Page 39 of The Gods Veiling
A sensation that’s a mix of ice and fire spreads throughout my body. The fear and anger of being trapped here course through my blood.“Are you serious?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Why do you think they strap us?”
I scan the contraption back around his wings.“To trap you here.”
He hums and my breathing becomes erratic.
“Why didn’t you say anything? Gods, I would’ve run before now. Fuck, I would’ve taken on the Gods Gully over this. Are you serious? What the—”
“Calm yourself. It wasn’t my place to tell you that. You’re where you need to be.”
“No, I am not. I’m supposed to be back in Oddian. I don’t want this.”
“You think you don’t want this. But you will with time.”
“I’ll be at the meadow after I escort them off. Get the Veilatara back to their herd,” Havar says to his friend.
Before I can question Seismet, he knocks me with his head again, lets out one of his rumbling neighs, and trots toward the other god.
“This discussion isn’t over, Seismet.”
“It’s not. I’ll see you soon, Thayla Godrun.”
My fingers curl tensely around the straps of my bag. Its weight is the only thing that keeps me grounded in place.
Mellcom and Jeremiah take a side of mine each as the carriage finally passes by and the anticipation pouring from them causes my jaw to grind painfully.
I ignore them to the best of my ability as I watch the new god who was never introduced, Seismet, and the carriage disappear down a path that cuts into the trees up ahead to the left.
At least I have a general idea of where to find him.
“Come on, Chosen ones. The rest are already waiting on you.”
Lambrit practically sprints to get to Havar’s side as he turns around and starts walking ahead. I’m about to put him on my shit list too for leaving me stuck between these two.
The rest of us pick up our pace and catch up quickly enough to hear the answer to whatever Lambrit asked.
“The name Godsden derived from Godsdawn when the Beginning Gods decided to develop and dedicate this area specifically for new gods. To teach, train, and prepare them for their powers.”
“So this is like a school?”
“No. You’ll learn many things, yes, but not in the traditional sense of what we know schools to be. You’re only going to learn the necessary skills you need for your Designations and role in society. You’ll get about a week to get with the program.”
A week? That’s it? There’s no way.
None of us have ever been to school in any sense.
The other regions do have establishments where groups gather to learn, and I’ve read that the other realms most certainly have schools. Especially the nonmagical realm, but we don’t.
Here, it’s the responsibility of parents or guardians to teach and educate their children. From the time we learn to talk until teenage years, they guide us and teach us the life skills and information we need. Once we’re a little older and begin thinking about what we want to do in our regions, our focus shifts to hands-on learning.
I could never decide what I really wanted to do with my life, so I just bounced between anything that interested me.
Lambrit opens his mouth to ask another question and I roll my eyes at Havar’s sigh. “I know you’re excited, but all your questions are going to be answered in a few minutes. Just squint. You can see the gate from here.”
Sure enough, a few hundred feet in front of us is the silhouette of what I assume to be the gate he’s talking about.
The men’s pace naturally picks up and I force my feet to put one in front of the other on par with their steps. My gaze continues to travel the tree line or my shoes rather than what’s looming in front of me.
