I watch as Master Flintelan leaves the stage in a rush. I'm sure that he wished to ask but some things truly shouldn't be spoken of. I truly don't know the answer. The younger me had taken drastic measures to ensure no one would know why we were here. What was the reason? Should I make it the drive to move forward? Also, who was that man that was on the ground? My father?
I follow everyone out of the auditorium and into the hallway. Jason and Emily were standing with two Nansronian students whom I'm guessing were the ones to bring them back to the auditorium.
"Jason and I were on our way to the dorms when we were pulled back. Do you have an idea of why?"
"About that…"
I felt two arms wrap around me from behind.
"That's easy. You two were reassigned to live in the Nansronian sector of the dormitory." It was Sylvia.
"Can you let me go?" I try to pull Sylvia off me.
"No can do brother. If I let you go again there's no telling if I would see you again. The secrets you ain't spilling impart them onto me. Don't be a mysterious guy."
My head was spinning.
"Hold on a second!" I stammer.
Sylvia tilts her head. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Yes you did, you dummy." Mari pulls Sylvia off of me.
"You bro-con. How obsessed are you?" Mari asks her harshly.
Sylvia gets in Mari's face. "I am not a bro-con!"
Mari laughs. "Yes, you are!"
"Shut up wing less. Grow your wings you harpy!" Sylvia pokes Mari in force.
"What did you say?! You know why it hasn't happened yet!"
I turned back to Emily who was watching this all unfold. I shake my head. This is going to be my life now. I soon take Emily's hand and pull her away.
"Sorry about that. A lot of things happened when everyone from Terra left the room. More on that later though."
"Brother I don't understand. Who are we? I can't remember anything! They called you Prince Irin Axia. Am I a princess or something?!" A sense of panic shows on Emily's face
"We should probably get somewhere private," Sara says behind us. "Let's get to our rooms."
"Will, tell me at least something!" Emily begs.
I look at Emily with serious eyes.
"What you've heard is true but try not to shout."
"Sara, what do you have to say about this?"
Sara nods and smiles at me. She turns to Emily. "I don't have much to say regarding this. You could say I feel that after what happened in that auditorium, I could trust my adopted brother with my life. I have for as long as I've known him."
Sara.
"Welcome to the family Sara." Sylvia out of nowhere hugs Sara. "I can't wait to see you two fight together again. It'll be like old times."
Wait what?
Sara pats her head. "Please take care of me."
"You and my brother will be powerful once you train. Jake, Mari, Arelena, and Alecor are terrifying, but nothing compared to you and brother during the time you were in the academy. You take care of me, Bladelight. I'm sure since we are siblings, I don't have to ask Lightrunner, siblings take care of each other."
Sylvia looks at me with loving eyes. I palm my forehead. She didn't just say those codenames. We were kids then. Why?!
"Anyway, Sara and our brother have not much to say, sister Emily. We got a lot to work on, so let's get our sleeping arrangements out of the way. Classes start tomorrow."
Emily turns to Mari suddenly. "I had a question. What did you guys mean by you not having your wings?"
"I'm part angel. As a wind user and a healer, I'm able to project wings on my back, but I was lacking a quarter of my power. Since Will and I are united again and established our Starbound link again, I think I can finally project them."
[What is the Starbound link?] I thought to Mari. [I feel a lot stronger next to you.]
[A Starbound link transcends time. Our minds and sometimes our power when we are close are linked. Having one is great for covert ops. With two minds, you could even keep the strongest mind reader out.]
Mari makes a sly smile. "I've been waiting a long time. My patience has dwindled." She steps close to me.
I felt heat enter my cheeks and I start feeling nervous. "Hold on now, there's no need for that. We're in the hallway, can we do this some other time?"
"I'm holding back five years' worth of emotions." Mari smiles and inches closer. Her face is so close and I could feel the heat coming from her breath. Suddenly, I hear a voice from in front of us.
"Get a room!" Sylvia pulls Mari away from me.
Thank goodness, Sylvia.
Sylvia looks back at me while rolling her eyes at Mari. "Look I understand your infatuation with my brother, but please, calm your horny ass down, succubus. Don't act all sultry."
Mari backs up from me. [Succubus?]
Her face makes a shocked face and she drops to her knees. Suddenly Sylvia storms away and I run to catch up to her. I grab her hand and pull her back.
"Syl are you alright?" I ask as I pull her back
I turn her around to face me. Tears are streaming down her face. "It's been five years and she couldn't wait even a few hours," she cries. "You are my older brother and my hero. How do you think this makes me feel? The last few days have been a blur to me."
"I don't know much, but you know within your heart that I never want to see your tears. I'm your brother and I'm back to keep our family safe. You can always trust in me."
We hug each other right there in the hallway. Sylvia wipes her face and smiles faintly.
"Even five years later, even with personality change. No wonder that succubus could accept you so fast. It hasn't even been a day yet. I kinda wonder what you both talked about in thought speak."
I started feeling a little anxious at that remark. "Ah, We should get going."
Sylvia nods with puffy eyes. "We should. I'll talk more with you later. Let's go get settled in."
"Do you want me to come to help you move in?"
She shakes her head. "I'm fine. You should focus on getting moved in. I have guards to help me."
I shrug my shoulders. "If you insist. If you change your mind, you know you can ask. I'm gonna go find my room with the guys."
"Before you leave I do have a question."
"What's the question?"
"What's your history with Stephen Moore? He was bad-mouthing you constantly."
"We were friends at one point and then the girl he liked showed interest in me so one thing lead to another and he became my high school bully. At this point, I'm just over it, but I'm keeping one eye open."
"I could deal with him for you."
"Don't waste your time with him. I like to solve problems personally. A fight for superiority would back him off. He was already sweating his balls off when I gave off my full pressure."
"Only half of the people on my side felt any weight from you. You are going to have to get stronger. Just having the pressure means nothing. A kid recently made A from C rank. He had less pressure but more wits. Strength plus wits equals a higher ranking."
I nod. "I remembered Dad's final moments during which I felt the crushing feeling of Dark pressure, I need to get way more powerful, instant suffocation from the darkness if I don't."
"Father." Sylvia drones. She shakes her head and bounds forward. "Okay I'm going now, please don't get into something you can't fix without me."
I nod.
"I'll try."
Sylvia smiles and walks away.
As Sylvia is leaving, Emily comes back up to talk to me as we walk towards the Nansronian sector with our luggage. She was hugging Mari as she walked beside me.
Mari was wiping her tears away.
"Is she finally gone?"
"Yes, she's gone."
Mari blushes. "I shouldn't have done that. I forgot that Sylvia regarded you as her hero; her knight in shining armor."
"Easy now, Sylvia has excellent hearing. She could probably hear us if she could focus her hearing enough. You both are very clingy."
"I am not clingy." She purses her lips.
I smile wickedly. "That's a complete lie. Don't tell such terrible lies."
Mari scowls then her face softens.
I smile and sigh. "Let's get going. I have a feeling that tomorrow is a start to so grueling training."
"Master Flintelan is the teacher for our History and Relations class ."
"Of course he is."
***
"So my old friend, how does it feel to be rooming with me?"
I roll my eyes.
"Alecor, you are just asking for a brawl aren't you? I don't care about a past I don't remember, so please leave me alone in regard to the past."
"Tch, as you wish but someday we will be 1v1ing."
I smile.
"Are you sure you want that?"
Alecor shudders.
I am currently inside the boy's dormitory. Jason is lying on the bunk above. Jake and Stephen were on my right. Alecor and Hank Kane are on my left. Alecor is currently trying to challenge me.
Alecor blinks.
"Alecor stop." Jake sighs from his bed. "Let the guy train first. Don't take advantage of the circumstances. You felt his power pressure, it may be weaker than ours at the moment but once he trains he'd be smacking us into the orbit of this planet one of these days."
"You are right. I am sorry."
Below Jake, Stephen was eyeing me intensely.
"I swear I'll beat you, Arrow. You'll never become great I swear it."
Jake looks down. "You say anything down there? You know we Nansronians have good hearing."
"I said nothing."
Alecor shakes his head. "Irin-"
"I go by Will now. I'd like for the events of today to be forgotten so I can stay here peacefully."
"Sorry."
"It's alright. That's what I've decided." I pause for a second. "Say, I'm going to hit the sack. We are in for a heck of a day tomorrow."
"Wait, why?"
Looking at my new watch, I see that we have History and Relations class with Master Flintelan first thing in the morning. I can't help but shiver at that fact.
"Nothing." I sigh. "Just look at the schedule."
"History and Relations class?! Ha! You're going to have fun then!"
***
"Welcome to History and Relations, Terrans. I'm sparing you the introductions since you all know who I am." Master Flintelan stands in the front of the room. His eyes veered to every corner of the room.
"Humanity's history extends beyond these very stars. To be precise, beyond this reality. Think of existence like a tree that keeps on branching. Humanity was from a reality plagued by war in a universe on its last legs. Little is known of what life was like before the war other than Humanity was subjected to a massive experiment to utilize the powers of Power Pressure or Arn. Power Pressure had become our ancestors' saving grace, seven people lead the charge to rebel against their captors. They were able to escape into this reality and the rest is history. The descendants of the seven split into twenty-one families."
Master Flintelan points to me and Emily.
"Two descendants of the first of the seven sit with us here. Marcus Axis, first of the Axia line, and first founding king of Terra then Nansron, lead the armies under the banner of Infinity."
A girl from the middle row raises her hand. "Sir, what was Marcus Axis like?"
"Marcus Axis was said to be kind but rigid during the end of his teenage years. Most of the seven were at the end of their teenage years when the rebellion started. They all were battle hungry. It is said by a Prophet, the souls of the 7 are not gone but await the time of rebirth. They will lead all the twenty-one branches into a new age, and the universe into a better future."
Everyone claps. This was one of the first predictions the Great Seer foretold during the Foundation Era's early years. The seven bloodlines had split into twenty-one officially by the time I was born. Not all the twenty-one bloodlines are present; some had gone into hiding as the main branches came into power millennia ago. My cousin, Anastasia is part of the Pyro bloodline, as one of the branch families. I, Emily, and Sylvia are part of the main representing branch. Over the centuries, sure the families intermingled, but those who showed great promise in leadership and kindness to others earned the right to claim their place in the main three branches. The Axia family head and the current King of Nansron is my brother Justin.
"I want you all to read up on the twenty-one families and their history. Knowing the past helps to prepare for the future."
For the rest of the class, we did just that.
***
On the next day, we were practicing drills.
"Arrow, watch your Pressure levels, you'll pass out if you use too much."
I am currently sparring with Sara in Combat Class. Our current instructor is warning me not to release too much power pressure. Releasing too much is fatal. According to him, power pressure uses our bloodstream to route through our bodies. Excessive use would rupture both our veins and arteries.
The clang of our swords. Sara's purple eyes meet my red as their glow continues to make streaks as our bodies blur. We are currently learning how to control our levels to bring out our blades. Our blades are an extension of ourselves.
Not bad for our first class.
Sara smirks as our blades clash again. We may not be strong to cast out our power but the shockwaves coming from our clashes were causing ripples in the area around us.
"What is with the smirk?" I throw a slash forward.
Sara blocks.
"I never pictured us sparring with each other. I thought you'd never even touched a blade. I couldn't even convince you back in high school to join the Fencing Club with me." Sara shakes her head. "Maybe that's why I felt at home in the club."
Our instructor steps between us and places a wall between us.
"That's enough, you two. You've shown me enough for today. Go sit down and wait for my next instructions. The others are waiting."
We both sit down on the bleachers with our other classmates.
"Now that I've seen what you can all do as newbies, this is a technique called rippling. Introduced and specialized by the Axia and Elda family lines, using power pressure while running allows your adversaries' perception of time to slow down for a few seconds. These few seconds could save your life or a fellow comrade. This technique can not be mastered in just a week; it could take months before you show a fraction of what's required. This is why this technique and sword summoning will be the main focus of this year. The other main focus is a further exploration into your own pressures and how to counter various basic techniques. In a few months, you will be on the next available seat to Nansron to further your future studies. All the second wave will gain an audience with the king himself on the first day of arrival. Don't worry, your rooms won't be vacant for long, we are speeding up the influx of students.
Our instructor quieted down and I glance at Sara.
"He mentioned the Elda family."
Sara barely glanced at me. "We'll be leaving for Nansron."
That shut me up.
As we both know from our reading of the History of Nansron, all of the Elda Family died five years ago at the same as my father. It's currently unknown who is responsible, but we both were determined to find out someday. The Elda family had two daughters whose DNA was not found during the autopsies. They both could be alive somewhere.
Sara looks up at the sky. Like me, her suppressed memories were coming back slowly. It could be months before we get an inkling of what happened then.
"Do you think we would move on? We were lucky. Both of us looked death in the face" Her voice is faint, barely making a sound but I pick it up clearly. Nervous, she places her hands in her lap. Sara then grips her skirt in distress. Her golden brown hair fell in front of her eyes.
I shake my head.
"I don't think that we can move on till there's closer. There's a whole lot that we've forgotten. Maybe after we step onto Nansron, we'll have a chance to."
Sara smiles faintly, moving her hair from her eyes. "Knowing you, I'm sure that we'd be fighting for our lives. Fighting alongside you today feels so familiar."
***
Later that day, Sylvia looks at me awkwardly in the cafe. Cafe Choco is the most popular and loudest place on campus so we both coincidentally encountered each other.
"What brings you here brother? I always see you in the halls but never get the chance to talk to you. Where's Emily and Sara?"
"Don't concern yourself. They are practicing in the training arena. Sara aims to practice her casting. Emily is there providing emotional support."
Sylvia giggles. "Sara is as ambitious as ever I see."
My eyes dart left and right. "You came with your friends I see."
Sylvia waves to people in the crowd. A girl with long light brown hair and green eyes and a girl with long pink hair and twin tails appear to come out of the crowd.
"It's nice for you to wait for us Sylvie," the girl with light brown hair grumbles, "Jordan is reeling on how you slipped past him in the crowd."
"I know. I know. I'll apologize to him later." Sylvia pulls the two girls over. "Hey, you two said you wanted to see him up close since yesterday. So let me introduce you."
She points to the light brown-haired girl. "This is Josie Vernandos."
Josie nods her head. "It's an honor, sir. I am Sylvia's personal friend and guard."
Sylvia points to the light pink-haired girl. "This girl here is Kaylee Lockheart."
Kaylee nods as well. "Thank you for having us."
I wave my hand. "No need to stand on pleasantries, I'm just a normal guy. Be at ease, I'm trying not to stand out. What happened the other day at the auditorium wasn't intentional. I think I remember you waving at me on the first day here. Is Sylvie treating you well? If she isn't I'll knock some sense into her."
"Brother!"
Josie panics for a second. "No no no, Sylvie is a fantastic friend and treats us well."
I take her hand in a friendly manner. "Thank you for being her friend. The fact you can defend her with no thoughts asked relaxes my worries."
Josie relaxes. "I'm glad our friendship is supported. King Justin is always weary of our friend group, Sylvie is always trying to ease him off us with the help of Lacey the Graceful."
A thought crosses my mind as I think of my sister Lacey.
She isn't that graceful.
Sylvia shows a twisted face. She probably was thinking the same thing.
Josie notices and panics, flailing her arms. "Are you saying she's not that saintly?! Don't ruin my image of her!"
Sylvia and I laugh.
Josie palms her forehead and sighs. "At least I have nothing to fear. Jordan and I both apologize for what happened the other day I was with Kaylee when we waved to you from the crowd. Jordan couldn't hold Sylvie back and she burst into the auditorium without merit."
My face tenses. Sylvia makes a panicked face.
I hold up a hand. "She did help me with the PR. I expected reporters for miles." I turn to Sylvia. "What did Master Flintelan say to the students cuz I never received anything."
Sylvia sticks her tongue out making a silly face. "He threatened to expel those with loose lips."
Josie sighs and shakes her head. "I can't believe you said that with that face." She turns to me. "So when are you going to come back home to Nansron? Justin may be angry but Miss Lacey would welcome you with open arms. Don't get me started with the twins."
I smile. "Sara and I have a lot to accomplish. We both want a restart on our lives."
Sylvia sighs. "Don't get too excited Josie, my brother doesn't want to come home. I'm staying on Terra as well until the competition, so we might as well get used to being here. We should try to get to know the lay of the land."
Kaylee gives a thumbs up. "I've scoured the academy grounds for the best location for entertainment. Even Sylvie would enjoy going."
Sylvia turns to me. "You want to come with me? I'm going to invite Sara and Emily. I haven't forgotten Jason." She ponders for a second. "I don't have their contact info so can I get that from you?"
Her eyes then leer.
"Jordan, I know you're there. Quit acting like a ninja and come say hello to my brother."
Jordan appears in a flash, almost like teleportation. His cold brown eyes were piercing into my soul, black hair was dark as night.
"I apologize for sneaking your highness. I was scouting the layout of this cafe. Your safety is the utmost priority."
"Yeah yeah yeah." Sylvia rolls her eyes in annoyance. She grabs Jordan's hand and holds it out in front of him. "Jordan this is my brother, I just making sure you two are acquainted."
I shake his hand gleefully. "It's a pleasure."
Jordan does a slight bow. "The pleasure is all mine sir."
I start turning to leave. "I'm going to go, I promised Sara that I would stop by the training arena, but first I have to stop by the armory for the mandatory custom fitting and a sword ordering."
"I'll come with you to the training ground. It's better if I ask in person. It's so awkward talking with them. They don't know anything about me. I have a hard time with small talk."
"You have three friends, how is small talk that hard?"
"We hardly ever talk about anything other than me."