The caravan slowly rolled out of town, while the young people from Glynlon waved energetically to their families. However, that energy quickly faded once they could no longer see Glynlon.
Evian heard one of the other young men from the town, whose name he thought was Vax, trying to start a conversation with someone in front of him in line.
"Hi. What's your name?" he asked.
"Kalvin," panted the young man, who looked around 20.
"Where are you from?" Vax asked, ignoring the dismissive tone in Kalvin's voice.
"I'm from a small village called Valgkamp, about two months' walk from Glynlon," Kalvin answered, still in that dismissive tone.
Evian wondered why Kalvin sounded so dismissive, seeing as he was still sharing a lot of information, even if he didn't sound like he wanted to.
Vax had finally caught on to Kalvin's tone and asked, confused, "What… Aren't we allowed to talk, or what's wrong with you?"
At that moment, one of the warriors escorting them rode up to them.
"Be quiet down there!" he yelled at them, much louder than Evian thought necessary.
The warrior rode back to his position further up the caravan, and the young people didn't dare speak for the rest of the journey.
The trip became more and more boring, though Evian and the other young people from Glynlon had never been this far from the village before, so the surroundings were all new to them.
After what felt like many hours, but was actually only four, the caravan stopped, and the young boys from Glynlon were asked to gather around Darwen.
Evian watched as the others trudged over to different wagons to fetch gear. He understood that they were now 20 kilometers from the village, the spot where Darwen had told his parents they would stop for the night.
Darwen watched the young people slowly gathering around him. It seemed like he was assessing them and their abilities, but that couldn't be true—they were only to be evaluated after they had been trained at Selvin for a year. Evian looked around at the others, wondering how the whole evaluation process worked. But he didn't get far in his thoughts before Darwen's voice brought him back to reality.
"Good. We'll be spending the night here, and you'll learn what it means to camp with the caravan." He looked at all of them as if to make sure he had their full attention before he continued.
"In wagon 2, where you also placed your baggage, you'll find the materials for setting up tents. Two fire pits also needs to be made, and you'll have to go gather firewood yourselves."
"Once that's done, you'll be given food, which you will have to cook yourselves," he added.
The young people from Glynlon looked around at each other with calm expressions. This wasn't much different from life in the village, where there was a strong emphasis on every young person helping with chores at home and being able to take care of themselves if something happened to their parents.
The adults in Glynlon all believed that their children shouldn't be a burden to another family if they were to die!
Levon quickly took charge, which was completely natural for the others due to his size and the fact that his mother - our mother, Evian thought briefly - had always been one of the key figure in village life as the only healer.
"Ryamus, Lurk, and Givon, we'll take care of gathering wood. Evian, Vax, and Tavi, you'll dig out and place stones for the fire pits. The rest of us will set up the tents."
The division of tasks wasn't random. Levon and Rina were the oldest from Glynlon, and had known all of us since we were children and knew exactly what we were good at.
Ryamus, Lurk, and Givon were all large and muscular, and they had been allowed to bring axes from home.
Everyone else was also allowed to bring a bladed weapon if they wished. It would be used during their basic training at Selvin. If someone didn't own a bladed weapon or didn't want to bring the family's only one, they would be given a choice upon arrival at Selvin: a sword, an axe, a lance, or a halberd. They would be required to maintain and take care of the weapon for the next year.
Vax and Tavi were light on their feet and could easily move around in the forest, and though they didn't look like it, they were very strong. This was perfect for carrying stones and digging the fire pits.
Evian himself was a skilled pathfinder and was good at remembering where he had been and where he was going. In addition, he could read the land better than most, so it would be easy for him to find a small bay, stream, or river. There, they would find the best stones for a fire pit.
All the young people immediately started their tasks. Darwen and Melvin stood a bit off to the side, observing them as they worked.
"Hmm. The distribution looks good, and they're working efficiently as a team," commented Darwen.
"Yes, he seems like he'll be a good leader, that Levon," Melvin muttered in his raspy voice.
It only took the youngsters from Glynlon an hour to have everything in place. The tents were set up in two half-circles facing each other, creating a common area between the two rows. Two fire pits were set up in the middle with some distance between them, and beside each fire pit was a pile of dry branches chopped into kindling and a small stack of dry wood that Ryamus, Lurk, and Givon had chopped from a dead tree they found some 300 yards into the grove on the other side of the marsh where they had camped.
Evian, Vax, and Tavi had quickly found a medium-sized creak with a bed full of rounded granite stones that could withstand the fire's heat. They had lit the fires and were now warming and drying themselves by one when two warriors brought over a basket with pots and ingredients for dinner.
There was nothing particularly exciting in the basket, but Evian, who wasn't as big and strong as his twin or as smart as his sister, had spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen with their mother, so he set about making a stew with the lamb and vegetables he found in the rations.
"Could you keep an eye on this so it doesn't get too hot? I need to go grab something," he asked Vax and Tavi once he had finished chopping the vegetables and meat into small pieces.
"But how do we know when it's too hot?" Vax asked.
"I've never been good at cooking," he explained when Evian gave him a questioning look.
"Just make sure it doesn't bubble too much. If it starts to boil, lift the pot so it's not so close to the fire," Evian replied.
After a quick nod from Tavi, indicating he understood, Evian jumped over the stone he had been sitting on and ran toward the forest.
He was abruptly stopped by a loud voice coming from his right, from where the warriors and mages escorting them had set up their tents.
"Where do you think you're going, kid?" the voice boomed.
Evian stopped and looked toward the voice. He saw Darwen standing sternly at the edge of the warriors' and mages' tents.
"I was just heading into the forest, to the creak to fetch some herbs I noticed growing there earlier today," Evian replied.
"That is, when we gathered stones for the fire pits," he added hesitantly, as Darwen just kept staring at him sternly.
"Aren't the rations we gave you good enough for you fine folk from Glynlon?" Darwen asked, suddenly sounding hostile.
"They're very good, but with the wild herbs that grow by the creak, we can add flavor. Also, they'll help with our recovery, so we're ready for tomorrow," Evian explained.
Darwen stared at him for a long time before calling over one of the other warriors and a mage named Halsus.
"Vilnas, go fetch Rina from the Glynlon camp of girls. Halsus, I have a question for you once Vilnas brings Rina."
Evian stood nervously staring at the ground, tracing patterns in the dust with his boot as Vilnas returned with Rina.
"Alright, kid, what is it you're going to fetch by the creak?" Darwen asked, still in that hostile tone.
Evian shrank a little under the harsh tone, which he found unnecessary in the situation—he was just trying to fetch wild herbs to enhance the flavor.
"I was going to the creak to gather Hylitnav, which is used as a flavor enhancer in lamb stew," Evian finally replied after Darwen sighed in frustration at the boy's hesitation.
"Okay, first you, Rina. Can Hylitnav be used for what he claims?" Darwen asked Rina politely, which irritated Evian quite a bit. Why did Darwen snap at him but speak politely to Rina?
"I don't know about its effect on lamb stew, but I do know that Hylitnav can help with energy levels the morning after a hard day's work," Rina replied almost immediately, without much need to consider which herb was being discussed.
"Is what they're saying true?" Darwen asked Halsus after turning to him.
"Like Rina, I have to admit I'm not sure about the flavor-enhancing effect of Hylitnav, but she's absolutely right that Hylitnav has benefits when consumed after a hard day, giving more energy the next day than if you hadn't taken it," Halsus replied and continued.
"I've been drinking a cup of Hylitnav tea every evening throughout this trip."
"Alright, off you go then, kid. But be back in 30 minutes," Darwen finally said after looking back and forth between Rina and Halsus a couple of times.
Evian didn't need to be told twice, and he immediately ran off to collect the wild-growing Hylitnav herbs by the creak.