Chapter Five

Hunter did his best the next morning to keep himself under control as he showered with the other boys from Squeek -- the unofficial name given to the lodge of the youngest. He marveled that all of the boys were perfect specimens of youth, finely proportioned, fair of face and seemingly in control of their emotions, including those that might cause a boy to respond to the presence of other naked boys. He focused on the wall and the water. He knew that Sayer could be riding him but that was beyond his ability to control. He dried off and returned to his bunkroom. While he had showered, a new set of clothes had been placed on his bed. Hunter thought they were almost like something out of Robin Hood, a pullover cream colored shirt that hung below his waist, a pair of pants that hugged his body but not too tightly -- they seemed to adjust to his movements, socks and shoes made of a soft material that made him feel almost barefoot and a fabric belt to secure the bottom of the shirt to his waist. The pants were the color of dirt, as were the shoes. Regardless of what he thought initially about his getup, he soon realized that he was dressed like all the other boys, except that everyone but Sayer and he had one or more symbols embedded in the belt.

"Training levels," Talen explained as they trampled the floating bridges to breakfast. "You get one for each level of training you master. If there is a lightning bolt across it, it means the boy has become expert. But any boy with a symbol on his belt has mastered that skill.

Hunter noticed that Talen had symbols with hands, a bow, a sword, and a stone. He sort of figured out what the first three meant but was puzzled by the last one. None of them had the lightning bolt except the hands. Hunter asked about the stone.

"Blocking," Talen replied. "That one means we can block being ridden. It's one of the first things we learn. It protects us from betraying secrets that may have been entrusted to us by others. Not all boys here like one another, and not all of them get along. If we were unable to block, we could give up information that might be misused. We can tell that some will not complete training because their motives are selfish. The masters know who they are and do their best to change them before they are released back to Lorenwood. Sometimes they are easy to spot, other times we are surprised when they are dismissed."

Breakfast was a steaming and screaming event. Piles of eggs, bread, meat, jams, juice, and pastries filled each of four tables. And each table served a dozen boys obviously separated by age. The lodges as well as the tables in the eating hall were simply marked by rune[PC1] s symbolizing fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen. And the boys were all talking at once, with most eyes fixed at one time or another on Sayer and Hunter. It wasn't exactly comfortable for the two boys, but they didn't let that stop them from consuming a considerable amount of food.

"Good morning!" a voice boomed at one end of the room. All eyes shifted to attention. Doyen Parfell stood fully at attention, tall, slender and apparently ageless. Although every boy here had come into contact with the Doyen at one time of another, none could recall him appearing in the eating room. The silence was immediate.

"As you all know, it is always my pleasure to introduce new riders into our midst in the central hall and ask you to welcome them. Today, however, we have two new members, and one is not a rider. And neither has reached the age of fourteen. Both of these conditions require me to introduce them to you at the earliest possible moment -- which is now. Sayer and Hunter, please rise."

The two boys looked nervously at each other and stood.

Doyen Parfell walked over to the boys and placed his hand on Sayer's shoulder. "Sayer is one of us," he said. "We have known for some time that he was gifted with riding ability at a very early age. That, in and of itself, would not be reason enough to bring him to Pandor's Fen before fourteen. But Sayer was called. He was called by the outside, another parallel. That has happened only once before and you all know the lore."

He moved over to put his hand on Hunter's shoulder. "Hunter is the one who made the call: out of distress, or strength, or whatever, signals penetrated to Tethra. Only Sayer heard them. Unlike past lore, we did not dismiss Sayer's tales or dreams. Instead we encouraged him to pursue the calls, see if he could find the source and make contact. Sayer did not know much of the lore, nor was he allowed to be told more. He was only told to do whatever he felt was right regarding his dreams. No one allowed him to think that his dreams were any more special than anyone else's. Yet Sayer followed his dreams, made a connection, and eventually was able to ride Hunter in his own parallel, until the wishes of Hunter became so strong that a gate formed and Hunter was brought to us."

All eyes were focused on the two thirteen-year-olds now. Both boys shifted nervously under the glare of forty-six pairs of eyes.

"You all know we are in the gravest danger of our existence. You all know how extensive the training has been and how intense. We can waste no time," Doyen Parfell emphasized. "Hunter has been in Maginar less than three lights, and he and Sayer are already here. Their training begins today, and I ask that each of you do what he can to help them. I know you are seeing the similarity between them and the ancient lore. Obviously, we see it, too. We don't know if there is any more to it than mere coincidence, but we cannot afford not to find out. Let us be unified in strengthening our skills in ourselves and in one another. You boys -- all of you -- are our destiny for survival or defeat. Be strong." With that, the Doyen turned and left the room. The silence lasted only moments before most of the boys surrounded Sayer and Hunter, welcoming them and peppering them questions which neither had time to answer before another one was asked.

Grafin appeared within minutes and whisked the two away from the inquiring boys to a heavy, multiple-locked door in the wall a few yards down a passage off the eating room. The master produced a variety of keys and finally swung the door inward. It opened to a dimly lit small room, noticeably cooler than the rest of the rooms the boys had been in so far. There were just two chairs in the middle of the room facing a door at the back. Grafin motioned for the boys to take a seat. He stood off to the side. "This is where you will meet your master," he said.

"Who is it?" Sayer asked anxiously.

"I do not know," Grafin answered. "The masters are chosen by the Doyen and they are always introduced in this room. Once introduced, they never return to this room until they are dismissed. So now we just wait and see who Doyen Parfell has chosen for `the chosen ones.'"

"The chosen ones?" Sayer thought to himself. It was now obvious to him that the similarity between what had happened so far between Hunter and himself to that of Pandor and Farin was an overriding condition and one he could never imagine getting to that level of importance.

The door in the back of the room opened and Doyen Parfell entered. Grafin took a breath and asked, "Who is to be their master?"

"I am," the Doyen announced. "As far as the rest of Pandor's Fen is concerned, you will be their master. Only you and I will know of my involvement. We must not place too much attention on our young charges here that might cause them unwarranted attention; well, any more attention than I have already brought to them this morning."

"Young Sayer and Hunter," he said looking at the boys. "You also may not share my involvement in your training. Do you understand?"

They both nodded but Sayer had to say what he was thinking. "Do you think that Hunter and I are the next Pandor and Farin?"

Grafin gasped. Rarely did anyone directly question the Doyen about serious matters unless invited to do so, let alone a new boy.

Parfell smiled. "You are, as I have been told, to the point! And to answer, we don't know. You don't know. We don't know if Hunter has any more depth than what he has now. The only way to know is to explore, educate, train, and observe. You are not expected to be Pandor and Farin, so don't believe you are failing because you do not feel you are reaching that goal. Just do the best you can. That is all we can ask. You are welcome here, and we will strive to make you as good as you each can become. Grafin will be taking Sayer now to begin his blocking training. For him, that is the most important skill he must acquire before he is released for the rest of the training with the others. They have been instructed not to ride either of you, but the temptation will be great for some of them. I will take Hunter with me and see what we can discover about him. I suspect he carries more than he believes he does. He must remain isolated from the others until we know whether he can ride. And if he can ride, then he must be able to block as well. From now until such time as we know your abilities, you both will lodge in Lodge One."

Sayer and Hunter looked at each other with concern. Lodge One was the fifth bridge. Talen had said it was never used and no boy had ever been allowed in.

So, on that first full day in Pandor's Fen, Sayer went off with Grafin while Hunter dutifully followed Doyen Parfell through the door in the back of the receiving room. The passage was long, dim, and downhill. Eventually, the tunnel turned upward again and they reached a plain wooden door with no lock. Parfell opened it and motioned for Hunter to enter. It was obviously the Doyen's quarters. It was not elaborate, a simple bed, desk, table, chair and bookshelves. There were windows on one side that looked out at the rest of the complex from some distance. There were also two overstuffed chairs facing a small fireplace that burned brightly but not intensely.

"I imagine things are a bit overwhelming for you," the Doyen said as he motioned for Hunter to take a seat.

"Yessir," Hunter said.

"How do you feel about being here?" he asked.

"I still feel like it's a dream, sir," the boy responded. "But if it is, I don't want it to stop," he added.

"It is no dream Hunter," Parfell said. "But it is a different place from where you come from, I imagine."

"You imagine? Haven't you been to my world?" Hunter asked.

"No one has been to another parallel other than Farin, his original home. Many think Pandor went into Farin's world but if that happened, it was after they had solved our dangers and gone to Hawthor's Rest. Initially, Pandor simply reached through the gate and yanked Farin through it. That is what makes you two unique. Sayer went through the gate. I'd say special, but we don't know if you are special yet. Tell me of your world, if you would."

"Don't you know?" Hunter asked fully aware that this man must be the most powerful rider in this world.

"I do not ride unless I am invited or something is brought to my attention that is of such importance that it cannot be avoided. Contrary to what you might think, riding is exhausting. Not only do you deal with your own thoughts but you become immersed in the thoughts of the person you are riding. It's not just gaining knowledge; it is an emotional ride too. The rider feels what you feel. And if you are fully trained, you are able to go far beyond superficial riding. You dive deeply into the person, perhaps finding things the person himself or herself has not yet discovered about themselves."

"So, you didn't ride Sayer or me then?"

"You two are supremely important, but should you go beyond normal expectations, I did not feel I should allow myself to go beyond riding Sayer long enough to know he had truly made contact with you and had indeed crossed into your parallel and come back with you."

Hunter felt relieved. He believed Doyen Parfell. He didn't know why. Obviously, he could ride Hunter in a heartbeat, learn everything there was to know about him, even more than he knew himself, and yet when the Doyen said Hunter's thoughts were still private, he relaxed in complete trust.

For the next three hours, Hunter talked about his world, a world he disliked and yet loved in certain ways. He shared the obvious technological differences, shared what he knew about school, shared his feelings about his home environment, about his lack of friends, and the bullying, not only by his peers, but by his mother as well. He talked about his place in the rocky hills. He said he called it his "fortress of solitude" like the one a comic book character had back home -- a place where his thoughts could scream and imagine and create. It felt as if he were someplace else entirely -- within himself but not alone. The Doyen interjected questions at times, asking him to talk about his father, to which Hunter replied that he had only faint memories of a man who laughed and played with him -- loved him, he finally said, surprising even himself. Death had taken Hunter's father away from both him and his mother. Neither ever completely overcame it. Hunter thought about that for the first time, realizing that perhaps his mother was grieving still and demanding more of her son than she should. A faint feeling of understanding dawned upon him at that moment. Still, the sadness and the hurt remained.

The Doyen felt it safe to allow Hunter and Sayer to join the others for the midday meal. The rest of the trainees had not been told of the new arrivals' assignment to Lodge One. Hunter returned to the Doyen's quarters again after lunch.

"I am told the other boys in Squeek have told you the tales of Pandor and Farin," he said.

"Yes," Hunter said. "They seem to be heroes."

"I don't think they planned on being heroes," Parfell said. "From the stories, it seems they had a connection far beyond anything anyone else had before or since. They knew each other completely. It was as if they shared a common soul." He looked away, as if focusing on something worlds apart.

"When Rory said that Farin had told Pandor that he knew him at that first meeting, I got shivers, sir. I felt like that when I first saw Sayer. I asked him who he was but it was sort of like I already knew," Hunter shared.

"I do know that much," Doyen Parfill said. "That was utmost in Sayer's mind when he came back with you."

"It's sort of not fair," Hunter said. "Sayer has been riding me for six months and I know so little about him."

"You know the most important thing," Parfell smiled. "It's what you just told me. You felt the connection."

"Is Lorenwood the only village in Maginar?" Hunter asked.

"Oh my, no," Parfell said, realizing just how little this boy knew. "Maginar includes some of the Tethrian Central Traverse -- an almost continuous mountain range that surrounds the planet, interrupted only by the sea. But Helmshill Range is unique, hidden within the Central Traverse and not yet noticed by the other holdings. You will learn more about Helmshill should you have need. Maginar has villages along the central sea and more in the plains. We are a very balanced holding, which makes us particularly attractive to others. We have farmland, grazing land, seaports, and forests. None of the other holdings can claim that diversity. The alliances they have formed, however, make up for each individual holding's lack, but the alliance that claims Maginar will control the planet. That is partially why we are in such danger. Torinar had acquired Korlin by his own will but he was captured during a raid by the Lokinar forces when Tolinar attacked us to capture more riders. All the alliances have managed to raid our border villages and capture residents in hopes of acquiring a rider, and they have succeeded. The alliances now have one or more possible rider within their control. None of them has been trained so their skills are severely limited. Most are serving unwillingly but forced to use their skills because of family or friends that have also been captured and are used as hostages to keep the riders in line. Only Korlin seems to have completely defected, and he is powerful in the ways of the alliances, although he was never completely trained here. He does not know he has any weaknesses, and perhaps he does not. We do not know."

The afternoon session continued for a couple of hours more, and then Parfell led Hunter back to the small room where they had first been informed of their masters.

"You must go back to the eating room alone," Parfell said. "The others must not see you with me very often. You must be seen with Grafin for normal training in the physical arts. Those are skills you will be able to master without any riding abilities. They are important and will protect you. Earn your belt symbols as quickly as you can. Perhaps we can find the source of your power to call Sayer. If we find that, maybe we can develop it. Trust Sayer, Hunter, and cause him to trust you."

"He already does," Hunter said seriously. "I may not be able to ride but I already know that."

Parfell smiled and ushered the boy out the door.

The evening meal was as delicious as all the others. Many boys had questions, most of which neither Hunter nor Sayer could answer. It was obvious that they were exhausted. Grafin appeared at just the right time.

"It's time to return to the lodges," he announced. Chairs slid back and all the boys began to exit. Talen and Rory joined Hunter and Sayer for the walk back.

Grafin said nothing as he walked with them to the platform of lodge bridges. Talen was ready to lead them back to Squeek but Grafin stopped him. "These two will be staying in Lodge One for the time being," he said.

Talen and Rory looked at him in shock. "This is the wish of the Doyen. Hunter is not yet acquainted with our ways so it is thought best that they remain separated from the rest during the lodge hours," Grafin explained.

Talen looked particularly disappointed. "How about during training?" he asked.

"Hunter will participate in physical training with you, as will Sayer. But he will not be in the academics: he has much to learn before he can do that. Watch over him when you can, Talen and Rory, please," Grafin requested.

Talen and Rory looked a little less stricken, having been specifically requested to look over the two new boys when they could.

"Okay, we will," Talen agreed. "Wish you guys were with us though," he said to them.

"Us too," Hunter said, as he noticed Sayer smiling.

Grafin led the boys up the bridge to Lodge One. He gave each boy a key. "The lodge must always be locked when you leave and when you go in. It must always be secure. You will allow no one to enter other than me or the Doyen."

"Why?" Sayer demanded.

"I don't know," the master responded. "It is how I have been instructed. I was only allowed in for the first time today with Doyen Parfell. The lodge has its own feeling, different, strange. It's hard to describe but it feels like a place of power. I don't know. See how you feel when you go in."

With that he opened the door and the three of them walked into the main room. It looked older than Squeek, as if it had been there forever. As in the other lodges, a fire had been laid and burned pleasantly. But unlike the others, it had only one bunkroom, which connected to a bath and shower. A second room seemed to be devoted to a table and chairs where meals could be taken. Hunter noticed there were four chairs at the table. Two overstuffed chairs and a couch faced the fire. There were two desks and chairs, and the walls were lined with bookshelves. The back wall had a mullioned window which looked out across the fen toward the mountain. It would be impossible for anyone to look in from the outside.

"I will be around to get you at seven bells in the morning," Grafin said. "Please be ready to go, and remember that your daily activities, other than what you do with the rest of the trainees, are not to be discussed with any of them." With that, the master turned and left the lodge, reminding the boys to lock the door behind him.

"Shit, I'm glad he didn't lock us in," Hunter said.

"Yeah me too. Seems kinda like we're in jail, but I guess we could walk out if we wanted. I liked being in Squeek," Sayer said.

"Yeah," Hunter agreed thinking about Talen. Sayer grinned.

"Stop that!" Hunter screamed and took a mock swing at Sayer.

"Hehehe," Sayer laughed. "I like him too!"

The light began to dim as the boys explored their "cell" as Hunter called it. The bunkroom really wasn't bunks like Squeek. There were simply two comfortable beds separated by a nightstand against one wall. The other walls had more books plus the doors connecting to the main room and a separate door to the bath. They found that the second room had cupboards that had been generously supplied with snacks and a chest of ice for drinks that required cooling. Obviously, they were going to have housekeeping services.

"This is just like Doyen Parfell's quarters," Hunter said.

"That's where you were all day?" Sayer exclaimed.

"Well yeah!"

"What the fuck do you do all day with him?"

"He asked me to tell him about life back on Earth."

"He didn't ride you?" Sayer questioned.

"No, he said he didn't have permission from me," Hunter explained. He shared that Parfell had ridden Sayer only long enough to know the connection that the two boys had made. "I mean it: his quarters are almost identical to ours."

"Maybe that's why they are like that," Sayer suggested. "This place seems old."

"Yeah, but Parfell's didn't. So maybe he felt a need to copy Lodge One."

"Maybe," Sayer agreed as the boys sat down facing the fire. They were quiet for a short while watching the flames dance and thinking about the past two days. Days that already seemed like long ago now.

"What'd you tell him about you and Earth?" Sayer asked.

"Well you sure as hell should know," Hunter exclaimed.

"Hey you were always so fuckin' emotional, I only stayed for a little while to make sure you were going to survive. And listen to you mope about over David. That got old in a hurry but I admit he was cute."

"Asshole," Hunter muttered. "Want me to tell you then?"

"Yeah, bedtime story," Sayer smiled and relaxed back into the chair.

"Once upon a time..." Hunter began.