Orchids obsession with the Awakening ceremony and his own doubts were starting to drive his friends crazy. Even his classmates were not spared from his barrage of questions and Leon had taken to running away whenever he showed up. Spending the remainder of the week as a silent spectator to the antics of the class, Orchid’s behavior had made even the normally calm Rock irritable and on their way back to their rooms after lessons Rock dragged him aside into a corridor.

“What’s wrong?” Rock’s frowning face was one of his rarest expressions and Orchid knew that he really must be causing issues if Rock had to approach him like this.

“I… don’t know Rock.” He stuttered. Under the silent gaze of his friend he cracked and explained all his fears.

“Foolish.” All his fears had been refuted by that single word, and Orchid felt rage building inside him at his friend’s dismissal.

“It’s not foolish! How do we know what the Awakening Ceremony does to us?” Orchid hissed trying to push the bigger boy away.

“Doesn’t matter.” Rock was immovable, no amount of shoving on Orchids part could cause him to even shift a little. “The Ceremony can only reflect ourselves. You fear yourself. For no reason. Foolish.”

“If you call me a fool again Eizen….” Raising his fist in threat Orchid growled at his friend. In response Rock just raised an eyebrow and Orchid sighed before letting his arms drop.

“Why am I so concerned about this?” He whispered, looking up imploringly for an answer. Rock looked at him for some time, his eyes glowing with an intense mystery and power, a Sigils power drawn into him.

“This is your plan. You have achieved the first step. You know what comes next and you hate it. No, you hate yourself.” The taciturn Rock slowly seemed to relax and speak more clearly. “I have never hated you for the things that happened my friend. None of us do, and we all agreed to your plans. Even if everyone else will hate you for it, we will stand by your side. Success is not the end, there are many things that are left to be done.”

Drawing a shuddering breath at his friends new found eloquence, Orchid leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling.

Do I fear the future or that I have a chosen path that I have now started to realize? Am I really just overthinking things?

If everyone thinks that, then maybe I’m the one who’s wrong. Rock has never messed with me.

Either way this issue may be too much to deal with right now, and he’s right, it’s better for me to shift focus onto what we have to do from now on.

However, it’s difficult to just accept what they say. Can gaining power be so easy?

“You know I can’t just ignore what I’m feeling Rock.” He whispered.

“Don’t ignore it. Live with it. Stop thinking so much. There are bigger problems.” Back to his normal mode of speech Rock was firm in his statements.

“What’s bigger than the development of our magical skills and powers?”

“Samar. You said so. My father agrees.”

That got through to Orchid and thoughts of the Awakening were quickly shunted aside. His concerns about Samar and the strange goings on within the military branch and his mother’s display of what appeared to be a Samarian art had been his major focus before the Awakening.

“What did he say?”

“Not much. Hinted. You’re on the right track. Said ‘that purple haired friend of yours has got the academy scrambling to block certain parts of the Library from his digging’” His imitation of his father was terrible, but the humor in the copied tone was evident.

“Why would they block it now? If they didn’t want us to access that information in the first place they could easily just stop us by restricting everything.”

“Don’t know.” Rock shrugged.

“That’s not very useful.” Orchid muttered and ignored the snort of laughter from his friend, as he considered what this could all mean. “There must be something in the library on the subject. They’re only blocking it and not removing it, which means that we need that information later, but for now they don’t want us to have it.” Tapping his chin in contemplation he started to hum an old ballad while he was thinking.

“Better. Think on this instead. There’s not much time.” Rock nodded in approval at Orchids shift in attitude.

“What do you mean there’s not much time?” He asked in surprise.

“Two weeks are over. Practical test after three months. Father’s concerned about it.”

“Concerned about what?”

Hesitating, Rock didn’t answer immediately. Looking solemn, it seemed that there were certain things that Rock couldn’t even tell him and Orchid wouldn’t pressure his friend. If it was important he’d have said so.

“You don’t need to say, but I’ll keep it in mind. Why is everyone acting so mysterious these days? They hint at so many different things and behave in absurdly obscure fashion. I expect Major Sea will be wearing a giant black cloak and sneaking around at night at some point.” Frustration leaking into his voice, Orchid stamped his foot on the ground.

“Stop thinking so much. Listen to Derek. Tried to get through to you a lot.”

Feeling embarrassed at his behavior he looked up at Rock and smiled shyly.

“I can’t let it go my friend, but I’ll try to not think about it so much since you asked me.”

“Little Fool. Not because I asked you. Be yourself.” Rock laughed, a booming sound that resonated throughout the hallway, reaching down he ruffled Orchids hair. Reminded of their past together Orchids heart filled with warmth. Feeling the care and friendship from his friend he felt something resonate from inside him. The call of the Sigil of the Guardian became overwhelming and he let it surround him and reveled in the power. A glimmer of enlightenment flashed through his mind as he felt his actions and the Sigil connect on some unfathomable level.

I see.

It really is just me.

There’s more to this, but for now I think it’s enough. I can’t be like the others and trust this power so casually, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use it while I study what it all means.

“Lift?” Rock asked.

The question made Orchid laugh in what felt like the first time in months and he climbed onto Rocks back just like he had when they were much younger.

“Sure, Rock. Let’s go. I think we should find Vale and Justain and put them together for a while. I think we could use some fun, maybe drag Kat from her studies as well.”

Smiling at the thought, Rock calmly strode towards their rooms while listening to Orchid planning out various pranks to play on their friends.

So, what if there’s some deep meaning in the Awakening, I’ll figure it out one way or the other, that’s what I’m good at.

I have the power now, so I better use it.

* * * * * *

“You seem in a much better mood today Boss.” Jacob asked from his usual position at Orchid’s side.

Sitting on his stool at the Market Square with one of his favorite Raktak skewers in hand, Orchid glanced back at his retinue while he set up his stall.

“It’s a nice day today Prince.” He responded cheerfully.

“You weren’t this happy before boss.” Jacob insisted.

“You want me to be sour and unhappy?” Orchid demanded.

“Not, that Boss. Just you were so glum since last week I was wondering if something nice happened. I mean, I’ve heard some rumors from the other retinues at the academy.” Jacob leaned forward and whispered his words.

“Not to change the subject, but how are you guys settling in with the other retinues?” Orchid had been curious about how his guards were faring, but had been too busy with his own problems to ask them.

“It’s good boss. Really good. Much better than our place at the Flower Palace. The squad leader has a nice place to himself and the rest of us are sharing two to a room. These government types really know how to treat their people well.” Jacob explained, enthusiastic at his new residence. “The food’s good and we can get a nice drink once in a while. Plus, you’re paying us for just sitting and training, what could be better?”

Stopping his work, Orchid turned to glare at the happy man. “I’m paying you for not doing anything?”

Sensing the change in his employer’s atmosphere, Jacob froze, starting to sweat despite the cool air from the fountain. His squad mates looked at the man as if he had gone crazy and fell over themselves to assure Orchid that their training was very difficult and only Jacob was taking it easy as a Specialist.

“Then, I guess Jacob should be paid half as much, since he’s only doing half the work.” Orchid declared. The group of guards burst into laughter watching Jacob stutter and beg for forgiveness.

“Boss. Please, I was just joking. You’re such an honorable and great leader. Of course, you understand I was just joking.” The flattery was tinged with an edge of hysteria.

“I wonder.” Orchid murmured seemingly ignoring the begging, as he went back to setting up the stall. When he was done, he glanced back to see Jacob being berated by the rest of the squad for his loose lips, before looking over at Jensen.

Jensen had continued to scan their surroundings during the entire conversation, but had a small smile on his face while listening to the antics of his squad. Noticing Orchid studying him, he saluted before stepping closer and speaking.

“I’m curious nonetheless boss. You really seem in a much better mood today.” He whispered.

Orchid picked up one of the toys on display and checked if it was working while he considered his response.

“Do you ever think that power can be gained easily?” He asked after a while.

“Easily?” Jensen rubbed his face as he considered. “Sure, if someone finds something easy then they could learn it smoothly. I may not be too skilled in many things but I’ve always felt an affinity with my throwing knives.” He pulled a knife out from his belt and twirled it around his fingers in counterpoint to his response. “There’s something about controlling the balance on these knives that comes easily to me. It lets me use these knives with less experience then other people, so, yes it can be easy to gain power. Why ask?”

“It’s just something I was thinking about a lot recently.” Orchid said curtly.

“That’s why you were brooding so much the last few days?”

“Brooding?” He felt insulted.

“Boss, everyone was avoiding you. Even your friends were tiptoeing around you.” Jensen’s snickering made Orchid feel a rush of embarrassment.

“I wasn’t that bad.” He mumbled.

“So, what changed boss?”

Seeing Jensen’s anticipation Orchid put down his toy and smiled whimsically.

“I had a piggyback ride.”

No amount of questioning on Jensen’s part made Orchid explain any further and the group settled peacefully as the stall was opened.

“You never answered me about the rumors boss.” The chastised Jacob was incorrigible it seemed, his thirst for adventure had extended into gossip now that he was on guard duty.

“What rumors?”

“I’ve heard there’s been a wave of terror sweeping the Academy. All sorts of students and teachers have been suffering from various pranks.” Jacob drawled, hinting at Orchids complicity.

“Pranks? What kind of pranks?” He asked curiously affecting a look of innocence.

“Well, people have had water thrown on them from little devices, or teachers have found themselves falling asleep during their lessons. There was a case where the baths had a strange creature that ate through the wall, exposing the bathing area for all to see. I’ve heard it was quite a sight, but the biggest of them all was a series of exploding paint orbs throughout the female dormitory of the administrative branch. Lady Saul has been furious and her retinue were telling me that she’s adamant that it was you who caused this boss.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Jacob.” Orchid stated very quickly. Unable to hide the grin that came to his face he could only sigh as Jacob seemed to confirm that it was his doing.

Still I bet Katerina will be surprised when it happens again the next time she wears that dress. I wonder how many times it will happen before she notices?

Happy at his success, Orchid went back to displaying his wares. Selling a few toys, Orchid considered his Sigils. Based on the Scholars explanation it should be a combination of various forms of mana, but he didn’t know exactly what mana his Sigils were drawing.

Rather than experiment right now, he thought about how he could work out how best to integrate the two instead of randomly firing off spells to test their efficacy, which was the most common method used to explore the Sigils mana.

He hadn’t made much progress before his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by one of his customers.

“I’m sorry Elder, can you repeat what you just said?” He asked.

“I said, those spawn-cursed Illati mongrels are crawling all over the border again. There have been skirmishes down south and farms have been burnt on our side of the pass.” The old man tapped his cane as he sat opposite Orchid.

“They’ve broken through the pass?” He was shocked, that sort of news should have broken across the capital as soon as anyone even caught a whiff of it. The government couldn’t keep that kind of thing a secret.

“No, the Lichten fortress still stands last I heard. They’ve somehow managed to sneak raiders past the fortress into the plains.” Spitting to the side he cursed the Illati in some of the most colorful language Orchid had ever heard.

“That’s got be rumors, how do you know this?”

The man indignantly slammed his cane on the tiles as he furiously affirmed himself. “Boy, don’t look down on us veterans, we have our own network”

Assuring the old man that he wasn’t looking down on the military, he quietly fixed the man’s device all the while listening to him rant and rave on the murderers and beasts the Illati were. Staring at the old man’s retreating back, he called Jensen over.

“Jensen, send two people to tail that old man and see where he goes.” Orchid whispered, his eyes never leaving the limping figure.

Surprised at the order, Jensen sent two of his squad before he and Jacob joined Orchid in a whispering huddle.

“You don’t think he’s telling the truth boss?” Almost inaudible, Jacobs eyes darted around the square seemingly searching for hidden threats.

“No, the news is probably true, but there’s something about that old man….” He trailed off with a frown on his face.

“You think he isn’t a veteran?” Jensen whispered as he loosened the shield on his back. The guards around them sensed the atmosphere and warily tightened their guard, hands on weapons and eyes scanning the crowds.

“Not that either Jensen. He’s almost certainly military. Stand down, there’s no immediate threat.” Orchid signaled his retinue accordingly before continuing. “The network of veterans is indeed sometimes better than even the Kingdoms own spy network when it comes to military affairs, but they’re a tight-lipped bunch, never sharing that information outside their membership that I’m aware of. Let me ask you, when was the last time a veteran casually chatted with you about possible military secrets?”

Orchid received pale faced nods and could see the suspicion within them growing.

“Then what should we do boss, is this a scheme to target us?” Jacob tightened his grip on the force-wand Orchid had developed.

“We wait. I don’t see who would benefit if we receive this sort of information. Our activities are limited to this city and its surroundings at best, we have no interest in the South at present.”

They all looked around, suddenly suspicious of anyone who approached despite Orchids assurances.

Someone wanted me to have this information, but why? Rumors would spread within weeks even if there wasn’t an official announcement.

Why me?

Or is it intended for someone I’m related to?

Is this to help or hinder me?

Spawn-cursed luck, just won’t leave me with time to handle my own problems before something like this comes up.

They didn’t have to wait long before the two guards came back sprinting through the crowds. Breathless, they gave their report.

“We lost him squad leader. He just turned down an alley and when we followed, he’d vanished. Rizzen here has some magic sense and she couldn’t sense any sort of magic being used either.”

Thanking them for their efforts Jensen turned to Orchid with a massive frown.

“Now what boss?”

“We head back to the Academy. I don’t know what’s going on, but dropping this sort of information on me is much too suspicious. At least at the Academy we’ll have some extra protection on the off chance that there’s something more serious to this.” Orchid followed his words and started to pack up, the guards moving subtly into defensive positions around him.

As they headed back Orchid ordered the guards to alert any of his friends who were outside the Academy.

“Also, head to Weber and tell her to prepare the Banner to move in three months. They should be reinforced as much as possible.” He added as an afterthought. Walking through the Academy’s main gates they all breathed sighs of relief and Orchid wandered back to the dorm, continuously planning based on the information he’d just received.

Whether the South is their main focus or just a distraction for me, I’ll have to plan to deal with the events there as they develop. What have the Illati gained that gives them so much confidence? More importantly, why would that have anything to do with me and my friends at present?