The relic was right in front of her, just one more step... she could almost touch it...

"Zirtel! Girl, what are you doing? The sun has been up for an hour! Come on, get out of bed!"

The shrill voice of sister Theb woke Zirtel suddenly. Zirtel jumped out of bed, narrowly dodging the wooden stick that slammed right where her head was a second ago.

"Alright, look, I'm up, I'm up!" Zirtel cried out, trying to grab all the pieces of her uniform while avoiding the hits. Sister Theb, despite her wrinkles, was quite fast with a stick. "I'll get ready faster if you stop trying to hit me! Have pity!"

"Bah, you deserve some hits. Who told you to stay up all night? As if winning or losing a fight would change if you train three more hours!" The stick finally landed on the floor, and sister Theb stepped towards the door. "Now hurry, you were supposed to meet the leader ten minutes ago."

Zirtel didn't waste any more time and started putting on the uniform. Wide pants and a shirt that allowed a lot of movement, a pair of beat up leather boots, and a padded vest. All the students at the Red Springs school wore the same uniform, but it didn't usually look this old. The vest, usually a deep indigo, was already second hand when Zirtel got it, and now it was lighter than the summer sky. Nonetheless, Zirtel still buttoned it up carefully before running down the stairs.

The Red Springs school was, according to the leader, Edumo, one of many fighting schools spread across the empire of Minos. Zirtel knew little about the empire, or the other schools, but she always thought Red Springs had to be one of the biggest ones. The school's history began before the empire itself, and had ninety nine invaluable relics. The hundredth one, lost in the world, was the stuff of legends. Every year the school also received a hundred students, and at least a handful of them would attempt to bring a handful of servants. Last time, Zirtel had been helping supervise their luggage and was amazed at the beautifully crafted swords they had.

However, from those students, barely half would finish the year, and only four or five would last a second one. That made Zirtel, who had been training there since she was six, the most senior student. Of course, Zirtel didn't think it had much merit, since she simply had nowhere else to go. Her seniority was the reason other students recognized her as she ran past them. Zirtel was glad she had an excuse to ignore them this time. She always felt awkward around the newer students, in and out of training.

After running past a couple of dorms and a training hall, the central square finally appeared in front of her. It was empty, and across it was the central building of the school.

It was the biggest building of the school. The windows had high, pointed stone arches opening to darkness, making one feel observed, and Zirtel slowed down her steps unconsciously until she reached the red doors of the building. She always felt intimidated by them. They were the first thing she saw when she arrived to the school as a kid, and they appeared on her nightmares for at least a full year afterwards. After twelve years, those times seemed like a dream, but that didn't stop the shiver from creeping up her back. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and adjusted her ponytail.

The moment she felt her heart had slowed down enough for the leader not to notice, Zirtel pushed the doors open.

Despite their weight, the doors slid inwards soundlessly. Zirtel knew her way through the dim corridors, and walked at a brisk pace all the way to the council room. There, she knocked politely and waited to be allowed in.

"Zirtel, it's about time. Come in."

Inside the plain, circular room, there stood three people. Edumo and sister Theb, Zirtel knew perfectly, but the third person was a complete stranger, tall and completely clad in silver armor. That was uncommon. Besides students, Red Springs allowed no visits whatsoever.

"Hello, leader, sister," Zirtel greeted them in order with a small nod.

"This little girl?" The stranger spoke, sounding incredulous. "Are you sure about this, leader?"

"Absolutely," Edumo replied dryly. He was the shortest person in the room, but exuded more confidence than everyone else in the school put together, and Zirtel knew he had the skills to back it up. She had only managed to land a hit on him once.

"I am ready to prove myself, teachers," Zirtel added. She wasn't sure why she had been called, but there was no way it wouldn't be important. Perhaps she would become an instructor for the school, or get sent on an outside mission.

"You're so sure," sister Theb huffed. Zirtel glanced at her to make sure the stick wasn't around. "Well, it's indeed time for you to prove it."

The armored man turned to face Zirtel again and shrugged. "It is your school, master Edumo. I'm just the messenger."

"Alright, Zirtel, let's get to it," Edumo spoke. "This man is Commander Dorlas, from the imperial army. The emperor has summoned all the best fighters in the country to fight in a tournament. Of course, Red Springs has to send a representative, or we couldn't call ourselves swordsmen again! Us masters are too old to be searching for glory, and we have decided to chose you. You still have much training to do, so take this as a learning experience! Perhaps you will met some admirable swordsmen on your way. Try to not embarrass us!"

"Yes, leader!" Zirtel replied immediately.

"Very well, go with sister Theb to grab a sword. The commander will take you to the closest city. Don't get into trouble, the empire is a dangerous place!" Edumo gestured towards the door. "That is all. Go!"

Everyone bowed at him and walked back out of the room. Dorlas was the next one to speak.

"Well, girl, I still have to talk to a couple students here, since their families got invited. We will assemble in an hour at the entrance arch. Don't be late again, or I will leave without you."

Zirtel only nodded, too nervous too speak. She couldn't decide whether she was excited or terrified. It would be her first time going outside in years, and representing the school was an incredible opportunity, but her stomach was up in knots. She hoped she wouldn't get sick from the nerves.

After watching Dorlas walk away, sister Theb pulled her to the side roughtly, almost making her fall to the floor.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" she asked Zirtel. "Come on, we need to get you a strong sword, or you'll break it at the first blow, and you won't be able to grab another one like in training!"

"Of course, and that only happened once, you don't need to bring it up!" Zirtel complained, stumbling to match her pace. "Can I choose?"

"No, you'll pick something flashy. What you need is something strong!" Sister Theb lectured her, reaching the armory.

The room was at least a hundred meters long, and thousands of swords lined the walls and the central cabinets. Although Red Spring school trained all sorts of weapons, swords were its core, and Zirtel had spent long mornings helping maintain the swords and long nights dreaming to hold some of them.

Sadly, sister Theb walked briskly past the ones with bejeweled pommels and golden filigree, choosing one of the bottom sections full of plain swords. Zirtel recognized them. They were all signed by a famous artisan, and she knew they were as valuable as the decorated ones, but with their plain dark scabbards and sober blade it was easy to pass them over. The idea of using them was tremendously exciting, but Zirtel's heart wept for the rubies and silver that piled up dust in the walls.

Sister Theb took them off the wall and swung them in the air, discarding a couple before finally settling on a specific one in dark steel. She handed it to Zirtel.

"Try it out."

Obediently, Zirtel stepped away and tried a couple of cuts in the air. The sword whistled with the movement, a smooth note that almost seemed to hang in the air a second after it happened. Despite the length, it was balanced in a way that felt almost weightless, and both Zirtel and sister Theb looked at it admiringly.

"That will do. Well, hurry now to pack. You heard the commander, one hour," sister Theb stated, handing her the scabbard. Zirtel sheathed it and held it reverently. The old woman's factions seemed to soften for a moment. "Try not to die, we would be very disappointed. Don't mind the result of the competition, what matters is what you learn from it."

"Don't worry, I'll kick their asses!" Zirtel said, and after a moment of hesistation, she gave her a hug. "I'll be going then!"

She released the hug immediately and ran out of the armory, but she still heard sister Theb yell after her, "you're lucky I'm not holding that sword anymore, you rascal!"