The Beginning Ch. 13-14

"The only people even more powerful than Tier 1s are the Deans, who dress in black. They stay out of most battles since they're simply too old to fight. Even though they're perfectly healthy physically, unleashing their Power would take a very heavy toll on their spirits, and probably drain them till they were dead."

"If either Vaishnavi, Randal, or Mathias could have dealt with the Cell single-handedly, why didn't they?!" I asked, anger coloring my voice as I considered the fact that my parents could have been saved!

"Because we didn't have access to our Power." Vaishnavi replied, her head hanging low in shame and sorrow, "None of the people who were attached to your family as a protective detail did. We locked most of our magic away with adapted Inhibitor Cuffs, in order to avoid alerting any Darks to our presence."

"Inhibitor Cuffs," Mr. Ray said, taking over, "are a cross between magic and science that the Darks cooked up a few centuries ago. When used against a Wielder, they can completely shut them off from their Power and their Companion, which is the magical side of the cuffs. The science side actually enables the cuffs to get stronger the more a Wielder resists, turning their own Power against them. Over the centuries, we've collected, studied, and modified the cuffs for our own purposes, one of which is to partially cut ourselves off from our Power. We leave ourselves enough in order to deal with a surprise attack, but that's about it.

"What makes the cuffs even more devious is that the only person who can take them off is the one who put them on you. All of us were cuffed by Swati, so taking them off wasn't an option.

"When the Darks attacked us that night, we were completely unprepared. While Randal, Mathias, and Vaishnavi are Tier 1 Wielders, Jeff and Sarah are Tier 2, and Jessica, Steve, and myself are Tier 3s. With the Inhibitor Cuffs still on, the eight of us together only had enough power to stand up to two or maybe three of the attacking Darks, Lucas excluded. He had boosted himself so much, that he was close to breaking into Tier 1 levels of Power."

"Having our armor, weapons, and Companions helped balance out the situation," Vaishnavi said, "but it still wasn't enough. When they broke through the Ra's Walls of Protection spell Michael had embedded into your home, we knew our only option was to try and get away, and get help."

"If you hadn't Emerged when you did," Mr. Ray said, somberly, "I don't think any of us would have survived that day. You saved us, Chris, even though it was our job to protect you."

"I-" I stammered, the true scope of how close to death we'd all gotten that day finally setting in, "I don't know what to say."

"That's alright," Vaishnavi replied, with a sad smile, "just know that you have our gratitude."

"But, if the situation was that bad," I said, thinking back to how calm they seemed to have been through it all, "why weren't any of you freaking out more?"

"Training and experience," Mr. Ray said, "as well as a misplaced sense of security. None of us would have ever thought that they'd be able to destroy Ra's Walls, since it's next-to-indestructible, but when they did, our centuries of training kicked in. All of us have been in more battles than we can count, some of which we never thought we'd get out of. You'll learn to manage your emotions within a battle, too, don't worry."

"Last question, then." I said, one last lingering doubt remaining about that night, "If all Wielders give off that magical signature, then the Darks must too, right? Which means that they'd have to use Inhibitor Cuffs as well, in order to get as close to us as they did that night. How were they able to use the full extent of their Power, then?"

"The Darks don't use Inhibitor Cuffs." Vaishnavi answered. "We began getting reports a few decades ago about a new enchantment the Darks had concocted or discovered, which allowed them to mask their signatures and blend in without needing to partition their Power away. We've tried to find out more and even replicate the idea, but so far, we've been unsuccessful."

I just nodded, the finality of what had happened finally settling in and sitting right with me. The others really had done all they could. It just hadn't been enough.

"Thank you for that," I said, looking at both of them, "and thank you for everything else you've done for me in my life, and everything since. Please pass that on to everybody else as well. I truly appreciate it."

"We will," Vaishnavi said, standing up with Mr. Ray, "and we'll leave you to settle in a bit more for now. I've channeled enough Power into this place for the light and temperature controls to remain optimal for the rest of today, as well as powered up the top plate in the cabinet, so you should be set for dinner. Open and shut the door as we leave, and it'll be attuned to you, so you'll be the only one who can open and close it from now on. If you stand underneath the shower, it'll be activated, though the water might not be as hot as you'd like it to be. The lights, unfortunately, will go out by 10 p.m., and the windows will close and shutter themselves then as well, which is when I think you should head to bed, anyway, since you'll need to be up early for your first training session tomorrow. I'll also make sure that whoever Swati sends to get you can help you power up a set of academy clothes. After tomorrow, you should be able to power all this on your own, so it should be fine. If you need anything at all, just head to one of the other houses and ask them to contact Ronald or myself. They'll know what to do."

"Thank you." I replied, standing up to walk them out, a little overwhelmed with her sudden burst of instructions in what I could only think of as "mom mode". Thinking of her in any way as a motherly figure really conflicted with my more romantic attraction to her, so I pushed it out of my head, waving as she and Mr. Ray left. I shut the door behind them, hearing it lock itself, though I didn't do anything to cause that to happen. Shrugging, I headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

The medicine cabinet in the bathroom was also stocked with a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, and a facial scrub, so I pulled them out and arranged them around the tub, shrugging out of my clothes and leaving them in a pile by the door, before standing under the shower, like Vaishnavi had said. Nothing happened for a moment, and I waved my hand in front of the showerhead, wondering if there was some sort of sensor I needed to trigger.

All of a sudden, translucent walls burst into existence around the tub.

Curious, I reached out to touch them, but my hand passed right through them. I turned around and reached through to drag the toiletries I'd set aside into the actual tub itself, and just then, the shower turned on, water hitting my back and taking me by surprise. It wasn't cold, thankfully, but it wasn't as hot as I was used to, either. While not entirely enjoyable, it was a chance to get clean, so I took it.

As I showered, I noticed that while I could pass through the translucent walls around me, the water couldn't.

"That's handy." I murmured, as I continued bathing.

When I was done, I waved my hand in front of the showerhead again, trying to get it to go off, but with no luck. Frowning, I turned around to leave and find Vaishnavi or someone to shut it off, but as soon as I exited the tub and walked through the translucent barrier, the shower turned itself off. With a start, I realized that I was completely dry as well; even my hair was dry. Marveling at the wonders of magic, I headed over to the clothes wardrobe, and fished out another t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Putting them on, I walked back out to the living room.

Sitting back down on the chaise, I realized that I really didn't have anything to do right then. I considered exploring the area, but potentially meeting more people didn't appeal all that much to me at that moment. I lay down on the chaise, trying to think of things I could do.

Before I even knew it, I'd fallen asleep.

When I woke up, it was dark outside, but I was surrounded by a soft white light. Looking up, I saw that the source of the light was the stone that was embedded in the ceiling of the room. With no clocks around, I had no idea what time it really was, but I was hungry, so I walked over to the cabinet in the dining room and retrieved the plate that Vaishnavi said she'd powered up. Deciding to go with something simple, I settled for spaghetti and meatballs, with some apple cider to wash it down.

It wasn't till I was done eating that it occurred to me that I couldn't return the plate to its base state. Figuring that leaving it out like that wasn't the best idea in the world, I took the plate, cup, and utensils to the bathroom, proceeding to wash them with the handwash in there. Satisfied that I'd done the best I could, I was just placing them back on the table, when the lights started flickering, and I heard a weird hum. I turned around, startled, and noticed that blinds similar to the ones in the bedroom were descending over the windows flanking the door. Taking that to mean that it was close to 10 p.m., and that the lights would soon be out, I hurried back to the bedroom and got into bed.

As I got the blanket up around me, the lights stopped flickering, and just went out. I lay there in the darkness, the weirdness of falling asleep in a new place, and the fact that I'd slept most of the afternoon away, had me lying awake for a long time. Surprisingly, my mind was the calmest I could remember it being in recent times, which made sense, I guess, since my brain had apparently had three weeks to process everything. Boredom started creeping in, and I started counting sheep to try and fall asleep.

A loud banging noise startled me awake.

There was someone pounding on my door, rather loudly. My room was still pitch black, but the person didn't seem to want to go away. Groaning, I shuffled my way into the living room, trying not to bang into anything.

By the time I reached the front door, I'd tripped over the rug, banged my knee on the table, and stubbed my toe on a couch. I was in pain, and pissed off, ranting off profanities like I was a rapper in my prime.

"What?!" I yelled, yanking my door open.

To my surprise, a young girl who was Bonded to a Fox, going by the cuff on her arm, was standing at my door, beaming up at me, the light cast by the streetlamps behind her seeming to give her an almost otherworldly glow.

Her features seemed somewhat familiar, warm brown eyes looking up at me with a hint of mischief, a sloped nose sitting atop delicate lips, framed by cheekbones set high in an oval, chocolate-brown face. Mid-length black hair knotted in pigtails fell down her shoulders, and she looked to be about ten years old, though she could have been older. I didn't quite know how Wielders aged just yet.

It took me a second to notice that she was actually glowing, a faint green nimbus surrounding her. I blinked a few times, trying to clear it away, but it remained.

"Good morning!" she said, cheerily, giving me a quick hug out of nowhere, "Acharya Swati asked me to come get you and take you to the training spot. Maa also asked me to help you get dressed."

"Oh right, right." I grunted, turning around to lead her inside, "Sorry for yelling at you like that. What's your name?"

"Sneha, bhaiya," she replied, following me inside. "Would you like me to turn the lights on?"

"Gods, yes!"

She focused for a second and the lights flicked on all across the house.

"Would you mind waiting here while I get ready?" I asked her, motioning to the couches. She nodded cutely and took a seat, so I headed to the bedroom to use the facilities. I called out to her after I'd pulled on a fresh pair of boxer briefs, and she helped me get into my academy clothes, powering them from her seat in the living room. Studiously avoiding looking at my reflection in the mirror, I followed her outside, and she turned the lights off behind us. It wasn't until I'd closed my front door that I registered that she was no longer glowing.

"Why did you pick green for that spell you used?" I asked her as we walked out onto the street.

"What spell?" she retorted, looking at me askance.

"You know," I pressed on, "the one that made you glow."

"I wasn't casting any spell that made me glow."

"Are you sure? I could have sworn—"

"Even if I did, I really wouldn't pick green. I'd choose red, so I could be as strong as maa or paa!"

"Both your parents are Tier 1s?" I asked, taken aback, "Who are they?"

"Vaishnavi and Byrav."

That simple statement felt like a massive kick in the gut. Even after learning that she was almost a century— and then some— older than me, I was still holding on to some hope that somehow, somewhere, Vaishnavi and I might have been able to pursue a romantic relationship. Learning that she had a kid and was probably—

"Hey, Sneha?" I asked, turning to look down at her, "Are your parents together?"

"Of course, they are!" she exclaimed, "Maa and paa love each other and me and my brother, Rahul— who took you to the Great Tree, remember? — very much!"

Yup, she was married. Goodbye, romantic future. We could have been so special...

We walked in silence for a while, the shattered shards of the imaginary world in which Vaishnavi and I were an item sending sharp twangs of pain through my soul. I lost track of where we were, and would have been hard-pressed to find my way back home on my own.

Row after row of the same cookie cutter houses passed us by on each side, the monotony of my surroundings further lulling me into a stupor, my non-existent sense of direction now completely hopeless. Sneha chattered on next to me, talking about life at the academy, her family, and everything else under the sun. I stopped listening after learning that "bhaiya" was a term of respect used for older men who didn't have other titles, and "Acharya" was an honorific awarded to anybody considered a teacher.

Eventually, after an hour or more of walking, I could see the edge of the tree line up ahead. As we crossed the last row of houses, I felt like I was walking through a cold membrane again, except that this time, I didn't seem to set off any alarms.

"We had to take the long way around," Sneha said, smiling up at me, as the sun started to rise behind us, "since you don't have access to your magic yet, and Eta, my Companion, can't carry us both, unlike Rahul's Udant. Once you do, all you have to do is focus on where you want to go as you walk through the barrier, and you'll emerge at your destination."

"Is that a teleportation spell?" I asked, fascinated.

"Not exactly," she replied, as we forged deeper into the forest down a narrow path, "none of us really know how it works. The Progenitors and their Companions were the ones who thought of creating the residential subspace and filling it with abodes. They thought that if we continued building within the main realm, we'd eventually run out of room to live in. Many have since commented that perhaps the main academy building itself could also have been made like an abode, bigger on the inside than on the outside. From a strategic point of view, it would be a more defensible position, and allow us to really use this forest to our benefit."

She said the last bit like she was repeating something she'd overheard, but did it so cutely, that it melted my heart a little bit. I reached over to ruffle her hair, and she let out a little squeal and batted my hand away with a pout.

"Don't do that!" she exclaimed, "You'll mess up my hair, and then maa will be mad!"

"Okay, okay," I agreed, laughing, my hands up as I surrendered, "I won't, as long as you tell me how someone as young as you can be so wise."

Her face lit up at the compliment, her bright smile lighting up the world. In that second, I could see her resemblance to Vaishnavi, and while a part of me was aware that noticing that should have hurt, it really didn't.

"Paa often argues about the academy's defenses with maa," she replied, "and Rahul and I sometimes listen in while playing."

"How old are the two of you?"

"We're ten!" she gushed, "And we'll be eleven, soon. You have to come to the party! I'll tell maa to invite you!"

"Wow, eleven!" I exclaimed, "You'll be so big! So, who's the older twin?"

"Maa says I am," she said, "but Rahul always tries to act like he's older. Maa says it's only because he loves me and feels like he needs to protect me, but I'm the older one, and he should listen to me!"

"By twelve minutes!" a boy's voice called, and I looked up to see Rahul and his Stag waiting for us in a small clearing up ahead, "You're only older by twelve minutes. But, everyone knows that boys are better than girls, so you need to listen to me!"

Sneha just stuck her tongue out at him and blew him a loud raspberry, which made me guffaw loudly. The two of them started descending into what sounded like an oft-repeated argument of who was older and stronger, but a loud clap shut them up.

"That's enough, you two." Swati said, walking into the clearing, Vince in tow, "Don't you have classes to get to?"

"Of course, Acharya," Rahul said, as the two of them bowed deeply to her, "we'll get going."

He climbed onto his Stag while Sneha ran over to Vince, who surprised me by dropping to one knee and giving her a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead. I'd assumed that he was so full of himself that he had no concern for anybody else, but that tender scene forced me to concede that he might be more than that.

"Best of luck today, Chris!" Sneha called, waving to me as the Stag— "Udant", apparently— took off towards what I assumed was the main academy building, the twins astride it. I waved back, her enthusiasm positively infectious and causing me to smile widely, despite my trepidations about what was to come.

The look on Swati's face as I turned to her, wiped that straight off.

"If you're done taking in the sights," she said, looking at me sternly, "we can begin making a Wielder out of you."

Vince just smirked behind her, but she shot him a glare over her shoulder, and he quickly settled back into a neutral expression. I noticed that neither of them had their weapons, and that instead of slippers, they had bamboo boots on. Made of the same fibrous material, albeit without any laces or straps that I could see, the boots went up to a little above their ankles.

"So," I asked, "how do we do this?"

"Well," Swati said, walking over to a tree at the edge of the clearing and sitting down, motioning for Vince and myself to do the same, "the first thing we need to do is give you conscious control over your magic. Once that's done, I'll begin teaching you how to fight. Vince will serve as your sparring partner throughout your training. When you aren't practicing Wielding or fighting, you'll be catching up on subjects from the Mundane world. Every single Wielder must possess a university-level education, just in case they need to go undercover in the Mundane world, or choose to live there full-time."

"When will I get to try out for the warriors again?" Vince asked her, shooting me a dirty glare, as if this was all my fault.

Seriously, was this guy a massive douchebag, or wasn't he?

"When I say so," Swati replied, switching her attention to him, "which will be when Chris is ready to try out as well. Furthermore, the two of you will wear a set of Inhibitor Cuffs that have been adapted to only allow you access to as much Power as Chris can access as well. In addition to making your bouts fairer, I hope doing this also teaches you some humility and restraint. You don't even know how lucky you got this time. If the Healers hadn't managed to repair all the damage to Chris's body, there's a high likelihood that you would have been permanently Inhibited and banished to the Mundane world."