】〓〓〓〓【

Iota

】〓〓〓〓【

 

Quill chuckles sadly as we reach the training grounds. “Sticking around you makes me forget it’s the hot season.” I tilt my head. I’m honestly unsure what feeling hot is like.

Quill walks out into the center of the flattened dirt circle before looking back at me. 

I stare at him, confused. “Aren’t we going to talk?” 

He nods. “Sure, we’ll talk while we spar.” The muscular man pulls his greatsword off his back, swinging it around casually.

I step out onto the field, the temperature quickly dropping. Quill’s breath starts to mist up. The chill wells inside me, giving me the comfort I’ve come to rely on. I form the basic layer of ice around me, creating plates over my leather armor.

Quill squares up and holds his sword with both hands. “So. We basically lost our only job just now.” 

I raise my eyebrow. “Why?” 

Suddenly Quill is less than a sword’s length away from me. His massive godsteel slab falling towards me. I roll to the side as the ground where I had just been explodes, dirt and stone flying everywhere. 

“Because, Iota, our squad is made of non-humans.” He plants his foot on the ground next to the crater his sword is in. In one swift movement he pulls it from the earth, leaving a trail of dust in the air. 

“I don’t understand, what’s a non-human?” Quill looks at me with disbelief. I use my dash ability to close the gap and try to jump above him. 

I manage to get airborne, but Quill uses the chance to swat me out of the sky with the flat of his sword. I fly a good distance before rolling over the ground, eventually hitting the wall of a nearby barracks. “Problem with jump attacks, Iota, can’t change direction mid-air.” 

With another roll I barely dodge Quill’s sword as it impales the ground again. “A non-human is someone who has the blood of another race in ‘em.” He goes to pull the sword out of the ground again.

I use the opening to go for his legs. My outstretched arms covered in my ice blades. Just before impact he steps to the side, causing me to faceplant into the wall. My vision blacks out for a moment, but no pain thanks to my lovely cold.

I stand up shakily. “That’s it? Why does that mean they can’t do their jobs?” There has to be more, what Quill is saying doesn’t make sense. 

“Don’t tunnel vision, kid. Your berserker traits will make it hard not to but it’s important in a real fight.” He yanks the swords out of the ground again. I try to rush him. Running on his weaker right side, I try to close the distance as fast as I can. Quill swings diagonally at me and I roll to the right at the last second. 

I slash at the opening as he starts his backswing. With a slash I land a hit on his leg. Just in time to take the incoming backswing to the ribs. The upwards momentum sends me flying.

My flight is a short one as gravity takes hold again. I drop from the air and land flat on my back. Something snaps in protest of my self brutality. Quill sheaths his sword, running over to where I am.

“Dammit, kid! You took that hit just to knick my leg?” He looks furious.

I can’t help it. A huge smirky grin spreads over my face. “Yeah, but I got you,” I giggle, tasting blood. The massive man picks me up and starts carrying me off the field. 

“Gods alive, kid, you got some serious stones. They’re also all in your head.” He chuckles to himself. “That stunt is something I would’ve wished I could’ve pulled off at your age.” 

We quickly arrive at the medical building right next door to the training grounds. As Quill carries me in, a wide-eyed medical knight catches sight of me. His expression is really amusing.

“Quill! What the hell did you do to the kid?” The man rushes over and takes me from Quill before placing me on one of the many cots. “And why is he so light?” 

I frown and cough blood into the man’s face. On accident, of course. 

“What about me, doc?” Quill asks with a dumb grin. 

The doctor looks Quill over, trying to find the wound. Eventually he points at the thumb-sized cut on his leg. The medical knight’s gaze could curdle milk. He turns back to me and places his hands over my left side. A horrible warm sensation fills that side of my body.

I start squirming in pain, and the knight looks baffled. “This should numb the pain, is it hurting you?” His voice sounds like he doesn’t believe it’s possible. 

With a gurgle I try to explain, “Warm… bad… cold… good…” As a demonstration I pull more of the chill from deep inside me. The warmth in my side is quickly consumed by the bitter cold. “Just heal me,” I tell the knight sternly. 

He nods in total confusion, his breath showing in the air. “Right, just the healing.” His hands start glowing in a mix of colors. Browns, blues, and greens all mix together. Since there is no pain, I can’t really tell if it’s working.

After about an hour the knight is finished, his face covered in sweat. It’s definitely not warm in here, I’m still cooling the room. He sits down in a chair beside the cot. 

“Done. Get out.” He shoos me with his hands, like I’m some sort of stray. I stumble out into the light of the afternoon sun. Quill is leaning against a tree near the exit.

“All better?” The large man asks with a smile. I nod.

I look at his leg. “What about you?” He grins even more.

“Take a look!” He shows me the spot I got him, and there’s nothing.

I grin. “Did another doc take care of you?” 

He shakes his head. “Nah, it just healed all on its own. I heal real fast, got it from my mum.” He gives a sad smile. He sits under the tree and pats the ground next to him.

I walk over and plop down on the ground. Amazed at how quickly that knight fixed me. Quill snorts at me. “Your teeth are all black from yer blood.” I frown. I’ll fix that later.

He sighs. “Anyways, where were we? Right. Those folks in my squad can do their jobs just fine.” His face drops into a frown. “People just don’t like folks who are different from them. That’s why we lost the job.” 

I stare blankly. I don’t understand. “That’s it?” I finally ask. “Because they look different?” 

Quill nods sadly. “Well, in my case it isn’t even looks. I took after my dad, only thing I got from my mum was my healing.” 

My mind chugs trying to put together what he’s said. I look up at Quill. “I still don’t understand.” 

Quill laughs softly before ruffling my hair. His hand makes crunching sounds as it breaks the frost. “You’ll get it eventually, kid. Let's spar some more.” He gives me a big smile.

I run after him, feeling like I understand less than when we started.

 

】〓〓〓〓【

Cleave

】〓〓〓〓【

 

“He did what?” My voice is cold as the grave. The Private in front of me is from A Squad. 

“Captain Sasifer took over Squad C’s patrol routes. He announced it while Captain Neffin was indisposed during the full moon.” The lad, barely older than a child, struggles to get out his words. I wave him away and he basically runs out of the room. 

Damn Sasifer, like I don’t have enough shit on my plate! Slimy bastard keeps pulling stunts like this. I put the non-human knights in that squad specifically so he couldn’t harass them. 

“Just fire him, Grandpa.” A melodic voice brings words of sweet temptation. I look over at Tara, whose scowl mirrors my own. “Why not?” She tilts her head at me.

I sit down next to her, letting out a long sigh. I put her in my lap as I explain, “Sasifer is unbearable, but he has all the major crime leaders under his thumb. Unless he does something truly heinous, keeping him around is the better option, unfortunately.” I rub my eyes. “The ass knows just how far he can push things too.” My eyes shoot wide. “Don’t say that word, Tara.” 

The girl makes a very loud snort. “Okay, Grandpa.” I pat her head softly. 

“I’ll give C Squad another set of patrol routes, somewhere nicer. That’ll piss him off.” I smirk. The idea of Sasifer realizing he accidentally helped C Squad warms my heart.

“Grandpa, you look evil right now,” Tara teases me with a smirk of her own. I ruffle her hair that feels like I’m petting grass. “Grandpa!” she whines. She jumps out of lap. “I’m gonna go take care of the garden!” Before I can say a word the small girl bolts from my office. 

My joints creak as I stand. I still have plenty of work to do. Dropping into my chair I pull out my pen. The king really is asking the impossible this time. I grimace. He wants me to send my kids off on some foolish errand. Just after we all got back together again. 

I lean back with a sigh. Yet I’m still going along with his nonsense. His plan isn't the worst, it’s just him using my children as tools. I suppose that is what a king does, though. So I have to send Zenith off to pacify some paranoid newts. 

I put my pen to paper, and get to work.

 

】〓〓〓〓【

Zenith

】〓〓〓〓【

 

I’m excited. Very, very excited. My one body flexes its muscles in anticipation while the other twiddles with some flames. I’m off on a mission, one for the king himself. Father chose me for this one. It requires a… stability that my siblings lack. 

The carriage I’m in at the moment isn’t being pulled by a bullgrub. This one is meant to go through forests, so it’s very thin and attached to the back of a rather large spider. Besides the occasional sharp tilt to one side it’s the same as a normal carriage.

The Rarkin kingdom that neighbors our kingdom is deep within a large forest. In the center lies a massive swamp where they keep their capital. I’m very excited to see new architecture types.

Father gave me all the necessary information. He also warned me that the easy part might be the international diplomacy. He said there aren’t many things in the world that can level a village overnight. He also gave both of my selves a communication device. He said my bodies should generate enough energy to power two small crystals.

The secret weapon I was given is from Coil. He introduced me to a human-shaped creature named Mire. He also warned me not to break him, because he’s very useful. It just sounded like he was worried about the strange creature.

I offered Mire the spare seat in my carriage, but he said he’d rather hide in my shadows. The rhythmic thumping of the spider’s legs as it runs is kinda… soothing.

 

【〓〓〓〓】

 

“Adaiojear, you’re going to be late for school!” I sit up straight, an unfamiliar woman’s voice pulling me from sleep. The room I’m in is unfamiliar, filled with strange figurines and many, many books. The walls are amazingly bright blue. A large pane of black glass hangs on one of the walls, and a similar pane is on top of the desk. Where the hell am I?

That’s when I realize I can only feel one self. I look down and see an unfamiliar body. I’m skinny, almost worryingly so. My skin is dry and itchy, covered in small scratches. My black hair falls to my shoulders. Seeing this body makes my skin crawl.

The door to the room opens abruptly, and a middle-aged woman looks in the doorway. 

“What’s wrong, Asjiofgwa? Are you alright?” She sounds worried about me. That one word she said, though. I don’t understand it, it sounds like someone is ripping fabric whenever she says it. The woman walks up to me and puts a hand on my forehead.

“Nope, you’re fine! Get your ass in the shower and get to school.” She nudges me into the hallway. She passes me by and opens one of the doors on the left. She points into the room. “Shower!” 

With that she walks off, leaving me staring at the door with an orange glow. I walk inside, noticing the light is a different color than the other room. Why do they have different color gemlights? In the corner of the room is something I recognize, the shower she was talking about.

I haven’t used one since… Wait, when have I used one? There were only baths in the manor. Strange. I give my head a shake and strip down. I put the water on full blast and hop inside.

The warm water patters against my skin. Usually this sensation would be very pleasant. But for some reason it’s just… not. I look down at my lanky frame and shudder. Why do I feel so odd? 

As more and more warm water pours on me, my mind starts to wander. I have been assuming this is a dream. The water though, the steam, it’s all so strangely vivid. My dreams haven’t been this vivid before.

I get out of the water and go back to ‘my’ room. I shuffle through the dresser and pick random clothes. I don’t care what this strange form wears. The floor is covered with a soft carpet that feels strange against my bare feet.

I make my way out to where the woman had gone. There’s a larger room that has some couches and another one of those glass rectangles on the wall. A door across the room has sounds coming from it. She must be in there.

I peek my head into the room. It’s a kitchen, although much different from what I’m used to. Her stovetop has an open flame heating the pan. The woman has a plate with a sandwich on it. She catches me peeking into the room.

“What are you wearing? Actually, never mind. Kids and their strange fashions.” She makes a strange chuckle. “Well, Awis, get your rear to school.” Another word covered over by that strange sound. She points out a door connected to the kitchen. 

I walk over and put on the pair of shoes that fits me. With that I open the door and walk outside. What I see is not anything I could ever expect. The houses around me are fairly normal, if strangely smooth. Beyond those, though, are massive towers. Hundreds of them reach into the sky, glinting in defiance. 

I get startled out of my sightseeing by that strange sound from before. “Hey! Apwjfien! What are you doing? We gotta get to school!” The voice belongs to a short, red haired girl. I run over to her as she scans my figure. “Awoaur, what are you wearing dude?” She’s barely holding back chuckles.

I look down at the clothes I picked. They’re fairly casual, is that it? “Are they that strange?” My voice startles me. It’s not mine, it’s… different. I’m not sure how, but it is. 

She smirks at me. “Yeah, what were you thinking, picking that outfit?” She has a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Let’s go, school time!” 

Not having any clue where ‘school’ is, I follow her. She leads me to a staircase that descends into the earth. Once we had walked down several stories worth of steps, we enter into a large cavern.

The cavern is well lit, massive, and man-made. Running through the center of the space are several large strips of metal. I stick to the girl, not wanting to get lost in such a strange place. The room suddenly fills with an absolute cacophony of noise. I cover my ears, barely able to stand the wretched sound.

The girl gives a weird look at my actions. Then a massive metal tube flies into the space. The thing is massive, like several bullgrubs lined up. There’s windows and doors on it, too. I glance around to see that everyone is acting normal, so I follow suit. 

A pair of doors opens up in front of me and the girl, and she steps through. I quickly follow after her. Once inside the metal tube I feel my heart begin to speed up. It’s fine, it’s okay. All these people wouldn’t get into a machine that kills them. 

I look out the windows, trying to calm myself. That’s when I see her. On the other side of the metal strips. The woman from the cave. She’s smiling at me, right at me. She gives a little wave. My view narrows. I feel my heart go cold while my blood boils. I clench my fists and feel my magic begin to swirl within me, ready to go whenever I deci-

“Ajgfiogwe, are you okay?” I jump with a start. The girl is leaning close to me, clearly worried. She looks out the window. “What were you looking at?” I look back out the window. The woman is gone.

“I, nothing I guess.”