Chapter Twelve
One afternoon as Morn was coming home from school, a flier dropped from
the sky onto The Lord God's Palace. Morn was walking along a balcony
when the craft hit. An alert guard shoved him through a door moments
before the balcony collapsed, and sent the guard to his death. Morn
escaped with only a broken arm and sprained shoulder, but the injuries
did not heal soon enough for him to be in The games. The following year
he was back though, fighting North for first place, and having to
settle for a tie.
2 The following year went well for North and Morn, the only bad luck
North had, was that The Old Hashon he had rescued in the mine showed up
as a waiter at one of Blue Stone's supper parties and recognized the
cut on North's hand. It was not long before Hashons were an important
part of North's plans.
3 He couldn't understand, however, why they kept calling him The
Promised One's Shadow. When he asked, they would only shake their heads
and smile. "It is The Prophecy," they would say, "young Lord, Someday
you will understand."
4 So North was kept puzzled as the years went by, and how swiftly they
seemed to pass for young men planning to stake their lives on a
rebellion. North's plan was to get as many of his people as he could
into colony positions. Eventually he hoped to have his people be
governors and military
commanders, but they would all have to face Academy, and win their
place in The Fleet, before that could even be thought of. They wouldn't
even enter Academy until they were twenty, and done with The Games.
5 When it came time for their ninth year in The Games, Morn decided he
wasn't going to let North have any glory. He took every event, and his
friend had to settle for second place.
6 Then came the hardest year of their lives. They would face their
final year in The Games, and, their last school Tests that would
determine what positions they would be able