Chapter 24.1

*** Kenan Oswald ***

“You have been taken from your homes,” the man standing on the stadium of the open field in the middle of the castle looking place said. “Hardships have taken your family away from you and slavery was all that was left to you. To survive you have all lost all option but to become a servant without rights, without a will, but not here! Here you will be given a new family, one that you must take care of for it will be your only family. You have all been grouped into squads of five, these five are your brothers and sisters, from this day forth you will live and die by their side. Take a good look at them.”

I turned to my side and looked at the four others standing there.

There were name badges above the right breast.

Aroz Kon, he looked lean, but the solid muscles of his legs were a testament to his probable great speed and reflexes. He was a blonde kid with a serious looking face, his features were sharp and magnified by his piercing blue eyes.

James Desla, everything about him screamed giant, I think we are all the same age or at least around ten but he looks a lot older, he was taller than the rest of us by at least a head, his shoulders at least twice our own widths. He was built like a tree, a mountain of immobile muscle and bone. Surprisingly his face was soft, gentle even, he looked like he wouldn’t kill a fly. His brown hair and eyes gave his a dusty desert look.

Seth Livra, scrawny. Just bones with skin on them, his looked as inconspicuous as they come. If this boy has any talents is giving a feeling of invisibility.

Tirranae Cosa, the only girl in the team, she looks like a tomboy, short sheered raven hair cut in a very rough style. Her body is lean with boyish muscles, but surprisingly she has a pretty face and the eyes! Purple and crystalline, like violet diamonds.

She looked towards me catching me staring, I turned away as a knowing smile spread across her lips.

“You have been placed together according to your abilities,” the man continued. “Later you will find out how you will be utilizing them. For now I will be informing you as to what you will become. You are but mere embers now, but in time you will become warriors, the warriors that will protect our greatest secrets. You will become the Nocturnus Soles, the Nocturnal Suns.”

There was a flag high above the stage, it was emblazoned with a black sun and a white background, in the middle of the black sun was a single red eye.

“We exist only to serve one!” the man said. “He will bring great change to the world and to that end we shall become his right and left hands, his sword and his shield!”

“In tenebris lux clara minima!” there was a sudden chant throughout the castle.

“Even the smallest light shines bright in the darkness!” the man translated. “In time you all will become Illuminated as we have, until then go! Rest! Tomorrow your new life begins!”

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“Ok,” Tirranae said as soon as we were all inside our room. It was a small fourteen by fourteen squared room with an eight foot ceiling. “There will be rules! One, no one changes while I am in here and no one can be in here when I change!”

“I don’t think that is how things are going to work,” I said noticing that all the beds were marked with specific names. There was a set of two bunkbeds and a single larger bed on the far wall, that one was marked with my name. “Look, if you pull your cover down over your bed and open the door you can make a makeshift changing room, I don’t mind getting looked at changing if the door is open.”

“Yeah, me neither,” James nodded.

Aroz just shrugged but Seth seemed a little uncomfortable with the proposition. He remained silent though.

“What about bathing?” James spoke up after a moment looking around the room.

“I think we are going to be doing that in public bathrooms,” I replied. “I saw a building that looked like it might be that, but its not separated into boy and girl.”

Tirranae plopped down on Seth’s bed completely downcast.

--- ---

“None of you better be staring at my breasts!” Tirranae warned us as a pen scribbled a seal across her stomach.

“No one can see what isn’t there,” I laughed. I could see her visibly turn red.

This morning we had gotten breakfast at a large mess hall then we were all moved to the open field for more speeches, introductions, and explanations. After that we were sent off in groups to salons where an older teen started ushering us into booths in groups. There a mage told us that we were going to be getting our slave marks erased and our pledge seals engraved.

Tirranae was last.

The seals were large, they cover most of the back and the belly from the bottom of the ribcage down to the pelvis. She had her pants pulled down far enough that the pen could reach all the way down but not so far as to reveal anything, however her shirt had to go so that the seal on her back could be properly written.

She had her hands covering her exposed front but even so I imagine it was quite embarrassing for her. I was rather surprised by the other three, they had their backs to her, I guess I might as well do the same, can’t be singled out as the only jerk of the group.