Kindles of War

by Nicol Terra

  “Well, fuggit.” Another said this one was six foot tall and the second tallest. “We can clobber her and take everything she owns.” He said. Ahn smelt the sound of death and souls from his mouth, and it reeked. “If she is cute, that is all I care about Xin. You think I-” He started. Looks the scariest of the bunch was called Xin. Xin’s hand snatched the large, tall man and lifted him upward.

  Xin clenched the man and froze him instantly, his body shattering from the sheer cold. The other four backed away from him in fear, he deserved that tone it seemed. Ahn felt his breath freeze, as Ahn let out a shiver. Ahn’s heart even from a few feet away seemed to slow and his nerves started to cool down. He couldn't see him too well. But he felt him. The Power of Winter, his heart is cold and without emotion. His blue Aura rushed as he inched away, covering his head behind his legs.

  “Come on.. just fuck off,” Ahn said.

  “Xin, that was Gammu! He was our strongest Light Mage!” One of them said.

  “And he was also, highly annoying,” Xin responded, his cold voice made Ahn inch further away.

  “You listen to me, we are going to find them and kill them. Nothing more or less.” He said. His childlike demeanor wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for his murderous intent. More of a caricature of pure evil. “We leave, now.”

  “But sir, we are on a search mission.” One of them said.

  “Now.” Xin said. A winter chill and then the three were gone. Ahn took a few quick breathes as he tried to steady his nerves. He reached for the joint he extinguishes and lit it again.

  “I need to be careful.” He thought.

  He popped out and looked at the mountain dead ahead. He sat his back on the building itself and closed his eyes. His breathing slowed as his body gave off a blue aura. He ‘searched’ around him, his aura whirling around him as he viewed it from his mind. Stretching as far as his Aura could see, Ahn saw the mountain, the snow capped peaks, then he saw a small city that had a massive concentration of aura. He also saw a human and an elf a good fifty miles away from that village. He couldn’t find the Malditions yet, but he could avoid them if he kept his Aura active. He opened his eyes, his body giving off a Blue Aura. He felt he was in no immediate danger as the mountain so far seemed mostly desolate.

  “Mountain it is then.” He said. He walked away from the dead ruins and headed straight ahead, hoping to make it to the mountains in the next few days.

  Three loud knocks, and the door slamming open was enough to shatter anyone awake. Erudite opened her heavy eyes as she tilted her head to the right. Commander Jay was shaking everyone’s bed.

  “Everyone, get up!” Jay bellowed. “We ain‘t got time for bullshit today.” Jay said. He went to Tina’s bed, rose his hand and shook her unconscious body. Erudite shrugged, flying upward and stretching briefly. She shook her head, Jay stomping outside.

  “What’s his problem?” Tina said, rubbing her eyelids and turning to Erudite. Erudite shrugged in response.

  “Maybe he got dumped.” Rose joked. Evelyn broke out a snicker.

  “Okay, now that is funny.” Evelyn said.

  “Yeah, and it will be even funnier when he makes us run five miles.” Erudite yawned. Evelyn and Eve slipped on their dress as Rose started to flutter her wings and stretch, her nightgown dirty and her hair fluttered and static.

  Tina flew up, slipping on her blue dress and tapped Erudite on the shoulder.

  “Hey.” Tina said.

  “Yeah?” Erudite responded.

  “What are we doing?” Tina asked.

  Erudite put a finger on her chin and shrugged.

  “Don’t know, probably survival drills.” Erudite answered.

  Everyone groaned except Erudite groaned. Erudite grumbled and shook her head. “Get over it everyone.” She thought, slipping on her clothes and walked outside. Erudite was first to leave, scratching her head and getting ready to walk outside to the darkened morning clouds.

  It was a stormy day, and perfect for survival drills. The muddy soil, puddles soaked with milky mud and barbed wires laid out for one mile that everyone had to crawl under. After that, there was a man-made river that bolted and snaked a mile. The white waters had a metal fence that split it in half. There were six flags for each of them. She sighed, this didn't look so bad, then she saw a bird land on the fence and only to be shocked and killed instantly.

  “Great, I am going to be fried,” Tina said.

  Then a bolt of lightning broke the ground in front of them, cracking and turning the mud into glass.

  “Well, I always did wanna die via electrocution.” Erudite said, reaching for one of the flags near the fence and tucking it in her pocket.

  Erudite, Evelyn and Tina were first to start on the track, crawling through thick mud that sunk inside their nails and seeped inside their dresses. Erudite crawled, pulling her right arm forward and then her left, slowly making it way through. Her first barbed wire was easy to crawl under, with only one of her wings getting caught momentarily as she snugged it out. Each barbed wire obstacle was harder and harder to avoid, with the last one splitting her knuckles as she bled profusely down the muddy soil. Erudite got up, shaking the blood off her hand as she looked behind, everyone was still behind her.

  “See you at the End, Tina!” Erudite yelled as she bolted across the track with a black swirling hole of energy propelling her. Erudite sprinted inside the river and sunk like a rock Gasping for Air, Erudite created a small ball of wind and snapped across the side of the river like a ping pong ball. This was hell. She continued to float across, the river pulling and tugging at her as she tried to resist the pull. She was hit again on the left side, the split down her knuckle cracking as she felt the air around her start to leak out- Not now. She said, the air bubble reforming and becoming denser as she continued forward. She reached the end of the river, her body battered, but mostly dry. She waved her hand, splattering what little water and blood was on her body. She looked at a thousand-foot hill and smirked. She took two steps, the hill breaking under her weight as she fell, landing on her backs and wings.

  “Ow.” She said. She shook her head, as she looked to see Tina climbing up the hill, using picks made of rock to keep her stable.

  “I am sorry, who was seeing who at the end?” Tina smirked. Erudite growled.

  “Oh, it is on.” She yelped, she grabbed the mud and hardened it, creating two picks made of hard rock. Like a lumberjack, Erudite swiftly snapped across the hill with her picks, using them

  Tina shot a gaze back her and tackled her, both of them tackling each other as they climbed their way to the top. In less than a minute, they reached the top, both of them throwing their picks aside as they slammed their flag into the ground.

  “I beat you!” They both yelled.

  “Oh bullshit, I got here first!” Erudite protested.

  “Yeah, after you stole my idea!” Tina shouted

  Erudite grit her teeth as Jay flew towards them with a gust of wind, raising his brow.

  “It was a tie.” He said.

  They both groaned, floating to the ground below as they looked at the sunrise from the top.

  “How many times do we have to this?” Tina asked.

  “Ten times.” He said the two were teleported back to the start of the track with their flags in hand. They groaned and lumbered back through.

  The tenth time was horrible, so much so Erudite fell to the ground face first as her muscles protested in pain, everyone was either laying on the ground or passed out. Jay shook his head.

  “Day seven in and you can’t even run a track.” Jay shook his head.

  “Sir, with all due respect, I hit the side of the river six times.” Rose gasped.

  “Four for me.” Erudite added.

  “Hah, none for me!” Robin said, his face and body covered with scars and blood.

  “Yeah, because you kept getting stuck at the barbed wire,” Tina added.

  It was midday, the storm started to clear up, and the smell
of dew and mud began to waft over. Jay snapped his fingers, an aura of light enveloping the hill as they were completely healed and clean. Erudite felt no more aches, but her mind was not mentally mended, she didn't want to get up, only for Tina to kick her once.

  “Get up.’Tina said

  “Five more minutes.” Erudite groaned, as she swung to the side.

  “I will give you one, and you can head to class.” Jay sighed. This was longer he would give anyone, if it were Rose, he would have picked her up himself. Erudite ached, as she flew up, stretching once more. She popped her back and rapidly snapped her wings back in place. Erudite didn’t want to smile but it was a great day, minus the sore back and shoulders.

  “The partners for today are Erudite and Evelyn.” Jay started.

  Evelyn smiled, flying towards Erudite. Her brain was overloaded and had to process this sentence. Then she blinked and looked at Evelyn.

  “Oh hey, What’s up?” Erudite smiled.

  “I am your partner,” Evelyn said.

  “My what?” She blinked again; Rose smacked her shoulder.

  “Fantasy land over, class starts in a few.” She said.

  Erudite shrugged. “Hey, better than that drill.” Evelyn and Rose nodded, their minds probably just as shattered as hers.

  “Next pair is Tina and Robin. The last pair is Eve and Rose.” Jay said, he clapped his hands and waved forward to the class building. Jay walked away, leaving the six alone as they walked in silence to the building.

  Evelyn and Erudite took a seat closest to the front and pulled out their books from under their desk. She looked at the chalkboard. Today was chapters three and four. She shrugged, flipping through and snapping the exam papers out of the book.

  “Hey, its Darkness magic and Wind magic today,” Evelyn said, smirking as she pulled out the pencil from the top. “Looks like it will be easy for us.” She said.

  Erudite nodded with a smile, at least one thing to brighten her day.

  The chapters were easy to understand, often describing the basics of darkness and wind and their applications. Erudite slid her pencil down the test with ease, and finished in less than an hour, around the same time at Evelyn. They didn't need to help each other as they turned around. Everyone was struggling in some way, except for Tina who also finished at around the same time. Tina yawned, bowing at Robin who was still halfway through.

  “Woah you're leaving me?!” Robin yelped.

  “Yup, have fun,” Tina said, yawning.

  “That’s cold,” Erudite yelled.

  “Loyal friend you have there Robin.” Evelyn snickered. He grumbled, Tina was already gone before Robin could notice. Erudite couldn’t blame her; however, she hated tests, and she always got sleepy after taking one, regardless of the length. Erudite felt a sense of sorrow fill when she saw Robin tapping his pencil on the desk. She sighed.

  “Hey Robin, come here. We can help you.” Erudite said. Evelyn raised a brow. Erudite shot her a look. Evelyn frowned, Erudite eyes flared. Evelyn sighed.

  “Yeah, we can help you.” She said. Robin blinked, smiling heavily as he darted over in an instant, bringing his chair in front of the desk. Eve and Rose were still talking, helping each other and snickering in the back, looks like they didn't need help.

  “Thank you Erudite.” He said, his eyes were watery and his cheeks puffy like a puppy. She giggled.

  “Don’t mention it, where are you at?” Erudite asked.

  “Sixteen.” Robin answered.

  “That is about half way, What’s the question?” Erudite asked, fluttering her wings in response. She always did like to help if she could.

  “What is an advanced application of Darkness Magic? Extra Credit: List another.” Robin asked.

  Evelyn pulled her book, flipping near the end of chapter three. He scanned her finger across the page to a single passage. Erudite slid her pencil down from to the book as she read her answer

  Darkness Magic, like all elements, has three advanced applications; Spatial, Dream, and Causality. Like Light, Ether, and Nether, Darkness, when used in such a way, is called ‘Warping.’ Darkness Magic has the property of Gravity, allowing for the user to create wells of gravity with the purest application of Dark Control. Finally, it is associated with ‘Earth,’ as Earth Advanced Properties borrow a lot from Darkness Advanced Properties.

  Erudite sighed, as she slid her pencil down to scratch her head. An essay question had to be a few sentences long, and this one was utterly simplistic. She remembered the time her mother and father used to drill her on the Elements for hours, explaining each intricate usage. She never did learn, except for Spatial Magic, mostly because she just wanted to make a wormhole out in her room so she can either go back to her dorm or hang out with Tina. When she cracked, she expanded her ability for Spatial Abilities and her mastery rose through the roof. She can teleport, trap people in space, move objects or redirect the elements. She turned to Evelyn, who was still flipping through the book furiously.

  “This is one of many, its an essay question so you will have to be a little creative.” Erudite said. “It is really broad. I can explain multiple uses of just Spatial Magic.”

  “Can’t you use Spatial Magic?” Evelyn inquired. Erudite nodded.

  Robin's eyes widened. “Can you show me?”

  Erudite gave a small blush and looked away. “I don’t know, I mean, how would it help?” She said. Robin held his hands together, bowing his head to the table.

  "Please?" He frowned sarcastically. "I'll do anything to see!" Tina would probably hate this behavior, but Erudite personally found it cute enough that she covered her mouth with her jacket and blushed.

  “Fine.” Erudite said. She flew up a foot in the air. She created a sphere of darkness around her body and teleported across the room, taking Rose’s pencil and teleporting back. Rose blinked twice and turned to Erudite. Erudite was throwing the pencil in the air as she looked at Rose, her face fuming and her eyes flaring. That was worth the demonstration, with Erudite letting out a small giggle.

  “Hey! I still need that!” Rose said — Erudite balanced Rose’s pencil with her pointer finger.

  “Not my fault you can't keep hold of one pencil.” Erudite said she threw at Rose as she stumbled to catch it, throwing it in the air multiples times like a hot potato. Even Eve snickered.

  Robin gaped in amazement. “How did you do you that?”

  Erudite stammered back. “It is a little complicated. It took me alot of practice.” She said. Which was half true, it was another four years of her parent's tutoring as well; which she learned only the basics. In reality, the majority of her control came from a past event that Erudite pushed in the back of her memory. No one should know that part though.

  Robin started to pencil his answer in, Erudite flying back over to her seat. Evelyn shook her head.

  “Show off.” Evelyn scoffed.

  “Hey, you can control gravity, I won’t be complaining.” Erudite grumbled.

  “Is that another advanced application?” Robin asked. Erudite nodded.

  “All elements have three advanced applications, including the basic four.”

  Robin nodded, penciling his other answer. He went through the rest of the test, bubbling through most of them every dozen or so seconds.

  “Now that I think about it, Tina can control time, right?” Robin asked.

  “Right.” Erudite said. Evelyn snickered.

  “Chapter five and six will be interesting then.” She said. Erudite raised a brow and flipped through the index of the book.

  Chapter Five: Light Magick

  Chapter Six: Fire Magick

  Erudite smirked, Tina was always great with Light Magick, perhaps why she felt like she was a guiding light in some ways. She was still so hopeful and cheery, and she never put herself down unless for a good reason.

  “But she is horrible with fire magic.” Erudite said.

  “Oh?” Evelyn inflected.

  “Yeah, one time, I told her to
cook something, but she almost blew up our dorm instead. ” Erudite said.

  Evelyn gulped. “I guess we aren’t all perfect.”

  “What is the answer to twenty-five?” Robin interjected.

  Evelyn looked at her sheet.

  “What advanced application of Chaos is shared with Darkness magick?”

  “Chaos has properties of Dark and Nether. Spatial Slicing is one of them. I forgot the other though for darkness.” She said bluntly. Chaos was incredibly destructive for a bent ability. Erudite and all Faeries knew about the potency and destruction the ability could cause. Exhibit A: The Great Storm lasted for two thousand years and was a violent memory of the times of Riha.

  To be fair, that question was irrelevant to most people. She didn’t think wind magic was that useful. She slept from Basic Wind to Advanced Spatial Control.

  Robin marked his name on the top, Evelyn nodded.

  “Great, that is about it.” She said. Erudite nodded as she picked up her and Robins sheet. She flew over to Eve and Rose, Rose shooting her a glare.

  “Are you done?” Erudite asked.

  “I don’t know, someone took my pencil for a minute and impacted my education performance,” Rose grumbled

  Erudite snickered. “Well, you know the drill, turn in your answer sheet on the front podium.” She said, she swiped Eve’s sheet, flew over to the podium and laid out the answer sheets nice and neat.

  “Now that I think about it. Tina finished first and didn’t put her answer sheet in the front.” Robin asked. Erudite sighed, flying back to her desk and swipe her sheet. She looked at it momentarily- her handwriting was a complete mess.

  She stacked them and looked at the clock. It was just after three.

  “Who wants to get a drink?” Erudite asked. Evelyn and Robin shook their heads.

  “I have to help clean up the lunchroom,” Evelyn said

  “I have to check our power generators,” Robin added. “Well, we have a dueling session next week, right?”