Chapter 1

It’s getting cold again, Alec thought. For the men and women of Highkeep, being cold and living in darkness is just something you get used to. It’s hard to have a concept of seasons when you’re living in Highkeep. The Keep, as residents call it, a massive fortress of a city with walls that stretch into the sky and scrape the clouds with their height. Though the opening above the wall is relatively small, it’s still enough room for weather to make an impact – and winter always does. Wet, sticky snow started to fall on the city as the night curfew went into effect, candles were being blown out and Highkeep grew quiet.
Alec’s mind was fighting sleep, getting selected for the Order was such an incredibly high honor for him, processing it all was causing his emotions to well up inside of him, his mind was running with thoughts in every direction. The last two months of drills and training has been draining on his 18 year old body, but even with how drained he was physically he still could not drift off to sleep.
When Alec finally closed his eyes in the barracks, thoughts of his childhood came rushing to him. He was three when his parents fled to the keep from Caerum Ba through the great mountain pass after Lord Barinium’s failed uprising. They didn’t feel safe tucked between the mountains anymore and honestly, who could blame them. Rebellions? Who would have any reason to rebel against the Order? They keep us safe, they have for years. But within the walls of Highkeep, we don’t have to worry about that anymore, do we? The High Priest keeps us safe, and with Alec being a member of the Order he was proud to be part of the force that kept people’s worries at bay.
“Just a few more days” he muttered to himself, forgetting that he was in a large open room with dozens of other recruits. Thirteen years of study and training. That’s how long Alec has been preparing for these next few days. When he started training for Order, he was only five years old. His parents signed him up as soon as he was of the age of reason and from that day forward he spent nearly all of his time in the temples learning the ways of the Four. The Four… Alec thought, his mind slowly drifting off into a dream. Alec’s life has been devoted to The Four, to the service of the Lords and Lady that put all of life into motion, and now he gets to put his service into action. Real, tangible action, something he has dreamed of since he was a boy. His last thoughts before he faded completely was on the Lady of the Sea and the Lords of Fire, Dreams, and Night.
Thud… thud… thud… CRACK. “By the order of the Council of Four, on your feet the lot of you,” Order Commander Banin shouted as he kicked open the door to the barracks. Alec always hated the morning wake up calls. Everyday Banin kicked open the door to wake up the recruits right before the Priestess of the keep lit the first candle to usher in a new day.
Alec threw his feet over the side of his cot and pulled on his trousers. As he was lacing his boots, Heren gave him a bash on the back of the head. “Hurry up you fool, if you’re the reason why we have to march the wall I will have your bones thrown off the High Spire.”
Alec looked up to her and scowled, “oh shut up Heren, no one asked you.” He knew she was just trying to get under his skin but of all the things that Alec is – an early riser is not one of them. Dealing with her nonsense this early is not something Alec was mentally prepared to do. Alec grabbed his tunic and stood at attention in front of his cot. The other recruits shot him a glare, but he’s used to it – he’s always the last to stand up but Banin hasn’t noticed yet.
“Today” Banin said in his thundering voice, “we march the wall.” Heren gave a sharp look at Alec after the Commander walked past her. The recruits were silent, they knew better than to groan about the Commander’s orders. He continued, “you all are three days from graduating as full-fledged members of the Order of Maelz’dur.” At these words a few recruits shifted their weight in attention, shoulders moved or fingers tapped on their thighs in excitement and expectation, “but we have much to do before then.” He walked to the end of the barracks and turned before continuing, “the High Priest is counting on us to protect and defend the people from the impurity beyond the wall. The enemy beyond the wall wants to rob you of what you have fought for your entire life” with that, each recruit picked up their left foot and stomped in unanimous approval. The Commander went on, “but we will not let that happen, we are the Order” more stomps. “Now get out into marching formation, we have a long day ahead of us.”
Alec followed the other recruits out, mentally preparing himself for the physical drain of marching all around the 50 mile (author note: change to unit of measurement relevant to story) perimeter of the Highkeep wall.
Stepping out of the barracks and into the dimly lit keep, Alec tried to soak it all in. Soon he wasn’t going a recruit anymore, soon the protection of all one million residents would be in his hands.
Alec tried not to let his mind wander much when he marched like this, the long drills were best when he kept his mind focused on the final goal. He couldn’t help but think, though, what will it be like when he’s out of training? What will his assignment be? Will he be one of the Kingswatch, staying by the side of the High Priest and King – if we ever get another – defending them at all costs? Or maybe an Ambassador of Purity and go out beyond the wall to show the others the message of the Four. Alec hates how misunderstood they are, how maligned they are by so many.
Thud… thud… thud… below the bridge that Alec and the recruits were marching over came the sound of a large detachment of Order guards leading a group of Blind Ones to their morning duties.
Now that, Alec thought, is the post I never want to be assigned to. The Blind Ones get what they deserve. Religious apostates, deviants, thieves, and every manner of criminal is made to become a Blind One. Formally, they the agricultural force of Highkeep. Men and women that are escorted out of the wall each day to tend to the crops and animals that feed the citizens of the Keep, but everyone knows what they really are – prisoners and slaves. Honestly it’s better than what they deserve, but I’m not the judge – yet.
The recruits were nearing the end of their march as the Priestess lit the eleventh candle at the top of the High Keep in the middle of the city. The candles are used to measure the day in the Keep since there is little to no sunlight that makes it into the walls – especially because there are no windows that show the outside world. Each hour, the Priestess of the Keep, second in command to the High Priest, lights a candle. After the lighting of the twelfth candle, they are blown out and the mandatory curfew starts.
By the eleventh candle the keep was always fairly quiet. Families settling in for the evening, lights in their homes flickering and the smell of food roasting, but not a lot of laughter or talking. There wasn’t much laughter in the Keep anymore, not since the King died, but the Order has been working hard to restore normalcy.
The only sounds that Alec heard were the sounds of boots on wood and boots on stone. Up the stairs and over the bridges that link the various levels of life on Highkeep. From the now empty merchant quarter to the High Palace and back down to the living quarter, the constant thud of marching echoed.
Off in the distance Alec heard something that sounded like muffled cries and soft, dull thuds. “Eyes forward, Recruits” came the shout from Commander Banin. Alec did as he was told but from the corner of his eye, in an alley connecting two housing units he saw three Order soldiers beating a woman with blood pouring from cuts on her head and arms. “Impurity never goes unpunished,” Alec heard one of the soldiers say between punches. As the recruits marched further, the sobs grew quieter until he heard one final thud crunch and the sobs stopped all together.
Alec winced, but he knew that was for the good of the Keep. At least that’s what he kept telling himself. Looking straight ahead, Alec glanced at some of the other recruits. Their faces were like stone, it didn’t bother any of them, at least the ones near him, and he guessed they were right for that. They serve the Order, he serves the Order, and what the Order says or does is for the good of all people. He just hasn’t seen the laws enforced like that from this side of things, not since his parents were found guilty of their crimes and even then they were just made to be Blind Ones. Which was for the best, Alec thought as he pushed all of those memories deep inside the compartments they belonged in.
By the time the recruits made it back to the barracks and sat down to eat, it was twelfth candle. The protein mash being served to the recruits was, as always, absolutely disgusting. Eating this for thirteen years has not been the highlight of Alec’s life and he still cannot get used to the texture, but nevertheless he ate his ration and went to get ready for bed.
Haran was waiting for him when he got to his cot along with her knuckle-dragging friends Baron and Elfin. Baron was short and tan for a boy of the Keep. With the lack of direct sunlight, people in the keep were often pale to the point of having a soft blue tint. Alec suspected his family was from somewhere to the south like Cullingport or Baelisport but he wasn’t sure – he never went out of his way to talk to him.
Elfin was tall and lanky, his messy white hair fell on his thin, pale blue face and swooped to the left to cover one of his eyes. He was born in the Keep, Alec knew that, and Elfin joined the Order at the same time as him. His parents were killed by the Order for practicing a faith other than the Four, it was sad really but at least Elfin’s life was better for it – that is, when he wasn’t hanging around with people like Heren.
Heren was an enigma to Alec. When she joined the Order at the age of seven, she was a sweet girl that cared about those around her. Alec remembered a time when he was sparring with Order Commander Kalum, Alec raised his sword one second too late and Kalum cracked him on the skull and broke his nose. Heren was the first one to his side with a cloths to wipe up the blood and help bandage the wound.
As time went on, though, Heren changed. She grew increasingly devoted to the study of the Four and her quest for eternal purity, and so did Alec, but her devotion projected itself in aggression whenever she thought another recruit wasn’t up to the same level of faith that she was. At first, Alec admired this level of faith. She just wants me to follow the Four as best as possible he would think, but as time progressed he started to resent her for it. It’s not like Alec wasn’t trying his best, because he was, but no one can be running at one hundred percent all the time – well, no one except for Heren and her goons.
Heren looked at him and started mocking him in a high, annoying tone; “A little screaming get your britches in a wad, Allie?” Alec hated it when she called him Allie. She only did it when she was chastising him for something stupid. Her voice deepened and dropped to just above a whisper, “I saw you looking at her as the Order beat her, I saw you flinch when they ended her wretched life, you getting soft on us little Allie?” Heren was in his face now, with her lovely friends flanking her on each side. He could not figure out why she was being so aggressive about this, and he really didn’t understand how she saw him. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice your weakness? Or did you forget that I was behind you all day today during the march?”
Alec never really paid attention to who was around him today, he was so focused on getting through it that his marching order never occurred to him. But it wasn’t really a big deal, not to him at least.
“Listen Heren, yes I flinched when they killed her but I’m just not used to hearing someone’s skull break – I’m sure you’re not either. It’s not like I care about her, she was impure, she needed punishment for the good of the Keep. It just… surprised me. You can’t say it didn’t surprise you too.” Alec’s voice was a little higher and more defensive than he intended but everything he said was truth.
“I’m as devoted to the Four as you are,” Alec continued, bringing his voice down and composing himself. “My devotion has never been in question, and I don’t think it should start now that we’re three days away from our graduation – well two days as of tomorrow.”
Heren looked at him and scowled along with Elfin and Baron. “You show weakness like that one more time and I won’t be the only one questioning it. You’re going to be a full part of the Order soon. If we can’t count on you to do the same thing for the good of the Keep, you’re as useless as a Blind One.”
With that, Heren, Elfin, and Baron walked over to their cots leaving Alec feeling more frustrated and uneasy than he did when he heard the woman killed on the march.
Commander Banin strode in with Paladin Kalic, both having a casual conversation as they entered the hall but the presence of a Paladin among the recruits made everyone jump out of their cots and stand at attention.
“Good evening recruits, I will keep this short because tomorrow is a big day.” Paladin Kalic said in his low, sonorous voice that commanded both respect and fear. “As you know, graduation is upon you, soon your assignments will be handed out and you will start your lives as protectors of the faith. Tomorrow after first foods, you will receive your orders and we will proceed from there. Get some rest. Darkness in two. By the Four.”
Everyone replied in unison, “by the Four.”
(Needs rewritten below this point) Paladin Kalic put his hand on Commander Banin’s shoulder, whispered something to him, and left the room.
The recruits all climbed back into their cots, waiting for the Commander Banin to blow out the candles and for this long day to end.
As darkness fell, Alec’s mind was on the woman in the ally and on Heren, Elfin, and Baron. A sour cap on this otherwise fine day. Alec loves the Four and is fully devoted to their service but beating a woman to death for her transgressions against the Council is just… too much. He didn’t want to dwell on it, it’s not wise. Purity above all, purity of thought is just as important as purity of the eyes and he knew that the actions of the Order are – by extension of their faith – actions of the Four. But there has to be a better way, violence for the sake of purity can’t be it, why couldn’t she have joined the Blind Ones or lived in exile under the Keep?
Tomorrow is another day, and soon this will all be past, Alec thought as his eyes grew heavy and mind faded to sleep.