A Quest of Heroes (Book #1 in the Sorcerer's Ring)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Thor sat at the wooden table, working away at the bow and arrow laid out in pieces. Beside him sat Reece, along with several other members of the Legion. They were all hunched over their weapons, hard at work on carving the bows and tightening the strings.

"A warrior knows how to string his own bow," Kolk yelled out, as he walked up and down the rows of boys, leaning over, examining each one's work. "The tension must be just right. Too little, and your arrow will not reach its mark. Too much, and your aim will not be true. Weapons break in battle. Weapons break on journeys. You must know how to repair them as you go. The greatest warrior is also a blacksmith, a carpenter, a cobbler, a mender of all things broken. And you don't really know your own weapon until you've repaired it yourself."

Kolk stopped behind Thor and leaned over his shoulder. He yanked the wooden bow out of Thor's grasp, the string hurting his palm as he did.

"The string is not taut enough," he chided. "It is crooked. Use a weapon like this in battle, and you will surely die. And your partner will die besides you."

Kolk slammed the bow back down on the table and moved on; several other boys snickered. Thor reddened as he grabbed the string again, pulled it as taut as he possibly could, and wrapped it around the notch in the bow. He'd been at work on this for hours, the cap to an exhausting day of labor and menial tasks.

Most of the others were training, sparring, sword-fighting. He looked out and in the distance saw his brothers, the three of them, laughing as they clacked wooden swords; as usual, Thor felt they were gaining the upper hand while he was being left behind in their shadow. It was unfair. He felt increasingly that he was unwanted here, as if he were not a true member of the Legion.

"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it," O'Connor said beside him.

Thor's palms were chafed from trying; he pulled back the string one last time, this time with all his might, and finally, to his surprise, it clicked. The string fit neatly in the notch, Thor pulling with all his might, sweating. He felt a great sense of satisfaction with his bow now as strong as it should be.

The shadows were growing longer as Thor wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and wondered how much longer this would go on. He contemplated what it meant to be a warrior. In his head, he had seen it differently. He had only imagined training, all the time. But he supposed this was also a form of training.

"This was not what I signed up for, either," O'Connor said, as if reading his mind.

Thor turned, and was reassured to find his friend's constant smile.

"I come from the Northern Province," he continued. "I, too, dreamed of joining the Legion my entire life. I guess I imagined constant sparring and battle. Not all of these menial tasks. But it will get better. It is just because we are new. It is a form of initiation. There seems to be a hierarchy here. We are also the youngest. I don't see the nineteen-year-olds doing this. This can't last forever. Besides, it's a useful skill to learn."

A horn sounded. Thor looked over and saw the rest of the Legion gathering together, beside a huge stone wall in the middle of the field. Ropes were draped across it, spaced every ten feet. The wall must have been thirty feet tall, and piled at its base were stacks of hay.

"What are you waiting for?" Kolk screamed. "MOVE!"

The Silver appeared all around them, screaming, and before Thor knew it he and all the others jumped from their benches and ran across the field to the wall.

Soon they were all gathered there, standing before the ropes. There was an excited buzz in the air as all the Legion members stood together. Thor was ecstatic to finally be included with the others, and he found himself gravitating to Reece, who stood with another friend of his. O'Connor joined them.