Thanks to all who have helped me get to the place I am. Enjoy the culmination of years of work. -Z E N O

Heroes. What are they? Beings who represent the very essence of bravery? Pride? Selflessness?

 

Many stories contain heroes of this nature, proud and true beings, beings with strength hundredfold to that of mere men, beings who protect the people for simply no other reason than to save them. To say there are many accounts of the great deeds committed by these beings would be an understatement. 

 

I am often reminded of these stories whenever I hear of these deeds, and they simply make me laugh. It's quite interesting that people will believe in a hero who can save all, or a god who can protect all, or even that good prevails over evil without any fail. 

 

It makes me sick to my stomach. To think this world's populace can so wholeheartedly believe in the disgustingness that is ‘Heroes.’ How pathetic. Heroes are no more than a plague that eats away at the very fabric of what makes this world whole, and if you think otherwise...then I suppose you can die with them.

 

Thus begins the Saga of Vallauria

 

“Must I seriously do this mother?” A black haired girl around the age of 16 groaned as a black car, hovering midair, landed in front of what appeared to be a school. The girl looked out of the window with a pained expression as she returned to fiddling with her hands. She glanced around the school campus, as her mother began to inspect every inch of her outfit. She was perfect in almost every way. She had not a blemish on her slightly tanned face, nor a single stain on her green dress that was flared at the bottom with a white accent, nor a single crease on her white sneakers.

 

"Oh please Aurora, did you sincerely have to wear those hideous shoes." The girl's mother questioned in slight disgust.

 

"Mother, heels are uncomfortable." Aurora spoke, rolling her eyes and continuing to twiddle her thumbs.

 

"Nonsense, you just never took the time to learn to wear them. You should really act like a Flore, especially since you'll be here with the general populace now." Her mother spoke as she glanced at the school.

 

"I don't understand why I couldn't just train with Ric-" Aurora complained but her mother held her finger up and gave her a stern look, which immediately shut her down.

 

"Every single one of our family has come through this school, you will do well to continue that tradition, less you make us look like fools to our allies and our enemies. Eventually, you too, will come to understand this." She explained, leaning back into her seat and folding her arms. "I expect you to do better than everyone else there Aurora and no less than that."

 

"Yes mother." She spoke softly, reaching for the handle and pulling open the door. She hesitated for a moment before sighing and exiting the vehicle.

 

"Princess." A man's voice spoke to her left, she quickly turned and before her was Rictis. He was a large, burly man, who was dressed in a perfect black suit and green tie. He had a perfectly trimmed, black beard and was as large as at least two men.

 

"Rictis, you startled me." Aurora spoke, quickly catching her breath. "For such a large man how are you so quiet."

 

"Everyone has their ways princess, nonetheless, you forgot this." He spoke as he reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be a miniature bow. The bow expanded before their eyes into a normal size.

 

"Cirus, I can't believe I forgot this." She gasped as she took it from his large tanned hands. The bow was a black compound bow, with green accents going down in a spiral pattern towards the nock. A quiver was secured to her belt and seemed to hold 30 small, steel tipped arrows which didn't have much design at all.

 

"Don't forget it again princess, I shall not always be there for you." He said bowing slowly, then smiling at her. He walked around her and got into the front of the car, giving her a slight wave as he did.

 

"Thank you Rictis!" She said loudly as the car quickly pulled off with its wheels, before taking off from the ground in a flurry of pink and purple light. She continued to smile for a moment, then turned back to where the car had dropped her off. The car had dropped her off in front of a lavender pathway to the right side of the school, no where near the main entrance. She gave yet another silent thanks to Rictis before she began to walk forward.

 

The lavender pathway was one of the most beautiful sights Axion had, giving nice shade from the bright and warm cloudless skies typical for this time of year. The trees, while they did block most of the light that came down, they allowed for some of the sun's bright rays to leak through to the ground, causing a beautiful set of shadows to dance as the wind shuffled through the trees. Aurora felt the emotion of the school around her, the happiness that filled everyone's hearts and the pride that followed. It was a time in her life that she would never forget, and that made her smile widely. After a bit of time, Aurora finally made it to the end of the pathway, and into the courtyard. All sorts of benches were placed around her, with minimal trees and plants. She looked around the courtyard and admired its beauty, she had never seen such a place before

 

She noticed that this was a school of grand proportions, one that truly stood apart from the rest of the city. It had grand white walls that lined the 20 acre campus, and sat in the middle of the 'Light of Vallauria' as the city was often called. 

 

Inside the campus was a wide array of buildings, all serving different purposes. The main building, which looked more like a castle than a school building, had three long cylinder towers scraping the sky of Vallauria, with long yellow tendrils of color spiraling up the towers. The towers themselves seemed very closed off, with not many windows placed through the cylinder, The rest of the buildings followed a similar pattern, which stood out from the neon city of Astron that surrounded it.

 

“Axion.” She spoke as she read the name of the school which was engraved above the two large doors that were overcrowded with people. 

 

"Auri!" A female voice called from a set of trees that were near the large entrance doors. Aurora quickly turned towards the voice and saw her best, and basically only friend, Amelia Isomi. She was a fair skinned girl with oval shaped eyes that were turquoise in color and were full of happiness. She was 17 and had pastel pink hair with black highlights that was cut in a bob style. She also wore a sunset-colored dress that was completely strapless and went all the way to her high heeled shoes of the same color.

 

"Amelia!" Aurora called back happily, waving to her over the head of people who were walking between them. Aurora quickly began to run towards her, dodging various people who were walking in the way, and as she approached her, she hit someone's shoe and tumbled down to the ground.

 

"Are you okay Aurora? You got a bit of dust well, everywhere." Amelia questioned innocently, laughing ever so slightly as she walked over to her and held her hand out. "You really should pay attention more, or you might actually hurt yourself."

 

"I know, I know." She said, taking her hand and pulling herself up. She dusted herself off the best she could, but she knew her outfit was ruined. "I was just excited to see you that's all, it's been months since we spoke.”

 

“My father has been keeping me busy, training and preparing. I’m really sorry Auri." She said, grabbing Aurora's arm and pulling her to the main doors. “But we have to go, we can catch up more after the speech the lord is going to give.”

 

The two main doors, which opened into a grand lobby, were both very different from each other. The door to the left had a symbol for the sun in the middle, with rays separating different art depictions of battles that took place throughout history. One depiction showed a horse facing towards the other door, seemingly ready for battle. The other door, with a moon that was cut by a line, featured a woman with a wild expression on her face, holding a ball of magic in both of her hands, facing towards the other door. It seemed the man on the horse and the woman with the magic were fighting, but for what?

 

“This place is amazing.” Aurora said in awe as she and Amelia went through the vaulted doorway. She looked around at the design of the entrance room and saw that yellows and oranges filled every part of the room, even extending to the simple banners that hung from the vaulted ceiling, depicting the country's symbol. Lights also hung down from the vaulted ceiling, designed almost like tiny stars, which managed to give off quite a bit of light. Set of red and gold steel armor from long ago adorned the walls, as well as paintings of sunrises and sunsets. Other paintings also decorated  the walls, depicting historical people and events. 

 

Another object seemed to attract Aurora, a simple throne that was encased in glass and roped off from the public. The throne itself was as odd as it could be as it was made of some sort of green, stone like material, without a single design on it.  Despite how boring it appeared she had this odd tingling feeling in her body that she couldn't place while she looked at it.

 

"C'mon Aurora." Amelia said, pulling her forward through the crowd effortlessly towards the main hallway, which split in two directions. The two hallways had large windows that let in large amounts of sunlight into the hallway and entrance hall. Outside of the windows was a courtyard with trees, benches, and even a grill which seem a bit odd for a school. Aurora smiled as she looked at the courtyard, then looked to the people around her. She still couldn't get over the atmosphere of happiness and wonder that filled the school, that is until someone slammed into her shoulder, shooting pain through her arm.

 

"S'cuse me." A gruff voice muttered, moving past her. Aurora turned to look at the guy and saw he was wearing very odd and ragged clothing. All of his clothing seemed to be stitched together pieces of different clothes, all very worn out. Aurora watched as the slim, yet toned, guy kept slamming into people as he walked down the hallway along with everyone else.

 

"What a weird guy." Aurora muttered, but Amelia elbowed her side.

 

"You're weird too, Auri. That being said though, I’m surprised he was so bold as to do that to the royal princess." She said, Aurora simply sighed, then waved her on.

 

“Let’s not mention that to him, I’ll forgive him.” She spoke, sincerely not wanting to make her presence known.They began moving once again, following the crowd of students heading down the right side of the hallway. Aurora assumed they were all headed towards the auditorium, where they were supposed to meet when arriving. 

 

The hallway was beautifully decorated, with paintings lining the right wall, and windows lining the left wall. The paintings consisted of the different lords that had taken charge of the school over the many many years. Nearly all of them had a regal, proud, look, except that of the last and most recent headmaster. The current headmaster of the school, Mark Umi, had a sly grin on his face and looked more goofy than serious in his painting which was nothing like the other headmasters. His brown eyes seemed to be full of life, setting him apart from all the other previous headmasters.

 

They continued for a bit until they reached a set of doors on their right, that all the students were heading into. As both Aurora and Amelia entered the auditorium, Aurora was immediately taken aback by the beauty even in this room. The auditorium was quite large, enough to fit about a thousand students, and was decorated much like the entrance hall. Sun shaped chandeliers hung high above the red cloth seats, letting off a soft yellow light that was meant to give the appearance of sunlight. On the ceiling itself were murals that depicted great battles and wars that completely made Aurora's jaw drop. It was as if every detail of this school was made with extreme thought and care, which Aurora hadn’t even seen in the royal castle.

 

"Stop staring at the ceiling Auri, or we aren't going to get good seats." She complained, shaking Aurora out of her thoughts, then grabbing her arm and leading her down one of the main walkways near the left wall. They approached a row with the letter L and noticed 4 seats against the wall that were almost completely empty, besides a singular person.

 

“You have to be kidding me.” Amelia sighed. Sitting on the end seat was a 19 year old man with his arms crossed, fast asleep. He was wearing a long sleeve black shirt that was pulled up to his mid-forearm. He also wore black cargo pants with black boots that were kicked up on the empty seat in front of him. He had a sword sheath sitting in front of him that housed a mid sized sword. He had short black hair and strong features on his face, as well as an athletic frame that was more slim than muscular.

 

"Excuse me." Aurora said softly, trying to wake the guy up in a polite manner, but he did nothing more than continue to snore away. Though it annoyed her a bit that he was blocking perfectly good seats, she didn't really want to annoy the guy. There was no sense in drawing attention to herself, nor bugging the man either. "Maybe we can just find another-"

 

“Wait.” Amelia said with an annoyed tone, looking at the guy with narrowed eyes, readying herself.

"Oh no Amelia please don't-" Aurora tried to say, but she was absolutely too late. Amelia sucked in and Aurora prepared herself for what came next. 

 

"GET UP!" She boomed at the man, causing a slight vibration in the floor, which was part of her power of Sonic Projection. Luckily for the guy's eardrums however, she was only using a small part of her power so she didn't completely blow him away. The guy almost immediately shot out of the chair and got into a sort of fighting stance so quickly that Aurora thought he had teleported. He looked at both Aurora and Amelia for a second with a very confused look, and Aurora noticed something very odd about him. He had lightning yellow eyes that seemed to glow ever so slightly, which was something she had never seen before. The guy settled his eyes on Amelia, apparently figuring out the source of the disturbance.

 

"You're loud." The guy muttered in a sarcastic, yet slightly deep voice. Amelia's face was full of irritation as she glared at the guy, but he seriously didn't seem to care.

 

"And you're in my way." Amelia said with a seriousness that intimidated even Aurora, and she wasn't the target of her anger. For a moment, the guy looked her up and down, then laughed and moved aside. This completely confused Aurora, as she had half expected the guy to start yelling back at Amelia.

 

"Take a seat then." He said moving his hands to direct the two of them to the seats beside him. Amelia walked past him in an angry way, then sat in a seat all the way next to the wall in a huff. Aurora didn't follow her so quickly, but glanced back to the guy who had sat back down in the seat on the aisle and was now playing with a plain black ring on his right ring finger.

 

"Thank you." Aurora said to the guy, trying to be as nice as she possibly could as she really didn't want to make an enemy the first day of school. Aurora then took her place next to Amelia, who was staring off at the currently empty stage. It was a large stage, with a large TV sitting above the main stage that was showing a feed to the entire auditorium for those who couldn't see as well. Aurora quickly pulled her bow off of her back and set it down at her feet, then settled into her seat. 

 

"This is great." Amelia said to Aurora before she could even greet the guy. It seemed she had pushed her bad impression of the yellowed eyed guy into the back of her head. Aurora nodded and looked around the auditorium and saw everyone taking their seats. It was truly amazing to her that nearly every single chair was filled, and all filled by people that seemed new to her. She wanted to keep observing but then the lights in the room dimmed and the stage brightened. A wave of silence came over the audience, all waiting for the speech that was coming.

 

After a minute of silence, a middle-aged man with long black hair walked out onto the lit stage, smiling broadly at the crowd. He wore a plain blue shirt and a dark blue overcoat along with soft blue dress pants with a gold chain coming in and out of his pockets. On his face was a pair of darkened sunglasses that completely hid his eyes. He had a long sword sheathed on the left side of his waist, with the handle poking out beyond his overcoat and sitting in a diagonal way. An attendant came out from the right side of the stage and handed him a microphone, he thanked them, then looked at the crowd of almost a thousand people and took a deep breath, then spoke.

 

“Welcome all, to the school of Axion.” He said into the microphone, his confident voice echoing throughout the auditorium. “As I am certain all of you know, every single person in this room is special. No matter what you look like, no matter where you're from, no matter how you act. You are all special in your own ways. All of you have gifts that set you apart from one another. Powers. Magic. Blessings of the Divine. This school, and what makes you special, assures the people of Vallauria that they will live a better life and live in a better world with all of you protecting their prosperity and security by ensuring the monsters that inhabit this world will never reach them. Axion has been training students just like you for longer than the kingdoms have existed, in fact this establishment is the oldest to still exist in Vallauria. Being so, this school has gone through more changes than any one of you could possibly imagine. This is a similarity you all shall find yourselves a part of. The constant growth and change you will be subjected to here will be much like the great school you sit in today, completely different than when it was first built.”

 

"That being said, this won't be a place of fear and boredom. You will make great friends, great rivals, and of course learn like so many before you. This school will give you the tools to make your own future, whatever you decide it will be. This school will push you hard, mentally and physically, but it will also bring you to a place many of you will be proud of. No one told you this was going to be easy, and if they did, they were wrong. With the help of our great teachers, the time you spend here will be about mastering your powers, your magic, your fears, and readying you for the horrors that lie outside the boundaries of Vallauria's great cities." He said proudly, looking at everyone in the crowd. Aurora was now completely in awe, she could understand why this person was the lord of this school, he was a natural and gifted speaker. Every word he spoke had an impact in Aurora’s mind, even greater than that of her own mother and father, who ruled the country. "I expect great things from all of you, and I surely expect that you will all surprise me."

 

“He’s incredible.” Amelia said as she smiled broadly.

 

“Perfect control of your abilities, whether small or large, is what we hope you will achieve while here. We are committed to making sure all of you leave with a full understanding of yourself, your abilities, and the world around you. In each of your dorms, you shall find a full copy of your schedule, predetermined by our system to suit your specific needs. Each of you will learn the basics of the world around you as the normal Vallaurians do, after all these things are important as well. These classes are located in the Sun side of Axion, rather known as the above ground classes. As it is the oldest and most historic part of our school, use of your powers or any aggressive forms of magic is strictly forbidden and will be met with proper punishment. In the Sun side you shall train your mind, as it should be just as sharp as your physical being. In our Moon side, otherwise known as the underground, you shall find the dorms where all of you shall be staying. Along with the dorms, are a multitude of classes and training areas where you shall learn how to fight, take full grasp of your powers, and learn many forms of magic that will help you in whatever goal you hope to achieve in the outside world.” He then scanned over the crowd, seeing that everyone was properly baffled by him. He smiled at this, then continued. “As for your accommodations, we have tried our best to put you into dorms with people you are most likely to get along with. Though our system isn't perfect, it does it's best to gauge all of you. You will all find your dorm sections and rooms on your Pawns, so do be sure to check them before leaving here, we'd rather not have you get lost in the Moon side. With that, I wish you all the best year, and wish you all luck in your education here at Axion. You are all dismissed.” 

 

"Were you sure to bring yours Aurora?" Amelia asked Aurora, as she glanced at the holographic projection on her wrist. Pawns were simple machines, they were able to send simple messages, transmit calls, and information on a small area of the user's arm, projected from a simple wrist band. Aurora pulled up the blue colored band, and saw the combination "A11" being projected over her wrist. She thought to herself about the dorms, would there be a lot of people? Who would be the people there? "You know, this might be the longest time we go without seeing each other. You sure you can remember to breathe if I'm not around?" 

 

"Oh shut it, I'll be fine. Just make sure not to burst anyone's eardrums." Aurora laughed, only to get punched in the arm once again by Amelia. She gripped her arm, which made Amelia laugh, then hug her tightly.

 

"Just don't get yourself hurt Auri." She said with a smile, then walked past her, towards her dorm just as many of the other students were doing. Aurora noticed that the black haired swordsman that had been sitting next to her had completely vanished, almost as quickly as Mr.Isomi had. Aurora sighed, then followed the rest of the crowd.

The crowd, along with Aurora, continued down the hallway they had started on for a while, seeing tons of empty classrooms filled with many desks. Aurora couldn't believe how big this place really was. The crowd reached the end of the hallway, a large stone door opened slowly, revealing a staircase. The design of the staircase was completely different from what Aurora had seen so far in terms of the school. Lights hung down from the ceiling and were no longer orbs of the sun, but rather orbs of the moon, letting off a soft white light as opposed to a yellowish light. Aurora noticed, as the crowd entered the large staircase, that the stone walls seemed to have a sort of blue tinge to them. The atmosphere in this part of the school was creepy to Aurora, and the paintings on the wall didn't make her feel any better. Every single painting depicted warriors brutally killing their enemy, but oddly every single face was blurred out, which put more fear into Aurora.

 

The fear of the unknown was Aurora’s biggest fear after all.

 

"I don't like this…" Aurora muttered.

 

"I dislike it as well." A voice said next to Aurora, making her jump a bit. The speaker was a taller  man, around the age of 18, and was wearing extremely formal clothing. Suit. Tie. Dress pants. The whole works. "Oh hi! Who are you?"

"I'm Tivar, school journalist and exceptional mage dear princess." He said in a matter of fact tone. Aurora gritted her teeth quickly, someone had recognized her. It wasn’t that she had been hiding, but she had hoped that she wouldn’t stand out at all. Tivar then tapped his pen to his chin and thought for a moment. "Well I'm not sure if the school has a journalist, but I’ll do the work even if there isn’t a job."

 

"Oh...okay."

 

"I have many stories to uncover, the Labyrinth, the history, that guy at Port Faux." He said to Aurora, not even glancing at her as they both followed the crowd into what appeared to be a common room. It was a huge, bright room filled with lights, tables, chairs, bookshelves, and even more things. The entire aesthetic of the room was white, as if it were a safe haven from the cold staircase they had just left, and immediately Aurora felt better.

 

"What do you mean by the guy at Port Faux?" Aurora asked Tivar, causing him to sigh, as if she should know this information already. Tivar raised his hand, and instantly his Pawn activated, he scrolled through it with his pen until he got to a specific place.

 

"I expected the royal princess to at least know this. Reports indicate a single Vallaurian restored the barrier around Port Faux using assorted Hycin shields put together to form some sort of invisible barrier Dires could not cross. It is also reported the Legitus soldiers on the ground were assisted by this unknown Vallauiran in order to execute the Dires that had made it through the broken walls of the port city." Tivar quoted then looked up at Aurora, as if waiting for a response.

 

"One person did all that? That's beyond cool!" Aurora responded, at the same moment that a big burly guy slammed into him, knocking him straight to the ground. A loud grunt came from Tivar as he hit the floor quite hard, with only laughing coming from the person who had slammed into him.

 

"Would you look at that guys, I stepped in shit." A loud, obnoxious, and arrogant voice laughed from in front of Tivar and Aurora. He was a large muscular guy, wearing metal armor that was the color of stone ripped right from the ground, as well as black dress pants and black boots. He had a smug expression plastered on his face as he glanced at his equally brutish friends who were laughing along with him.