“Arcana is the foundational component of all things. All matter, all energy, everything is composed of it. It permeates, produces and upholds reality itself.”

~ Orion, The Architect

Daimyon

I’m a Naturalist of the Wind and today I begin to learn what that means. That is, if I can just stop my hand from shaking. I don’t quite know how to describe this feeling. Excitement? Anxiety? Maybe both? *sigh*. Okay, let me try to calm myself. Overthinking is Chase’s specialty, not mine...but I can’t help it. A voice from within breaks the tension.

“Kid, I can feel your nervousness even in here. It’s gonna be okay. There’s a lot you can learn here. It’s unsurprising that you’re feeling a little overwhelmed. Just remember why you’re going down this path.”

Daigo's words are comforting. He’s always there for me, not that he has much choice since he’s my guardian spirit. He’s right, of course. It’s finally the start of my journey and all I have to do is turn the knob and enter my first class. Deep breaths and no more hesitating. My lungs expand as air slowly fills them before contracting exhaling until I’m interrupted.

“Nervousness is normal but you shouldn’t block the door Daimyon.” Startled, I turn around to a familiar face. I couldn’t help but to shout in excitement.

“Chase!!”He’s my closest friend. We basically grew up as siblings. He’s always been more of a proper and meek guy. Even now, his bow tie is perfectly done up and symmetrical. His curly hair covers most of his face but I can tell he’s as happy to see me as I am to see him. We hug since it’s been a while.

“Yeah, it's me. It’s only been a year but it felt like forever. I’m glad you finally made it to the academy.” My excitement is taken over by confusion.

“Wait, we aren’t in the same class…are we?” He lowers his head, which is excessive since his curly hair already covers his face.

“Yeah, trust me it’s not so easy to rank up. You’ll see what I mean. We better get in there, the professor will show up soon.”

Upon entering the class, I’m surprised by how mundane it is. Just a few students and some desks. I don’t know what I was expecting but somehow I expected more. Taking seats, Chase and I start pulling out our textbooks to prepare for the beginning of class. Chase suddenly pulls his head up. Through his hair I can sense his eyes sharpening, as if he can see something that no one else can. He holds his book down then signals to me to do the same. I’m confused, but I do it anyway.

“Why are we doing this?” I whisper.

“Because the professor’s almost here.” Right in front of our eyes, a small torrent of wind forms, rattling chairs, lifting desks, displacing pens, papers and pencils. In the torrent a beautiful woman stands. The wind subsides, her heels click and her lab coat flows as she makes her way to the professor’s chair and casually takes a seat. There’s something majestic about her as I feel her power radiate.

“Wow! That’s our professor?” I’m pretty sure she heard me. She crosses her legs and adjusts her glasses, finally addressing us.

“Hello students. My name is Professor Ligaiya. When you address me, do not forget the Professor part. Some of you are new and some of you haven’t been able to progress to the next rank. That’s fine, it’s why I am here. This class will help you build the foundation you will need as fledgling Naturalists.” She looks around the class at the students then with a smile points to Chase. “Chase. What is Naturalism?” Chase exhales the answer with excitement as if he were on a game show about to win a million SD’s. He was always a frequent reader and a bit of a walking textbook.

“Naturalism is the ability to absorb, mold and express the energy called Arcana. It’s called Naturalism because Arcana is expressed in six natural forms: ice, fire, water, wind, earth and lightning. Naturalists all have an affinity for at least one of these natural forms.” Ligaiya’s smile widens.

“Very good Chase. I see you’ve been studying and hopefully practicing too. Naturalists are sought as weapons all across Gaia and for that reason, the five academies of Gaia were founded: one for each quadrant and one for what used to be central Gaia. We exist to provide you a safe and stable place to learn and hone your gifts. That way, you can control your own destinies instead of being tools in endless wars. Ultimately, it’s up to you to work hard and master your power. That brings us to today's lesson: draw techniques. Chase, if you would be so kind.”

Chase breathes in as he does his nerd thing putting all his reading to good use.

“Drawing is the mechanic Naturalists use to absorb Arcana, especially when it’s already taken a form. Although, our spirits will automatically absorb ambient Arcana to sustain our bodies and spirit. Draw techniques are used to maximize this function and to absorb Arcana that has been shaped into a natural form, providing us with enough Arcana to use actual abilities. Learning to draw is foundational to all other things that a Naturalist will learn as ambient Arcana is far less abundant than shaped Arcana.” The professor pulls a black orb out of her bag and presents it to the class.

“I will demonstrate. This orb is made of condensed Arcana and is used in training to strengthen the draw power of Naturalists.” Professor Ligaiya places one hand on her glasses, holding them in place. The room begins to rumble. I can feel the wind stir as it rushes towards her as if she were a vacuum. The wind concentrates, forming a visible twister in her hand and lifting the orb up. The orb vibrates violently as small particles separate from it, shrinking it down to about a tenth of its size. Professor Ligaiya closes her hand around it, ending her incredible display of power. She then presents the now black marble to the class, holding it between her polished nails.

“That technique is called wind summoning. Alright class, would anybody like to share what they observed? What about you, the one next to Chase? Stand up and introduce yourself.” Doing as I was just instructed, I rise from my desk and speak with confidence.

“My name is Daimyon Harris. It looked like you absorbed the wind then used it to break down the orb.”

Professor Ligaiya tosses me the marble then claps.

“Exactly. Arcana that matches your affinity and ambient Arcana are easy to absorb. However, with enough control and the proper technique, you can break down anything for absorption. At this point, I’m tired of lecturing so we’ll go out to one of the training fields and-”

*Knock* * Knock* * Knock*

Professor Ligaiya motions towards me.

“Daimyon would you mind getting that while I take a seat? Those orbs are notoriously hard to absorb and leave me with slight vertigo.” She makes her way to her chair while I answer the door. Can’t put my finger on why but I’m excited about whoever’s on the other side. Grabbing the knob, my arm swings the door wide open to reveal someone I never thought I’d meet in person. She’s dressed in simple attire with bare feet, yet adorned with jewels and silver. She’s gorgeous, with remarkable brown skin, a youthful but still mature face and long, bright magenta hair.

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“You’re Spiritualist Aurora!” That must have amused her. She even let a little giggle out. I’m a little star struck as Spiritualists are famous the world over, especially the ones like Aurora. To be one means you’re a legend in your own right by having achieved the pinnacle of Naturalism. She’s not alone, though. Hiding behind her is a girl who seems to be about my age. Her features are similar to Aurora’s but with shorter hair. It’s still magenta but with a small streak of white braided to the side. She must be a student like me since she’s wearing an academy uniform along with some badass sneakers.

“Why yes I am and who might you be?” Aurora says with a kind smile. I can feel warmness rush to my face as I try to speak.

“I’m Daimyon, Miss-”

“Aurora? Is that you?” I heard professor Ligaiya’s voice call from the other side of the room, full of intrigue and excitement.

“Hi there, Ligaiya. What a pleasure to see you are in charge of the novices.” Ligaiya’s heels click as she makes her way to the door. They exchange handshakes and smiles.

“Who is this cutie? Is this your little sister? I haven’t seen her since she was a baby!” Aurora nudges her sister forward.

“Say hi, Kiyonna.” Despite her sister’s encouragement, Kiyonna looks up to make eye contact, but opens her mouth to no words before looking away. “She’s a bit shy. Please take good care of her, Ligaiya.”

“Hi, Kiyonna!” I say excitedly, throwing my hand up for a shake with a smile. She looks up with a slight blush, but reaches out to accept my offer.

“Nice to meet you.” Her hand is warm and her grip is light. Kiyonna was definitely a shy girl, but that’s fine with me. I take her hand and walk her down the aisle to an open seat in the row near Chase and I. The tone of Aurora and professor Ligaiya’s conversation takes a sudden shift to serious.

“Aurora, are you sure it’s okay to leave her here?” Ligaiya asks. Aurora sighs in response.

“I hope so because there weren’t any other options. I will explain it all at the meeting later today. I’m confident that she will be fine in your care until things calm down.” They nod at each other as she leaves, closing the door behind her. Ligaiya’s attention shifts to Kiyonna.

“Okay, Kiyonna! Time to introduce yourself! Come on up!” Kiyonna walks slowly to the front, trying her best to control the fact that she’s extremely nervous.

“Um, hi. My name is Kiyonna. I’m an ice naturalist, this is my first year and um...I’m happy to be here.” She scratches the back of her hand as the crowd stares at her intently with no reaction. I know the silence is eating her alive. There’s this feeling in my head that makes me want to protect her starting now by yelling out.

“Hi Kiyonna! Welcome!” then clapping. I look at Chase, who has my back instinctively clapping with me. Before long, the class joins in to welcome our shy new friend. Professor Ligaiya smiles and waves at Kiyonna to sit.

“Alright, everyone. Now that we’re back to the lesson, it’s time to head to the training field to begin practicing drawing Arcana! Since there are several more first-years in this class than usual, I would like for my second-year and my third-year students to pair with two students under their level to assist with this lesson.” Chase and I need no words. We are in perfect agreement. We immediately make eye contact, and then I turn to Kiyonna, who looks back at me with understanding.

“Looks like we got our three.” giving a thumbs up to my partners. From this point on, we’re a trio. The rest of homeroom breezes by as Kiyonna and I learn quickly thanks to Chase’s extensive studying even though he’s only average himself.

Finally, we head to lunch before we split up for our affinity classes. The cafeteria is impressive. It has large tables with different cliques sitting and chatting, a view to an outside courtyard, there’s food from every quadrant of Gaia and it’s all made to order. Giant menus sit above the multiple kitchen stations. I feel like I could live in this room. There’s only one problem: my wallet’s in my dorm and all the food costs money.

“Hey Chase, can I borrow a few SD’s for lunch?”

Chase pulls out his wallet and scans through it pulling out the most valuable piece of currency in the world: a Gold Phoenix coin.

“Sorry, no silver duckets in my wallet. Don’t worry though I have a Gold Phoenix I need to break so I can pay for all of us.”

Kiyonna gently pushes down Chase’s hand

“Since my sister is a Spiritualist I basically have unlimited money in my account. You don’t have to waste yours.”

We all grabbed a load of food. I feel like this is a good opportunity to learn more about our new friend so we sit down to chat, but for some reason Kiyonna’s attracting an unusual amount of attention and it isn’t because we have a feast at our table. As we walk by, we hear conspicuous whispers. It’s clear that even the older students are gossiping. Daigo appears next to me in his spirit form. He usually does this when he wants my attention for something important. Still only I can hear or see him.

“Your companion appears to be quite an interesting subject amongst your peers.” He says. I can’t really make out what they’re saying. Kiyonna reacts by looking down and nervously stirring her food. Making it clear that she knows what this is about.

“You sure are popular, Kiyonna. What did you do?” Chase asks. Upon hearing his question, she stops.

“There she is!” A voice yells from across the room. Before we know it, she’s surrounded at the table. “So you’re that Sacred Six girl, huh? You don’t look special to me.” The voice identifies himself as a larger, chubbier student that has likely made a career out of bullying younger students. “Well? Aren’t you going to do something? You’re supposed to be so much better than us, aren’t you?” pushing her shoulder and indirectly causing me irritation. I looked over to Chase, who’s more surprised by the news than the bully. It must be a big deal.

Almost whispering, she mutters.“Please...stop…” The bully looks back at his friends, before laughing.

“What was that? I can’t hear you!” pushing her again. “You’re not going to attack me with your awesome Sacred Six power, are you? ” At this point I’m irritated and agitated.

“What will you do, Daimyon?” Daigo asks but I’m already out of my seat with no regard to consequences. I put myself in between them with my chest out ready. “She might not, but I certainly will.”

Everyone looks at me with shock in their eyes, including Kiyonna.

“Daimyon, wait! You don’t have to do that!” She pleads, but my mind is made up. There’s no way I’m going to watch this any longer.

“I don’t care who you think she is. Who do you think you are? You can’t just go around picking on people because they’re different from you. It’s not her fault she was born better.” That little statement got a rise out of him.

“What did you say? Nobody talks to Hotman J like that!”

“So now you’re calling me a nobody? You’re on a roll with the bullying today, I see.” His growing aggravation is apparent. His face goes flush “That’s it! Step outside, kid!” I smirked. I don’t know a single technique yet, or even how to properly draw arcana. What I do know, however, is how to fight with my hands and feet. I’ve had people to help in some ways but for the most part I’ve been on my own my entire life.

“Daimyon, you don’t have to do this.” Kiyonna reiterates as I step off.

Chase chimes in too. “Are you sure about this, Daimyon? You could get in serious trouble for this, even if you win.” I’m sure he’s saying some other stuff but since I’m already at the door to the courtyard, I can’t hear him anymore. Daigo’s my last consultation before the fight begins.

“You may want to be careful, Daimyon. From the looks of this kid, he’s already reached the level of an adept naturalist.”

“You sure he isn’t just fat? I get that he’s big but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s good in a fight. Even if he is, he doesn’t seem very intelligent. He could still be a novice.”

“It’s easy to make a joke now, but I seriously don’t think this fight will go the way you want it to.”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan. I’ll just run circles around him.” Daigo sighs leaving me with

“Fine. It’s your fight,” as he returned to my spirit. We stare each other down. He takes a fighting stance, maybe he’s imitating more powerful naturalists he’s watched. I stand with my hands in my pockets.

“You gotta be kidding me. No stance, no arcana flowing from you. You reek of amateur. ” He yelled, hyping the crowd standing behind the safety of the glass wall in the cafeteria. They feed into it, but I don’t. I don’t move even an inch.

“I’d like to finish my lunch so can we hurry this up?” He laughs, then braces himself.

I’m keeping my cool, but I know I’m in for a fight.

End ~