Chapter 24

The Elemani are a Shifted Species brought about by the constant use of a single elemental type of spells over a prolonged period of time. The myst infuses the users’ DNA over the course of years, causing them to develop physical and psychological traits associated with the element.

Day 156 Quenchenday

Needless to say, I took the offer extended to me. This opportunity to me was something I would regret for the rest of my life if I didn’t take this chance. In only two years, I had watched my entire life fall to pieces and something new rise from the ashes. After I saw my father perish, I thought that my life was over. I thought I would never amount to anything in this twisted world. I was so certain that I would never bounce back from this total collapse of everything that had once been my life. But after a year on the streets, Thallos stepped into my life, and everything changed. Quick as lightning, I was at a world-class academy for training elite members of an order dedicated to changing the world. Now, I was well on my way to possibly becoming a Hero. 

It was the day they discharged me from the medical center to the awaiting faces of my friends. None of which had been given permission to see me the past two days while I cloistered in an aseptic room with nothing but my therra-node to occupy myself.

I stepped through the automated doors of the medical center into the much-missed natural sunlight as I spread my arms wide in mass-greeting to the three figures I had only notified of my freedom the hour previously. 

“Freedom!” I proclaimed, pumping both fists into the air. 

The moment I spotted Rose, a very particular chain of thoughts came to mind that drove a blush to my cheeks and my neck to burn. I plastered on a smile and tried to act causal.

“Alright, you horned bastard, spill. Nel told me a bit of what happened during your training, but I want to hear the reality from your lips.” Rose demanded as she pulled me into a boisterous hug with rib-creaking pressure. 

Rose and I separated, and Nel stepped in to take her place. Her firm metallic frame was warm from the sun. I found the sensation soothing since I had yet to beat back that bone-deep chill. After Nel stepped away from me, I slapped palms with Ferris and bumped knuckles.

“The short of it is I ruined Mallrimor’s day, and I apparently have magic.”

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Rose chided with a wagging clawed finger, her other hand in a fist propped on her hip. “I want fight details, and Nel and Ferris want answers to some questions.”

I couldn’t make eye contact with Rose without my blush flaring back up, so I desperately looked anywhere else as I struggled to think of a cohesive answer. The only thing to pass my lips was an incoherent stutter of syllables. Rose propped both fists on her hips and leaned into my personal space, her whiskers caressing my cheek as I swore she was about to whisper seductively in my ear. Instead of a sensual caress of sweet words, it was a whispered threat of violence laced into the single word “Details.”

I threw up my hands in surrender, “Ok, ok! You win. Can we at least please get some food and find a secluded area because I’d rather not be overheard?” 

Rose stepped back, looked at the other two, and then turned back to me with a single nod of agreement. Without another word on the topic, we made our way to the DEFAC for some subpar but better-than-nothing food. As we made our trek, Nel and Ferris got me caught up on what I missed in class. I obviously had some classwork I needed to catch up on, but more interesting than that was the state of Mallrimor and his thugs, along with Mystagogue Kellennar. 

Mallrimor and Kesher were burned so badly that they were scarred even after healing. If they didn’t have a grudge against me before, I was sure that they did after that incident. I was going to need to be ready for anything because I had a feeling that they were out for blood. But I felt a lot more comfortable handling the gang of thugs after that challenge. Thallos even said I earned my first Spell Vector points in that challenge despite me only using one element.

On the topic of Kellennar, the Mysteriarch said that he was going to be questioned and investigated under the suspicion of attempting to have fellow students kill me. Regardless of whether or not his intentions were malicious, they had stripped him of his teaching privileges and he would receive disciplinary actions fitting of what the investigations found. From Nel and Ferris, the story was that he had been kicked from the academy for attempted murder and was sent to a class black threat zone where he would surely die. Or so the rumors floating around the student body said. While I enjoyed those tall tales, I couldn’t help but cackle at the rumors floating around about me. These stories Nel and Rose took turns sharing after we picked up our paper sacks of cold lunch and made our way to the woods at the edge of the crater.

“The story among the Slates is that Iver, the terrible mad genius of the grade, spat flames across a training field trying to kill half of his class whom he challenged to a dual all at once.” Nel said with an amused smirk.

“Are even our classmates spewing this madness?” I asked.

“Kind of.” Interjected Ferris. “My class is saying that the terrible Darkling cheated in a duel with the class’s Brightling and scarred him so bad that healing couldn’t stop the scarring.”

“Of course. The racist bastards.” I said with a sigh of irritated resignation. “What has your class been hearing, Rose?”

“Ha!” she let out in a boisterous answer. “The stories up the food chain are even weirder. The whispers among the Wisps are saying that a half-demon Slate bled flames in rage and attacked his class, almost killing a Brightling and himself in the process. But that just sounds like utter madness. I’m mean, come on! Burning blood? What, are you a Fire Elemani now? That’s the only reason you could have flaming blood unless you’re secretly a fire elemental hiding in a skin suit.”

“Heh.” came a half-hearted chuckle from my lips. “Yeah, about that…” I trailed off.

They all stopped in their tracks and stared at me like I grew another set of horns.

“Nnnoooo.” Rose drew out the word of flat denial, turning it into a meaning of disbelief but expecting something more.

“What?” was all I could manage to get out as I turned to face them.

“You can’t be an Elemani, but that is the only plausible answer cuz there is no way in the nine hells you’re an Elemental.”

“But you don’t have any traits of the Fire Elemani.” Nel pointed out.

I nodded my head in the direction of the sapphire-leafed tree we had been approaching. “I’ll explain when we all hunker down under the shade. Till then, Rose you mind explaining what a Wisp is? I can only assume you’re not talking about the ghosts of lost children kind of Wisps.”

She raised a copper brow at me for a moment before answering as we all continued on our desired path. “When you graduate from Slate and are selected by a sect, you will have a trainee rank based on the sect. Each sect has a theme that its ranks are based around. In the Crimson Blades, they’re Pups for a wolf theme. I’m a Year One or Tier One Pup. Blackened Crown has Fledglings, after a raven theme. Burning Hand has Sprockets, after a mechanical component theme. Silent Heart has Throbs. Their theme is heartbeats. Lastly, Sightless Eye has Wisps. Their theme is ghosts and specters. From what I hear, the theme continues even after you graduate, but the title changes. Like I know, if I graduate with Crimson, I’ll become a Paw. But you all know that I’m training to become a Mastlok. The title of the one I’m aiming for is called a Still Blade. The Crimson Blade and Silent Heart combo.”

“That’s some impressive knowledge there, Rose. Where’d you learn all of it?” I asked. Immediately after the words left my lips, I realized that I was trying to ingratiate myself with her. I left dirty sucking up to her, but I really wanted her to like me.

“It’s all basic stuff that gets explained when you get picked up by a sect.” She answered, my attempts for favor going unseen.

“And you want to train under my uncle, right? How’s your training to become a Mastlok going?”

“Hells yes, I want to train under Mystagogue Kiem! The dude is a legend. And my training is going great. I just need to catch his eye while I’m training and show off my murder skills. I just know he’ll pick me.”

At this point, we were a fair distance into the woods. Without a word said aloud, we all agreed to set up camp in a clearing just to our right. I dropped into a sitting position. My back pressed up against the trunk of a sapphire tree. I pulled out my lunch: a turkey and Swiss sandwich, a bag of potato chips, a can of juice, a roast beef and barbeque sauce sandwich, a bag of pretzels, and a can of soda. I had snagged two bag lunches back at the dining hall. My stomach had been emitting audible gurgles of desire through the entire walk that had evolved to growls of yearning.

I unwrapped a sandwich at random and dug in, savoring a bite of beef and sweet barbeque sauce. After my second relishing bite, I realized everyone was looking at me expectantly. I took a hard swallow and began to tell my side of what happened, omitting the thoughts about Rose that I had been contending with at the time. When I got to the bit about the blood, I watched Rose’s eyes go wide with clear astonishment. I explained the concept of Myst Blooded as best I could, drawing from as much of my talk with the Mysteriarch as I could remember verbatim. But I stopped just short of the talk with Thallos about the sixth sect, the hidden sect within the order. 

Thallos and Mysteriarch K were very clear on the fact that the group must remain secret unless I trust someone implicitly with the knowledge that could put them in danger and possibly kill me if it got out. I wanted to tell them, but I was worried. I worried what they would think if I told them the big secret. This stuff was kept secluded for a reason, even if I didn’t know that reason yet. 

“So what do you think Ive’?” Nel asked, shocking me out of my worrying rumination. The others had been discussing magic and the different comparisons between my new caster classification and other caster types. But I hadn’t been focusing on the conversation.

“I’m sorry, what?” 

”I asked what you thought about comparing yourself to a Wizard?”

“Oh, um. I guess they are kinda closely related. But if I remember right, they don’t have a strong affinity for Death, Body, Air, or Fire elements. All of which I have, though I still need to get tested to see my affinity scores.”

“What do you think will be your strongest affinity?” Rose asked as she lay on her side, head propped in her hand as she munched on chips.

“No clue. But if I had to take a guess, I’d say fire is pretty high up there.” Even as I spoke, I was still only half in the conversion. The other half of my mind was worrying about the repercussions of telling them.

The talk went on about different mage classifications and what they could and couldn’t do in theory. I gave commentary when asked questions but never interjected anything of my own into the talk. At some point later, I had eaten most of my lunch, which had suddenly tasted bland and banal when my thoughts fell down the rabbit hole of worry and questions.

“Hey Ive’, you ok, dude?” Ferris pulled me from my brooding with a worried look on his face.

“Yeah.” I sighed out the word. “My head is just caught in a pool of questions with no answers. Something else happened, and I don’t know what to say about it or even if I can talk about it.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

At that moment, the girls, who had been bickering over whether or not a Mechanist and Circuit caster classes would work well together better than a Nightveil and Trickster, noticed my state and honed in on the cause like bloodhounds after a maimed deer.

“Iver,” came Rose, her tone dead serious. “You can talk to us. It’s not an over-exaggeration to say that Nel and Ferris both owe you their lives. And I care enough to not only pull your ass out of the fire but also spend my Quenchendays training with you. There’s nothing you can’t tell us.”

“She’s right, Ive’. You saved me from those bastards when they tried to gut me for being what I am. You might not think yourself anything great, but even when you couldn’t fight, you stepped up to defend me. At this point, you’re my brother.”

“I’m in total agreement with Nel, Ive.” Rose proclaimed. “You might as well be my little brother. You could come out as gay, or as a follower of some dark god, or secretly having or having a mechanical foot fetish, and I wouldn’t bat an eye.”

“Although we might have an issue if the dark god thing leads to sapient sacrifice.” Ferris chimed in.

“Wait, Iver, is this about what we were discussing before your fight?” Nel asked, but I could tell she already answered her own question.

“What!? NO! No, no, no. It has nothing to do with that.” I vehemently declared, waving my hands viciously in the negative.

“Oh, now I have got to hear this.” Rose sounded way too eager for my liking by a mile.

Nel cupped her bust in both hands. “Well, I mentioned that I’m envious of you and your soft boobs, so I asked him to make me a synthetic pair that I could use. He got all embarrassed and said he’d never touched a tit before. I said you might be willing to act as a test example for him and he got all upset.”

“NENNEL! Shut your trap before I wire shut those servos!” I howled in utter embarrassment, my entire face burning. I was so ashamed in that moment that I earnestly prayed for a deity, any deity, to smite me and end my shame. I covered my face with my hands and pulled my knees in. ready for Rose to get offended and mock me for even thinking of something like that, even if it wasn’t my idea to start with.

“Oh, is that all? Yeah, that’s totally cool.” Rose said with an ease and nonchalance that left me baffled. I waited for a long moment, hiding behind my hands, ready for it to be some cover to make me let my guard down so she could break my nose. When no strike came, I peeked one eye between my fingers to see her looking at me like I was being weird.

“You’re not joking?”

“Nope.”

“You’re not gonna beat me into a thin paste?”

“Iver.” She sounded more annoyed by the question than the idea of me touching her. “Why, by the broken blade, would I hit you for touching me?” She sounded exasperated.

“Because... Boob?” I meant it as a statement, but it came out as more of a question.

“Dude, come on. A tit is no different from an arm or a leg. Some girls might get all prissy and upset at the thought of a dude groping their tatas, but a warrior can’t think like that. Besides, when we spar, you hit them all the time. It’s no big deal.”

I slowly let down my guard, face burning like a star at the very thought. “I-I don’t know. I’m not sure if I’m comforta--” Before I could finish, Rose snatched my left hand and physically yanked me over to her, resting my palm over her breast. I gave a yipe of surprise with the tugging. The moment I knew where my hand was, I froze, as solid as stone. At that moment, there was a primal part of my mind that told me to squeeze, but I restrained myself with all the might my spinning mind could manage.

Turned out I didn’t need to restrain myself because she pressed her free hand over mine and squeezed. “I-I-I-I,” I stammered as she kept making my hand grope her.

“See, feel the squish. No big deal. I’m not going to paste you over a titty fondle. If you surprise me with one, I might jab you with an elbow, but I really don’t care otherwise. I know guys have a thing for boobs, and I get it. Boobs are fun. Boobs are comfy to lie on. And to guys, boobs are sexy. There are plenty of girls that see them the same way. But to me and women like me, they are just heavy squish meat on your chest. No different from your pecks other than weighing more.”

The moment Rose let go of my hand, I yanked it back as if singed. I looked at my defiling hand, flexing the fingers to make sure I still had them. 

“Now, Iver, isn’t there something you want to say to her?” Nel pushed, waggling her eyebrows to convey the message ‘ask her out’. 

I shot the traitorous cyborg a glare full of daggers.

“He doesn’t have to thank me for that.” Rose said as she adjusted her uniform jacket. “But what’s with the eyebrows? Is there something I’m missing?”

“NO!” I declared before Nel could open her mouth and embarrass me more. “She’s just making fun of me and should stop while she’s ahead before I come looking for righteous vengeance.” If she told Rose that I had feelings for her, I swore that I would tackle her and shove my sweaty socks in her mouth.

“Iver, it’s no big deal. Hells, I’m even comfortable going topless and letting the puppies see some sun.”

“I wouldn’t say no to that.” said Ferris with a smirk that I could tell if it was from her topless line or just my inflamed discomfort. He also was stroking his chin as if in deep thought.

“I am nowhere near comfortable with that!” I protested with a fervor.

“Why?” Rose asked as she wore her own smirk. “Do you have something against furry love mounds? Do my kitty titties bother you?” She waggled her breasts in my direction even as she began to unbutton her jacket.

“Plleeaassee. Don’t. I might die of a shame-induced heart attack.” I pleaded. 

Rose stopped unbuttoning her jacket halfway down and leaned back, propping herself up with her hands. “Come on, Iver. You know that I’m only doing this because your discomfort is just so fun. But if the fun is over, how about a rating?”

“Excuse me?!” The thought of grading her boobs sent me into a mental tailspin.

“What? Did you get enough of a feel to make Nel something similar?”

“I-umm. I- don’t-” I was saved from answering by a familiar shout.

“Oy! Boy! You ready for your starter classes?!” Barked Thallos halfway up the hill that led to the edge of the woods where we sat. He approached even as he spoke.

“Yes, Sir!” I answered back, jumping to my feet with an almost preternatural speed.

“Wait, What?” Rose asked, sitting up to see who was coming.

“Oh, it’s just my uncle. He’s, uh, giving me extra classes.” I turned to meet Thallos before anyone could ask questions, but I turned to find him right behind me. Had he just covered thirty yards in the time it took me to come up with that excuse?

“Oh, you’re with friends. Did you share the good news with them?” Thallos’s voice was tinged with a hint of pride.

I shot him a look of utter shock. Was he about to tell them about the sect? Didn’t he want me to keep it a secret?

“What news?” Asked Nel as she stood to greet my uncle. “We heard about the Myst Blooded thing.”

Rose was totally star-struck at Thallos’s appearance, her yellow cat’s eyes the size of golf balls, her ears folded back.

“What?” responded Thallos, confused. “Oh! No. That has something to do with the news, but that’s not all of it.” He stepped up beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, playfully jostling me. “Iver here has been accepted as a Mastlok. I’m taking him under my wing to train for the three sects he got accepted by.”

“WHAT!” Rose shot to her feet, looking between me and my uncle with shock in her eyes.

“Really?!” Nel was obviously excited for me as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

“Yup. Iver here has been tentatively accepted by Crimson Blade, Burning Hand, and Blackened Crown. Now, this is all dependent on him passing his grad trials, of course, but I was given permission to start preparing him for the brutal lifestyle ahead.” Thallos lied so easily to them, a broad grin of pride painted across his face. How much of that was false? He made it look so easy, setting the story and selling it so cleanly. Were those skills from Sightless Eye? I wondered to myself. I made a note to ask him later.

“That’s so awesome, Iver!” Nel lept forward and tackled me in a hug that would have driven me to the grass if Thallos hadn’t had his hand pressed against the small of my back to keep me balanced. Did he know that was coming?

Ferris hoped to his feet, his own excitement obvious. “Dude! Why didn’t you start with that news? Was that what had you worried?”

As Nel let go of me and stepped back, I clutched my upper arm and looked at the ground as I gave a hurried nod. I needed to sell the story just as good as my uncle. Here was do or die.

“Yeah,” I muttered only just audibly. “I was worried that you guys would be upset that I became a Mastlok before you all. I wanted us all to take this step together.” I couldn’t meet any of their eyes, my own gaze cemented to my feet. I was lying to the only friends I had ever made, people who trusted me. People that I should be able to trust. 

“Are you kidding!” Ferris exclaimed. “After that fight, you earned it. To beat the tar out of a group of troll-headed thugs that had been making our lives hard since the beginning of the year.”

Nennel stepped back up to me and picked my hanging hand in both of hers. Her grip was gentle as a dove as she held my hand as if in gratitude. “Iver, I’ve watched you grow from the day you saved me. You stood up to those slither-spined scum bags time and time again. You didn’t quit, no matter how hard they put you down. I watched you grow from not even being able to throw a proper punch into a Kick-Ass combat genius that took on those four, armed with real weapons, while you only had a training blade. You didn’t just earn that win. You earned this promotion.”

Tears ran down my face at her kind words. It all still felt like a dream to me. I just accepted what happened without thinking about how far I had come. I was so busy worrying about my new magic and hiding this sect I was joining that I didn’t fully realize how I got it all. Nel was right. I had managed to become the new person that I needed to be.

Ferris stepped up beside me and playfully tapped my shoulder with his knuckles. “She hit the nail on the head. But you also took a sword through the hand like a badass and weren’t even phased when you bled flames. Hells dude, you gave those scum buckets a dacker fight. They won’t live down anytime soon.”

They were proud of me for what I had done, and I was spewing falsehoods. I felt terrible.

Thallos squeezed my shoulder. “Come on, trainee. We’ve got to get you ready for the trails ahead.”

I turned with Thallos and followed him down the hill. I took one final look back to see Nel and Ferris waving to me. But Rose just looked stunned. Did she know that I was lying? One way or another, I wasn’t going to be getting sleep that night.

“WHAT!” Rose shot to her feet, looking between me and my uncle with shock in her eyes.

“Really?!” Nel was obviously excited for me as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

“Yup. Iver here has been tentatively accepted by Crimson Blade, Burning Hand, and Blackened Crown. Now, this is all dependent on him passing his grad trials, of course, but I was given permission to start preparing him for the brutal lifestyle ahead.” Thallos lied so easily to them, a broad grin of pride painted across his face. How much of that was false? He made it look so easy, setting the story and selling it so cleanly. Were those skills from Sightless Eye? I wondered to myself. I made a note to ask him later.

“That’s so awesome, Iver!” Nel lept forward and tackled me in a hug that would have driven me to the grass if Thallos hadn’t had his hand pressed against the small of my back to keep me balanced. Did he know that was coming?

Ferris hoped to his feet, his own excitement obvious. “Dude! Why didn’t you start with that news? Was that what had you worried?”

As Nel let go of me and stepped back, I clutched my upper arm and looked at the ground as I gave a hurried nod. I needed to sell the story just as good as my uncle. Here was do or die.

“Yeah,” I muttered only just audibly. “I was worried that you guys would be upset that I became a Mastlok before you all. I wanted us all to take this step together.” I couldn’t meet any of their eyes, my own gaze cemented to my feet. I was lying to the only friends I had ever made, people who trusted me. People that I should be able to trust. 

“Are you kidding!” Ferris exclaimed. “After that fight, you earned it. To beat the tar out of a group of troll-headed thugs that had been making our lives hard since the beginning of the year.”

Nennel stepped back up to me and picked my hanging hand in both of hers. Her grip was gentle as a dove as she held my hand as if in gratitude. “Iver, I’ve watched you grow from the day you saved me. You stood up to those slither-spined scum bags time and time again. You didn’t quit, no matter how hard they put you down. I watched you grow from not even being able to throw a proper punch into a Kick-Ass combat genius that took on those four, armed with real weapons, while you only had a training blade. You didn’t just earn that win. You earned this promotion.”

Tears ran down my face at her kind words. It all still felt like a dream to me. I just accepted what happened without thinking about how far I had come. I was so busy worrying about my new magic and hiding this sect I was joining that I didn’t fully realize how I got it all. Nel was right. I had managed to become the new person that I needed to be.

Ferris stepped up beside me and playfully tapped my shoulder with his knuckles. “She hit the nail on the head. But you also took a sword through the hand like a badass and weren’t even phased when you bled flames. Hells dude, you gave those scum buckets a dacker fight. They won’t live down anytime soon.”

They were proud of me for what I had done, and I was spewing falsehoods. I felt terrible.

Thallos squeezed my shoulder. “Come on, trainee. We’ve got to get you ready for the trails ahead.”

I turned with Thallos and followed him down the hill. I took one final look back to see Nel and Ferris waving to me. But Rose just looked stunned. Did she know that I was lying? One way or another, I wasn’t going to be getting sleep that night.