Lingqi made his way towards the library as instructed, taking in the sights and sounds of the academy. It was large for what Elder Zhu described as merely an extension of the main house, yet he had failed to catch wind of any more students so far.

The boy pushed the doors open to the library and stepped inside, surprised to find that it had been occupied by another student.

She had long black hair that fell past her shoulders and skin as pale as milk. She sat at a desk in the center of the room, surrounded by books and scrolls. She appeared to be studying intently; her brow furrowed and her eyes focused.

"Excuse me," he said quietly.

The girl looked up, a startled expression on her face.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you come in," she said, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Lingqi apologized.

The girl smiled.

"No, it's fine, really. Truly, it's my fault for not paying attention," she replied with a wave of her hands.

"I'm Lingqi. What's your name?"

"My name is Yuyan," the girl said, her smile widening. "I haven't seen you around before; you must be new."

Lingqi nodded. "I am. Today's my first day here. Elder Zhu brought me."

"Elder Zhu?" Yuyan seemed to brighten. "He's a friend of my grandfather. We're from the same province."

"That's pretty cool," he said. "What province are you two from?"

"Jing," Yuyan began. "The countryside is beautiful, and the cities are bustling with life, not to mention the Opal Palace."

"Has...has any village been attacked before?" Lingqi asked.

Yuyan raised a brow at his question.

"No. Why would they be?"

"Uh...well...." Lingqi's voice trailed off. Thoughts of his father and mother pervaded his mind, and for a moment he felt his heart quicken. He tried to mind Elder Zhu's words: to focus on the future rather than dwell on the past.

"Never mind," he said. "I'm just happy to be here."

Yuyan graced him with a smile that was much like his mother's own—warm and hospital; his heart skipped and his eyes watered.

She took notice of the wetness in his eyes and leaned forward to place a comforting hand onto his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Lingqi sniffled, wiping the tears away with his sleeve.

"It's nothing. I'm sorry."

"Are you sure?"

Lingqi nodded, his smile returning. "I'm sure." He spoke in a composed manner.

"Come on," Yuyan said, motioning for the boy to sit beside her. "Why don't you join me? Whatever it is, I'm sure that reading a book with me will help you take your mind off of it."

Lingqi agreed, pulling up a chair and taking a seat next to her.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

"A book of folktales," she said.

"Is that what Master Zhang makes you read?"

"Oh no, I'm reading it on my own," she admitted. "I just find them so fascinating."

"That sounds nice," he said.

"You want to hear one?"

Lingqi nodded enthusiastically, causing the girl to giggle.

"Okay, then. Let's see, which one should I tell you...?" She murmured and began to peruse the various bookshelves that lined the walls.

Lingqi stumbled upon a scroll with a red thread wrapped around it. Intrigued, he unfurled the scroll and began to read the title.

"'The Burden of Winter's Chill'," Yuyan recited aloud, peering over Lingqi's shoulder. "That's a very old one."

Lingqi's eyes sparkled with interest. "It sounds scary."

"It's supposed to be. But I don't think it is."

"Can you read it to me?"

"Sure thing," The pair sat close, their bodies nestled together. Yuyan leaned towards Lingqi and began to read to him, using her finger to guide the boy along.

'Long ago, when the world was young, the Jade Sovereignty blessed the land. The sun shone bright, the grass grew tall, and the people were prosperous and content. But as the seasons changed, so too did the land. With the arrival of winter came the bite of winter's chill. And as the snow fell, so too did the lives of the people. One winter, as the snow blanketed the ground and the wind howled, a mother and her young son were forced to seek shelter. They sought refuge in an abandoned temple, but the warmth of the fire did not last long, and the boy began to shiver.

The mother did all she could to warm her son, but to no avail.

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The boy died that night, and the mother wept.

She cursed the land, and she cursed the Jade Sovereignty doubly so. She swore vengeance on the kingdom and its people until her dying breath. Then, suddenly, her son rose from the snow; his skin was as black as obsidian, and his eyes were redder than any ruby. He had returned to life due to his mother's wails, and with it came the birth of the first Calamity.

The first Calamity brought ruin and destruction wherever he went. He sapped the lives from others, and wherever he walked, frost was left in his wake. The Calamity met its end at the hands of a great warrior who brandished the Sun Blade and brought about Summer once more.

Some say the curse still exists today, waiting for another mother to cry out in grief and give rise to the second calamity.'"

Yuyan closed the scroll and placed it back on the shelf, and Lingqi stared up at her with a puzzled look.

"But what's a calamity?"

"I'm not sure," Yuyan admitted, cupping her chin. "But it doesn't matter. It's just a story."

"I see," was all the boy could say.

"Come on, why don't we go and see the grounds? I can show you around."

Lingqi perked up, excited by the idea.

"Okay!"

The two made their way out of the library and into the courtyard. Lingqi looked around the campus, impressed once more by its size and pleasantry.

"By the way, where are all of the other students? I saw a few earlier, but I figured that there would be more," Lingqi asked.

"There aren't that many," Yuyan answered. "With you here now, there's only six of us."

"Oh," Lingqi said. He wasn't sure if he preferred more students being around or not.

"Don't worry, though. I'll introduce you to them."

As the two children walked along the path, they spotted the same group of students gathered at the field. It was a paved plot of land by the academy's courtyard, just a few feet away from the cobblestone steps that lead towards the front entrance.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Yuyan called out, her tone lighthearted.

"Hey Yuyan, we were just getting ready to play another round of Cuju," one of the students said, holding up a leather ball.

"Oh, that sounds fun! Can we play too?"

The boy smiled. He was of average height and sported short auburn hair with the beginnings of a stubble on his chin. He had an athlete's build that was slender and toned, one could tell even beneath his plain earthly academy robes.

"Sure, the more, the merrier."

Lingqi's smile grew. He was grateful and eager to play, yet he knew very little of the game.

"I've never played before," he admitted.

"That's okay; we can teach you. We play all the time," the boy said, offering the ball to the newcomer.

Lingqi grabbed the ball and examined it, getting a feel for the fine leather.

"The rules are pretty simple. There are two teams, and the goal is to get the ball past the goal line behind the other team. That's one point. The first to five goals wins," the boy explained.

"Oh, that doesn't seem so hard," Lingqi said.

"Well, the tricky part is that we're only allowed to our feet. You can also use your head and knees, but you can't use your hands or any parts of your arms."

Lingqi's eyes widened.

"No arms? That seems hard," he said.

The boy chuckled.

"Well, it's a lot easier than it sounds. Just give it a try. I'm sure you'll catch on quickly."

Lingqi took the ball and positioned himself in front of the group. Yuyan demonstrated the proper form to kick the ball, as well as to advance it up and down the field, and the boy did his best to copy her movements. After a few practice shots, he was starting to get the hang of it.

"Okay, I think I'm ready," Lingqi said, smiling with excitement.

"Great, let's start the game!" the auburn-haired boy said, clapping his hands.

Lingqi took his position in front of the group, with Yuyan and the auburn-haired boy behind him.

Three more male students stood opposite of them: A teenager with short dark brown hair and a rounder build, A tall, scrawny boy with short black hair, and the last, a slender teen with short brown hair.

"Ready? Here we go," the auburn-haired boy announced.

With a kick of his foot, the game was on.

The auburn-haired boy passed the ball to Lingqi, and Lingqi passed the ball ahead to Yuyan. Unfortunately, his aim had been off and thus, an opposing player intercepted the ball before it got to her.

Lingqi did his best to keep his cool, and after a few minutes of intense play, the ball managed to slip through his legs. Yuyan was quick to react, though, and she kicked the ball towards the other end of the field. It rolled towards the goal, but the slender boy was there to block it with his foot.

The brown-haired boy tried to kick the ball out of the way, but the slender boy was faster, and he quickly sent the ball back towards the other end. The auburn-haired boy intercepted the ball by kicking it towards Lingqi.

Time slowed, and Lingqi had taken note of his position on the field. The opposing goaline was directly ahead of him with two opposing players

The ball continued on its path, rolling right past the goal line.

"Wow, that was a great shot!" the auburn-haired boy shouted.

The students stared in awe, their mouths slack-jawed, meanwhile Yuyan bounced up and down in excitement, running towards the new student and embracing him.

"Good job, Lingqi!" she congratulated him with a bright smile, one that made his face turn crimson red.

Lingqi had surprised even himself with his manuever. His instincts had guided him, but he felt a surge of heat from within, a scorching fire in the pit of him stomach. It wasn't nerves, nor adrenaline, it was something else entirely.

The slender boy who had guarded the goal grumbled as he searched for the ball. There was something odd about that kick, it wasn't normal. The shear velocity in combination with the ball's trajectory - and from such a young boy...something wasn't adding up.

His suspcions were confirmed when he found the ball and noted a near boot sized impression lodged into it.

"Hey! The new kid cheated!" He pointed towards the foot-sized impression left on the side of the ball, garnering everyone's attention. "Prana is off limits during Cuju!"

"No way," the auburn-haired boy murmured, his mouth ajar. "Lingqi, did you use your Prana to make that shot?"

Lingqi shot him an incredulous look, unsure of what to say. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"It was clearly an accident, Gao! He just got here today." Yuyan spoke up for him.

"That doesn't change the fact that he broke the rules," Gao snapped.

"Gao, back off," the auburn-haired boy chastised him. "There's no need to get so upset over a game."

"But he used his Prana to win!"

"And if he did, then I'm sure he didn't mean to," the auburn-haired boy reasoned.

"But—"

"No, buts. Now, drop it," the auburn-haired boy insisted.

The slender boy grumbled through gritted teeth but said nothing more.

"Thank you," Lingqi said softly.

"It's no problem. Don't listen to Gao. He can be a bit of a hothead sometimes," the auburn-haired boy explained with a laugh. "My name is Li Bie. I'm one of the senior students here. That skinny guy over there is Yi Ming; he's one of the junior students. The big kid is Chen Xiu, he's another junior student."

"Hey! I'm not that big!" Chen shouted in defiance, much to the laughter of both Yuyan and Li Bie.

"And that's Gao Ling, another senior student. As you can see, he' can be a poor sport."

"Hey, I'm a great sport!" the slender boy protested.

"Well, then prove it," Li Bie said, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Alright, fine. Let's go again. I'll beat the new kid fair and square this time."

"Your team can have the ball first," Lingqi offered him.

"Oh, no. I'm not taking any handouts. If you're as good as you think you are, then I'm sure you'll have no trouble beating me again, right?" Gao declared, cocksure of himself, with a grin to match.

"Come on, Lingqi," Yuyan whispered, leaning over his shoulder. "Don't back down. You have nothing to lose."

Lingqi considered her words and nodded in agreement.

"Fine, I accept your challenge," Lingqi announced, puffing his chest out.

The ball was placed in the center of the field, and the two teams took their positions.

"Ready? Go!" Li Bie shouted, and the game began once more.