Chapter 5 Training Scars

The combat training yard had been transformed overnight into a series of interconnected obstacle courses, each more sadistic than the last. Rope climbs over pits filled with thorns, balance beams suspended above pools of icy water, and walls studded with jutting spikes that would leave lasting scars on anyone careless enough to slip.

"Pain is a teacher," Master Thorne announced to the assembled students. "It teaches you to be faster, smarter, and more careful. Those who graduate from this academy will carry its lessons in their flesh as well as their minds."

Kaela studied the courses with growing dread. She'd always been quick and agile,you had to be, growing up in the Rust District,but this was beyond anything she'd encountered. These obstacles weren't just designed to test skill; they were designed to break spirits.

"Pair up," Thorne commanded. "You'll run the courses together. When one fails, both start over. Success requires cooperation. Failure teaches you the cost of weakness in your companions."

The students began sorting themselves into partnerships with the practiced efficiency of those who understood their place in the hierarchy. Nobles paired with nobles, commoners with commoners, and the few brave enough to cross class lines did so with the wariness of animals approaching a trap.

Kaela found herself partnered with Taren, which was both a relief and a concern. She liked the quiet healer, but she wasn't sure either of them had the ruthless edge needed to succeed in a place like this.

"Ready?" Taren asked, rolling his shoulders to loosen them.

Before she could answer, a commotion erupted at the far end of the yard. One of the noble students,a boy named Marcus with the soft look of someone who'd never missed a meal,had stumbled during the rope climb and fallen into the thorn pit below. His screams echoed off the stone walls as the barbed vines tore at his flesh.

Master Thorne watched with clinical interest as the boy struggled to free himself, making no move to help. Around the yard, other students had stopped their own training to stare at the spectacle.

"Someone should help him," Taren murmured, taking a step toward the pit.

"Don't." The command came from behind them. Kaela turned to find Dagon approaching, his expression unreadable. "Thorne is testing us. The first person to break ranks and offer aid will be marked as weak."

"So we just watch him suffer?" Taren's voice was tight with controlled anger.

"We watch him learn," Dagon replied. "Or fail to learn, and carry the consequences."

As if summoned by their conversation, Master Thorne's voice boomed across the yard. "Mr. Blackwood will free himself, or he will remain in that pit until he does. This is the first lesson of the Reckoning,in the arena, there is no rescue. There is only victory or death."

The words were meant to be harsh wisdom, but as Kaela watched Marcus struggle against the thorns, she felt something else entirely. The casual cruelty of it, the way the instructors used pain as a teaching tool while calling it necessary,it reminded her too much of the lies they told about the Reckoning itself.

Noble sacrifice. Honor in death. The glory of combat.

All pretty words to disguise the truth: they were training children to kill each other for the entertainment of the masses.

She was so lost in her dark thoughts that she almost missed Taren's movement. The healer had broken away from their group and was walking toward the thorn pit with determined strides, ignoring Dagon's warning and the shocked whispers that followed in his wake.

"Taren, don't," Kaela started after him, but it was too late.

He'd already reached the edge of the pit and was extending a hand toward the trapped student. "Grab on," he said simply. "I'll pull you up."

Master Thorne's voice cut through the air like a whip. "Mr. Moss. Step away from the pit. Now."

Taren didn't move. "He needs help."

"What he needs is to learn self-reliance. Your interference serves only to weaken him further."

"My interference serves to keep him alive." Taren's voice was steady, but Kaela could see the tension in his shoulders. "Isn't that worth something?"

The question hung in the air like a challenge. Around the yard, students watched with the fascination of those witnessing a public execution. Master Thorne's face had gone very still, and Kaela realized with growing dread that Taren had just crossed a line there was no coming back from.

"Mr. Moss," Thorne said quietly. "Report to the punishment chambers. Now."

"No." The word slipped out before Kaela could stop it. She stepped forward, moving to stand beside Taren at the edge of the pit. "If you're going to punish him for showing basic human decency, then you'll have to punish me too."

The yard went deadly quiet. Even Marcus had stopped struggling in the thorns, too shocked by this turn of events to continue his efforts to escape.

Master Thorne's eyes narrowed as he studied Kaela's face. "Miss Varn. Are you certain you wish to involve yourself in this matter?"

"I'm certain that a place that punishes kindness while rewarding cruelty has forgotten what it means to be human," she replied, surprised by the steadiness of her own voice.

"Humanity is a luxury," Thorne said. "In the arena, it will get you killed."

"Then maybe the arena is the problem."

The words hung between them like a thrown gauntlet. Kaela could feel the weight of every stare and could practically taste the fear and anticipation in the air. She'd just openly defied one of the academy's most feared instructors, questioning the very institution that trained them for the Reckoning.

There would be consequences. Severe ones.

But as she looked down at Marcus, still trapped in the thorns, at Taren's quiet courage in the face of institutional cruelty, she found she didn't care about the consequences. Some things were worth the cost.

"Both of you," Thorne said finally. "Punishment chambers. One hour of correction for every minute you delay."

It was Dagon who moved first. Without a word, he stepped to the edge of the pit and hauled Marcus up with casual strength, thorns and all. The noble boy collapsed on solid ground, his clothes torn and bloody but his eyes bright with gratitude.

"There," Dagon said, dusting off his hands. "Now we can all get back to training."

Master Thorne's face had gone purple with rage. "Mr. Vale,"

"Will also report for punishment, I assume," Dagon interrupted smoothly. "Along with anyone else who believes that strength includes the ability to help others when they need it."

To Kaela's amazement, other students began stepping forward. Not many,perhaps a dozen out of the forty in their training group,but enough to make a statement. Brin was among them, his thin face set with determination. So was a girl named Lyra from one of the merchant families, and several others Kaela barely knew.

They stood together at the edge of the thorn pit, united by something more powerful than fear or self-preservation. For the first time since arriving at Ashgrave Academy, Kaela felt a spark of hope.

"Fine," Master Thorne said, his voice deadly quiet. "All of you. Punishment chambers. We'll see how noble your sentiments feel after a few hours of correction."

As they filed toward the academy's disciplinary wing, Kaela found herself walking beside Dagon. She wanted to thank him, to ask why he'd risked himself for strangers, to understand the contradiction between his cold assessment of survival and his willingness to stand up for others.

Instead, she said, "This won't end well for any of us."

"Probably not," he agreed. "But some things are worth the cost."

The words echoed her own thoughts so closely that she felt a jolt of recognition. Despite everything,his privilege, his arrogance, his clinical view of human nature,they shared something fundamental. A line they wouldn't cross, even when crossing it would be easier.

"Why?" she asked. "Why risk it?"

He was quiet for so long she thought he wouldn't answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Because I knew someone once who would have done the same thing. Someone who believed that survival wasn't worth the cost if it meant losing their humanity in the process."

Kieran. He was talking about Kieran.

The realization hit her like a physical blow, but before she could respond, they'd reached the punishment chambers. The heavy wooden doors swung open like the mouth of some hungry beast, revealing the darkness beyond.

One by one, they stepped inside, carrying their small rebellion into the shadows where the academy would try to break it, and them, apart.