Chapter One: The Roots of Jealousy

I sighed as I leaned against the wall in the Hall of Relics. Avi, my white wolf, huffed a sigh of his own at my feet. Aoibheann was late again. Why was she always running late? I kept my mind occupied as I glanced at the different relics scattered across the room on fine pedestals, behind glass cases. Theoretical remnants of ancient Aurwyrs. If one were to believe the tales, each possessed a bit of their former master’s power, their heroism. My brother believed it and treated them as though they were sacred. As for me, well, I just did not see how such tales were possible. I mean, sure, it’d be nice to think that just by picking up Berengar the Strong’s auburn locks, suddenly my hair would turn as luscious and irresistible to women as his supposedly was. On second thought, that’s not nice. That’s creepy. And don’t even get me started on Dagrun the Welter’s vial of spit.

                “Waiting for Aoibheann again, are we, Deklan?” came an amused, if strained voice.

                Avi lifted his head, ears erect, as I regarded the rear entrance of the room. There stood my brother, Aiden, with a small smile on his face, arms filled with books as usual, a mess of blond hair, and the imprint of his shirt on the side of his face.

                “Always. And I see that you fell asleep while studying again?” I asked, standing up straight as I made my way across the room to him, while Avi took an easy stride at my side. Aiden shrugged as I continued, “I’m surprised that Cerethreus is pushing you so hard still. Your induction is tomorrow, you should get the chance to have a little fun first.”

                “Fun is not a part of the Aurwyr’s life. You know that,” Aiden said as he steadied his pile of books.

                “Oh, sure, and carrying around books and doing endless hours of research is?” I asked, taking some of his books from him. The training that Aiden endured had never made sense to me. Most of it focused on history and book learning, yet every tale I heard of the Aurwyrs, it always ended with them vanquishing their opponent in combat. Looking at my brother’s thin frame, I honestly had no idea how he planned to do that. Maybe he planned to throw these books at his enemies.

                “Cerethreus knows what he’s doing. One cannot underestimate the importance of intellect when it comes to battle,” Aiden responded as he carefully reached out for the books I held while trying to keep his own balanced.

                “Just hold still,” I said, as I placed the books back on top of Aiden’s stack, as he back to holding the stack with both hands. I then continued the conversation, “I’m not saying that intellect isn’t important. I just think it might be nice if you knew how to hold a sword or something.”

                “And I will learn, after my induction into the Class of Aurwyr-Dyg. Don’t worry,” Aiden said, looking at my concerned expression, “I have plenty of time. As far as I am aware, there are no immediate threats to the land, and until there are, I can continue my preparation.”

                I gave a half smile. The Class of Aurwyr-Dyg. Even after having witnessed Aiden’s training for the past sixteen years, it was hard to wrap my head around the idea that Aiden was going to be the next Aurwyr.  A class of heroes, chosen every time there was a great threat to our world of Anthilla. Usually, they were not discovered until their late teen years, but Aiden was discovered at only two years old, when a Seer passed by our farmhouse and saw him playing in the yard. Cerethreus, a great wizard, was informed at once, and he came and spoke to Aiden and my mother, asking to take him to this castle, where he could train Aiden properly. Our mother agreed, but Aiden refused to leave without me. We are told that he threw quite the tantrum. My mother was never fond of me anyways, so she agreed to let me go. Aiden was her oldest son, if only by a few minutes, and thus he was always her favorite.

                “Sorry I’m late!”

                Aiden and I both turned to see Aoibheann enter the room breathless, dressed in her hunting clothes, bow and quiver on her back, with her long dark brown hair dressed in a braid. I heard Aiden catch his breath, and I felt my pulse race. I mentally shook myself out of my stupor as she approached, and replied, “No problem! I was just inviting Aiden to come out and join us on the hunt.”

                “So how about it?” I asked turning to Aiden, as I began to rub Avi behind the ears. He seemed to be getting impatient to go.

                Aiden’s lip twitched. “You know that I’d love to go. But Cerethreus would kill me if I left. He’ll kill you too, you know,” he added to Aoibheann as she approached.

                “Ah, yes, I love how Cerethreus is always worried about you two, but he doesn’t care whether I’m alive or not,” I answered sarcastically. Aoibheann elbowed me in the ribs.

“You know that he doesn’t dislike you, he’s just concerned with the quest. It would not do well if either I or Aoibheann were injured, as the quest could not continue without us,” Aiden said with a pleading look.

“And here I thought that his dislike of me stemmed from the fact that Avi here likes me more than him,” I said as Avi nuzzled my hand. Technically, Avi belonged to Cerethreus, but he had been following me around as long as I could remember.

“Oh yes, I’m certain that’s it,” Aoibheann said, rolling her eyes. “It couldn’t possibly be because you walked out on his lessons, or that you’re constantly distracting your brother, or that you’re causing fights amongst the young women of this castle. And as for you Aiden, you worry too much. I can take care of myself, which you and Cerethreus would know if you two ever went out with me and Deklan.”

Aiden gave a half smile. “I don’t doubt your capability. But I would suggest that you get going before Cerethreus spots you sneaking out.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” I said, raising a hand to say goodbye. “Enjoy your last day of freedom!”

Avi barked at Aiden and scampered to my side as I left, while Aoibheann said her goodbyes before falling in with us.

Aoibheann and I got our horses from the stable and began the ride out to the forest, with Avi prancing along ahead of us. The cloudy day made it a little darker than normal, but I wasn’t going to let that dampen my spirit. Aoibheann, however, seemed to be trying to do just that.

                “So, how are you feeling about tomorrow?” Aoibheann asked.

                I inhaled as I thought of how to respond to her question.  How should I feel? “My brother is joining the Class of Aurwyr-Dyg. I couldn’t be prouder.”

                “You’re not jealous?” Aoibheann asked, taking a side glance at me.

                “Of Aiden becoming the Aurwyr? No, that’s something I would never want for myself. I’m not really the questing type, and I certainly would not want to bear the burden that he will have to,” I responded. And that was the truth. However, there was one thing that I was jealous of, but it would not be appropriate to say. “What about you? How are you feeling about tomorrow?”

                “Nervous,” Aoibheann admitted, biting on her lip.

                “Nervous? Why?” I asked.

                “I… I just can’t help but feel unqualified. What if I should never have accepted the position? What if I fail?” Aoibheann replied in a hushed tone.

                I looked over at Aoibheann, feeling as though I were seeing her anew. Every Aurwyr needed to have a Helper, a post typically filled by the princess of the Ancient Ones (and in one case, the prince). The Ancient Ones were a race similar to humans, as far as I could tell, except that they tended to live to be about three hundred years old and seemed to glow in moonlight. Anyways, there had been a bit of a crisis years ago in that the royal family of the Ancient Ones went missing. I remember there being a lot of discussions about what was to be done, and eventually it was decided that a female who was distantly related to the royal family should be sent to fulfill the Helper position. And that female was Aoibheann.

                Given the circumstances of how she was chosen, perhaps it is not surprising that she felt unqualified. However, I have known her since she first arrived here six years ago, and as far as I could remember, I had never seen her question her right to be here. Unlike me.

                “It’s alright to be nervous. If I’m being completely honest with myself, I’m nervous too. But you’re not going to fail. I know you, you have never failed in anything that you have ever set out to do,” I answered.

                Aoibheann gave a light smile. “And what do you have to be nervous about?”

                Losing you, I thought to myself. However, I knew that that answer was not appropriate. So instead I said, “I’m just still not sure what I’m going to do after.”

                Aoibheann pursed her lips. “Were you not able to get a job here?”

                I shook my head. “Cerethreus says that it’s time for me to move on. He never wanted me here to begin with, so it’s really no surprise that he’s getting rid of me as soon as he can.”

                “What of your family? Perhaps you could join them in taking care of your family farm?” Aoibheann said.

                “No, that would only disappoint my mother. And I’m not sure how the rest of them would react,” I answered. My mother, as I had said before, doesn’t really like me. My father is still alive, though I am unsure of what his opinions of me are, and I have never met my younger brother or sister. Aiden has though; he visited the family farm every summer while we were growing up for a few weeks. “I think I’ll probably end up living as a hunter, settled down in a nice little house somewhere outside of a town. I know enough about hunting and skinning and leatherworking to make a living.”

                “I can imagine that,” Aoibheann said, closing her eyes. “I see a roaring fire in the winter, the smell of venison smoking, and you lounging in a chair reading a book.”

                I gave a half smile.  “Then you and Aiden could come and visit me after your quest. You can tell me about all of your amazing fights.”

                “Yes, I’ll tell you about how I saved him over and over again,” Aoibheann said with a twinkling laugh.

                “Of course,” I responded. “I expect nothing less, given Aiden’s present inability to defend himself.”

                And so we continued on our ride down to forest, with Avi running circles around us as we imagined meeting up again in the future. And I laughed as Aoibheann made jokes, and I made my own predictions. But neither of us dared mention the one thing that we knew to be true. That after tomorrow, I would leave. Then, in all likeliness, the next time we would meet, she would be married to my brother.