I hear a curious sound behind me, and I turn around to see Walgash keeled over with suppressed laughter. I look at him, puzzled, and then I take a closer look at the other men around me. Their bows are different. Mine is bigger and much sturdier.

Walgash wipes the tears from his eyes. “Oh, you should see yourself, sweating over that bow like a beardless boy.” He pauses. “Can you even grow a beard?”

A sneaking suspicion forms in the back of my mind.

“Oh, come now, Dineas. You didn’t think I would let you get away so easily with that show of swordsmanship at the rosemarked compound, did you? My ribs still ache, for heaven’s sake.” He takes the bow from me. “This is my personal bow. It’s not for everyone.” With those words, he strings it as easily as if it were a child’s weapon. Then, with one fluid motion, he takes one of my arrows and sends it straight into the center of the bull’s-eye. “Just remember, my talented friend. You’re not the best at everything around here.” He grins and hands me a new bow. “Try your luck with this one. And you’d better hurry. At least I shot the first arrow for you.” He leans close conspiratorially. “And watch your shoulders. You tense up with each successive arrow.” And with that, he leaves me with my jaw hanging
open.

After a few moments, I come back to my senses. This bow behaves as it should, and soon I’m loosing arrows one after the other. A few match Walgash’s shot, while others hit the bull’s-eye but don’t hit the very center.

After I finish, Walgash returns. “Not a bad recovery,” he says with a grin that splits his face in half. “On to the next station before you get in trouble.”

I can’t decide whether to thank him or punch him.

The next stations are fencing and bare-handed fighting, and after the disastrous last trial, they are a breeze. They pair us up with other candidates, and I win my fights easily. After we finish, the observers pass me a waterskin. The water’s hot from sitting in the sun but no less sweet.

“Take two hours for lunch and rest,” a soldier says. “You’ve finished the warm-up portion of the trial. The real test starts this afternoon.”

After lunch, they gather us at the city gates and load us into wagons. We’re allowed to bring nothing but the clothes on our backs. The sun beats down on us as we roll out of the city, and I wish I’d had more to drink before we left. Different wagons peel off as we go, and when a handful of carts are left, we stop at a seemingly random point in the desert.