41.
North's mother never even questioned his injury. She only asked him to be more careful going out at night. He had already been excused from The Games once for medical reasons. She doubted they would let him get away with it again another year without him losing points, but there was no need to worry. That year Northern Star swept The Games, taking first place. For this year his friend Morn was not in The Games. A lunitic, trying to kill The Lord God, had flown his flier into The Holy Family's house. Fortunately everyone but the pilot escaped serious injury. But Morn's sword arm had been broken, and though he took part in the flying and running events, he was not an official contestant, and North took full honors in The Games for his fifteenth year.
The following year, Morn was back, and the two good friends fought each other for first place.
All had gone well for North that year, except for the bad luck, or, good luck, depending on how one looked at it, of The Old Hashon North had rescued, showing up as a waiter at one of Blue Stone's supper parties and recognizing the cut on North's hand. Soon, Hashons were an important part of North's plan. He couldn't understand why some of the Hashons kept referring to him as The Promised One's Shadow. Though he would ask them, they would only smile at him and say,
"It is The Prophecy, Lord. Some day you will understand."
So North kept puzzeled as the years went by, and swiftly it seemed too, for young men planning to stake their lives on a rebellion. North's plan was to get as many of his people as possible into colony positions. Eventually, he hoped to have his people governors and military commanders, but they would all have to face The Academy, and they would have to win their places in The Fleet before that could be even thought of. They wouldn't even enter The Academy until they were twenty, and done with The Games.
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