Hunter, Warrior, Commander

By Andrew Maclure

Get ready for an epic journey filled with intense action, compelling characters, and an unforgettable storyline.

 

Hunter, Warrior, Commander is a powerful military science fiction novel that will leave you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Meet Sah Lee, a warrior consumed by rage and hate after witnessing the devastating effects of an unprovoked attack on her peaceful planet and the death of her closest friend.

 

Determined to seek revenge, she joins a hostile alien army in her quest to become the warrior she needs to be. With unforgettable characters you'll care about and non-stop action, Hunter, Warrior, Commander is a must-read for fans of military science fiction. So, grab a cup of coffee, clear your schedule, and get ready for an all adventure that'll leave you breathless.

 

Hunter, Warrior, Commander is a standalone book set in the People's universe,

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Maclure
• Release date: Jul 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201307363

Book preview

1. First Hunt

Sah Lee was now twelve, just old enough for her first real hunt. Tef Dor, the hunt leader, led the pack forward in the dusk, through the thick clumps of sharp-bladed grass. The dry sandy soil beneath their bare feet was still warm from the blazing midday sun. The cool, dry breeze brought the musky scent of their prey toward them. Sah Lee edged forward through the pack with an impetuousness that had often got her into trouble as a cub. Get back! hissed Sah Lek, her mother’s sister, but Sah Lee pretended not to hear her.

The pack slowed as they approached their prey. They needed to get as close as possible before the Imaya they were hunting noticed them. Sah Lee dropped to a crouch as they inched their way forward. The scent of the prey was now heavy in the air, bringing back her earliest memory of her mother, Sah Krin, returning with a fresh kill to their village.

A few meters away, the Imaya cow stood grazing, with a calf at its side. They were lucky to have found them separated from the herd. The pack paused, then, as one, they exploded forward and pounced. The Imaya cow and her calf went down, not standing a chance of escape from the tearing and slashing of teeth and claws.

Sah Lee was the first of the youngsters to reach the calf. She sank her pin-sharp teeth through the thick fur of the calf’s throat and tasted the sweet metallic tang of its young blood. The calf fell, its lifeblood pumping through the great gash that Sah Lee had torn through its neck.

The prey were dead. The pack lifted the two carcasses aboard sledges. Eager hands grasped the poles to drag the sleds back while Sah Lee danced at the front to crow about her part in bringing down the calf. They would soon be back at the settlement and eating fresh meat; no need to chew on leaves and roots to keep away the hunger pangs tonight.

The sun had left the sky now, but the light of the moons was enough for them to see their way. The rings of icy particles they called the Necklet that circled their planet were sparkling high above as the sun shone on them from below the horizon.

This was a joyous day for Sah Lee. Her first kill on her first hunt. The taste of the calf’s blood was still on her lips; the blood covered her from chin to feet. These memories would stay with her for the rest of her life.

It was fully dark when they arrived back in the village. By the light of the dim lamps that lit the open area in the center of the village, the carcasses were quickly skinned, and the hides stretched across frames ready for scraping and salting before being made into leather.

The fire in the shallow pit in the middle of the village was already burning, casting a flickering light across the gathered villagers. The children helped the adults butcher the carcasses into joints ready for the night's feast. As Sah Lee was now a fully blooded hunter, she was excused from the preparation work and she sat with the other hunters, swapping exaggerated stories of their part in the hunt.

When the fresh meat was laid out on tables, the four youngsters on the hunt were each given a quarter of the calf’s heart to mark their participation in their first successful hunt, and proudly ate their share with the still warm blood dripping down their chins. The elders presented the cow's heart to Tef Dor to mark the honour of leading another successful hunt. Then, the entire village took their turn cutting lumps of flesh from the joints laid out and sat around the fire to eat them. The elders collected slices of liver and portions of the best parts of the Imaya cow and took them to the enclosure where the males were kept. Sah Lee didn’t know why they bothered to feed the males. They did nothing useful for the village, but whenever she questioned why they were given precious meat from the hunts, her mother and aunt dismissed her complaints, saying that the males were ‘necessary’, but never explaining why.

At the end of the feast, they packed away the remaining meat. In times past, they would have wrapped the remains in leaves and buried them at the base of rocks in the shade, but now they stored the meat in plastic boxes in the community refrigerator. They wouldn’t eat this raw but would cook it over the communal fire and eat it with leaves, fruits and tubers.

Sah Lee laid back with her belly full of meat and looked up at the sparkling rings that shone in the clear night sky.

She knew she wouldn’t have many more feast nights like this. Soon she would make the long walk to the station and take the train to the city. In just two years, she would leave her home and family to spend the next six years at the University in Aa Ellet, which meant Sun City, where she would learn about the technology that underpinned the economy of Aarn. She knew that more than half of those that went to the University chose to stay in the city and feared that she may make that same decision to abandon the traditional plains hunting life of the Aarnth, and part with her mother, sister and aunt forever.

2. Leaving Home

Now fourteen, Sah Lee had reached the age to leave the village for University. She was the only one from her village going this year. Her three closest friends were all older than her and had left last year.

Ten days before she was due to start the long walk to the station, where she would board the train for the city, her mother, Sah Krin, took her for long walks, each day visiting one of her favourite places on the surrounding plains.

She took Sah Lee to the water holes she had splashed and played in when she was a child; where she had swum on the hot summer days when the sun beat down from the cobalt blue sky and when the air was still, the sound of chirring insects came from nowhere and everywhere. She took her to the small stands of trees where she had climbed with her friends and made small shelters from the withered branches that had fallen on the ground. To the rocky plateaus where they had taken food and drink, with her aunt, Sah Lek, and sometimes with her friends, and where they often stayed in the warm evenings until it was almost dark. She took her to all the other places that held special memories for Sah Lee when she was growing up.

While they walked, they talked. Sah Lee asked her mother: What is the University? You’ve always told me it’s where I’ll go when I am fourteen to learn things, but what is it? A village? A camp?

Sah Krin smiled at her. The University is in the city of Aa Ellet. It takes up a lot of the city. It is many buildings made of stone and each of the buildings has many rooms. The rooms are stacked one on top of the other, two or three high and connected by stairs. Look, she said pointing to an old outcrop where the stone was weathered and broken, see how those rocks are piled up so you can walk up them, a step at a time? The stairs in the buildings are like that.

Sah Lee stopped to look at the pile of broken rocks and tried to imagine what it would look like. Rooms like their tent, but made of stone, all put together and piled up on top of each other, with broken slabs of rough rock that had to be climbed to reach the rooms piled up on the top. She shook her head, half wondering if her mother was teasing her, but she looked serious as she spoke. She decided not to question her mother any more on this, and instead asked, What will I learn there? I know a lot about hunting already. I know how to find my way in the day by the position of the sun and the length of shadows, and at night by the Necklet and the position of the stars. I can find water by its scent, and I know what plants are poisonous and which can be used to heal. I know I don’t know everything yet, but how can it take six years to learn everything else?

You have much to learn, Sah Lee. For instance, do you know where we live?

Of course I do! We live in the village!

Sah Krin laughed. Yes, we do. But do you know where the village is? Do you know what lies beyond the plains? What happens if you keep walking north or south? Do you know of the sea and ships? Do you know of the other people of Aarn, who do not live on the plains? Do you know where the knives and plastics that we trade for skins come from?

No, but that’s not important, is it?

Sah Krin laughed again. All knowledge is important, Sah Lee. It may not be useful today, but only the Makers know what will happen in the future. We live simple lives now. We didn’t always. Thousands of years ago, we chose the life we live now, to abandon all but the most basic technology, and to keep the males separate. We gave up all technology then and lived the life as our ancient ancestors did. We are changing again now. Only a little, and slowly, but we are rediscovering our technology, being careful to not let it change our lives, but just to make it a little better. Now we are on this path, we do not know where it may lead.

That sounds boring. I don’t care about that. But where is the village? Isn’t it on the plains?

Yes, it is, but the plains aren’t the entire world. Our world is called Aarn, daughter of Aa, the sun. You have heard the histories, told by the Elders when we sit around the village fire, in the evenings. The histories speak of The Four Makers, who made Aa, the sun, and gave her the gift of life. They made Maaren, the small innermost planet, and made it the home of the demons, who they imprisoned there. They placed it close to Aa, so she could guard it. Maaren is so hot that the rocks melt. Then they made beautiful Aarn, Daughter of The Sun. They were so pleased with the beauty of what they had made that they gave Aarn a shiny necklet, a ring of ice that circles the world to show they loved her. They then each made another, lesser planet, Tair, Fairn, Lar and Mehen, to keep Aarn company in the vastness of the void. Aa looked upon Aarn, and so loved her daughter that she blessed her with the gift of all the living things in our world. The Aarnth then, were primitive hunting animals, not much better than vulpen, but Aa saw the Aarnth and made us stand upright on two legs. She gave us the gift of speech and intelligence. We loved Aa for what she had given us, and we always will. The Makers saw that Aa had made us, then they each made a moon, to watch over us and protect us.

The Makers looked at what they had made, and it was perfect. They filled the void with lesser suns to worship Aa, to twinkle in the darkness and act as beacons to guide the Aarnth in the darkness of night, and having finished, The Makers left, never to return.

I hadn’t realized the histories were about us, I thought they were just stories.

It doesn’t finish with the histories, Sah Lee, there is so much more. Aarn is a huge globe, mostly sea, but with vast areas of land. We live on Por Dars Erntoran, the great central continent, which is the biggest of all the lands of Aarn. All the people who live on Por Dars Erntoran are of the Sek Farn, the One Tribe. This is where the Aarnth came from, where we were changed from being animals to being what we are now.

Are we the only people on Aarn? Sah Lee asked.

No, we live in the middle of the northern plains. If you were to walk east or west for two hundred days, you would reach the ocean, which is like a huge water hole and seems to go on forever, but you can travel across it on a ship, like the little boats you played with on the water holes, but much, much bigger. The ship would take you to other lands where other Aarnth live who aren’t of the Sek Farn: they belong to other tribes.

Are the other tribes our friends? Sah Lee asked.

Yes, of course. Sah Krin smiled. They are our sisters; we trade with them. The University is only two days travel from a port, which is where ships go to meet and to trade. You will visit there when you are at University, and you may get to travel in a ship.

Sah Lee was intrigued by this. All she had ever known were the plains, and she loved them. She didn’t want to leave them. Yet, to travel on the sea, to be surrounded by so much water that she would never need to be thirsty...

You said about traveling north or south. What happens if you keep walking north or south? Do you come to the sea again?

No, it is very different. As you travel north, if you go far enough, the air will grow cooler, the grasses become softer and grow thickly. If you keep walking, you will come to where huge trees grow in great forests, which stretch further than the eye can see. The forests are so big it takes tens of days to walk from one side to the other. Dangerous and mysterious animals live there. If you keep on going north through the forest, the air grows so cold that you can see your breath, and water becomes hard, like stone.

Are you teasing me, or is it really like that?

It really is like that, Sah Lee. You will visit the forest when you are at University, but you won’t go to the cold lands. It is dangerous there, the cold kills people. Those lands aren’t meant for the Aarnth.

What happens if you travel south?

If you travel south a long way, many days walk, it becomes hotter and drier. Eventually it becomes so hot and dry that nothing grows there. The soil is dust, which sometimes blows around in great swirling clouds that blot out the sun and smother everything. But if you are properly prepared, and lucky, and keep on traveling south, you will come to the end of the dry lands and reach plains again. And if you keep going even further south, the air will grow cooler and you will reach soft grasslands and great forests, just as you would if you travelled north.

Does anyone live on the plains in the south?

There were a few who did when I was at University, but I don’t know if there still are. The University keeps an outpost on the southern plains, near the sea. If you stay near the sea as you travel through the dry lands, it is a bit cooler, not quite so dangerous.

Are they all the Sek Farn?

Her mother smiled, "Everyone who lives on the continent of Por Dars Erntoran is of the Sek Farn, we are all one people.

And does anyone live in the soft grasslands and the great forests?

Just a few. The Aarnth are plains people, we are hunters of the Imaya that roam in huge herds across the plains, the graceful farun that live solitary lives among the rocks and grasses, and the great dangerous massoons that lumber across the plains in small family groups from one waterhole to the next. We don’t scramble around the roots of grasses for the small mammals, lizards and snakes that live there, and we don’t climb trees looking for bird nests, nuts and fruit. The Aarnth don’t belong there, but there are some who want to live there. You will learn all this at University, Sah Lee, in more detail than I can remember. You can ask your questions there. The tutors like students who ask questions. You are not just quick of foot and hand; you are quick of mind too. You will enjoy University, I hope not so much that you won’t want to return home.

Sah Lee walked on in silence, deep in thought. All she had learned during her childhood until now had been how to hunt and survive on the plains, how to read and write, to count and basic arithmetic, and some of the histories the Elders told when they gathered around the village fire in the evenings. She had thought that she knew almost all there was to know, all she needed to know for life on Aarn. Now, it seemed that she knew little of the world outside her village, outside life on the plains.

She knew that University made people different. Those that came back seemed to have had the joy sucked out of them. They were no longer playful and mischievous but serious and concerned. No longer wanting to run across the plain for the sheer joy of it, or to play in the water and mud in the swamps, or to climb trees and play hide and seek in the glades around the waterholes. They hunted, but seemed like they did it just to get food, not for the sheer joy of the hunt.

This troubled Sah Lee. She loved the carefree life in the village with her family and friends and the excitement of the hunt. She also knew that she did not have a choice. This was the way of the Sek Farn. Only the unfortunate ones remained at home beyond their fourteenth birthday, those that stayed like babies, however old they grew. And the males, of course, they never left their compound.

The day came to leave. Sah Krin told Sah Lee that like her elder sister, Sah Elt, she must take the first steps to adulthood and independence alone. She prepared to leave, wearing soft leather breeches that came just below her knees and a tunic of the same soft, fine farun skin, which her mother had lovingly sewn. Sah Lee felt the same empty, sick feeling in her stomach that she had felt when she made her first farun kill.

Half a year before, Tef Dor, the hunt leader, had taken her out in the late afternoon, to find and stalk the shy and elusive farun. After several hours prowling through the dry rocky areas preferred by the farun, they spotted their prey. They quietly and patiently stalked it as it moved amongst the rocks, grazing on the tough grasses that grew there. She had been so intent on the hunt that all she had thought about was finding their prey and bringing her trophy home. She was an experienced Imaya hunter now and the thought of the kill hadn’t crossed her mind. But now, as she crouched ready to spring, she saw the fragile beauty of the slender farun. At the last moment, as she was about to leap, the farun sensed the hunters and turned to look at them. Sah Lee stared into the farun’s large, fear-filled, black eyes. She froze for a moment, unwilling to quench the spark of life in this graceful creature, but remembered that she was above all else, a hunter. A killer of prey, pitiless and remorseless. Swallowing her hesitation, she leaped onto the farun’s back, threw it down and tore out its throat with her long, sharp cat-like cuspid teeth. Blood spurted from the torn arteries and sprayed her face. Tef Dor ran over and pulled her up, grinning and congratulating her on her first farun kill, not noticing the tears that ran down Sah Lee’s face, mingling with the farun’s life blood.

Sah Lee knew she had to do the same thing now as she had when she made the kill. She had to push down her feelings, hide her fear, her overwhelming desire to stay. To not show emotion, to do what had to be done, quietly and with dignity. She picked up the bag, made of the same leather as her clothing, that contained dried meat and water for her journey. It was all the luggage she needed. The University would provide everything else.

She stepped out of their dwelling and squinted in the bright midday sun. The entire village had gathered to see her off. Her mother Sah Krin, her aunt Sah Lek and the hunt leader Tef Dor stood at the front of the small crowd. Sah Lee hugged her mother and her aunt, who both had tears in their eyes. It surprised her to see that Tef Dor’s eyes also glistened with unshed tears. She moved on to hug the four elders, knowing that they would probably all have died before she finished at University. She looked back to her mother and ran the few steps back to her to give her a brief silent hug and turned to stride out through the crowd which parted for her, head up and shoulders back with her jaw clenched to stop her lips from quivering. and blinking furiously to keep back the tears.

As soon as she was clear of the village, she broke into the long loping run the hunting pack used when tracking Imaya herds. She knew she could keep this up for hours and that the concentration needed to avoid tripping or stepping into holes would stop her from thinking about the home she was leaving, possibly forever. When she finally stopped, exhausted in the gathering gloom of the evening, she found a sheltered spot among rocks where she could spend the night. She curled up to keep warm and, with deep sobs racking her body, cried herself to sleep.

3. The Station

Sah Lee awoke in the pre-dawn twilight and looked around. All was still, even the insects and small mammals sheltered from the chill of the air that came as night ended. She was cold, hungry and thirsty and quickly ate the last of the dried meat and finished her water. She would keep the bag. It was new and might be useful in the future. There would be food and water and people to greet her at the station, and she would soon warm up if she ran for a while.

Even after eating, she still had an emptiness inside her. She doubted that she would see her family or village again, and tears pricked her eyes. Sah Lee took a deep shuddering breath and decided not to think of them again. She may have the body of a child, but now she must have the mind of an adult. A hunter. Be self-contained. She no longer had a family, home or friends. She would be a stranger in a strange land. She knew this; she knew what she must become. But knowing it was not the same as being it. The feeling of loss almost overwhelmed her, and a tear ran down her cheek. She started walking, and as the light grew, broke into a run. She soon fully focused her mind on keeping her feet in the rough terrain and her body was warmed before the sun crept over the horizon.

The train was due at the station at just after mid-day. Sah Lee arrived early, having run most of the way, with half the morning to wait. The ‘station’ was a platform of raised soil with the stones removed. Weeds poked through and rainwater had cut shallow channels in it. A wooden shelter stood on one side of the platform, bleached pale grey by the hot plains sun. It needed repair but was mostly intact. It surprised her that it hadn’t been taken for firewood, trees weren’t common on the plains. The station was deserted, which was disappointing, as she was thirsty and there was no water hole close by. She realized that the people meeting her must come in on the same train that she was getting on. There was nowhere for them to stay overnight here and no reason for them to expect her to arrive so early.

She wished she had brought a short leather wrap to wear so that she could hunt in it. The clothes she was wearing weren’t practical for hunting, and anyway, they would get dirty, bloody and probably torn too. She sat in the shelter and waited until the sun had moved another tenth of the way across the sky, by which time she was hungry as well as thirsty. If she caught something, she would have something to eat and could slake her thirst with its blood. She quickly stripped off her breeches and tunic, leaving them with her bag and ran naked into the grass near the station.

After only a few paces she picked up the scent of a ranual, a small mammal about half a pace long that lived in burrows in the sandy soil of the plains. Laying on her belly, she crept towards the scent and saw an adult ranual gnawing at the roots of a clump of plains grass. Silently she gathered herself up ready to spring, and leaped onto her target. She swept the ranual up in her hands and bit through the back of its neck, severing its spine and killing it instantly.

She had no knife to butcher it with, but her sharp claws sliced its pelt open, and while it was still hot with life, its skin pulled off easily. Sah Lee bit through its neck and greedily sucked its blood to quench her thirst, then ran back to the shelter with it. She took a handful of grass with her and spread it on the ground next to her bag and dropped the skinned body of the ranual on to it to keep it out of the dirt. She ran back into the grassland and picked up a handful of the sandy soil to rub into her skin to clean the blood off, then wiped herself down with handfuls of grass to remove the sand that had stuck to her.

Back in the shelter, she pulled her breeches and tunic back on and sat leaning against the wall, enjoying the taste of the fresh meat. Having sated her appetite, she took the remains of the ranual a few paces into the grassland and buried it.

When she returned, Sah Lee leaned back and dozed in the warmth of the morning sun.

The distant sound of heavy panting from a great beast woke her. Startled by the noise, she leaped to her feet. She had never seen a massoon, but she knew they were big and dangerous, but then realized that this must be the sound of the train that her mother had described to her. She stood with her empty bag in her hand and looked westward down the line. In the distance she saw the sleek black shape of the train coming towards her, making a chuffing noise that she had mistaken for a massoon’s heavy breath. She watched it approach, slowing as it got closer to her, eventually drawing to a halt. Nobody got out of the train to greet her. Uncertain what to do, she stepped up to a door on the middle of the three carriages and entered. As soon as she closed the door behind her, the driver started the train again with a blast of steam from the engine.

She looked around the carriage and saw that the only other people in it were a group of what looked like traders. They stared at her as she got on, then turned away and ignored her. She had met traders at the village when they made their infrequent visits. The villagers and traders held each other in mutual contempt. The villagers were pleased when the traders arrived, so they could exchange cured skins for knives, pins, thread, metal cooking utensils and plastic food storage boxes, but were even more pleased when they left.

Metal, wood and plastics were scarce commodities in the plains. Plastics were so rare that they hardly saw them. The amount of all three which surrounded her amazed Sah Lee. The entire train was made of either wood, metal or plastic, but when she thought about it, what else could you make it from?

With no one to greet her and give her food or water, or to guide her, it worried Sah Lee that she would not know what to do or where to go. And she was even more thirsty now than she had been before. Drinking the ranual’s blood may not have been such a good idea after all.

After about two hours, she was beginning to notice the effects of dehydration. She was feeling nauseous and had a growing headache. She realized she had to ask the traders for a drink. She got up and walked over to the traders, and quietly asked if they could spare her a drink, not really expecting them to do anything but rebuff her, but she had to try.

You’re a villager. the oldest looking trader said.

Yes, I’m on my way to University. Sah Lee replied.

Thought as much. the trader said. You don’t mind sharing our water?

No, not at all. I mean, I would be most grateful for a sip.

So, you’re on your way to be civilized. You’d better come and join us you little savage. You can share our food and drink and start to learn how civilized people behave. Sit down.

4. The Train

Sah Lee sat as instructed. She looked at the traders, all older women. Sah Lee was not fully grown, but was a strong and skilled hunter. She was in no doubt that if she needed to, she could easily escape the clutches of the traders. She would be careful not to drink from a container that one of them hadn’t drunk from, or to eat anything that they hadn’t already tried.

The older of the traders introduced herself as Traf Dek. She held Sah Lee’s gaze while pulling a leather water canteen out of her bag and taking a drink from it. She passed the canteen to Sah Lee, saying: Drink your fill. We always carry plenty of water on the plains.

She took a cautious sip from the canteen. It tasted slightly stale and bitter from the tannin in the leather, like the water from the well in the village that they took with them on their hunts. Not like the muddy taste from the water holes that they refilled their canteens with when away from the village. Satisfied that it was safe to drink, she took a deep draft from it and passed it back to Traf Dek.

Keep it. A gift from me. You may find it useful in the future. Tell me your name.

Thank you, my name is Sah Lee. What do you require as a trade for the canteen?

A gift is a gift, it does not need a trade. Tell me about yourself.

This puzzled Sah Lee. Traders never gave anything away. They always drove a hard bargain when negotiating for the wares that they brought to the village.

My mother is Sah Krin, my sister Sah Elt is at the University. She went two years ago. I hope I will see her when I get there. I am a hunter, one of the best in the village. She looked down at her lap. I don’t want to go to the University.

It’s hard for a young plains dweller to leave everything behind and go to the University. Traf Dek said, Most of those we meet are unmannered, hard and arrogant. You have to be a good judge of character to be a successful trader, and I can tell that you are different. If I am right, we can be friends, and I can help you make your way in Aa Ellet.

But you are a trader. You don’t like us villagers. Why would you want to be my friend? Sah Lee said, suspicious of this offer of friendship and help from a stranger.

Traf Dek smiled. We don’t dislike you plains people. Though we don’t really like you either. The truth is, we are jealous of you. The plains people don’t like us traders because they think we are of the city, that we steal their children away from them for six years at least, and many of their children choose to stay in Aa Ellet and never see their families again. There are many of the Sek Farn who are born in Aa Ellet, but they never leave. We traders were all once plains people, villagers, like you. When we finished our six years at the University, we found that we couldn’t go back to our villages, either because our family had all died, or the village had been abandoned or sometimes because we were not welcome, our village thought we were tainted. Those villages never lasted long anyway. All the young people left at fourteen, so those remaining got older and eventually all died or moved away. We couldn’t live by ourselves on the plains, so we came back to Aa Ellet and became traders, so we could at least get to see the plains again, even if we couldn’t live there.

That must be awful for you! Sah Lee blurted out. Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.

You weren’t being rude. Traf Dek smiled at her. I’m beginning to warm to you. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us before we reach Aa Ellet. Between us, we’ll tell you about the University and life in the city. If there’s no one to meet you when we get there, I’ll take you to the University.

5. Aa Ellett

By the time they reached the city, Sah Lee had made good friends with the traders, particularly with Traf Dek, and had learned many strange things about it from them. She learned that males sometimes mixed with the females and were treated as equals. There was no hunting, but fights among the city dwellers often broke out, leading to injury and sometimes death. That there were people whose job it was to maintain peace and stop the fighting. That people outside the University had to work and were paid in ‘money,’ which they had to have to get food, water and accommodation. They even had to work when they didn’t want to! Living in Aa Ellet was very complicated. Sah Lee couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to live there.

When they arrived at the station in Aa Ellett, Sah Lee was overwhelmed by the number of people bustling about; many of them were looking around, bewildered. Five other lost looking young people got off from the other two carriages on the train. She walked over and asked if they were students and knew where to go. One of the students stepped forward and said: We talked about this on the train. I am Sor Tan, and I am the best hunter, so you will follow me. I will be able to track the University.

Why do you think you the best hunter? And you can’t track the University, it isn’t an animal, it is a place. Sah Lee replied.

I don’t ‘think’ I am the best hunter; I am the best hunter. Ask these two. she said, gesturing towards two of the other young Aarnth with her. They come from my village.

It’s true. one of the youngsters volunteered. She is the best of the young hunters in our village.

But all that means is you are the best in your village. I am just as good a hunter as you! Sah Lee retorted.

Oh yes? Have you ever been on a successful massoon hunt? Sor Tan asked. Because I have. We brought down a half grown massoon that provided so much meat that there was too much for the five villages that took part in the hunt, and we took the spare meat to four other villages and gave it to them!

No, I haven’t. confessed Sah Lee. There had been no massoon near her village for three years, and she was too young then to go on a hunt. But that doesn’t mean you are a better hunter than me!

I think it does, Sor Tan said with a smirk. so I’ll lead the way. Come on.

I’ll find my own way, thank you. Sah Lee replied.

The two students from Sor Tan’s village moved behind her, ready to follow. The two other students looked at Sor Tan, then at Sah Lee, then at each other. Without a word they both walked over to Sah Lee.

We’ll follow you. the taller one said. My name is Tir Mal, this is Kel Mai. We are from different villages, but we hunt together sometimes, and we know each other. How will you find the University?

I am Sah Lee. If you were on a hunt and needed water, how would you find the nearest water hole?

I would ask one of the older hunters who knew the area to take me there, but how does that help us find our way to the University? Tir Mal asked.

Sah Lee turned to Traf Dek, who had been standing watching the exchange with a smile on her face. Would you show us the way to the University please? she asked.

You show great wisdom for one so young. Traf Dek answered. Come, follow me.

*****

The University covered over a quarter of the city with a spread-out campus. Traf Dek took the trio to the reception building and wished them good luck; the building was heaving with bewildered looking young people and harassed older people.

Tir Mal grasped Sah Lee’s wrist and turned to Kel Mai, saying, Stay close. Sah Lee led them close to one of the doors the busy staff were rushing in and out of and soon managed to intercept one of them.

Excuse me, Sah Lee asked, what should we be doing?

Fill in these forms. the staff member said, pulling three forms from a sheaf and handing them to Sah Lee. Take them to the registration building and they’ll tell you where to go.

Thank you, where is the registration building? Sah Lee asked.

Out that door, she said, pointing to the far side of the room. Straight across to the grey stone building.

Would it help if we took some of those forms and handed them out? asked Sah Lee.

Oh, thank you, that would be so helpful. the harassed staff member said, thrusting the sheaf of forms into Sah Lee’s hands. And you might need this. she added, handing Sah Lee a pencil.

Come on, Sah Lee said to Tir Mal and Kel Mai, handing each of them some forms, we’ll find the door and then hand them out to the people closest to it. That will reduce the amount of pushing through the crowd to get out.

She led the way through the mass of students to the door that led to the registration building and the three of them handed out the forms. The forms were all numbered. The information required was simple; their name, the name of their village and their birth date. None of the students had anything to write with, so they loaned the pencil to them to fill in their forms.

A small group entered the reception building and pushed their way through the crowd towards Sah Lee and her companions. Sor Tan confronted Sah Lee.

So, you managed to find your way here, eventually? Sor Tan spat at Sah Lee.

We’ve been here a while. I’m surprised that you managed to track it so quickly. Sah Lee answered, trying to suppress a smirk.

I’ll take those. growled Sor Tan as she snatched the forms from Sah Lee’s hands.

Dropping into a half crouch, Sah Lee snarled and bared her teeth, but then slowly stood up and smiled. Fine. she said, as she turned around and walked to a group busy writing on their forms. Tir Mal and Kel Mai came over to join her.

I thought that you were going to fight her. Kel Mai said. I saw what happened. Why didn’t you?

There’s more than one way to skin a ranual. Anyway, it’s probably frowned upon if you kill a fellow student. Especially on your first day. Sah Lee smiled. She waited until the last of the group had finished writing on her form and held out her hand for the pencil. Let’s see how well Sor Tan gets on when the people she’s giving forms out to realize they have nothing to write with.

Sah Lee looked around and realized that most of the students they had given forms to were still there.

What are you waiting for? she asked.

The one nearest her said: For you to take us over to the registration building.

Sah Lee shrugged. OK, follow me. and with Tir Mal holding her wrist again and Kel Mai on her other side, led the way through the door and across to the grey stone building.

Sah Lee pushed through the wide wooden double doors into a large, almost empty room with four desks on the back wall. An adult sat behind each desk with short queues of students in front of her. She and Tir Mal moved to join the nearest queue and Kel Mai fell in behind them.

The queue moved forward quickly and Sah Lee handed her form to the woman at the desk. She glanced at the form, wrote Sah Lee’s name, number and village in a ledger then put it face down in a tray full of forms on the desk.

She looked up at Sah Lee. Accommodation block seven, floor three, room nine. That will be your home for the next six years. You’ll find a book in there that will tell you all you need to know for now. Next!

Where is accommodation block seven? Sah Lee asked.

There’s a map on the wall by the exit. she said, pointing to the left. Next!

Sah Lee stood back, waiting for Tir Mal and Kel Mai. She heard them being told the same as she was, including the room number. As soon as all three were registered, they walked to the exit, Tir Mal once again hanging on to Sah Lee’s wrist. They checked the location of accommodation block seven and went in search of their new home - room nine, floor three.

She and her companions followed the map directions to block seven and climbed the stairs, which Sah Lee was relieved to see were not just broken slabs of stone loosely piled on top of each other. They reached floor three and found room nine near the end of a wide corridor.

Sah Lee bounded over to the window and flung the shutters wide open. Her companions leaned out either side of her. All three turned as the door swung open. Three students stood there.

Is this room nine, floor three, accommodation block seven? the one at the front asked.

Yes, Sah Lee replied, is this your room too?

That’s what they told us, but if you’re already here... her voice trailed off.

"There’s room for six, you three will fill it up.

Sah Lee introduced herself, Tir Mal and Kel Mai to the three newcomers.

I’m Mah Dak, this is Ran Bor and Lat Raan.

Mah Dak and Lat Raan looked like typical young Aarnth hunters, slim, athletic, with honey gold skin and auburn hair. Ran Bor was not quite as tall as the others, nor as slim and athletic as they were.

Did you know each other before you got here? asked Sah Lee.

No, Mah Dak smiled, we met in the queue at the registration building. We were just behind you but took a bit longer than you to find the room.

We can all stick together now. I am sure we can find our way round between us.

The three newcomers nodded eagerly, Mah Dak and Lat Raan with a smile, Ran Bor looking very serious.

There should be a book in here which tells us all we need know about the University. Mah Dak said.

We haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, it’s over there. Sah Lee said, gesturing towards it.

Ran Bor picked the book up, sat on a bunk and started reading it.

It says here we have to be in Teaching Building Three, room two at first light. I don’t know how that’s going to work, she said, my mother always has to wake me up or I sleep until mid-morning.

That’s not a problem, Sah Lee said, I always wake before dawn. Before we do anything, my bladder is full, and I need to relieve myself. I didn’t notice a patch of trees when I came in, did any of you?

It says here, Ran Bor continued, reading the book, there is a room at the end of every corridor with toilets and water. There’s a map of the University campus here too, so we should be able to find everything easily.

Toilets? Anybody know what they are? Sah Lee asked and looked around at the others.

Ran Bor answered, My mother told me before we left. There are too many people in the city to use trees and bushes, so they have these things called toilets where you go to relieve yourself.

That makes sense. Let’s go and have a look at the room, then we’ll find the refectory. Sah Lee said.

Having found the room, they experimented with the toilets, which were just holes in the floor, I wonder where it goes? Sah Lee said. Then they played with the water for a while.

When they were thoroughly wet, the six of them explored the University campus. Tir Mal never leaving Sah Lee’s side. There were many buildings made of stone with pathways and alleys between them. All the buildings had names and numbers above the entrances, so although many of the words had no meaning yet to the students, they could easily remember the numbers. The route around the campus was labyrinthine, but with their experience of finding their way on the mainly featureless plain, none of them had a problem with quickly building an accurate mental map.

6. Field Trip

After two years of being confined to the University with only an occasional foray into the city, all Sah Lee’s class were looking forward to the field trip to the Great Northern Forest. Although a train line ran from the city to the logging camp, Rin Tor, their group tutor, told them they would travel by foot. They would hunt for their own food, find water to refill their drinking bottles and sleep under the sky.

The logging camp was nine days travel away, so the journey would