Then Korneli’s voice interrupted my blissful thoughts of nothing. “Let us say that you marry her off, what then? I cannot see letting all that talent go to waste. The Almighty must have some purpose for her.”
I looked over at my friend sprawled on his chair, eyeing me from under lowered lids, and shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. I agree she has a purpose, but I am still completely unaware of what He has planned. She needs training; so, I shall see that she gets it.”
“Hmm...I have this feeling that she is going to surprise us yet.”
Chapter XII
Hadrian
Summer breezes blossomed into heat. In the north central country, the heat of Aestas always stuck the worst, but this year topped all records. The sun bore down, turning the gardens into brown, brittle graveyards and the healthy rivers to trickling streams. Rain did not come and even the fertile region on the southern coast felt the drought. Thankfully, the irrigation from the freshwater sea surrounding us saved the crops. Without it, the whole country would be facing a starving winter.
While the country anxiously watched the fields in the south, the Mesitas milled out rumors in the central country. The first of them reached my ear via Horace with the morning deliveries.
“The Mesitas says that the goddess is punishing us because of you,” Horace informed me as he set a packet of missives down on my desk. “He is calling for your resignation.”
“Do you believe him?” Picking up the pile, I began untying the leather strap that bound them together. The one on top was a letter from Errol. I slipped it into my drawer and looked up at Horace. “Well?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
“The Mesitas is never wrong.”
I grimaced up at him. “I am still alive, aren’t I? According the goddess’ Sibley, I should be dead and another in my place by now.”
“The goddess’ prophecies are not bound by time.”
“You mean that if I trip walking out the door and break my neck, it was because of the goddess.”
“As the goddess wills,” Horace quavered.
“I disagree. If I fall and break my neck it will not be anyone’s fault but mine. Besides, I believe that the Almighty numbers my days and He will decide when I die. Your goddess has no sway over me.”
“Just wait. She always gets her way. It just takes time.” Horace gave me a mournful look before turning away and leaving the study.
Tristan passed him on his way in and immediately shot me a questioning glance.
“The Mesitas has blamed the drought and heat on my disobedience to the goddess,” I explained before looking down at the letters. “Five trainer letters came today. Are the numbers of these increasing, or is it me?” I set the stack aside and reached for the letter from Blandone. That interested me the most. His report was almost a week overdue and he was supposed to let me know if he had spotted the three missing potentials from the east coast among the new recruits.
“The students are being brought to us without any discipline, Hadrian. More often than not, the trainer is teaching not just the code, but manners, human regard, selflessness, honor, and many other common traits that a talent needs to function. It is as though the parents take a hands-off approach as soon as they know that the child is talented.”
“It sounds like we need to do something about it.”
“We could have them begin training earlier and amplify what they are taught,” Tristan suggested.
“Yes, but then the trainer becomes more like the child’s parent and less like a teacher. It would also require more trainers and we are stretched thin as it is.”
“We could try to educate the parents.”
I frowned. It sounded like a good idea, but somehow I was certain that the parents would take offense at being taught how to be parents. “I don’t think that will go over well.”
“We could up the requirements for training to include basic personable skills, manners, and discipline.”
“That might work, but in the beginning none of the applicants would meet the new requirements.”
“Then announce the changes three years in advance. That way, the parents will have three years to prepare their sons for the testing.”
I looked up at Tristan. “That means additional testing, which equals more time per child, which will result in me having to spend a week testing applicants instead of only a day.”
We both lapsed into thought. Then suddenly Tristan leaned forward. “What if all the new testing is done by trainers? Then, once the trainees pass that battery of tests, you test them for in the usual areas.”
I ran over the idea in my head, examining it from every angle. It seemed sound. “Draw up a step by step plan for implementing this with areas to be tested and details on how the testing will proceed. Present it to me in two weeks after I return from the Caelestis Novem celebrations. We will decide then.”
“You are still going?” Tristan’s eyebrows rose.
“I have to.”
“At least take an armed guard. The Mesitas has basically called for your head, and who knows who might be listening. It would be a quick way for someone to get on the goddess’ good side.”
I met Tristan’s worried gaze with a solemn nod. “I will be taking an armed guard and I shall be as cautious as I can, but my life is in the Almighty’s hands. If it makes you feel better, Renato will be with me at all times and he is well trained in the offensive and defensive strategies. Besides, no one has tried anything yet.”
“It is the yet part that bothers me. Remember that you are still a man, vulnerable to poison and an assassin’s knife.”
“I shall remember,” I assured him as I waved him away. “Now leave me to deal with these.” I gestured to the stack of letters on
