“We got a big fight going down in the courtyard!” Yelled an excited young man down the hallway. All the students within earshot immediately stopped what they were doing. Several even left lockers open as they turned their attention toward him.

   “It’s Kaizo Blaze challenging Prince Jraken!” He yelled as he pointed in the direction of the courtyard.

   “Don’t you mean Prince Dravon?” Asked a girl with a snobby voice. “Prince Jraken has barely finished puberty. Dravon’s the one that has it out for him.”

   “It is Jraken! It looks like Kaizo is calling him out!” Yelled another girl who was looking out a nearby window.

 

 

   Most of the roughly 800 students that attended the Jhori academy, gathered around in the courtyard that was located in the center of the campus. Several trees with red bark and blue leaves stood tall and were scattered about the area. The grass was also blue, as was most grass that was to be found on the planet known as Elementa.

    Some of the faculty members also stood by to see what would become of young Prince Jraken. Everyone kept their distance since no one was certain of how serious this fight was going to get.

   Rumors had been spreading throughout the school. No one had definitive proof, but there were clues. Little hints that sparked into rumors, and rumors that drove the academy’s top student, Kaizo Blaze, to see what truth lay behind them.

 

   “I hear tell that you’re supposed to be some kind of prodigy!” Kaizo shouted across the courtyard. He had short jet-black hair and a face that did nothing to hide his arrogance. He was quite a bit larger than the much younger Jraken, who had only just finished his growth spurt. 

   “Why else would you be starting at the Jhori Academy at such a young age?” He asked.

   “I am a prince,” Jraken replied calmly. “Maybe I was an embarrassment and sent here for extra training.” He held a smirk that only someone with a secret would don. His wavy black hair fell to his shoulders, and his rare violet eyes were unblinking. He looked composed and relaxed as he kept his arms crossed and his legs wide. His red silk shirt had long sleeves with sophisticated yellow designs going up and down them. His pants were black and made of the same tough material most of the students wore. 

   He was a few years younger than the other first-year students. He had expected to be picked on by them. He did not realize being a prince was going to get him into fights with students of Kaizo’s age and reputation.

   Still, he displayed no fear despite being harassed by the top student at the academy.

   “Considering your brother Dravon is only the third ranked student I can see why the king would be getting worried!” Kaizo said, trying to strike a nerve. “We all know the only reason he’s still even number three is because he’s a royal!”

 

 

   “Ouch. That burn probably hurts worse than the burns you got in your last fight with him,” said Chren to Prince Dravon Ferno. They stood within the large crowd of students that had gathered to watch Kaizo and Jraken fight. Chren was the only person who Dravon might consider a friend. Really, he was just someone that he could not seem to be rid of. He had feathered blonde hair and striking blue eyes. He always wore an all-white ensemble, and to the best Dravon could remember, it never had stains or any sort of blemishes on it.

   “You don’t really think your brother could beat him, do you?”

   Dravon grunted and shook his head. His long black hair was pulled back into a neat bun and shaved off on the sides of his head. He wore a black scale leather vest over a loose white v-neck shirt, and his baggy gray pants were tucked into his black boots. His face was made into the usual scowl that seemed to have made a home there at a young age. Unlike Jraken, who had a much more inviting personality, and a smile that seemed to be contagious to those around him. Contagious for everyone, but Dravon.

   “Cause if he does beat him. It is not going to look good for you! Nope! Not at all!” Chren teased. “I can see it now, ‘Hey! You hear about Jraken?’ ‘No! What about Jraken?’ ‘He’s the best! We thought Dravon was the best. Then we thought Kaizo was the best, but no. Turns out Jraken was the best all along!’” He said back in forth while using a variety of voices.

   Dravon let a frustrated snort escape his nose. Not unlike one a pissed off dragon might produce, and just like a fire-breathing dragon, a little smoke could be seen rising from his nostrils.

   Truth be told, Dravon had no idea how powerful Jraken had become in recent years. Elementi who qualified were sent to various academies at age 15 for five years. Dravon was now 19. He never expected to see his 13-year-old brother at the academy before he graduated.

   He was not quite as interested as everyone else was when it came to whether or not the rumors of his brother were true. It went without saying that people expected him to grow into a powerful warrior. Until recently, Dravon was considered the best fighter in the school. Their father, King Jrax Ferno, had been well renowned for his prowess by both sides during the civil war. It seemed impossible to him that Jraken could possibly possess the ability to take on Kaizo, who was the same age as himself. Though, there was one thing that he was absolutely certain of. If anyone was going to fight his brother, it was going to be him.

   The same also went for his rival, Kaizo. So, seeing the two of them fight each other was beyond a doubt the last thing that he wanted to have happen. He knew it was now or never. He also knew this would be the best opportunity he would have in a long time to humiliate Kaizo in front of an audience. That was the only way he could earn back the title of number one.

   He pushed other students aside as he made his way towards his old nemesis. He walked out into the courtyard until he was sure he was in Kaizo’s line of sight. They were the same height, but Dravon was quite a bit thinner. His eyes were also a much brighter red, which was common for a royal.

 

   “Well, who would have guessed?” Kaizo shouted out to the crowd that had gathered. “Older brother to the rescue! Are you already ready for another humiliating defeat?”

   Being of few words, Dravon wasted no time. He focused on his aura above his palms. When he felt connected to it, he increased the vibration of the energy in order to manifest a fireball in each hand. He breathed deep and dashed towards his adversary.

   Kaizo stretched his arms back and several small fires started to grow in the air above him. Just before Dravon approached, Kaizo threw his arms forward and the small fires went whizzing toward him with great velocity.

   He avoided as many as he could but chose to let several fires make contact so he could get in close. He hurled his fist sized fires at Kaizo only for him to deflect them with the back of his hands. What Kaizo could not deflect was a hard kick to the chest that sent him flying seven paces back. When he hit the ground, he rolled a couple more paces before finally coming to a stop. The crowd of students and faculty cheered in response.

   “That’s showing him!” He heard Chren yell from the crowd of students.

   “Nice one, bro!” Yelled Jraken.

   Dravon did not acknowledge any cheering. He stayed fixated on his opponent. Kaizo had surprised him before with how resilient he was to taking hits. They had fought countless times in various tournaments and sparring exhibitions over the years. Dravon had always won. However, the last tournament was team based. It was tradition that royal families always compete together, and more often than not, they won. That was not the case in the last tourney.

   Dravon could not prove it, but he was convinced there was a conspiracy to single out his teammates and eliminate them one by one. He wound up having to fight the last two matches alone. He eliminated two competent fighters in the semi-finals and was then left with fighting a well-rested Kaizo in the championship match.

   “Not bad, Drav,” Kaizo said as he wiped some grass off his clothing. “You are pretty nifty when it comes to hand-to-hand. Too bad you lack the firepower!”

   After he got up, he slapped his palms together and suddenly both of his hands ignited into flames that quickly grew to the lengths of his forearms. Staying engulfed as he got back into his fighting stance.

   This is exactly what Dravon had been anticipating. Kaizo had surprised everyone at the tournament when he revealed that he had not only mastered but had actually improved the Fire-Fist technique.

   A technique that Dravon had learned from King Jrax himself. By controlling the flames that engulfed one’s fists, they could increase their speed and strength.

   Being able to extend the flames to his elbows gave Kaizo more control and drastically increased his speed. Dravon’s long reign over him had come to a short end.

   This time would be different. This was exactly what he had trained for. He slapped his own palms together and they immediately burst into flames that were a bit larger than Kaizo’s. Dravon then fused the flames and sent the hurling mass of fire at his rival.

   Knowing he had to act fast, Kaizo did the same. The flames met, and a small explosion shook the courtyard. A mushroom cloud instantly formed between the two combatants.

           

    The spectators were left to speculation as dust from the explosion made it difficult to see. All they could do was listen as the two young men exchanged attacks. As the dust cleared, streaks of fire could be seen bouncing off each other. Before long, enough dust had settled to see that Dravon’s entire arms were engulfed in flames. They even appeared to have flame spikes shooting smoke out of the elbow and shoulders.

   Dravon knew that he and Kaizo were close to matched on their ranged attacks, so he decided he would try to keep the fight to physical combat instead. It did not take long for him to prove that he had once again surpassed Kaizo.

   He had trained extremely hard since the last tournament, and it looked as though it had paid off. He was overpowering Kaizo like he never had before. Pushing him back with every punch. Though, he could not help but feel that Kaizo had gotten faster. He was blocking and evading nearly every hit. It appeared as if they both went out and sought what the other had excelled at in their last fight.

   The only thing Dravon could rely on now was his superior technique, and even then, it all depended on how much damage Kaizo could endure.

   Eventually he found his opening. An opening that resulted in an uppercut to the chin of Kaizo Blaze.

   Kaizo spit out a mouthful of blood and took a few steps back.

   “That does it!” He shouted with a voice full of wrath. He threw his hands to the sky and a large fireball started manifesting above him. Several students fled as the fireball grew larger and larger. Some Aerosi were using their ability to manipulate wind and helping fellow students up on to the roof. While Lunanites used their ability to manipulate water and made walls of ice to absorb the potential shockwave of the blast.

   Instructor Lloyd Rivers was one of the senior faculty members that was present and called out for Kaizo to stop, but it was too late.

   Kaizo looked like a man possessed. His eyes were wild, and his mouth was twisted into a maniacal grin.

   Dravon was not sure what to do. He had not anticipated that Kaizo would take things this far. He was not by any means well acquainted with him, but he knew him well enough to see that this behavior was a little out of character.

   All he could guess was that the pressure of being number one had really gotten to him. Dravon knew that burden as well as anyone. Holding on to that title is a constant battle. There is always some fresh blood looking to dethrone you.

   The only options he could quickly come up with were flee like everyone else or try to throw a fireball with enough force to ignite Kaizo’s flames before it reached him. Unfortunately, he decided he could not risk either option. If the two flames ignited there was no way to truly predict what direction the blast might take. It could end up being directed at bystanders and cause serious harm. He also could not flee, due to not wanting to put any of the other students in danger.  He would just have to stay in the center of the courtyard and endure the blast.

   The fireball grew ever larger and brighter. “Here, Prince Dravon! Catch!” Kaizo shouted with heinous laughter.

   He threw his arms forward to send the fire at Dravon. Instead of going where he sent it, the huge fireball went twirling into the sky, and exploded out of harm’s way.

   “What the?” Kaizo asked staring up at the remnants of the explosion. Suddenly Jraken was right in front of him. Kaizo panicked and quickly tried to punch him. Jraken was quicker and put a knee into his stomach. Causing the top ranked student to immediately fall to his knees gasping for air.

           

 

   “Did Jraken just save us?” Asked a student on the roof.

   “No! Kaizo was just teasing. He threw the fire into the sky himself!” Said another.

   “I saw the whole thing! Jraken kicked that fire into the sky! It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before!”

    “I saw the same thing!”

   Before long, most of the student body agreed. Jraken had saved the day. He had saved the courtyard from having a huge crater, several students who could have been in harm’s way, and much to Dravon’s displeasure, he had saved Dravon from potential death.

 

   Some instructors apprehended Kaizo and complimented Jraken on a job well done. One of the instructors was Kaizo’s uncle, Instructor Haizo Blaze, who was beyond disappointed with his nephew.

    Then the Jhori philosophy teacher, Instructor Skyla, stepped out to speak to the congregation of students.

    “It would be easy to judge Kaizo this afternoon. Easy to condemn him. If you try and hurt the community then naturally the community has a right to banish you. I ask that we not criticize him too harshly. Anger is a symptom and pride the disease. You are already the most powerful species in the Jhori Quadrant. From what I see on a daily basis I wouldn’t be surprised if you were the strongest in the galaxy!” She said as several students chuckled and some cheered. “My point is you have nothing to prove. You are all incredible. This silly and ancient ranking system does nothing but incite hate and disconnect!”

    Her hair was bright blue and full of volume. She was a little taller than most of the Elementi, and where Elementi skin was limited to shades of brown, her skin was a fluorescent green. Most of the male students, and a few of the females, found her to be an exotic beauty. She always adorned small dresses that seemed to exaggerate her already attention demanding features. She was rumored to have grown up at the Jhori Capital and was well connected in Jhori politics.

   “I know that non-Elementi instructors sent from the Jhori Capital to teach Jhori Philosophies here are never very popular. I am also well aware that you are a race of proud warriors. Your ancestors were hired to fight wars for thousands of years. They helped lay the foundation for this great democracy!”

    Several students cheered and Skyla nodded and clapped while she walked over to Jraken.

   “Some of you will one day join a Jhori agency. No matter which agency you should join you will find that they all were created to promote peace!” She put her hands on Jraken’s shoulders as she mentioned Jhori agencies. “Alone we can do only so little, but together we can accomplish anything!”

   A bell rang that ended the student’s afternoon recess. Everyone shuffled around to get to their classes. A couple students yelled for help from a roof since the young Aerosi who manipulated wind in order to help them up didn’t feel like they could safely bring them back down.

 

   “If I’m not mistaken, you are on the way to my class,” Skyla queried of Jraken.

   “Yes. It’s my last class for the day.”

   “Mine too! Will you walk with me?” She asked.

   Jraken blushed. Though, as beautiful she was, his heart was reserved for another.

   “Sure,” he replied.

   “I know it is still early, but have you given much thought about which Jhori Agency you might want to join?”

   Jraken truly had not put any thought into it. His father was not very thrilled about Jhori Leader Laski demanding he put him into the academy early. The idea that King Jrax would allow either of his sons to leave and join a Jhori agency seemed fairly farfetched.

   On top of that, only 9 or 10 students from each graduating class ever became Jhori agents. Jraken knew he was gifted, but he still was not certain that he was agent material.

   “I’m not sure my father would want me joining any agencies,” he replied truthfully.

   “Your brother Dravon is who will inherit the crown. Your people require only one king, Jraken. You are your own man. I believe you were born to do amazing and wonderful things for the galaxy!”

   His heart raced as this beautiful woman told him how amazing she thought he was. He wanted to say something, but no words would come. He was not used to being praised. He was not sure what the proper response was.

   “Just give it some thought. A talent like yours should not be hidden. Nor should someone so powerful not be taught to use his powers wisely. It wasn’t just Kaizo’s pride that made him act rashly. His power is an insatiable temptation for anyone. If you can so easily get your way, then what is stopping you?”

   “Having a heart?” All Jraken knew was that he could not stand seeing people get hurt.

   “Wisdom. Wisdom to understand the importance of patience, empathy, kindness, and love. I believe you were born with this wisdom already within you. You just need someone to show you why you are the way you are.”

   Jraken had never felt so inspired. His future had never looked so full of possibility. Everything Skyla said made perfect sense to him.

   “I want to help people, and I would like to explore the galaxy.” Jraken admitted.

   “I promise to do everything in my power to see that that happens, young Prince Jraken. I believe you may be a legend in the making.” She said with a bright smile.