The Trial of the Mountain

On the other side of the door, they found a straight hallway leading to a gate. It felt strange to think the trial had ended so soon, and yet they seemed to have gotten what it would grant.

Lena was still uncertain about her gift. Uncertain why she got the claws, yes, but also what she was meant to do with them now. She had only just learned to forge her daggers, but the claws left no room for them, already compelling her to use them on her foes before any other blade. She wasn't sure if they were solid like her daggers either. They certainly looked the part, and sounded it, too, when she tapped them on the wall, but there was something about the way they shone that made her second-guess. Truly, she had come further than she had ever imagined, and she could feel how much uncertainty remained on the path ahead.

“What is an Astrana?” She asked.

Kyoka's eyes dropped to her claws, then met hers again. She gave an apologetic smile.

“I don't really know. I knew what to expect because of my mom, she has Sagittarius too, but whenever I asked about it she said she'd tell me after I graduated.”

“Maybe it's like how some normal people know about Astra?” Mira suggested. “They know it exists but don't really get it or know how to use it.”

Kyoka shrugged. “That sounds right to me. I guess if she explained it all, it would have overwhelmed me before I even knew I would get an Astrana.”

Lena felt a part of herself sink. This was meant to be important, but the importance was a mystery.

“Did she tell you what she did after she got it?” She tried, hoping history might help her solve it.

“Yeah, she told me about that. She said she didn't know where she had to go at first; she just knew she didn't have to go back to the school. So, she traveled to our hometown. Along the way, she saw the things that troubled the mountain, like dolls and brigands, and learned that it was her duty to keep the roads safe.”

Mira nodded. “I think that's what graduates do all over the mountain.”

Keep the roads safe? Was that the purpose of their graduation then? She wasn't entirely sure, but she had heard classes graduate after ten years, not eight. Were the roads so bad that they needed graduates early? Or worse, had something happened to the graduates they had already? She was about to ask when Kyoka spoke to her mother last, but the gates before them opened, and they emerged into a room much like the first.

Headmistress Desiree was standing there, waiting as if she knew they'd come. The girls lined up and bowed to her, only for the headmistress to raise her hand.

“You may forgo formalities, girls. You are, by the standards of our Academy, graduates now. Though your trial is not yet over.”

Lena raised her hand despite the words. “Does that mean you know what we have to do next?” If anyone did, it was the headmistress.

Desiree shook her head. “I have a request for you, but only you can decide your purpose on the mountain. Perhaps you may return as teachers to the school. Perhaps you may guide people on their way. A communion with the mountain will reveal that answer in time.”

“A request, headmistress?” Kyoka asked.

“Yes, though know that you are not the first girls I have asked. Still, I am grateful that so many of you made it to me; it means more of this message will be delivered. Please, seek out your alumni and tell them the Princess has been plagued with bad dreams.”

The three looked at each other. Not a one of them knew the significance of the message. When they looked back, Desiree’s face said she would not elaborate.

“You are graduates, but you are not yet ready to shoulder the troubles of the mountain. Find yourselves first. When you have, there will come a time we speak as equals.”

“Headmistress,” Lena stepped forward, “How many girls have passed so far?”

“Your party brings the number to fourteen.”

That left so many more behind, including the girls who never left the first room. A troubled part of her wanted to ask how many were still alive, but the question was too dark to speak. Instead, she asked the one in her heart.

“Is there anything we can do to get them out of the labyrinth alive?”

Desiree's eyes widened. “Do you mean to send them home?”

“No!” Lena shook her head. “I want to send them back to school so they can try again. None of us should be forced to go home.”

“How intriguing. You are the second girl to ask me such a question, though your intentions seem kinder.” Desiree considered it for a moment. “Do you girls know the interval at which we choose a new class?”

Mira nodded. “Every fifteen years.”

“Then you know that there are seven more before a new class will be chosen. Many of your classmates will have aged out of candidacy. Do you girls know why this is the case, however?”

Mira nodded again. “Because the Star on High is most radiant every fifteen years. Girls who react to Astra are most visible at that time.”

Lena did not know this.

“That is close,” Desiree replied. “It would be better to say, however, that the girls are most radiant at that time. The academy trains that radiance, but it dwindles after ten years. To graduate is to maintain your radiance. To fail is for it to fade.”

So their peers would only have two more years if they were sent back. Was Desiree trying to tell her not to waste her concern?

“You say none of you should be forced to go home, but wouldn't your request merely delay the inevitable? Do you believe the girls who fail today will want to face the labyrinth in two years? Will they have prepared themselves by then?”

“I don't know, but they'd at least get the chance!” Lena had to stop herself from clenching her fists. “We get the choice to leave if the academy is too much for us, but, we deserve the chance to stay if we can handle it. I… got lucky. I have Kyoka and Mira and we work well together, but if anyone asked them first I'd still be in the first room, afraid to go home. I don't want other girls to be afraid.”

Desiree nodded. “Unfortunately, I cannot make any promises to you. Did you bring this up to She of the Star on High?”

“Yes.”

“And what did she say?”

“That I should shine for them and say I’ll fight for them.”

“Then I will tell you what I told the last girl who sought to spare your peers. I will not force their hands. So long as they have the will to face it, they may continue to their graduation. I shall only offer an exit to those whose wills have fled. What becomes of them next will fall onto you, or your peer.”

“Headmistress,” Kyoka spoke, “do you know who the first girl was?”

“Yes, and it is as you may suspect. Amelia would send your peers home. By following Lena, here, you walk a path that crosses hers.”

Kyoka laughed. “I've always walked that path.”

Desiree stepped aside, and a door appeared. “Then do not falter. I look forward to seeing how you girls meet this problem.”

Once more they found themselves walking in tandem as they headed for the door and stepped out onto the mountain…