was in another world. Back home, the sky was a wash of colors, stars and constellations that she knew by heart, the moon a guiding friend through the dark as night birds, insects and all matter of creatures sang their haunting song. Here it was like no one knew what sleep was. Outside she could only make out the brightest stars, barely visible pinpricks in the velvet sky as the electric lights that Tuya had fawned over washed out everything else that was interesting. The city seemed to be breathing, everything awash in yellow light and sound as people still rushed about doing their business on foot, horse back or in carriages. Even with the Academy’s sound barrier, with her window open to the breeze Peri could make out the barest hum of a city that never rested or slowed down. It set her teeth on edge and made the itchiness come back.
She wanted to run. She longed for the mountain trails back home, the open fields and the limitlessness that came with the natural world spread out before her without walls, buildings or trains to interrupt it. Just that morning she had been excited to escape it all, but sitting on her narrow bed with only the breeze as company, she couldn’t help but feel like she should have cherished it a little more.
When the noise of the other Novices quieted out in the hall, she figured the best thing she could do for herself then was get some sleep before Master Taymours’ morning training. She set her Novice Uniform out on top of her trunk after fishing out her sleep clothes and stuffed goat. She held it close to her chest, breathing in the familiar musk of millet, goat and bird that permeated everything in their little house back home, fighting off the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks as she crawled into her narrow cot. As she got comfortable with the itchy blanket and unfamiliar surroundings, Peri couldn’t help but be soothed by the gentle breeze that came through the window, caressing her cheek the same way her mother would when she was restless.
She didn’t have much from home - Tuya, Tsas, her goat and maybe that grouch Sanan if she was desperate - but she always had the wind. As the breeze drifted lazily through the window, comforting the young girl who was far from home, Peri quickly found herself succumbing to sleep.
It was the hand that woke her up.
Peri wasn’t sure how someone had gotten into her room - she was sure she had locked it the second she closed the door - but there was no doubt in her groggy mind as she came to that there was someone in her space and they had their hand pressed over her mouth.
The hand was firm but careful not to cover her nose, though that did nothing to help the panicked wheezing that filled the room. It took her a moment to realize that the aborted choking noise was her as panic flooded her senses.
Her first reaction was to lash out but there was another set of hands gripping her feet and arms tightly to keep her from hitting her attacker. When that didn’t work she resorted to her other natural defense, her fingers pricking as wind came rushing into the room from her open window. The three people who had appeared in her room stumbled slightly, caught off guard by the maelstrom that Peri had summoned before the attacker holding her mouth raised their own hand toward the window. With the flick of their wrist it shut, the air around them going dead and still despite Peri’s attempt to summon more. It was then that the person covering her mouth spoke.
“You’re a feisty one, Novice Peregrine, I’ll give you that.” Peri stilled, her eyes finally focusing enough through the panic to recognize the person hovering over her face. It was the Chaser from the Great Hall who had delivered Master Taymours’ message and despite the way Peri had reacted to them waking her up, she could make out a grin on their face.
“Next time we’ll be more gentle with waking you up. For now though, you’re going to have to trust me, one Child of the Wind to another, alright?”
Peri’s eyes darted from the Chaser above her to the two others that she could now make out in the hazy city light that filtered through her window. They too were in Chaser flight leathers, eyeing her warily as if they either expected her to lash out with her body or with her gift again should they let their guard down again. She doubted that they would hurt her, they had every opportunity to do so when she was asleep but had instead woken her up. The only action taken against her was when she lashed out and even then it was only to detain her, not to harm her. She looked back at the Chaser holding her mouth and gave an aborted nod. Flashing another grin, the Chaser lifted their hand off her mouth as the others released her arms and legs, allowing the Novice to shakily sit up on her bed.
“What’s going on?” Peri asked hoarsely, her voice thick with sleep and dry from panic.
The Chasers all grinned at one another, as if waking up Novices in the middle of the night was the highlight of their duties. The familiar Chaser was the one to answer.
“Think of this as a little welcome party for all the Wind Novices,” they explained, their eyes alight with excitement. “We’ve all done it and now it’s your turn.”
“My turn to do what?” Peri asked, drawing her legs up onto the bed so she could hug her knees. Was everyone in the Capital this strange?
“To trust your elders,” one of the other Chasers snorted. “And let the wind guide you.”
Peri raised an eyebrow at them. “And how exactly do I ‘let the wind guide me’ for this welcome party?”
The three Chasers shared another mischievous grin that only served to make Peri more nervous about what they were going to ask of her. Then the blindfold came out and she knew the people of the Capital were truly out of their mind.
Walking blindfolded through the silent Academy wasn’t something Peri thought she would ever be doing. Training, studying, honing her powers, yes, but sightlessly stumbling while holding the hand of who she assumed to be another Novice in front of her and behind her was an experience so strange she wasn’t sure she was actually awake.
They moved around the Novice block, stopping every so often so the Chasers could reenact the scene they had done to Peri and the others to add to their strange caravan of the blind. They had clearly started on the bottom floor, working their way to each Novice’s room until they could move to the next floor. Navigating the stairs without seeing them had been a harrowing experience, one Peri would sooner not repeat. She was just glad she was on the second floor and not the first.
The final time they ascended the stairs, a harsh cold wind whipped past them from above. Peri almost tripped when the realization struck her that these Chasers were going to be taking them outside, and on the battlements no less.
One by one the Novices made their trembling way up the final staircase, each of them letting out a sigh of relief when they finally hit level ground though it was small comfort when faced with the bitter outdoor temperatures. They were shaking as they were told to come to a stop, Peri’s own teeth rattling against one another as she fought the urge to hold herself. She would not appear weak in front of whatever was to happen.
“You may remove your blindfolds,” a low voice announced, harsher than the Chaser who had spoken to Peri and without any of the excitement the trio had displayed in enacting their strange task. It was somehow familiar though, with the comforting lilt of a Southern accent that tugged at a sleepy memory in Peri’s mind. It was only when Peri removed her blindfold that she recognized who was speaking.
Standing before the assembled Novices was Master Taymour.
Unlike her students, she was dressed for a trip outside in the same flight leathers and warm long coat she had been wearing when she separated Peri and Zarena earlier that day in the inner courtyard. Her face still held the stern authority that she had displayed at the assembly but there was something almost warm in her gaze as she looked over them all, standing in their nightclothes and shivering in the wind. When she spoke again, her voice carried like a thunderclap.
“As you know, my name is Taymour of Wind. I am in charge of your training as Novices to become Wind Chasers. Due to your lack of Noble status, you will only be considered for this line of work unless you wish to move on to the Predictor track.”
Peri’s lips tightened into a harsh line, her fists clenched tightly at the reminder of what the Predictors had decreed in that small underground room. She didn’t need to look around to know that there would be no Nobility in the line of Novices.
You have been tested, you have been assigned, and you will take your assignment and be on your way.
Master Taymour squared her shoulders, looking at each of them with her piercing gaze. “You may have heard that Wind is the lesser of the four forms. That it is the easiest to learn and therefore isn’t worth very much consideration when it comes to learning how to wield and control it. Let me be the first to rid you of that assumption.”
She held out her hand and as the students watched, a small concentrated twist of wind swirled to life in her palm. They watched it spin at an extraordinary pace before Master Taymour sent it away with the flick of her wrist.
“Was that supposed to be impressive?” One of the other Novices whispered, their accent giving them away as an Easterner. It was haughty enough to have come straight from the mouth of the Shimizu heiress Peri had run into at dinner.
Until the tops of the nearby trees were sheared off in a precise cut.
Peri’s eyes widened, looking from the decapitated trees to where Master Taymour stood with a small but pleased smile on her lips.
“Razor wind,” Master Taymour explained in an almost conversational tone. “Sharp, invisible and destructive. Say nothing of whirlwinds, dust devils and cyclones or the fact that every element a Storm Warden commands has a basic foundation in the way the wind moves.”
“To be in this track is to be underestimated, underappreciated and overlooked. I’m here to make sure that you will be none of those things. The fact that you are standing here means that you’ve more than earned your place so let no one make you forget that, am I understood?”
“Yes Master,” the Novices all exclaimed, their voices far more enthusiastic than their trembling frames suggested.
“Good,” the older woman said before holding up a finger to them. “Then let this be your first lesson as Wind Novices. Chaser Gerelt, if you would be so kind.”
The Chaser from the Great Hall stepped forward, that same excited grin on their face even as they came to stand at rigid attention.
“First rule of being a Wind Chaser,” Chaser Gerelt said with a proud tone of voice, “Don’t walk; stride. Second rule of being a Wind Chaser, don’t stride; fly.”
They sent a wink in Peri’s direction before doing an about face towards the wall of the battlement. In almost perfect synchronicity, the two other Under Chasers leapt toward the boundary wall, clearing it in a single stride and disappearing through the air and out of sight.
Peri’s heart leapt into her throat as she and the other Novices ran toward the wall, desperately trying to see where the Under Chasers had disappeared to. They were surprised instead to find them shooting through the air past them and up higher into the night sky like human comets, defying gravity as they soared through the air before descending to the grounds on the backside of the Academy with loud and joyous laughter, clutching one another as the adrenaline faded from their systems. The other Novices look baffled and almost terrified at the stunt the Under Chasers had just pulled while Peri watched in rapt attention, her mind replaying over and over the spine chilling moment of sheer insanity before she witnessed the extraordinary. That was more than what the Rookery Keeper had done in the tower, more than what Peri herself managed out on the steppes with her assisted jumps and controlled falls. That was flight - and she was desperate to know how they managed it. Her mouth opened before she had a chance to even think of stopping what came out.
“When will I learn to do that?”
There was a soft chuckle from behind her before the steady figure of Master Taymour came to stand beside the young Novice at the battlements edge wall. Her expression was softer now, a barely-there smile tugging at her lips as she watched her Under Chasers shove at one another three stories below.
“I can teach you many things, Corbingiin Peregrine,” Master Taymour muttered, Peri blinking at the use of her Southern patronym. “But the first thing I must impart to you is the importance of being on time. I will see you in the morning for training, bright and early.”
Peri’s head bobbed up and down eagerly. “Yes Elder.”
Unlike that morning, that lifetime ago of a morning, Master Taymour didn’t correct Peri for how she referred to her. Instead there was a twinkle in the older woman’s gaze, as if they were sharing a secret, before she turned to order the other Novices back to bed. While the others scuttled and shivered in the night air, desperate to get back inside and out of the bitter cold, Peri couldn’t be bothered to shake from the cold or the shock of being pulled from bed at such an odd hour. She felt like she had looked behind the curtain and been shown a secret that had her heart racing and her fingers twitching with the need to try the trick out herself. She followed after the other Novices with a borderline skip in her step, a grin pulling at her frozen cheeks, Chaser Gerelt’s words still echoing in her head.
Don’t stride; fly.