The rules

Soon they were joined in the boat by a middle-aged man and woman. Jontak cast of and steadily started to row towards the sanctum.

“I’m so excited to see how it looks inside” Firlea said, grasping Mary’s hand.

“It’s amazing, I can’t even describe it” Mary told her.

“You have been there?” Firlea asked chocked.

“Yes, twice. With my father” Mary said. She didn’t feel like she should mention that she knew the Lady. In case she did terrible at her tests, she didn’t want that to reflect back to Tariana.

Jontak gave her a look that asked her why she didn’t tell them who she was. She just shrugged her shoulders a bit and hoped he would get the hint and not say anything. It seemed to work and the rest of the trip over to the sanctum were spent in silence.

As Jontak helped Mary out of the boat at the sanctum he smiled at her.

“Good luck Mary, I will let Tenac know that you arrived safely at least” he said.

“Thank you for your help, Jontak, have a good day” Mary said as she made her way towards the aari that were giving instructions to where to go next.

They were instructed to go to a large hall. It was filled with long benches and tables. Mary and Firlea sat down at the end of one of them.

“So, your friend out there, Jontak. Are you seeing him?” Firlea asked. Mary looked at her.

“Seeing?” she asked.

“As in romantically, you know” Firlea giggled.

“No, definitely not” Mary laughed. She had never seen Jontak in a romantic way. He was a nice guy and fun to be around, but nothing more than a friend.

“Why not, he is cute?”

“We’re just friends, I’m not looking for something romantic” Mary told her.

“You wouldn’t mind if I flirt with him if we run in to him again?” Firlea asked.

“Go for it, he’s a nice guy” Mary smiled.

“I think I will” Firlea smiled at her. Mary was happy, albeit surprised, at her new friend’s interest in Jontak.

Soon the hall was filled, and all the benches were occupied. There was a low murmur heard in the hall as several conversations were held at the same time. Mary could feel the collective nervousness and unease from everyone.

Then a door in front of the room opened and Furnlow walked in. The room went silent at once. He walked up to the centre in front of everyone.

“For those of you that were on the east side river field, I’m Furnlow, responsible for training new aari. Welcome everyone to the sanctum. For many of you it is your first time here. There are some rules that you need to adhere to” he started, his voice carrying through the hall.

“First, you will not go anywhere unless accompanied by an aari or a trainee. There is no exception to this. If you need to use the bathroom, please let one of us know and we will arrange it.” He looked at hem with a stern look.

“Secondly, you will listen to what the aari and the trainees are telling you. For those who don’t know, all aari are dressed in white, as me. The trainees are dressed in black with white armbands. You are to follow their instructions, no exception” he once again paused and swept his eyes over them.

“Thirdly, you will wait at one of the river fields at eight in the morning and then be taken here by the riders, you will leave the sanctum at five in the evening after being dismissed by one of us. If you need to leave during the day, let us know and we will arrange it. It is not allowed to go across the river by your own” another pause.

“Everyone understand the rules?” he asked and there was a murmur and nodding heads, no objections were heard.

“Good, then I will let aari Mildy talk about how the days will be planed” he said and with a gesture he handed the floor over to Mildy.

Mary smiled as she saw the familiar aari step up. Mildy scanned the room and when she met Mary’s eyes, she smiled back at her.

“It is nice to see so many new people full of hope” Mildy started. “I’m Mildy, responsible for the agricultural area. I’m going to walk you through what you can expect from the next two weeks.”

“You will be here Monday through Friday for both weeks. When you arrive in the morning, you will gather here, and you will get a walkthrough of the day. Then there will be evaluations up until twelve when we break for lunch. Food will be provided for you in the dining hall, there are designated tables set up for you” Mildy continued.

“After lunch there will be another round of evaluations. Usually, the morning evaluations will be written, and the afternoon ones will be practical. If at any point you feel uncomfortable, please let one of us know. If you have questions, ask them. There are never to many questions” Mildy looked at Mary as she said that. Mary nodded.

“With that being said, the first thing this morning will be a small written exam on herbs, flowers, and trees. In the afternoon you will be divided into four groups, and we will visit the top gardens” she told them. “Any questions?” the room was silent for a while.

“Okay then, please stay seated and paper, ink and quills will be provided for you” Mildy told them as a group of trainees started handing out the items. Once everyone had gotten their supplies Mildy started speaking again.

“If you need more ink or paper during the exam, please raise your wright hand, if you have a question, raise your left. Let’s get started” Mildy said, and Mary swallowed hard.

The exam consisted of a mix between different plants being shown that they were asked to name, Mildy saying a plants name and asking them to wright down all information they knew about it and being asked to write down all the healing properties of a specific herb. At the end Mildy asked them to pic a subject related to what they had been tested upon and write an essay about it in one hour.

Mary thought for a while and then decided to write about the importance of planning an herb garden in a correct way. It was a subject that she and Bettina had talked about a lot recently and Mary felt like she could write something good about it.

An hour later and Mary’s papers were collected by a trainee, and she felt drained. She was also hungry, she definitely felt the consequences of not eating a proper breakfast. She looked over at Firlea and she looked just as Mary felt.

“Follow me to the dining hall” an aari called out and they all got up and started moving through the sanctuary.

They entered a massive hall, the roof spanned several floors up. There were huge pillars and archways. Scattered all across it were tables with chairs around them.

“The four tables over there are for you. Please be seated and enjoy the food” the aari told them and pointed to four long tables in one of the corners. The tables already had pots and plates full of food on them.

Mary and Firlea sat down at one of the tables and started to serve themselves. Across from them, the middle-aged couple that they had charred a boat with, were sitting. They got talking and it turned out they were husband and wife.

The food was good, maybe not as good as Bettina’s cooking, but it was well cooked and flavourful. Mary relaxed a bit and enjoyed the conversation.

“My grandfather is a member of the council, with that sort of blood line you know I will be chosen. I don’t really need to take the evaluation, but it wouldn’t be fair to skip it” they heard someone say.

Mary looked over and a couple of seats away to her right a woman was sitting, about the same age as Mary, maybe a bit older. She was beautiful with long, jet black hair and lots of expensive jewellery. She must have felt Mary looking at her because she turned towards her.

“At least I’m not one of these country bumpkins, it’s so sweet that they think they stand a chance here in the city. If they are accepted, they all end up in the agricultural area” the woman said with fake kindness.

She reminded Mary of lady Sarah and Mary disliked her instantly. She felt Firlea stiffen and then try to make herself invisible next to Mary. Mary looked at her friend and she recognized the emotion in her eyes, the feeling of not being good enough. Mary knew all about that feeling but she hated to see it in someone else.