Media: Elijah Khavarosk

Music of the chapter: Seconds to Eclipse by Alexei Zakharov

Cadence barely had time to admire the recruits' common room before she was snatched to one side by several classmates. She did see, however, how lovably quaint the room was—soft couches, a bricked hearth where a fire crackled merrily, round tables, fluffy mats and even couches, a luxury only nobles could afford. The inhabitants of the room minded their own business. Some ringed the hearth playing a game of snake and mice. Others joked and talked around a game of cards by the chipped wooden tables. They looked like normal people. Cadence had braced herself for a spartan room where the walls were built from stone and steel, people wearing armor and marching up and down the corridors with grim expressions, but this, this was nothing she was expecting. This actually felt like her home before everything went upside down.

Misha plopped her down on one of the fluffy couches and clapped her hands together.

"Come on, Arik. Let's tell her already!"

"Girl," a red-headed girl drawled beside her. She had a roll of tobacco lit and smoking in between her lips. Cadence didn't know they were allowed to smoke within the Hall, and where did she obtain tobacco? That stuff was deathly expensive. "You sure she won't jeopardize the whole operation?"

"I didn't ask to tag along," Cadence said. "Now if you would just let me go?"

"Well, it is a recruit tradition." Next to the enormous Arik, the Eyrian boy appeared to be smaller than usual, but he stood about Cadence's height. His white robes were stark against his dark skin, and if he titled his head at the right angle, the catching light made his eyes appear a glowing blue. "And she's new. Why not leave her to the other groups?"

"She's my friend!" Misha shook the Eyrian boy by the shoulders. "What's better than to make new friends? Don't be such a stick in the mud, peasant."

"You're the peasant." The Eyrian boy brushed away Misha's hands smoothly. "If you've forgotten, I come from the direct line of the Eyrian Izar."

"And yet you're serving in the Moskavan army. You're just like us, Feathers. Don't think too highly of yourself."

The boy, whom Cadence assumed was named Feathers, made a disgruntled sound. "My name is Yu, I've told you a million times."

"Which literally translates into feathers, idiot," Misha said indignantly. "Now, less talk, more planning."

Arik, Feathers and Mara waited for Misha to speak. Misha cleared her throat.

"So," she dropped her voice low. "It was weird to hear her speak in low tones, for she usually spoke as though the others were standing a hundred feet away from her. "We call it the Great Tradition. We will be sneaking out of the Hall and heading to the Red Tavern where we shall have a few pints and slip right back. Piece of cake."

"That's not a piece of cake," Cadence said, taken aback by their notorious plan. "Have you seen how tight security is around here?"

"The girl has a point," Feathers said. "But even the tightest security has its flaws, just like the strictest of the laws have their own loopholes. The guards are all focused on what comes in the Hall, rather than who leaves it. They all look up, and they never look down. Beware the flying invaders of Lekhobar, be wary of the singing seductress of Eyria, but no one ever noticed that the sewers have rusted away."

"You're so annoyingly melodramatic," Arik butted in before Feathers could burst into another poetic-like explanation. "In short, we're going through the sewers, climb a wall and get drunk."

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Cadence said, yet again. Sewers, climbing and getting drunk did not sound good in a sentence.

"We've got everything we need." Feathers pulled out a small sack stashed under a couch and dropped it into Cadence's lap, since she was the only one sitting down. "Rope, metal claws, and the cloaks."

"Where do you even get the cloaks?" The red headed girl peered into the sack, pulling out a bundle of dark, velvety cloth.

"Don't touch them yet, Mara." Feathers took the cloak back from Mara and stuffed it back into the sack. "Wait till midnight. We'll gather here one candle bar after light's out. The guard would have sneaked away to have his smelly drink then."

"What about getting back in?" Cadence could poke so many holes through their plan, it would put a hunk of cheese to shame. "You did mention getting inebriated."

"We can exercise self-control. A couple drinks, no more, enough to have the scent on us, and then we climb back," Arik said. "We're not suicidal."

"What if you get caught? Like you said, the guards are focused on whatever that comes in. You're coming in after the dare."

"I have trust in the Orishas, and the power of the recruits," Misha said a little too loudly, gaining urgent looks the rest of them.

"Shhh!" Feather's eyes were stretched so wide, they resembled dinner plates. "Stop shouting!"

Arik solemnly placed a hand on Feather's shoulder. "Same goes to you."

"It's perfectly safe, Cadence," Arik reassured Cadence. "Nothing to worry about. No one breaks tradition, even someone who enters the recruit team a month late."

Misha snapped her fingers loudly, effectively getting their attention. "To recap, remember what we discussed. Gather here five minutes after midnight."

Cadence could feel the irony. She didn't want to go, she wanted to find her brother. It had been over a full day since she last saw him, she wondered if he was alright. Did the Right Order recruits pick on him just because he was new? What if the same group she met in the corridor hurt him?

He's an adult, he has Affinities, don't worry about him. A little voice at the back of her mind tried to comfort her. Instead, why don't you worry about yourself for a change?

Worrying for herself, that was what got her father killed. She was selfish. She was a useless, self-absorbed daughter. Her father had been dead for five days, and she hadn't even thought of burning him offerings, or at least whisper prayers to him before she slept.

How did her conscience even let her to sleep?

"Cadence." Misha snapped her fingers in front of her face, narrowly missing hitting her on the nose. "Bedtime." She then winked.

Cadence followed Misha, Mara and the other recruit girls up the stairs and into the bedroom. Ales had sent her belongings to the bedroom earlier, saying her bundle was on the bed at the very end of the recruit's bedroom. She entered the dark doors to find herself feeling at home with the structure of the bedroom—double decker beds arranged in two nears rows facing one another, little basins and night tables in between the bed aisles. There were even drawers at the bottom of the bed with locks for them to secure their belongings.

True to Ales' words, she found her bundle on the top bunk of the very last bed of the right row. Mara came over, gave her a raised eyebrow as she appraised her new bunkmate, shrugged and flopped onto bed. She was knocked right out before her head even connected with the pillow. Cadence stared at her in wonder. The Tradition was only an hour away, yet she was sleeping like a log.

A candle-clock burned steadily at all four corners of the room. The recruits didn't have to worry about the flame getting blown out of hand by the breeze through the windows, for topless glass domes caged the flames in. Right now, the tall, glass windows of the room was sealed shut, but Cadence was certain they would all be thrown wide open in the summer to allow in the cool air. Once the chatter had died down and everyone had their covers drawn over their toes, a woman came in and extinguished the candles in the room with a clap of her hands, once again astonishing Cadence that Varya actually cared about them enough to douse the lights before they slept.

Cadence couldn't sleep, she was far too nervous too. She tossed and turned in bed, thrust her head under her pillow then flipped it over to get to the cool side. Her feet kicked the blanket off before pulling them back over. She just couldn't get into the perfect position to sleep.

Her eyes had gradually acclimatized to the darkness. She flipped to her right side, facing the candle-clock directly. The candle-clock was designed to burn slowly, its wax dripping into a glass container under it which it could be reused again by tilting it over and sticking another wick inside. Every candle-clock had twenty-four bars, each bar representing an hour. Cadence played with the light by pretending to pinch it, but was actually pinching empty air.

Midnight was approaching, was she supposed to wake Mara up?

Cadence received her answer at once. The bed shifted as Mara sat upright, jerked some more as she climbed up the first rung of the ladder and tugged at Cadence's pants.

"Midnight," she whispered. "C'mon. It's the big night!"

"I swear you were asleep!" Cadence whispered back.

"It's a talent," Mara replied. "I live in a crime-infested area before I came here. Gotta wake at appointed times and sleep as light as a feather."

Misha too, had gotten out of bed. She placed a finger over her lip and indicated the door with her other hand. "Quiet, now. We have only five minutes before the guard comes back with booze."

Mara went first, followed by Cadence and then Misha who had the little sack of clothes and other accessories slung over her shoulder. The red-headed girl peeled the door with slow and deliberate carefulness. A think stream of light trickled through the crack.

"Coast is clear," Mara said. "Let's go."

Misha and Mara were expert at sneaking. Every step Cadence took sounded like thunder to her, or like a million pots clattering onto the ground. She was glad when they were gathered together with the boys in the dark, common room, illuminated only by a few lonely candles.

"Cloaks." Misha handed one to each of them. "This extra long one is for you, Arik. I swear if you keep on eating, you're going to outgrow Ales. That man is a freak."

"He's just tall." Arik put on the cloak solemnly. "Tall is not a freakish trait."

The fabric was soft against Cadence's hands, like she was holding water. It slipped through her fingers, whooshing softly. It was the kind of cloaks Patrols wore, all volume and warmth. It kissed her shoulders as she draped it on, fastening the little silver buckle pressing against her throat.

"Follow me," Arik said. "Remember, not a word until we hit the tunnels."

Like the wind, all four of them took off, minus Cadence, who felt more and more useless as she tried desperately to catch up with her friends.

This is really a bad idea. Why did I even agree in the first place?

Misha fell back from the others, her motions falling slower for Cadence to jog up beside her. They reached the end of the hallway where a balcony came to view. Snow fell like ashes from the night sky, hiding the moon behind the endless fall. Misha dropped the sack and took out the metal claws and started knotting the rope around the thick loop.

Cadence felt her stomach drop into a deep abyss.

No, they certainly weren't crazy enough to-

Misha secured the first claw in between the stone rails. "I'll go first. See you at the bottom."

"It's five floors up!" Cadence had to fight her voice from rising into a shriek.

"Fun." Misha dropped the length of the rope, leap over the railing, clutched the rope and let herself fall. There was a small whoosh, like the flutter of a dove's wings, and then a gentle plop. Mara went next, her dark cloak fluttering in the winter wind. Feathers secured his own claw and slid down after Mara.

Cadence approached the balcony, dread eating at her stomach. She looked down and saw the others waving at her, mouthing at her there was nothing to fear.

Oh there was so many things to fear—the harsh wind, the guards below, and the long drop which would result in her immediate death.

With a shattering sigh, she pulled up one leg over the railing, and tightened her gloved fingers around the thick rope.

The height was dizzying. She squeezed her eyes tight, trembling.

"Hey." Arik slid down beside her. "We'll do this together, I won't let you fall. Just let go a little, slide down the rope. Have you ever been to the playground when you were a kid? It's like the slides, except this one is for brave adults."

"Brave but foolish adults," Cadence said through chattering teeth.

"On the count of three." Arik adjusted his position. "One, two-"

Cadence's trembling fingers slid, plummeting her toward the ground.

The snow jammed her nostrils at once, stopping her from screaming. Gasping and spluttering, she latched onto the rope with all fours. The friction of her gloves against the rope set her palms on fire. She landed in the arms of Feathers and Misha, who gave her united look of relief.

Arik landed softly on the snow after Cadence.

"Are you alright?" He dashed over Misha and Mara had set her on her feet. "Sweet Orishas, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I told it was a bad idea for me to tag along." Cadence pulled the cloak tighter around her shoulders, still unable to shake off the feeling of uncontrollable fear and inertia. "I can't climb, or do anything you all can."

"Well, you just slid five floors, that's a good start." Arik unsheathed a small crossbow from his back, plucked some icicles off a tree branch, loaded his crossbow, took aim and fired. There were several small pings, and the metal claws were shot from their original position and fell down toward earth.

"Wow," Cadence said.

"Ice melts," Arik explained. "Won't leave a trace."

"But footsteps will," Mara said. "Watch where you step, clean up behind you."

"On it." Feathers dove into a bush and emerged with a branch. While the others moved forward, he fell back and erased their tracks.

"Guards, on your left," Misha threw out an urgent whisper. Everyone ducked behind the trees in the Hall compound. Cadence had never been to this part of the Hall before, this must be the back. The back of the Hall wasn't as glamorous as the front. The front had massive, Celestium plated gates, massive statues of the Orishas and even a fountain. Here, it looked as though history had trampled its way through with a bloodbath. The walls were peeled, covered with brownish streaks hundreds of years old. Creepers and vines had claimed their territory upon the metal frills on the doors, the walls and the windows. Lost somewhere in the tangle of trees, was an old well.

Cadence held her breath as the guard wandered close toward her hiding spot. From the corner of her eye, she saw Arik gather a rock in his hands, ready to throw it across the yard.

The guard sighed, adjusted her shoulders, and went off, complaining to herself about her inhumane shifts.

Once the guard's footsteps had receded, all seven of them came out of their hiding spot.

"Is this place haunted?" Cadence asked. "Why is it so unkempt?"

"Well," Feathers said. "As a matter of fact, this was the exact place where the first Hall War happened. The Four Founders built a way out of the Hall of Games, just in case Kazimir managed to out-siege them. Look."

He brushed his fingers against the rough surface of the well. Where his skin came in contact with the rock, runes glowed. These weren't the runes Oracles used to channel their powers, these were older, and they exuded a magnificent aura of power which made Cadence feel even more nauseated than she was now.

"Then why are we even here?" Cadence yelped.

"We think," Arik said. "These runes actually protect the Murka and keep out the Varya. Or else, why hadn't any Varya discover this place? It was a Murka recruit who discovered this well. No one, not even the Varya Masters and Mistresses discovered the tunnel out of the Hall. The Hall War was a war caused by Varya, the Great War was once again, caused by Varya. Maybe the First Founder was exasperated of the Murka being caught between the exchange of fire between the Varya, and made them this means of escape."

"Well, it's still a theory," Mara said. "No one was able to prove anything."

"As long as it keeps out Varya, I'm fine with it. The Swans can take their privilege and stick it up where the sun doesn't shine."

Misha dragged a claw across the uneven well until the metal found firm purchase. After giving it several tugs to make sure it was secure, she held onto the rope and dived in without another word.

Cadence watched Mara check the rope again before sliding down. Arik was right. She was already a Murka recruit. For the first time in her life, she actually had friends. She glanced at Arik, who gave her an encouraging nod.

Once Mara had disappeared down the rope, Cadence swung her feet off the ground and dangled them over the rim of the well. She peeked at the depth of the well. All she saw was darkness.

"The light is always at the end of darkness," Arik said. "Don't be afraid."

Cadence nodded, clutched the rope, kicked off and slid down into the yawning blackness.

*****

A/N

Some changes have to made to the previous chapter. As this is still an ongoing project, there are instances where I go back and scrape chapters to make subplots flow, so bear with me. :)