Chapter 14

Rhuknor rose once more from the center of Tarrus. The Great Golden Dragon cast his scarlet gaze upon his son. Graymor, momentarily distracted from his conflict with Maranu, set his sights upon his father. Maranu, exhausted and driven nearly to the point of death, collapsed with the Orb still within his grasp. Rhuknor begged his son to cease the battle and let the humans live on Tarrus in peace lest the universe itself be threatened by his fury. Graymor refused, his hatred for humanity now encompassing the entire universe which he viewed as tainted and obstructing the love between him and Balvor. Rhuknor wept, knowing that the darkness of sentient life that Graymor had long held in check had consumed him utterly. With his anger fueling his power, and the Celestial Beasts willingly sharing their strength with him, even Rhuknor would have a difficult time defeating his son in such a state ... and the battle would be too costly. With no other choice, Rhuknor made a hard decision, one he had known for a long time that he’d be forced to make. The Great Golden Dragon, firstborn of the physical realms, took up the Orb of Destiny from Maranu.

“Huh, so that’s where I heard it from!” exclaimed Ryan as he finished the latest chapter of the textbook which mentioned something called the ‘Orb of Destiny’.

Ryan was in his room pouring over the dozens of textbooks that Zand had given him to study when they weren’t sparring. It was a hassle, especially reading pages of paper without a datapad, but Ryan eventually got into a good rhythm. It had actually been refreshing these past weeks. A way to relax his sore muscles after repeatedly getting his butt kicked by Zand. He would even play some soothing ambient music in the background. He didn’t think he was the kind of guy to like old, classical stuff, but he started listening to piano music, and it really helped him during his studies. His favorite was from this guy from Ancient Earth called Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. When he read the man’s name, he was almost certain that the dude must’ve been a Werewolf given his first name, and the fact that his last name sounded very similar to Mozar’s. That’s how Ryan first started listening to classical pianists, though he never would’ve acquired the hobby if not for that link to his Lycan associate. Made him wonder if Werewolves had some connection to ancient musicians. He had heard from somewhere that they were very musical, though that description seemed the farthest thing from Mozar.

Ryan felt very intellectual sipping from his Dr. Pepper as he sat in his recliner while holding the large, leather-bound textbook in one hand. The peaceful notes of piano music playing from his wrist communicator started to reach a crescendo. The song was melancholy, but also tranquil and beautiful, conveying an unfathomable depth of emotion and passion of a man from another age. It was like going back in time and sharing the thoughts and feelings of the people from that era. Appropriate given that many of the texts Ryan was reading pertained to history. The current volume was titled The Planet of Tarrus: A History by Joleen Toramir. Zand had explained that the historian, Joleen, was the wife of Maranu Toramir himself, the first Elemental.

Ryan had asked why he couldn’t just read from the datapads, but Zand had said that official manuscripts left out much of the details, and that the most accurate retellings came from the first-hand accounts of these few printed texts that only he possessed. It did fit the old-fashioned way Zand liked to do things. It also reminded Ryan of Éclair, how she liked to study using actual books that she made herself, using her synthesizer to create copies straight from her datapad. That made Ryan smile, thinking of all the times Éclair helped him study during his first days at the Fire Ministry. She said he was hopeless in academia, and she was right. Even now, Ryan couldn’t make hide nor hair of half the stuff Zand was making him read. Since recovering from the ordeals of Black Star, the only things Ryan had been doing were fighting and reading. Autobiographies of the Elemental Founders, Origins of the Ministries, Pureskin Court Systems, Tarrus Legislation, and all manner of sophisticated rubbish. If Ryan didn’t know any better, he could’ve sworn that Zand wanted to turn him into some kind of bookworm. Although the reading part wasn’t that bad, Ryan would take a good scrap over this elitist crud any day.

Still, his current text was somewhat interesting. Sometimes it read like a diary; other times, it sounded more like a folk tale. The book talked mostly about Maranu, the man who faced the Great Golden Dragon. It picked up after he passed the Golden Dragon’s test and acquired the power of Elemency.

Ryan had already read the story of Maranu facing the Dragon from a different book he got from his friend, David Kavic, who just so happened to be the Viceroy of the Tarrus Empire. It was strange. Despite being Chissler’s right-hand man, Ryan had grown to like David a lot. They kind of bonded after sharing an adventure to stop the madman, Gregory, and David had even helped them out a few times. The book David gave him as a present certainly came in handy, shedding a lot of light on the man who brought Elemency to the human race. It was almost like a preamble to the history dive Zand was giving him now.

I wonder how David knew I’d be interested in something like this, thought Ryan to himself. I swear, that guy is observant ... almost to the point of being creepy, but in a nice-ish kind of way. Gosh, I wonder what’s happening with David these days. I’d like to catch up with him soon, especially since that one time that I could’ve sworn he was flirting with Hannah ... and she didn’t seem to mind.

Ryan took another sip from his soda as he looked over the page again, especially the bit concerning the Orb of Destiny. He couldn’t find out much, only that it was some mysterious and powerful object protected by the Great Golden Dragon. No mention of where it came from or what it could do, only that it was some kind of uber-important McGuffin. Sounded like the kind of ‘end-of-the-universe’ weapon that the Dark Dragon Lord might want to get his hands on. Zand probably knew what it was and where it was, but knowing him, he’d want Ryan to do the heavy lifting and find out for himself.

Another thing that had Ryan curious was the Great Golden Dragon’s name. He now knew the names of the other two Primordial Dragons, the son and daughter of the Golden Dragon. Graymor the Great Black Dragon, and Balvor the Great White Dragon. Ryan found it a little weird that the Golden Dragon’s children were also mates, and that their children became Celestial Beasts like Tava, but he supposed that concepts like incest didn’t really apply to divine animals older than the universe itself. Spirits of pure psionic energy probably didn’t even have genes in the conventional sense. Ryan guessed that Zand was bonded to Balvor, though he still didn’t know the intricacies of how a pact was formed between Elementals and Celestial Beasts in the first place.

However, every time the book mentioned the gold one’s name, it just slipped Ryan’s mind. Ryan guessed that the name was spelled by Zand so he couldn’t remember it. He did say that it would be dangerous if Ryan said the Golden Dragon’s name before he was ready to take its test. Come to think of it, he said that it would be dangerous for anyone to say that name, making Ryan wonder if some great telepathic spell was placed over the whole population to keep people from saying that name aloud. It wouldn’t be the first time Zand had managed a feat like that considering that no one had been able to figure out that Éclair was the daughter of the former Emperor.

As Ryan studied the book, getting excited as the battle between Graymor and Maranu reached its climax, one of the other tomes caught his eye. He had piled all the books Zand had given him on his desk. There were dozens of them, and Ryan had barely scratched the surface despite spending all his free time reading through them. He’d at least looked at most of the texts, but there was one he hadn’t noticed until now. The simple, black book, a bit smaller than most of the others, just had one title. Uruks. Forgetting the battle between Graymor and Maranu, Ryan set aside his current text and carefully removed the little black book from the bottom of the stack. He looked at the book just to be sure he was reading it right. Sure enough, there it was in plain, English letters. Uruks. His family name. Though the letters were gold and sparkly, so the text should’ve caught his eye a lot sooner.

Zand did say that my family was related to Maranu in some way. Maybe this will explain how.

As Ryan read the introduction, he nearly spat out his drink when he came to the last line. ‘I’m going to tell you why you can never fall in love, Ryan’. Ryan stared long and hard at the text, wondering if he had read it wrong. Then his next thought was that there was no way the line could refer to him personally. Ryan was a common enough name. This Uruks guy could’ve been talking about anyone. That had to be it, right? The man must’ve been dead for hundreds of thousands of years considering the age of the Tarrus Empire, so there was absolutely no way that he could be talking to Ryan as if they were old buddies.

Although, some Elementals can influence time itself, came a horrifying thought. Zand said he could. But the way he talked about time travel ... he made it sound like something monstrous from a horror story instead of the fun, sci-fi flick that ancient humans made it out to be. If this text is true, then there’s absolutely nothing fun about time travel. Something like this could only lead to horror.

As Ryan studied those terrible words over and over again, feeling like an unperceived adversary was slowly choking the life from him, he jumped when a voice suddenly said, “Uruks?”

Ryan nearly dropped his beverage as he jerked up to see his roommate, Leon, standing at his doorway. The young Lurranna had that same derisive scowl on his face whenever he regarded Ryan these days. Leon hadn’t always looked so unfriendly when they met, but ever since their return from their respective missions, Leon had been...

Even though he had determined to be as civil to Leon as possible, Ryan still couldn’t help a slight growl as he said, “Ever heard of knocking?”

“Ever heard of a lock?” returned Leon, sounding just as biting as ever. “If you wanted privacy, you should’ve closed your door instead of leaving it wide open. Better yet, use the library if you insist on playing the scholar. Yet another oversight, I see.”

Leon gave his customary sniff at Ryan’s living quarters, slightly disheveled with a few dirty clothes littering his bed. “A tad more tidy than usual. But I suppose the Light Monks have been keeping you busy, leaving you less time to lollygag and completely decimate our apartment as is your preference.”

Ryan tried to ignore the surge of annoyance that rose up within him. Leon was always nitpicking about how messy he was. Normally, Ryan would just blow off his criticism, but given everything that had happened with Éclair, his gibes were just a bit more wounding than usual. Besides that, Ryan thought he could detect a note of suspicion in Leon’s voice, as if he doubted that it was only Light Monks that Ryan was training with on Galsin.

Ryan groaned, slamming his book shut and thrusting it on the desk next to his chair. Although, he would take care to read it thoroughly later, if for nothing else than to disprove the theory that a dead man was communicating to him across the vast expanse of time.

“What do you want, pretty boy?”

Ryan sensed the slightest angry twitch in Leon’s facial features. It at least gave Ryan an inch of satisfaction in knowing that he could still get under Leon’s skin. Leon never did like it when Ryan called him ‘pretty boy’. With an overdramatic sigh, Leon withdrew a small, blue card from his pocket and threw it at Ryan. Using careful Wind Elemency, Leon guided the slip of paper to twirl through the air and land perfectly on the arm of Ryan’s chair. As usual, the so-called ‘Prince of Darkness’ was an incorrigible show-off.

Ryan glanced down at the slip and nearly jolted as he recognized Éclair’s immaculate handwriting. She wrote in perfect, eloquent cursive, the letters seeming to glow with shiny, silver ink. He remembered watching her scribbling private logs on her datapad when they were traveling in North Star. It was difficult for Ryan to read cursive, but he made out ‘Party Invitation’ on the note. The paper even faintly smelled like Éclair’s perfume. Roses and honey. That scent alone was enough to propel Ryan’s mind back to those idyllic times when it was just him and Éclair against the universe.

“Éclair’s birthday is coming up. She’ll be turning nineteen. We’re handing out physical invitations along with the holomessages that we’ve already sent to all our ... acquaintances. Éclair felt the need since ‘certain members’ of our squad tend to adapt poorly to modern living and refuse to check their mail.”

Ryan took up the card, regarding it with a bit more reverence than he meant to. Over the last few years that he had been at the Fire Ministry, he had never once attended Éclair’s birthday parties in person. He’d always meant to, but something always came up, or he just forgot to check his mail and his calendar.

August 30^th, read Ryan as he opened the note, the words still resplendent in Éclair’s elegant hand. Come to think of it, Éclair’s birthday is really close to mine. Just a day apart. I’ll be turning eighteen on August 31^st. I can’t believe I never put two and two together until now.

“Technically, we’ll be celebrating for all three of us,” continued Leon, sounding a bit displeased. “Since our birthdays are all so close together.”

Ryan looked up in surprise. “Really? When’s your birthday?”

Leon rolled his eyes in annoyance. “I try not to broadcast it, but it’s on the first of September, just a day apart from yours. If you must know, I’ll be turning twenty-one. I didn’t feel like it was anyone else’s business, but Eclair insisted for this year.”

“Huh,” said Ryan to himself as he cocked his head to the side, wondering about the strange coincidence that all three of them should be so near in age and with their birthdays so close together.

Leon put his hands behind his back and drew himself up in that self-important manner of his. On Zand, that posture looked impressive, but on Leon, it seemed pretentious to Ryan. “We’ll also be congratulating Éclair for her acceptance into the Third Level Placement Exams set for next year. She’ll be taking the bracket of the highest graded students, putting her as a Top-Tier Third like Rachel and myself, the highest rank for the Third Level of Mastery. I don’t believe you’ve put in a request to take the Third Level Placement Exams. The window for signing up is much stricter than previous tests, and the documentation process is quite hefty. I wonder if you’ll have the time to catch up with the rest of us.”

Before Ryan could make a crack about how Leon’s glasses made him look like a wimpy nerd, the emo jerk turned his back and marched out the door. Ryan was almost tempted to brag about how he was training with the most powerful Elemental in the universe, but quickly dismissed the notion. Besides the fact that it would be dangerous spreading that info around, Leon just wasn’t worth it.

Ryan glanced again at the Uruks book. There was definitely something foreboding about that little black book, and not just because it mentioned him by name. Zand obviously meant for Ryan to read that book, or he wouldn’t have included it in his homework assignments. Ryan almost picked it up, but hesitated. The book warned him about falling in love, just like Zand did constantly. The last thing Ryan wanted was a reminder of his miserable, lonely fate. Huffing angrily, he leapt from his chair and stalked out. Perhaps a little exercise in his favorite training arena would clear his head.

Ryan went to the same arena where he battled Grafael after first joining the Fire Ministry. Even though he lost that fight, the place held a great deal of nostalgic value for Ryan. He had even fought a Mystic here after being tricked into attacking Tork. As Ryan made his way up the spiral staircase that led to the top of the large pink tree, he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the scenery looked as rays from the setting sun caught the falling pink leaves as they floated gently to the forest floor. He gazed out over the countless trees that surrounded the volcano. He could see Elementals everywhere jumping through the trees as they went about their business. There were fields filled with Elementals even younger than him just starting out as they were getting trained by Seconds and Thirds. Little Grunts were running excitedly out of the underground caverns where classes were being held. The Ministry of Fire. His home. Yes, this place had become home for Ryan, just as much as his old home on Toramirese was. He’d do anything to protect this place and the people in it. Compared to the enormity of safeguarding the beauty of such a peaceful and magical place, what was his lost love life worth?

The sounds of fighting distracted Ryan from his revelry. He looked up to the top of the gigantic tree with pink leaves where an arena of stone rested. He could feel psions in the air, probably from Firsts given the low intensity. He heard the familiar clang! of Psionic Weapons clashing, and the grunts of very young Elementals as they struggled. Someone was training in the arena. He’d checked the schedule, so there shouldn’t be anyone up here besides him.

Curious, Ryan went up the steps, and his mouth nearly fell at what he saw. Thomas was fighting. It looked like the little twerp had gathered quite an entourage of groupies, and they were in the middle of playing ‘King of the Hill’, though with an Elemental twist. The Academy Grunts had gathered a bunch of large stones and piled them in the center of the arena to make a small hill. Thomas was at the top holding a small broadsword just right for his size and fending off six other boys about the same age as him. He didn’t seem to be doing too bad either. Thomas used Lava Elemency, turning parts of the stones in the arena into magma and hurling it at his compatriots. Wherever he pointed with his finger turned into a small pool of lava, forcing his opponents to be careful where they stepped. They would occasionally use Fire Elemency to drain the heat from the lava, solidifying it and making it cool enough to walk on, but they mostly just returned fire, trying to knock Thomas off his perch. Almost all the Grunts used low-level Fire Elemency, which was still hot enough to melt steel, and at least one used Lightning Elemency. The kids wielded short swords and shields, but Thomas used only a single sword.

It was clear that Thomas favored a strong offense over defense, and his strategy seemed to pay off as he kept most of the other kids on their toes. He’d bat away their fireballs with his sword while continuing to control small streams of lava with his free hand. Occasionally, one of the other kids would get lucky and knock Thomas from the top of the hill, but Thomas would always recover quickly, jump back up with superhuman agility, and knock them back down using not-too-shabby sword skills. It helped that the brawl sometimes descended into a free-for-all as the other Grunts would occasionally attack each other instead of teaming up on Thomas who was clearly the strongest fighter. Ryan was a little concerned with how rough the kids were playing, but then he noticed the small forcefields that would appear whenever they hit each other, and realized the safety measures were turned on over the training arena. With their low psion levels, they wouldn’t be able to cause too much harm to each other as long as the safety field was activated.

One of the bigger boys jumped to the top of the hill in a single leap and charged Thomas, his little sword alight with orange fire as he engaged his classmate in a duel. The other kids started fighting amongst themselves for the honor of being Thomas’ next opponent. Thomas had a wicked grin on his face, and the other boy looked just as happy as they exchanged some very unsophisticated but well-enthused sword strikes and shield bashes. In fact, all the boys seemed to be having a good time, laughing and joking with each other even as they beat one another to a pulp. Ryan was impressed by their good sportsmanship. Even when one got knocked down, he’d just get right back up, laughing and fighting all the harder. They were playfighting without an instructor or a foreseeable goal, so it was understandable that they wouldn’t be taking this too seriously. Still, there was some real fight in these boys. They all had good potential, especially Thomas.

Potential? When did I start thinking along those lines? Darn, I sound like a freakin’ old man. I wonder if hanging out with Zand is getting to me.

The boy who was fighting Thomas missed his thrust as he noticed Ryan, and Thomas took advantage of his opponent’s distraction, sending him sprawling from the top of the hill with a savage kick to the chest. Ryan couldn’t help a chuckle at Thomas’ merciless fighting style. The kid was a beast. When the other boy landed on his back on the ground below, he grunted and came back up, pouting a little as he rubbed a smarting shoulder. The other boys noticed his distress and laughed good-naturedly at his pouty face.

“No fair! I was distracted!” said the kid in a slightly squeaky voice that indicated the first signs of puberty.

“No excuse to let your guard down,” Thomas said triumphantly as he pointed the tip of his sword down, still unaware of Ryan’s presence. “A true Elemental never whines about the outcome of a fight. War is the most honest form of communication. The battlefield is no respecter of persons. Article 82 of Academy Learning by Wolfric Gaze.”

Ryan squinted a little as he tried to recall that rule from the handbook. He knew he read it somewhere when he went to the academy, but the memory was dim. Éclair always told him to pay better attention in his studies.

The other kids stopped fighting when they noticed Ryan standing behind Thomas a distance away. By their sheepish expressions, they probably thought he was an instructor about to give them a scolding. They weren’t scheduled to train in the arena, after all.

“Thomas,” whispered one of the kids, as if Ryan wouldn’t hear him. “Sid has a point. You should probably come down now.”

Thomas scoffed loudly, his demeanor also seeming pouty as he waved his orange-glowing sword, which dribbled a few droplets of sizzling, hot lava. “Oh, not you too, Jake! Do you wimps even know the point of ‘King of the Hill’? You don’t ask to be king!”

Feeling a little mischievous, Ryan stifled a grin as he said in a loud voice, “Attention!”

Ryan put his hands behind his back and stood up self-importantly. It was a good thing he’d chosen to wear his red, cloth Fire Ministry uniform today. Though not as imposing as his armor, his uniform still made him look authoritative nonetheless. The other Grunts dropped their weapons and stood stone-faced with their backs straight. Thomas yelped in surprise as he lost his balance and slid off the top of the hill. Ryan was thoroughly entertained as Thomas skidded off his rear all the way down. It’s not that he hoped Thomas was hurt or anything, but it just seemed like the kind of brickheaded move that Ryan would’ve made not too long ago. Besides, Thomas was a tough kid. He could walk it off. When Thomas hit the bottom, he groaned loudly as he rubbed his rump, but quickly dropped his sword and stood at attention when he noticed the other Grunts. Thomas stifled a small gasp when he recognized Ryan, but to his credit, he never broke his stance.

Doing his best poker face, Ryan strode in front of the line of Grunts like he’d seen some Elemental Drill Sergeants do when they were about to hand out a smackdown. The kids looked positively terrified, and Ryan loved every minute of it.

Halting dramatically in front of Thomas and turning his back to the group, Ryan yelled, “Who is the commanding officer of this brigade?”

“Uh,” said one of the kids nervously, probably the one named Sid judging by his slightly squeaky voice.

Ryan spun around and glared daggers at the one called Sid. The kid, a blond squirt, seemed to pale under Ryan’s gaze.

“Speak up, soldier! I’m asking who’s in charge here!”

The boy flinched slightly under Ryan’s verbal assault, but still maintained his stance at attention. By the way his knees were knocking, Ryan wondered if the kid was on the verge of peeing himself. Truthfully, Ryan had already guessed who the one in charge was, but he wanted to give Thomas the chance to fess up. A true leader always took responsibility for his troops, and that included whatever punishment their mistakes might entail.

Gulping nervously, which pleased Ryan to know that his ruse was proving effective, Thomas took a step forward. “I am, sir.”

Ryan turned to Thomas with feigned outrage. “What’s that, academy brat?! I’ve heard Nezumi who squeak louder than you! Are you or are you not the one who led these Grunts to this training arena despite clearly lacking authorization!”

“I said ‘I am, sir’!” yelled Thomas fiercely without facing Ryan. “It was my idea to train here despite not being on the schedule! Any punishment should be mine and mine alone to bear! If you have a problem hearing that, I suggest you get your ears checked, old man, sir!”

Old man? What happened to ‘Master’?

Ryan stalked over to Thomas and leaned down menacingly. He leveled his most intimidating glare, but the kid met his gaze unflinchingly, and actually looked more than a little defiant as his eyebrows lowered in anger. Ryan had to hide a smirk. The kid’s feistiness would get him a serious ass-whoopin’ one of these days, but Ryan couldn’t help but admire that spirit of his, however misguided. As Ryan and Thomas stared each other down, Ryan was reminded of their last conversation from each other. Thomas was probably still smarting from the way Ryan reacted to the news of his possible promotion. Still, Thomas had accorded himself well against the other Grunts. Maybe there was some merit to Thomas becoming a First despite his young age.

I think I’ve got an idea on how to make it up to the kid. I don’t know if it’ll make him hate me more when all is said and done, but at least it will give him a push in the right direction. It will also tell me if he’s really ready.

The other kids looked absolutely mortified as they whispered urgently, “Thomas! You can get yourself thrown into solitary for speaking to a superior like that! Apologize now!”

“I think I know who this guy is,” whispered another Grunt as he stared wide-eyed at Ryan. “He’s that famous Second from Squad 99 who’s been in nearly every major campaign the Fire Ministry’s had over the past three years! They say he has the potential to be one of the youngest Wielders in history, same as that Lurranna guy and that Kaves girl!”

Damn. Didn’t know my reputation got so big, even with the Grunts. I’ll have to work hard so that it doesn’t go to my head.

“Quiet among the ranks!” shouted Ryan to the whole group without taking his gaze from the insubordinate Thomas. “You have not been given permission to gossip like a bunch of rumor-crazed ninnies, you maggot-eating whelps!”

The Grunts shut their traps tightly, but Thomas looked all the angrier as his fists clenched. It was good that Thomas was getting angry. That might help him survive.

Ryan glanced around at the assembled seven Grunts, doing his best impression of Grafy after missing a meal. Speaking a little more quietly, which made the Grunts seem all the more frightened, Ryan said, “Do any of you know the penalty for breaking regulation and training without authorization, which is now being compounded with insubordination to a higher-ranked officer?”

The Grunts glanced around nervously, even Thomas, as they waited for someone to speak up. Truthfully, not even Ryan knew the penalty for stuff like that. Rules weren’t exactly his cup of tea, so it was almost a miracle that he was still in the Fire Ministry to this day.

Clearing his throat, Thomas puffed up his chest proudly, his loose-fitting, red training armor jingling a bit as he stepped forward. “I am not aware of the exact penalty, Lord Second, but I am willing to take it on behalf of my men, sir!”

Before Ryan could respond, some of the other Grunts seemed to chafe at Thomas’ suggestion.

“Who said you were the leader? We’re just as good as you!” exclaimed the one called Jake.
“If you get punished, then all of us are getting punished too!” cried the one called Sid.

“Even if he flogs us to death, we will not abandon you, leader!” said a slightly chubby kid who looked deathly serious. Then he hesitated as he rephrased. “I mean ... not leader... ‘cause you can’t tell us what to do, and that includes letting you take the rap for this!”

“Shut up, you guys!” shouted Thomas as he tried to quell the uprising of his troops, though an uprising born out of loyalty. “You’re gonna sit there and let me get punished, even if he stretches me across the rack!”