Bonds - Part 1
Tempest walked among the halls of the vanguard headquarters in Rosette. She looked out the windows with their large, unraveled curtains to see the reconstruction of her city well underway. Manned construction drones flew methodically around the damaged sections of the city of roses. The ocean was far in the distance, but the city stretched far out to the sea. Though the closer to the water, the smaller the infrastructure, even from this distance she could tell it was run down and poorly managed. Things were far from perfect even in such a great city.
Other things lingered on her mind, turning to see the man who accompanied her this morning.
Walking alongside her was a man known for his distinct armor plating and knightly gestures.
His rather concerned voice spoke before her, calmly delivering the status of the recruits of the 91st training platoon.
"Only twenty-seven of the original thirty-six remain after the first week of training."
The Lady of Lightning continued at her steady pace only to step into the view of a rather beautiful looking structure, an ancient structure that looked seemingly out of place in the city even from the perspective of someone native to this city.
"And what of the Alpha world children?"
"They are proceeding surprisingly well, the girl shows no signs of affinity yet, though her composure under stress is impressive. For the boy–"
Merlin sounded even more concerned than when he spoke of Lena.
"– the veil we placed in him, it seems to have completely sealed his affinity. I do believe it was the right choice not allowing him free reign over his power, though I worry about its discovery by a sensor."
Tempest turned to the man, Merlin, who stood beside her. He was also gazing out at the wonderful architecture before them. The monument was of a futuristic origin, pulsating with neon blue lights even during the day. It looked almost like it was generating energy, pulsing from the ground on one end and sending it moving at high speed to the other end of the archway.
"At first it was a measure to protect him from the damage he caused himself, but it worked even more in our favor. The Sovereign are unaware of the ability he possesses, we were fortunate they saw nothing special during the little show you put on."
She gave him a disappointed glare, the knight pressed his hand over his chest and humbly apologized.
"I let my emotions get the best of me, it will not happen again."
Tempest seemed relieved by his words, though she could not help but admit that the power she witnessed Atlas exhibit that day was monstrous.
She glanced out the window to the district where the draconid had emerged, the place where Atlas had slain the beast.
"I can't blame you for also being worried, he caused more damage than the void beast did..."
"Are you positive the others are unaware of his power?"
She quickly replied to his concern:
"By uncovering the Ostera operatives in this territory we have bought ourselves some time. We have done well to keep the information from spreading. Those who had been spreading rumors are being suppressed and monitored. In the meantime, you just focus on producing those recruits. The other schools are well under way, yet their turnout has decreased once again this year. It's getting more difficult by the year to find mages."
She seemed concerned, but was fairly confident that the cards were stacked in her favor.
"I will still remain diligent, commander. In regards to the shard–"
Tempest interrupted and simply gave him an ultimatum:
"If he presses the issue, I leave it to your discretion."
Merlin slammed his boots together and saluted her, she relieved him immediately as he walked out of the hall.
The woman lifted her right wrist and turned her palm over, she stared intensely into the lightning strike symbol branded on her palm. A stark reminder of the burden she carried. She squeezed her hand shut fiercely. Gazing one more time out into the city she presided over, as if soaking in the majesty of what she had accomplished.
* * *
Lena was walking in her uniform to the mess hall alone. It was the first day of rest for the recruits of the 91st, and all she could think about was how painful and stressful the week had been.
Forget fighting lycans and draconids. This is true hell.
She tried to keep her fatigue hidden, if a senior officer saw her slouching... or worse... Merlin. Her rest day might just become an extra training day.
Finally she had made it to the hall where most of the other recruits were gathered to eat breakfast.
The young men and women were gathering round the mess hall, many of them cheerful and social on their one day off. Lena figured she would bein and out for a meal.
A lot of the food was visually foreign, yet it tasted similar to things she had back on her home world. Vegetables, steaks, and breads even. Some things remained the same, there was only so much you could truly do with food. She gathered her portion which she humbly carried to a cleared out table away from any larger crowds.
Even though she had won over some of the other trainees, many still saw her as inferior. Such is the nature of being admitted to a force created for the purpose of training mages. When everyone else would train their spells and hone their abilities, her and Atlas were given firearms and other support training by some officers from the Regional Defense Forces.
Not even a few seconds after sitting down, she glanced over the hall to see Atlas. He was sitting with the Kang twins, they seemed to be getting closer with him. They were some of the few recruits who did not have a prejudice over those without magical prowess.
Many others were impressed by his performance during the duel, including Elizabeth. Who kept stealing glances at him during physical training. For some reason it made Lena feel especially uneasy when she thought about that.
And though Lena had received her fair share of praise as well, she was not one for first impressions and she knew that fact well. Those who were friendly with her slowly began to distance themselves just a few days later, save for one.
Elizabeth slid in seemingly out of nowhere and sat across from her without saying a word. She was in a similar situation, not so much the anti-social personality, but the fact that she seemed like an outcast. The talented and prodigal mage of the 91st, unmatched in her talents as a mage. That was at least the opinion of some, while others felt she made a mockery of the art by losing to not just one, but two duds. Even though Lena did not like how she looked at her friend, she appreciated the company no matter how minimal it was.
The two young women had barely shared a few words over the week, but they did not need to, Lena could somewhat understand her intentions. She was interested in Atlas.
She groaned internally. Trying to suppress the thought of that even occurring. What does she even like about him?
Lena stared back over to Atlas as she angrily munched on her breakfast.
Almost as if to shatter the ice between them, Elizabeth said something to her that immediately startled Lena.
"You're staring..."
Lena took a moment to register the comment, she was indeed staring. You didn't have to blurt it out!
She was immediately flustered and darted her eyes down to her meal and started eating. Hoping to ignore the comment entirely.
Elizabeth almost immediately leaned in as Lena scarfed down her breakfast.
"You were staring! So there is something between you two!"
She sat back and crossed her arms proudly. As if she were a detective who solved a mystery.
With a mouth full of food, Lena spoke, as if somewhat required to defend herself from such an accusation.
"It's not like that at all!"
Elizabeth perked up.
"Ah, but you think I wasn't paying attention? Hmm? All week you two have been glancing at each other. Fill me in!"
Why was she so interested now all of a sudden? Could I have been right? She must be jealous.
The silver eyes beauty shot a glance behind her towards Atlas who was laughing at a joke that was likely initiated by the twins.
"I can see why..."
Elizabeth seemed to be entranced by Atlas, she even sounded slightly provocative. Which sent a feeling through Lena that made her want to punch this girl. She forgot she was even eating and then started coughing up a storm.
"Whoa! Make sure to chew!"
People around them were beginning to glance over.
Elizabeth slid over her water and Lena guzzled it down while pounding her chest.
"I... have no idea what you are talking about. We just know each other... from before."
Lena tried to clear up the misunderstanding that Elizabeth may have had, but it was too late. The once cold mage was lit up with excitement, asking burning questions that required answers. Lena attempted to dodge as many as she could, but also explaining a story to her that sounded believable that described a past they shared. She seemed to take it at face value which was good.
Elizabeth twirled her long hair as she listened and questioned her intensely, she truly was almost exactly like a professional interrogator.
The two finished their meal and Lena was about to try and wiggle her way out of the situation. But she was stopped almost as soon as she stood up.
"If you two are so close, then why have you been avoiding each other? Besides training, you haven't engaged at all."
Lena was frozen in her tracks once again by the ice mage.
She recalled briefly the time from the underground clinic, after the battle with the draconid. It was not as though she had forgotten about their interaction, but what else could she even say. The dreams she had about him, the moments they shared within his consciousness. It was so insane that she could not help but think she was crazy herself. Even in a world has mystical as this, was something like that a normal occurrence?
Lena had been trying to understand these feelings that she held, and the dream that they shared. Was that what she wanted or what he wanted? Did she influence his mind? Whatever had happened it was conflicting in her heart.
Instead of answering Elizabeth she ignored her entirely, she picked up her tray and walked to dispose of it and then to somewhere more secluded. Fortunately for Lena, the mage declined to follow, instead she just watched Lena leave the room. Appearing almost as if she had said the wrong thing to her.
"Maybe I pried a little to hard." Elizabeth whispered to herself.
Lena walked out of the hall, making her way to a library that was not far from the women's barracks.
She shuffled through sections, finally finding one on medicine.
Perfect!
She grabbed a book on physical and mechanical applications for treatment. Without the power of the void, she had little choice but to go the old-school route. Which was no concern of hers, at the very least, it was something she was passionate about from her life before.
Lena sat down and began to sift through the pages of the worn out text. It was very informative even if it was crude, it described sicknesses both familiar are alien. It also had a section on poison from various plants that are though to have come from the void world. As well as some others that seemed to have evolved on this world. Some of the larger sections were how to deal with recoil from void magic using special equipment, and how to deal with wound inflicted by such magic. The technology in this world was also far more advanced than what she was familiar with. There were also herbs and treatments that were so vastly mythical it was fascinating to her, she had wondered what kind of places where some of these things emerged from could hold.
This is what happened to him... She had been trying to distract herself from her thoughts. But it was not working as intended.
She managed to get a good portion of the way through a section that intrigued her before trailing off again. Then she was startled by the sliding door opening, a set of footsteps moved directly towards her table. She tried to ignore whoever it was, avoiding eye contact.
Elizabeth stood across from her and stood her down, asking if it would be ok for her to interrupt this time. She was being a bit more formal than before, unlike in the dining hall.
"I wanted to apologize for prying. I just got a little carried away, if I made you uncomfortable then it was not my intention. And there is something I had been meaning to ask you..."
Lena had accepted her apology, there was no harm done after all. But she was curious as to what she was about to say.
"What is it?"
"It really connected when you confirmed my suspicion, that you two know each other from before enlistment–"
She paused for a moment as Lena shut her book.
"–you have seen it haven't you?"
Lena was immediately shocked by her question. She had no idea how to respond to such a vague insight.
What is she talking about? A sense of dread began to wash over her. Like she was about to cross a line of no return.
Elizabeth reached into a pouch she carried on her waist, and pulled out a small journal that was held together on animal skin and string. It was barely holding on and many of the pages within were tattered and worn, more so than most of these handmade books in the library.
She placed it on the table and opened the book to a page she had marked, it immediately drew in Lena's attention. The page was an illustration that was all too familiar to her, the interior of the Nexus and people were emerging from its mechanical gateway.
Lena's eyes were glued to the page, she felt her heart rate start to race.
The Nexus? Does she know, about where we came from? How?!
Questions raced through her mind at lightning speed, she had no idea which one to ask first. She could feel a cold sweat starting to form on her brow.
"It's really true." Elizabeth finished off with that one line as she saw the reaction from Lena.
