Endrian couldn’t help but tease Ethese some. “Your big brother is the most amazing and bestest, right? So how do you think I did?”
“You just had to pass, I know it. I bet you did the best out of everyone.” she said as she clenched her firsts in excitement and trying to convince herself that she was right. After staring off into space as she pictured him winning something she then turned and watched Endrian very closely hoping for any sign of how he did, but he held his teasing smile in place.
Allyce watched this and said “Stop teasing your sister Ender. You know she is going to be intolerable until you tell her how well you did.”
Hearing this Ethese squealed in excitement and ran over to him prancing around in front of him. She was flinging her hands back and forth like a overcharged version of jazz hands. He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug and said “Let’s just say I did really good. Now, let’s get everyone else so I only have to tell it once.”
When everyone was gathered and dinner prepared Endrian proceeded to tell them about how the test had progressed. He was able to tell most of the tale without interruptions but there were a few instances where someone asked questions like if he had intentionally tried to do bad on the martial skill portion since they knew how skilled he was at home. He told them that he didn’t try too hard on that portion to offset his overwhelming performance on the written test but that he also didn’t just get the different skills at least not in that short of a time. He could memorize the steps perfectly in seconds but making those steps his, even with roughly an hour of time, not so much. When it came to the affinity full test his mom had to elaborate as he wasn’t paying attention at the time. When it came to the three colors he tried to describe them as best he could the first color was peach and it wasn’t an element that was associated with it but more like a concept. In this case the concept was peace.The next was a transparent color it had made the crystal phase in and out of view when he was testing and this was a concept of time as far as he could discern. The final color was actually three colors mixed together which was blue, white and silver. The concept associated was order.
After they had covered everything about the test they stopped there as they didn’t want to divulge the prophecy to everyone at the table. So they amended the end of it to say that he did so well that the Academy head decided to let him take specially classes that would start the day after tomorrow. He was even able to get the cost of tuition covered by the academy head. This made everyone excited that didn’t already know about it. Endrian’s sisters all had heated gazes as they felt challenged by this little brother of theirs. From the what Endrian could tell from the look it was more like what a good elder sibling feels when their younger brother or sister exceeds them. Happiness for their sibling as well as a desire to improve to support him and to be able to stay relevant or to even protect them. Well except for Ethese and her look was more of a full on hero worship.
After dinner and the stories were done Endrian’s sisters went about their chores to help with prep the materials for their bow construction and work on their homework for the night. Endrian took some time to write out some test for Ethese to take since he was going to be gone. He didn’t use any of the questions from the entrance exam but he did create questions that would duplicate the points that she would need to master to pass the exam.
Before Endrian got too far creating some mock tests for Ethese, Allyce asked him to come and talk with his parents. There she had him tell them about the prophecy, she also told them about the conflict that Ender had had with Xerael and his mother Tyrina Naxxremis. When Davian and his other wives heard the name of the house they had a fairly pained expression on their faces which Endrian didn’t miss.
“So what’s the deal with these Naxxremis people?” Endrian asked.
Davian sighed and with a complicated and sorrowful look he started talking. “The noble house of Naxxremis is the same house that lead to the destruction of the noble house of Dhamon, my house of birth. This happened, oh, probably about 10 to 15 winters past. I was a bright and fairly gifted child of our family. I was the second son and despite, or perhaps because of, my talent for numbers and cultivation I was deemed to be an excellent sacrifice for my family to strengthen ties to the other noble families that supported our business. My family had set up a union between me and another noble house, the house of Cernif. They provided the food supplies for the city guards and my family provided the majority of the trained guards for the city.” He paused for a moment somewhat reliving the memories then he continued. “Well, to make a long story short. I made the decision to abandon school and my home I bought passage on a ship leaving Ampleforth and then a few more ships after that. I thought I was leaving this city behind me forever. Afterwards I met your mothers and later found that I had been disowned by my family to reduce the impact of my leaving. There were, however, other houses that capitalized on the affront that I had created that eventually led to the destruction of my family. The only reason I know this is that there were people sent by my family to recover me but by the time they found me the family had been destroyed. They had received word that the Naxxremis had instigated the Cernif family to take action against us. Which led to the Naxxremis family replacing my Dhamon family for providing trained guards to the city.” This was said with a slightly heavy and sorrowful tone. “Anyway this is not something I like to think about for very long, so let’s leave it at this.”
Endrian, seeing that his dad was upset by these talks walked over to him and patted his back. Then Vanya said “So let’s get back to this prophecy. What does this mean for our family, for Ender, and for our future plans?”
Before Allyce had a chance to respond Ender, while still looking at and attempting to comfort his dad, said “Well from how things worked out it appears that there are different factions in the church that want to get control of me. This could be for political benefits or for religious benefits, however, which it is is unclear right now. There is an obvious desire to foster me to the point of taking me from my family. Honestly were it not for me threatening them I probably would be on my way to some religious fortress or holy ground to be trained by experts. There are also probably some benefits for the academy head Chiyo as she kept subtly implying and helping me when I wanted to stay here. Again the underlying reasons for her help are not clear at this time, as there are too many possible reasons for her help. Beyond that we currently have roughly a year to stay here. This was gained with the stipulation that I advance at an acceptable pace. Also the city guards have been sent to determine the place where the beast horde started from and see if there is any validity to the prophecy and these abominations. If there is and they find the source of the ‘evil’ then hopefully they will eradicate the problem and then I will no longer be necessary to defend our world. Though, now that I think about it Ratrece you were attacked by a beast that could be said to be an abomination right?” His tone was somewhat demanding as he was not entirely focused on what he was talking about.
“Yes I was.” She responded as an almost automatic reaction to the tone, which irritated her when she caught it. Realizing that getting upset at this point wouldn’t help anything she continued on anyway. “It’s what bit my hand and forced Allyce to sever my arm when we saw that after I was bitten there was some type of poison attacking my hand and traveling up my arm.” Ratrece finished.
“So then based on this information alone, we can assume that there is some weight to the prophecy of a great evil coming to destroy the world.” Endrian said.
Davian spoke after hearing what Endrian just said saying “How are you taking this so easily?” Various sounds of agreement coming from the women as well.
“Well there are a number of reasons. First I doubt that even if I am the champion of the gods, which I’m still not sure if I want to believe, that a 7 winter old boy is going to make a difference any time soon. Not to mention my role as champion was not defined. I mean am I the war leader for the world, am I a pawn to be used as a key to close a door, or will the gods grant me special powers? Based on talent,” and he thought to himself without stopping ‘and the fact that I have memories of my past life,’ “as well as the fact that the church people have set up resources and trainers I am to be fostered and given time to grow into my power. So even if everything is true it doesn’t mean everything has to change immediately. Second, if there is a place where these abominations are coming from and we can find how they are getting here then if we send plenty of military people or guards they should be able to remove the threat without me doing anything. Finally I don’t have enough information to accept that the fate of this world resides with me, however, whether I agree with it or not is not relevant so worrying or overreacting will just cause more issues anyway.”
“Now back to topic. As far as future plans for the family are concerned nothing has changed and more than likely nothing will for at least the next year. Beyond that when we have more information then we can reassess the situation. I’ll do my best to avoid further conflicts with noble idiots in the future so as to not cause us any problems. This shouldn’t be too difficult as I expect the church and the academy to be privately tutoring me though we will see how things turn out.” Endrian finished talking and looked around to see the faces of his family in various states of surprise or shock. Thinking for a second he realized that he was being much more forceful with his statements and taking charge without thinking about what he was saying. Maybe the thought of this prophecy was affecting him more than he wanted to admit.
Lowering his head he said “Ah sorry, those are just my thoughts on the matter. We can follow the plans that everyone finds to be best for us as a family.” Endrian had always tried to be respectful of his parents even when they were making decisions he didn’t agree with because he felt that it was always best to try respect his parents for the sacrifices they made for him and his sisters. It’s why he had offered to help when he learned his letters and numbers because he felt it was a way to give back to them for sheltering him and feeding him.
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Davian reached down and ruffled Ender’s hair and said while smiling at him “We’ll think about what you have said. Go on and do whatever you need to do to get ready for school.”
Ender left and finished making up some practice tests for Ethese so that she had stuff to practice. He also made up some notes for whoever would be helping her in her studies. After that he realized that there really wasn’t much that he needed to do to prepare for school. There was no easily accessible school supplies like in his previous world. He had no requirements given to him so he just went under the premise that if they want him to have something they would either provide it or tell him so he could acquire it later.
The next day was fairly relaxed. No one came by with any demand or requirements for school. Endrian trained his main elemental affinities, helped Ethese study. Created some tests for his other sisters so that they could have a mock exam of the written and math portion of the test to verify they had a sufficient level to pass. He also wrapped up some of the financial stuff that he had responsibilities for and handed everything back over to his dad.
The next day he got up early, went through his morning ablutions, got dressed and headed to the academy. The sun had yet to crest the horizon by the time he left the house, but the sky had started to lighten and change colors, so he easily made it to the academy gates before sunrise. When he arrived the guards came up to him asking him what he was doing. He introduced himself and explained that he was supposed to meet academy head Chiyo today and he presented the token she had given him. When they saw the token one of them pulled out a communication crystal and relayed that there was a child here by the name of Endrian that was told to meet with the academy head. Endrian could hear her voice over the communication crystal saying “I’ll be down in a moment to collect him, for now you can let him in the gate so he doesn’t draw attention.”
Chiyo arrived after a few minutes of waiting. Fortunately nothing unexpected happened and they quickly moved down the path. While they walked Chiyo chatted with him about his family and made sure that he had everything taken care of at home so that he could focus on his lessons. This prompted Endrian to ask about the lessons that he would be taking. To which she responded that there would be a martial skill instructor to help train endrian with weapons and to find a weapon that works best for his fighting style and physique. There would be an instructor that would guide Endrian in cultivation techniques he would be able to choose a technique from the different techniques provided if he couldn’t find any that matched him then he was free to look through the cultivation manuals available at the academy. Isahalane would be providing a war strategist that should arrive within a week until then she would be personally tutoring him in the basics. Beyond that they had some courses in alchemy and arrays. If he is interested in studying metal forging and smithing Aubrin would be happy to work with him. Another activity that was offered was music which Endrian was surprised about and couldn’t help but say “Not that I’m complaining but why would music be offered when it doesn’t have any real combat value?”
“Who says it doesn’t have combat value. There are many ways to use sound and music to attack an opponent. Though, these attacks tend to be omnidirectional which makes them incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to use in any type of group environment. Aside from that though we have also found that balance is key so arts such as painting, singing, musical instruments, and more ‘recreational’ studies are offered as a way of balancing out students.” Chiyo responded to him.
After a fairly lengthy discussion about the possible different courses and times as well as required courses, Endrian’s likes and dislikes, they arrived at the top of one of the coral looking spires. In front of them was a area what was surprisingly covered in grass. Standing on the grass beside a table that had multiple weapons on it was a woman that had a fairly intimidating demeanor. She had dark green hair with a lock of it that was a bright flame red. In contrast with her hair were steel colored eyes. She looked like she weighed 100 to 120 kilos and most of it was muscle. However even with that she wasn’t cut she still maintained a layer of padding over the top that hid the definition of some impressive muscles. She was wearing a tight pair of shorts that were dark red color as well was a top that covered her chest and torso but left her arms bare. Her hair was pulled back and kept in a knot at the back of her head. Endrian couldn’t help but feel that she looked like a christmas colored skunk.
Chiyo introduced her as Kuuthyia and then left to go attend other things. Kuuthyia asked him about his current weapons experience and had him change into some clothes that were prepared based on the measurements he had provided the entrance exam verification. She then had him start going through the weapons forms that he knew. This took a few hours and the sun had fully risen by the time he had gone through all of his known forms. So they took a break to get some breakfast at the dining hall. Though break was kind of a stretch as she had him run the entire way to test his endurance after the lengthy time of practising his forms. He took a moment to go to the bathroom and at least wash his hands before getting his food and eating. He would have rather taken a shower or at least dumped a bucket of water on his head but unfortunately there was no place for this. After eating his food with Kuuthyia and being stared at by the other students in the dining hall they finished up and then she had Endrian run all the way back including up the stairs. He was forced to slow down lest he lose his breakfast and he had a feeling that he was going to need all the energy he could get. Fortunately with his current level at the 9th level of the Gathering rank and his training from earlier in life he was not without a good understanding of his body and when to push and when to back off.
His training went on for the rest of the day with Kuuthyia. She showed him swords, bows, knives, axes, throwing axes, two handed spears, maces, and more. She ran him through drill after drill watching him and how his body responded and how easily he picked up the different forms. There would be periodic breaks where Chiyo or other instructors would come and talk with Endrian about different topics and then he would be back to the weapons training. By the end of the day he had gone through every weapon on the table. Some of the weapons he was patently not cut out for. Chained weapons were definitely a no for him. He wound up hitting himself more than anything he even amazingly wound up hitting Kuuthyia while going through one of his practice forms with something that looked like a pair of chakrams that were chained together.
As the sun was going down and the open field was no longer usable Endrian sighed in relief. He turned and looked at Kuuthyia and asked “Are we going to be doing this every day?”
“No. We went through all of this today so that I could optimize a routine for weapons that best fit your personality and style of combat. Tomorrow you will be working with a much reduced set in more complex forms to see which ones fit you the best. For now go get some rest, the assistant over there will take you to your room.” She said as she waved him away already falling into thought about the weapons she was going to choose and the forms she would have him practice.
Wearily Endrian nodded agreement before his mind caught up to his reactions. “Wait. What do you mean take me to my room.” Kuuthyia did not respond though. Turning he looked at the assistant and said “What do they mean my room?”
Looking a little perplexed the assistant said “The church has reserved the top 10 floors of this spire just for your training sir.”
“Oh really.” Endrain deadpanned. “You go ahead and lead the way to my room.” He wanted to see just what they had set up for him.
After being led down two floors he was taken to a room down a long hallway. At the beginning of the hallway there were two guards standing in front. When he arrived at the room it opened to a large room. The room was lavish and the bed looked amazing. Like holy crap a real bed. There was even a bathroom with a tub and accoutrements for cleaning. A closet with clothes and a balcony overlooking the school. ‘So much for them understanding that they don’t get to control me.’ He thought to himself. The first thing he did was take the token that was given to him by Chiyo and toss it on the bed. Then he took off his shirt and shifted to his combat form which amusingly they hadn’t had him use all day. Tying the shirt around his leg he stepped to the balcony and took a deep breath. ‘This is either going to be amazing or suck. Hopefully it doesn’t suck amazingly.’ then he spread his wings out and attempted to lock them in place. Then he reached out with his arms and held the edges and used his arms to reinforce them being locked in place. Finally taking another deep breath he ran forward and jumped.
As he was falling it wasn’t too bad. He was able to get his baland to some extent. He could feel the way the wind caught in the sails of his wings. When he started the fall he was in a locked position not moving his head and paying absolute attention to his body. He could feel the muscles in his wings flexing slightly as it caught the wind. The pull along his back as the wind dragged at him. Once he got comfortable, though, he started to relax some. The drag increased on his back but it was a steady increase and he was able to adjust to the pressure. He started to glide towards the gate area. With his current descent and forward momentum he wasn’t going to make it outside the academy on a glide but he should be outside the area where he will get stopped.
During his descent he could tell this was going to get addicting really quick. He turned his head to enjoy the scenery of the world at dusk, the sunset lighting up the sky, the wind whipping by. It was amazing and exhilarating, right up to the point where he turned his head, and then it was terrifying. That slight adjustment threw his whole aerodynamic off. He shifted back and forth, spun in a flat spin for a second. Wound up over correcting and losing any point of reference that he had. He knew he didn’t have too much longer to figure this out as he had already been falling for a couple of seconds. He took a short moment to calm himself and then started to use his air affinity to correct. Listening to his body react after just a second he was able to find balance. He opened his eyes to get his bearing and realized the ground was almost right in front of him. Surprised he flung out his hands and air surged up at his body and down to the ground creating a cushion of air underneath him and a little upward lift just before impact.
“Well that was fucking dumb.” He said to himself. “Amazing, awesome and really fucking dumb. Then again I’ve had worse. Nothing like dumping your bike at 120 mph and hitting the tire wall on a track day. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t going over 100 this time but that sudden stop was rough.” He shook his head groggily and picked himself up off the ground.
Standing up a little shaky he reversed his transformation and put on his shirt. Brushed the dirt off his body and clothes as best he could and looked around to get his bearing. He saw the gate not too far from where he was. It was a wonder that no one had come rushing over already. Trotting over to the gate he smiled to himself and said “They can take our lives, but the can never take! OUR! FREEDOM!!!!! Yeah... I am soo not in my right mind after that. Going to have to make sure I stay awake for a while till I’m not talking nonsense anymore. Hmmm, that may take the rest of my life.”
With that he left the academy and made his way home. Most people none the wiser about his daring, semi-suicidal escape.