by Nicol Terra
“Well?” He squeaked.
Duran shook his head. “You are right. I swallowed up the excess energy that the portal was building up, but that energy was probably hundreds of years old… that portal has been dry since the Great Storm. The screen in the back is also broken, I don’t know if the coordinates to Nieth are still active. Even if It were, I would have to put a sufficient power source. Without adequate energy supplied, I could be teleported to open space and die."
The man looked away. Duran looked back at the portal. Perhaps he could get one of the five great rulers to push all their energy into it, that might be enough to power it. Duran shook his head, then Eraz will know about the portal. He cursed to himself, kicking the rock accidentally towards the portal, only for it to disappear. Duran looked in shock, only to hear the rock fall a few miles away north of him. He ran over around the room to see across the flat desert. He let out a smile, the rock pointed north to Nieth. It still worked, just needed more far more power to get to Nieth.
He then took a third possibility, holding his crystal in hand as he rubbed it a few times. What if he could power it?
Duran smiled, rushing back to the man, who was fiddling with his oak staff and drawing lines in the sand.
“I have an idea,” Duran said.
Duran walked to the portal back down to Argatha below, the man following closely.
“I think the coordinates still work and the power conduit is still active.” Duran said.
“I am not an engineer or a magician, can you say in English?” The minister said.
“If those things are true, I think as long as I have a crystal with just enough power, combined with my own, I should be able to get it running again.” Duran said.
The minister eyes glowed, color returning to his face. “Well, what kind of crystal do you need?”
Duran pulled out his holosphere to check the time. It was seven at night. He shook his head.
“I wouldn’t know, I think I need to talk to my friends about that.” He said. “If I get the portal running, can we use it?”
The minister nodded. A smile wrapped around his face. “Of course.”
Erudite smacked her lips, opening his eyes. She looked up at the ceiling, the long, rectangular lights above her head. She turned to see Robin next to her, shirtless and covered by a small blanket. Erudite floated slowly out of bed, her head ringing as she slid her gaze to the right of her. Five o Clock. She was so hangover she didn’t even remember her night. She then turned to Robin and let out a small blush. “Obviously.”
“Oh shit, I got to see Jay in an hour.” Erudite groaned. She slipped on her robe, stumbled out the door, shutting it and walked to the Cafeteria. Erudite was hung over with her head ringing, and her actions slowed and sluggish. She stumbled out to the cafeteria, a small building next to the boy and girls barracks. It is clean, with six tables lined up together. The small, stool like chair swiveled from side to side. The long, white tables could seat six, with each chair being a few feet apart. There was a window in the back where the chef and cashiers hid behind. This was designed to separate all the trainees. This was also the building where everyone would take their final test, outside the duel and training exercise. She smirked softly as two books were tucked in the far corner. She saw Tina’s textbooks, looks like she was tutoring Rose.
Erudite slowly flew to the front as the man nodded.
“What you in for?” He asked. Erudite blinked, his words booming in her head.
“A Miracle.” She said.
He nodded. “Yeah, we got a hungee! Serve em the usual!” Erudite already floated to the table closest to the window. She grumbled and cursed to herself.
“I got too drunk.” She said to herself. “I shouldn't have drank that much.” She said. Erudite saw her beating Evelyn in a drunken duel and clenched her fist. “No, never.” She said to herself. She would never do that at least again. She leaned her head on her closed off arms, hiding her face, mostly to hide from the glowing lights.
“Large Miracle with extra herbs.” The man slid the drink down, a conveyor building popping out a red drink on the side. Erudite reached and grabbed the drink. She took a sip as the juice hit her. She gagged, tastes like a tomato.
She only had four hours of sleep, yet she was used to this. Her father and mother always pushed her to finish school with perfect grades. Perfect marks and she must be perfect. Deep down, she hated that part of herself, that herself. She hated her lack of sleep, and the trauma brought her. She wanted ‘space.’ Then she remembered Tina, and she couldn't help feel her headache disappear.
She took a longer sip this time, the more she drank, the less harsh it rushed against her throat. The drink cured her headache and in a few minutes; it was gone, her muscles and vision tightened. She felt more relaxed and looked once more it was five thirty. She shrugged, taking the last sip, tossing the plastic cup into a nearby trash bin.
Erudite flew back to the dorms and knocked on Jay’s door. It was quiet, and a few seconds later she knocked once more. Nothing. She was earlier by thirty minutes, but was Jay not there?
Then. The door slid open as a female Faerie greeted her. Erudite accidentally stepped forward, only to bump at her. She looked up to see her flowing white robe with ‘Justice’ branded on her gown. She gulped.
“Oh, I am sorry,” Erudite said, looking down. “I was not paying attention and-”
The lady faerie patted her head as she gave her a gentle smile. “My, my." She said, her voice was sultry. “What is your name?”
“Erudite.” She gulped, stammering. “Erudite."
“Oh wow, a Rich Girl.” She said, walking away and shooting her a wink. Erudite frowned as she shot her gaze away. Does she know who she was? “Call me Sunbean.” She said, walking away. It hit her, Erudite face flushed. It was Chief Commander Sunbean.
“Erudite!” Jay yelled in the back. Erudite shot upward.
“Yes, sir!” She shot up.
“Get in here already and stop blocking the door!” Jay shouted.
Erudite nodded, flew inside and slammed the door. She stared at Jay; he had a streak of blood on his right side and a bottle of whiskey to his left side. She gulped, he was drunk, she can tell.
“Just whad I ned.” He hiccuped. She felt her heart race, and her face turned crimson
“Uh, do you want me to leave-” She said.
“No. Nosh!” He slurred. “Just..gimme a minud.” He said, he grabbed the top of his desk, slipping on the floor. She felt the floor shake as she turned to Sunbean briefly, who was gone. She had a sharp gaze and her blue wings. She was from the Middle Caste. Was it Vice-General Sunbean?
“Hol up,” Jay said, slipping one more time as Erudite shot her gaze away.
“You look hurt.” She thought to herself.
He stumbled up, almost falling to the floor in drunkenness. Now she felt terrible, and she just tossed her Miracle, so that didn't help either. He eventually shot up, straight up as he closed his eyes. Jay released a faint gust of wind, echoing and riveting from his body. Erudite senses it as he coated his entire body with Wind Magic. The wind echoed throughout the room and reverberating back to him. She felt the temperature sink to a faint, warm and inviting sensation. The air felt more sparse, echoing in all directions and changing in density, molding and forming new substances. She couldn’t help feel her jaw drop.
He took a deep breath. His wounds went from dark red to a forest green. Finally, his scars faded completely, repairing his injury. His breath brought to life dead plants that laid in his office. He took another, and the plants grew bigger.
“What?” She said.
“No wait, I am not done,” Jay said, as his white skin pulsated softly and turned back from the sapphire it was before.
He smiled and opened his eyes. His eyes became more lucid as he put the bottle of whiskey on the table. His face went from ghost white to red, full of life.
“That is my talent.” He said, snapping his neck and bones in place, st
retching for a few moments as he let out a confident grin.
“You are like Tina and me, you can warp reality.” Erudite said.
He shook his head “No, you warp reality. I bend it.” He said, waving his hand as a gust of warm eye breezed through the room. "Warping provides intimate but focused control. Bending provides wide, and almost unstable control.
“Commanders usually have one or two unique bending or warping effects. I for one can control Spring.”
“Spring?” She asked.
“Let's just say, it infuses me with healing life force.” He said, smirking confidently. “Erudite, you can control space, right?”
She nodded. “I can.”
“Did you get your ability because of trauma?” Jay asked. Erudite neck twitched. She remembered when she gained an understanding of her ability. She learned that it fueled partially by her mental anguish.
“What do you mean?” She stuttered.
“What was…your trauma? Or did you learn it?” He said.
She froze because she did not think about that in a long time. Was it a universal thing?
It was four years ago. Something pushed Erudite to her limit. She graduated high school and was taking college prep classes. She was tired. She would show up to class, eight to eight, and come back to her family where she would study more. She hated it, confined to this fate where she couldn't do anything.
She walked into class one day, and near the end, she was waiting for her test back. She froze, and her grade was an eighty-nine.
“Oh, no.” She thought.
Moments later, Tina was in her room, laughing and holding the paper up as Erudite held her chair, rotating from left to right.
“Damn girl, if my mom cared this much about my grades, I would lose it!” She said, rubbing it in. Erudite scoffed.
“Oh, shut up now.” She said bringing the paper back into her hand with a gust of wind. “Also, don‘t stop time and take it from me again.” She said shooting her glare at her. “It's unfair you get something cool like that, and I don‘t!”
“Oh wow, someone is touchy.” She moaned and turned to her, her body spinning around to stare at her. Tina had a ponytail back then. “Come on. Let's go shopping. You promised you would get me something!”
Erudite smiled, “Oh wow, thanks for your sincerity.”
“No problem, I want a new book since you..” She said, appearing in front of Erudite within an instant as she floated next to her, invading her personal space. “Sent mine to god knows where.”
“Hey, it was an accident!” Erudite grumbled, Tina merely rolled her eyes. “Also, knowing me I probably sent it somewhere in the dorms, just don’t know where.”
“Don't matter, you lost, so you owe me.” She cooed. The two let out a hearty laugh.
“Okay fine, let's just go to the Nile.” She said
The Nile was the largest Book Store Chain in the world, and the smallest one was on the campus of the University of Agall. It was no less than fifty thousand square meters in size, literally just a giant bookshelf of books and a silver desk that connected from wall to wall, with a single soulless cashier waiting on the other side. Every time Tina or Erudite needed something, they would be greeted with a frown as a fellow student turned to them.
“Hello, how may I help you?” He said robotically. Erudite blinked three times, and Tina once.
“Uh... We need a book.” Erudite said blankly with Tina turning to her.
“Oh yeah, next thing you will tell him is that you will pay in cash.’” Tina said sarcastically.
“Oh yeah, and next time I will make sure you don‘t wake up in time for Calculus tomorrow!” She said.
Tina swung around “You take that back.”
“We are looking for a copy of Principles on Light: Intermediate Techniques.” She said. She ignored Tina. The cashier swung around to get the book with Tina turning to her.
“I hope my alarm goes off tomorrow.” She joked.
Erudite smiled, smacking her side softly.
“I'll wake you up early instead.” She said. Erudite said, she felt her Holosphere beep in her back pocket. As soon as she got it out, she saw a green balloon with the tagline: Father.
“Uh-oh.” Erudite wheezed.
“Hey, it's okay. It can't be that bad.” Tina said.
“You never met my dad.”
“Well, if it makes you feel better, we can get smoothies later,” Tina added. Erudite smiled, nodding. She liked her strawberry smoothies.
After paying for the book, sure enough, she was brought to her father's room, where he would grab a belt and continue to pull it back and forth. His eyes were not disappointed but always infuriated.
“You are the next heir for Arabica. What do you call this?” He said, grabbing her arm. Erudite smacked him away and took a few paces back as she floated. “Oh god, my expectations exceed me.” Erudite thought to herself
She always broke down and cried, as her father beat her senseless for not perfect grades, losing duels or just for his own angry and warped reasons. Not this time.
Not even a moment later, she felt a sharp stinging pain across her face, and her eyes darted in the back of her head. “Stop hitting me.”
Moments later, she flew a few paces back, only for him to hold her right arm. She clenched her fist.
The other cheek was next. “Next time you bring me grades like this, I will make it ten times harder for you.”
“You know, you don't have to listen to that punk.” Tina always said. Erudite would crawl herself into a ball until the beating stopped.
“I heard..you made a friend.” He finally said, grabbing her neck and slapping her with the belt. “Stop hitting me.” She thought to herself. That last sentence burned inside.
This sentence shattered inside her mind as a faint spark of blackness echoed inside.
Erudite was blank because that was the safest emotion to be. “I have a lot of friends.”
“No, not any kind of friend.” He slapped her. “Stop hitting me.” She thought again.
Erudite felt a stinging pain against her right cheek. She swung her gaze at her father.
“I heard she is Poorling. Did I ever tell you, those wretches are so much weaker than us.” He said.
Erudite twitched.
“It is a shame, that my own, imperfect daughter was given too much freedom. Maybe I should send you to the military and your friend disappear..”
“Say that again.” Erudite flamed.
Her father turned around. “What did you say? How dare you” She felt the darkness of her mind disappear. The lighting echoed throughout the office as she looked at him, her gaze fierce and ready and her nerves and skin boiling. She felt darkness drips from her body, physically dropping in the floor in black balls that floated softly upward, eliminating the light from the room itself — complete darkness.
“How dare you!” She said, she felt darkness drip and flow from her body. “You called me imperfect, yet I have listened to you for sixteen years. I followed you, and I can't make one friend? Someone who understands me?”
He reached to slap her, only got his wrist to break. Darkness covered his body as he screamed in pain.
“Don't you ever, dictate my life again.” She said.
Space around him crunched as he fell motionless. Erudite dropped him from five thousand feet and slamming him into the ground. She stared at his body for a few moments. She shocked back into clarity for a moment as she grabbed her Holosphere and bolted away, not even checking if he was alive or dead.
As of that day, “Erudite Arabica” did not exist, she was just “Erudite,” it was covered up. She always smiled though because in a way it provided her the most freedom.
Plus, stealing a small allowance of a thousand gold coins lasts a long time if you live fruitfully and one coin can change your name if you know where to go. “Thanks, Tina.” She thought. Although the two did have to transfer to another university, where the two remained best friends. Even back
then, despite the occasional frustration, Erudite never once wanted to see a world without Tina near her to support her. She would do the same with her too, and she will always be the first to help her when in need or prevent her from doing something stupid, such as showing up stoned or drunk or high to class.
Erudite stayed motionless, her story took up the thirty minutes. Jay's eyes narrowed and patted her on the shoulder.
“You deserve the rank of Lieutenant. You wanted space, and you got it. It is the Manifestation of your own will, right?” Jay said.
Erudite nodded. “I wanted it, and I was given it. I learned from there how to control it. I used it, for good.”
He smiled. “For your country.”
She nodded. “After that, Tina and I went to the stadium, and we had a match with my new ability. Other than my father, she was the first to see my ability. I lost, but she fell after.” She laughed. “One day though, I will kick her ass.”
He nodded. “She is as talented as you, but Tina lacks..will. You have it. I will see to your promotion and I will… help you the best I can.” He said, his hands growing a light green aura. Erudite nodded
“I appreciate it, but I wanna get there on my own path." She said.
He paused, blinked once. “I see.” He fell on his seat and slid the paper slowly to her. “Sign here. The other Commanders voted yes, and we need your signature for your promotion. As well, the Oath.”
She blinked, despite knowing this was what going to happen, she froze for a moment. Just like that? “But sir, I-”