Upon arriving home, I do my best to have a somewhat relaxing night. I’d talked to my dad about what I’d seen and let him know I’d taken Celeste to go meet Mom. While I do get reprimanded for not taking him, I don’t get in too much trouble as I had left out the bit about the gang members trying to accost me. No need to make him worry more than necessary.
I don’t intend to just let it go, though. I’d decided I wanted to protect people, and that will hold true whether I’m protecting them from Volcora or gangs running rampant. I’m not just going to abandon people who need help.
Once I’m alone in my room, it only takes a quick search online to find other reports on a new gang wearing black armbands. Apparently, the group is calling themselves the Stygian Reavers. The source of the tags I’d seen, I’m sure. Apparently, they had been growing in power all over Japan. The Watch had taken notice of the group and had formed a task force, but there isn’t any news about the effectiveness of said task force. Of course, there never would be any effectiveness. Not so long as the GDF keeps its sights set on the war and not the gangs.
I pause as I look over another article, considering what I’d learned. This issue is clearly out of my league. If it had just been a small street gang in Shinara, then I’d consider going to the Watch and trying to flex my status as a sentinel. That, or just go solve the problem myself. However, I’m really not sure what I can do about a movement this large. At least, not until I’m a lot stronger. Still, something about the group’s name rubs me the wrong way.
“Celeste,” I ask, “does the word ‘stygian’ ring any bells? I know I’ve heard about it before.”
Celeste, who had laid herself out on my desk beside my keyboard, lifts her head and cracks open an eye. [Stygian Mana is what the volcora use instead of Tributary Mana. It could be related to that, but I’m not sure. Either way, the contract you signed with the GDF restricts us from directly going after any human organization, illegal or otherwise. I’m fine with ignoring it, but we should get stronger first.]
“Even if they are somewhat related to the Volcora? They are clearly against the GDF,” I question, still looking at a news report on the Reavers on my screen.
[Not sure, honestly,] Celeste says. [We would need GDF permission, and you would probably need to get proof that the connection is more than just in name. Is this something you are interested in pursuing further?]
I stare at my computer screen, looking at report after report of attacks attributed to the Stygian Reavers. “It is. They’re hurting people, and I can’t just let that go. The government already has its own response to them, though. Until we’re stronger, we’ll just get in the way. I don’t want to forget about this, but you’re right that we need to wait.”
[If I might make a suggestion, we should wait until we are D Rank before trying to take on a group like this. As it is now, your assault state’s comprehensive barrier can take a few bullets, but not many. At D Rank, you’ll be much stronger and will have more than just the power to control mist to back you up.]
“D Rank… right,” I mutter before putting my head in my hands. I am so out of my depth with this. I haven’t even gone to orientation yet!
I sigh and stand from my chair. Stretching my arms above my head, I yawn, blinking the bright light of the computer screen in my dark room from my eyes.
“It’s late. I think it’s time I turn in,” I tell Celeste before padding out of the room to get ready for bed.
Scene Change [https://i.imgur.com/6CNol9a.png]
The next morning, I once more find myself on the way to GDF Headquarters, hopefully more prepared than last time. If one can ever really be prepared for something like this, that is.
My emotions are an odd mix of vibrating excitement and utter terror as I step into the lobby once more. Like before, there are dozens of people moving all over the lobby, each looking like they are going somewhere important. This time, though, so am I.
With a wave to Ashlyn, I head into the elevator. Once there, I punch in a code Prof had made me memorize on the keypad. The hub and other upper levels aren’t accessible to just anybody. You have to know what you’re doing to get up there. Prof said that, one day, I’ll have done this so many times that it will be second nature. I’m not quite there yet, but I hope to be.
Once again, the ride to the hub takes over ten minutes, which is a touch confusing. Even with three hundred fifty floors to climb, it shouldn’t take that long. Most buildings in Shinara are over one hundred floors, and their elevators tend to take just over a minute. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the floors the elevator has to travel through have been spatially expanded like the hub, which means that it’s actually traveling more distance than it seems. While I’m very curious about how that works, I know that I am nowhere near the level of inscribing skill I would need to have to properly understand it.
Stepping out of the elevator and into the hub is just as surreal as the last time I did it. It very much feels like I had just ridden the elevator up just to step out into a park. Heck, even a light breeze tousles my hair as I tentatively make my way toward the lecture hall Prof had pointed out on my last visit.
Uncertainly, I check my phone again to make sure of the time. “We’re not going to be late or anything, right?” I ask Celeste.
Celeste gives a mental groan. [We are over an hour early, Serena. There is no possible way that we will be late,] she complains. To be fair, I had asked her kind of a lot. Except I need to make sure that I don’t miss this! I’ll meet my team members today! I just hope they’re nice.
“You don’t know. He could have given the time in a different time zone or something,” I say as I walk along the concrete path through the grass. At this point, I’m just doing it to tease Celeste. Although, conversation is nice to help me calm my nerves. It would be a touch awkward to meet other sentinels while smelling bad from a nervous sweat.
Arriving at the lecture hall, I take a shuttering breath before pushing my way inside the small building. Looking around, it appears to be pretty much like any standard lecture hall you might find at a school. Sloped seating with chairs that have the little desks that fold down in front of them, all before a small podium at the front of the room with a massive whiteboard behind it. None of that surprises me. No, what surprises me is that one of the chairs is already filled. Apparently, someone else is just as nervous as I am.
The moment I enter the lecture hall, I see her. A girl about my age with clear Japanese descent. She has dark hair and brown eyes with angular features that are rather striking. It’s clear that, like me, she had been physically altered by a soul gem bond. I imagine that, by the time everyone arrives, this will look like a lecture for teen models rather than sentinels.
The other girl and I don’t speak as we wait for the others to begin filtering into the room. I do, however, throw her the occasional glance as I doodle in my notebook. I wonder if she’ll be on my team. Given how she seems to be avoiding looking at me now that I’ve settled, I bet she’s just super nervous. It’s a little heartening to see someone who appears more nervous than me, although it makes me want to go over and talk to her. I’ve never been able to resist trying to help out someone who looks afraid or nervous. Maybe later.
As we get closer to the starting time of the orientation, more and more people begin filtering into the lecture hall. While there appears to be some unspoken rule that no one will sit next to the Japanese girl, that apparently doesn’t hold true for me.
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After there are around ten people in the classroom, a young woman with her brunette hair tied back in a loose tail enters, looking around with wide, excited eyes. The young woman seems kind of familiar, but I can’t quite place her. Probably someone from my school, but not someone I know. She spots me looking, gives me a smile, and heads in my direction.
Seeming utterly unconcerned by my nervousness, she plops down in the seat beside me and offers me her hand. “Hi! I’m Baylee.”
Taking a breath to steady myself, I look at her immaculate hand with perfectly painted pink nails before looking at my hand, which is smeared with graphite from my doodling. Not wanting to mess up her hand but still wanting to be friendly, I give her a shy smile and offer my left hand instead, which makes the shake a little awkward, but whatever.
“I’m Serena,” I say, looking up at the tall, young woman. Even sitting down, I can tell she’s at least half a foot taller than me. Well, most people are taller than me, but still.
Luckily, Baylee gives me her friendly smile as if I hadn’t done anything awkward at all. “Nice to meet you, Serena! All this is pretty crazy, huh?” she asks, gesturing to the growing assembly of new sentinels.
I nod, feeling like this particular extrovert has decided to take me in for unknown reasons, probably just her personality. “It is. I’ll be interested to see what teams we end up on.”
“From what I’ve read,” Baylee starts, launching straight into conversation, “a team composition is very important for sentinels. Trouble is that there are never enough blue sentinels, and every team needs one. If you look at all the best teams out there, they all have both a blue sentinel and a green sentinel. Luckily, greens are much more common.”
“S-Sorry. I don’t know what green sentinels can do,” I say, embarrassed at already being behind.
Baylee shrugs, “No worries! Like I said, I’ve been reading ahead. Green sentinels are defensive specialists, and blue sentinels are healers and general supports. If we’re lucky, we’ll end up on a team together and have one of each.”
I give a small smile, “That would be lucky; if we were on a team together, we’d only need a green,” I say quietly, still a bit shy before this overly talkative person.
Baylee gives me a wide-eyed look, then laughs. “You’re a blue!?” she whisper screams.
I nod, “I can infuse healing magic into my mists,” I say, allowing just a little bit of my living mists to leak out into my hand and swirl around before dispersing. I’m actually quite proud of that; I’ve been practicing.
My eyes fall, “Or at least, I can once I get another ability like that. I don’t know when that will be, though.”
Baylee’s wide eyes only get wider, “That means that you could potentially heal an entire team at the same time. Probably not as much as you just touching us, but that’s still insanely valuable. What are your offensive capabilities?”
I shrug, suddenly feeling flustered as this quickly turns into an interview. “I-I’m pretty useless at fighting right now. I mean, I can shoot a bow pretty well, but I don’t know how much that will help.”
Baylee tilts her head, confused. “You don’t follow a lot of sentinel media, do you? Lots of them use bows because they are much easier to inscribe than a more complex ranged weapon. Although, ranged magic is the most popular.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize,” I say, voice small. I’d thought that Audrey was the main proponent of using bows against the Volcora. I hadn’t realized that many other sentinels also did so.
Baylee laughs again, “Don’t apologize! You’re awesome! Every team in our generation of sentinels is going to want you.”
“Generation?” I ask, wondering what she means. Surely, there are better sentinels than me in the same age range.
Baylee nods, “The GDF only does a wave of recruiting like this every year or so. Afterward, they wait for kids to get older again so they can qualify to become sentinels. Every wave of recruiting is known as a generation. We are the twenty-seventh generation if you were wondering.”
Baylee and I chat for a little longer about existing sentinel teams and what Baylee hopes for her team. In her mind, I’d basically already joined said team, and it seems like she can hardly wait to start strategizing. I can already tell that she’ll be the team leader of whatever team she ends up on. Although, I do hope we end up together. I like Baylee. She is almost aggressively friendly.
It doesn’t take too long for Prof to appear, cutting off my conversation as the room falls silent. Apparently, a lot of us had been taking the chance to make friends. Something that I’ve not historically been good at. A large part of me already wants to be on Baylee’s team just because I’d already come to like her, and making the effort with entirely new people seems like a lot.
“Welcome to orientation, twenty-seventh generation of Shinara sentinels,” Prof says, his voice booming out despite the lack of any apparent microphone. It makes me wonder if there is some kind of sound-amplifying magic at the front of the room. It would make sense.
“Today,” Prof continues, “we are going to be going over several things that will be critically important to your time here. The most important of these items will be your team assignment. All of you have been assigned to a team of other sentinels. Most, if not all, of them will consist of the people in this room, so look around. The people you meet today will be the people saving your life tomorrow.”
Prof pauses for a moment, waiting for us to look around at each other before continuing. “As a sentinel, your team will be your most important asset, more than any ability. You will learn to move and act as one, to play off the synergies you share. This means that you will be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks while we prepare you for your first missions in the field. You won’t have a lot of time before you are placed before a real live volcora with no one but each other to rely on, so you will need to be ready. For that to happen, you won’t just train together. You will spend all the time you can with each other. Eat together, do homework together, and enjoy your hobbies together. While I heavily discourage you from sleeping together, I’m aware that at least a few of you will do that too,” Prof says to a sound of general amusement.
“I hope I have made myself clear here,” he says, going on. “Now, I know that a few of you have already spoken to me about not wanting to be part of a team. I’m here to tell you that, for your first five deployments, you don’t have a choice. After that, if any of you still want to go solo, then go for it. Just know that more than half of solo sentinels die in their first ten deployments. You probably think that you’re different or that you’re special, you aren’t. Which means those of you who are smart will stick with your teams.”
“Now, we have a problem with team building this year. First and foremost, we have a significant lack of blue sentinels. This isn’t unexpected, but it does cause problems. In this room, we have seven pink sentinels, six red, six silver, four green, one violet, and a single blue sentinel. Given that we recommend every team have one blue sentinel, that puts us at a bit of an impasse.”
I wince; I had not expected to be the only blue sentinel in the entire generation. Hopefully, there are still more familiars who are unbonded and can provide more blues.
“Here are how things are going to work,” Prof continues. “We will form four teams of five with the sentinels here, and the others will fill vacant positions in teams from the previous generation. Are there any questions before I continue?” Prof pauses to look out at the group of sentinels.
I hadn’t expected anyone to actually dare to question Prof’s team lecture, but one young man actually does. He’s tall, blonde, and classically handsome-looking. All of that is ruined by the sneer on his face… a face I recognize. I barely stop myself from gasping as I realize who else from my school had also become a sentinel, Troy fucking Declan. I must not have seen him come in while I was talking to Baylee! Oh, stars! I could end up on his team!
Troy stands up, glaring at Prof in that way that just screams entitled rich brat. “If having a blue sentinel on every team is so important, why don’t you just form one team and let the rest of these people sit around until more blue sentinels show up?” he asks, speaking as if the fact that he would be on my team was a given.
Prof gives Troy a blank look that said he would not take the same shit an average high school teacher would. “Well, Mr. Declan. There are successful teams that operate without blue sentinels. They just have to take lower-level threats because they don’t have the safety net a blue offers. It is very doable to be successful without one; it’s just harder. You clearly won’t have a problem with that, right?”
Troy scoffs angrily, but seeing the glare Prof shoots his way, he smartly decides to sit back down and shut up.
Prof rolls his eyes and continues, “Once all of your teams are formed, you will be receiving your combined training schedules via the contact information you shared with me during intake. While I’m not requiring you to do any training today, I do expect you all to spend the rest of the day with your teams after you leave this building. Is that understood?”
With horrible coordination that makes Prof visibly wince, we chorus back a discordant, “Yes sir.”
Shaking his head at our poor performance, Prof carries on. “Right then. I will now announce the current team configurations. As you hear your names, stand up so the rest of your team can see you. After your entire team has been announced, depart with your team and spend the rest of the day getting to know each other and strategizing. I also expect every team to come up with a good team name before their first training session.”
“If there are no more questions, I will start with Team One. Haruto Sato, Baylee Whitlock, Claire Sharp, Akari Kimura, and Serena Solace.”
One by one, the members of Team One stand up, looking around at each other as names are called. The moment my name is called, I stand, and Baylee gives me a happy squeal and a quick hug. Looking around, I see the members of my team for the first time. A tall, Japanese young man with a sort of steady presence to him, a grinning young woman with red streaks in her blonde hair, Baylee, and finally, that same Japanese girl I’d made eye contact with when I entered the room.
Looking between my team members, I can immediately tell one thing. Either we are going to be one of the best teams in this generation, or this mix of personalities is going to blow up in everyone’s faces. At least Troy isn’t with us.