His eyes shot open and sat up quickly, immediately regretting the movement. He clutched his stomach and groaned in pain.

“Commander! Please try not to move too much sir. Your wounds haven’t healed.” The voice came from a young woman tending to him, she was a healer for the Capital Knights.

Braddock looked around as he was being laid back down to rest and realized he was in his own quarters in bed.

“W-why am I here?” he asked confused.

“It seems as if something happened during the Mock Battle, sir. I’m not aware of the details, you were brought in by some of the other Knights.”

“I see. How long have I been here?”

“It is already the next day, sir. But the damage seems not as bad as originally thought. There is heavy bruising and three of your ribs have been cracked, but not broken, but only just. So I beg you to not move haphazardly and lie in bed.”

“Mm. Very well. Thank you.”

“Also, there appears to be someone that wishes to speak with you. She has been waiting since this morning. Is it permissible to have her enter?”

“Someone wishes to speak with me? Who can it be?”

“It is the Headmistress, sir.”

“Her Grace?! Absolutely, by all means escort her in.” he was both happy and embarrassed about having her enter while he was in such a state. But he wanted to see her more than anything. While contemplating on what he was going to say, the door opened and Elynara slowly entered. She carried herself with such dignity that he could only be filled with awe as he watched her walk towards the bed and take a seat next to it.

“I hope you are doing well, Commander?” she asked gently.

“Mm. Yes, Your Grace. I apologize for having been put into this situation. I shouldn’t have…”

Before he could finish, Elynara interjected.

“There is no need to apologize. It was a matter of course.”

“Your Grace?” his face was filled with confusion.

“The reason I am here was to check your wellbeing, as well as relay a message. Now that I see you are well, albeit injured, I will now give you a command that I wish to be fulfilled with no questions.”

“Y-yes, Your Grace. As you command.”

“If the one named Amrin deigns to enter the Academy, he is to be escorted to me immediately, and without quarrel.”

“I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“Commander?” she narrowed her eyes and her voice carried with it displeasure and concern.

“My apologies, Your Grace, but his actions are inexcusable. Also I feel he is a threat that must be dealt with immediately.”

“His actions? His actions were well within the confines of the rules you put forth, were they not? As for being a threat, I do not believe him to be as such.”

“Yes, his actions made a farce of the Mock Battle and he…sullied your image during the event.”

“While I appreciate you looking out for the well-being of my image, it is my image to keep. As for a farce, are you certain that he did not just embarrass you?” she was direct and didn’t leave room for niceties. “You underestimated him, looked down upon him and paid the price. Is that not a more accurate reason behind your hesitance to follow my orders?”

Braddock clenched his fist and grimaced. She was totally right. He was hoping to come out the victor and perhaps show his martial prowess to her during the battles. But instead, he was thoroughly beaten, and in a matter of seconds no less.

“I will repeat myself, but only once more. If the one known as Amrin deigns to enter the Academy, he is to be escorted directly to me with no attempts at retribution or quarrel. Do I make myself clear, Commander?”

“As you say, it will be done.” He bowed his head and closed his eyes in confirmation of his orders. She got up from the seat and began to head towards the door. “If I may ask one question though…?”

She turned and looked at him with mild indifference and stood in silence, as if to say he is allowed, but there may not be an answer.

“W-why is he treated with such respect and caution by one such as yourself?”

She tilted her head to the side very slightly and contemplated the question. Deciding on a course of action she let out a gentle and almost inaudible sigh.

“It is because of one very simple reason. I have vowed myself to him.”

Braddock furrowed his brow and open his mouth in shock. What did she mean? He couldn’t comprehend the words that he had just heard. Her existence was unlike any he had ever seen or had the pleasure to serve. How could such a man, who is utterly unknown, have captivated someone as transcendental as Elena Aqua?

He was so caught up in his questions and theories and concerns that he did not notice that she had already left the room. Once he realized she had left he let out a drawn out sigh. He looked out of the window with a dejected look on his face and wondered just what he needed to do to get her attention.

All he knew at this point was that he needed to find out more about this Amrin Endrane. While his jealousy and embarrassment during the duel caused him to act a fool in front of Elynara, he wasn’t above admitting mistakes and pushing forward to making sure they did not happen again.

“Is there anyone on duty!?” he shouted at the door. A moment later it opened and a young Knight not in armor entered, stood at attention and saluted. “A trainee eh? Well, you’ll do. I need you to relay a message to the men at the Carriage Depot for the Academy as soon as possible.”

“Sir!” the young knight acknowledged the order.

Once Braddock had told him what message to deliver, the young man quickly closed the door and his footsteps could be heard running through the hall to complete his assignment. Braddock couldn’t help but grin slightly and wonder how long it’s been since he was a trainee.

*****

The door to the room slowly creaked open, just wide enough to allow a small blonde haired beauty to poke in and survey the area. What she saw took her breath away and created a smile that went from ear to ear. She entered the room quietly so as not to disturb him and gently shut the door behind her. What lay before her was something she had never seen before. She couldn’t help but think that Amrin was one of the best things to stumble into her life, and she would be short no amount of adventure and excitement.

The air in the room was filled with myriad wisps and puffs of colored light, gently glowing and leaving a vapor like trail behind them as they danced in the silent room. Every color she could imagine was present, dozens, tens of dozens filled the room, but it was also as if they weren’t there. She felt no pressure, no ill will or odd feelings.

A gentle golden light danced towards her, she reached out her hand slowly and the orb of light landed on her palm. It was warm and she could feel a spark of power emanating from it. Not enough to make her want to recoil or drop it, but it was faint, almost a tickle, but it felt strangely inviting. She couldn’t stop smiling.

A few more yellow orbs began to gather around her, followed by a few blue orbs. She had no idea why there were flocking to her, or just these colors specifically. But the guess she ventured was that it was something tied to the color of the elements.

She saw colors that weren’t tied to the elements she knew of. There were black orbs with faint white pulsing rings that flowed out, purple orbs and one was colorless but appeared to have blue coils of light tracing around them. She could only guess what they were tied to.

In the corner of her eye she spotted an orb that had only a white ring, no color, no solid sphere to speak of, it was just a ring of white. In the loop it created she was able to see through it, and it caused her to raise her eyebrows in curiosity. She walked quietly towards it to get a better view, in the loop she was able to see the items in the room behind it. As it passed by a flower in a vase on the table, she saw it immediately wither, die and turn to dust. But the second after it had passed by, the flower that turned to ash reappeared. She recoiled in surprise. Curiosity driving her, she attempted to reach out and touch it.

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you…” the voice startled her and she quickly pulled away from the white ring.

She turned towards the voice and saw Amrin sitting cross legged on the bed his eyes now open, when earlier they were closed. The wisps and orbs began to blink out of existence slowly. But the yellow and few blue ones near her lasted a little longer. Until finally they too disappeared.

“That was beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like that before. They were warm, and kind of tickled, but in a good way. What were they?”

Amrin smiled and got off of the bed and stretched.

“The elements. Or at least the physical manifestation of their essence. Normally they’re invisible to the naked eye.”

“They were amazing. So if they’re normally invisible, how come I could see them…even feel them?”

“Well you could feel the earth element clearly because that element spirit loves you. The water is still a bit on the shy side, but something tells me you’ll be seeing more of them soon. As for the reason you could see them, that was because of me. If I meditate, I sometimes release excess power that causes them to manifest. But only rarely.”

Adalyn was slightly confused and her face showed it.

“The reason some elements are stronger than others in people, or the fact that they can use more than one element is because the element spirits like, love, hate or are indifferent to them.”

“So you mean they have feelings?”

“Pretty much. At least that’s how I like to perceive it.”

“So you mean the fact that there were so many of them in here, all the elements love you?”

“Well, some are still on the fence, but I can still talk to them. They’ve been my ever constant and never failing friends in all my time on this world.”

“You can talk to them?!”

“Well, sort of. I don’t actually speak to them at least not with words. I’m able to impart my thoughts, feelings and emotions and they in turn are able to return a sense of energy that I can just tell what it is. It’s hard to explain. Trust me, I’ve tried before and it failed miserably. Let’s just leave it at, we can understand each other.” He shrugged. “I tend to converse with them when I can. They’re able to tell me what has happened to the world while I was…away.”

“That is so amazing.”

“Anyway, what brings you here so early? And what are you wearing?” he looked her up and down and noticed that she was not in her work attire or any casual wear but a long black dress split in the front with a white inner cloth, her blouse was a button up vest type top with a white long sleeved shirt that she left unbuttoned at the top. It was simple, yet elegant.

“Oh, this is my uniform. I have lectures I need to attend today and I wanted to head there with you so I can show you around the Academy!” she said excitedly.

“Ah, well…I wasn’t exactly planning on heading there today.”

“What? But you won the mock battle, you should head to the Academy to finalize your entry into the Academy! And don’t you want to talk with Elena…Elynara?” she tilted her head and wondered just which name she should use.

“I have no intentions of attending the school. But I suppose it’s true that I should speak with her sooner rather than later. The sooner I can get answers the sooner I can find…” he let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. “Alright, fine. Let’s go.”

“Um. Not like that you’re not.” She held up her hands to stop him from walking out of the room.

“What do you mean? Is my hair a mess?” he reached up to see if he could feel anything out of place.

“No, your clothes! They aren’t going to let you just walk in with simple brown pants and a ratty cotton shirt.”

“Even if that’s true, I have nothing else. Unless you prefer I wear no shirt and put those filthy tattered pants from when I first came here?”

The mental image that popped into Adalyn’s head made her shiver.

“Ugh, absolutely not. Besides, I burned that thing last night. Wait here.”

Amrin turned and took a seat at the table and waited patiently for Adalyn to return. He couldn’t help but ponder just what he would say to Elynara when he met her again. He knew he wasn’t exactly friendly with her the day prior, but after what he was put through, no one would blame him for doing more. She was still family, whether he was willing to admit it at this point or not, he still loved them all.

The door swung open with a loud bang as it hit the wall and Adalyn carried a huge pile of random clothing in her arms.

“Uhh, rob a store or something just now?”

“Cute, but no.” she threw the pile of clothes onto the bed and turned to face him. “These are random things that past customers have left over the years. Don’t worry, they’re clean, and some are even in your size I think. We just have to find something that looks good.” She grinned and look at Amrin in a way that made him instantly regret going through with this.

She forced him to stand up straight and she began to hold various shirts up to him and gauged their appeal, multiple shirts went flying to and fro before she found a few that looked good. Next was the pants, there were far fewer to choose from which at least made them a little easier to go through. This process went on for what felt like an eternity, and Amrin couldn’t help but feel that for him that was saying something.

“Alright, I think this will do!” she finally decided on the two pieces of clothing out of the huge pile that was now scattered all over the room. She held up a dark blue long sleeved dress shirt, there was no frills or puffy nonsense that Amrin voiced his displeasure with, and the pants were simple black slacks.

“You sure? There isn’t another mountain of clothing you want to litter the room with first?” he said with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

“Funny. C’mon, get changed, I’ll go get you some boots to match, those house shoes aren’t going to match at all.” She headed towards the door while Amrin began to take his shirt off.

When she returned, Amrin was sitting in the chair again with the change of clothes on. It suited him nicely. The darker colors of the shirt and pants contrasted with his fair skin and ash white and long hair. She dropped the shoes, the boots rather, in front of his feet and nodded approvingly.

“What, someone leave these here too?”

“Sort of. They’re my boy…my ex-boyfriends.”

“Hmm? And what does father dearest think about her daughter’s ex-boyfriend needing to take his shoes off that he would forget them?”

She immediately blushed and scowled at the same time.

“It wasn’t like that! He brought them here to get polished, since I offered to do it! They’re his dress boots for events since his father is a wealthy merchant.”

“And he doesn’t have servants that are able to do this?”

“Shut up. I scuffed them on accident one day, and offered to clean and polish them as an apology. He just never came to get them, and now that he’s with that bit…Sandra, he won’t be getting them back at all! Hopefully they fit you.” As she said this she looked down and Amrin was already tying a knot.

“Oh, very nice. How does it feel?”

Amrin stood up, with Adalyn standing right in front of him, she couldn’t help but get a gentle whiff of his scent. He didn’t smell bad, but there was no perfumes, no cologne or any form of man made scents to mask his natural odor. Instead, he smelt like nature. The forest in spring. A flower garden. A field after the rain. All things that put her mind at ease and made her incredibly comfortable. She closed her eyes to try and keep a hold of that scent and feeling just a little longer.

“Well? How ridiculous do I look?” he spread his arms wide and asked.

Adalyn shook her head and came back to reality and took a step back. Tilting her head and taking a couple different angles to inspect him, she nodded in approval.

“You look perfect! I am quite the fashion coordinator if I do say so myself!”

“Uh huh…well thanks for this. You’ve already done more than enough for someone you don’t even know.”

“Oh. Umm. No, it’s fine, honest.” She was taken off guard at the sudden gratitude. “Well, let’s get going then shall we?”

They both headed out of the room and closed the door. Amrin couldn’t help but wonder just who was going to take care of the room that looked as if an explosion of clothes had occurred. As they made it to the bottom floor and the main dining area he head a familiar voice.

“Well, you certainly do clean up quite nicely young man!” Barin exclaimed.

“Oh, yes. Thank to your amazing daughter, that is.” He looked at her and smiled gently.

“She is isn’t she? Just like her mother. Never fails to amaze you…and never fails to be a pain in my arse!”

“Father!” she exclaimed in embarrassment.

“Well it’s true! You came to me last night and practically begged to have him stay the night free and threatened to have him sleep in your room if I refused!”

Amrin’s eyes went wide after hearing this and pursed his lips.

“Oh my, Father!” her face was beet red. She grabbed Amrin’s hand and made a straight line to the door. “You’re the worst Father!”

“Hey! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! Ya hear me!” he yelled as they exited the tavern.

Adalyn, not letting his hand go was single mindedly on a mission to get as far away from the tavern and her father as fast as possible. Amrin was being pulled along, he couldn’t help but smile at it all.

“You have a great father.”

She slowed her pace and turned to him. Still holding his hand.

“I do. He’s the best.” She smiled.

“So uhh…” he looked down at his hand still being held by Adalyn. Noticing this, she immediately released him and put it behind her back.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, you have soft hands.”

They both continued on the path towards the Academy, since Amrin had never been there before it was nice to have a guide. After walking for approximately 15 minutes, Amrin saw further along the now well-kept and clean sidewalk a large structure. But it still looked quite a fair bit away.

“So, how long does it take to get there?”

“Hm? Oh, well it takes me about 20 minutes to get to the carriages.”

“Carriages?” he said confused.

“Oh, right. The Academy isn’t within the city walls. I’m sure you can see it from here, but it’s actually outside of the walls and a whole separate city like structure of its own. The carriages are at the exit of the city and takes students, teachers and visitors to it.”

It was no wonder he could see it but it was still quite a fair ways off. From what he could make out, the walls of the Academy were shining brilliant white in the morning sun, the walls the same color as the largest building within the Academy, most likely the primary lecture hall or perhaps dormitories?

“Does anyone live in the Academy? Seems a bit odd to have such a large facility if you have to keep traveling there.”

“There are. Although it’s only for the elites, the richest or nobles. Basically if you’re just a normal student, good luck trying to live within the walls. From what I’ve heard, the dormitories are as fancy as the King’s castle! I’d love to see them at least once.”

They continued walking for another 5 minutes when they finally came to the city exit where the carriage for the Academy was located. The gate was relatively large and there was a platoon of Capital Knights stationed for the security of the city as well as those that attend the Academy. Amrin assumed it was the same at the Academy itself as well.

Adalyn walked up to one of the Knights and introduced herself and handed a small metal card looking item. The Knight nodded in approval and allowed her to pass. Before she moved on she turned to Amrin and waved him forward.

“This gentleman will also be joining me in the carriage to the Academy. He wishes to speak with the Headmistress.”

“He does, does he? Well you better have a letter of introduction or seal from a noble house with authority to attempt such a thing.” The Knight replied.

“Oh, well he’s also the winner of the Mock Battle from yesterday…” after the Knight heard this, his face grimaced and immediately drew his sword. Not a moment later four other Knights were upon Amrin with swords drawn, all directed at him.

Amrin having no idea what was going on slowly raised his hands to show he was unarmed and didn’t move.

“What is the meaning of this!? He should be allowed access…”

“Silence!” the Knight yelled at her, making her stop mid-sentence. “By order of the Capital Knight’s, you are hereby under arrest!”

Adalyn’s head reeled after hearing this. Amrin was similarly taken aback and unconsciously let out a single loud laugh.

“That’s ridiculous! On what cha…” Once again before she could finish her sentence the Knight interrupted her.

“You are to keep silent, girl! Unless you wish to be considered an accomplice I suggest you enter the carriage and make your way to the Academy like a diligent student!” his voice was filled with anger and contempt.

Adalyn looked at Amrin, who was surrounded by multiple Knights with drawn weapons. To any normal onlooker this scene made it seem like they were trying to subdue a vicious monster. Amrin met her gaze and smiled gently and nodded to her. She shook her head side to side gently and her face was pained.

“Go.” He mouthed to her, still a smile on his face.

Her body turned towards the carriage, but her eyes never left Amrin’s gaze. She finally stepped into the carriage and the driver shut the door, climbed into the seat and snapped the reins. The carriage lurched forward and within minutes it was well along the road heading to the Academy.

Another carriage took the place of the one carrying Adalyn, but this one was clearly used to transport prisoners. The wood walls were thick, and the windows were barred with heavy metal rods. The door on the back of the carriage swung open revealing a dark box like room that Amrin was escorted to. The tips of the swords poked into his back causing him to wince in pain and annoyance, taking their meaning into account, he stepped up and into the prison carriage.

The door was swung closed hard and the lock clanked over to lock him in. A handful of knights returned to their position after the group discussed something in mumbled whispers. The remaining knights disappeared from his view, but the carriage rocked a few times, most likely indicating that they boarded the carriage. He felt the carriage lurch forward and could hear the turning of the wheels on the ground, crunching and clicking as it rolled along. He took a seat in the back of the box and closed his eyes and waited patiently.

He wasn’t paying attention to the time that had passed, but if he had to take a guess it wasn’t a very long way from where he was prior. The sunlight that should have been entering the barred windows were being blocked out by something, squinting his eyes a bit he could make them out to be leaves. The door to the carriage clanked and then swung open.

Four Knights with weapons drawn awaited him. Some had spears, another had a sword, and one with a crossbow. Probably to shoot him if he were to try and run. He stepped out of the box and looked around, he was deep in an unknown forest and came to a single conclusion.

“So, this is where I’m to die is it?”

“Silence you filth! A criminal and scoundrel like you has no right to be treated to a trial. You’ve humiliated the Headmistress and injured the Commander with whatever tricks you had set up. But this time, this time you’ll pay, with your life!” the knight that stopped Adalyn at the gate appeared to be the ringleader.

“Listen, I do not wish to hurt anyone. I’m pretty sure there’s a way we can all talk it out and come to some kind of agreement. So how about you all just leave me here, and return to the city and pretend this never happened? My punishment for inconveniencing you will be being stuck out in the middle of nowhere.”

He tried to talk some sense into the Knights, who were clearly driven by some skewed sense of chivalry and honor to their commanding officer and the lady their serve.

“You don’t get to negotiate! You clearly don’t understand the position you are in, fool!” The first Knight drew his sword and lowered himself to prepare for combat. “You’re going to suffer first!”

“You don’t want to do this. Trust me.” Amrin tried once more to reason with them. But it was useless. The other four Knights readies themselves as well. “You’re all fools…every one of you!”

One knight ran at him with the tip of his spear aimed at his chest. Amrin shifted his stance and leaned back, the tip of the spear passing by his chest. Grabbing the tip of the spear he pulled hard, causing the knight to stumble forward while still grasping the spear’s handle. As he was rushing forward, Amrin pushed the butt of the spear back into him, connecting square into his chest plate.

A loud thud echoed through the trees and the knight was thrown back further than he thought possible and bounced on the dirt and grass until slamming into the base of a tree, immediately falling unconscious.

Seeing this, two of the other knights charged at the same time, the one with a crossbow aimed down his sights and waited for his chance. The ringleader of this ridiculous show of force stayed still and watched in his defensive stance. A spear thrust towards his head while a sword slashed from the side aimed at his stomach, Amrin was forced to jump backwards to avoid the two strikes, but only just.

He was losing his patience, the ground began to shake. A low rumble filled the air, but the knights paid it no mind, they were too focused on trying to punish the criminal that humiliated their Commander and made a sham of the Mock Battle.

Seconds before their next attack made contact with his body, the knight with the spear was stopped dead in his tracks in two ways. The first was Amrin had grabbed the point of the weapon and halted its momentum, the other was the rumble that was present moments before, where thick pillars of solid stone erupted around the knight surrounding him in what could only be described as an earthen prison.

The Knight with the sword was stopped without direct intervention by Amrin though. Instead, the roots from the nearby trees sprang out of the ground below him and, like snakes, wrapped around his limbs, waist and even his neck. The pressure they exerted on his body was excruciating. The roots causing the armor he was encased in to crumple and warp under the strain. He dropped his sword and screamed in agony.

The one that organized this was dumbstruck. He had no idea what he had just witnessed and in a sudden fit of confusion and fear charged towards Amrin.

“I gave you a chance. I was fair, I cooperated. And yet your arrogance is what is going to cause what happens next!” Amrin’s face was twisted in anger.

The air around the knight began to warp, his body became unbearably heavy and in an instant he was thrown face down into the dirt with a force that would have killed him if it were on anything harder than the forest’s dirt floor. His entire body was immobilized. He shrieked in terror, tears streaming from his eyes.

“Oh, gods…please don’t kill me! Please! I have a family!”

“You think I care!? You tried to take my life from me! What fool would be willing to listen to the plea of his murderer?! Tell me?! …And you call me the criminal!?” his shouts shook the world around them with each word. The sound boomed through the forest as if they were exploding, deafening the knights, who were all wracked with horror. “The second you ignored my words, the second you decided to throw aside any semblance of honor a Knight should have, your life was forfeit!”

The pressure upon the knight grew in intensity, the armor wrapped around him began to crumple from the pressure. The crunching sound of it warping rang out and caused him to shriek in terror even more.

“You mortals! You’re all the same! Greed, lies, hate, anger, arrogance, a sense of superiority! Your kind has no redeeming factors! I should annihilate the lot of you right now!” The anger was in control now. He knew it, but for some reason he could neither stop it, nor wanted to. Mortals have already proven they can amount to nothing better than their base desires. Members of his “family” saw to that.

As Amrin was about to increase the force of the gravity and crush the remaining four Knights, Adalyn’s words entered his mind.

“My mother was the kindest, strongest, and most loving and caring person I have ever known!...She was the best!....”

He had no idea why the image of Adalyn’s sobbing face, the sound of her choked words as she recalled the brilliance of her mother and what she did to save others at the cost of her own life popped into his head. But it allowed him to think clearly, and that there were only six very specific people deserving of his wrath. As foolish as these men were, they didn’t deserve death.

In that instant, he regained his composure. Amrin closed his eyes, clenched his fists and raising his face to the sky yelled in frustration.

The shout caused everything around him to rumble, birds scattered, small animals fled from their hiding spots and the trees shook as if they were themselves frightened. Each of the Knights shrieked in unison for they thought their end was near. He opened his eyes slowly and stared into the sky, the rays of the sun dancing through the gaps of the trees canopy.

“I will leave you here. Alive. You have your lives only because of a certain loving, brilliant and…frustrating young woman. In return for your pathetic lives…tell me which direction the Academy lies from here.”

He directed the question to the knight face down in the ground but got no answer. He was most likely unconscious.

“I-its, that way, my lord….” A terrified and stifled voice came from behind him. Amrin turned to face him and saw a guard hanging upside down from the roots of the tree, pointing with his finger in the direction he was supposed to head.

Amrin took a deep breath in, and without a word, began to walk towards the Academy.