Chapter 2: The Trials

THEY ARRIVED JUST IN TIME to see the High Chieftess’ fiery arrow landing on the pylon. A surge of fire swept through the piled offerings in the pylon, lighting it all up into a humongous mass of flames. The red earth of the arena seemed to dance with the fire’s glow.

The High Chieftess stood amongst her people, as she was a leader among friends and not their superior. Around her stood the Grand Karainas, their copper armor glistening with the fire’s light. Scarlett recognized most of them, but some looked like they had been away from the village for a long, long time. Their opaque and brittle armor gave them away. 

A Karaina never ceased to be a Karaina. If they were exiled, they were allowed into the village only on the Night of Flames. Even the exiled deserved to pay tribute to the god Karai. Scarlett shuddered thinking of what those women must have done to renounce their lives among the Karainas to live with another tribe.

The women howled and cheered to the rhythm of the thunderous drums and then the High Chieftess raised one hand in the air and silence reigned.

The floorboards under the High Chieftess creaked as she descended into the arena and turned to face her tribe.

“Tonight we thank the Gods of our people for their guidance. To the South, we thank Namandu, to the North we thank Jakaira. To the west, we thank Tupa, and to the east, we bow to Karai, lord of fire and the holy flames that light the human’s paths,” said the High Chieftess, facing every direction so that her words would reach the Gods. “May there always be fire in our hearts.”

“Rohayhu tata!” chanted everyone in unison, and the High Matron bowed to the East. Scarlett’s voice was stuck in her throat. She felt no fire, true or metaphorical within her.

“To honor the mighty Karai, seventeen of our bravest have been training to join the ranks of the Karaina. Seventeen girls who become women today. Step down and face your trials!”

Mimbi gave Scarlett a slight nudge on the elbow and walked into the arena. The other girls who were spread around the arena, stepped down as the other women made way for them, patting their shoulders or heads with encouragement. A little girl, no older than six, handed Yeruti a flower as she passed by. Across the arena, Pakuri’s large frame seemed to be pushing women out of her way. These girls who had been her partners and sisters for the last six months were now the competition, even Mimbi.

But Scarlett had no doubt that Mimbi would successfully pass all the trials. Her fire burned blue, though she rarely used magic while fighting.  Mimbi said it was because it gave her an unfair advantage over the others, but Scarlett knew it was because Mimbi was trying to prove a point.

That Scarlett could become a Karaina with no fire magic, that courage could be the fire in her heart.

Scarlett’s feet touched the moist earth and her knees felt weak, but she kept her head high and joined Mimbi’s side. The heat emanating from the pylon warmed her face, making her eyes water. The other girls seemed unfazed by the roaring fire.

Three trials awaited her: the jousting, the remembrance, and the choosing. Of the three, the jousting was the easiest one. The girls would have to fight the spirits and remain standing.

Scarlett was confident in her fighting skills. She had trained harder and longer than anyone, sometimes forgoing sleep to practice how to use her shield to protect herself from her fire-wielding opponents. Her sword was almost an extension of her arm, and she was so fast that the Matrons said she might even outrun a Hova.

The remembrance… was another story. Each girl would be given a draught to take her mind to the spirit world. There, they would face visions of the past, present, and future, and then come face to face with their biggest fears. They would begin at one end of the Arena, fight the visions in their minds, and make it to the end without leaving the spirit world. If they failed, they’d come back to the mortal plains, with no recollection of the trial they just faced.

It was at this stage that most girls failed the trials, too worn down by the burden of knowledge and fear. Scarlett had seen eighteen Remembrance trials in her eighteen years of life, even if she didn’t remember the ones she had seen when she had been an infant. Most girls made it past the knowledge-revealing phases, but when it came to facing their fears…

No one could see what went on inside the girls’ minds as they walked through the arena. All the spectators saw was a girl making her way across the sand, crying and fighting to make it. Some screamed in terror and others stopped midway, paralyzed and defeated, only to wake up without remembering what had happened inside their heads, with the realization they didn’t have what it takes to be a Karaina.

But Scarlett wasn’t too scared of the remembrance. She had learned early on that the only way to face your fears was to look at them straight in the face. 

In fact, she was kind of curious to experience the remembrance. There was so much she didn't know about her mother, and maybe connecting with the spirit world would give her a glimpse of who her mother had been. The present... was uncertain. All that had been on her mind for months was the trials, so there wasn't much she could analyze about that.

Only the future made her a little nervous because if it showed her something life-changing, like the fact she never made it through the trials, she'd feel terrible even before the third trial. 

And it was the third trial, which was supposed to be the easiest, that worried her.