Cartlidge: Rise of the Imperfect Flame Read Online Free PDF Page A

some of the best warriors will fight for
advancement.”
    “Wait, you mean to the death?”
    She laughed. “Of course not! That
would be a terrible waste. Though people tend to get rather injured in the
arena, there are almost never any fatalities.”
    I remained silent. We entered through the second set of
doors to our right and entered into the lobby of the building. The lobby was
strikingly similar to those in the average hotel. There were banners, plants, a
fountain, and several chairs and tables in the corner. My guide then explained
that she worked at the front desk in this room.
    “... And this room is the training room. Here you will be
provided state of the art training simulations, as well as opportunities to
spar with your fellow recruits.” The room was quite large, with several
balconies where the commanding officers stood to watch the soldiers. The left
wall curved around the arena. A large room to our right housed several systems
that simulated combat scenarios. One soldier was in the holo-room, working
rapidly to fend of a group of transparent attackers.
As we moved further we saw a group of four circles which acted as sparring
rings. We continued further to find another holo-room to our right and a set of
smaller rooms to our left. The warriors in these rooms were not fighting, but
standing rather still.
    “Hey, what’s that room?”
    “Oh! Those are the singer’s rooms.”
    “Singers?”
    We stopped and my guide took a deep breath. “Singers are
kings and queens who use their powers to manipulate sound waves. They can
replicate just about any instrument you can think of, and their singing is
absolutely beautiful. At least, that’s what I hear. The rooms are soundproof.”
    “Why would warriors need this?” I strained to understand the
point of having a concert in the middle of a battle.
    “Well,” She spoke low like she was spreading a rumor,
“singers are taught how to sing in an ancient language that makes people
stronger!”
    “What she’s trying to say is that the songs they sing
contain psychological effects that can increase the morale and determination of
all those who listen.” Brin, who was now clothed in elegant full body armor,
with a sword tied to his waist, explained. “Their songs can bring even the
laziest soldier to give his all, the coldest, cruelest warrior to break into
tears, and the weakest soldier to work with the strength of ten men. The music
you know of speaks to your mind, but the music they sing quite literally speaks
to the soul.” He paused. “There is even a tale of a song that delays death.” I
wondered what such powerful music could sound like. Such things were further testimony
in demonstrating my ignorance of the new world I was in. I looked back to the
rooms. A single room was occupied by a woman who was singing. Though she faced
away from me, I could easily tell she was human. I wondered how many other
humans were here, learning how to function in this new world, like I was.
    “So you chose my field eh? Well I guess that means I’m your
instructor now.”
    “You work here?”
    “Just started.” He turned to my
guide. “I’ll take it from here.” The guide made a gesture and walked back
towards the lobby. We turned the opposite way and delved further into the
building. We delved further into the building, into another hallway. Across
from us was the medical room. The hallway on our right traveled to the armory,
along with other small rooms, and then outside to the firing range. To our left
was a fork in the hallway. Going left would lead to an entrance to the arena.
We continued on through the right side of the fork. On our right were four
small meeting rooms, and a large “main theatre” took its place on our left. The
library was situated at the end of the hallway. We walked through rather
quickly, giving me the impression that Brin was getting rather impatient, and I
would have far too many questions if we had stopped to look at