As the two of them watched Stryker enter the labyrinth, and disappeared from view, Austin turned to the stone boulder again and looked at the horrid hand carvings of each name. Some names he did recognize, despite being a newbie here. He spotted Alyssa's name, as well as Zether Cleo beside it. He saw Aaroon's name and Stryker and Caesar and even Reya's.
When he got to a certain name, he remembered something. "Jackson…," he remembered from last night. "Last night, during the Initiation Summit, Alyssa said something about something happening to someone named Jackson. Who is he?"
Reya's face went depressingly grey. "He… was a scout who trained under Aaroon… In fact, he was Aaroon's only protege — Before you came along anyway, Aaron never picked another one after what happened. He… went missing the a few months back while on a expedition through the Labyrinth. No one knows where he is, but we all know that he is most likely dead. The sad part isn't even that we lost someone so talented; the sad part is that there's no body to bury…."
As Reya spoke, her gaze drifted to the Greylands, where a marked gravestone had the words "Here Lies Jackson: A Friend, A Protege, A Scout."
'But, then, why isn't his name crossed out?' Austin thought to himself. Then he realized that Aaroon must not have had the heart to do it. After all, he was his protege. 'I guess that explains it.'
"This place — the Meadows — is our home, and everyone here is as close to family as we'll most likely ever know," Reya said, steeling her resolve as she handed Austin what was in her hand: A mini pickaxe made of stone and wood and a rough, dense stone, her meaning obvious. "As such, you need to make it official now. Carve your name — become one of us. In time, I'm sure you'll begin to learn what our family means to you."
As Austin took the objects and did as she said, he couldn't help but remember his own letter he'd gotten the day before yesterday in his cell; he began to question himself. How could he tell these people that some of them aren't gonna make past the next week when they've already suffered so much already? He decided he was going to have to tell someone… but that someone was not Reya, not yet.
Austin began carving his name into the stone, after finding a free space on it. As he was finishing his task, a voice from behind him spoke. "Is the newbie ready to go? I hope so, cuz trial one of the Three Trials has begun."
Austin looked to see Aaroon standing there, smirking arrogantly. Somehow, Austin had a feeling these trial weren't going to be a piece of cake. And, as Reya pretty much confirmed it with a slight smile, as she walked away, Austin said "Can I at least eat something first?" while looking towards the Oakhouse, where Meadowers were collecting towards for breakfast.
"I've already gotcha," Aaron tossed Austin two apples and flask of water. "Energy up. You can be falling or you'll definitely fail the first trial."
"What's the first trial?" Austin asked, inhaling the apple at an unprecedented rate and gulping down the water from the flasks.
"All I'm going to say is that it'll test your physique to the max," Aaron chuckled, as Austin finished his apple, not liking the way Aaroon answered his question. Suffice to say, he was not impressed. "Come on, let's go. The Three Trials begins now."