Feron's hammer rang out thin and steady against the village stones in the cold of morning. A week ago the sound would have sent a shiver through Yavuz; now it was only a familiar, pleasant melody.
All thirteen of them had gathered in the square. No one spoke. Yalaz's eyes moved over them one by one, then stopped.
"Yavuz, Poyraz, Aylin, Hak, and Tunay." His voice was clipped. "The five of you, get ready. At noon you set out with me and Erlin."
For a moment Yavuz couldn't move.
Then something loosened in his chest. For a whole week he had risen early every morning, had carried the ache in his arms with clenched teeth, had stepped up against Yalaz again and again and been knocked to the ground again and again. And now his name had been called. For the first time he had wanted something this badly and gotten it.
'I did it.'
The word left a strange warmth inside him.
But as the names settled into his mind, the warmth began to cool.
Tunay, sometimes with his odd movements, sometimes too cool-headed. And he was trying to learn both Yelvi and Erk at once. Acceptable, as far as Yavuz was concerned.
Hak, who was quiet and always at the back every time Yavuz saw him afterward. Yavuz knew nothing about the man, yet his composed, silent manner still gave him confidence. That, too, was acceptable.
He had even less of an idea about Aylin than about Hak. All he knew was that she was the most accomplished of them at magic.
And finally Poyraz — like Hak, he was someone reliable. But from what he'd heard, Poyraz had only just learned his first spell, and he didn't throw himself into his training all that much either. To Yavuz's mind, there could be better options than Poyraz. Like Sevda and Hazar.
The first voice to split the air came from Sevda.
"Why him and not m—" Her voice cracked; she corrected it. "I split the post in two. While Poyraz couldn't even manage his first spell, I was fighting you, old man."
Yalaz turned to her. There was neither anger nor surprise on his face.
"I know."
A single word. It made Sevda angrier still.
"Then why?"
Yalaz took a step. Dust rose.
"Because I'm not looking for the best." His eyes did not leave Sevda.
"Last week, when the first five of you came at me, what did I tell you?"
Sevda thought, but no answer came to her.
"Dying side by side is not the same as fighting together."
Yavuz's eyes lit up. He had understood why Poyraz was chosen.
Sevda did not answer. But her fist whitened around the hilt of her sword.
Yalaz turned his back and left. He gave no further explanation; he wouldn't, and there was no need to anyway.
Yavuz looked around. Hazar was staring at the shaft of his spear; for a whole week he had learned to carry it like a limb, but his name had not been called. He said nothing, only swallowed slowly.
A little way off, Sedef had gripped Yavuz's arm without realizing it; her fingers were trembling.
"Be careful," she said in a low voice. Then she gathered herself and drew her hand back.
Yavuz nodded. He wanted to say something, couldn't find it.
That cold feeling was still there. It hadn't gone even after the victory; it sat somewhere in his chest, somewhere that came before words.
'Don't go,' it said. 'Don't put yourself at risk.'
Yavuz didn't know why.
But he had until noon, and there were a few things he needed to do before he left.
As they were about to leave the square, Garrun approached them and called out.
"The five of you, come with me first."
The five began to follow Garrun with quiet steps.
They passed through the village's narrow streets, between its ruined houses. Some of the houses had no walls, some no roofs. Dust covered the floors of many of them.
It looked like the abandoned houses in horror films. The kind of place ghosts would haunt in a world that had ghosts.
Luckily, there were no ghosts. Though Yavuz wasn't sure whether he'd have been afraid.
They kept going. They passed the ruined houses, crossed the narrow streets — until the mouth of a cave appeared before them.
Yavuz had never come to this part of the village. He'd never had any business in this area, and no one else came here either. Until Garrun brought them, he hadn't even known such a place existed.
They walked up to the cave's entrance. Its mouth was guarded by a great metal door. It was like an impassable wall.
Garrun reached into his pocket, drew out a key, and slid it into the lock. He turned it, but the door didn't open.
"A key alone isn't enough to open this door," he said.
Then he set about doing something. Yavuz couldn't see it, but he could feel it. Garrun was channeling Erk into the door through the key.
A few seconds later the door slowly swung open. Garrun stepped in first, then the five.
The first thing to reach Yavuz's nose as he entered was the heavy smell of dust. But after that he had trouble making out the smells that followed.
When Garrun lit one of the torches on the wall, he could finally see where the smells were coming from.
The cave was larger than it looked from outside. On the left were beds, plainly unused for years, as the dust and grime on them made clear.
A little to the right of the beds were cabinets, and inside those cabinets was food. On one shelf salted meat and fish, on another hardtack, on yet another dried fruit.
Yavuz was seeing these foods for the first time. They had never been given any.
In the middle of the cave was a small channel. Water ran through it, slow and steady.
At the far right were racks and still more shelves.
When he looked that way, he finally understood why Garrun had brought them to this cave.
"There isn't much, but pick a few things that'll fit you," he said.
Yavuz walked up to the racks. At the front hung a few leather chestpieces and trousers. Beside them was a full set of metal. He didn't want to choose the metal armor; he figured it wouldn't be comfortable. There were more clothes, but he didn't dwell on them.
So he took one of the leather sets and tried it on — it was too small, so he took another. This time it fit.
Then he moved to the shelves. On the first shelf were leather boots, a few daggers, a spear, and two swords.
He put on a pair of boots that fit him and moved on.
Garrun pointed to another shelf and called out to him.
"Take a sheath, a belt, and a bag too. You'll need them."
On that shelf were bags made of leather. There was one made of black cloth as well. Beneath them, belts and sheaths were lined up.
He slung the bag onto his back and put on the belt. When it came to the sheath, he hesitated for a moment. He couldn't decide which one to choose.
In the end he managed to find one that matched the sword in his hand.
When all his equipment was ready, he looked at the others.
Poyraz and Hak were wearing leather armor like his. Both had a dagger at their belt. The only difference between them was that Poyraz was wearing the bag made of cloth.
Noticing Yavuz's gaze, Poyraz gestured at his bag.
"Felt more comfortable."
Yavuz nodded.
Tunay cut in.
"You greedy bastards took all the leather armor. Left me condemned to this black poncho." He wasn't angry; his voice was mocking.
Yavuz and Poyraz laughed.
Tunay did indeed have a black poncho on him, just as he'd said. If he'd had a bow too, he'd have looked like a proper hunter, Yavuz thought.
Tunay went on.
"Poyraz, want to swap bags? I think it suits my look better."
Poyraz shook his head. "Nope. Mine's nicer. You're the one coming out ahead in this deal."
Tunay bowed his head and pretended to be sad, then walked toward the cave's exit.
Just then Aylin, who had been dressing in a hidden corner of the cave where she couldn't be seen, finally came out. She wore a dress of a fabric that looked light but durable.
Smiling, Tunay spoke as he left the cave.
"Suits you."
Before Aylin could answer, Tunay was already gone.
Then the five left the cave and scattered. All of them seemed to have things to do.
Yavuz set off to finish the business Garrun's summons had left half-done. His mind was on Esen and Sedef.
He didn't want to leave without seeing the two of them off.
Finding them was easy. After the battle in the grove, Esen went to visit Miren every day. Esen was the only one who hadn't contributed to that battle, and because of it he felt guilty.
Esen hadn't said so, but Yavuz was aware of it. He knew his friend well.
Yet he couldn't comfort him. He was afraid of saying the wrong thing, of breaking his heart.
Sedef, as always, would be at Esen's side. Being withdrawn, she had trouble socializing. That left her alone. So she never left Esen and Yavuz's side. Apart from those two, there weren't many people she talked to.
As he walked, his spirits low, he turned his face up to the sky. He felt the sun on his face, its light growing weaker with each passing day. The weather was getting colder. Winter was coming.
The two stars and the countless Moons were there as always. As if they were so many eyes watching them every moment.
Day and night alike, the two stars and the countless Moons were always in the sky.
Day and night alike...