Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Snowflakes gracefully danced in the chilly September air, the wind soft wind pushing them in different directions. Having lived in the elven empire of Rivendell all my life, the cold was nothing new. I straightened the name badge that had been sent to me via Messenger Owl a few days ago: 

‘ Scott Major’ the badge read. That was me.

I continued walking through the forest path, the frost-covered trees on either side towering far above me. Soon, I saw castle-like buildings towering over even the trees. The roofs reminded me of wizard towers, though the dormer windows poking out were odd. Monotone bricks made up the walls, moss creeping up the sides. And, right in front of it all, a large copper gate stood proud, an invisible force opening the gate to allow the students to flood through.

 Fawklaw, school of magic.

While I was gaping at the feat of architecture ahead of me, a fluff of soft pink hair stumbled into me. I managed to catch the student before she tumbled to the ground. She brushed her hair out of her face to pick up the books she’d dropped, revealing eyes the colour of the ocean.

“Hi, sorry about that!” Her soft voice was oddly familiar. She hid her face again, swiftly turning around, but only made it a metre away before I called out to her,
“Lizzie?”

She paused, slowly turning around, a confused look on her face. That look was replaced was a smile as she walked back over to me,

“Scott! Wow, you look so different. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you!”

Elizabeth Dwyer had been my friend for as long as I could remember. Being cooped up in the castle all day, I didn’t have much of a chance to socialise, spending most of my time in the library. That was until my parent’s royal adviser, Lizzie’s mother, decided to bring her to the castle when we were about four. We connected as soon as we were introduced to each other, apparently rushing off to the library so I could show her my favourite book. 

Although it had been five years since her family had moved to Oceana, I didn’t forget her. After she left, my parents had a new royal adviser, whose son, Owen, was even more playful than Lizzie. For some strange reason, his family also left last year. Being the crown prince of Rivendell meant I had no time to visit either of them…

As we walked towards the castle, Lizzie explained how her parents realised she had power over water. After a few months, she’d gotten accepted into Fawklaw.

“So, what about you? Why’d you get… Scott?” Lizzie looked puzzled.

I hadn’t noticed my hands freezing up at all, but when I looked down frost still covered the sleeves of my Rivendellian clothing. I sighed, brushing the ice off and quickly explained my power to Lizzie.

My power was a strange one, ice magic not seen for hundreds of years. One regarded as an uncontrollable force of nature. One that could be potentially fatal. A few incidents occurring with my magic led my parents to contact the headmaster of Fawklaw about a month ago. Luckily, I was accepted on short notice.

We walked into the courtyard, where everyone else from our cohort awaited the headmaster’s arrival. A stone brick well stood in the middle of the paved area. Wooden slates created a bench that wrapped around the well. Large columns created 4 archways around the courtyard, leading to hallways. A few of the multiple wooden doors were swung open, showing a classroom. Towards one side of the courtyard, a stone stage rose from the floor, as if by magic.

As we made our way towards the centre, another student, one with brown hair and a green streak, stumbled into me, sending us both toppling down into the well.

“Ow, what was that for!” his shrill voice yelled.

Instead of being submerged in cold water, we tumbled onto solid ice. The well seemed to be about four feet deep, being six feet tall, I was glad that I didn’t drown in the water.

“Joel! What are you doing here?” Lizzie exclaimed.

“You know this guy?” I questioned. He brushed his messy hair out of his face, deep brown eyes staring at us. Although he was taller than Lizzie, he was still a fair bit shorter than me.

“Yeah,” Lizzie stared at him, “I met him at a convention last year-” Her voice trailed off as she looked at him in confusion.

“Joel… Something?” I mentioned, pointing to the part of his name badge that was rubbed off. 

“That’s me, Joel,” he said in a soft voice, smiling sheepishly at Lizzie. She looked away from him, her cheeks reddening

 “And your last name-” I was about to ask before we heard a startling voice.

“Welcome, students! So, you all have powers, however not many of you will be able to use them to your fullest capacity.” the headmaster started, “Elemental magic for instance, has the potential to be fatal for those on the wrong side of an Elementalist. Nevertheless, we shall find out what all of your powers are, and help you to hone your magic .” He finished his small speech, still pacing across the stage.

The headmaster was a corvid avian and was of average height for avians, meaning he was just a little bit shorter than the average human. His eyes were emerald green, and his ears shone with earrings made of the gem. His hair was pale yellow and chin-length. But, of course, his legs bent in the odd way that most avians’ did.

First on the list was Joel.

He stepped onto a square near the front of the courtyard. He took a deep breath and held an orb that the headmaster gave him. It was pearlescent blue, big enough to see, but small enough that it would be easy to hold. After a few seconds, small water droplets formed around him, joining together and making a little splash on his head. Joel looked a little confused, but let the headmaster take the orb away and walked back towards us.

“Hydro!” The headmaster announced with delight. As the headmaster said this, Joel looked incredibly relieved, sighing deeply.

The same thing happened with Lizzie, who was next up. This confirmed my suspicions about what the water meant but scared me further. What would happen when my powers were revealed? whatever that meant. Another few came up. One caused sparks of fire to jump from the ground beneath them, the headmaster announcing them as a “Pyro”. Another caused the entire ground to shake underneath us, and was announced as a “Geo”. A few “Aeros” were announced, each getting a gust of wind directly to the face, all seeming unfazed. Those proclaimed “Floras” caused the vines curled up around the columns behind to grow thicker, some slithering down towards the bricks in the courtyard. Only two “Shifters” were proclaimed, not much happening other than the orb turning orange.

After multiple others, it was finally my turn. Without thinking covered myself with my royal Rivendellian cape, like a turtle going back into its shell in the face of danger.

“Ah, Scott Major, Prince of Rivendell.” The headmaster handed me the orb as I stood on the square. A small flurry of blood-red snowflakes formed and danced around me. They vanished as quickly as they had appeared since the headmaster snatched the orb out of my hand.

This was it. They were about to find out. They were about to know my secret.

“What? What is he? Tell us!” someone from the group shouted.

“H-Hydro, he’s a hydro…” The headmaster stuttered.

“Meet me in my office after this, third to the right, top floor” he muttered under his breath, only loud enough for me to hear.

As I walked towards Lizzie and Joel, I felt eyes watching me. Why did the headmaster lie? I didn’t have any power over liquid water other than freezing it.

After the ceremony, Lizzie and Joel walked up to me as I was about to head to the top floor.

“What did he say to you?” Joel asked.

 Lizzie had a worried expression on her face. 

“To- to meet him in his office,” I said, “I’ve only been here for 30 minutes and I’m already in trouble!”

“You’ll be fine,” Joel smiled.

As I walked through the hallways I hoped more and more that Joel was right. I entered through a grand doorway, fit for royalty (my mother and father had one just like it to their bedroom.) A falcon, wings spread wide, was carved onto the wooden door. His office wasn’t all that big at a glance, but I noticed a partition towards the back, leading to another area. The walls were lined with dark wooden shelves, each stacked with ancient manuscripts, mysterious objects and all sorts of books.

The headmaster was sitting at a maple wood desk, a few candles lighting up the room. He looked up at me, eyes filled with wisdom.

“You don’t know how much destruction your ability may cause,” the headmaster sighed.

I stayed quiet. I had already caused enough chaos in Rivendell with my power. I didn’t want to think about it…

“What am I, Headmaster?” I solemnly whispered.

“I’m sorry, it would be too dangerous to tell you.”

I was close to enraged now. The past few years of my life I had spent being hassled by this curse . I could only control myself if I knew what was happening. While engrossed in my thoughts, I didn’t realise when the water in the headmaster's cup froze. Frost started covering the books and table.

headmaster noticed, and glanced at me, “Calm down, Prince, it’s for your own good.”

I took a deep breath and sat, “Sorry about that sir, and please, just call me Scott.”

“It’s alright Scott. That’s why it’s dangerous. Either we train you as a Hydro, or section you off from the others and have private lessons,” he said.

I didn’t like either of those options. All I would do was freeze things, I would be better in exile, but then I thought about Lizzie and Joel, I couldn’t leave the only friends I had.

I wanted to go home, back to Rivendell, where I didn’t have to deal with all this.

“I’ll try being a Hydro, if that doesn’t work out, I’m going back to Rivendell. If my parents don’t like that then I’ll find refuge on the Faction Isles,” I established.

“Very well, you’d better head off to your dorms, just down the fifth corridor to the left,” headmaster sighed and with a flick of his wrist, opened the door. Lizzie and Joel were standing outside, eagerly waiting.

As soon as I closed the door behind me they bombarded me with questions. What was it like there? Was I in trouble? Where were the dorms? Did they eat cake at dinner?

“Joel, why would I ask that,” I rolled my eyes at the brown-eyed boy’s question.

We made our way over to the dorms. It was only three people per room. The three of us decided to stay in the same dorm. However, for privacy reasons, Lizzie decided to partition her section of the dorm with a bedsheet taped to the ceiling.                                            

That night, I couldn’t sleep. I was used to frigid temperatures, the howling winds, and the snoring. But something kept me up. I recalled the events of the day; I met an old friend and a new one. Witnessed many other students being happily sorted into their groups. Being told to pretend to be a Hydro, knowing that the only thing I could do with water.

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

When I opened my eyes, the sun was shining through the window.

“Scott!” Joel yelled, causing me to yelp and nearly fall off my bed.

“Seriously?” I muttered.

Lizzie pushed the “curtains” away and came through. She was already dressed in her new uniform. She was wearing a dark blue skirt as well as a white long-sleeved shirt. She also had a dark grey sweater, a blue rim on the arms, tied around her waist. There was a matching blue tie around her neck and she wore knee-high socks with dark blue rims. Her plain black shoes weren’t very fancy but were still nicer than sneakers. Her pink hair was tied up in a ponytail. She had changed out her cat earrings for elegant studs.

“You look nice Lizzie!” Joel blurted.

Lizzie looked away, but I could tell she was blushing.

“Hurry up and get dressed you two, we’ll be late for our first class,” she tossed us our uniform.

My uniform consisted of navy blue pants, a white shirt, and the same blue-cuffed grey sweater as Lizzie. My blue hair refused to be neatened, no matter how much both Lizzie and I tried. I gave up and put on my tie. It was the same colour as the cuffs on the sweater. I noticed Joel struggling with his and decided not to be a nuisance.

“Have you never had to put on a tie?” I asked Joel as I attempted to help him.
“Never needed to, never did. I don’t see the point in ties, it's a choking hazard,” Joel seemed very annoyed at the school’s uniform policies…

The three of us wandered about the school for at least half an hour, trying to find the room where Practical Magic was being taught before we bumped into a girl about 17, who pointed us in the right direction. Her golden-brown hair, the colour of wheat in the sunlight, looked familiar but I couldn’t put a finger on where I’d seen her. It seemed like the rest of our class had the same problem, as everyone was still shuffling around the room.

 “Class, quieten down!” a voice yelled. We turned to see a young woman standing at the desk. She had dark red hair and emerald-green eyes. A lavender cloak adorned her shoulders, covering part of a bright green, knee-length dress.

“ I’m Miss Gemini,” She smiled, “ I’ve been learning Hydro magic since I was 15, so hopefully I’ll be able to teach you the basics and beyond.”

“How old are you?” one kid yelled insolently.

Miss Gemini sighed, “That’s not of your concern, Ren”

Ren looked alarmed, “How- How’d you know my name!”

Miss Gemini didn’t answer his question, instead sorting us into groups of three. Together, we would look through a list of tasks and see which we could already accomplish. I knew the only way I could get away with freezing the water was if I teamed with Lizzie and Joel. It was freeing, not having to worry about spilling secrets to strangers.

Our first task was to cause ripples in a bowl of water ( without touching it of course). Lizzie easily mastered it, however, Joel was still struggling. We were a few minutes into the task when Miss Gemini called me over. I bit my lip and walked over to the professor’s desk. I got nervous. I was trying to stay as far away from the water as I could, so I wouldn’t freeze it, but Lizzie could sense the temperature of the water drastically dropping. Maybe Miss Gemini was about to chew me out for not taking part.

“So, you’re the Prince of Rivendell?” She asked. I nodded, by now I thought everyone would know that.

“The headmaster told me about you. You aren’t a Hydro,” she whispered. I wasn’t quite sure what to say. Of course, the headmaster would tell my practical magic teacher, otherwise, I would end up in detention, but now I was worried about how many other people knew. I wouldn’t be able to keep my uncontrollable powers a secret if all the teachers just had casual conversations about it.

“This won’t be easy for you,” Miss Gemini continued, “but you have good friends, Lizzie and Joel. In all the years I’ve lived I’ve never seen quite a trio, but you three will make it through. I’m sure of it.”

I came back to our desk, where Joel had managed to cause small ripples, Lizzie making elaborate sculptures with her bowl of water.

“So?” she asked, controlling the water once more and creating a question mark.

I recounted my chat with Miss Gemini for them. Joel was still playing around with the water. Lizzie’s water had settled down in the bowl.

“You can’t freeze everything!” Joel remarked, crossing his arms.

“I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you,” I sighed, not exactly willing to prove myself right.

“Oh come on, freeze this water from the other side of the room, then I’ll believe you,” Joel rolled his eyes. So naturally, I started heading over to the door.

“Wait- I didn’t mean it,” Joel stuttered. Unfortunately, it was too late, the water was already frozen as I walked back to our table.

“Believe me now?” I asked him. He nodded. Lizzie stared at her frozen bowl of water.

“Can you unfreeze it?” she asked, tilting her head slightly the same way she did five years ago. It was how I knew she was plotting. That was the problem. I could make ice as easy as others could blink, but I couldn’t unfreeze it if my life depended on it.

I shook my head and sat down as Joel tried to smash the ice.

“It’s not going to work,” I said, sighing. “It can’t melt or break”.

Suddenly, the water in his bowl started moving around, the bowl shuffling towards Lizzie.
“Mine now!” she joked.

“Well, that was a failure, so much for being a hydro,” I stared at the well through the window, the one that Joel and I had fallen into. It was still icy. Lizzie seemed to sense my uneasiness and playfully elbowed me.

“Cheer up, it’s almost lunchtime,” she smiled.

Chapter Text

Lunchtime wasn’t much better. We sat by the well and ate sandwiches (gluten-free according to the person serving them). Lizzie, who nibbled on a wrap overflowing with salad, decided to break the silence.

“Maybe I could try and counter your powers?” Lizzie asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, “you could try, I guess, but no one so far has been able to make a crack”.

Lizzie got up and put her hands on the ice that filled the well. She stood there for a long time; a look of concentration formed on her face. I was about to tell her to give up when suddenly  Lizzie stumbled back, collapsing onto me.

“Lizzie, are you okay?” I shook her, to no avail, she wouldn’t wake up.

“We’d better take Lizzie to the infirmary, maybe they can help,” Joel offered.

The infirmary looked like a normal hospital ward, no surprise there. There was only one patient, a boy named Jimmy who had somehow managed to break his arm on the first day. He wore a grey jumper with lighter grey trims, so I assumed he was an Aero. He seemed familiar, the way he sat as the nurse bandaged his arm seemed royal in a way. The way the light sparkled off his warm brown eyes – Stop it Scott, focus on Lizzie!

We got Lizzie onto a bed and called over the nurse. I snuck another look at Jimmy, I couldn’t get rid of the thought that I knew him somehow. I was thinking hard, trying to remember when the nurse came over.

“What happened to her?” The nurse freaked.

We explained how she tried to unfreeze the ice, conveniently leaving out the part where I was the one who made the ice.

The nurse worked her magic (no, literally), and Lizzie was up and out of the infirmary within minutes.  Jimmy had left a few minutes before us, and I saw something lying next to where he had sat.

“Hold up, I’ll be right back,” I told the others and ran back to get the thing. I picked it up and gasped. It all made sense now! It was a necklace with a silver cod charm on it, the symbol of Piscium. The family of Piscium was a close ally of Rivendell, but the last time I had seen their royal family was when Lizzie still lived in Rivendell. I asked the nurse if she knew where he was heading, and she told me he was out to the courtyards to look for someone. I sprinted to the courtyards and caught him leaving.

“There you are!” We both yelled simultaneously.

Confused, I asked him, “You were looking for me ?”

“ You were also looking for me,” He replied.

“I found this, so that’s my alibi,” I held up the necklace, the silver charm glinting in the sunlight.

“Oh! Thank you! I thought I’d lost it again! Uh, long time no see Prince Scott,” Jimmy smiled. He told me he’d recognized me yesterday and thought he’d say ‘Hi’. We talked for a while, talking about the new developments in Piscium and stuff. As the bell rang, we rushed off separate ways. I struggled to find my way to the classroom without Lizzie, who was practically an encyclopaedia, but I managed to find Arithmancy without being late.

Joel and Lizzie were sitting in the row at the very front of the classroom, and while Lizzie was vigorously flipping through notes from regular school arithmancy, Joel was happily staring at her, pretending to be looking at her notes whenever she looked up.

“Oh! That’s new!” Our professor exclaimed, “The new students will be able to attend the dance!”

Mumbling went on among the whole class. This wasn’t just a preschool disco; this was a proper dance. No doubt most people were thinking about who to ask.

 When we walked out of class, senior students were crafting up posters for the ‘Primo Dance’.

Joel and I got stuck behind the crowd of students, losing Lizzie far ahead. We finally got close to the Hydro dorms, chatting about how much we hated fractions, when Lizzie rushed towards us, calling us over. We were about to ask her what was wrong when she answered our question,

“It’s Jimmy! Something happened to him, I didn’t know what to do- I” Lizzie stuttered.

“Calm down Lizzie,” I tried for a soothing voice, when I probably sounded as agitated as her, “Where is he?”.

Lizzie sprinted over to the courtyard and screeched to a halt. Jimmy lay on the floor, barely breathing, getting paler and paler by the second.

“Jimmy! Wake up!” I shook him to no avail. We propped him up against the wall.

I slapped his face and gently kicked his leg, and he woke,

“You idiot!” I scolded him, “What did you do to end up like that?” Jimmy coughed, his head swaying downwards, nearly fainting again.

“Why is it so hot? Where’d the fire come from?” Jimmy mumbled, his eyes barely open, staring right at me. It was a chilly winter's day, clouds filling the sky, droplets of rain gradually falling onto the stone pavement we were standing on. We didn’t have an explanation for Jimmy’s questions, so we ended up slowly walking him to the infirmary, for the second time that day, hoping he could be healed once more.

The nurse ran up to the four of us, taking Jimmy to the nearest bed.

“Explain at once you three! I healed this boy no more than two hours ago,” She snapped, tending to minor burns on Jimmy’s arms. We told her what we knew, which only made her panic increase. She told us to leave, or we’d miss class, though I argued to stay. I wanted to make sure Jimmy got better, I didn’t care about missing class. I saw the cod charm hanging out of his pocket before I left, about to fall. I managed to catch it and wore it around my neck, I wouldn’t lose it as much as he did.

I was distracted throughout the next week or so, evident by my lack of answering when being called on, fixated on the small clues Jimmy had given us. Heat… Fire… There must have been a fire user involved. A powerful one to cause such damage on a freezing day like this. I had heard the newbie fire users had class in the extra food-prep room, where the constantly working ovens next door provided extra heat. Just as I zoned back into the professor's monotone voice lecturing us about the explosives in the great Salmon War, the bell rang. I leapt up, uncaringly swinging my bag over my back and rushing out of the classroom, ignoring the professor yelling at me to come back. Checking on Jimmy was more important.

Before I made it to the infirmary, I bumped into someone whom I didn’t recognize.
They were short and slim, the specifics of their frame covered up by a baggy black sweater. Their dark hair was separated into two sections, each falling on one side of their neck. They wore a black beanie, with a small daisy embroidered onto the middle. Black skinny jeans had their pockets stuffed full, which were tucked into black lace-up shoes. They seemed to be a student,  but looks could be misleading.

“May I help you?” they asked in a Rivendellian accent.. I didn’t want to get caught up in a conversation but it would’ve been rude to walk away,
“Sorry about that, just going to see a friend.” I tried to move away, but before I could they spoke again,
“Oh. It’s you.” That was rather ominous; I couldn’t tell whether it was a positive or negative ‘ It's you ’. I've received both quite a few times.
“You seem to know me,” I started. “So what’s your name?”.
“ Aimee Griffin , first and second-year manager, Strategies and Enchantments professor. She-her.” She replied, smiling . “Why are you heading to the infirmary Scott?”
“Uh, one of my friends got hurt, I wanted to see him,” I said to her.
She smiled and started to walk off, but turned: “Just don’t be late to your next class Mr Major, you’ll no longer have a substitute for Enchantments and Wards.”

After weaving in between hundreds of students, I finally made my way to the infirmary. An intricate pattern flowed on the walls of the infirmary, twisting like vines. I spotted Jimmy in the furthest corner from the door, looking a little less pale than before. As I walked closer to him, I noticed the burns had healed, leaving small scars across his arms. His head slowly shifted in my direction, his brown eyes slightly more visible than before.

 “Scott? What’re you doing here?” He sleepily asked.

“That doesn’t matter,” I shook my head, “ How are you feeling?” He shrugged his shoulders and sat upright, quizzically staring at my neck.
“Is- is that my-,” He felt for the charm on his neck.
“It fell out of your pocket, and I decided it was safer with me,” I rolled my eyes.

The nurse came up to us, saying Jimmy should be good to go. We made our way through the halls to our next lesson, which we discovered was one of the few we had together, Enchantments And Wards. The archways across the hallways framed the translucent rainbow forming outside. Lizzie and Joel were already there, bickering about where to sit.

“The front row is the best spot in the classroom,” Lizzie argued, with Joel retorting that he wanted to sit at the back, so he didn’t have to listen. Lizzie spotted Jimmy and I walk into the room and kicked Joel’s leg. “Hey what was that for Liz- Oh. Hi, you two!” Joel said cheerfully, before poking his tongue out at Lizzie. We sat in the front row. Joel’s feeble attempt to convince Lizzie to sit elsewhere ended in him promising to bake the four of us cookies on Saturday. I always knew Lizzie would make a great politician. The same professor I’d seen before, Aimee Griffin, was standing at the front of the classroom waiting for the class to settle down. She nodded to me and then addressed the class. Most of the lesson was looking through what we’d done in the past week. After that, Aimee told us everything that had been wrong with the substitute's lectures. The time flew by and soon it was time for Ancient History and Mythology. For some reason, we hadn’t had the class in the first week; maybe because Fawklaw didn’t have that many substitute teachers to spare. Rain began to pour down, and many students ran through the halls to get to their classes.

A few minutes after we sat down, a middle-aged man with short-cropped brown hair walked into the class wearing a dripping dark blue coat. “ Welcome students, to History and mythology,” he spoke majestically, introducing himself as ‘Professor Riffs’. After a quick introduction to both sections of the subject, the class chose mythology to study first. Who would choose history over mythology anyway?

“Where to start, where to start…” his eyes lit up as his gaze landed on me, “ How about Rivendell?”. The class murmured in agreement, with my friends turning to smile at me.

“Hopefully as Prince of Rivendell, you know a little something about the mythology Mr Major?” Professor Riffs smiled, “enlighten us”. I stood up and walked to the front of the class, I had no problems with public speaking. After addressing thousands of citizens, 20 teens weren’t a problem, especially with Jimmy displaying a constant thumbs up.
“Well, back in Rivendell we believe there were two stag gods, long ago, by the names of Aeor and Exor…” I recounted the tale of the stag brothers, Exor’s jealousy, the two champions, the emperor’s sacrifice to stop Exor’s corruption… The stories rolled off my tongue so swiftly, that I didn’t realise when I slipped into Ancient Elvish, retelling the stories I read when I was younger.

“Scott? We can’t understand a word you're saying,” Jimmy said, “Common pleas, not Ancient Elvish?” I laughed, realising that the whole class was listening to another language.

“Let’s try common then, Mr Major,” Professor Riffs said, chuckling, looking up from the stacks of paper he was reading through. I started talking about the two stag brothers once more, how Exor grew jealous and tried to take over. The stories of the champions, forever fighting one another until one emperor took things into his own hands, taking the rune blade and sacrificing himself.

“And Exor hasn’t shown himself since,” I received a polite clap and headed back to my desk. As I sat back down, Lizzie turned to me with a look of intrigue on her face,

“You have to tell me more about the stags. We never learnt this while I was in Rivendell,” she smiled, then turned her head towards Professor Riffs. The lesson went on, briefly discussing each empire’s stories, looking at the lost tales of the cities that were destroyed in the Great Grimlands Explosion. The ancient tradition of The Crown was shared across all the empires.
“I’m not going to give you any extra written work to do on the first lesson,” Professor Riffs said, “Instead, think about tales of the city or empire you live in”. Luckily for me, that meant I had no extra work.

Lizzie stayed behind in class, probably to ask for some sort of research to do, and the rest of us walked out. As we did, two girls called my name. One was quite short, with shoulder-length light brown hair, and sparkling golden eyes. The other was much taller, though not as tall as me, with long dark black hair and deep brown eyes. Both of them had a kind smile on their faces as they beckoned me over.
“ Wonder what they want with you?” Joel said. As I walked closer, I noticed the shorter girl had a small mushroom charm on a necklace, and the taller girl sported a locket in the shape of a flower. I recognized these two from somewhere…

“ We haven’t met anyone else from a royal family yet!” The shorter girl squealed, “I’m Shelby Fae, by the way, princess of The Undergrove”

“And I’m Katherine Rosedew, princess of the Overgrown,” The taller girl mentioned. Now it made sense why they were so close, they would’ve grown up together. The Overgrown and The Undergrove were very close empires, the two families being allies for centuries. I must have seen them at one of the meetings the royal families attended every few years.

“Scott Major of Rivendell, nice to meet you,” I reached out my hand to shake theirs, instead, Shelby reached out and hi-fived it.

“Oh please,” She rolled her eyes, “ We don’t have to bother with formalities during school”. I laughed and asked the two why they called me over. Before they told me, they asked me if I knew any others from families part of the Association of the Empires of Aeterna. “ Only the prince of Piscium, “ I said as I waved at Jimmy.

“Aah James, nice to see you again,” Katherine curtseyed, as Shelby playfully whacked her.

“What did I say about formalities,” She laughed, while Katherine argued it was out of instinct.

Jimmy cringed, “ Please don’t call me James, to everyone I don’t have to be formal towards, it’s Jimmy…” Shelby then started to explain that we would have to gather all the princes and princesses who were currently attending Fawklaw, as a rumour had arisen amongst their empires, and they needed to know the truth. As we had nothing to do till dinner, the four of us ventured through the halls, hoping to stumble across a familiar face. As we walked through the corridor, I spotted a few people sitting on a bench. Katherine recognised one of them as the prince of the lost empire. He had close-cropped light brown hair and piercing green eyes and seemed about 17. I, after being voted as ‘sacrifice’ by the other three, went up to talk to him,

“Hi, Scott Major Of Rivendell,” I introduced myself.

“Joey Chanders, Prince of The Lost Empire,” He replied cheerfully, “What’s up”.

“Shelby and Katherine are trying to gather all of us to discuss something. I don’t know why,” I shrugged, with Joey replying that he knows of another princess, by the name of Pearl Hearth. We walked down the Elementalist corridor and made it to the Earth Users dorms, knocking on the door.

The same girl we saw yesterday opened the door. Dark blonde hair flowed down her shoulders, and bright blue eyes sparkling against the sunlight. She was about my height, bringing her gaze down to meet Shelby’s eyes.

“Can I help you?” She said quizzically, scanning the group, “ Shelby, Katherine? What are you doing with these guys?” The two looked puzzled as the girl asked them.
“How- how do you know our names?” Shelby spoke in her high-pitched voice. The girl laughed and explained that she, like Joey, was in charge of her dorms, so she knew every Earth User attending.

“Hi, I’m Scott, this is Jimmy, and you seem to know the other three,” I pointed out, “ We’re looking for Pearl Hearth?”

“Oh, well, you’re in luck, Scott Major Of Rivendell,” She laughed as my expression morphed to confusion, “ Pearl Hearth of Helienthia”. Well, that made more sense. We told her all of us princes and princesses we were gathering and walked into the courtyard, and sat around the well, still frozen, the only difference being a few scratches through the middle. Katherine scanned the group as she and Shelby whispered to each other. After making sure we were the only ones in the courtyard, Shelby, who sat next to me, stood up on the well and cleared her throat.

“Kath and I have heard that there’s a rivalry among some empires and other cities. There’s a battle going on and some kids will be staying at Fawklaw. We might have to help them out. Honestly, we're ready, we’ve spent most of our lives training for things like this,” She weakly smiled. She wasn’t wrong. Training to rule an empire was brutal, starting at 6 AM and finishing at 9, only to be woken up at 4 and do it all again. I’m sure the others had the same experience.

“ We don’t know if any of them are magic users yet, but Shelby and I wanted to see if any of you knew anything,” Katherine asked, looking around the group. Jimmy and I were equally confused, however, Pearl and Joey looked at each other, concerned.

“Do you have any information about… Where they’re coming from?” Joey queried.

“ Not really, but somewhere…,” Katherine started before she was interrupted by Shelby,“ from the Eastern side of Hermitopia ”.

They finished each other’s sentences, and I thought to myself, how cute.
We all dispersed as the large clock in the centre rang, its chimes filling the air.

While Jimmy walked alongside me to our next class, Modern History, happily talking about the opportunity we had. He was very excitable as a kid, and that hadn’t changed in five years. While he pondered if he would be part of this, my worry grew. 

Just great… another group of people to hide from…

Days passed and nothing had changed. I managed to get used to the routine, the climate -  Jimmy claimed it was freezing, but I had to adjust to much higher temperatures than Rivendell’s average of negative 25 degrees -  and the constant flow of irrational questions from Joel. 

When heading to Battle Strategies class, I bumped into Pearl who looked relieved to see me.
“There you are Scott!” she exclaimed, “ I was starting to think you’d run away or something!”
“Why would you think that,” I asked, wondering what I’d done.
“Headmaster’s looking for you! He wants to see you in his office.” She walked off into the nearest classroom, where older students seemed to be writing something from the blackboard at the front of the room. I told Jimmy to head to class as I turned the other way. There wasn’t much of a point trying to ignore the summons.

I wondered whether this was about my powers, or if I’d actually gotten into trouble, but, upon walking into the room, I discovered it was neither.

Sat in one of two chairs by the headmaster’s desk was a boy I’d never seen before, clad in a red jumper and black jeggings. His skin was pale, but tanned, and freckles dotted his face and the backs of his hands. His hair was a mousy-brown mess, tucked into a small ponytail at the base of his skull, while two small wings poked out from behind his ears, coloured in layers of red, blue and yellow. His legs were oddly shaped, but once I noticed the parrot-like talons, the odd shape had been explained. He turned to face me, and I discovered that a white cloth blindfold was tied over his eyes, an oddly familiar rectangular symbol printed purple over the bridge of his nose.

“Grian, this is -” the headmaster started.
“Scott Major, Second Prince of Rivendell, alleged ‘Hydro’,” Grian cut in, air quotes garnishing his disinterested tone as he turned back to the headmaster. “I told you, I am only here to escape the M77s. I know how to use magic, and I don’t need any more friends.”
The headmaster sighed in defeat.
“Scott, this is Grian,” the headmaster told me, gesturing for me to sit in the free chair.

Grian’s wing-ears tilted downward slightly.

“Grian will be taking non-magic-related classes with your group of Hydros,” the headmaster said. “Scott, I’d like you to make sure he makes it to those classes.”
“One thing, Headmaster,” I said, unnerved by the newcomers' presence, “why only the non-magic ones?”
“Because I’m as powerful as I want, Scott, and unlike you I know how to control my abilities,” Grian growled, staring daggers in my direction despite his hidden eyes.
“I’m sure you can improve,” I pointed out, rolling my eyes. It was one thing to be that insolent, but you don’t insult the prince of Rivendell and get away with it.

Grian stood abruptly, his chair squealing on the floor.

“Grian, please, wait -” the headmaster tried.
“The gods don’t wait,” Grian snapped back. “And, frankly, neither does Xelqua.”

Xelqua… As he said the name, the air seemed to grow colder - no, not colder, denser , as if it were trying to choke the three of us.

Grian, seemingly unfazed, walked out, the claws of his talons clicking on the hardwood floor of the headmaster’s office, slamming the door behind him.
“You’re going to make me go after him, aren’t you?” I sighed, ready to accept whatever he was going to say. After a simple nod from the headmaster, I walked out of the room, running across the hallway, scanning the courtyard and empty rooms for the newcomer. Something he had said stuck in my head. Not how he called me an alleged “Hydro” (that didn’t worry me ‘till much later), but the way he said “Second Prince of Rivendell”. I was the only current prince of Rivendell. 

I found Grian standing by the room our class was in, on the other side of the castle. As we walked inside, I saw Jimmy and Shelby sitting next to each other, working on something. They looked up, eyes lighting up with excitement as they saw me. Their gaze drifted to Grian, who was clearly unamused about being saddled with me. As we sat down in our seats towards the back of the classroom something struck me.

“What even is your last name?” I asked, realising the headmaster hadn’t mentioned it.
Grian sighed but responded, “Watch. My last name is Watch.”
"Wow. Your ancestors must have been chronically insane to have a last name like that," I said, grinning.
The silence was permeated with Grian’s unamusement- he was probably glaring at me.
"First of all," Grian started, "Chronic Insanity doesn't exist. Secondly, big talk coming from you. Major? Major pain in the backside."
I had a feeling he’d just rolled his eyes at me through his blindfold.

The two of us entered, listening to the teacher drone on about the republic of Hermitopia, and its current internal war. What he told us sounded strange - multiple unknown forces were causing chaos in and around the Dwayne Mountain Ranges, particularly around someplace that was ominously called ‘The Deepfrost Citadel ’. 

Of course, the whole concept of multiple predetermined factions warring within one empire (even if it was only technically a republic) was odd - what kind of ruler let their subjects form such forces?

However, something about this seemed to agitate Grian - maybe his family lived in or around the mountains.
He bit his lip and asked what else the teacher knew about this, but that was all.
He didn’t say much (if anything) for the rest of the day, but on the way to the dorms before dinner, I could’ve sworn he’d whispered: “Come on guys, I need an update…” under his breath.

Chapter Text

‘ The M77s have breached the entrance to The Basement ,’ a feminine voice whispered in my ear. ‘ Xelqua is fine, but the Rift has closed. We will be by your side until the M77s can be driven out and we can return to the Void to recharge.’
“Ariana, what do you mean?” I asked to the empty air.

I was lying on my back in my shared dorm at Fawklaw School of Magic - it was nearly midnight, but I’d only just gotten a report from the Watcher Spirits on the rest of the Watched.

‘ What she means, ’ a slightly deeper but younger voice cut in, ‘ is that we need to return to the other side of the Rift once the M77s are out. ’
“Of course, C.G.”

“Grian, who are you talking to?” Scar’s voice pierced the near-undisturbed silence.
“ Scar! ” Mumbo yelped. “Don’t be rude! It might seem like he’s going crazy but you can’t just say that!”
“It’s fine, Mumbo,” I said placatingly. “Scar, I was talking to the gods.”
“You were talking to God !?” Scar gasped. “Like, capital-G God?!”
Mumbo and I sighed as several voices chuckled in my mind.

I contemplated explaining the Spirits to Scar, but I didn’t have the energy to do so. There were five of them who Watched over me.

One of them, Ariana, was an amazing singer, giving me the ability to use Song, similar to how a Siren would.

C.G, was quite the jokester, giving me enhanced speed and sight.

Salmon gave me the power to turn invisible, increasing my ability to be stealthy when called upon.

The Spirit Poultry Man, gave me better reflexes, especially in battle.

Finally, Mother Spore, a protective spirit, gave me the ability to control fungi.

Each spirit gave me a different set of wings as well, a power I was very grateful for.
“Grian? Are you coming to bed?” Scar asked. I stood up from the floor and flopped onto my rather soft bed, falling asleep quite quickly.

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

I opened the door of our dorm in the morning and instantly nearly jumped out of my skin: standing there, fist raised, ready to knock, was the Prince of Rivendell himself, Scott Major.

Thanking the Void I’d thought to put on my blindfold first, I narrowed my eyes behind it as he went to speak.
“No,” I said, and slammed the door in his face, turning back to face Mumbo and Scar.
“Who was it?” Scar asked.
“Solicitor,” I said simply, ignoring the shiver that longed to race up my spine - in contrast, I longed for the warmth of my red woollen jumper instead of the thin layers of the thin uniforms of Fawklaw (we technically weren’t even students here. Just visitors).
I pulled out a pair of glasses, the frames only arcing under the lenses, running a finger over the set of runes on the arms of the glasses - I don’t need them. It was just the only alternative to the blindfold that Xelqua would let me wear: the runes hid not only the appearance and memories of my eyes but also the smaller wings behind my ears.
Turning away from the other two, I unknotted and took off the blindfold, nearly instantly sliding the glasses on in its place.

The other two were just pulling on the school’s jackets (which honestly didn’t do anything against the cold) when there was another knock on the door.

I opened it again.

“Scott I will drop-kick you out the window,” I said flatly.
“Uh-”
“You think we don’t know where the Dining Hall is?” The question was rhetorical, and I thought the blatant sarcasm lining my tone would be enough.
“I mean if you don’t I can show you-” Scott tried, looking somewhat sheepish.
“That question was rhetorical,” I clarified. “I’ll see you at breakfast .”

I shut the door in his face again, because why not? (And, I won’t lie, it was also rather satisfying.)
“I don’t think that was a solicitor,” Scar pointed out, standing.

Scar was taller than me, despite him being younger - though that might have something to do with his elven heritage. His eyes were the colour of emeralds, and just as bright (if not brighter). His hair was dark brown and slightly longer than mine, the top layer partially braided in an elvish style. His skin was olive-coloured, and riddled with small scars, as if he fell face-first a lot.
He wore the green uniform of Fawklaw’s Geos, and it suited him. It matched his eyes, which were shining brighter than any emerald I had ever seen.

Mumbo, in contrast, was shorter than Scar, but taller and older than me. His eyes were coal-black, and his hair a similar shade cut short in a nearly-formal way. He had alabaster skin with not a freckle nor tan in sight.
He wore the electric-blue uniform of Fawklaw’s Electros. It didn’t exactly look right on him - the blue was too close to his skin tone to go well with it.

Thankfully, when Scar opened the door, Scott was nowhere to be found, and we made our way down to breakfast uninterrupted by the blue-haired boy, rendezvousing with Tango on the way down.

Tango Tek was a Pyro and a great one at that. He was quite tall, around six feet, and a few months older than me. His eyes were red, complimenting his fiery orange hair. I had known the blaze hybrid since we were young. He lived in the Deepfrost Citadel, quite close to where I did. His family were the masterminds behind the many training programs held in tunnels all across the Citadel . Though, the training programs were a lot deadlier than most…

Breakfast itself was rather uneventful - Cleo Zom-Labbs (who grew up on the edges of where Hermitopia claimed to lie), the other person escaping the war who was taking classes with the Floras (Fawklaw’s Nature Elementalists).

When Mumbo introduced himself, he also had to explain how names worked in Hermitopia. Everyone has a first name, not always a last name, however, most people go by nicknames and never mention their given names. There are exceptions of course, like Cleo and I who prefer our first names to a nickname, and then you have the others, like Mumbo. I didn't know his or Tango's or Scar's real names, but I didn't care. Apparently, Mumbo got his nickname from the term ‘Mumbo Jumbo', perhaps because his many facts sounded like nonsense to most.

 Scott only tried to insert himself into our conversation once. Scar - bless him - had taken the cue to distract Scott, and they were now talking about Scarland - an amusement park his family owned and ran - and was the reason Scott was now wearing Scarland Jellie Cat Ears.

At some point during breakfast, Aimee walked up to us. She gestured to me and Scott, and the two of us stood up to see what she had to say.
“ The headmaster wants to check up on the new attendees. He wants you to come too, Scott. Meet him in his office after breakfast. Together. ” Concise as always, Aimee spun around on her heel and walked out of the hall.

Neither Scott, nor I wanted to go to this meeting, nevertheless I let Mumbo and Scar know and we headed towards the headmaster’s office. A creak filled the air as soon as we reached the office, the wooden door opening with a flick of the headmaster’s wrist. He gestured to the two seats on the opposite side of his desk, and the two of us sat down. I wrapped my scarf around my neck. It was as soft as my red jumper, though not quite as warm, yet still as comforting. 

“So, how have you been settling in, Grian?” the headmaster asked, his eyebrow raised. I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t have much of an answer yet.  He shook his head and turned to Scott.

“You know, every three or four generations an heir to a royal throne is born that possesses all of the empire’s most valued traits. No one knows why, but it just does. As if a celestial being is making sure the world doesn’t collapse to pieces. ” the headmaster mentioned. Scott shifted uncomfortably, but I wasn’t sure why.
“What exactly do you mean?” I asked, Scott nodded, agreeing with the question. Instead of an answer, the headmaster asked Scott what Rivendells core values were. He said something in what seemed to be Ancient Elvish. I raised my eyebrow at him, not having a clue what he recited.
“I said it in Ancient Elvish, didn’t I?” Scott sighed, before saying it again, this time in Common: “Be compassionate, loyal and trustworthy, but when battle comes, be brave.”
I let that sink in. I had never heard Scott speak in Ancient Elvish, nor had I heard the core values of Rivendell but now the headmaster’s statement made sense. Scott had all of those qualities, although the compassionate part got a bit annoying sometimes.

“Now, Grian, what do you think Hermitopia’s are?” the headmaster asked me.
“Uhh…” I thought for a minute.

‘Chaos!’ Ariana suggested.
‘ Resilience!’ C.G offered.
‘ A general lack of common sense… ’ the Salmon muttered.
‘ Improvisation,’ Poultry Man objected.
‘ Loyalty, ’ Mother Spore replied.

All those were likely, but Hermitopia was so divided that it was hard to pick just a few.
“So, uhm, some places have theirs, others have their own,” I started. “From what we know that escaped the Perimeter , they value loyalty, resilience and strength. From Boatem , it’s confidence and improvisation. From Dogwarts , it’s once more loyalty, but also improvisation…”
“And what about the Mountains?”

I didn’t speak for a second - the values of the Watched had been drilled into my head for years: Devotion, Resilience, Order, Survival.
But I didn’t want to parrot their values. I didn’t want to parrot what I’d been raised to live by.

“Where I grew up, we have the saying ᓵ⍑ᔑ𝙹ᓭ ╎ᓭ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ʖᔑリᒷ 𝙹⎓ ᒲᔑリ, ⎓𝙹∷ ℸ ̣ 𝙹𝙹 ᒲ⚍ᓵ⍑ ∴╎ꖎꖎ ʖ∷╎リ⊣ ↸ᒷᔑℸ ̣ ⍑ ℸ ̣ 𝙹 ℸ ̣ ⍑╎ᓭ ∴𝙹∷ꖎ↸, but it’s not really values, just a statement.” The Enderian came easily to my tongue, though the screeching noise would most likely impair those who were unused to it.
“Would you mind giving us a translation?” the headmaster asked.

I swallowed.
“ ‘Chaos is the bane of man, for too much will bring death to this world.’ ” My voice was more ashamed than I’d meant for it to be. “They were very situated around order .”

There was a pause as the headmaster processed. Before he could say anything, a knock came at the door.
“You two should probably get to class then,” he said, opening the door with a wave of his hand.

Today was a Wednesday, meaning while the other Hydros had Practical Magic, I had a private session in one of Fawklaw’s many training arenas, where I was free to ‘hone my magic’, as the headmaster had put it.
Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like using it and instead wandered to one of the upstairs balconies. 

I leant on the stone railing, letting out a puff of warm air that turned to mist: Fawklaw, for all its flaws, had a beautiful campus.

And it would only get better.

Standing and stepping back, I removed my glasses and replaced them with a plain black blindfold, quickly redoing my hair to avoid it falling out of its small ponytail.
C.G’s wings appeared on my back - the feathers were layered in pink and black stripes, the pointed and narrow form of them resembling the wings of a falcon. Spreading them, a single pump saw my feet leave the ground, another saw me leave the balcony.

Flying above Fawklaw’s campus was much different than flying above the Dwayne Mountain Ranges - the air was colder, yet not as thin, and the winds weren’t as strong.

By the Void, I have a lot to adjust to.

Chapter Text

Before I had a chance to fly much further, It was time to move on to my next lesson.  I had double Defence, taught by Miss Gemini (who apparently also taught the rest of the class Practical Magic).
I wasn't too fond of the subject. Miss Gemini was a faun, as given away by her hooves and antlers, was a kind one at that, but fighting without magic felt odd.

She was just testing our reflexes, making sure that when placed in front of our Battle teacher in the next period we wouldn’t immediately get stabbed, but when she lunged at me, my magic was aching to lash out and destroy the blade she was using.

Holding it back made me itchy .

Either way, since it was from Defense straight to Battle, we didn’t have to change back from our selected battle garb (literally anything more comfortable and flexible than the school uniform, as per each student).
I was wearing my red turtleneck - it was baggy and warm and comfortable - a black blindfold - it was see-through from the inside in case I ended up in a situation without magic or couldn’t use my Eyes - black jeggings - a little bit of a pain in the backside to get on around my talons, but comfortable enough - and my hair had been re-tied in its little ponytail.

We made our way next door, waiting outside for the door to open.
Which it did. On its own.

We walked in - most of the rest of the class were grinning and excited. Of course, I’d missed two weeks, so I’d probably be getting the ‘Start of Term’ speech again.

“You got a weapon?” Scott whispered to me, causing me to jump.
“Not a physical one, but I can summon one?” I offered.
“Good enough,” Scott replied, doing a little hop as he rushed the weapons rack, seizing an elvish sword and dashing back.

I summoned a shadowbolt - solid constructs of shadow and Void, normally in the form of spikes and summoned for use in ‘herds’ in ranged attacks, though they could be summoned as singulars and reshaped into whatever the summoner wanted.
Gripping it in my left hand, I reformed it into a spear.

Everyone huddled around, backs to the centre of the circle, weapons bristling on the outside.

‘ Above you ,’ the Salmon warned.

I stepped to the side, narrowly avoiding being landed on as the Salmon hid me.
Stepping through the group as they coalesced on the attacker (whom I assumed was actually the teacher): he (I assumed it was a he) was strong, despite it being hidden by the torn king’s cape he wore. His white, button-up dress shirt had the sleeves rolled up, though the sleeves were torn somewhat. His piglin features probably explained the amount of gold - what with the circlet, earrings, necklaces and bangles - as he has pink hooves instead of feet (which were bare), and three fingers instead of four, nails replaced by hoof-like claws. He wore black cargo pants, pockets bulging, that were held up by a maroon belt with a golden buckle.
His hair was long and pink, his skin pale with a pinkish-red scar tracing along the outside of his left eye, whose irises were blood red.
But the sword he was swinging around.
It was a greatsword, far too big for someone to be swinging around in one hand as he was. Its blade was made of steel, and the cross-guard was red, only a shade redder than the leather wrap on the hilt.

(The spear in my hand shifted itself to a greatsword as I danced around behind him, watching him and his moves.)

But he wasn’t trying to kill us. Just exhausting us.

I slipped to the outside, where Scott was standing, ready, and let the Salmon drop the invisibility.
“What’s the aim here?” I asked, causing Scott to jump.
“Uh, first to draw blood from Techno,” Scott said. “I hate it but he does this nearly every lesson.”
“Well, get in there,” I replied, grinning as I patted Scott on the back and disappeared again.

‘ C.G, wings. ’
‘Of course. Happy hunting. ’

I hovered above the chaos, studying the now-named Techno’s fighting style - it was very rushed - to get the enemy out and indisposed. Smart.

Scott was pushed forward by someone, meeting the greatsword with his longsword - but you can’t hold back a heavier blade from someone much stronger than you, can you?
He was pushed back pretty quickly.

The sword in my hand shifted to a bow.

‘ The cape, ’ C.G suggested. ‘ Pin it to the floor. ’

Another shadowbolt materialised as the Salmon’s invisibility faded slightly once more. C.G guided my aim as I nocked the shadow bolt-arrow, drew back and released.

It nicked the cape right as Techno stepped forward, causing him to stumble.

The bow reformed back into a greatsword as I dived down, darting through the regrouping students to drop-kick him in the back, dismissing the arrow and pinning his cape to the floor to allow him to fall.

Techno regained his footing quickly, flipping his hair out of his face - small tusks poked out from the corners of his lips, further selling the piglin appearance.

He looked shocked briefly, before meeting my swing with his greatsword.
“You’re one of the new kids, I assume?” he said, smoothing over his shock with a grin that quickly disappeared as I formed another shadowbolt in my right hand, shifting the greatsword into a rapier - something more suited for working with a blade in my off-hand.

He met it with his own hand with a startled ‘ Heh?!’ and went to flip me. Unfortunately for him, wings plus talons equal avian, which meant as soon as my talons left the floor, they went straight for Techno’s face - he had to throw me to diminish the chance of me claiming a win for the students, but by then everyone had regrouped, and he was being whaled on by a bunch of teenagers.

A startled blast of fire was met with a wall of shadow.

Several curses left the mouth of our teacher, but the person who managed to claim first blood wasn’t me.
It was Scott.

The elvish blade was laced in red, the offending gash a cut on his left cheek, cutting through the faint scar. Scott’s blade was raised at Techno’s throat as the whole battle came to a standstill. The piglin hybrid (he must be, I’d decided) raised a hand to the cut, his fingers coming away laced in red. A small flash of fire across his skin and the cut was cauterised.
He grinned, knocking away Scott’s blade with his hand to grab Scott’s left hand. Scott looked a little queasy, he’d told me multiple times how he hated injuring others, apologising to Techno about seventeen times.

“We have a winner!” he announced, raising Scott’s hand in victory.
Scott looked somewhat queasy.
“Congratulations, Mr Major. However, as all battles are, it was a team effort, and I believe it wouldn’t have been possible period if we hadn’t had one Grian Watch amongst our ranks!” Techno swept a hand toward me as the students parted, leaving me in full view.

I dismissed my wings and my shadow bolt with a silent thanks to the Spirits who’d lent me their power for the match.

Techno dropped Scott’s hand, before raising his voice to address the class. “Alright, class! Great job today - pair off to duel and I’ll come ‘round to help you - remember, if you’re doing well enough I will show you a new move on Friday!”
That energised the rest of the class: people rushed to find their friends (or their enemies).

I watched them all pair off, before Scott approached me.
“Hey Grian wanna partner-” he started before Techno placed a hand on Scott’s shoulder.
“I need to catch Grian up in the last two weeks,” the piglin hybrid said gently. “It looks like Ren's free - go pair up with him.”
Scott looked put-out, but walked off to pair with the lone boy anyway.

Oh, Void - I could sense the lecture coming a mile away.

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

It was that Saturday I found myself staring at the noticeboard at 4am, reading and re-reading the recruitment posters for the school band.
To be honest, my hands had been itching to grasp a pair of drumsticks for a while, so maybe they might have spots for percussion open?
I looked down at the piece of paper beneath it - slots for students to write their name, class and instruments. There were no names down yet - courtesy of this having been put up after lights-out last night, and me being here at four in the morning.

I considered it, and grabbed a pen from my pocket. “ Grian - Percussionist,” I wrote, and headed back to my dorm. My bed was a lot cosier than the cold corridor. I managed to fall asleep quickly.

Breakfast was a busy affair.

Mumbo and Scar had pressured me into sitting with Scott and his group, saying that ‘I needed to make friends.’
(I already have three. I don’t need any more.)

“They’ve finalised the dance!” Lizzie announced happily, waltzing up to join us.
I nearly choked on my water.
“What dance?!” I demanded. “They didn’t say anything about a dance when I came here!”
“Easy for you to say,” Tango replied lightly. “You’ve got two people to ask.”
I looked at him.
“I don’t have two -” I started, but was stopped by his raising of a single finger.
“Mumbo and Scar,” the Pyro said, his red eyes alight with mischief.

Scar nearly choked on his waffles.

“Wha-what?!” he said, face as red as those of myself and Mumbo.

Joel erupted into laughter, only stopping when three near-identical glares were sent his way as Scar returned to his waffles.

“What even is this dance?” I repeated.
“The Primo Dance!” Lizzie said. “The theme this year is Divine - like gods and mythology and stuff.” She sighed. “The Warlocks have it so easy! ”
I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t say…”

“They also had something up about the school band,” Lizzie continued, shifting topics. “Apparently Professor Riffs is organising it. Has anyone else thought of signing up - I already have!”
My eyes widened slightly, but I managed to look back down at my breakfast slowly enough it wasn’t deemed suspicious.
“ Griiiaaaaaaaaannnnnnn ,” Scar teased. “Did you sign up?”
“Uh… yes? Percussion?”

No-one spoke for a minute.
Mumbo was smiling, Tango was outright grinning, his slightly-too-sharp canines on full display.

“What?” I asked. “Did I do something wrong or something?”
“I just didn’t pick you as being one for percussion. Or any instrument at all,” Scott admitted.
“Joel, you said you did percussion a while back, didn’t you?” Lizzie deflected, looking at Joel expectantly.
“Yeah, but that was, like, a decade ago!” Joel retorted, clearly unhappy about the attention being deflected onto him.
I looked at him.

Silently hoping I wouldn’t pay the price for it later, I summoned a pair of shadowbolts, before reshaping them into drumsticks. Standing up, I seized them before duplicating them in front of Joel.
“You never forget how to drum, though,” I said, grinning, tapping on the table and adjusting the density of all the drumsticks until the sound came out right, before I began to tap out a rhythm on the table, quickly turning it into a roll.
“You chicken?” I asked at Joel’s hesitancy to pick up the second pair of drumsticks.

At the comment, Joel’s face (and presumably his resolve, too) hardened, as he picked up the second pair. Twirling one in his left hand, he began to join in the roll, before joining it with his left.
“How long can you go for?” he asked me.
“Oh, I could go all day,” I replied with a smirk, speeding up a little just to tease him.

He matched my speed.

A smirk graced my lips.

“So, uh,” Mumbo said, “while those two are going, does anyone else play anything?”
“Flute and Piccolo,” Scar volunteered
Lizzie levelled a flat stare at him.”Flute and Soprano Sax, but giving you the power to Super-C people feels illegal to me.”
“Playing two instruments was mandatory for me. They made the mistake of letting me choose which ones. Regular and Piccolo trumpet,” Scott smiled, “but yeah, giving Scar the ability to blast out our eardrums certainly feels illegal.”
“Bass,” Tango said, “and I’ve already experienced it. He jumped me the other day.”
“Trombone,” someone I didn’t know the name of. “Jimmy, by the way-”
“Of course, Timmy,” I replied, still making eye-contact with Joel as our roll gradually sped up.
“ J immy,” he corrected, emphasising the J specifically.

‘ Tim. Timmy. Jim. Jimmy. Easy enough mistake to make,’ Ariana offered.
‘ This is a bit,’ C.G said over the top of her, ‘ keep it going. Annoy him.’
‘Oh hell yeah.’

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” I replied, speeding up the roll slightly, “ Timmy .”
“ Jimmy not Timmy .”
“And I never thought otherwise, Tim.”
“A- oh, screw it. I give up: this is worse than being called James…”

‘An opportunity, ’ C.G said mischievously. ‘ Tell him about the Thames. ’

“Like the river?”
“What?”
“The River Thames. That runs through Dogwarts?”

“Grian, how the hell are you talking at the same time as this?!” Joel demanded, eyes full of concentration and focus.
“Oh, maybe because I’m not out of practice?” I taunted, grinning as I sped up the rhythm.

It only took thirty more seconds for Joel to accidentally break the wooden drumsticks.
I dismissed them before they impacted Scar’s remaining waffles, slowing my own rhythm gradually before dismissing my drumsticks.

“You’re washed up, Joel,” I said, retaking my seat, before elbowing Mumbo. “Tell them about the ukulele.”
“What?! No!” Mumbo objected. “I am not telling them about the uke!”
“Tell us about the uke Mumbo!” Scar said, doing his best impression of puppy-dog eyes.
“Yeah, tell us about the uke,” Lizzie said innocently, “or you’ll have two flutes breaking your eardrums.”

Mumbo looked genuinely scared for his eardrums.

Thankfully, however, they weren’t expected to come to the first band rehearsal for a few weeks.

A few other things came up on the noticeboards in that time - recruitment for a choir (Scar and I both signed up, and then found out Scott and Lizzie had as well), more information about the Primo Dance (which was to be held near the end of the year - if we lasted that long), and a reminder that informal, out-of-class duels were banned .

Unfortunately, however, I needed Scott out of my face, and a duel would probably be the only thing I could do it with.

Chapter Text

Grian was waiting outside the magic theory. I had no clue how he’d gotten there so fast, then I remembered he left before I got caught up with Lizzie..

“Grian!” I  said, grinning. Grian sighed.
“Scott, you need to stay out of my face,” he said, deadpan.
“What?” I asked, wondering what I’d done.
“I know where all the classrooms are,” he said bluntly. “I don’t need you to escort me to Defense and Battle. I don’t need you constantly asking me if I need help with the homework. And I especially don’t need you turning up at the door of my dorm at six in the morning to wake us up.”
“What? I don’t do that-”
“Yes, you do. And it needs to stop.”
“I’m making sure you’re ready for classes! Is that too much?”
“Unfortunately, Scott, I am my own person. If you continue behaving like this, I will be challenging you to a duel.”
“Wait they do allow that here-?”
“No, but I’ll do it anyway.” Grian smirked. “Now, I’ll be seeing you in Defense, so you’d better hurry up. You’ve only got-” he glanced out a nearby window - “about two minutes to get there.”
Grian walked off.

It took a little over three minutes to get from Magical Theory to Defense, so, obviously, I ended up being late.
Grian had gotten there before him, not seeming to care at all about the confused look I sent him, considering that he was in the middle of dodging swing after swing Miss Gemini had sent his way, side-stepping, ducking and jumping the blade of her longsword.

“Good! Keep it up!” she said, before going for a lunge. Grian effortlessly side-stepped it, spinning with the turn and aiming a kick at the back of Miss Gemini's knees, being careful to avoid scratching them with his talons.
The teacher stumbled, allowing Grian (unarmed) to knock the sword from her hands.
Regaining her footing, Miss Gemini grinned.
“Great job, Grian!” she said brightly. “You successfully dodged all my attacks, and disarmed me! I should go harder on you next time.” She looked around at the other pairs, sparring with each other and turned to me, “Now, Scott, do you have a reason for being late?”
“I got caught up in a conversation between classes, Professor,” I replied. 

“Well, off to the changerooms with you! I’ll be showing you a proper disarming technique that hopefully you can use in your Battle classes.”

I still pondered what Grian had said earlier. Even if he did challenge me to a duel, there was no way I could risk showing my true powers, or, worse, hurt him.

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

I didn’t think the day could get much worse. Grian had just said he hated me, Jimmy tripped and broke his wrist (again), I was late to defence. Unfortunately, all that changed when I heard the rumours.

“One of the new kids challenged the prince of Rivendell to a duel!”
That had sent a shiver up my spine. I had expected it to be some fake rumour - being the child of a royal family, those are plentiful. However when I stumbled into Lizzie, who was hyperventilating outside the old training room, I learned I was wrong.
“It's true Scott,” her breath was shaky, “he’s waiting for you inside”.
Lizzie walked in with me and the first thing I saw was Joel sitting on a bench. 

He held up a scrappy cardboard sign that read ‘YOUR GONNA LOOSE NEW KID ’, grammatical errors and all. Lizzie sat down next to him, a worried expression growing on her face, but I had no fear at the moment - Grian thought he was better? I would show him.
Grian’s roommates, Mumbo and Scar, were there too. But that wasn't important.

What was important was that I was going to win .

I pulled out my sword, luckily I still had it on me from Defence. The Elvish bronze blade gave off a warm glow, the golden sheath clattered to the ground, the dark blue hilt firmly in my hand.
I twirled my sword before levelling the point at Grian. Luckily for me, I’d been practising swordplay since the age of six.

“So, do you want to do this with magic or the old-fashioned way?” I asked, hoping for the latter, I didn't want to hurt him with my ice.

Instead of a verbal answer, Grian summoned two raven’s wings, whatever was beneath that black blindfold glowing. A spear that looked as though it was made from pure darkness was gripped in his left hand.

At first, the fight went for a while at close quarters, mostly just dodging each other’s strikes, until I managed to push Grian and his pulsating weapon away. Suddenly thousands, if not millions of stylized purple eyes appeared, their faint purple glow covering the now-dark airspace, staring right at me, and probably being the reason for Lizzie’s startled scream.
For every eye, there was a pulsating spike made of shadows that I had a feeling could and would do physical harm.
I’d never seen this kind of magic before - the manipulation of shadows was not something many magic users could even dream of accomplishing.

The spikes rotated, and pointed straight at me. I lifted my sword, getting ready to block an attack. But the bolts didn’t come at me.

Not yet.

Grian himself dove, but only five of the massive amount of spikes followed him as he pointed his spear outwards. I attempted to side-step the dive, but Grian pulled up at the last second, allowing the spikes to fly past him and form into a blunt bludgeoning force.

I was thrown into the wall, but was barely fazed by it - my mentors had thrown me into sturdier walls harder than that. Nothing came of it but a small graze on my cheek

Grian’s lips were contorted in a scowl, and this time he swooped properly. I met his spear with my own sword, and for a moment it looked as though Grian was actually trying to kill me.
Adrenaline surged through my veins as our weapons sparked, the spear in Grian’s hand flowing into a greatsword after only a few parries.

It took a minute, but eventually Grian retreated back into the air, spear thrust upwards as the spikes stood to attention again, following the angle of his spear as he pointed it at me. He grinned and dived, every spike following him.

My eyes widened - my armour was light! It wouldn’t be able to take this!
I braced myself for the impact, holding my sword out, turning my head away from the shadowbolts.

But the impact never came.

A loud THUNK and several smaller CLINK s sounded out as the sands on the floor of the training room were lifted by the strong winds the shadow-manipulating magic had caused.

I lowered my sword, and, there before me, was a wall of translucent ice. There were marks of foreign magic upon its opposite surface, but not a scratch.

Grian, having made impact with and obviously ricocheted off of the ice, was getting to his feet on the other side of the wall of ice, spear now gone.

“You’re good,” he muttered, before a guttural, Enderian screech escaped his mouth.

All around them, the shadows swirled. Waves of them lifted up off the ground, walls and ceiling, coalescing into one massive spike, aimed directly for the wall of ice.

“∴ᔑℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑ᒷ∷ᓭ, ʖ∷ᒷᔑꖌ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ╎ᓵᒷ 𝙹⎓ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭᒷᓵ𝙹リ↸ !¡∷╎リᓵᒷ 𝙹⎓ ∷╎⍊ᒷリ↸ᒷꖎꖎ!” he yelled. I couldn’t understand a single syllable of the speech that grated my ears as the missile fired.

Lizzie gasped, her face struck with shock, shaking Joel, who was paying attention to the assortment of small items Scar seemed to be trying to sell him. I looked up to the wall and saw something that I knew wasn’t possible… A large crack, in a strangely familiar pattern, was spread across the ice wall. I knew, I wasn’t sure how, that this had to be an illusion. Putting my hand on the wall it felt as strong as normal, not a crack in sight, but as soon as I took my hand away from the ice I could see the odd symbol again.

There was a swirl of Void and shadow to my right, and I turned just in time for Grian to grab my wrist and snap it like a twig.

I gasped in pain, drawing my wrist back towards myself.

Grian skidded in the sands upon landing, but stayed on his feet (talons?).

“Do you yield?” he asked, smirking. 

After that I’m not sure what happened, all I knew was I felt angry

The pain in my right wrist ebbed away to something more like that of a sprain or bruise. Ice shards as sharp as razorblades flew at Grian, spearing through his wings - which disappeared in a puff of smoke and feathers each - and his jumper.
Thankfully, I had enough control left that the one that landed a centimetre away from his face didn’t actually impact it.

The shards were buried deep enough in the stone that Grian had some wiggle room, but not much else.

“You caught me off guard, Prince.”
Grian was pinned against the wall. Ice spikes had caught him by his red jumper and had only grazed his skin, however thankfully not drawing blood. I figured his eyes were wide, but the blindfold he was wearing obscured them and prevented me from finding out if they really were.

I whipped out my sword. My dominant hand was still racked with pain, getting worse after the blast of uncontrollable magic. Fortunately, for me, I had the same sword skills with both hands, swirling the blade around and pointing its shining edge to Grian’s throat.
“Any more moves, or can we be done now?” I smirked. After he yielded, I pulled the shards out, they’d left holes in his red jumper. I gasped, clutching my wrist as another wave of pain swam over me. Lizzie ran up to me, asking if I was ok, but my main concern was making sure my ice hadn’t hurt Grian. Before I could, my legs failed me, shaking and giving out. I dropped to the floor, breathing heavily as the burst of energy left me. I was dazed, as if I’d just come out of anaesthesia. All I could make out was Grian kneeling down, wrapping his torn sweater around me.
“It’s like the opposite of a fever,” his voice sounded like I was underwater. “He’s freezing over.”

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

I wasn’t sure what time it was when I woke up. At first I couldn’t move, but I could feel Grian’s jumper still around me. I was laying on a bed in a dorm that wasn’t my own. The walls were a lighter grey than my own, and there seemed to be someone else in the room too. I gathered enough strength to sit up and saw Grian look up from a book, pushing up his glasses.
“You’re awake,” he said in a monotone. “Scar thought you died,”
“Charming,” I said, looking around. “Why am I in your dorm?”
“Because you blacked out after the duel genius. You guys have practical magic, and I’m the only one who doesn’t take that class, so guess who got stuck babysitting.” Grian rolled his eyes. Before I could respond, he spoke again: “And before you ask, you were out for three hours, 26 minutes and-” he looked at the clock- “38 seconds.”

Part of me wanted to argue, but the majority of me wanted to go back to sleep (their beds were strangely comfortable).
“Why did you give me this?” I gestured to the red sweater wrapped around me.
“Here we go again” Grian sighed, but a small smile appeared on his face for a split second. “You were turning into Frosty the Snowman.” Grian laughed at the confused look on my face and explained that frost had started creeping up on my arms just before I fell completely unconscious. The memories of what had happened that morning flooded through my head, a small ebbing pain in my right wrist growing more apparent. He’d carried me out of the training room with a little help from Scar and brought me to his dorm. Apparently he’d had to lie to Aimee’s face so we wouldn’t get into trouble  because of this ‘little duel’ (nothing about that had been little. I don’t know why Grian referred to it as being little).
“Promise me one thing,” I said to him. “Don’t challenge me to a duel again.”
Grian chuckled a bit before saying, “You might not be so bad after all, Scott Major. ”

I narrowed my eyes and stared at him.

“Feel free to pass out again - you’ve got Magic Theory next,” Grian said, turning back to his book. “And, besides, I was just getting to the good part anyway.”

I groaned, and proceeded to pass out.

I awoke again sometime that night, finding that I was still in Grian’s dorm. The curtains were drawn shut, and there was one other person in the dorm, Scar, who was sitting on another bed.

“You’re awake!” he announced. “It’s, like, 11pm: I don’t think you’ll be able to make it back to your dorm without being busted by Aimee...”
“Oh, okay,” I mumbled. “I guess I’ll just sleep on the floor then-”
“Oh, no, no!” Scar said, smiling kindly. “Mumbo and Grian will happily share”

“Ok. Wait, what do-,” I tried to ask, before Scar interrupted…

“It’s complicated, they say…” Scar sighed, “Grian and Mumbo are best friends, verging on more, but they don’t really talk to me about any of that. Apparently, it’s complicated. ”
“Unfortunately I’m oblivious to social conventions,”
“I know. Grian complains.”

At that moment, the door to the room's bathroom opened and Grian walked out, a much softer-looking blindfold than the one he’d worn during the duel having replaced his glasses. He wore a white tank top and grey sweatpants.

“You’re awake,” he noticed.
I wondered how he could see through the blindfold.
“You’ll be able to stay there tonight,” Grian continued, “just don’t wake us up earlier than necessary. We have double Battle in the morning - don’t make me gut you before I’m allowed to.”

Mumbo emerged soon after, wearing a baggy plain white t-shirt and black sweatpants. He walked up to the switch on the wall next to the door, placing his hand over next to it. A wave of small sparks washed over the lightswitch, and the lights flickered off.

There was a rustling of blankets and fabric on the other side of the room - my eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness and minimal moonlight filtering in through the cracks in the curtains. I was still wearing Grian’s torn red jumper, which… was really warm .
Like, warmer than any woollen jumpers I’d ever felt. I would know, Rivendell’s main export was wool. It felt hotter than Rivendell’s warmest summers.

My armour had been loosened, thankfully, and I took the opportunity to take it off, attempting to do so as quietly as possible. But doing such a simple task felt extremely difficult. I was still tired from the duel- using up all your strength would do that to a person.

Finally, after blindly struggling with the last strap on the breastplate of my armour for ten minutes, I managed to remove the last piece of the ensemble, and could finally properly breathe again.

I placed it all on the floor, trying to do so as quietly as possible, before seizing the blankets and flinging them over my head.

-.- -o- –0- -o- –.-

I awoke early the next morning, feeling like I’d slept for a week. Grian was missing from his and Mumbo’s bed, but Mumbo and Scar were both still asleep.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, untangling myself from the blankets whilst doing so. I stood, stumbling slightly on weak legs, but managed to make it to the door, before remembering I was still wearing Grian’s jumper and that I’d left my armour on the floor.
I quietly walked back to the bed, going to take off Grian’s jumper.

“You can keep it, y’know,” a voice cut through the silence and I stilled, turning to see Grian standing in the doorway from the bathroom. “There’s runes stitched into the collar to keep it at the perfect temperature for me. But it’s fine - I’ve got more.”
“That would explain the extreme heat-” I paused, turning. “No other reason?”
Grian thought for a second, before a mischievous grin crossed his face. “Well there’s that and that you did ruin it.”
I looked at him, unimpressed.
“What?” Grian replied. “I can feel your judgemental look, I don’t even need to see to receive it. Anyway, take the thing. It’s yours.”

“Really?” I asked.
“Really,” Grian said, and he sounded like he meant it. “Consider it a token of our friendship- Hey!”

He was cut off as I enveloped him in a hug. 

“Scott!!” Grian yelled, making a strangled sort of chirping noise that was almost like a laugh. “Get off me before I stab you !”
“Can’t you, like, teleport?” I chuckled.
“Not with you   hanging onto me I can’t!” he yelped, pulling away from my embrace, and I let him, realising that I’d actually just hugged him and he didn’t kill me on the spot.

“Don’t you dare do that again,” Grian growled.

I found myself being pushed out the door, my armour shoved into my hands, and the door being slammed behind me.

Well, I was heading this way anyway…

Chapter Text

I made it back to my dorm and rendezvous with Lizzie and Joel. The two of them were relieved to see me.

“ We honestly thought you died in their dorm,” Joel said, "I couldn't tell if he was joking.

Lizzie whacked him in the shoulder, and I rested Grian’s jumper on my bed. I doubt I would need it, as Fawklawian winters were already warm enough for me, but I still considered it a nice gesture.

Battle wasn’t expected to be exceedingly different today. None of us would’ve thought anything was going to be different, until Techno approached Grian and I before our class was due to start.

“I heard about your duel yesterday,” he said, startling the two of us - the piglin hybrid could walk very quietly when he wanted to.
“Oh, uh, we’re sor-” I started.
“I wanted to say that you two could do with some practice fighting together for once,” Techno interrupted.
“...what?” I asked. Grian looked about as confused as I felt.
“You two against the rest of the class this morning,” Techno explained. “I want you two to fight together . Try not to kill anyone, including yourselves.” Neither Grian nor I said anything, only giving each other nervous glances.

“Now, come on, I want you two to get at least a warm up in before class,” Techno said, smirking as he turned. “You two have very interesting individual styles, ” he continued as we hurried to follow him, “I’ve never seen Rivendellian styles and Enderian styles working in tandem. Consider it an experiment”

It was a five-minute walk to where we normally had Battle, but we took a different path than normal. Techno idly tore a poster off a noticeboard, handing it to me as we walked.

It was for a duelling club.

“We might as well be there to stop you killing each other,” he explained, leading us into a room near our normal Battle classroom. He shed his cloak and took his greatsword off the wall, hanging the robe on the sword’s hook. “Collect your weapons - you two fight me. Together.”

I was unsure about this, but Grian shrugged and summoned his Void-spear. I hesitantly collected my longsword from the weapons rack.

“Five minutes to strategize - don’t worry, I won’t be listening.”

I looked at Grian.
“How’d you get him the other day?” I asked.
“Shadowbolt arrow,” he said. “Pinned his robe to the floor, then drop-kicked him from above.” He smirked. “The rest of the class are great distractions.”
I sighed. “So, we tag-team him. Tire him out.”
Grian replied with another shrug. “Seems so,” he replied. “And don’t be afraid to use that ice of yours.” A wide grin graced his face. “Who knows - it’s powerful enough that it might just give us some room to breathe.”

The thing was, I was afraid. I was trying to avoid using my ice. I barely had any control over my powers and if I let them loose and couldn’t stop them-

No. I couldn’t waste time worrying. I walked over to a shelf filled with different weapons. Bows, daggers, rapiers, the whole lot. “What are you doing?” Grian  asked. “Both of us already have weapons.”
I looked at him and smirked, “But Techno doesn’t know that. Take something, something completely different to your weapon and make your opponents think you’ll use it instead. A tactic I learnt back in Rivendell.”
Grian nodded, unsure. I picked up a spear, Grian picked up a dagger, and the two of us walked towards Techno.

“You’re ready?” the piglin hybrid asked.
We nodded.
“Wow, it’s only been three minutes,” he muttered, taking note of the weapons we held as we all entered stances of our choice.

Grian summoned a pair of wings I hadn’t seen yet - fluffy swan’s wings. They were white, but had pale pink feathers littered throughout.

‘ How many types of wings does this guy have?” I thought - first, it’d been the black raven’s wings during the duel, then the black-and-pink falcon’s wings, and now white-and-pink swan’s wings?

I shook my head, filing the thought away for later - no matter that. We had a duel to win.

“To yield,” Techno said, grinning. “No killing or amputation. Try not to maim each-other.”

Techno charged first, hooves making loud clop ping noises on the hardwood floor.
The two of us dodged in opposite directions, Grian darting into the air and me performing a practised roll.

A quick jerk of Grian’s head gesturing for me to attack first, and I lept at Techno with the spear, attempting to block a strike with the shaft, but Grian made spearplay look much easier than it was, (I rarely handled a spear, not at all a Rivendellian style of fighting). I suddenly had a deep groove cut in the shaft, it grew deeper the longer I held it there, and the more force Techno was delivering through the greatsword.

Grian, realising my situation, dove, digging his talons into Techno’s shoulders.

Techno released the force bearing down on the spear to reach up, grab Grian around the ankle, and swing him down onto the floor.
The shoulders of Techno’s shirt were torn, but it seemed that Grian hadn’t done much serious damage, no blood emerged.

Techno whirled back around to me, delivering a hard blow to my midriff, sending me flying backward, before returning his attention to Grian, who was trying to hold his own with the dagger - of course, a light, one-handed weapon against a heavy, two-handed one had a clear winner.

I pulled myself back to my feet, looking down at my broken spear - Grian seemed to be doing better with the dagger than I had been doing with my own bait weapon.

“SCOTT!” Grian’s voice cut across the room. “GET READY!”
Techno braced for something, but I realised what he was talking about, as Grian planted his talons on Techno’s sword and pushing off into the air, throwing the dagger as he summoned several shadowbolts.
And one was right next to me, the exact shape and weight of my sword.

I grabbed it dashing in to take Techno’s blow, pushing him far back with several slashes in rapid succession. I took a deep breath and decided it was either now or never. My hands started freezing over as I flicked my wrist, ice covering the bricks around me, a flurry of snowflakes appearing around Techno's head.

“ HEH?! ” Techno yelped as the ground beneath him froze over. I quickly flicked my wrist upwards and a wall of ice shot upward in time to shield me from Grian’s coming barrage of shadowbolts in the form of blunt arrows, blasting Techno into the floor.

The rain of shadowbolts finished mere seconds after it started, and I darted out, approaching Techno, who was lying on his back, panting, in a crater. The tip of my shadowbolt sword pointed at his throat.

Techno smirked.
“I yield,” he said as Grian landed with a thump. He was panting too, and had stumbled upon landing.

The shadowbolt in my hand was dismissed, and, as the adrenaline wore off, I realised what I had done.
I’d used my ice to win .

“Good job, you two,” Techno complimented, pushing himself up, before walking over to the wall and placing a hand on one of the runes carved there. It glowed a faint red and the floor began to fix itself, returning to the previous scratched and semi-polished look the floor had been previous, except for my ice wall. “Simple repair rune - every training and duelling room in the school has one.” “I’ll need to ask Phi-” he caught himself “uh the headmaster about your ice, Scott, but I’m just happy I chose to avoid the sand this time.”

There was an awkward science

“What?” Techno asked. “Don’t tell me you like landing on the sand?!”
I understood what he meant. I’d been thrown into sand multiple times: concrete was better to fall onto. After a training session Lizzie and I had together, we were picking sand out of our hair for weeks.
“Is it better than a hardwood floor?” Grian suggested.
“What do you mean it’s better ?!” Techno demanded. “It gets everywhere .”

Grian paused, thought, and then smiled.

“I lived in a desert for a while,” he said, “it’s pretty okay.”
Two judgemental looks were sent his way.
“Try snow instead,” Grian deflected. “It gets you soaked . ”
“Hey! Don’t insult snow!” I retorted. “You only get soaked if you don’t get up fast enough.”
“Try that on a mountainside with rocks underneath it,” Grian retorted. “It hurts .”
“For the record, I have tried that: you just have a skill issue.”

I thought Grian was about to tackle me before Techno intervened.

“Okay don’t murder each other yet,” Techno replied. “We have three minutes until your classmates are due to get here. I want you two to meet them in the hall, and then attack from within.”
“A betrayal?” Grian asked.
“Yeah,” Techno replied. “I’ll be watching from the balcony. Now, it is a double, so don’t hesitate to knock them out, just don’t give them a concussion.”

After winning the duel with Techno, I felt pretty good about fighting with Grian. If I had to do it on my own, there was no way I’d be able to attempt to hurt anyone, but having Grian there meant I had an ally to fall back on - an ally that was confident enough in their power to control it. As the bell to signal the start of that day’s lessons rang, Grian and I slipped outside the door and waited for our class to arrive. 

After all 20 had arrived, including Lizzie and Joel, the door opened, but just as he’d said, Techno wasn’t waiting at the front of the classroom. We swarmed in like a school of fish, the others looking around for our teacher, before people began to swarm the weapons rack, expecting a Techno-ambush.

But Techno didn’t come.

Suddenly someone was judo flipped and thrown across the class, and I knew it was go-time. I pulled out my sword and pushed three of my classmates to the side with the flat edge. 

Several people screamed. Someone tried to kick me in the head.
Suddenly I was fighting three people at once, and winning.

Blunt shadowbolts rained down from above, but Grian was nowhere to be seen - I knew he could turn invisible (which was an incredibly unbalanced thing to have), so he was probably still hanging around somewhere.

More and more students began realising I was the easier target, coming to attack me instead of aiming their weapons at the sky.

“Grian!” I yelled. “A little help here?!”

On cue, everyone around me was knocked into by an invisible force, and Grian reappeared, getting to his feet and easily parrying an attempted stab in the back before sending the offender flying.

The spear in his hand reformed into a sword, which he slashed at the air with, shadowbolts appearing in its wake and firing, pinning a few students to the wall by their clothes.

Suddenly, I was facing Lizzie and Joel.
Oh no…

“Techno put you up to this, right?” Lizzie asked warily.
“You could say that,” I replied, rushing them, quickly disarming Lizzie and elbowing Joel in the face. My eyes widened. “Sorry-”
“Don’t apologise: we’re fighting!” Grian yelled from behind me, seizing me by the arm and jumping into the air, getting us out of the horde and setting us down on the edge.

“There are going to be times when you are going to have to fight those you love,” Grian growled. “A Changeling, for instance, might take the place of a friend, a parent, a relative or even a lover. You have to kill those things quickly, or they’ll attach and start draining your magic. Or you may encounter a Siren at sea, and have to try and disarm or incapacitate someone you love to stop them from murdering someone - or themselves . Or-” He glanced back at the students who were regrouping, and took a breath. “Point is, stop apologising and just fight .”
He emphasised that last word with a new round of shadowbolts, pinning yet more students to the walls, and knocking a few out.

Several hung back to help those who’d fallen victim to the shadowbolts, and I stood once more, having caught my breath, and dashed straight back into the fray.

As I fought, I mulled over what Grian had said - there are going to be times when you are going to have to fight those you love . I don’t think I’d be able to do that.

But what had he been about to say before cutting himself off? Or what? What other circumstances would cause me to have to fight my friends?

We made it to the weekend intact, thankfully, as our first actual band and choir rehearsals were due to happen that Saturday morning.

After some guidance from a benevolent upperclassman, we made our way to an area where there weren’t many classrooms, but the runes carved on the walls grew in both size and frequency, finding ourselves in a tiered room - there were four levels, including the ground level, but tallest up the back was covered in various percussion instruments, which had quickly drawn in our two drummers, with a rack of what I assumed to be electric guitars or basses, which was where Tango had practically teleported to.
There was a shelf pushed against the wall at the front, which those of us with smaller instruments gathered around, fighting for shelf space.

I took out my trumpets, smiling as I began to warm up my piccolo trumpet.
Scar and Lizzie set up their flutes, but each took out other instruments - Scar, grabbed what was probably a piccolo (flute), and Lizzie picked up what looked like a golden clarinet. One blast from it, however, told me it was a saxophone.
Jimmy opened his larger case on the floor, and I immediately knew it was a trombone - brass instruments were easy to identify.

A deep strum from the back of the room told me Tango had plugged in a bass, and several crashing noises told me that either one of our drummers had begun playing or had fallen over one of the percussion instruments.

More people filed in - a girl with scarily pale skin that was almost greenish in hue and a curved, a roughly stitched-up scar running from her right jaw, across her nose and ending on her left temple, who was both shorter than me and carrying what I assumed were a flute and a trumpet. She was speaking with an older-looking boy with white hair who was about my height. He had tanned skin, but a black cloth mask covered the lower half of his face. A noticeable blood-red scar tore over his left eye, but what I could see of his skin was otherwise unblemished. He had a guitar case strung over one shoulder.

Not long after, another boy walked in. He was shorter than me, and had dark skin and big brown eyes. His hair was such a dark brown it was verging on black, but there was a red headband tied around where his hairline was.
He was holding the small case of a trumpet and the large, rectangular case of a sax.

Those of us who’d set up our instruments moved away from the shelf to allow the newcomers to do so as a yell of challenge carried from the percussion section.

I looked over, to find Joel expertly spinning a drumstick in one hand as he rolled the other on the snare, and Grian pulling the leather cover off the top of what seemed to be a large drum.
He lifted a mallet over his hand and slammed it onto the drum, a loud BANG slamming itself into our eardrums.

Scar met Lizzie’s eyes as he raised his piccolo.
Lizzie raised her flute.
A pair of what I remembered Lizzie referring to as ‘Super-C's' were blasted at not only the two up the back, but also us down the front.

Tango fiddled with the knob on the amp his bass was connected to, and the noise that came out of the speaker was worse than the Super-Cs, somehow.
Maybe it was because the bass was hooked up to the room’s speaker system.

Either way, after a retaliating pound from Grian, I raised my trumpet (the piccolo trumpet), and let out the highest note I could. The orange-haired girl and dark-skinned boy both raised their own trumpets and harmonised, Jimmy and his trombone not far behind.

Scar began to play riffs, Lizzie joining in. Another blast from the brass and another strum from Tango saw us all trying to out-noise each-other.

It was no wonder why we didn’t hear the approaching pairs of footsteps.

“And I call this,” I heard from behind me, “Overreaching Chaos.”

The noise stuttered like a broken car. Professor Riffs stood at the door, Aimee just behind, a sly look on her face

“Now, don’t let us stop you,” Professor Riffs said, crossing his arms and leaning against the door. “Keep going.”

Several of us flushed in embarrassment, but no-one kept going.
Professor Riffs entered the room, pointing to Tango.
“You, off the bass,” he ordered. “We have cellos in the room next door, in the back left corner.”

Tango leapt up, snapping a mock-salute, before packing up the electric bass and hurrying next door.
Professor Riffs directed his gaze up the back.
“The timpanis are not to be used unless a piece calls for it,” he scolded. Grian wilted slightly. “Despite the strengthening runes, they’re still delicate .”

He looked at us who’d gathered at the front of the room.

“You’ve all brought your own instruments - good. Find yourselves a folder from up the front,” he directed. “Those of you who signed up for choir, Professor Griffin wants a word.”
“Pix, it’s Aimee to everyone,” Aimee sighed, looking across the room.

Professore Riffs looked at her pointedly.
“It’s Aimee when Phil’s not around,” she conceded, “Well, come on you lot”.

Putting down my trumpet on its case, I followed. Lizzie and Scar halved their flutes while the clatter of mallets told me that Grian had just dropped them in favour of parkouring over the percussion instruments and hurried down.

At that moment, Tango emerged, a large bow slotted in his belt like a sword and a larger-than-normal cello gripped in his hands.
He grinned. “I found double-basses.”

It didn’t take long for Tango to set up the double-bass he’d found - of course, by then, however, we’d stepped into the hallway. Aimee led us to another room, humming what seemed like a Rivendellian folk song…

“Last chance to back out,” she said as he opened the door for us.

“Now, I’m not sure what you’re expecting, but change that expectation to chaos,” Aimee smiled, “Not sure how much we can do with you five, but we’ll make it work.”

Standing beside me were Scar, Shelby and Lizzie; all three seemed ecstatic. Grian on the other hand, blankly nodded and gestured for her to continue.

“ Now, I’ve heard various stories about past choirs forming unions or whatever; doing nothing of the sort. I already have Techno complaining about the government, I don’t need a bunch of teenagers. Next: Songs. Each of you come up with two songs you want to do, and we’ll meet next week.  I have a class to teach, goodbye,” Aimee finished, and promptly walked out of the music building.
The five of us stood there awkwardly, before Professor Riffs called us back in.

Shelby walked over to the store room, bringing out an instrument I hadn’t seen in years. A melodian , a harp-like folk instrument traditionally played in the undergrove. With Shelby being the princess of the undergrove, her choice of instrument made sense.

Professor Riffs (who insisted we call him Pix during band practice  because at the rate we were going, there was no professionalism involved) stood at the front of the room, asking us to play concert B flat, a C for me. As someone who’d never played in a band setting before, the surrounding sound was surreal. 

While Pix started to hand out sheet music, a traditional Pixandrian folk song by the looks of it, a loud crash came from the store room. Seconds later, a fluff of brown hair covered in leaves and twigs, emerged from the side of the door frame.
“Um… I’ll just, you know, leave the clarinet here,” The guy looked around my age and strangely familiar. His orange jumper was torn and discoloured, his bright blue eyes scanned the room… Before landing on me.

That’s when it struck me. Owen West, the son of a previous royal advisor, an old friend, had just walked into the band room.

“S-Scott? Wh- Why are-?” he sat in a chair in between me and Scar. Pix looked bewildered, but decided to continue, introducing the song and getting us to sight read it. Owen disappeared after band practice, but said he’d see me at the outing tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Breakfast was a quick ordeal. Grian, Scar and Mumbo appeared at the same time, Scar fully kitted out for the beach day. 

 “Sorry we’re late. Someone took forever to get ready,” Grian rolled his eyes at Scar. Scar lifted up his spade, playfully whacking Grian’s arm with it,
“ I only took the essentials! Mumbo was the last one in the bathroom!”
“Fixing your electric toothbrush that you broke!” Mumbo retorted. Grian stifled a laugh, causing Mumbo to look down towards him,confused.
“That may have been my fault,” He chuckled, and explained how he’d been playing truth or dare with Scar. This led to Scar using his electric toothbrush to clean the shower…

“Wh-What kind of a stupid idea was that!” Mumbo shook his head, and sat down. Sipping his orange juice, Scar asked when the next band rehearsal was. I had flashbacks of the countless super-c’s we endured, and reminded Scar that I owned a piccolo trumpet. Scar was quiet after that…

 After being herded out of the school by Aimee and Techno, who decided to run our little trip of about forty students, we came to a small, outdoor train station.

The train we boarded was a majestic locomotive, rounded windows lined with silver, hovering slightly above the rustic tracks.
“I don’t remember mag-lev being implemented on Fawklaw Island?” Shelby asked Jimmy and I as we boarded the train. I couldn’t recall if the topic was ever discussed during an UEA meeting, but I would’ve fallen asleep during a magic levitation conversation.

The ride to the beach didn’t seem that long, with Lizzie and Joel as entertainment. The two acted like an old married couple, with Lizzie attempting (and failing miserably) to neaten Joel’s hair.

“Would it kill you to buy a bottle of hair gel? Your hair is messier than a lion’s mane!” Lizzie rolled her eyes, giving up.

“I’m the best lion, that’s why,” Joel smirked, giving his best impression of a lion’s roar.

“I’ve heard kittens roar better than that, Joel,” I sighed. It was at that point when Cleo decided to come into our compartment.

“What was that noise, it sounded like a kitten trying to cough up a hairball,” She rolled her eyes and took a seat next to me, her long orange hair whipping Joel in the face.

“Well Cleo, that noise came from the idiot you just slapped with your hair,” Lizzie laughed. She rested her head on Joel’s shoulder and closed her eyes, leaving a startled Joel to internally panic (read stare at me uncomfortably). He eventually came to terms with his demotion to pillow and lay his head on Lizzie’s.

Cleo smiled and whispered to me, “ Joel and Lizzie? … I ship it”. I’d have to say I agreed.

By noon, we were at the beach. My main goals for the day were not to get eaten by the Fawklawian Shark and not to get sand in my lunch. Owen and I walked across the warm sand while the others followed behind. The last time I’d seen him (before the recent clarinet incident) was when we were ten years old, we had a lot to catch up on. 

“Where do you live now, Owenge?” I asked. He smiled at the use of his old nickname.
“Off the grid,” he replied, “somewhere between the Pixandrian Desert and the Lost Jungle, I think.”

Before our conversation could go any further, I heard my name being called out by a distant voice with a similar accent to my own. At first I thought it was one of the professors who’d come to supervise us, and looked around wondering what I’d done. But instead, four flags appeared in the distance. Surprisingly I recognized them. I bubbled with excitement, gesturing to Owen as I ran towards the shoreline, my Rivendell coat flapping in the wind.

“S-Scott, what are you doing?” Owen panted, catching up with me. He seemed confused before he saw the flags and smiled. I heard my name again but this time a face was attached to the voice. He wore a white shirt and a long navy overcoat with golden accents. His silver hair was shorter than the last time I’d seen him, no longer covering his striking grey eyes. He had similar features to me, elven ears, a straight nose and pale skin. He was thinner and taller than he was when he left for the seas. I hadn’t seen my older cousin for ages.

“Acho!” I yelled, overjoyed to see him after so many years. A large ship sailed closer to the docks. It was a large galleon, made of rich, dark wood. The handrails were painted gold, matching the highlight’s on Acho’s jacket. Above the crows nest, flew not only the colours, but the flags of the Nightingales, Herons, Kites and Kestrels, the four pirate factions.

As the 20 year old pirate commanded his crew, I saw a familiar face. A taller guy with bright green eyes brushed his light brown hair out of his eyes. He wore a maroon vest over a similar white shirt to Acho and baggy pants with dirt caked onto them. Apokuna’s warm smile as he gestured to two other pirates reminded me of Owen’s. One had blonde hair loosely tied into two braids, ombreing into a charcoal grey. Only one of their deep purple eyes was visible, bloodstained bandages across their face and arms. Their purple sash around their waist complemented their vest of the same colour. The blonde pirate pulled their taller crewmate along, narrowly avoiding their sword. This pirate wore the same shirt as the others, along with a brown underbust corset and stylish paper pirate hat. Their dark orange hair was cut around cheek height, but puffed out on the sides. The four pirates walked off their docked ship, Acho leading in front. 

I wasn’t fond of hugging, but Acho’s embrace was welcomed. The scent of sea salt and seaweed hovered around the pirates, but it wasn’t a bad smell. Acho introduced me to his crew. Apokuna, Owen’s cousin,a 21 year old Nightingale I’d met when Acho left. The bandaged, blonde-haired pirate was Bekyamon, a Kite. The last pirate was Eloise, who was a Heron. Before I could introduce Owen to the two women, Eloise blurted out,
“Owen West! There’s my fellow Heron! How are you!?”.

“You- you know each other,” I stared quizzically at Owen.

“Yea, last year Apokuna came to visit me,” he started. “He asked if I wanted to join the crew for a quest and I said yes. Had to get a faction before questing, so I’m a Heron now!”
It took me a moment to remember what all the factions stood for. 

Nightingales, who seek new adventures;
Kites, who yearn for the joys of battle;
Kestrels, who pride themselves on their wealth;
Herons, who long for discovery.

I felt happy that Owen could enjoy travelling across the seas with his cousin. He and Apokuna looked more like siblings than cousins. They sounded alike too, however Apokuna (being seven years older) had a deeper voice than Owen’s. I wished Acho and I were as close as those two, but the constant pace of my schedule wouldn't allow it. Owen didn’t realise how lucky he was. Sure I got to live in a castle and have everyone in the kingdom know my name, but that made it harder to make an impression. Make my own legacy. I didn’t want to follow my ancestors, I wanted to make a difference in Rivendell.

Alas, Acho and I didn’t get much of a chance to talk, but he did offer a tour of his ship. Shelby, Lizzie, Grian and Scar elected to come with me, the others staying behind. We walked onboard the tall vessel through a trapdoor towards the bottom and were immediately astonished. The ship was much bigger on the inside than it seemed. A long corridor spread for at least 25 metres before ending up in a staircase, sunlight shining from the gap. Before I could explore it, my vision went hazy. I couldn’t concentrate, the whole ship seemed to be spinning, my vision distorting my friends faces. I could only hear a few of the others saying something.
“Guys, what’s going on?” Shelby’s voice shook.
“I can’t see - where are you?!” Scar yelled, tone afraid.
Grian was silent but I heard Lizzie talking to herself: “There’s always a perfectly reasonable answer to every problem, including why you feel sick to your stomach.”
I only stayed conscious long enough for Acho to come towards me as I fell.

Lizzie was already conscious when I woke up. I looked around, confused, then saw Eloise holding a bronze jug.
“Good, you’re awake Scott,” She sighed in relief, “ Two down, three to go”. Grian, Shelby and Scar were still out cold, lying on the cold hardwood floor next to me.

“What happened?” I asked Eloise. She bit her lip and chuckled.
“I was teaching Bek a guarding spell, one that would prevent unwanted visitors from entering our ship. Of course, she must have changed it to an incapacitation spell instead.”
“How does it work?” Lizzie perked up, yearning to fill the gap in her knowledge, “Is it a detection spell, or a boundary spell or-”
“I think it’s similar to a detection spell, but I’m still not sure what to log it as,” Eloise replied.
“Log the spell? But aren’t those things already established for all the spells known?” I asked, perplexed.
“Well this type of spell,” Eloise had a proud look on her face, “wasn’t known until I discovered the Cove of Magic.”

 Eloise explained how her Heron Discovery was a rather big one. When solo sailing, exploring the ocean, she stumbled across a large mountain on an island that had no appearance on all of her maps. She found an opening at the bottom of the mountain and inside was a cave full of glowing amethyst crystals and chests full of treasure. But the shining riches aren’t what caught her interest. What did was piled books, seeming hundreds and hundreds of years old. On each page a new spell that she couldn’t find recorded in her books, each spell requiring the caster to possess one of the magic amethyst crystals.

This to me was astonishing, how one person could discover so much, have so much to their name. As I sat there, still processing what I’d been told, Eloise handed me a steel cup, with a light purple liquid inside.
“Drink. Now,” she demanded.
I looked at it hesitantly.
Lizzie looked over. “It helps. Drink it Scott.”
I drank the liquid. It had a soft hint of grape juice, mixed in with an orangey flavour. It wasn’t as bad as I had expected, or poison as I had expected. Energy surged through my body. My head felt clearer, my vision was better, and when I spoke the next time my voice wasn’t as croaky as a frog,
“What- what is this?” I was still confused when she told me the answer, crushed amethyst dissolved in a healing potion for a faster effect. She placed her hand on Shelby and Scar’s foreheads, muttering something under her breath. Scar didn’t react, however Shelby woke and immediately burst into a fit of coughing. El handed her a glass of the healing potion and she took it without hesitation. Shelby shook her head and stared at Eloise, then Lizzie and I; Lizzie decided to fill her in. Soon Scar awoke, but didn’t have a reaction like any of us. Instead, he yawned, stretched his arms and said,
“Morning! Wait- this isn’t my dorm… Is it the middle of the night? I woke up before Grian, that’s not supposed to happen.” After stifling a laugh, Eloise handed him the drink and explained the recent events.
“Grian says I’m not allowed to have energy drinks,” Scar pushed away the glass. “He says I’m already hyper enough.”

No matter how many times Scar tried to stand up and fell, he didn’t drink the healing potion until Grian finally stirred. With his blindfold on, none of us would’ve known he was awake if he hadn’t scared Shelby by tapping her on the back.
“Grian, you’re awake!” Scar cried in delight. “Pirate lady wants me to drink the purple juice, can I?” Grian softly smiled and nodded, taking a glass of the potion as well. The six of us walked out of the room and ran into Acho, talking quietly to Bek.
“I sense something too but we can’t be rash Bekyamon, we’ll just undock for a bit, it’s nothing to worry about,” Acho said.
“Fine, but I’m killing the next thing that boards this ship,” Bek replied, a sour look on her face. 

Eloise cleared her throat and the two pirates swiftly turned to see us. Before I could ask what the conversation was about, Acho’s face brightened. He told us to move out onto the deck, he’d been planning to take us on a tour of the bay before we’d almost died. The others didn’t seem to give it much thought, but Acho whispered something to Eloise that made the colour escape from her face.

We walked onto the deck and were immediately met with bright sunshine. The air was cool, wind blowing my hair into my eyes. The tranquillity of the water made me forget my worries. I looked over to the others. All of them smiling, admiring the waves. I saw Lizzie look up at Scar, and frown. He had purple stains around his mouth. Suddenly a jet of water burst up from the ocean and blasted Scar in the face.
“Hey! What was that for Lizzie!” He exclaimed.
“You’re a messy eater and drinker, I’m a perfectionist, now your face is clean,” Lizzie laughed.
“You could’ve given me a napkin!” Scar retorted, “You have one hanging out of your pocket!”

While the others were staring out at the ocean, I snuck off to find Acho. The ship had so many rooms it felt like walking down the corridor of a hotel. After finding three bedrooms, a kitchen, two weapon rooms and a room with only a fish tank, I found Acho in the furthest room from the stairs to the deck. This seemed to be his bedroom. Photos were pinned onto a cork board on one of the walls, with pictures of the other pirates, a few with people I didn’t know, and a few with our family. On a desk pushed up against the furthest wall, was an Elvish Bronze rapier, the one I’d given him before he’d left. The blade was still shining, though the leather hilt had been worn down from use.
Acho himself lay on a bed on the other side of the room, staring at the ceiling. He seemed to be in deep thought, so I walked up to him. When he finally noticed me, he let out a small shout.
“Scott, when did you get here?” He asked, sitting upright. I sat down on the bed and looked him in the eyes.
“It might’ve been five years since I saw you Acho, but I can still tell when you’re worried. What did Bek warn you about?” I asked, my voice gentle. Although he seemed strong and confident on the outside, Acho was quite sensitive, nothing mattered more to him than protecting those he loved and cared for.

“I-I’m not sure what's going on. Bek said she could sense a- something dangerous around us. I can feel it too, but it’s impossible! Bek killed him…” Acho shook his head, looking into my eyes.
“What are you talking about, Acho? I asked, he seemed to know this dangerous thing personally.

There was a loud BANG on the side of the ship, as if something had crashed into it. 

“Wha-what was that?!” I asked. Acho sprinted out of the room, heading towards the deck, where everyone else was standing, flustered and worried. 

“Sea monster,” Acho answered. “We can deal with it. Eloise, get Apokuna. Bek, grab your dagger, I think we were right.”

“Wait!” Grian yelled, but Acho paid no attention, instead directing his crew to take us below decks. His silver eyes narrowed as he shouted commands, confidently leading his crew.

There was scrabbling on the side of the ship as it creaked and cracked the whole time, and then someone started singing .

It was unearthly - ethereal. As if someone had infused their voice with music.

Acho yelled something, and several of the pirates inserted earplugs into their ears. Some were offered to us, and I accepted, knowing that these people probably knew what they were doing, but Grian didn’t.

Suddenly, something climbed over the railing - something that looked familiar to me, but it was blocked almost immediately by a crew member blocking my sight, gesturing for me to head in the opposite direction.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grian refusing to leave, shouting something that the deafened pirate trying to get him to go below decks definitely couldn’t hear. They grabbed him, and he began fighting outright.

Music began pouring from his mouth, joining the music already flowing through the air, before being abruptly cut off by the pirate slamming his hand over Grian’s mouth.

I saw no more of Grian’s struggle, however, as I descended down the stairs into the relative safety of belowdecks.

Chapter Text

It was a siren. It had to be.

It’s hard to decipher Siren Song into Common accurately - it was more so just singing and music being used to communicate a feeling, commands flowing through it.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t sing back at that moment - I’d tried, but this pirate had covered my mouth. He was trying to get me belowdecks and to relative safety, I knew, but I was trying to save their sorry lives!

I bit the hand covering my mouth, and it was predictably drawn back in pain. I slammed my head into the pirate’s nose, and they released me.

The siren’s form was  tall, slim, and with a great voice. Their hair and face were the same for the most part - curly brown with a white streak in the fringe - but long, needle-like fangs jutted out from his mouth, and their eyes were glowing a pale blue. Fins extending from his back, wrists and ankles, and a long, eel-like tail that was covered in battle scars extended from their lower-back.

The siren’s song intensified, growing louder and more angry, another, more feminine voice layering over his own as the afterimage of an olive-skinned, black-clothed deity appeared behind him, eyes glowing white.

The Spirits in my mind began gossiping, asking each-other if they were to bow to this deity’s Sworn or fight them.

I silenced them, calling on Ariana’s Song once more.

Acho looked back at me, shock clear on his face, but Bek rushed me.
Honestly, it was hard to keep contesting the siren’s Song whilst fighting - it’s like using a two-handed weapon with one hand tied behind your back.

Ariana’s swan wings appeared on my back, and I took off, dodging Bek’s strike and landing by the wheel.

‘ Stop fighting!’ It wasn’t a command I had ever expected to use, but it was carried through the Song.
‘ I will take revenge!’ it was quickly contested by.

Bek abandoned her target (me) and decided to go for a new one (the siren).

“How dare you show your face here!” Bek ran at him, but he made no effort to dodge, just kept singing, even when the dagger was stuck clean through his chest.

The ebony blood of the siren dripped down his back and chest, but the reflection of the deity behind him’s eyes began to glow brighter.
He didn’t even look fazed, just slowing the Song.

“ You really thought that would work this time, Bekyamon ? ” the siren asked, grin widening as one clawed hand reached out, seizing Bek’s throat in a flash.
He didn’t squeeze, but lifted her up by the throat, slowly, watching in satisfaction as the pirate struggled, kicking the air and grabbing at the siren’s arm.

His other hand came around and seized the earplugs in her ears, tearing them out as he dropped her. He cast the earplugs over the railing, seizing the dagger from his chest and tearing it out.

I watched in horror as the fountain of black blood began to invert upon itself, blood rushing back to the wound as the broken flesh knitted itself back together.
The dagger was raised, still dripping in the siren blood, Bek’s form unmoving as the hundreds of commands flowing through the air poured in through her ears. The dagger was tossed to her. As if reflex, Bek caught it.

‘ Kill.’
The command was ambiguous, but that’s what made these commands so dangerous, as each command was spoken with the intent of each user of the Song, meaning that even those who could interpret it wouldn’t know what the Siren meant.

Bek’s eyes became glassy, as she rose, holding the dagger in one hand, blade towards her chest.

Without a second thought, I tackled her to the ground, crushing the wrist she had been holding the dagger in.
‘ Stay.’
Bek froze immediately, her chest unmoving
‘ Breathe.’
She began breathing again - minor crisis averted.

I looked over at the siren .

“ Leave at once, stop hurting my friends!” I yelled at the siren.
“ Where are the others?!” He demanded.
“ Safe belowdecks. You can’t reach them! ” I stared at the siren, beginning to struggle.

The music in the air began to fall apart.
The siren took up his song again.

‘Bekyamon, tear out the earplugs of your former crew.’

Bek began moving once more, dashing towards her crew, doing as told.

“What are you doing?!” I demanded.
“ Repaying a favour ,” the siren growled.

‘ Throw the earplugs in the ocean.’

Several little plop s quietly sounded from the other end of the ship.

‘ Cover your ears!’
My command was sudden but justified, as I turned to the siren- I knew Ariana’s reflection was behind me now. The siren looked towards me

‘Let me see your eyes, Grian Watch.’

There were many ways to avoid a command, I knew - one was to give a technicality (for example, a response to ‘ What are you?’ could be a star sign, or a response to ‘ Who are you? ’ could be a title or responded to in a separate language). But, commands directed at a single being by name were difficult to avoid.

My hands betrayed me, my wing-ears staying stubbornly mantled.
The Spirits reacted, coating my eyes in layers of illusionary enchantments before the cloth of the blindfold fell away.

‘ Remove the illusion .’

“I’m afraid I’m not the one you need to tell to drop that,” I responded, head held high. “You have your deity, I have mine.”
‘Now leave these pirates be.’

The command was overpowered, I knew, but the voices of all five of the Watcher Spirits were layered over mine, their combined power far outweighing the siren’s strength. The siren sank back into the ocean, whether conscious or not, I wasn’t sure. 

The power of the Watcher Spirits dispersed as the lingering commands fell apart, most of the crew stumbling and shaking their heads (I think Bek collapsed, what with the sudden thud - several contrasting commands being used on you at the same time would do that to a person).

Acho looked pale.
“O-okay…” he said, turning, making a complicated gesture with his hands to his crew. “Go belowdecks. You’ll find everyone there. Let them know they can take out their earplugs.”
“Right.”

I took Bekyamon down the stairs and, following the guidance of the pirate whose nose I had broken, was led to where the others were.

I mimed taking out the earplugs, and most got the message, taking theirs out.

“What happened?!” Lizzie demanded. “What kind of sea monster was it?! How did you fight it? Did you kill it?! Ho-”
“The ‘sea monster’ was a siren,” Acho replied, helping me lay Bek on the floor. 

Although it was almost time for our trip to conclude, Scott insisted to Acho that he stay until the ship was ready to sail out again. I wasn’t going to let him stay alone. While Scar, Shelby and Lizzie shakily went back to shore, Scott and I helped Acho and Eloise with the chores to get the ship back in order, and Bekyamon back on her feet. Owen soon came on board, complaining that Apokuna didn’t let him on sooner. 

“ I told you Owen, sirens are dangerous! As much as I know you wanted to help, I didn’t want you getting hurt,” Apokuna sighed. 

“ I- I don’t know how he got back,” Bekyamon said weakly, staring at her dagger, “ I thought I got rid of him for good…” She explained how she had killed that particular siren, three years ago. Somehow, in his dying moments, he must’ve attracted the attention of Lady Death, and persuaded her into letting him live. That was the only explanation for what happened before.
“Well, he’s certainly dead now. Nothing withstands the power of the Watchers,” I mentioned.

Acho looked at me, a serious look on his face, “ I wouldn’t be so sure Grian. I’ve witnessed many things, not only on the seas but in Rivendell. The stags always have a trick up their sleeve”. He walked down the hallway and closed the door of his room.

“What was that all about?” I asked Scott, who answered me with a confused look,

“I’m not sure, but he’s not wrong. I’ve researched ancient scrolls, and if they’re truthful…” He shook his head and turned around to head back to shore.

Well that was an eventful school trip…

Chapter Text

I used to think that Rivendellian Council meetings were chaotic. Turns out, a school full of magical teenagers stressing over dates ( not the fruit) was more chaotic. It reminded me of “ marriage season ” in Rivendell, you couldn’t walk down City Street without witnessing at least three proposals. It was at this time when Joel decided to ask me the question after arithmancy.

 “So, are you going to go?” Joel asked me. Truth be told, I didn’t know. I mean, I doubted anyone would ask me and I surely wasn’t asking anyone.
“Probably not, what about you?” I responded.
“I might ask Lizzie”
“I saw that coming”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re head over heels for her,” I rolled my eyes.
Joel paused.
“You’re fine with that right?”
“Joel, what do you mean?”
“You’ve known her longer and you seem pretty close, I thought you might want to ask her?”
I almost laughed when he said this.
“Lizzie and I are close but not that type of close, you can ask her,” I laughed. Joel’s cheeks turned bright red and we walked in awkward silence for seven rivendellian goats.

“ I saw the two of you on the train, Joel. After your… initial panic … You two were adorable. Cleo agrees,” I smiled.
“So… I can ask her?”
“Do you want me to give you my blessing or something? Look, Lizzie’s talking to Shelby over there, go ask her”
“N-now? But I’m not prepared, I can’t”
“JOEL!” I playfully whacked his shoulder. “Now or never”

Lizzie and Shelby were sitting on the well, funnily enough, also talking about the dance.
“Katherine asked me last night, she gave me the cutest little mushroom bracelet!” Shelby seemed ecstatic.

“That's adorable, you have to show- Oh, hey Scott, Joel.” Lizzie waved.
Joel’s face flushed red. Lizzie raised her eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. While Joel awkwardly stared, I gestured to Shelby. She stood up and we walked far away enough that we wouldn’t intrude on the conversation, but stayed in earshot…

Solely because Shelby wanted to hear what Joel would say to Lizzie…

“Joel, you look like a tomato,” Lizzie said, laughing (excellent start Joel… Get insulted).

“So… Are you going anywhere soon?” Joel asked, suddenly taking interest in his shoe laces.

“Fawklaw is a boarding school, I can’t exactly just pop over to the nearest mall, can I?” Lizzie rolled her eyes.

“Do you want to… maybe… Come with me to-” Joel faltered, his voice stuttering. The bell rang for the end of the break. Lizzie picked up her books and began walking towards the hallway, I was about to head off as well, when Joel shouted across the courtyard,
“LIZZIE! WAIT!” Lizzie turned around, confused.

“Will you go to the dance with me?” Joel spoke quickly, then looked down at his shoes again. Lizzie stood there for a moment, processing, then ran across the courtyard  and met Joel in an embrace.

“I thought you’d never ask, you idiot,” She laughed, her face bearing a wide smile. The two walked off towards the Hydro training classrooms, Joel’s arm around Lizzie’s shoulder. 

Shelby and I looked at eachother, just smiling.
“Just you now, Scott,” She said.
“Wh-what do you mean?” I flustered.
“You’re the only one who doesn’t have a date to the dance,” Shelby rolled her eyes.
“Hey! It’s not just me! Jimmy doesn’t have a date either,” I retorted.

Shelby chuckled and gave me a sly smile before walking off. “Something to think about.” 

I rushed off to the Hydro training rooms, hoping Miss Gem wouldn’t mind that I was a few minutes late. I walked into the classroom, attempting to pat down my hair a little, as it got quite messed up when I ran. Lizzie stood up and walked over from the table her and Joel were sitting at, a bright smile on her face. It quickly dissolved into a flustered expression as she walked towards me.
“ I’ve never had a boyfriend, Scott!” she told me, “What do I do? What should I say? What do I-”

“Lizzie,” I calmed her down, “Just be your regular self. That’s the Lizzie that Joel liked in the first place”. She smiled again and walked back over to the table. 

I couldn’t figure out my own emotions, and here I was giving  dating advice. 

The rest of practical magic was a blur, nothing different from the rest. Me, trying my best to not freeze every drop of water, and Lizzie absolutely crushing everyone else. 

Throughout the lesson, Lizzie and Joel kept looking over at me, then whispering to each other. I heard my name thrown around a few times, and Jimmy’s once or twice, but that only confused me more. At some point I mentioned Jimmy and the two just stared at each other and gave the other a sly smile. By the time arithmancy rolled around, my brain was more confused than clarity ( though it always has been).

What Shelby had said earlier in the day was still in my brain. I wasn’t entirely sure what she had meant. I was trying to focus, however Arithmancy was a hard class to focus in ( unless you’re Lizzie ).

I looked over to my friends. A row in front of me, Lizzie brushed her hair out of her face, writing away, looking back and forth from her textbook. Joel was looking over towards Lizzie, staring at her for a while, then shaking his head and writing in his arithmancy book. Across the classroom, Shelby and Katherine were sharing a textbook, holding each other's hands on the table, stifling laughs every time Shelby dropped her pencil. 

Then there was Jimmy, sitting right next to me. His sandy blond hair fell in front of his face. His dark brown eyes glinted in the light of the 3 PM sun. His tongue poked slightly out the side of his mouth as he attempted to answer the questions, his hand resting on his textbook. A melancholic smile spread on my face as I watched him struggle to sharpen his pencil. I reached for the sharpener to help him out. A rush of adrenaline sprinted through me when our hands touched. I took his pencil and sharpened it for him. He gave me a warm smile, chuckled a little, and then turned back to his textbook. 

I looked over towards the front of the room and caught Shelby and Katherine looking at us. They quickly turned their heads and whispered something to each other. Clearly, everything else knew something I didn’t. 

This “ gossiping” continued on for the next two days. On Friday, Lizzie and I were walking to the courtyard during lunch, talking about our Ancient History and Mythology lesson. However, I doubt she was listening to me ramble on. She didn’t correct me when I slipped into ancient elvish, I only began speaking common again until I sat down by the well. Then, Jimmy and Joel approached us. Jimmy sat next to me, and Joel looked towards Lizzie.
“Come on Lizzie,” Joel said robotically, “Let's go eat food”. The two left, leaving me and Jimmy to look at each other, awkwardly.

“So…” I started, “ Anything new has happened lately?”
“In a way. A.. personal revelation you could say,” He replied, blushing slightly.
“A revelation? About what?”
Jimmy paused, his face turning red. “You know, life…”
I could tell he was reluctant to tell me something, but I wasn’t sure what.
“You can tell me what’s on your mind Jimmy,” I gave him a soft smile, “I know there’s something you’re keeping from me.”

“I know. I wish I could just tell you, but I’m not sure how… I’m thinking I just pull a Joel ,” he sighed, looking towards the ground.

If I wasn’t confused enough this week… 

I was about to stand up to get some lunch when I realised something. A feeling that would turn my life around, for better or for worse. I took a few seconds to contemplate whether or not to say anything. I took a deep breath and turned around, looking at Jimmy. I brushed my hair out of my face, 

“Jimmy… There’s something I need to tell you…”

“I was about to tell you something,” Jimmy said, biting his lip nervously. The tension between both of us grew. I had no clue what Jimmy was about to say to me, but I couldn’t let that discourage me from talking to him. He counted to three and…

“I like you!” both of us said at the same time. I gasped, blushed and looked towards my shoes, trying to comprehend what had happened. Jimmy brought out a poppy  from his pocket, however all but one of the petals seemed to have fallen off.

“I wanted to give you this, but I guess the poppy lost its petals in my pocket. There’s only one petal left.” He sighed, holding the flower with the single petal out towards me. I hesitated, but took it and smiled.

“Petal… That’s a wonderful name for you,” Jimmy said, his smile spread from ear to ear.

We stared at each other, blushing harder for a minute or so, until Joel and Lizzie poked their heads out from behind a column. They smiled at each other, then ran across the courtyard towards us. Grian, Scar and Mumbo must’ve been watching as well, since the three of them followed shortly after.

“About time, you idiots,” Lizzie laughed, and hugged the two of us. I wasn’t sure what had just happened. Grian and Mumbo stood to the side, whereas Scar wanted to join the hug,
“ I just got here but GROUP HUG!” There was a lot of laughing as Scar tackled us to the ground, the soft grass breaking our fall. Grian, Mumbo and Joel joined us on the grass, and the seven of us lay in each other's company, watching the clouds float by. None of us realised that classes had started again, even though the bell echoed through the courtyard. That was, until Aimee walked up to us. I wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing behind us, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.

“Hey! You lot! You know class started ten minutes ago?” she said, laughing as she was greeted by a small yelp from Scar. Grian and I realised we were meant to show up advanced to battle classes now, after the incident that happened a while back. We looked at eachother, and leaped up, sprinting down the hallways towards the Training Rooms. I burst through the doorway, Grian following after, panting and leaning against the wall. The rest of our class, made up of mostly senior students, stared at us. Techno raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. He gestured for us to come over. Grian and I prepared for a scolding, but instead Techno laughed,
“Speak of the devil and the devil appears; or in our case the two new additions to this class”.  He explained how the two of us were more advanced than the beginners in our level, defeating the entire class in less than seven minutes. The seniors looked at each other, some confused, others almost angry. They whispered, most likely about us, and wondered how to “accidently” spear us.

“Now now class! Quieten down or I’m setting the next class in the sand!” Techno yelled. The threat of sand got the class to stop talking. He told us to grab our weapons and get ready for battle practice. Unfortunately, Grian and I had forgotten to grab our weapons…
Fortunately, Grian had his shadowbolts…

Grian smiled at me, and shaped a shadowbolt into a sword that fit in my hand perfectly, not too heavy but not so light it would make me falter. The rest of our class was over by the weapons rack, with no clue about what our weapons were. The rest of the class paired up, only two students were left. They were at least 6’5, and seemed incredibly strong. They had both picked javelins, meaning they weren’t incredibly bright. A ranged weapon wouldn’t do you good in melee combat. 

Grian and I took our positions, lined up next to each other, facing our opponents. The guy I was up against was holding their javelin in their left hand. Their close cropped brown hair framed their face so that their eyes were just visible, as if they were spying on everything. They flexed their arms and stretched. I heard one of the other students call them “ Harry”.  Techno clapped, and the entire room raged into battle. Harry threw the javelin towards me. Rather than dodge it, I managed to catch the javelin in my free hand. I tossed it diagonally, tripping up Grian’s opponent. He smirked and disarmed them. I focused back on my battle. Harry had stood up, and was now running at me, fists raised. He jabbed directly at my face, I easily managed to parry the attack. He tried once more, punching me from the side. I used the flat side of my sword to deflect his hand, causing Harry to stumble. I stopped for them to catch their breath, out of politeness, however he jumped at me. I rolled to the side, tucking my arms in, jumping up behind my opponent. I raised my sword, ready to deflect another hit, however Harry was on the floor, clutching his ankle. He glared at me, eyes full of hatred, and shakily stood up. Blood dripped from his ankle, a large cut spread across it. His fists clenched as he ran towards me, attempting to punch me. With my free hand, I bent Harry’s arm backwards, causing him to stumble. Techno yelled, his voice echoing across the room. The whole class froze as he walked through the room, examining everyone. He nodded at the other groups, not saying much, before walking over to where Grian and I had fought our opponents.  He looked approvingly at us, smiling a little before clearing his voice.

“You two chumps thought you could beat them? ” Techno chuckled. I glanced at Grian, confused, before I realised he was talking to the seniors. Harry crossed his arm and sat down on the ground, covering his ankle.
“There’s no use hiding it Harry, I know you got injured,” Techno rolled his eyes, then looked at Grian's opponent, “He’s 5”2 and he still judo-flipped you, Tarron. You really need to work on that. Well done Scott and Grian. You proved yourselves today, I’m sure these guys will no longer underestimate you two”. Grian scoffed, almost chuckled, holding his hand up towards me. I hi-fived him and smiled. We were powerful enough to take out a couple seniors on our own, and we beat Techno together. It just made me think about what we could accomplish if we trained together. I was shaken out of my thoughts when Techno shook his head and turned to the rest of the class,

“ Let this be a reminder that something doesn’t need to look intimidating to be dangerous. If these two fourteen year olds could beat the toughest of you, imagine what a more trained enemy could do.”
On that happy note, he dismissed the class, and we started walking out of the training room. Before Grian and I stepped out, Techno asked us to stay back for a second. He untied and retied his long pink hair, and turned back to face us.
“ I was worried for nothing. You two certainly proved you can handle a senior class.”
“ I think our guys -  was it Harry and Tarron - weren’t all that clever,” Grian tilted his head.

I nodded, “ A ranged weapon would be a bad choice for melee combat. I didn’t even need to disarm him, he threw the javelin and I was fine.”

“ I think you’ve nearly mastered your chosen weapons. You need to step out of your comfort zone. You must start using other weapons. You might not always have a longsword, Scott. You might not always have your shadowbolts , Grian,” Techno looked at the two of us, awaiting our answers.
Grian looked like he wanted to say something, but just nodded and stood quietly.
“Well, what weapons do you suggest we use, Techno?” I spoke up. I could tell Grian was a bit upset about having to give up his shadowbolts, but he still went with it.

“ I’ve taught you for a fair while now, and have never seen any of you actually fight with a spear. For the next few lessons, I want you to become proficient with a spear. You can use the training rooms if you wish, just ask permission this time,” Techno began walking out, “ Oh, and don’t practise on each other, there are training dummies down the hall. I’ll get Aimee to animate them”.

We headed over to arithmancy. I noticed Grian’s eyes seemed to glaze over every now and again. I figured it must’ve been the glare from his glasses, yet something didn’t seem right.  

Throughout the class, he kept zoning out, not listening to the professor going on about cosines and tangents. He turned into the corner and replaced his glasses with white blindfold, sighing with relief, as if the glasses caused him pain. About halfway through, his head fell onto the table. 

He must’ve fallen asleep, I thought to myself. But he wasn’t asleep… His breathing was shallow, his skin turning paler than before. I jumped up from my seat, ignoring the class turning their heads to me. I shook Grian, calling out his name, achieving no response. The professor walked down the classroom to see the commotion. His eyes widened when he saw Grian unconscious, and allowed me and Lizzie to take him to the infirmary,

When we arrived, the nurse just sighed, and helped us get Grian onto a bed.
“Sword hilt to the head?” She asked. We shook our heads, but before we could explain that he simply passed out, she shot out more ailments.
“Enchantment gone wrong? Charm backfired? Rhinoceros jumpscare?” 

Grian started to toss and turn, hyperventilating, quickly patting his face. He relaxed when he felt his blindfold still on. Although the nurse tried multiple times, Grian would not let her take it off. He refused, cursing a few times, and turned the opposite way, yelling as if we were trying to get him to sell his only home, or give away his firstborn child. The nurse gave up, and urged that at least one of us get back to class. Lizzie was worrying about missing arithmancy, so I let her go back to class. 

The blindfold situation had confused me for a while, so I decided to spring the question.

“Under that blindfold - who are you?!” I demanded again, not wanting to hear the answer but still needing to.
“I…” Grian trailed off. He looked pained. “I-I can’t tell you that, Scott,” he said after a beat.

“Why Grian?” I asked, sounding harsher than I meant. “Do you not trust me?”
“No… It's not that Scott-”
“Then what? What did I do to you?”
“YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING! STOP-”
“THEN WHY WON’T YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH?!”

Grian didn’t answer for a second
“Because the truth would get you killed,” Grian said finally in a small voice like he was scared to say it.
“I could handle it. Just because I’m a prince doesn’t mean I don’t know how to keep myself alive.” I bit my lip, anger slowly boiling within me.
Grian winced as he readjusted his seated position. “People with more power than either of us are at work here. People who can and will deactivate that ice magic of yours.”
“I’m serious Grian, that’s impossible.”
Grian chuckled, although it was weak. “Any Patron Magic user who has a sufficiently powerful enough patron can call on them to cancel out enemy magic. Up to and including magic powerful enough to level the school and the entire forest around it. However, your power is different”.

That threw me off guard. We were silent for a minute before I spoke, “ What do you mean, my power is different. It’s just some form of elemental magic, right?”.

Grian wouldn’t meet my eyes, his face getting paler. “There’s a reason your power is harder to control than the hydros, or even mine. You know who the oldest gods are, Scott? Do you know why the oldest empire, your empire, worships stags? Your powers-” Grian never finished his sentence, he fell backwards onto the hospital bed, completely unconscious.  At that point, I decided to let him rest and get to class.

The days passed by and we didn’t talk about the incident. Over breakfast, Grian abruptly left the hall when Scar asked if he was feeling okay. During band, Grian didn’t even say anything when he beat Joel in a  “ who can roll the fastest ” competition.

We were walking down towards the dorms, having a casual conversation. Grian seemed a bit happier after band, possibly because Mumbo finally brought his ukulele and played with the group. Although I noticed the creaky floorboards, I wasn’t sure if Grian had. Before I could warn him, Grian tripped on a floorboard, catching himself, but his glasses falling to the ground, cracking. His breathing increased rapidly, his hands shook as he stood up, clutching his broken glasses. 

“Grian, are you oka-?”

Grain looked up at me, eyes glowing purple, the parrot wings behind his ears having returned. But, that was not what caught my eye. It was the scars all over his face.

Several criss-crossed over his eyes and the bridge of his nose, cutting up his eyebrows, more seemed to have been from awful burns, but the most startling was the black brand over his right eye - it was the same symbol that was on his white blindfold, the same one that’d appeared in the ‘crack’ of my ice, only rotated ninety-degrees: a rectangle with the corners cut off.

“Grian what -”

Grian, who had been laughing about how Joel had face-planted directly in front of Lizzie not even thirty seconds ago, was suddenly terrified.

The small wing-ears were scrunched up as his talons scrambled to find purchase on the hardwood floor of the corridor.

He didn’t speak - he might’ve wanted to, but no sound came from his opened mouth. A slight shifting of his shoulders causing his scarf to droop below his collar revealing a bright-red line across the base of his throat.

Clutching the glasses, the parrot hybrid turned and ran.

I couldn’t sleep that night: every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was his scarred, glowing purple eyes.

Chapter Text

The glasses had impacted with the floor, one of the lenses cracked.
Scott said something, but he stopped partway through. I knew he’d seen my eyes.

I wasn’t far from my dorm. Running in, I slammed the door behind me.
No-one was in here. No-one but me. I ran into the bathroom, beginning to hyperventilate as tears pricked at my eyes.

No. No - I wouldn’t cry here.

Bracing myself on the vanity, I looked into the mirror, shocked at what I saw of myself: glowing purple eyes, tears streaking down my face. But  - the scars. Somehow, some way I knew what each one was from, despite never having seen them before: each one from a different power, a different rebellion, a different tutor - but they’d said the scars would heal! I thought they would’ve disappeared! But, the big, black brand over my right eye - the symbol of the Watchers horizontal, framing my eye - I’d never seen that one before.

My breath hitched in my throat as my magic lashed out, a shadowbolt impacting the mirror and shattering it into thousands of shards as I stumbled backwards, falling onto the floor.

I drew my knees up to my chest, curling into a small ball, the wings hiding my face, despite that I’d already buried it in my scarf.

The voices were silent for once. 

Footsteps sounded outside as the door creaked open.

“Grian?” Mumbo called, worrying, piercing his tone as the door shut behind him. “Grian?”
A knock on the bathroom door. “Grian, you in there?”

Another sob wracked my body.

“I’m coming in. It’s just me,” Mumbo’s voice called again, the doorknob squealing as the Electro turned it.

I didn’t look up, but I could feel him crossing the room to me, sitting down beside me.

“Am I allowed to touch you?” He asked politely, answered only by my immediate leaning into him. Instantly, strong arms were wrapped around me. “It’s okay, Gri,” his grounding voice murmured, “I’ve got you.”
“I…” I didn’t know what to say, but lifted a wing. Mumbo met my gaze, showing no shock nor surprise at the scars on my face. “You see these?” I asked quietly.
“Yes, Gri, I see them,” Mumbo whispered.
“H-how long have I had them?” I asked, not wanting to hear the answer, but still needing to.
Mumbo’s gaze and tone turned somewhat sad. “The brand you’ve had for as long as I can remember. The scars you’ve had eight years, the burns four.”
“W-what?”
“But, Gri - look at me.” He held a hand to my cheek, gingerly wiping away the tears around the scars as they fell. “They do not make you any less of a person. These do not define you.”
“I-”

“Grian? Mumbo?” Scar’s voice echoed through the dorm, the door to the main dorm opening and closing once more. “You in here?”
“Yes, but a little privacy would be nice!” Mumbo called back.
“Right, of course,” Scar said instantly. “The others were worried-”
A startled sound escaped my mouth - the others were worried about me ?! Even after Scott saw the scars? Even after Joel reportedly freaked out at the Watchers’ symbol appearing while I was duelling Scott? Even after everything ?
“Lizzie’s trying to stop Tango from marching over here,” Scar reported, “I think she dropped him in the well.”
A chuckle from Mumbo,
“You can go, Scar.”
“I’ll meet you at dinner?”
“Maybe. If we don’t turn up, grab us something?”
“Of course!”
“Thank you, Scar.”

The door opened and closed again, footsteps growing quieter as Scar walked away.

Mumbo turned his attention back to me.
“Do you think you’re alright to go to dinner?” Mumbo asked, genuinely concerned.
“I…” I thought about it. “... I don’t think so. But, after what happened, I’m not sure I ever will be ‘alright’.”
Mumbo huffed in amusement. “Well, we can try,” he said, standing before helping me to do the same. He held me tighter, and we sat on the bathroom floor, me crying into Mumbo’s sweater for hours.

The next few days didn’t seem like much, just a blur of repetitive classes and surviving. I thought I could relax. My friends had accepted who I was.

I was so wrong…

A week or so after the glasses incident, all hell broke loose in the school. A siren rang throughout the hallways, many students dropping their books and running out towards the entrance of Fawklaw. I saw a senior student, quickly asking them what it meant.
“School’s… Under… Attack…” They panted and continued running. I saw the others, Scott, Jimmy, Lizzie and that bunch, sprinting amongst the crowd of students, the siren blasting my eardrums. When we reached the woods, I was astonished by the battle that had struck. Making sure no one was looking for or at me, I slipped behind a tree. 

My first thought was Etho… 

I had met him a while ago. I had figured the best way to deal with things was to sneak off for a while. I ran into him in the woods, and panicked because I didn't have my blindfold or glasses. 

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

I sprinted through the forest avoiding the trees as I ran. I was looking down at my shoes, so I didn’t even notice the person standing up ahead. I ran straight into the. I remembered them from the first band practice, but I realised I hadn’t seen him anywhere else.
“Who- who are you?” I spoke quietly.

“Etho Zom-Labbs,” He replied, a lot more confidently than me, “ And you must be Grian Watch. Heard a fair bit about you from my sister.”

“Cleo?”
“Yes, Cleo. To answer your immediate questions, no I don’t go to Fawklaw. I don’t have any powers, but I had to escape the M77s, so I live here now,” Etho said concisely. 

“You… you’re okay with me looking like… like this ?” I asked, gesturing towards my face.
“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Etho asked, his own oddly-coloured eyes staring back.
“It’s… I thought you would be… I dunno. Scared or something,” I admitted, my wings drawing around my face.
Etho laughed.
“I haven’t heard a joke like that in ages !” Etho said. From the way his face crinkled under his eyes, I assumed he was grinning, though it was hidden by the half-face-mask. “People thought I was possessed by a demon for a while, back home. But, as it turns out most of the time the Old Gods are pretty nice.”
“The what ?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“The Old Gods,” Etho explained. “Y’know, the gods that ruled the world before the New Gods?”
“And who are the Old Gods?”
“Entities like the Listeners and Watchers and Lady Death, ” Etho explained. “They were born after the Stags but they’re pretty ancient - legend says they were ‘Borne of the Void’ or whatever that means. But the New Gods - beings like God Himself - were ‘Borne of the Heavens’, meaning they were originally sky or wind spirits.” leaves ruffled in the distance. Something was making its way towards us,
“You should go now, but if you need anything, I’m here,” Etho said, and rushed off.
And that was the last time I’d seen him.

At least there was someone who knew how to fight ancient powers..

Chapter Text

As soon as I stepped out into the forest, I saw a huge battle breaking out. A beast was rampaging throughout the grounds, trampling everything in its path. Many students were attempting to hack at the beast, but every arrow bounced off, every sword was too blunt to penetrate its skin. 

S uddenly, a large blast of purple fire enveloped the back of the beast’s head, causing it to roar in surprise and pain and turn.
Standing behind it, visible to me for only a second, was Grian.
“Your quarrel is with me, not them!” the now-raven-winged boy yelled. He looked tired - panting as he swooped towards the monster. There was no blindfold covering his eyes, no glasses magically obscuring the scars on his face - instead, it was just the layered blue-yellow-red of the small wings by his ears. He held a greatsword in one hand that looked as though it was made of pure shadows, the other enveloped in black flame, the outline of his hand barely visible.
His nails and talons looked longer and sharper. His hair looked tangled and matted, with no ponytail in sight. His jumper looked torn and threads seemed to be coming loose. He looked… wilder .
The monster huffed, making to turn back towards the school, but another blast enveloped his head. It took another blast for it to recognise Grian as a threat, at which point another person had appeared, their white hair hard to miss. Their mismatched eyes seemed familiar. A red scar traced down over their left eye, and they both seemed to be glowing red. The lower-half of their face was hidden by black fabric that also covered their neck and shoulders. In half the time it would’ve taken me to cross the same distance, they were by us.
“Cleo!” they yelled, voice masculine. “Get these people away - we have to give them some space before G can finish it!”
“Right!” Cleo yelled back, her skin looking greener, and hair thicker - almost as if her silky orange hair were dreadlocks instead. Suddenly, her eyes were glowing emerald green, and the tangled wilderness of the forest began to curl outwards as Etho disappeared in a blur of red energy, holding a bow made of red light. I saw Jimmy towards the left, blasting strong winds at the beast, attempting to throw it off course. Shelby and Katherine were standing with a few other Floras, the group working together and manoeuvring five vines around the beast's limbs.

Before I could comprehend what was going on, two hooded figures appeared, as if from the shadows. Swords in hand, they jumped at me. My sword was still five floors up in the hydro dorms, all I had was my hands. I dodged the first attacker's stab, almost tripping into the second’s slash. I analysed their fighting styles and managed to understand their next moves. With a quick kick, I disarmed the first attacker, and nearly grasped the longsword from the second, when something caught me from behind, a third hooded figure, with the same brand on their arm as the symbol on Grian’s face. Before I could free myself from them, something clouded my vision, a purple fog of sorts. I felt the world dissolve around me, and the last thing I remember was a deep voice telling me,

“Enjoy the snow, you won’t be seeing Rivendell for a very long time”. 

When I woke up, I was shaken by my surroundings. I'd never seen anything like this before. I was chained to a tall brick wall, made out of a material I could barely recognize in the dark; Elvish silver, the strongest material ever forged. I recalled a conversation I was involved in - though not wanting to be - with Scar, about the structure of the tallest roller coaster in his family’s theme park. Scar had proudly pronounced they used elvish silver as structural support. Now I understood why. The cuffs felt as if they were squeezing my wrists like my bones were slowly being ground into dust. The only way of finding light I could think of was my ice; it always gave a soft glow. I wasn’t confident in my abilities, however it was my only hope. I thought about Grian telling me, the first time we fought on the same side, “Don’t be afraid to use that ice of yours” . I tried my hardest, my arms shaking, but all that I could conjure was a small flurry of snowflakes. Something about these chains weakened not just my powers, but all of me; As if it were trying to suck my soul out of my body. Nevertheless, I would not give up…

Chapter Text

Scott was acting weirdly, there was no other way to say it. After the battle died down, leading to the infirmary being flooded, classes returned to normal. Of course, battle classes were delayed for a few more weeks, but the battle we had just won against the Watched spoke for itself. But Scott seemed different. I knew he had witnessed larger battles, as the prince of such as large empire, so it wasn’t shock

He’d been called up in front of our Mythos class by Professor Riffs to talk about Rivendell again and hadn’t slipped into Ancient Elvish by accident.
He always slipped into Ancient Elvish when talking about Rivendell.

In Battle, he’d faltered with his sword and screwed up a move we’d been working on for the better part of a month immediately .
He’d insisted last time that he was ready to use it in a duel.

In Sciences, he’d paid no mind to myself, Joel and Lizzie, and actually been the one to blow something up by accident.
Scott was always the one making sure Joel and I didn’t blow something up.

Aimee pulled me aside after Wards, and asked me about it.

“Scott’s been acting weird lately,” she observed. “Any thoughts?”
“I suspect that it may not actually be Scott,” I replied. “He blew something up in Sciences, fumbled a move he’d perfected in Battle, and didn’t start speaking Ancient Elvish in Mythos.”
Aimee sighed, shaking her head.
“Alright, kill him.”
I stared at her.
“ What .”
“What?” Aimee said, grinning. “Use your Song on him without warning. If it doesn’t work, kill him.”
I facepalmed, before realising something as I drew my hand away from my face.
“You think it’s a Changeling.”
“ Yes I think it’s a Changeling,” she said. “And Changelings are immune to Song. Use it, if he doesn’t react normally, it’s a Changeling and you can kill it. If not, see if he can use his ice. If not, it’s a Changeling and you can kill it. If so, it’s Scott and he’s just having a bad week.”
“Alright Aimee,” I said, turning to leave - I was already almost late for our last lesson of Mythos that week. “If this doesn’t work and we all die, I’m blaming you!”
“Feel free to do so!” Aimee called, the grin and amusement clear in her voice as I walked out.

I waited until right before dinner.

“Scott, can I speak with you for a second before dinner?” I asked - we’d nearly reached the dining hall.
“Yeah, sure, what’s up?” Scott replied.

He said ‘What’s up’.
He never says ‘what’s up’.
It sounded wrong in his voice.

“Do you guys want us to wait?” Mumbo asked.
“Yes, that would be great,” ‘Scott’ said quickly.
“Scott, this is a private matter ,” I growled.
“And whatever you want to tell him, you can tell us,” Joel replied, crossing his arms as that stubborn look he got when he was going to do something and there was no way to stop him except going along with it to make sure he didn't die crossed his face.

I sighed.
“Alright, this is your fault,” I muttered, before opening my mouth.

Ariana’s Song poured out, enveloping the corridor in music
‘Scott’s eyes widened.
“Wait-” he started, but it was too late.

‘ Are you Scott Major, Prince of Rivendell? ’

“Yes,” Scott said monotonically, but his eyes weren’t glassy.
He was faking it.

The Song faded as quickly as it began and I leapt at the Changeling.

“SCOTT!” Joel screamed, tackling the Changeling out of the way.
“THAT’S NOT SCOTT!” I roared as the Changeling stumbled backwards, blinking several times.

On one of the blinks, it screwed up the eyes, both irises flashing blue instead of the blue-yellow heterochromatic colouring I’d grown to know.

“GRIAN!” Mumbo yelled, grabbing onto me.
“Mumbo let me GO !” I screamed, thrashing in his grasp.
“Grian what are you doing ?!” Scar yelled, anger and disbelief and terror all mashed onto his face in one desperate facial expression.

It looked adorable.
  It looked pathetic.

I fought my way out of Mumbo’s crushing arms, and pounced on the Changeling again, taking Lizzie’s sorry excuse for a tackle in stride as I twirled and slammed her into the wall (gently). Completing the spin, I turned back to my target, where Tango stood in my way.

“Grian, why are you doing this?!” the blaze hybrid asked, eyes full of desperation as we entered a wrestle.
“Because that isn’t Scott, ” I replied, teeth grit. “That’s a Changeling. It screwed up the eyes while blinking and faked a response to Ariana’s Song, Tango.”
“Tell me you’re not a Changeling,” Tango said, eyes pleading.
“I’m not.”
“Prove it.”
“The Citadel changes the DNA of its inhabitants. I met you on the first day you found out your fire was actually meant to be orange and not blue on the day Taurtis was being given to Them . You were so bewildered you nearly followed him through the Rift when he was Taken.”

We stared into each other’s eyes for a second too long.

“I believe you,” Tango whispered, before spinning and throwing me towards the Changeling instead of away from it.

“TANGO, YOU IDIOT! ” Jimmy’s desperate yell of frustration cut across my hearing as a shadow bolt formed in my hand, and I drove it through the Changeling’s torso.

It laughed weakly.
“ You got me, ” it whispered in a thousand different voices before settling on a much older and deeper one than Scott’s, its form swirling and changing, trying to shift off of the blade but I stubbornly held it on the shadowbolt.

The form it settled on as it fell backward was one Tango knew. It was one Mumbo knew.
It was one I’d memorised.

The form was tall, and masculine, and yet on the verge where it made it confusing to assume from a distance. Its hair was black and cropped, the school uniform had fazed into robes that resembled the colour of the Void - an endless black coated in yellow, blue and white stars. Its eyes were covered by a white mask that covered the top half of its face, a familiar purple symbol etched onto it.

I stumbled backwards, dismissing the shadowbolt in my hand.

That was Xelqua.
Oh, Void .

That was Xelqua’s appearance.
Xelqua, the leader of the Watched.
And they’d taken Scott .

I wanted to break down then and there, but footsteps coming from both directions saw the arrival of Aimee, Techno and the Headmaster - a blond crow avian who seemed to be rather old - along with a crowd of students gathering to find out what had happened.

The footsteps slowed to a halt as they saw us, the dent in the wall from where I’d thrown LIzzie, and the dissolving body of the Changeling.

“You were right, Aimee,” I said weakly. “It was a Changeling.”

Tears pricked at my cloaked eyes as I nearly fell backwards.Strong arms caught me, and I lent into them, melting into Scar’s embrace.

“They have him,” I said. “They have Scott. We need to prepare.”

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

I didn’t sleep that night.
Nor the night after that
Or the one after that .

I still tried to attend classes, but I kept fumbling in Battle and Defence, kept screwing up runes in Wards, and zoning out in Mythos.

The whole time, I was planning out ways that we could defend the school from the Watched when they came (and they would), but they all ended in a severe loss of life.
The only way to win would be to let them in without a fight, and then stab Xelqua in the back, but it would still result in deaths - particularly the deaths of those sworn to entities other than the Watchers, and the more dangerous hybrids.

Techno would be enslaved.
The headmaster would have his wings clipped.
Cleo and Etho would be executed or sacrificed.

Scott… they already had Scott.
He’d be used as ransom, threatening Scott’s life in exchange for taking the school without a fight.

They’d either cripple or kill Scar in front of me, as punishment for fraternising with an elf.
Mumbo would be taken back to the Mooners, forever separated from me.

And then…
And then I’d be broken.
I’d be broken, and put on the front line or through the Rift if I failed them.

“Grian?” Mumbo’s voice called. “It’s 2 am. Come to bed.”
I looked over to where we’d pushed together the three beds in the room - Mumbo was sitting up on one side, Scar was dead asleep on the other.
“I need to prepare,” I said, turning back to the desk in our dorm and the large sheet of paper on it, with a detailed floor-plan of the whole school on it, and a less-detailed map of the campus grounds.
“Gri, you’ve been saying that these past few nights,” Mumbo pushed. “Come on, you haven’t slept at all since Wednesday!”
I scoffed. “Sleep can wait,” I announced. “Xelqua won’t, and that’s why I need to prepare.”
“Gri, look at me.”
“I can see you.”
“As in really look at me.”

I turned, looking at Mumbo.

“I know the glasses hide the bags, Gri,” Mumbo said, “but you need to sleep. ”
“And if we’re attacked in the night?” I asked. “What then?”
“Then the teachers will deal with it,” Mumbo reasoned, voice calm.

“How are you so calm about all this?!” I blurted, voice demanding.
Mumbo looked somewhat startled. “I… I don’t know,” he said. “Let’s just take this one day at a time. We’re here, we’re happy, we have Scar. That’s all that matters-”
“AND WHAT MATTERS IS THAT IT’S ALL GOING TO BE GONE IN A FEW DAYS!” I yelled, not able to keep it in anymore. “I- it’s… I can’t…”

And I broke.

This was all my fault.
If I hadn’t disappeared, if I hadn’t brought Etho in, if I hadn’t engaged the thing, Scott would still be here. If I-
“GRIAN!” Mumbo’s voice was more forceful and much louder than normal, but it jolted me out of the spiral of self-blame. Which was entirely justified, actually. Because it was my fault. If-
“Grian, are you sure you’re alright to go to classes?” Mumbo sounded more worried than normal.
“What? Oh, yeah. It’s only  Double Battle today. I’ll be fine-” I tried, but Mumbo cut me off.
“Grian, it’s a Saturday.”
I levelled a flat glare at Mumbo. He smiled and hugged me in a warm embrace. I sighed, maybe spiralling could wait. I had to be calm if I was going to save Scott. 

Chapter Text

 The next day I woke up to screams. Through my window, I could see another battle raging. Strapping on my armour, I woke up Scar and Mumbo, and the three of us sprinted through the school and into the forest, not knowing when or how the battle started.

The Watched flooded in through the forest, an army of hybrids and humans working in tandem.

I watched, helpless, as my friends readied their weapons and their magic. I stood behind them, betraying their requests for backup as they were disarmed and ground into the dirt by those who had raised me.

I could See them - the blindfolded killers and their masked leader - as they approached. I could See every fight, every injury, every life taken. I could See the worry of the teachers as they fought, the desperation of the students as they battled, the determination of the Watched as they attacked.

The shadows rippled, reaching out to where I stood with Mumbo, holding back Scar.

I looked to the Young Elf.
“I’ll get you out of here,” I whispered to him. “And then you’re going to run.”
“What?!” Scar said.
“You’re going to run,” I reiterated. “You’re going to get out of here, and run, and activate a rune to close the forest. You’re going to run. You’re going to make it to Rivendell or Oceana or Piscum or The Undergrove and prepare them. You’re going to leave us here.”
“No!” Scar yelled. “I’m not leaving you here!”
“And we’re not letting you die!” I yelled back.

“Gri…” Mumbo’s hand squeezed my shoulder. “Hurry up, they’re almost here.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, hugging Scar tightly as armoured footsteps echoed outside the main door of the school.

I dropped from Scar’s shoulders, Mother Spore’s wings appearing on my back, fluffing up in protection to hide Scar from their view.

Tango, who’d been standing with us, dropped to one knee, despite his fire flaring slightly in anger, the roots of it bleeding into blue. Mumbo bowed respectfully but straightened up soon after.

I did not.

“Grian!” Xelqua cried, their voice instilled with false happiness (they were only happy at the deaths of others. I’d seen them cackle with glee after taking the life of a particularly troublesome general). “Good to see you. I hope they taught you something?”

Xelqua was tall for an Elytrian, their wings larger than most were - black streaked through with purple. Runes glowing the same purple colour were painted all over their arms, bestowing increased magic and strength, while a basic protection array was tattooed around the base of their neck.
A white mask hid their eyes, but their pale skin was already so in-mortal that I thought they had died and clung so hard to the living world they’d clawed themselves back into their mortal body.
The long tail of an Enderian curled just before reaching the floor, purple fur arranged in the shape of a V barely touching the floor from the end of it. A whip made of the tail of an Enderian who had wronged them was coiled at their waist.

They terrified me.

“I made connections with people with ties to many of the kingdoms, and some with ties to the Pirate Factions and the M77s. I hope the Basement is still intact?” I said, keeping my tone neutral.
Xelqua grinned devilishly. “The M77s still don’t know what hit them,” they said, delight colouring their tone. “But I don’t suppose one of those people was the Second Prince of Rivendell?”

A deep breath. I needed to keep it together.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” I said, somehow managing to keep the wobble out of my voice. “As it turns out, they kept the existence of the First Prince from him.”
“Of course, of course,” Xelqua murmured. “Well, They will be happy with your findings. Why don’t you join us? We’re still yet to clean up here.” They turned, their envoy parting to let them through. “And do take off those horrible glasses. You have your blindfold for a reason.”
“Of course, Xelqua,” I murmured, and, in a rush of Void and shadow, my white blindfold had replaced the glasses.

Oh how I hated this blindfold.

I made to follow them outside, but Xelqua’s next words caused my spine to stiffen.

“Oh, and kill the GoodTime.”
An Enderian teleported behind Scar as an Elytrian gathered energy in their staff, aiming it at the terrified Young Elf as the Enderian held him back.

“NO-!” I screamed, whirling around and leaping forward, my magic acting upon my emotions as tendrils of shadow and Void swirled forward beyond me and towards Scar.
It was too late to stop the bolt of magic, but the spell was warped enough that it was no longer lethal.

I had no idea what consequences this would cause me, but Scar doubled over, having been dropped from the Enderian’s grasp.

“Leave him,” Xelqua ordered. “We have places to be, people to see.” A large, stylized purple Eye appeared before me. It was Xelqua’s. “You have gotten attached,” they sneered, but a crooked, twisted smile that never meant anything good spread across their face. “Chain the GoodTime. We’ll make a spectacle of him yet.”

Affirmatives echoed through the convoy, the two that had tried moments before to kill Scar roughly grabbed him by the arms and began to drag him away.

Mumbo looked conflicted, but the Electro couldn’t exactly do anything - he was by no means powerful enough to challenge the Word of Xelqua.

The grounds were a mess - bodies of those both dead and dying were strewn across the grass, blood soaking into the dirt, and those who could keep fighting were, however weakly.

A trio of faun Watched had Aimee on her knees and pretty much immobilised, while an avian held the blade of a halberd to her throat. She  had been cuffed in Elven steel gloves and was damn-near dead, but she looked defeated, ready to give up on life and die . It was not an expression you expected to see on Aimee’s face.

A collar with magic-suppressing runes had been locked around Techno’s neck, but the piglin hybrid was still fighting his way to Aimee- about ten Watched were attempting to dog-pile him, most humans but precious few hybrids, but Techno kept throwing them off, watching in satisfaction as they painfully hit the floor.
(Was he really satisfied, though? Or was it the fact that he had to make sure that they stayed down ?)

Miss Gem was dancing through the crowd of Watched, mainly using technological weapons to her advantage, but outpacing them all as the faun danced through the air, amputating several Watched with her katana-like sword. The tech looked so similar to that of the M77s, it was hard to believe she wasn’t a part of them… 

Professor Riffs had been beaten long ago, but he refused to get down, still fighting the restraints the Watched had forced him into. He had been fighting valiantly for a human, but humans had their limits.

The Headmaster was fighting his way to his employees, swirling his Warlock’s Staff and his great axe in tandem, cutting through and disintegrating the Watched with both blade and magic. But someone had gotten close enough to clamp the Elytrian’s wings.
He looked furious - protective, almost. As if his employees were something more to him than just that - employees .

Joel and Lizzie had disappeared, presumably trying to find better weapons, but Jimmy had obviously been struck by a curse of some kind, as he was keeled over, blood rushing down his back from his shoulder blades as he retched into the destroyed plant beds.
A thought, a swirl of Void and shadow, and Jimmy had disappeared to somewhere safer.
Hopefully, the curse wouldn’t have any lasting side-effects. Hopefully, it was just a temporary thing meant to immobilise its targets.)

Etho and Cleo had fled into the forest long ago in an attempt to wait it out, but occasionally a thorny vine would lash out from the too-dark forest and grasp a Watched and drag them in, or an arrow made of pure red magical energy would fly out, stabbing through the chest, torso, shoulder or even head of a Watched.
(At least they would be safe - Etho knew his way through the forest, and it wasn’t like you could exactly kill a Sworn of Lady Death Herself.)

Xelqua dismissed their convoy and the crowd of Elytrians and Enderians dispersed amongst the field, giving orders and executing prisoners and monsters alike.

Mumbo stayed within the castle walls, presumably to stay with Scar, and Tango made himself scarce as soon as we exited the doors.
They both, wisely, stayed away from Xelqua.

Me? I was stuck here, following Xelqua to where they held Aimee .

“Report on this one?” Xelqua asked me as we approached.
“She tea- taught Enchantments and Wards,” I said. “She’s got powerful magic, animation and possession are her strengths. She’s a Warlock and Sworn to Lady Death.” I exhaled, before Looking at Xelqua, Eye to Eye. “And her name is Aimee Griffin .”

Distantly, thunder crashed, lightning leaping from grey cloud to black.

Xelqua smiled.
“Of course,” they said.

‘ Let me- AAGH!” Aimee yelled as the butt of the halberd, suddenly electrified, was slammed into her back. 

Xelqua bent over, bringing themself down to her eye-level. They grabbed her chin in their right hand.

“Would you rescind your god for a new pantheon?” Xelqua asked.

Aimee’s teeth parted and slammed shut around Xelqua’s hand, tearing thumb and forefinger from flesh.
Xelqua retracted their hand in a flash, holding it in the blackened fingers of their left hand as the indigo blood drawn from the wounds fell down their arm, before quickly being drawn back up and reshaped into a new thumb and forefinger that solidified into their new shapes.

They flexed their fingers.

“Play nice,” they growled.

“ Forget nice. I won’t even play fair. I will never leave Lady Death’s side. Don’t try and make me,” Aimee snapped.

I looked Aimee in the eye, urging her to stop talking, but she wouldn’t listen.

“ Go ahead and kill me. It won't work. There are many powers more ancient and stronger than you,” hatred filled Aimee’s eyes as she struggled against her bindings. I knew she needed her hands for her magic, but after analysing the gloves, I knew there was no way I could do anything without being suspicious.

That didn’t matter. I was done being Xelqua’s lackey. I wasn’t going to go around spying anymore. I wasn’t going to obey their every word. I leapt forward, attempting to pull off Aimey’s steel gloves, but before I could even touch them, I felt myself being whisked away in a cloud of purple mist. 

“Oh, Grian. Don’t forget that you get your powers from us,” Xelqua’s evil voice laughed in the distance.

When my vision cleared, I was standing at the top of an old tower, the chipped wood lining a window, a small balcony next to it. Right in front of me, Scott had been chained to the wall. Cuffs similar to Aimees covered his hands, but these seemed stronger. Possibly Elvish Silver. I could hear the faint voices of my friends, Lizzie and Joel, yelling downstairs. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. But then I heard his voice. I heard Mumbo’s soothing tone calming the two down, then Scar’s small cries of despair. I met Scott’s eyes. He looked dead inside as if all his power had been sucked out, but he kept struggling (though very weakly).
I knew what I had to do. Whether I liked it or not. I couldn’t let anyone else suffer like this. Maybe my story would change someone else's. I found the courage deep in my chest to speak up, facing Xelqua.

“Y’know, Xelqua, I think there might’ve been a reason you refused to give up leadership,” I said, hopping up onto the stone railing. “You thought I was more powerful - no, you knew it. And you decided to try and control me.”
Xelqua’s face seemed to pale slightly.
“Grian don’t you dare -”
I turned to face him, seeing Lizzie and Joel reach the top of the staircase.
“Now that I think about it, actually, you never told me of my family, nor did you believe me about the voices in my head. But, those voices told me of a place I could never go - someplace the Watched could not reach, but the Watchers could. And the voices did not want me to go. Because the Watchers wanted my raw, untapped power .”
Xelqua pointed the knife at me.
“Grian what are you doing-”
I smiled, hands reaching up behind my head to the knot of the blindfold.
“Xelqua, how did you not realise?” I said, allowing the white cloth to fall away, carried on the wind. “Those Watchers we- sorry, you worship like they’re the creators of our world? Those Watchers that carved a Rift from the Void into the rock of the Basement?” I knew my eyes were glowing now, but I had them still scrunched shut. “They use you, Xelqua. They project their ideas into your head where they corrupt and fester and are moulded into things that sound more appealing.” I exhaled, long and slow, before breathing in again. “They are powerful. You know that - Void, we all know that. But the only way to kill a Watcher -'' I finally opened one eye, purple light illuminating Xelqua’s pale face - “is to become one .”
And I fell backwards, letting the wind tear past my body, freefall uninhibited due to the odd lack of wings for an avian.
Thank you, Spirits, for raising me.
Thank you, friends, for testing me.
Thank you, loves, for healing me.
Thank you, teachers, for helping me.
Thank you, Xelqua, for killing me.

Voices and screams of my name filled my ears as I fell, smiling as I did so.
And my back impacted the ground first, the resounding CRACK and residual burst of pain causing me to gasp - who knew dying would be this painful?

Suddenly, I was no longer on the ground next to the tower. I was flying through the sky, large black wings beside me.

Ariana’s soft voice echoed through my mind, “ I should probably explain, shouldn't I…”

Chapter Text

With my captor distracted, Lizzie took the opportunity to get me free. I didn’t know how but that wasn’t important. I sprinted down the stairwell, leaving Lizzie and Joel far behind. I rushed through the empty halls, thoughts racing on what I would find when I found him.
Bursting out the tower my heart stopped: where he was, lying motionless on the grass, the glow fading from his now-purple eyes as life was fading from his skin. His hair was sprawled over his scarred face as droplets of water fell onto his forehead. Mumbo and Scar knelt over Grian’s body, tears racing down their cheeks. My steps slowed as I approached the two, wanting to give them space, but yet still needing to see if there was hope. I clutched his wrist, every cell in my body wanting to feel a pulse…

There was nothing like getting ghosted by a heartbeat…

Grian was gone.

At that moment, I regretted so much: all the times we’d fought; the times we annoyed each other; but, worst of all, the times I didn’t trust him.
And now here I was: standing next to the dead body of someone who’d sacrificed their life for mine and possibly so many more - someone whom I’d thought would never have the courage to do such a thing, who was incapable of fighting for something bigger than himself.
I could never have hated myself more than in this moment.

These thoughts and so many more were swirling around my head, dragging up insecurities and fears from the dank dark corners.
My mouth opened, the thought of comforting the two  knelt beside Grian entered my mind. Then again, what good was comfort from someone who was also crying? 

Lizzie and Joel finally caught up to me, Lizzie clutching her chest, their eyes widened and shining with tears.

And there the five of us stayed, grief locking our limbs still as small raindrops began to fall, drenching the petals of the poppies surrounding us, washing away the quickly drying blood, almost as if the sky itself was mourning the loss. Within the grey clouds, lightning flashed, while behind it the sky was darkening as the sun made way for the shattered moon. Howling winds filled our ears, covering up Xelqua’s screams of anger.

My breath shook, as I futilely tried to find a way to cheer myself up - there was no positive to this, no bright side or silver lining . Everything should be bleak and dark and gone. I was shivering for the first time in my life, my legs giving way as I fell to my knees.
I wanted to call out to Aeor- to change things, to have let Xelqua kill me , not Grian. Grian should’ve lived, not me.

I barely had the strength to move, but, in that moment, now more than ever, I knew.
I knew that this sacrifice had slowed Xelqua, the fall having stunned the leader of the Watched.
But, there was one other thing: Grian’s sacrifice would not go in vain.

Suddenly, I felt like I had all the power in the world, rage boiled my blood as I stood up. Ignoring my friends’ calls, I ran back up the stairs, faster than ever before. I reached the highest floor to see Xelqua staring at me, their face contorted with confusion.
“Scott Major! You are trying to defy me ?”

Something came over me, I couldn’t think clearly but somehow I knew what I was doing. I pulled out my sword and ran towards them. They shook their head and sighed, grasping my arm and pushing me to the side. They walked to the other side of the room, clearly not fully in the battle, as if I was just a pest they needed to get rid of. This filled me with even more rage than before. I could feel my hands frosting over, I felt stronger as I gripped my sword and raced towards Xelqua, point levelled at their chest. They grabbed the point, unharmed, and thrust the hilt of the sword into me. I was thrown back into the wall of the tower, scraping my arm on the rough bricks, blood dripping down it. My hand shook in pain, nevertheless I threw the sword at Xelqua, stabbing them in the back. No blood dripped from the wound. Xelqua pulled it out and slowly turned to me, an angry scowl on their face. 

“Think you‘re strong, Scott Major?” Xelqua screeched, tossing the Elvish blade at me. It cut my cheek, leaving a bloody mark across my face. The sword fell down at my feet as Xelqua continued, “We’ll see how much longer you can last.” Something formed in their hand. They held it out for me to see, smirking. It was a small stone - a rune -  and it gave off a dim orange glow. Xelqua tossed it into the air, and a blast of light filled the tower. The air turned from chilly to extreme heat. It was warmer than any summer in Rivendell, or even in Piscium’s summers. I tried to stand but the heat made me feel like I was melting. My head ached, I could barely breathe, but I had to keep fighting. I shook as I pushed myself up, holding my sword up. I slowly shuffled towards Xelqua. They only glared at me, still as angry as before. Another wave of heat pushed me onto the floor again. I couldn’t keep going, as much as I wanted to. My vision blurred as I looked around for a possible way to trap Xelqua. Suddenly a figure with large yellow wings flew in through the window. The figure rushed closer to me, shaking me and saying my name.

“Scott? Scott, are you okay?” The figure helped me up, and I realised that Jimmy was the one holding me in an embrace. 

“Jimmy?” I gasped, struggling to talk, “ Why do you have wings? What happened?” I realised blood was dripping down from his shoulder blades. Jimmy just sighed, then looked towards  Xelqua. He ripped the sword out of my hand and flung it across the room.

“DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY BOYFRIEND!” Jimmy yelled, glaring at Xelqua, breathing heavily.

One of Xelqua’s wings was slashed through the middle, falling on the floor and melting into the stone floor. They screamed, unable to regenerate their broken wing. I heard footsteps coming up the staircase, many, angry footsteps.

The first to emerge from the archway was Lizzie, her pink hair trailing behind her in the hot winds blowing through the tower. Her expression seemed to be contorted in something I hoped wasn’t pain. As she came in, the air cooled, and the air condensed into water droplets, all surrounding Xelqua in a bubble of water. Next was Joel, raging in with a shield, protecting Jimmy and I. Tango was next up, and as Lizzie ran behind the shield, the water dropped around Xelqua, Tango threw an inferno at them. 

I heard an explosion, but my senses were still a little fuzzy from the heat. I shakily forced the shield away from me to see what had happened. Ash covered the floor around where Tango had thrown the fireball. The bricks in the wall had been blasted out, leaving an uneven hole. Xelqua was covered in black dust, sprawled on the floor, clearly weak. 

 “Are you alright, Petal?” Jimmy’s voice was soft, quivering. I took a deep breath, nodded and stood up.

I walked over towards them and picked up my sword. I kicked them closer towards the hole. I could see the forest about four floors down, a fall that would kill someone…
A  fall that did kill someone…

Xelqua needed to pay for what they had caused. I pushed them out of the tower and watched them fall with no remorse. Before they hit the ground, they disappeared, there was no impact. I sighed, turning around and heading back down the stairs. With their leader gone, the rest of the Watched had begun to retreat, though I wasn't sure where they went. I walked back around the tower and found Grian’s pale and clammy body still lying there in the rain. I dropped to my knees again. Mumbo and Scar hadn’t left his side, tears still dripping down their cheeks. I came up to them and put my arms around them, hugging them tighter.

“It's ok,” I said, trying for a soothing voice, “Xelqua will no longer bother anyone, Grian didn’t give his life away for nothing.”

That only made Scar sob louder, resting his head on Grian’s unmoving chest. And then we heard it.

A voice we had thought we would never hear again…

“Live fast, die young and leave behind a pretty corpse” Grian’s voice rang with laughter.

I turned back to see a large black dragon, flapping its wings with Grian on its back. The tops of its wings were jet black, while the underneath was purple. The dragon elegantly landed, and Grian slid off its back, gently patting it on the head.
Scar’s eyes lit up as he sprinted to Grian, enveloping him in a hug. His sobs were muffled by Grian’s newly adorned red woollen jumper.

“I’m right here, Scar, don’t worry,” Grian sniffled. Mumbo looked like he wanted to join in the hug, but stood still,
“Your dead body is right there! I literally saw you die. You died. You were dead.” His voice shook. It wasn’t a tone I’d ever heard Mumbo speak in. As he gestured to it, Grian's body disintegrated into a purple dust, which disappeared with a flash of shadows.

“Death is a social construct,” Grian replied, still not letting go of Scar.

“I don’t care if he got himself kicked out of the afterlife, Grian’s here and that’s all that matters…” Scar said to Mumbo, tears still rolling down his cheeks. 

“Just because the Watched hate me doesn’t mean the Spirits do,” Grian started, “After I died… Well I’m not sure what happened, but according to Ariana, she reached out to Lady Death. I woke up somewhere around the End lands, in the middle of the sky, on top of this dragon. I think I’ll name him Terry.” None of that statement made sense to any of us, but we were all grateful. Mumbo and I surrounded Grian in a group hug, shedding tears.

I filled Grian in on how we had thrown Xelqua out the tower. When I mentioned how they had disappeared before they hit the ground, Grian’s small smile morphed into a look of worry.

“ Oh void… I should’ve told you before, Xelqua can teleport. Even when they’re weak”. Grian looked downwards, biting his lip.

“Hey, it’s ok Gri,” Mumbo put his hand on Grian’s shoulder, “ it’s not your fault, don’t beat yourself up. Besides, I don’t think the Watched will be coming back to Fawklaw, not after seeing how powerful we all are together”.

 It was only then that it struck me that everyone else was still back at the school. I started running towards the castle, and the others must’ve caught on with what I had remembered. We reached the clearing to see the horrendous massacre that had occurred. Dead bodies were strewn across the grounds, swords stabbed through them. Techno was helping Aimee get out of her shackles, although barely remaining composed himself. The headmaster was talking to a group of kids I had never seen before. They looked unharmed, wearing clean clothes so they must’ve arrived just now. Professor Riffs was laying motionless in a pool of blood, a horrible gash spread across his face. Professor Gemini was kneeling at his side, holding his wrist, most likely feeling for a pulse. She had a sombre look on her face, which didn’t give anyone much hope. 

A few senior students were attending to the masses of injured students. Pearl and Joey were going around laying white sheets on students that had passed, their blood immediately seeping through the fabric. No amount of defence lessons could have prepared them for the battle. I saw the two seniors Grian and I fought in battle a while back, Harry and Tarron, both still grasping javelins. I had a melancholic feeling knowing that they would never throw a javelin again. 

Aimee noticed us and called out, causing Techno to turn his head, slapping Aimee’s face with his hair. All of us slowly walked towards them, still processing the battlefield. 

“ Are you alright? Aimee asked, trying for a confident tone but failing miserably. I nodded, still not having enough courage to explain our battle with the Watched leader. I looked back at the rest of my friends, to realise one wasn't there.
Lizzie was still standing a few paces back, her eyes glazed over, staring at the mass of dead bodies. Her chest was moving up and down much too quickly to be normal breathing. I jogged over to her, just in time to catch her as she lost balance. She started shaking and thrashing uncontrollably, then froze. No matter how much we yelled, she was unresponsive. Her breathing was close to none, I felt her pulse slowing down a fair bit, but not stopping. Aimee, now free of her cuffs, ran over, and lay Lizzie down on her lap.

“She’s gone into shock. Did she get hurt throughout the battle at any point?” Aimee looked up at us, awaiting an answer. Aside from the obvious cuts and scrapes, we didn't know. Grian, Scar, Mumbo and I were nowhere near Lizzie and Joel throughout most of the battle. As Lizzie lay unmoving, barely breathing, Joel explained how the two of them had fought with a member of the Watched. He remembered them delivering what could’ve been a fatal blow to Lizzie, around her chest, but before he could check if she was alright, they had been whisked away by Xelqua. 

“ Possible damage to vital organs,” Aimee muttered under her breath. There wasn’t much we could do at the moment, seeing as the entirety of the school was either busy, injured, or dead…

Aimee leaped up to find help. Joel knelt beside Lizzie, holding her hand, shaking , “It’s okay Liz, you’ll be fine. I'm here, everyone's here. I won't let anything happen to you.” I might’ve thought it was a sweet moment if I didn’t think she was dying.

Professor Gemini had left professor Riffs’ side, looking defeated as she came over to Lizzie. I doubt she noticed him shakily move his arm; he was still alive.

 She was trying to convince Aimee to attempt healing magic on Lizzie. I heard the name “Guqqie” thrown around a few times, but I was mostly occupied with Lizzie, who was still unresponsive. Miss Gemini must’ve done something right, as Aimee rushed over and placed her hands on Lizzie’s chest, muttering something. A warm glow spread across Lizzie’s body. She blinked, and immediately placed her hands on her chest, wincing in pain.

“Lizzie!” Joel's worried look only melted for a split second. Every time she moved or breathed, it caused her great pain. She gasped when she sat up, tears forming in her eyes. 

“ I could bring her out of shock, but I’m not strong enough to heal her crushed lungs,” Aimee sighed remorsefully. Professor Gemini put her hand on Aimee’s shoulder,
“Hey, you did what you could. You only graduated last year.”

Joel carefully put his arm around Lizzie’s and helped her stand up, but ended up holding her in a bridal carry.  She cried out, tears now rolling down her cheeks, clutching her chest. I doubted the sight of the recent battle would help the healing process. There was only so much magic the teachers could do. Healing from an injury like this would be a question being tossed between the hands of Lady Death.

The days after that was an ordeal I wish to never repeat. While some students quickly recovered, a fair few required intensive care ( Lizzie being a part of that group). 

Professor Riffs had survived, although he didn’t start teaching again. We helped with everything we could, re-organizing the weapons, cooking meals, anything to forget the horror. The only good thing that came of those weeks was a kid named Etho.
I had only seen him at band once, however Grian explained how he’d fought valiantly throughout the now called Battle Of Fawklaw . Upon hearing this, the Headmaster allowed the white haired boy to stay at Fawklaw, regardless of the fact that he had no magic. 

Our group decided to speak of the battle as little as possible, attempting to carry on with our regular lives, though I doubted any of us could feel normal again.

About a month or so later, Lizzie had mostly recovered, just in time for the Primo Dance. It seemed wild to still hold the event after everything we had just been through. Many students no longer had partners, as they were in the infirmary (or had passed), but I realised that was the reason it couldn’t be cancelled. Everyone needed something to focus on, and the dance was the perfect happy occasion. 

The theme, being announced much earlier, was Divine . I had no clue what I could possibly wear, and it turns out many of the others didn’t either. I was throwing things out of my suitcase, looking for something divine to wear. In the end, I gave up and wore something simple.

I sported a white button up shirt with a golden pattern flowing down the sleeves, as well as black dress pants. For a bit of colour, I wore a  cloak, blue with gold trims, and white on the inside. The Rivendellian coat of arms was printed on either side of the cloak.
I tried to find a tie that I could wear, and was about to give up, when I saw a box. It was navy blue, the material was Elvish bronze, evident by the weight. I opened it to find my most prized possession. Inside was a pure gold headpiece, shaped into stag horns. They gave off an ethereal glow. Although no one knew why they glowed ( they didn’t use batteries at least), or just how old they were, they had been passed down for at least four hundred generations. If this doesn’t count as divine, I don’t know what does, I thought to myself. I carefully placed them on my head, expecting to feel the weight, then remembering how light it was. I didn’t wear it often, but every time there was a royal event, such as a UEA meeting or public speech, I would only be seen with these on my head. Joel had worn a simple black shirt and dress pants, a white jacket and tie covering the shirt. Lizzie pulled apart the curtain and showed Joel and I her dress. It was a light blue, elegant strapless gown with pink accents, the neckline covering up her scars. A fashionable golden belt across her waist complimented the golden studs she was wearing. Her neck was adorned with a bronze, circular locket, adorned with miniscule amethyst crystals.

Joel’s jaw dropped as she walked out, but he quickly shook his head and blushed.
“ I know,” Lizzie said, “ I’m amazing.”
We all laughed, and walked towards the hall in our divine attire, wondering what the event had in stall for us.

Chapter Text

Why was the dance the only thing Scar could talk about? Every night 

For the past week, Scar would excitedly come up to me and Mumbo and ask what he should wear to the event.

I thought back to my time in the Dwayne Mountain Ranges, realising how much of a life I missed out on. The closest thing we had to a happy event, is when the first battle broke out with the M77s, and we slaughtered them. It was at that point when Xelqua let everyone stop working for no more than three hours, and a community gathering was held at The Citadel . They made sure it was held right next to the death trap that the Teks designed, meaning if anyone annoyed Xelqua, they would be thrown in. 

I was shaken out of my thoughts (literally) when Mumbo walked up to me, wearing a plain suit adorned with a red tie. 

“Grian? It starts in twenty minutes and you’re nowhere near ready. The others are probably there by now,” he sighed, sitting beside me. Scar burst out of the bathroom, wearing a similar suit to Mumbo’s, other than the fact that it had ‘ Scarland’ embroidered on the left sleeve. His tie, however, looked like he’d split a rainbow on it.

“-elp” He said, gesturing to his tie. It was tied around his neck much too tight. Mumbo stood up and unravelled it, helping Scar put the tie on properly .

“There’s nothing ‘divine’ about either of your outfits,” I said, deadpan, as I kneeled down and looked for something formal to wear in my trunk.

“Oh because nothing says ‘divine’ better than jeggings and a red jumper, Grian,' ' Scar huffed. Mumbo only laughed. I wondered how the two of them were acting normal already. The images of the Battle of Fawklaw were still burning in my head, no matter how much I tried to erase them. I still felt so much guilt, thinking that so much of the damage could’ve been stopped if I had taken down Xelqua earlier. Instead, my friends paid the price, although some more heavily than others, while I was dead. 

“Don’t you have that suit that you wore a few years ago? It’s not like you’re much taller,” Mumbo said, sounding helpful, although I could hear the slight chuckle in his voice.

“ If you mean the one I wore when I was nine ? I didn’t bother packing it when we were forced to evacuate Hermitopia,” I said, still rummaging through my trunk. 

“ Well, Mumbo and I managed to pack something nice,” Scar smirked, pointing to his own outfit. I sighed, beginning to return my stuff to the trunk.

“ You know, you can probably just borrow my spare one, Grian. Might be a little big, but it's the best you've got,” Mumbo offered. At first, I denied it, saying I'd just wear the school shirt, it was somewhat formal. However, I caved after Mumbo mentioned how good I'd look in it. A compliment from your boyfriend will do that to you. 

Within minutes, I had put the suit on, though I discovered that the sleeves were much too long. I rolled them up, about 15 times, and we headed out of our dorm, leaving the floor an absolute mess of clothing.

While Mumbo and I calmly walked into the hall, Scar threw the doors open as he entered, his colourful tie flapping around as he bounced on his heels and dragged the two of us towards where Shelby and Katherine were already sitting.
Shelby wore a knee-length, bright green dress, a stylish belt decorated the dress, and a small red mushroom as the buckle.

Katherine wore a white sleeveless top. A long purple skirt reached the floor, small light blue flowers lined the edges of the skirt. The two girls saw us, and waved, moving their bags to the side so we could sit on the arched benches next to theirs. 

“Nice suits boys,” Shelby laughed, “ Love the tie, Scar!” 

Katherine smiled at her girlfriend and put her arm around the brunette. Scott, Lizzie and Joel joined us soon. I recognized the antlers that Scott was wearing, however I wasn’t sure where from. They gave off a golden glow, which fit with the theme of divine more than my simple suit did. Jimmy joined us a little later. He wore a dark green suit with a white button up shirt, a darkly coloured tie with a golden cod on it and his silver Piscium charm decorating his outfit.

 A lo-fi tune was playing in the background, but none of us decided to dance. We sat on the benches and talked. Scar told us about the new developments in Scarland he was excited to see. Scott mentioned going back to Rivendell for Winterfest . I hadn’t heard much of the traditions for other Empires. I asked Scott what Winterfest was about.

“ Well, it's about the end of the war between Aeor and Exor, which was the beginning of Winter. Although some cultures don’t love Winter, Rivendell sees it as a good thing, it's when the empire thrives the most, being full of frost elves anyway. Usually the Elders of Rivendell summon the snow spirits on the first day of Winterfest, but I get to try this year, seeing as I turned fifteen,” Scott answered. All of us looked towards him. He raised his eyebrow, “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Well, you didn’t mention your birthday , Petal!” Jimmy said, slapping his boyfriend in the arm. Scott sheepishly smiled, and told us that his birthday fell on November 10th. Almost the entirety of November was spent in damage control after the Battle of Fawklaw.

“Well, what if we sang happy birthday to you now?” Scar smirked, clasping his hands together. Scott refused profoundly, however no one listened. We sang the melody ( if you can even call it that ) in about four different keys, almost loud enough for the entire hall to hear. When we were finished, Scott slowly clapped, burying his head in his face. He gave a small sigh, bringing his head up and smiling, brushing his light blue hair out of his face. 

“I’m not sure whether to feel appreciated or offended by that rendition of Happy Birthday ,” Scott rolled his eyes. 

Not much happened throughout the event, however it was a nice opportunity to talk to the group, without worrying about anything.

At some point, the same kids that I’d seen at the end of the battle entered the hall. One was a little taller than me, with curly blond hair barely tamed on the top of their head, and blue eyes that seemed a little too bright. Another seemed almost as tall as Scott, their hair colour black and white, half and half. The third was a little shorter than the first, short brown hair with bleached undersides, and blue eyes. I didn’t think much of them, just noticed the new arrival. Scott and Scar seemed to be the only others who saw them, most likely because they were facing the right way. 

“Huh, new kids,” Scar said nonchalantly, “Wonder why they're here.” He had a point. New students joined at the start of September. These kids were a little late. 

We decided to go get a snack.

A table expanded across the back wall, hundreds of food items spread across it. We sent Scott on a drinks run, and the rest of us grabbed a bit of everything on a few plates to share. I looked over to Scott, who was about to grab a cup of juice. The liquid froze instantly, causing Scott to sigh.

Deadpan, Scott looked back at me, “Slushies anyone?” After many laughs, the group sent Lizzie to grab the juice instead. Scott ended up bringing a plate of cookies (apparently they were the least likely to freeze.) 

No actual dancing occurred the entire night, which rendered the name “Primo Dance” useless.

Chapter Text

On Monday, the first lesson we had was Ancient History and Mythology. After putting on my cosy purple scarf, and placing my glasses on the bridge of my nose, I opened the door to find Scott, fist raised and ready to knock, standing outside.

“Now, where have I seen this happen before?” Scott said, smirking a little. I sighed, and walked out, closing the door behind me. Scar was still rushing to get his Modern History work done before class started, so I didn’t bother locking the door. The two of us walked down the hallway, running into a group of animals along the way (Judging by the group of seniors appearing behind us, I assumed they were shifters.)

We took seats next to Lizzie and Joel, who had shown up before us. Lizzie, as usual, was flipping through her many pages of notes, studying everything she had written previously. I still didn’t understand how she had the willpower to write down pretty much everything Professor Riffs said in class, but I appreciated it. Her extensive notes meant we didn’t need to memorise or notetake anything. 

“You know, you should publish a book full of all your notes, Lizzie. You’d make a fortune,” I chuckled, grabbing my own books. 

“Please can I see what you wrote for last lesson?” Joel pleaded, “ I can’t remember anything!” 

Lizzie smirked at him, “Aren’t you forgetting something, Joel?”

Joel’s cheeks flushed red. He awkwardly leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. Lizzie blushed and laughed, lightly whacking his arm.
“Joel! I meant the sticky notes I gave you!”.
The two had clearly become more comfortable with their relationship. Rather than the blushing, incompetent mess he used to be, Joel was now a   blushing, confident mess. Lizzie didn’t seem much different, but she had changed a little, seeming more sure of herself than she used to be.

I realised how much we’d all changed since I’d come to Fawklaw. I looked over to the blue haired boy sitting next to me. Scott was a lot more open to the idea of using his ice, starting to control it better. He wasn’t as worried about his Rivendellian stature, and upholding the image of prince .

My thoughts were interrupted when Professor Riffs walked into the classroom. This was the first time in a while that he’d taught us. After the battle, we had our Modern History professor for Ancient History and Mythology. Professor Riffs still didn’t seem at full health. He seemed like he was running on about an hour of sleep, and sounded like it too as he addressed the class. 

 Apparently, he’d decided that some revision was in order. We went over all of the empires that exist(ed) and then tried to remember what each mythology was about.

First on the list was Rivendell. We briefed through the tale of the two stags, quickly touching on Alinar and Conal (two champions) and then moved on to Oceana. We looked at the stories of the two eggs, and the war against Salmon. By that time, the lesson was almost over, and I was starting to pay less and less attention to Professor Riffs’s strained voice.

Scott must've noticed my boredom and quickly scribbled something down on a piece of paper, sliding it over to me. If Professor Riffs noticed, he didn't care.

I looked at the note, slightly confused by its contents.

“ Started losing control of my ice,  hands freeze up more, don't know why. Help me???”

 I wondered why I'd be the first one he went to for help with such a powerful power…

Then I remembered…

Oh void, why did I say that…

The first time we'd met, the day that felt aeons ago, I had said that I was in complete control of my power. Scott and I were the only ones with such magic, uncommon power. If I gave off the impression I was perfect with my shadow magic, of course he would come to me. But what was I, a shadow magic user brought up by the Watched, going to teach him, the prince of Rivendell, with uncontrollable ice magic. I flipped the scrap of paper and responded on the back:

“ Duelling room 4, 11 am, Saturday ”

I decided the room where we'd had our first battle seemed appropriate. I gave Scott a quick glance after giving him the note, and received a thumbs up.

Duelling room 4 was one of the two without sand. 1,2 and 5 had sand covering the floors, whilst 3 and 4 had wooden planks. When I walked in, all of the heating runes were activated, making the room quite hot. Scott was seated in the same area Mumbo and Scar were during our little duel. For some reason, his hands were covered in thick woollen gloves. He was wearing multiple layers underneath his Rivendellian coat. 

He looked sickly . Sweat beaded down his bright red face, matting down his hair. His legs shook, the rest of his body randomly spasming. His eyes were barely open and he seemed to be struggling to breathe.

“Scott! Are you okay?” I yelled, running over to him. His voice was croaky and barely audible,

“h-heat sto- stops ice”. He gasped, clutching his chest in pain. He coughed into his arm, drops of blood falling onto it.

“ Scott, your body can't handle the heat!” I urged, catching him as he fell backwards.

“ I can h-handle-” he started, before going into another fit of coughing. His chest stopped moving, his eyes glazing over.

“Scott! Scott, breathe!” I shook him, brushing his blue hair out of his face. He gasped and coughed, shaking harder. I lay him down gently and ran over to the heating runes, deactivating them and turning on the cooling runes. When I ran back to Scott, his eyes were closed, his chest unmoving, his heartbeat slow.

“ No, you're not dying!” I removed his coat and gloves, revealing four more jumpers underneath.I took them off, hoping the thin t-shirt he was still wearing wouldn't trap any heat. As the temperature dropped, Scott's breathing returned to normal, his eyelids slowly lifting. He tried to say something but only coughed up blood. 

“you're a frost elf, you idiot!” I yelled, “ you could've died from that heat, even though I felt hot, and you find Fawklawian winters warm !” Scott said something, but his voice was so quiet and croaky I couldn't tell what. I shook my head and helped him up, leaning him against the wall. He was still weak but managed to speak,

“ S-sorry I wasted your time” 

“ Oh Scott,” I sighed, “ your ice might be dangerous but doing that to yourself isn't going to stop it bursting out. You'll only make your body weaker, and make it harder for yourself”.

Scott's mouth opened to say something, but he didn't, only leaned onto me for support.

Suddenly I heard Scott's name being called out in the corridor by a familiar voice. The prince of Piscium appeared to be looking for him.

“ He's in here, Jimmy! “ I called out, waiting for him to come in. He poked his head through the doorway, flicking his sandy blond hair out of his face. When he saw us his eyes widened.  His yellow wings  spread out as he ran across the room, immediately clasping Scott's warm hands.

“ Scott! What happened? Why are- why are you warm,” Jimmy's worried voice echoed through the room. Scott tried to straighten up, but fell back down, nearly hitting his head, going into another fit of coughing. His usually bright and happy heterochromatic eyes were dull as he looked towards Jimmy. Scott tried to speak, but only a weak sounding ‘sorry’ came out of his mouth. I had never seen Scott so defeated, so weak. It was a  biological weakness of his, being a frost elf. If I hadn't been there, there was a chance he might not have survived much longer in that heat. Even I found the high temperature ( at least 50°) too hot, of course he would. Maybe I could ask Aimee about  cooling runes later, perhaps there was something similar to the runes in my jumper that could help Scott out. Jimmy used his power to blow the cool air towards us, which was the first time I'd seen him use his powers since the battle.

We sat there, Scott between us, for about 15 minutes before Scott could talk properly. During that 15 minutes, Jimmy had given Scott a lecture on how stupid that was, and how he would have killed Scott if he died in that heat. At that moment I was reminded of the lecture Mumbo would give me later for disappearing.

“ I don't want you to take me to the infirmary,” Scott said, quietly but firmly when Jimmy suggested it. Although Jimmy tried to argue, I stopped him. The infirmary still had many patients after the battle, recovering from various things, Scott didn't want to be a burden on the already overworked nurse. Besides, he didn't want anyone else knowing about the uncontrollable side of his ice, seeing as a fair few students already knew about his powers. Jimmy gave in and helped the frost elf up. Scott was a fair bit taller than either of us, so it was difficult, but we managed to get him to his dorm safely (he only blacked out once). After falling unconscious until 6 pm, Scott seemed to be doing a bit better, although not by much. He could talk without coughing up blood now, which was a good start. Lizzie and Joel didn't question Scott about his state, or why I was with him, which I was thankful for. They must've picked up on Scott's unwillingness to talk about the situation and left it alone. I left their dorm at 6:45, when Scott insisted he was alright. 

When I came back to my dorm, Scar and Mumbo were sitting on their beds, Mumbo reading a book about Hermitopian history, Scar attempting to finish up an essay for magic theory. Both of them perked up when I walked in, Mumbo immediately standing up and lightly whacking me with his book.

“ Where have you been! You've been gone all day, Scar spent an hour running around the school looking for you,” Mumbo frowned, flopping back on his bed. I contemplated explaining what had happened, but decided against it. It wasn't my place to tell them, Scott could say something when he was ready.

“ I was with Scott,” I said, taking off my glasses and slipping on my blindfold. I didn't enjoy wearing the blindfold, but after a while, the glasses caused my eyes to hurt, something Xelqua made sure of, so I didn't forget about them and the Watched. I wished I could take that specific enchantment off, however, I had no clue how they had enchanted my glasses and I wasn't exactly going to go to the teachers for help. I decided that I would talk to Aimee in our next lesson about cooling runes. I layed down on my bed, pulling the covers over my head. I wasn't hungry enough to go to dinner, so I let Mumbo go without me (Scar was still finishing his homework). I drifted off into another dreamless sleep, not waking up throughout the night (for once).

Chapter Text

I didn't eat much at dinner. I still felt terrible from the ordeal earlier. Mumbo mentioned that Grian had fallen asleep back in their dorm. I wanted to stay in my bed for the rest of the day, the less people I was around the better, but I didn't want anyone to think something was wrong.

I didn't realise that ship had long sailed…

Jimmy squeezed my hand as we walked up to the others, his right wing curling around me, watching me closely as if I could collapse at any second. I was grateful for his care, but I didn't want him to spend the rest of the night worrying about me. Luckily, no one pestered me about anything. After everything we’d been through lately, no one wanted to bring up anything that could make someone uncomfortable. This also meant that our conversational topic was “how to take away Scar’s piccolo before he uses it at band on Tuesday”.

“I say we get professor Riffs in on it, and grab the piccolo tomorrow morning!” Tango said, twisting pasta on his fork. 

“But how are we going to convince him? He’s nice but he’s not going to let us take another student’s instrument,” Lizzie mentioned, shaking her head as she broke apart a bread stick.

“Actually, Aimee mentioned that she’s taking over as band conductor for a while,” Cleo added, smirking. 

Aimee would definitely help us, especially if it meant saving her eardrums too. Mumbo, the responsible one, decided that this was the plan most likely to work. Seeing as the other option was Joel’s plan: Get Tango to set the band room on fire and melt the piccolo.

When Tuesday finally arrived, our plan to take Scar’s piccolo was successful, meaning Scar was stuck with the range of the flute. Cleo and I managed to drown him out with the highest note we knew on our trumpets. We had managed to play our song somewhat well.
“No matter how many semiquavers this piece throws at you, you still manage!” Aimee seemed surprised. Unfortunately, Band ran overtime, and Techno didn't like his students being late to class.

When we finished, I leapt up from my chair, the others following, and headed into the halls. I had left before the others, not even waiting for Grian, who had  Battle with me. I looked down at the floor while I walked through the school, luckily no one was around to bump into me. 

I felt a blast of heat from the corridor I was about to turn into, causing me to lose my balance and almost fall over. I ran into the corridor to see what had happened, and saw Joey, the prince of the Lost Empire, lying motionless on the floor, a figure kneeling next to him. I stayed at the end of the corridor, out of sight, and just waited.

“Joey! Joey wake up!” the figure cried, a Rivendellian accent overlaying their masculine voice. They had crimson hair, and seemed to be wearing the Pyro uniform, though I couldn’t tell much about them with their back facing me. I could see small flames dying out around Joey, his arms burnt, his hair charred. I thought about turning back, and getting help, but I couldn’t. My hands, suddenly covered in frost, had covered most of the wall in ice, encasing some of my arms as well. I struggled to pull my hand out, though part of me knew I might be stuck here forever, in unmelting, unbreaking ice. The figure must’ve heard something and turned back. They had eyes the same colour as their maroon hair, their skin tone almost identical to mine, as well as their facial features. I didn’t really think of it as strange, how similar we looked, until much later.

“ Who are you!” They asked, their voice quivering. I introduced myself as Scott Major, momentarily giving up my battle against my own ice. The figure noticed I was stuck and offered to help, but before I could tell them that the ice wouldn’t melt or break, they came up to me. Their hands glowed orange and the ice on the wall melted, not only that but the water droplets also evaporated. When I was free, I was still frozen, but this time in shock. I shook my head and asked what happened to Joey.

“I- I lost control of my powers,” they said looking down at the floor, “ The flames burst on Joey- and…”. I walked over to Joey, who appeared to be unconscious but still breathing.

“Well he’s alive,” I noted. I recalled what had happened to Jimmy a few months back, and decided to spring the question.
“Hey, has this happened before?” I asked the Pyro.

“Once. I accidentally attacked this short, blond kid” they replied. ‘Short, blond kid’ fit Jimmy pretty well.

“In that case, take him over to the infirmary, the nurse knows what she’s doing,” I said, putting my hand on the Pyro’s shoulder. They nodded, picked up Joey like a rag doll, and started to walk off before turning back,
“I’m Xornoth, by the way. Xornoth Major.”

Xornoth Major? Same last name, and similar looks? A strange feeling tugged at me, but I couldn’t tell why. It was probably just a coincidence anyway, I was the only son in my family, as far as I knew, who had the last name Major . My dad didn’t have any siblings, and everyone on my mum’s side kept her maiden name, Evelden . I didn’t stop to contemplate the recent happenings though, as Grian came up to me, breathing heavily.
“ Finally, there you are! Now we’re really late for Battle!”

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

It was the nearing end of Spring on the island Fawkaw, meaning that most people were planning to go back to their homes for a few weeks, while the teachers used the time to tie up loose ends and have a break. I was lucky that seasons worked strangely on the island, since it was so close to the northern pole of the planet, “summers” were a few weeks of intense heat that occurred, then the weather returned to the normal heat of 15° to 20°. As we sat around the well, exhausted from our battle classes, Shelby asked what everyone else would be doing in this time period.

“Katherine and I are heading back to our empires for a while, we have some training to do and our parents want us there,” Shelby said leaning on Katherine’s shoulder.

“I don’t feel like packing my bags and going to Hermitopia since…You know…” Mumbo looked to the ground. Seeing as he, and some others, were escaping the war back in , I doubted they'd want to go back. We already had our fair share of combat.

“I’m definitely heading back to Rivendell,” I mentioned, excitement clear in my voice, “ I get to summon the Winter Sigils this year, it's basically the Rivendellian rite of passage for the prince!”

“Oh? I thought the elders summoned two sigils each,  every year? So there’d be at least ten sigils to ensure sufficient snowfall?” Lizzie chirped in. That was one thing that worried me: What if I wasn’t good enough to summon ten sigils? What if only two or three symbols of snow on the ground, and Rivendell suffered until next Winterfest? 

When I turned back into the conversation, it had changed slightly, with Scar mentioning how much he’d love to see Rivendell.
“ If Scar’s going to come, I’m going to end up coming too. You know, to keep him out of trouble!” Grian laughed. 

“Hey, that’d actually be a cool idea!. I’d love to be there for your big moment, Petal,” Jimmy exclaimed, “A few of us can come with you to Rivendell. Support you during the festival and stuff?” My eyes lit up when I heard that, immediately agreeing. I already knew Jimmy was coming back home with me, but now Scar, Grian and Lizzie would too. At least I would have some friendly faces when I attempted one of the most important tasks in my life. 

“What about you, Joel?” Lizzie looked to her boyfriend, raising her eyebrow.

“Definitely not!” He said sharply, before looking down and speaking in a softer tone, “ Snow and I don’t really get along. I don’t think I could handle RIvendell any better than Scott could handle Mezelea!”

He had a point. The desert empire of Mezelea seemed hellish to a resident of the coldest empire on the planet of Aeterna…

“Why don’t we go grab some food?” Joel said, the others nodding in agreement and standing up. Jimmy kindly offered to get something for me (ordered me to stay at the bench), so I was on my own at the well. 

A familiar face walked into the courtyard, spotting me and walking over.

“Hello again,” the crimson-haired boy mentioned as he sat down next to me.
“Xornoth, right?” I said. The others still hadn’t returned with our food, so I decided to make conversation with Xornoth.
“Is Joey doing alright?” I asked, turning my head towards the pyro.
“Yeah, he’s okay. A little shaken up, but he doesn’t remember much. I still haven’t told him it was me,” Xornoth looked down at his shoes, nervously shaking his leg.

“That’s good. Jimmy recovered quickly, so I’m sure he’ll be alright.”
“ Finger’s crossed,” Xornoth gave a small smile.
“Xornoth… How did you melt my ice that day?”
“What do you mean? I’m a pyro, that’s kind of what I do!”
“Not my ice. It’s impossible to break or melt, no one has managed to do it, and suddenly you can?”
“Unmeltable ice? That’s impossible, Scott,” Xornoth stood up, “Come on, cast your ice and I’ll prove it!”
I sighed, and stood up, making an upwards gesture, creating a spire of ice. It wasn’t too big, only about thirty centimetres wide and two metres tall. Xornoth walked towards it and placed his hands on one side. His hands went from pale to almost orange as they heated up. The ice slowly began to melt, droplets of water running down the spire. Before I could comprehend what was happening, I heard something clatter behind me. When I turned around, I saw Jimmy, mouth hanging open, a tray and a few sandwiches on the ground.

“H- How?” his voice quivered as he walked towards me, astounded.
“I’m going to go check on Joey!” Xornoth’s voice went up half an octave as he saw the blond. He swiftly turned on his heel and walked away.

“Scott?” Jimmy sat down next to me, “ He just melted your ice”.

“Well done captain obvious,” I rolled my eyes, containing my own confusion.

Nothing much happened throughout the rest of the day. 

During choir, we spent the entire time chatting with Aimee about Winterfest. She and Guqqie were also going to Rivendell for the holidays, so they could move Guqqie’s stuff into Aimee’s apartment. We also learnt that Aimee was only 22, a mere seven years older than me. She graduated from Fawklaw’s rune studies and teaching classes last year. That got me thinking about what our lives would be like in a few years. Would I leave for good, or would I continue studying, maybe live in the town by the shore of the island? 

As I was walking from the music rooms to practical magic, I saw Xornoth Major again. Unusually, he didn't say much, but I noticed something different. His eyes were bright red instead of the maroon that matched his hair.
“Hello, Prince of Rivendell,” He’d said ominously, his eyebrows furrowed as he talked, his eyes looked furious , “Enjoy your last lesson.” Then he walked off into the corridor. I wasn’t sure what he meant. We still had two more lessons after practical magic

When I reached the Hydro training rooms, the lesson started out normal: with Miss Gemini coming around, getting us to manipulate the water in different ways. Thankfully, she skipped past me. I’d been making sure that my ice didn’t lash out throughout the lesson, focusing on anything that could’ve been dangerous. I wasn’t sure why, but something just felt off .

“Are you feeling alright, Scott? Your face is all contorted,” Joel asked, tilting his head. I shook my head, looking at the brown-haired boy,
“Just.. Thinking.” I hadn’t told them about Lizzie or Joel about my outbursts, but I had a feeling they knew something was up.  I took a deep breath, breathing in the smell of pine trees from the open window, and continued focusing on my powers. In front of me, Lizzie and Joel continued working on their tasks, the rest of the class was chatting away, and everything was normal.

Then I heard it. A deafening blast originated from the corner of the classroom behind me. Time seemed to slow as my ears rang, a blast of vivid colours exploding around me. Flames danced around the room, engulfing every desk. I turned my head back, immediately being blinded by the bright fire that had erupted behind me. I was thrown forward, the faint screams of my classmates and the piercing sound of glass shattering seemed to echo. I felt small bits of glass hit my face, and extreme heat surrounded me. I felt an odd sensation spread across my body, then horrid pain, as if I’d been pelted with rocks. A sense of panic and disorientation rushed through my mind as the ground shook again, throwing me onto the ground, my vision still blinding white. The ringing in my ears was still as loud as before. Suddenly, the heat disappeared. My hands felt cold as if…
As if I had just cast ice?

I tried to move, but my consciousness seemed to slowly fade, leaving me on the floor.

My vision was still blurry when I awoke. A loud high pitched noise was still ringing in my ears, and my head aching. My face was in a pillow for some reason. I tried to move my head to see my surroundings but only managed to turn it to the side. Four or five beds were placed, with clean white bedsheets and curtains bundled up on the sides of each bed. I tried to sit up but gasped in pain as I turned. My face felt as if hundreds of hot wires had been stabbed through it.

“Scott?” Lizzie’s voice was quiet compared to the noise pounding my eardrums, “Oh you’re finally awake… Um… Don’t move!”

I shakily turned my head towards the sound of her voice, searing pain spreading across my back. Her left arm was covered in bandages and burns scattered across the left side of her face. I noticed Joel, also covered in burns and bandages, asleep on the bed next to her.

“ You've been out for a day and a half, we were really worried!” She said, standing up from her bed.

“The bomb was closest to you, and your body seems to have shielded the rest of us from most of the damage. A lot of shrapnel hit your back so you’re in no state to do anything. Oh, and Jimmy's not happy. He comes by in between every lesson to see if you've woken up” Lizzie spoke fast. I tried to recall what had happened. All I remembered was intense heat and deafening sounds.

“I-is anyone else badly hurt?” I croaked, struggling to breathe with the pain that came with it, the bandages wrapped around my face making it harder to talk.

“Just 3rd degree burns to Joel and I, and a few other kids got second-degree burns. You took most of the shrapnel, and the ice you cast stopped the fire from spreading,” Lizzie said, pausing before she continued, “How did you cast so much? I mean, the snow, snowflakes, ice? That classroom’s going to be locked since they can’t get rid of it, but still!”

“Ice?” I didn’t remember casting any ice, on purpose at least, so Lizzie’s mention of it confused me further. 

“Yeah! A wall of ice shot up moments after the bomb exploded. At least that's what I heard from the others. I was blinded and deafened by the explosion for a while. It’s amazing how you’re not burnt much,” Lizzie said, tilting her head a little. That was strange. I had felt the heat, I assumed that was part of why I’d blacked out.

“Frost elves have horrible heat tolerance. How could I not be burnt?” My voice was weak as I asked the question.

“I’m not sure. I have a feeling it has something to do with your powers protecting you?”
“Maybe from the heat, not from the pain though,” I groaned, wincing as I moved my head to a more comfortable position.

“ I mean- we were lucky it wasn’t a very masterfully created Pyro-Bomb. It did burn your jumper and char your shirt off… I mean, a fair bit of our clothing was ruined too, the left side of my jumper for instance!” Lizzie looked down, a little embarrassed. I just sighed and closed my eyes for a while. I was too tired to continue the conversation. 

A little later, Jimmy showed up, frantically running towards us when he saw Lizzie talking to me

“Oh my gosh! I'm so glad you're awake, Scott! I'm sorry I didn't show up earlier, I got caught up”

“It's alright,” I said quietly, my voice quavering a little, “ I’m just happy you came.” He sat on my bed, putting his cold hand on my forehead. I smiled as he did so, attempting to grab my other hand.

“It's just so horrible! ” Jimmy began his spiralling, gesturing with his hands, “I mean, why would anyone set up a bomb in a classroom full of innocent people? I hope they weren’t targeting you. Wait- what if it was an assassin ? Trying to kill-” I stopped him before he could say what I did not want to hear. I began to recall what had happened before the lesson. Xornoth Major, angrily telling me to enjoy my last lesson… 

I gasped, and this time it wasn’t because of pain. What had Lizzie called it, a Pyro-Bomb? 

“I have to go!” I tried to sit up, immediately regretting it as pain spread like fire across my body.

“Woah Petal,”Jimmy gently placed his hand on my chest, “You’re not going anywhere.”

“I- I think I know who set up the bomb,” I told him in a quiet voice, covering his mouth before he could gasp too loudly. As I did so, a wave of dizziness came over me, my head suddenly pounding, Jimmy’s beautiful brown eyes fading out of my vision…

A thundering voice echoed around me, hammering my ears, 

“My champion, you must tread lightly.”

I wanted to scream at the mysterious voice that was trying to burst my eardrums, but no sound came from my mouth. 

Suddenly, a figure ran in front of me, holding their sword close, their footsteps seeming as loud as the ominous voice. Although my surroundings were dimly lit, I recognised who they were. His hair was close cropped, and the colour of snow. His dark green eyes scanned the area, looking for the dangers following them.

Soon that danger came, in the form of a tall elf with a sword of their own, a twisted smile shadowed by their dark red hair. 

“ Oh, Alinar! ” their malicious tone stuck out against their thick Rivendellian accent, “ You can’t run forever, you know we have to do this at some point. ” 

“ It doesn’t have to be like this, Cohnal, ”Alinar’s voice broke with the last few words, “ You have a chance to change things !”

“ Yes, of course I do. I could forfeit like a weakling, give up all of my power, and let you keep ruling the empire that should be mine! ” Cohnal’s harsh words seemed to hurt Alinar, causing him to take a step back.

“ I did not want it to end like this, dear brother, but you leave me no choice ,” Alinar’s tears shone in the dim light, “ I promise, when you wake up, things will all be better. We will wake up, and you will no longer be corrupted by Exor. We will wake up, and we will be happy. We will wake up, and everything will be back to normal !”

Alinar’s breath shook as he brought the tip of the blade closer to his chest, his hands trembling as he did so. I clenched my eyes shut as he thrust the sword through his torso, his scream piercing the air.

I opened my eyes to see the elf lying motionless on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood, the blade still stabbed through his body. His brother lay next to him, no wound in sight, but still motionless, unbreathing. Both brothers had died in front of my eyes. 

The ethereal voice returned filling my head with words I couldn’t process the meaning of:

In the heart of the sacred grove, the Rune Blade rests—an artefact forged from elvish silver and gold. Its blade sings of destiny, and its hilt cradles souls. It is both a weapon and a key.

Aeor’s Champion bears the blade. His eyes mirror the northern lights, and his touch numbs the living. With the Rune Blade, he can sever souls from flesh, binding them to the astral tapestry.

Exor’s Champion covets the blade. His gaze smoulders, and his touch sears. With the Rune Blade, he can sunder bonds, releasing souls into oblivion.

Neither champion can live while the other survives. The prophecy weaves their fates:

When Aeor’s Champion strikes Exor’s, the blade cleaves the soul from the body. One falls, and the other mourns.

When Exor’s Champion yields, the blade unbinds souls. They drift, lost in cosmic currents.

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, sitting up against the bedframe to regain my bearings. 

“Scott?” Jimmy’s voice was quiet, but relieved, “I’m so glad you’re awake! You’ve been in a coma for a week and-”

“I have to go see the headmaster-” I said, before ripping the blanket off of myself and standing up. I felt a little lightheaded as I did so, however that didn’t stop me.

“About the bomb?” Jimmy asked, holding my arms to stop me swaying to the side. I only nodded, then realised I was only wearing a thin, white shirt, and my grey pants. Jimmy held up  my Rivendellian coat,

“ I brought it with me every time I came to visit you while you were in the coma, hoping you would wake up.” I smiled at the thought of Jimmy caring for me, even though I wasn’t conscious.

He draped around my shoulders, helping me put it on. We walked out of the hospital together (I noticed that the other students were no longer there), and parted ways.

“I’ll meet you later, good luck Scott,” Jimmy smiled, squeezing my hand and turning away. 

 I was still slower than usual but managed to make it to the headmaster’s quarters without doubling over in pain. 

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door, only for an invisible force to push it open.

“Ah, Scott, you’re awake,” the headmaster looked up from his stack of papers, adjusting his glasses. 

“How did you-” I tried to ask before he cut me off,

“ It’s been a week Scott, of course, I’m going to know that the crown prince of Rivendell was injured!” He said, “ That, and Miss Gemini notified me of the situation.”

“ I- I think I know who caused the explosion,” I said, looking down. 

“Who might that be then, Scott?”

“It… I think… Xornoth Major!”

“Xornoth? How did you come to find this out?”

I explained my strange encounters with the Pyro. I mentioned the attack on Jimmy, and then what had happened to Joey.

“Strange indeed… You said you didn’t know him very well, didn’t you Scott?” the headmaster asked. Slightly confused, I nodded. I didn’t see what my relationship with the Pyro had to do with any of this. 

“Have you heard The Prophecy Of The Chosen Champions, Scott?” the headmaster stood up and began looking through his bookshelves. When I replied with a ‘no’, he brought out a large book, lined in dyed leather, titled 

“The Book Of Prophecies, Past And Present”

He flicked through until he found his desired page, and set it out in front of me. Towards the bottom of the page was an illustration of two elves fighting with each other. Small text underneath it told me that they were Alinar and Cohnal, regarded as the ‘first champions of the Stag gods’.

Above that, was the prophecy itself:

The Chosen Champions

Once in every age, Aeor and Exor descend to the mortal realm. Each selects two brothers, bound by blood and destiny. These brothers become the Champions of the Stags, their fates entwined.

Aeor’s Champions wear golden antlers, their hearts aflame with courage. They fight for love, justice, and the fragile balance of existence.

Exor’s Champions bear obsidian horns, their souls tainted by shadows. They fight for power, dominance, and the unravelling of reality.

The battlefield stretches beyond sight—an ethereal arena where the brothers clash. Their swords sing, and blood mingles with stardust. The moon weeps, for it knows the truth: this war is eternal.

The fight rages until Aeor’s Champion stands victorious, Rune Blade dripping with sacrifice. He must end both lives—the ultimate price for peace.

Or Exor’s Champion may yield, breaking the cycle. But surrender comes at a cost—the unravelling of worlds, a cosmic scream.

The prophecy seemed familiar. I assumed I had read during one of the many hours I spent in the royal library back in Rivendell.

“I’m sorry Headmaster, but I don’t see why this is important,” I said, giving the book back to him, “Xornoth’s losing control of his powers, and it’s making his mind work strange. There’s probably a simple solution.”

“Of course there is, prince,” the headmaster gave a small smile, “ why don’t you head back to your dorm. You’ve only just recovered, you deserve some rest.”

I find the encounter strange, but the headmaster was always a little peculiar. After only moving around for a little while, the pain in my back was already starting to flare up. Nevertheless, I managed to make it back to my dorm room.

I walked into the room to see Lizzie and Joel standing next to his bed, reading a newspaper. A worried look was plastered on Lizzie’s face as she looked at Joel’s brown eyes darting across the page.

“Oh. Hi Scott,” Joel said monotonically when he noticed me.

“Are you alright? I asked, sitting on my bed, across from the two, even though he clearly wasn’t alright. 

“ You asked what my last name was when we first met,” Joel wouldn’t meet my eyes, his green streaked hair falling in front of his face. He half-heartedly threw something towards me and sat down; a newspaper, headlined “M77s explode sections of the Dwayne Mountain Ranges”.

“Wh-what's this?” I asked, picking it up from the ground and reading the article underneath.

‘Various groups from the M77s, a hermitopian “terrorist” group run by Doc M77, known for their dangerous acts to get what they want, have recently attacked communities in the Dwayne Mountain Ranges. We do not know the names of all involved, although some family names were revealed. If you have any information about these people, please contact us using the number on page five: 

Harris 

Farrah

Clarks

Those that have been caught by Hermitopian officials say that the Harris’s have another member of their family who has left the M77s.

“The kid ran away a few years ago. I remember the day before Sir Doc was on about attacking the Watched base, probably didn’t wanna do that. Not that any o’ us would ever do that to Sir Doc, definitely not, not at all!” A member of the M77s, who had been kept in solitary confinement, told our reporters.

I couldn’t keep reading any further. I looked back up at Joel, almost more confused than when I hadn’t read the paper. He bit his lip and looked up at me, staring into my eyes

“Harris… Joel Harris…” He said, his voice wavering. Lizzie sighed, putting her hand over his, burying her head into his shoulder.

“They- they tried to make me create pyro bombs to damage Watched bases… They wanted me to murder them. I wanted to leave but-” His voice broke, tears pricking at his deep brown eyes.

“You don’t have to keep talking Joel,” I said softly, curious but not wanting to hurt my friend.

“N-no. It's alright,” Joel took a deep breath and continued, “ My parents had been brainwashed. They thought they were doing the right thing. That destroying half the planet and then overtaking it was a good thing! Being born into the M77s, I couldn’t leave- I-” Tears were now rolling down the Hydro’s cheek.

“Calm down Joel,” I tried for a comforting smile, “No one is going to treat you differently because of your past.”

He took a deep breath and nodded, standing up,

“We had better get to practical magic. I doubt Miss Gem will appreciate you being late again, Scott.”

He was trying ( although failing) to be funny; that was a good sign. 

We made it to our new practical magic class room. Our previous one was still locked up since it was covered in ice. Instead of being seated at the desk towards the front of the classroom like she usually was, Miss Gem was at the back of the classroom, standing next to a large bag. 

As the other students started arriving, their faces also morphed into confusion. We all sat down, Miss Gemini dragged the sack towards the front and turned around with a big smile.

“Welcome to our new classroom,” Miss Gemini said, “ Since it’s the last lesson until summer break, I’ve decided not to give you anything difficult to do.”

She knelt down next to the bag and pulled something out of it. A shining blade reflected the light coming through the window. 

“May as well go ice skating while the lake is still frozen!” Miss Gemini said, getting out another skate and handing them to the student sitting closest to her, “Everyone grab a pair that fits and head to the lake! Some other classes will be meeting us there.”

Lizzie and I gave each other excited looks.She and I had been skating for as long as we could remember. After my training sessions (which were much shorter when I was younger) the two of us would run off to the back of the castle. Behind the castle, yet still in the confines of the gates, was a small but beautiful lake. Seeing as Rivendell’s only season was Winter, the lake was always frozen over.

We headed towards the gates of the school. Walking through the school grounds and feeling peaceful was an odd feeling. The only times we would wander around the castle is during lunches or in between classes, which meant groups of (incredibly loud) students everywhere.

I looked over to Joel, who seemed to be more worried than excited about the outing. He didn’t say much while Lizzie and I reminisced about the times we went ice skating as kids.

“ How about you, Joel?” Lizzie asked, only to get no response from the brown-haired boy.

He did respond, however, when I gently punched him in the arm.

“Hey! Scott, what was that for?” He said in the same whiny tone he had when we fell into the well all those months ago. 

“My question still stands,” Lizzie said in a sing-songy way, “Have you ever been skating?” Joel’s face reddened as he shook his head. 

“I lived in Mezelea, okay! Half the empire is desert!”

Lizzie laced her fingers in between her boyfriend’s,

“I guess that means I get to teach you,” she said giggling slightly. Joel seemed confused, looking to me for an explanation.

“She’s excited to see you fall over multiple times,” I said nonchalantly. Whether or not that was the case, it was still funny to see Joel’s expression shift from confusion to annoyance.

It wasn’t too long of a walk to the lake. As Miss Gemini had said, the lake was still frozen over, although plenty of small critters still inhabited the large pines around it, the squirrels scurrying up and down the trees. The lake was large enough for about 

Another few groups of students were already there, putting on their skates and heading out on the ice. In one of those groups, I noticed my favourite blond walking towards me, dark green skates in hand.

“Petal! Fancy seeing you here,” Jimmy said, holding up his skates, “Been a while since I’ve skated.”

“Try five years,” I rolled my eyes, laughing a little. I figured the last time Jimmy had gone skating was when us kids escaped the UEA meeting (Rivendell was hosting) and went out to the lake behind the castle to skate.

I put my skates on and quickly headed out to the ice, pulling Jimmy with me. I wouldn’t call myself the best but after years and years of practice, I would say that I was a good skater. Excitement bubbled through me as I stepped onto the ice pushing out onto the frozen lake.

I gained momentum easily, gliding across the ice, spinning every now and again. The wind ruffled my hair as I skated across the lake. I was reminded of the freeing feeling of skating in the open, as if I was soaring across the ice. I slowed for a moment, gazing towards Jimmy, who was slowly making his way towards me.

Jimmy came towards me, extending his hand towards me. I smiled, reaching out to accept his hand, pulling towards me and enveloping him in a hug.
“ Will you skate with me, Petal?” Jimmy said, his deep brown eyes looking up at me.
“My pleasure,” I said, spinning him, then skating around the lake, Jimmy’s warm hand laced in mine.

 Over to the left of us, still on the side of the lake I had left from, Lizzie was holding Joel’s hand. The two of them were very slowly making their way around the lake, Joel often falling over, causing them to tumble into each other.

Hopefully this little skating session would be long enough for the brown haired boy to learn before we went to Rivendell tomorrow.

Chapter Text

The journey to Rivendell was far from tiresome. I had always loved travelling on the underwater railway, and this time was no different. It had been many years since Aeterna had been fully linked up, worldwide, with a system of tunnels under the ocean that connected each country and empire. It was high speed as well, travelling 600 kilometres an hour , going from one side of the UEA to the other within a few hours! Best of all, I had been there when it was first unveiled! Not that I remembered anything, considering that I had been a year old, but Rivendell was the empire that led the project, so I had to be at the unveiling of the Underwater Railway System.

When we got off the U.R.S. train, I was immediately welcomed by the cold breeze of Rivendell. The smile on my face stretched from ear to ear as I walked on the soft snow I had grown up with. 

“It feels so strange to be back,” Lizzie said, her smile matching mine as she rolled her suitcase alongside her, “It's been forever since I breathed air this cold!”

I looked over to Scar to see him shivering (I told him not to wear short sleeves). Grian paused, pulling a jacket out of his backpack and standing on the tips of his toes to drape it around Scar’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry Scar, you won’t be cold for too long. The castle is only a few minutes walk from the station!” I said, taking Jimmy’s free hand and leading the group to my home.

Rivendell Castle was impressive at the least. It towered above most, the clouds themselves too scared to compete with its height. The outer walls were decorated with a pattern of small hexagons made of Elvish Silver. The gates of the castle were made out of Elvish steel but coated with Elvish Gold, the shape bearing resemblance to Stag Antlers. 

Each wooden feature was made with the oldest wood from the tallest pines. Each tower was made with the toughest stone from the deepest mines. The castle was surrounded by the purest snow that tumbled down from the highest peaks. Each banner and blanket was made with the softest wool from the fluffiest sheep. 

The castle was composed of one main building and seven towers on each side of the heptagon in the middle. Dormer windows jutted out of the top of each tower’s roof. Larger arched windows were placed strategically around the castle. My favourite was the seventh window in the first corridor on the fifth floor. It gave a beautiful view of the town just below the hill Rivendell Castle was on. I couldn’t wait to show my friends that window, and every other amazing thing my empire had to offer.

“Haven’t been to Rivendell in a while. Hasn’t changed,” Jimmy smiled, grabbing my hand as we walked up to the gates of the castle. Scar was swivelling his head, looking at everything (mentioning everything as well) excitedly tugging on Grian’s arm whenever he saw one of Rivendell’s many snow-coloured owls.

“Grian! Another one!” Scar was walking far ahead of the avian. I felt Grian tap my shoulder,
“At this point, you should change the national animal to owls, Scott. Haven’t seen any stags yet.”

 Lizzie laughed next to me, “ That’s because we haven’t walked through any forests yet.” I didn’t bother telling Grian that the national bird of Rivendell was the snowy owl.

Scar realised how far ahead he was, and ran back towards us, walking next to Grian, who was a little further behind Jimmy and I. As we walked past the golden gate, the guards nodded to Jimmy and me. I heard a yelp and looked back to see Lizzie, Scar and Grian grabbed by the arms.

“Oh come on!” Scar said, his head drooping. Grian tried to pull himself away from the guard, but Lizzie didn’t struggle.
“ No need to apprehend them,” I told them in Ancient Elvish. Grian, huffed and walked off, “ did you not tell them we were coming?”

Scar skipped alongside him, “Hey, why'd Jimmy go free?”

Lizzie stuffed a laugh and answered his question, “You do remember that Jimmy's the prince of Piscium? Rivendell’s number one   ally?”

We walked through the doors of the castle, something I did every day or so a few months ago, but now I had a strange feeling. It felt like years since I had walked into this castle. Between the hydro/ice powers stuff and Xelqua, my life back in Rivendell was buried in the back of my mind. It was regal as always, with dark blue carpets covering the stairs and floors, and bronze architectural handrails on either side of the stairs. I gestured to the others to go up the stairs, following after Jimmy who already knew where he was going. 

My room was about the same size as the dorm Joel, Lizzie and I stayed in at Fawklaw. My bed was still neatly made, and all of my clothes were still hung up in the closet. Most people thought my room must be fancy, but I didn’t want that.  

We sat down on the carpet next to my bed. I decided to explain what Winterfest was to Grian and Scar (Jimmy and Lizzie had attended a fair few times).

“So basically, you know the Stag god's right? Well, the two stag brothers were opposites: Aeor was kind, gentle and caring, grateful for what he had and constantly giving. He was the god of nature, strategies and peace. People admired him.

 Exor was quite the opposite, although he wasn’t always evil. He was selfish and aggressive of course, but not evil ; he still cared about the people of Rivendell. He was the god of chaos and destruction, battle and sacrifice. However, people didn’t like him, and Exor grew jealous. 

Soon he gathered his followers, splitting the empire between the two stags. Aeor was aware of this, and many of his followers asked to get rid of Exor and his followers, and wage war on them before they waged war on Aeor, however, he didn’t let them. Peace and prosperity were what he wanted, not war. He believed Exor would come to his senses and tried to reason with him; but then the inevitable happened, Exor declared war. 

Hundreds of elves fell in battle. However, due to ancient laws that they’d agreed on, Aeor and Exor couldn’t fight, it was forbidden. Instead, each god chose a champion to bring their strength and power into battle. Aeor chose Alinar, the elven king of Rivendell, a kindhearted and courageous warrior, as his champion. Exor, knowing this, chose the king’s brother, Cohnal, an aggressive elf who disliked his brother for taking the throne. 

They fought each other, the powers of the ancient Stag gods coursing through them, until Alinar made a great sacrifice and defeated his brother. The day the war finally ended, is celebrated as the beginning of Winterfest .”

 When I finally finished my lecture on Rivendellian mythology, Scar looked at me with confusion. I asked him if I’d said it all in Ancient Elvish again (I tended to do that) but it turned out I’d spoken in common, Rivendellian mythology was just confusing. I didn’t think it was confusing but realised I’d probably find Hermitopian history confusing if Scar tried to explain it. 

“Anyway, the Sigil Ceremony is exciting!” Lizzie remarked, “ I’m excited to see you up in front of the crowds, Scott.”
“ Wait- crowds? What exactly is this ceremony?” Grian questioned. 

The Sigil Ceremony was one of the most important ones in Winterfest, marking the beginning of the holiday. It was my favourite time of the year, one of the only chances I had to interact with the people of Rivendell. 

“All those who can come to the grounds of Rivendell Castle to see the Elders summon Winter Sigils, snowflake-like magical symbols that are said to bring snowfall and prosperity to the empire. Since Rivendell is such a vast empire, it's also broadcasted across Aeterna, for any other Rivendellians that want to see it!” I filled Grian in. 

I hopped up and walked towards my walk-in closet, going through my clothes until I found what I was looking for: My royal attire. I closed the door and quickly changed.

Some people called it being dressed like an owl , though that couldn't have been further from the truth. I wore tall leather boots that rose to just under the knee, the cuffs of my blue trousers tucked into them. The trousers, however, were half hidden by the strips of gold-lined white fabric circling my waist, hanging from a thick belt, the colour of pine wood. My shirt was quite formal, buttoned up and cuffed with gold, but still mostly hidden by white fabric gold embroidered in intricate patterns around the edges, this time in the form of a cloak that fell around my shoulders and was lined on the inside with feathers. Previous princes who’d adorned this cloak, my father included, had enchanted the feathers to act as wings. Although he enchanted them at fourteen years old, my father forbade me from doing so until I was an adult.

“When you rule the empire, you can rule the sky of the empire,” he’d say whenever I brought it up. 

I walked back out of the closet and showed my outfit to the others.
“Just like the last ceremony,” Jimmy smiled, “Except this time, you’ll be doing the magic.”

Someone knocked on the door, causing us to simultaneously swivel our heads around. Leo, one of the elves who worked in the palace, walked in wearing a royal Rivendellian uniform. He regarded the others, then turned his attention to me.
“ Prince Scott,’ he said in Ancient Elvish, “ It is time for the ceremony. I will send someone to collect your friends later.” He nodded and stepped outside, waiting for me. I hugged Jimmy and followed Leo to a small room. My parents were already there, talking about something (presumably boring political news). Their eyes lit up when they saw me.
“Scott!” my mother lifted her dress to walk and came to me, enveloping me in a hug, “ I missed you so much! After the ceremony, you’re going to have to tell me everything!”. I pulled away, only to receive another embrace from my father, “ Good luck son. Today is one of the most important days in your life.” 

Leo coughed and opened the door to the ceremonial grounds. My parents nodded to him and walked outside. I waited for Elle, a lovely elf who would help organise royal events, to introduce the ceremony.

“Welcome Rivendell, to the annual Winterfest Sigil Ceremony!” Her voice echoed, magically enhanced. She was met with a huge applause.

“ Please welcome King Alistair and Queen Kyra for the royal address!”
As soon as my parents finished addressing their subjects, Elle’s voice returned.
“Rather than the Rivendellian Elders that usually perform the ceremony, a different face will be summoning the sigils. Please welcome Crown Prince Scott!”

That was my cue. I straightened my royal outfit and walked outside. Tens of thousands of people were staring right at me, but after years of royal training, I managed to keep my composure. I scanned the crowd, looking for my friends.

 Right up the front was Jimmy, a smile bursting on his face, both of his thumbs up. Next to him was Lizzie, who had tied her hair in a messy bun. On the other side of Jimmy were Grian and Scar, who had made a scrappy sign: Go Scott!

I smiled, trying not to laugh at the piece of cardboard and walked into the middle. A hush fell over the crowd, so silent you could hear a pin drop. I was expecting to feel a rush of nervousness, but now that I was about to perform the ritual, I felt at peace. I guess I had done all of my worrying before I had to. I took a deep breath and raised my arm, concentrating on creating the sigils.

Hundreds of snowflakes burst out of my fingertips, glinting in the dim sunlight of the morning sky. 

They seemed to move sporadically, but began to form symbols in the air; Winter Sigils. Each sigil was said to bring snowfall and prosperity to Rivendell, and the many that I had just summoned would do just that. The sigils took the form of larger snowflakes, each one detailed, each fractal just as beautiful as the next. Gasps came from the crowds as the snowflakes and sigils danced in the Winter wind, the elders frozen in shock. Many of them had spent years training to create more than two sigils at once, and I had just summoned more than you could count on two hands. After a moment of silence, I heard a few claps. I turned around and saw Jimmy, eyes lit up with joy, clapping away. Lizzie, Grian and Scar soon joined him, causing others around them to applaud as well. I blushed as I looked at my friends, the entire crowd giving me a standing ovation, but that wasn’t as important as the four people standing in front of me. 

A wave of exhaustion flooded through me as the adrenaline began to leave my system. However, I kept my half-happy half-serious ruler facade up and bowed a few times until the applause died down. Once it did, Elle walked up to me, leaning down to congratulate me and directed me back towards my parents. I walked to the back of the stage, and then up to where my parents were seated, looking out over the people, taking a spot next to my mother. She didn’t make any sudden movements, but did slip her hand onto mine, squeezing it and whispering,

“Well done, my son.”

Elle spoke up once more, announcing the group that would be performing next. The rest of the event consisted of a cultural play, depicting the battle of Alinar and Cohnal. In the spirit of this particular Winterfest, I had proposed that we gather some students of the Rivendellian School Of Arts to perform, rather than the teachers of said school. I had visited the school once or twice with Owen, whose uncle was the headmaster of the school. 

Unfortunately, the seating arrangements weren’t perfect, and I couldn’t see the performance. I went with what I had remembered from their rehearsals.

“Exor’s jealousy caused his intentions to sour,” a deep voice spoke.
“This blade will be our saviour, my king!” A feminine voice echoed.

“I did not want it to end like this, dear brother, but you leave me no choice,” I bit my lip as that particular sentence brought back memories of my strange dream. 

Soon enough I heard clapping arise from the audience, signifying the end of the play. It was royal protocol for the royal family to be the last to leave, so we sat there, unmoving, until each and every Rivendellian (and foreigner) had left. I heard Elle’s high-heeled shoes walking up the stairs and took that as a signal to stand up. Stretching my arms, I moved to the side so my parents could also leave their seats. 

“Scott, you did wonderful,” my father said, smiling at me. The three of us followed Elle down the stairs and back into the castle, where Jimmy and Lizzie had already made their way to my room.

“That was quick,” I said, causing the two to snap out of their conversation and turn towards me.

“Well, you did have to wait for everyone else to leave, and I know my way around the castle almost as well as you, Scott,” Lizzie laughed, “However, we lost Grian and Scar in the crowd.” I sighed and turned back around, “I was going to give them a tour, they didn’t have to go exploring.”

After checking every corridor of the castle, we found Grian and Scar near the royal kitchen. Scar had a handful of sugar cookies, and crumbs all around his mouth.

“He kept asking about elven recipes. The chef gave him the cookies to shut him up,” Grian mentioned, pulling Scar along as we headed back out of the castle. Since we had a few weeks before we had to go back to Fawklaw, I thought it was only fitting that I acquainted my friends with my Empire.

“There’s plenty I want to show you guys!” I said, pulling Jimmy across the corridor, the other three following us. We walked through the gate, Scar skipping ahead of us. Rivendell was full of so many amazing places, sharing my empire with my friends meant a lot to me. Lizzie seemed to have similar ideas.

“Why don’t we head to the royal garden, Scott!” Lizzie suggested, “You remember how long we used to spend there?”

“Took the words right out of my mouth, Lizzie. It's pretty close to the castle’s entrance so that's great, just by the bottom of that mountain.

As we walked towards the Royal Garden, I saw something odd at the bottom of the mountain. It was an odd, rather large, crack in the wall that gave off mysterious energy.

“I’ll catch up with you guys in a second. Why don’t you show them the tree we used to sit at, Lizzie?” I pointed vaguely in the direction of the garden and headed towards the mysterious cavern. Although the smell that radiated from the damp moss wasn’t exactly pleasant, it still made the crack in the wall seem like an enchanted grove. Vines with strange golden fruits decorated the stone walls, each one giving off a soft glow. The cave was cold, but I doubted that was the reason chills were running down my spine. In the centre of the small cavern, a book layered in dust was placed on a wooden lectern. However, the book wasn’t what caught my attention, it was the shining sword that was resting on top. I walked closer to the blade, mesmerised by the weapon. Its blade was most likely a mix of both elvish silver and gold. Strangely, the lower end of the blade had odd, rune-like carvings. They seemed to give off a bright light as I came closer to them. 

“Scott? Where are you?” A distant voice yelled. Panicking, I grabbed the sword, swapped my spare Elvish sword with the strange blade, and headed back out of the cave to meet my friends. 

Lizzie had come to drag me back to the group. The other three were waiting at the iron gates of the royal garden. The garden itself was surrounded by tall trees, the leaves more vibrant than any others in Rivendell. Crimson roses greeted us as we made our way towards the centre, a large pond with emerald green lily pads floating on top. A trail of azure flowers, the colour of a summer sky, made its way towards a large weeping willow. The leaves seemed to create walls that reached the floor. Inside those walls was a whole other world for me when I was younger. A place where I could hide from the unwanted responsibilities of ‘crown prince’. At least I could hide away from the troubles at Fawklaw for a few more weeks.

Chapter Text

By the time we reached the Island of Fawklaw, the sun was already setting. 

I laid the sword on my bed, studying the light glow it gave off when out of its sheath. The blade was a little thicker than normal elvish swords but seemed just as sharp. I hadn’t studied runes yet and had no clue what any of them meant. After staring at the blade for a few minutes longer, I realised who would know what they meant. Aimee was very good with runes, so I decided she was the only one who could help. 

I put the sword back in its sheath, and after slipping on my shoes and jacket, I carefully opened the door. Joel was still snoring away, and  Lizzie was still asleep behind the partition, so I tried not to wake them. I walked down the carpeted hallways, hoping I didn’t wake any other students up. I reached the common area to see Grian staring at the noticeboard. He was wearing his blindfold and red woollen jumper, at least I assumed so. All of the lights were out, except for a very dim one at the end of the hallway. He didn’t seem to notice me until I spoke, 

“Do you always stare at the noticeboard when you can’t sleep?”

Grian gave a stifled yelp, jumping a little.

When he realised it was me, he only sighed and walked up to me.
“Where are you going with a sword, Scott?” He said, somehow noticing the blade in the low light.

I told him about the runes on the blade, and how I was going to visit Aimee. Rather than tell me it was a stupid idea (like he often would) Grian asked if he could come along.
We quietly walked down the hallways and headed to the ward's classroom, which was the doorway to Aimee’s quarters. I walked through the classroom and knocked on the door at the back. 

I heard footsteps getting closer to the door, then a creak, and then Aimee’s tired face looking up at the two of us.

“Scott? Grian? What do you two want?” Her voice croaked as she closed the door behind her and sat down at one of the tables. I stood on the opposite side and carefully placed down the unsheathed blade. Aimee gasped as soon as she laid eyes on it, standing up and running back towards her room.

“Guqqie! Guqqie wake up!” She said, opening the door. I was even more confused than before. The only time I had heard the name was back at the battle.
Someone a few inches taller than Aimee walked out with her, wearing a grey and black striped beanie and holding a rather thick book. They had shoulder-length, wavy purple hair, and bright blue eyes, their elven ears adorned with small golden earrings. I raised my eyebrow at Aimee, waiting for her to introduce them.

“Oh right. This is my girlfriend Guqqie, she’s a Flora but she’s also pretty good with runes,” Aimee said, gesturing to her. 

“Prince Scott, nice to meet you,” Guqqie spoke in Ancient Elvish. I assumed she was a Rivendellian citizen, but didn’t say anything, just nodded.

She sat down and examined the sword, bringing out the book and quickly flicking through it. After taking a deep breath she finally spoke up (in common this time).

“Have you ever heard of the Rune Blade , Scott?” Guqqie said, dragging her finger across the flat edge of the sword.
“I recognize the name, but I’m not sure what it is,” I replied.

“You know how Exor corrupted one of the two brothers to carry on his rivalry with Aeor? I think I know what's going on with Xornoth.”

The news hit me like a wall of bricks, I wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
“S-so you’re saying Xornoth’s been c-corrupted?” My voice shook with fear.

Guqqie nodded, “ The Rune Blade has been said to separate souls. No other blade like it has ever been forged. The material is a mix of Elvish silver and gold, forged in the heart of the biggest mountain in Rivendell, infused with magic by the stag gods themselves. It can never be destroyed, and can only be summoned by a champion of… A champion of Aeor…” 

“What do you mean summon ? I found it in a cave , I didn’t summon anything!” I retorted. There was no way that I could summon something so powerful, I was just… Scott! There was nothing special about me.

“You wonder why you’re ice powers are uncontrollable?” Guqqie asked. 

“How did you know that?” 

“History.”

Grian glanced at me, almost as confused as I was. I looked at Aimee, expecting her to say something, but she was just as puzzled. 

Guqqie turned a few more pages of the book. The page she landed on seemed to be stained with a red substance I hoped wasn’t blood.

“This prophecy is one that’s been hidden away for years. I was lucky that I managed to get my hands on it, thanks to a few connections,” Guqqie said, tracing her fingers across the large bold letters along the top.

The Royal Champions

Frost clings to the Champion Of Aeor’s skin, and his breath crystallises as he adjusts the crown on his head. His gaze freezes hearts, and his fingertips summon blizzards. His name echoes through icy caverns, whispered with awe.

The Champion Of Exor’s veins carry molten fire, a legacy of wrath. His eyes blaze like infernos, and his touch ignites the very air. His name shall be etched in embers, feared and revered.

Be warned, if the brothers near each other, their powers will resonate. Flames will leap higher, and frost shall creep further. 

Be warned, when their paths intersect, cataclysm awaits. Their powers amplify, spiralling out of control. Kingdoms tremble, and skies weep silver tears.

“What does this mean,” I asked in a small voice, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“Think about it, Scott. What happened just before you met Xornoth?” Guqqie prompted.

I realised what she was saying. Up until a month or so ago, I had gotten my powers under control. Around the time I met Xornoth, my powers started taking over again, frost covering my hands at random points in the day. The only reason I had met Xornoth was because his powers were going crazy.

“So… You’re saying-” My voice broke, and I stumbled backwards, not being able to process what I had learnt.
“Xornoth is your brother, Scott,” Guqqie said, a serious look on her face, “And that means you two are the champions Aeor and Exor.”

“I- I’m going to head back,” I grabbed the blade and hurried out of the room. I ran back to my dorm, closed the door, and threw the Rune Blade under my bed. I quickly threw the blanket over my head. Breathing heavily, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to sleep. I didn’t want to think about Xornoth, Aeor and Exor, or the Rune Blade anymore. Things were already complicated enough. 

Chapter Text

Grian followed me, the faint clink of his clawed talons on the corridor’s hardwood floor the only sound aside from my own footsteps, breathing and pounding heart.

“Soooo…. Care to explain?” he asked.

“No,” I said quietly. Grian sighed, asking one more time.

“No,” I said again, Grian huffing in response,

“You’re no fun.” We split ways to head to our separate dorms.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of birds chirping. I looked outside the window and saw a family of about five birds sitting on a branch, happily chirping. I got dressed and waited for Lizzie and Joel to get ready as well.

The three of us headed downstairs to grab some food. Guqqies words from last night still rang in my head. I still couldn’t believe Xornoth was related to me, let alone my brother. My parents had a lot of explaining to do next time I saw them. How could they hide the fact that I had a brother from me! 

We arrived to see Grian, Scar, Mumbo, Shelby, Katherine, Cleo and Tango all sitting next to each other on a table. However, one face was missing from the bunch. Jimmy’s sandy blond hair was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t worry, expecting him to have overslept, but when he didn’t show up ten minutes later, unwanted thoughts clouded my head. I told myself that he was fine, and instead focused on the conversations the group was having. I munched on a piece of toast, tuning into whatever Scar was rambling about. This time, it was about how cats seemed to have a secret language, and that he wanted to decipher it. Apparently he had gotten a few words (it all seemed like nonsense but we played along).

I glanced up at the large clock that hung at the front of the hall, and realised we only had five minutes before our first class started. Seeing as Grian and I had Senior Battle together, we headed out and let the others hurriedly finish their breakfast. 

I didn’t say much as we walked through the corridor. Grian kept glancing over to me, opening his mouth to say something, but not saying anything. 

“Scott? We need to figure something out,” Grian said in a soft voice. I shook my head, stuffing my hands in my pockets and walking faster.

“You can’t avoid this situation,” he continued.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said firmly, not looking back.

“You can’t ignore a god choosing you as their champion”.

“Grian, I don’t want to talk about it”.

“Scott, Aeor chose you for a reason, you have to do something!” Grian urged.

“WELL I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING,” I yelled, stopping. My head spun causing me to stumble. I ended up hitting and slumping against the wall. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. My hands shook and my eyes blurred. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I tried and failed to calm myself down.

“It was different when Aeor and Exor and the champions were all just stories. It's too real now. I have no clue what I have to do,” my voice shook, my throat felt like it was closing in on itself, as if I were being choked. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Grian said and sat next to me. Tears pricked at my eyes as more worried thoughts spiralled through my head. 

“No it’s not!” I said, wrapping my arms around myself, “What if I can’t do it?” I looked at Grian.

“Do what?” He said, confused.

“In the tale of the champions, it's said that the champion of Aeor has to…” my voice trailed off. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I lowered my head into my knees, my bright blue hair covering my eyes. 

“Has to do what?” Grian asked gently. I didn’t say anything for a second.

“The champion of Aeor has to sacrifice themselves,” tears were now streaming down my face, along with beads of sweat. I lost all awareness of my surroundings. I could no longer hear the birds chirping, nor could I feel the gentle winds blowing through the open corridors. All I could feel was an arm being wrapped around my shoulder. I leaned into it, trying to stop myself from veering over to the other side and hitting my head on the ground. 

“Scott… I’m so sorry,” Grian’s voice was hollow.

“What if it doesn’t work? What if I die and Xornoth doesn’t, and I'm not there to do anything,” I said quietly but quickly, my voice full of panic.

“Then I’ll kill that sorry excuse for an elf and avenge your life, just like you did for me,” Grian said.

And then neither of us spoke.

We didn’t speak for at least five minutes. Nor did we move. 

As students started pouring into the corridor, almost running into us, Grian jumped up, holding out his hand. I grabbed it, feeling exhausted as I warily stood. 

Grian grabbed something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was half of the breakfast bar that he’d had earlier. I tried to refuse ( I felt like any food I ingested would come right back up), but Grian insisted.

“Eat something. It helps, trust me,” he placed the bar into my hand, “I’ve had a fair share of anxiety attacks”. Grian tried for a smile, but the facial expression was more of a sympathetic grimace. 

I slowly ate the breakfast bar as we walked towards the battle classroom. Luckily most of the students had already gotten to class.

When we arrived at Battle, I had expected Techno to be standing at the door and proceed to interrogate with the usual, ‘Why are you late again?’. Techno switched between the Senior and Beginner battle classes weekly, so it was the beginner class’s turn to have a substitute for Battle today.

 Instead, we managed to slip into the classroom, get dressed into our armour, and begin. Techno was busy with the senior students, working with them individually. 

Grian and I had no choice but to battle with each other. The other seniors tended to avoid us, presumably after we had defeated Harry and Tarron. Their names brought back memories from the Battle Of Fawklaw, memories that I did not want to relive. I sighed and unsheathed my Elvish blade. “Welp, I guess the two of us have to fight,” Grian said, summoning a shadowbolt and forming it into a sword. I guess he could tell that I was distracted, as he was barely putting in any effort to disarm me. We fought at close quarters for the lesson, stopping for a drink every now and again.

After hearing the bell ring through the training hall, we rushed off to remove our armour. We headed out of the classroom five minutes late since Grian had put a piece of armour on his scarf and gotten it stuck. After that ordeal, we walked up the stairs to the fifth floor. 

On the way, we ran into Lizzie and Joel, both of them holding daggers. 

“What are the blades for?” Grian asked, tilting his head curiously.

“Well, our substitute had something against us using swords, and wanted us to fight with a smaller weapon, since we seemed incompetent,” Lizzie huffed. Eventually we made it to our Ancient History And Mythology classroom, just as the other students were shuffling into their seats. We took our usual spots in the front row, awaiting whatever substitute teacher we had today. Instead of a substitute, we had the surprise of seeing Professor Riffs, who must’ve fully recovered from his near-death experience at the Battle Of Fawklaw.

“We’ve been on Mythology for a while, so I think it's high time to switch over to history, don’t you think,” Professor Riffs asked as he came into the classroom. He was met with a cheer, everyone was glad to have him back after dealing with out Modern History professor (they had a rather monotone and boring tone). 

“Anyways, I propose we start with trade routes.” He looked across the class. If the rest of the class were anything like Lizzie, Joel and Grian, they were nodding. That was another thing everyone liked about Professor Riffs, he let the students have a say in what topics we learnt. Of course there was a limit to this choice, but it was better than most classes. We talked specifically about the main trade route between Rivendell and Oceana, known then as the Ocean Empire. According to Professor Riffs, the trade route was used so much, you can still make out footprints around the borders of the empires. 

“Have any of you heard of the Deal With Destiny?” Professor asked, scanning the class. Lizzie perked up, shooting her hand up.

“Yes, Lizzie,” Professor Riffs smiled, gesturing towards her.

“Well, the Deal With Destiny is regarded to be the trade that led to the Age Of Divinity. It led to the most famous, probably the first, champions of Aeor and Exor being chosen, Alinar and Cohnal. It was also what led to the Ocean Empire gaining power and thriving a lot more.” Lizzie said.

“Correct. Well done,” Professor Riffs said, “ The trade was between the Emperor of Rivendell and the Ocean Queen. Although the item that the Ocean Queen gave the Rivendellian Emperor isn’t quite confirmed, the other item in the trade was the Orb Of The Ocean.” 

He proceeded to explain how the Orb Of The Ocean had been discovered by the Rivendellian Emperor, and had met with the Ocean Queen to trade at the borders of the two empires. As much as I wanted to sit there and learn more about this ‘Deal With Destiny’, the bell rang, and students started pouring into the corridors. We grabbed our stuff and headed out of the classroom, farewelling Professor Riffs.

We quickly headed up to our respective dorms to put away what we didn’t need and gather out things for the next class. Lizzie, Joel and I made conversation about our Ancient History and Mythology class, specifically about the infamous Cod War and Battle Of The End. 

“I still think that the Count shouldn’t have put the Codfather head in the Endlands,” I mentioned, my statement rebutted by Joel saying,

“If you were trying to hide something, isn’t an inhospitable land protected by dragons a good place!” That was when Lizzie reminded me that the only reason the Enlands are livable now, is the Ocean Folk’s magic. Soon enough we reached our dorm and I headed to my side of the room, allowing Lizzie to go through the partition.

I went to take my sword out of the belt, but decided against it. Something in the back of my head told me I would need it. Besides, I couldn’t remember if I needed my sword for Defence, or if we were learning more shield tactics, so it was only logical. I walked out of the dorm, Joel and Lizzie joining me, and headed out to the courtyard, hoping that Jimmy would be there waiting for us. 

Unfortunately, he was not. 

Grian, who was already sitting at the well, perked up when he saw us, “So we do need our swords for Defence?” I shrugged and sat down next to him. According to the avian, Scar had work to do for a class and Mumbo was helping him do so.

I was getting worried about Jimmy now. I hadn’t seen him all day. Not at breakfast or in classes. Although I would never admit it to him, I missed hearing him call me ‘Petal’.

“Okay, something has to be wrong,” I stood up, facing my friends, “Jimmy’s been gone all day!” 

Grian nodded and stood as well, “I highly doubt Jimmy would try and avoid us. He has no reason to do-!”

“-And he’s too much of a good student to miss class on purpose,” Joel mentioned. 

After a unanimous vote, the four of us went across the school to find the blond haired boy.

After searching the corridors, dormitories and cafeteria, there was only one place we hadn’t checked - the forest outside of the school’s main gate - one place we really hoped Jimmy wasn’t hiding…

As we gingerly walked towards the main gate, I crossed my fingers, desperately hoping that Jimmy was alright. When we reached the gate, I saw it was swung open.

“Oh Aeor…” I said under my breath.

Two figures stood outside the gates of the castle, facing away. Bright yellow canary feathers were dotted around where they were standing. The taller figure, a sword hanging from their belt, stood to the side of the shorter figure, holding them in a headlock. 

I could recognise that fluff of sandy blond hair from a mile away.

“Jimmy!” I yelled out, sprinting towards him.

“I’d be more careful if I were you, brother,” Xornoth said in a hollow voice, spinning around with Jimmy, a shining blade to the Aeros’s throat. His deep brown eyes were scrunched up, his chest rose and fell with short breaths.

“Scott? Is that you?” His voice was scared and quiet.

“Not one step closer, or the blond gets it,” Xornoth said, clutching the dagger tighter. I knew I had to help Jimmy, but I couldn’t risk getting him hurt.

“Let him go,” I said, glaring at Xornoth’s flaming red eyes.

“Not without a little parting gift,” Xornoth said, bringing the dagger down from Jimmy’s throat and swiping at his arm. He cut through Jimmy’s upper arm and part of his wing, blood spilling down his forearm. Xornoth threw him to the floor, causing Jimmy to yelp in pain. I ran towards him, ignoring Xornoth, who threw his dagger to the ground. 

Jimmy’s wound was deep, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. I helped him up and walked him over towards the others.

“I’d better go see what Xornoth wants,” I said, my voice shaky. 

“Be careful, Scott,” Lizzie bit her lip.

“Good luck, Petal,” Jimmy said to me, using his good arm to squeeze my hand. Joel only nodded, and Grian walked over to the crimson-haired teen with me. 

Xornoth smiled as the two of us walked over, taking a step forward.

“Ready to give up, Scott? You know that Exor has to win at some point.” Xornoth said, his fiery eyes staring right at me.

Chapter Text

“Xornoth… You- you aren’t like this!” I said, biting my lip.

“Why do you care, you don’t even know me,” Xornoth’s voice was filled with rage.

“I can’t let you do… Whatever you’re doing! Exor’s controlling you!” 

“It’s not like you can defeat me, Scott Major. Not with Exor’s power coursing through me, not with Xelqua by my side!”

Fear coursed through my body as Xornoth’s voice echoed.

“You… You’re working with them!” My eyes widened, and my fists clenched as I spotted the person I had fought so many moons ago, “How could you work with someone so…” My voice died out. I moved my head towards Grian, whose eyes were filled with rage.

“It’s alright Scott. Call them whatever you want: They’re only the person who ruined most of my life.” Grian threw his sword on the ground and summoned a shadow bolt to take its place, “In fact, I’ll finish your sentence: how could you work with someone so evil and horrid they murdered for fun?”

“No need to get so aggressive, whatever your name is. This is between my brother and I, so don’t get in the way,” Xornoth looked towards Grian, “I’ll happily get rid of anyone who does…”

“Why are you doing this?” I cried out clutching my sword.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, prince of Rivendell,” Xornoth unsheathed part of his sword.

“Yes! Yes, I would like to know why you set up a bomb! Yes, I would like to know why you almost killed my friends!” I yelled, tears pricking at my eyes.

“Don’t worry about my little friend. You won’t be seeing much of him, Scott Major. Your problem is me…”

Xornoth charged towards me, weapon raised, red eyes filled with fire. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Xelqua’s soldiers, blindfolds marked with the Watcher’s symbols, leap towards my friends. I had no chance to help them, I was battling with my brother.

“He showed me the truth,” Xornoth yelled, thrusting his sword towards me.

“What truth?” I yelled, dodging Xornoth’s attack.

“You were the reason I was kicked out of Rivendell! It’s all your fault!”

“I didn’t know who you were back then!”

“Exactly.  They abandoned me because you were more important!”

“That can’t be true! My parents would never do that!”

“See! Your parents! Not mine. They kicked me out as soon as you were born! All because Aeor picked you!”

“It wasn’t my choice, Xorntoh!”

“But you love it, don’t you? Being the champion of a god?! Well, guess what! Exor picked me first!”

“Exor is evil Xornoth! He’s using you!”

“And Aeor’s any better? He wants you to think he’s good. Everyone wants you to think he’s good!!”

“Exor was the one that tore the two brothers apart, out of jealousy! He’s corrupting you!” 

Xornoth thrust his sword at me, scratching my forehead as I ducked under the attack.

“He’s not corrupting anyone! Aeor’s past champion may have ended things, but it's time for a rematch.”

“You’re not like this!”

“HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?! You didn’t even know we were related until the prophecy was spilt to you!”

“It doesn’t have to be like this Xornoth!” I cried out, dodging all the attacks thrown at me, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Oh, but Scott,” Xornoth smiled, “I really want to hurt you.”

He lunged at me once more, but rather than stabbing me, he pinned me down to the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Xelqua come towards us, hand outstretched, a twisted smile on their face.

An explosion of purple mist clouded my vision. I felt myself being lifted away, whisked through the air to somewhere else. I felt sick when I realised where I’d been teleported to. The broken brick wall in front of me was still covered in ash a month later. I realised how much damage Tango’s fireball had caused to this wall. Xelqua had sent us here, where they’d been defeated not so long ago. 

I shakily stood up, scanning the room, when a circle of orange and red burst up around me. The room filled with heat, as the fire jumped up around me, reaching the height of my knees. I turned to see Xornoth behind me, his deep red eyes staring at me with amusement. I shot out crystals of ice, the points almost as sharp as my sword. Xornoth easily dodged. It was easy to avoid an attack if you weren’t bound by fire. I tried to send a flurry of snow towards his face, attempting to blind him, however Xornoth blasted it with his flames. I created a small blade-like crystal and threw it towards Xornoth. He melted it once more. My powers wouldn’t be that useful if Xornoth could destroy everything I could create.

 I raised my Elvish blade, turning on the spot to follow Xornoth as he walked around the room, struggling not to fall to my knees. Breathing heavily, I fell, hauling myself onto my knees.

“Do you know what I'm going to do, Scott?” Xornoth said tauntingly. “Once I have Rivendell under my power, all of the other empires will crumble. Your friends can try and stop me, but they’re nowhere near as powerful. Don’t worry though, little brother, I’ll let you live.” His expression morphs into a twisted smile. “I’ll let you live so my power can slowly demolish yours, eating away at your soul. I’ll let you live, locked up somewhere no one will find you. I’ll let you live so you can watch your friends die.”

I didn’t know what Xornoth was like before Exor possessed him, but while corrupted he would do nothing but harm. I struggled to stand up, my legs shaking. My lungs felt as if they were being crushed, making it hard for me to breathe.

The fire gave me flashbacks to the sun rune used against me in this very spot only months ago. Even with Aeor’s power radiating from the glowing antlers on my head, I wasn’t good enough. I breathed heavily, a foolproof plan forming in my head, although it wasn’t one I wanted to use. Xornoth laughed while I struggled not to crumple to the floor, sweat beading down my neck. I held out my hand, dropping my Elvish sword to the ground, the sound of the blade clattering against the bricks piercing the soft crackle of the fire.

“Finally. You know you can’t kill me, Scott. Not while you’re trapped in that circle of flames and I’m out here” Xornoth cackled, his voice echoing off the walls of the tower.

I took a deep breath, pulling the Rune Blade out of its sheath,

“Why would I need to kill you, when I’m right here…”

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

Instead of the horrible pain that I was expecting to come with death, I was greeted with a chilly breeze.

Next to me was Xornoth, a warm white aura surrounding him. He too seemed confused, looking around him. His eyes were no longer the evil red I had gotten used to, but the soft maroon they were when I first met him. I looked down at my own body. There was no wound in my chest, all of my scrapes and cuts had vanished, leaving no scars, and I felt strong for the first time in a while. I panicked when I realised the Rune Blade was no longer in my hand, quickly patting my head to see if the Stag Antlers were still there; They were. 

“Scott? Is that you? Where are we?” Xornoth’s voice was small and worried, a small tear racing down his cheek, “I- I’m so sorry.”

I moved closer to him and enveloped him in a hug, choking back my tears. We stayed there for a few seconds, each of us trying to understand our situation.

When we pulled away, Xornoth looked me in the eye, “ I don’t know what happened. I didn’t want to hurt you! I just-” I stopped him, and recounted the message Aeor had sent me through my dreams, the one about the soul trapped inside the possessed body…

I looked around, taking in my surroundings. I gasped when I realised where we were. We were standing at the biggest statue in Rivendell, and all of Aeterna for that matter. It was a statue of Aeor, standing proud, pure gold antlers still shining at the top. 

“If we’re in Rivendell, we could make it back to Fawklaw, couldn't we?” Xornoth said excitedly. I felt guilt rise in my throat as I explained what happened.

“Xornoth… We- we’re… dead,” I sighed, lowering my head. “I killed us with the Rune Blade to separate your soul from Exor’s. It was the only way.” Xornoth didn’t say anything, just stared at the ground. 

Suddenly, that very ground dissolved into mist. Our screams pierced the air as we tumbled through a void of black and purple. 

However, when we hit the ground, it didn’t hurt. We were standing… No, we were floating in front of another monument. This time in Piscium, a tribute to the lives lost in the Cod War. 

We tumbled through the void once more, each time going past a monument, statue or famous area from each empire or city; The giant mushroom forest in the Undergrove, The remnants of the Prisma Palace in Oceana, a Grimlands Explosion memorial, and many many more. Finally, we reached the cave where I had found the Rune Blade. It seemed less mossy than it had when I found it. The rocks had fewer cracks, and the book in the middle seemed new. 

That’s when he came in. An elf with hair like snow, wearing the very antlers I was now, ran into the cave, supporting himself on the lectern and regaining his composure. I recognized him immediately from all the tales I’d heard in Rivendell; Alinar, the first champion of Aeor. 

Alinar pulled out a quill but didn’t dip it in ink before he began writing. Instead, the quill glowed, a golden aura surrounding it. He muttered under his breath in Ancient Elvish while writing but I couldn’t catch most of it,

“Exor corrupts… Separate souls… A great sacrifice… Soulbound…” 

A loud crash came from somewhere, causing Alinar to flinch.

“Come on brother! Come out of your little safe spot oR I’LL BLOW IT SKY-HIGH!” A deep voice yelled, also in Ancient Elvish.

Cohnal.

Alinar looked around and grabbed a glowing sword from behind the lectern, the Rune Blade, and sprinted back out of the cave. 

Before Xornoth or I could say anything, the ground dissolved again, this time not leading us to another area, but to the tower where we’d died… 

-.- -o- -0- -o- -.-

“Scott? Can you hear me?” Jimmy’s terrified voice sounded far away. I was suddenly racked with pain, a large wound in my chest bleeding out.  The Rune Blade, laced with Elven blood, was now clutched in my hand.

 My eyes slowly opened, Jimmy’s pale face hovering over me. I immediately turned to the side and retched onto the bricks, gasping for every breath.

 Red spots danced around my blurry vision as I attempted to sit up, falling immediately. Jimmy caught me and softly rested my head on the floor, blood dripping out of my mouth.

“It’s okay Scott, everyone’s fine,” he assured me, stroking his fingers through my hair, “Xelqua’s gone.”  My entire body felt as if it’d been crushed, a wave of pain from my chest causing me to yelp.

 “H-how,” I croaked, only just managing to speak, noticing my antlers lying on the bricks near me.

“Your soul wasn't going to give up that easily. You're lucky you're of strong body and mind, otherwise Aimee's healing magic wouldn't have worked,” Grian’s voice cut in. I couldn’t see him but was glad to know that he was there.

“Before you ask,” Jimmy said quickly as I opened my mouth to talk, “you were only dead for about five minutes, we reached the tower just before you died, but Grian stopped us from coming in.”

“Hey, I know what Scott had to do, and I let him do it,” Grian said. 

“Of course Grian, because you did it too!” Scar (who was standing in front of me) scoffed, crossing his arms. 

I quietly croaked out a ‘thank you’ and attempted to move to see Grian, ending up in a fit of coughing. Jimmy stopped me, gently pushing me back down.

“No Scott. No movement until you get some medical treatment. You might be alive now, but that doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily stay that way if you keep trying to move,” Jimmy said almost angrily. I could breathe now, although my head still throbbed from hitting the brick floor. The wound in my chest hadn’t stopped bleeding. 

I heard Lizzie’s voice echo from the stairwell: “I brought some bandages! How bad is- Oh gods.” She knelt next to me, asking Jimmy to help me up. I felt Jimmy’s arm wrap around my back and heave me up, causing me to yell out in pain. Jimmy winced, and grabbed my hand, reassuringly squeezing it. Lizzie lifted my ripped and bloodstained shirt and wrapped the bandages around my torso. I struggled to stay upright, wincing as she tied the bandage and stood up.

“That’s the best I can do. He should live if we can get him some treatment quickly. The wound is pretty deep, so he most probably damaged his lung. I’ve seen him take a lot of pain but nothing’s affected him this badly,” Lizzie said quickly.

“He just died! Give him a break,” Jimmy’s voice quivered from behind me as he lowered me back on his lap. Jimmy carefully moved me, trying his best to avoid my chest but still causing me to throw up again, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. I forgot to breathe when I flopped back down onto Jimmy, my head spinning with dizziness. I closed my eyes for a bit, attempting to regain my composure. I heard a few more footsteps, and when I opened my eyes, a few more people were in front of me. Tango’s eyes darted back and forth between me and Xornoth, who was now sitting up against a wall. Joel’s face looked a little paler than normal, his arm around Lizzie’s shoulder. Shelby and Katherine were clutching each other's hands, looking at me with sympathy. Grian had moved in front of me, now kneeling beside me, Mumbo behind him. I looked back up at Jimmy’s beautiful, warm brown eyes and realised something. 

No matter what happened, these people would always be here for me, and I promised myself that I would be there for them. They were the reason I was breathing again, they were the reason I had gotten the courage to sacrifice everything in the first place, they were my reason to live.

Chapter Text

It was safe to say that everything had changed since our lives at Fawklaw, School Of Magic. But you could also say that nothing had changed between us. 

 Jimmy was resting his head on my shoulder, the Emperor of Piscium putting his hand on mine, tracing around the small jewels on his engagement ring. He was dressed in royal attire, ready for the ceremony. Opposite us sat Queens Shelby of the Undergrove and Katherine of the Overgrown, each in formal dresses. Next to them, Rivendellian Royal Advisors Lizzie and Joel sat side by side, Lizzie fiddling with her wedding ring as we talked. The proud owner of Scarland, wearing the same suit he’d worn many times, was seated next to his business manager, Mumbo. Scar was intently staring at the doorway, waiting for a familiar face. 

At some point, that familiar face burst through the doorway. 

“It’s me!” Grian threw his hands up in the air. His purple eyes, no longer covered by glasses or a blindfold, darted across the room to Scar and Mumbo. He walked outside the small circle we’d made, bonking Joel on the head, and took a seat next to Mumbo.

“Finally, you showed up,” Lizzie rolled her eyes and smiled. I’d love to say the last time Lizzie rolled her eyes at me was ten years ago, back at Fawklaw… Unfortunately, the last time she did so was yesterday, during dinner. 

Although the rest of us had steady jobs, Grian decided he didn’t want that. He’d have a different job each time we saw him. “Waste of four years ‘further studies’ at Fawklaw,” we’d say, only to get him to respond with “But Mumbo was there!”.

“What’s your profession now?” I asked Grian, “Chef? Detective? Mad scientist? Pro-”

“Nope! Used up your three guesses!” Grian laughed. “I’d make a great mad scientist though.”

“You’d get yourself killed. Again” Mumbo sighed, shaking his head.

“Hey, we promised there’d be no more deaths!” Scar gave death stares to me and Grian. 

“Well, isn’t it exciting that we were the first alumni that they decided to call?” Lizzie chirped in. The headmaster of Fawklaw had decided to start inviting past students to graduations. According to him, we had plenty of interesting stories to tell (maybe because we caused a few battles) so we were his first choice.

We decided that it was time to leave the log cabin that the school had let us wait in until midday. A blast of refreshing air hit us as I swung open the spruce door. Walking down the forest path, I was reminded of the first time I’d walked down this path, around the same time of year.

Snowflakes gracefully danced in the chilly September air, the soft wind pushing them in different directions. Having lived in the elven empire of Rivendell all my life, the cold was nothing new. I straightened the name badge that had been sent to me via Messenger Owl a few days ago: 

‘Scott Major, Emperor of Rivendell’  it read. 

I looked at my friends, smiling as they chatted about their lives with each other. It may have been months since we all got together, but after my time at Fawklaw I realised one thing: 

Our friendship will never waver, through sickness and health, through glory and shame, through the day and night and even through life and death.