Filed to story: The Chosen Saga Novel PDF Free
“Lord River.” Tamara scoffed. “What a ridiculous name. I heard the whole welcome. Not once was that fucking stupid name mentioned.” Tamara smirked. Araiya and Tal both started choking. Araiya was choking on food and Tal on his drink.
“No, I am sure my name wasn’t given, but do you know what title is given? Enforcer. Tell me, Tamara, what does an Enforcer do?” River’s gaze drilled into the young girl. Araiya was starting to feel a little sorry for her.
“Yeah, I know what an Enforcer is.” Tamara, still feeling confident, flipped her hair. “There are four Enforcers, and they are the end all be all. The four run each province sector of Chosen, and they make up the council. They run everyone. So what?”
Tal smirked while River started laughing. Finally realizing she may have fucked up, Tamara looked at Shavon in confusion. “Let me introduce you properly then, Tamara. This is Lord River, Enforcer of the Water province.” Shavon waved her arm towards River.
Tamara backed away and looked down at Araiya, who had just finished eating. Araiya looked up at her, a smirk on her face. Tamara’s face flushed with anger, and she stomped away towards the other Chosen waiting by the front.
“Okay, everyone, since we have everyone here tonight, welcome to Chosen Village.” Everyone around the dining hall grew silent. “I know we held the Welcoming ceremony this morning, so everyone has the basics under their belt. Those that missed it, well, your Chosen can catch you up.” Shavon patted Araiya’s leg under the table. “Tomorrow, you all start basic training. You will each have the morning to go through a basic class, where we discuss different avenues that are open to you. In the afternoon, we will break you into smaller groups to put certain things into practice. There will be Chosen training for rituals and teaching, healing practices, and lastly, warrior training.”
“What if we don’t want to be warriors?” someone called out.
“If you don’t mind, Chosen, I would like to answer that question.” River stood and walked to the front of the room. “I am Enforcer River. I run the Water Province Chosen and their Bond mates. I am sure most of you have noticed some people around here that aren’t Chosen but bonded to a Chosen. We will get deeper into that situation after the initiation and tours that we all have set for next month. Initiation will be coming quickly, and the main thing you, as Chosen, need to know is the Goddess chose you for your spirit. Still, you will take the next step with your determination and strength.” River looked around the room and settled on Araiya. “You may have had a hard or easy life until now, but only the strong will pass through initiation. The rest will be sent home.”
“What does that have to do with not wanting to be fighters?” Tamara called up.
“Well, that’s easy. All Chosen are fighters. All have basic hand-to-hand combat training, just in case if a war breaks out and we need to protect our homes. Thankfully, everyone will be Goddess blessed with weapon skills, so you don’t die, but we like to build on everything. We start your training before initiation so you have a basic knowledge of who you are on the inside and what your strengths could be. Everyone learns how to help with new Chosen, everyone learns basic healing, and absolutely everyone gets basic hand-to-hand and strength training. We build up your body strengths.”
“Some Chosen need more training than others.” Tamara stood up, gestured to Araiya, and mimed a belly like it was a joke.
“Tamara, is it? You think spreading lies or making fun of others is funny?” River’s anger was palpable. “You have some idea in your mind that you are better than others here, and I have no idea why you would assume that. Do you think that being a bully is going to make you more likable? A better Chosen? I can say with one hundred percent certainty that the Goddess would never play favorites, and neither would anyone else here. Although you go out of your way to put others down to make your insecure little self feel better and more important. We don’t do that here. Here we are a family, and we help grow others into who they are meant to be. If by initiation you do not understand that and change your outlook, it will be you who goes home, and not anyone else. Is that understood?” Tamara’s mouth dropped open, and she sat back in her chair.
“Anyways, as to the first question, once you pass initiation and the Goddess has blessed you, you can focus on the line of work that you are interested in, but you will always have a smaller fighting class that you will keep up with. Chosen are not just healers or teachers, but they are protectors of our world and will have combat training.” River walked back to the table and sat back down next to Araiya. Araiya couldn’t look at anyone, still self-conscious of what Tamara said. “Don’t do that.” River leaned closer to her and lowered his voice.
“Do not allow that small-minded little child to make you feel less about yourself. You do not fit their little mold, but you don’t need to. You will learn very quickly on the tours that our bond mates, the women the male Chosen bond with, are bigger, fuller, and more womanly than, say, some of your Chosen counterparts. You may not have been small compared to girls in your village, but you will be smaller compared to some women under my brothers or my own command. I only say this because I want you to realize that women, like men, come in all shapes and sizes and that it does not matter to the right person. You are beautiful, inside and out, so do not listen.” River pulled back and settled next to her again. While another Chosen went on with directions for the coming days, Araiya tuned her out and focused on what River had said to her. She focused on what he said all the way back to her cabin and into the night before she finally fell asleep.
Araiya awoke to a knock on the door. She pulled herself out of bed and went to open it to see Shavon waiting for her. She stepped back and allowed Shavon in while she went to the wash basin to splash some cold water on her face.
“Ugh, Shavon, how do I use the freaking basin?”
“There is a tile you can press for water.” Shavon walked over and pressed the tile.
Araiya grunted her thanks and walked back out and started brushing her hair. “Good morning. I am not much of a morning person, so I apologize in advance for the next couple of weeks.”
Shavon laughed. “Neither is Tal, so I totally understand. I wanted to make sure you were ready to grab breakfast. Class will start soon. I will be with you during Chosen training and class, but we have a surprise for healing and combat.”
Araiya yawned and made her way into the closet. “Do I have to wear the robe today?”
“Yeah, but there is also a bag with clothes for combat training. So, bring it. Hurry, Tal is grabbing us food, but we are running late.”
The two girls hustled to the dining hall and settled next to Tal. “Morning.”
Tal grunted and slid over their plates. “See, I told you he’s just like you. Miserable in the morning.” Araiya chuckled and started into her breakfast. “Araiya, are you ready for the day? Do you know which way you are leaning jobwise? I was torn between healing and teaching when I went through training.”
“I want to focus on combat to become a warrior.”
Tal and Shavon’s heads snapped up and focused on Araiya. “Why?”
Araiya focused on her plate when she slowly pieced together her answer. “Well, I want to be strong. Living at home, my entire life was subject to someone else’s whims. My stepfather or sister dictated my life, what I had to do, how I was treated, and who I was with. I am tired of someone else dictating my life. I want to be strong, strong enough to protect who I care about, and strong enough to protect myself.”
The three finished their food and made their way to an open theater. It wasn’t very big, but the seating sloped upward so that the center at the bottom could be seen from any seat. They picked the last row to sit down and waited for the Chosen to start the lecture.
“Where is River?” Araiya leaned over Shavon to ask Tal.
“He said he had someone to talk to this morning but would be back later today.”
The rest of the morning went by quickly. The morning class was a very muddled history lesson of what the Chosen actually do. The Chosen went into detail about each path, the relationship between the Goddess and the Chosen, and a detailed history of each province.
What they seemed to skirt around was the bonded and why the bond forms. A few of the new Chosen asked, and the couple that was teaching evaded the question every time. After the last time, Araiya looked over at Shavon and Tal and raised an eyebrow. Both avoided looking her in the eye. Once everyone was released for midday break, Araiya turned to the two before they were able to leave the theater.
“What is going on? Why does everyone skirt around the truth of bonds and why we are all here?”
“There are certain things we have to protect. Certain answers can’t be shared until you become anointed.”
“Anointed, what does that mean?”