Long ago, before the Shattering of Time, the world was balanced. Good and evil fought and defended. Young and old lived and died. Rich and poor gave and took. And the world continued.
The Children of Balance, they were called. Individuals born with the sign of balance upon their person. Born with magicks beyond this world and the next. They honed their skills and kept the balance.
But then, in the balance of the world, rose a man whom the rest of the world saw as evil. And in balance, this man did terrible things and wonderful things, but the terrible were more immediate and more damaging than the wonderful. Therefore, certain Children of Yang banded together to fool the scales of the universe. For they saw the Children of Yin as evil, their powers dark and twisted, unlike the kind and beautiful powers of Yang.
They saw the man do horrible things and thought, Never again. And thus began the Shattering of Time. With great difficulty and many lives lost, the scales of balance were tipped, and so the universe began to compensate.
Seventy years passed in the blink of an eye, and no more Children of Yin were born. In a mere seventy years the world forgot that there were two sides to Balance, and they forgot that there were ever any good Children of Yin. Indeed, in seventy years the Children of Yin were mere stories to scare the children, whilst the Children of Yang were the heroes and protectors of the world.
Seventy years, and then one. And then two.
And then a child was born.
-
Elliot Springs wiped sweat from his forehead, and then off his hands onto his pants. But it wasn’t the hot sun that was making him sweat, or rather, it wasn’t only that. It was the knowledge that in less than ten minutes, the seven Elders would come out of the little tent that had been set up for them, and the Ceremony of Balance would begin.
Elliot’s stomach twisted itself into knots.
The Ceremony would begin, and after that Elliot would not see his family for eight long years. And then after a year of vacation at home, there would be another three before he was released from the Tower. After that, who could say.
Ramses Striker, one of Elliot’s friends, pushed his way to the front of the back crowd and called out. “Hey Springs! When is it going to start?”
Elliot squinted up at the bright sun and then over to the massive clock right behind the tent, calculating the time in his mind just to be sure. “Nine minutes.” Since he was in the back of the front crowd, they didn’t have to be too loud in order to communicate.
“Do you know where Felicia is?” Ramses asked, concern evident in his voice.
Elliot felt his heart sink a little deeper. Felicia wouldn’t see Ramses again until she was fifteen, and then after the year off not again until they were going to get married. “I don’t,” he called back, glancing around nonetheless.
“She hasn’t shown up yet, and I wanted to-” Ramses was cut off by a loud gong.
Elliot’s heart began to race and he could feel chills run up and down his spine. But it wasn’t the seven Elders that came out of the tent. Rather, it was the Scribe.
“Ladies and Gentlemen! In a few short minutes the Ceremony of Balance will begin. As such, family and friends are encouraged to retire to their seats. Please do not speak any further with the Children. Thank you,” and with that, the Scribe returned to the tent.
Elliot turned to see Ramses darting out of the slowly retreating crowd. Looking for Felicia, no doubt. Felicia and Ramses both came from rather wealthy families, though for whatever reason they both had become friends with Elliot. Ramses more than Felicia, but that was to be expected. From a very young age, as soon as their parents had determined that the two children liked playing together, they were bound into a wedding contract. At first, the two of them had resented it, and they enlisted Elliot to help them find some way out of it. But then, as they spent more and more time together trying to get out of it, they realized that they didn’t actually mind.
It had been a very odd day for Elliot when he realized that they hadn’t come to him for ideas in over a week, and when he asked them about it they merely shrugged.
But then the Mark of Balance had appeared on Felicia. That in and of itself was strange. The Mark didn’t appear. It just was. You were either born with it, or you weren’t.
And Ramses hadn’t been.
Elliot turned away from where Ramses had been. He didn’t want to be sad right now.
But then his eyes found his brother.
Avery. Four years older and about a million times better suited to be a Child of Balance. Optimistic, fun-loving, fiercely protective of anyone he cared about, and both strong and smart. And yet, it was Elliot, shy, introverted Elliot, who had been born with the Mark. But Avery wasn’t jealous. Disappointed, yes, and it was because Elliot had the Mark, but only because that meant separation.
As Elliot studied his brother and his parents, trying to etch their faces into his memory so he wouldn’t, couldn’t, forget them, the gong sounded again.
Then again.
And again.
He turned back towards the tent. The Scribe hurried out and didn’t say anything, merely scampering to the side like a frightened mouse.
Then They came. The seven Elders. Before the Shattering there had been ten of them, determined to right the wrongs in the world.
But now there were seven.
The ring had gone silent, save for the shifting of cloth and the shuffling of feet.
The Elders lined themselves up on the stone dais and bowed. Not a ‘look how great I am’ bow, but a bow of respect.
Apparently they bowed every year, but Elliot hadn’t a clue why they did so. If anything, he thought, we should be bowing to them. They saved the world!
But he didn’t bow back. That wasn’t the point.
Finally, the first Elder took a step forward and began the Speech.
“Seventy-two years ago, ten Children of Balance stepped forward to right the wrongs of the world. Seven of those Children stand before you now. Before the Ceremony of Balance begins, we will remember the three who fell to give you the peace you now take for granted.”
Elliot mentally shook his head. They didn’t take it for granted. He, for one, constantly wondered if the Scales would ever unbalance, and another Child of Yin would rear its ugly head to destroy the world. But no. It hadn’t been the Bending of Time, but the Shattering. And once something was Shattered, it couldn’t be fixed.
The first Elder stepped back, and the second stepped forward, continuing where the other had left off. “Jillian Oaks. She was the first to lose her life during the Shattering of Time. A shard pierced her heart and she crumbled like ash. She hadn’t the time to say goodbye, or even to scream. The winds of the vortex snatched her remains away from us and tore them apart within itself. Before she died, before the Shattering, she herself fought the Dark. She fought the Dark, and came away with her left hand damaged beyond repair. Frozen. A block of ice that would not melt until it had destroyed her.”
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Some of the parents in the crowd murmured as Elliot assumed they always did. ‘This should not be told to children. They are too young for such things.’ But Elliot, and indeed, every Child there had heard this tale eight times before. Not from the Elders, perhaps, since it was a long trip to the Center, but at each village on the Day of Balance someone recited the speech. Every year the same words were said.
“She gave her life that you might live peacefully and without fear.” The Elder bowed his head for a moment, before stepping back.
The third Elder stepped forward. She bowed her head, not speaking for a moment.
Everyone old enough to have heard the speech and understand it knew why.
Finally, the Elder straightened and spoke. “Catherine Scott, my sister. She was the second to lose her life to the Vortex. While Jillian’s death was quick and painless, my sister was torn apart slowly. Shards of time cut through her, carrying pieces with it. Slowly, painfully she was ripped away, piece by piece, screaming until a shard of time carried away a chunk of her throat. But even then, she did not die. She lived in excruciating pain until she too was finally torn into ash. She didn’t get any last words of note, nothing that would be in the histories. But her screams will remain within the shattered vortex of time until time itself expires. She gave her life so that you may live peacefully and without needless fear.” She stepped back, bowing her head once again.
The fourth Elder moved up. “Austin Gershway. He was the last to die. Out of the three his death was the most sickening. The shards of time caused Jillian to crumble and tore Catherine apart, but they didn’t do that for Austin. They slammed into him, knocking him into the Vortex.” The Elder took a deep breath, and clenched his fists so hard that the knuckles turned white. “The Vortex is cruel. It wanted to break us. To stop us from doing what we had to do. Every spin of the Vortex, Austin was sliced into ribbons and ashes, before being made whole and being cut apart all over again. We couldn’t turn away from the Vortex, or else risk losing control and failing, so we had to watch. We could not hear his screams over the echoes of Catherine’s, but we could see him screaming and crying for help.” He paused again. For a lot longer than usual too.
The Elder looked up at the sky, as though he were considering something. Then he looked back down at his feet and let the silence stretch.
Finally, just as the parents were beginning to murmur amongst themselves, he spoke again.
“Austin died, a horrible, brutal death, so that you naive children might live in peace.”
The fifth elder moved forward. “Those three Children of Balance sacrificed their lives for yours. For ours. That is why we reinstituted the Academy of Balance. During the years of Dark, the Academy went silent, but now it is once again thriving in the peace bought by the blood of our fellows. Though the spawn of Yin are no longer, their dark influence still spreads throughout the world. We will train you to attune to Balance and, if you are so inclined, to use your abilities to defeat the corrupted of Yin. In ancient times the academy…” It was hard to pay attention. It was the same as always.
Blah blah blah, ancient academy of honor and blah blah blah. Elliot had heard it a million times before. It had been boring before and it still was now.
But then the sixth Elder stepped up, and Elliot forced his mind back to the present. The Ceremony would be starting soon.
“Therefore, with the history of both the Academy of Balance and of the sacrifices made on your behalf fresh in your minds, I would like to speak directly to the new Children of Balance.” The Elder looked down at the two or three dozen children in front of the dais. She smiled gently. “You are the new generation. You are the new heroes and warriors who will keep the balance.”
Elliot smiled, straightening up. The words felt more real coming from the Elder herself, as opposed to the village Scribe. Heroes and warriors. That’ll be me. At the end of this, that’ll be me.
“Not everyone at the Academy chooses to become a Warrior against the corrupted of Yin, but every single one goes on to fight for Balance in some way, shape, or form. It will not be easy, it will not always be fun, but it will be worth it.” She gazed at the children, an odd maternal look in her eyes. “Thank you. Genuinely, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. For if there was no new generation, the corrupted of Yin would come ever closer to their twisted goal.”
She took another moment to look into their eyes, though Elliot was one of the ones who was skimmed over. But even still, though the whole speech was recited word for word every year, it felt sincere.
The Elder smiled again. “Thank you.”
The last Elder stepped forward. “Now we shall begin the Ceremony of Balance. If the new Children would join us on the dais.”
Elliot’s heart hammered in his chest as he followed along with the small crowd. On the edge of his perception he saw the Scribe ushering a number of other people onto the dais from the side before he came rushing over to line up Elliot and the others.
Elliot didn’t end up near the Elders, which was honestly a bit of a relief, but across from a tall, muscular young man who wore light grey trousers with a matching blazer, white and grey sneakers, and a bright golden tie.
The young man (at least, young in general… he was about twelve years older than Elliot) nodded ever-so-slightly in greeting as the Scribe finished lining everyone up.
Finally the Scribe finished and the Elder continued. “Balance. Before us stand those ready to begin their journey at the Academy, and those who shall not be returning. Today we shall…” the Elder’s voice washed out as a deafening silence crashed into Elliot.
His skin turned cold and clammy, the edges of his vision went dark, and he could feel the strength drain from his legs, even as the Elder's voice returned as an incomprehensible drone.
That was fine though, right? He’d heard the speech a million times.
His legs began to shake from the effort of holding himself up.
The old generation passing the mantle on to the new. A cycle of Balance even as they go on to fight the fight against the corrupt of Yin.
His vision grew steadily darker.
Both parties should bow to each other, respecting each other for their part in the cycle. Indeed, the young man in front of Elliot began to bow, though he looked concerned about something.
Elliot could feel a chill creep over his bones, though he knew he wasn’t cold.
He returned the bow, though he had to steady himself with one hand against the ground, and when it came time to straighten he barely managed it.
The loud drone of the seventh Elder had muted to a faint buzzing by now, as had any other sounds. His bones felt like ice cubes and his skin like a frozen sheet of snow. He could barely see the mounting concern on the graduate in front of him. Elliot knew he shouldn’t be so nonchalant about this. He felt his legs give out, but apparently his legs were numb, because he couldn’t feel anything but an odd pressure when he hit the ground.
In a moment his vision went from dark and fuzzy to completely black. Whatever energy he had left abandoned him, leaving him to slump onto his side. His blood went even colder than his skin, since he could now feel its icy path as it traveled through his body.
He stayed conscious for only a few more seconds, before something violently slammed into his mind, knocking him out.
—
Leo Chase hurried after his fellow graduates at the silent urging of the Scribe. He ended up in front of a scrawny, dark-haired boy. He was, obviously, quite nervous so Leo gave him a nod of encouragement. If it hadn’t been the Ceremony he would have sent a bit of peace his way as well, but they weren’t supposed to interfere with the whole thing. He’d be peaceful soon enough anyway.
Elder Greenwall started speaking again. Apparently Elder Doren had gone on for way too long, because the kids all seemed to get smacked with the Imbalance right at the beginning of the speech. Well, they all did, but Leo just started storing the various aspects of Yang into his mental storage bins for later. A lot of people imagined grand things for their mental stores, but a couple of dusty old bins seemed just right.
Everything was going normally, and as Leo looked up and down the line he could remember exactly what it felt like. But then he looked back at the kid in front of him.
He was swaying back and forth, but he didn’t look sleepy so much as… sick. His skin had gone incredibly pale, which didn’t tend to happen when one was overheating.
He could always just be pushing it away and accidentally pushing away his natural warmth at the same time… That seemed plausible. Fortunately, untrained reserves were pathetically small so it should start piling up and equalizing soon.
Other kids were swaying, their eyes closed or fluttering, some rubbing their eyes blearily. That was normal. Leo turned back.
The kid’s legs had given out and he had crumpled into a heap on his knees. His eyes were open, but he didn’t seem to be focusing on anything in particular. His arms had unconsciously huddled closer to his core. Was he just pushing everything away? Not into any reserve but just… out?
Just as Leo thought this the kid fell over onto his side, eyes wide, darting around frantically but even more unfocused than before, before they suddenly glazed over.
Leo looked at the kid next to Mr. Pale. Sleeping peacefully, as he ought to have been. Leo looked over at the Scribe, then at the Elders. They either hadn’t noticed or didn’t care.
He scowled, and was just about to flood the kid with whatever warmth and peace he had in his reserves, when the boy sat up abruptly, glancing around in a panic.
At the same time the other kids were sluggishly getting to their feet, rubbing their eyes and yawning.
The whole rest of the Ceremony Leo couldn’t help but worry about the child, but he couldn’t think of any reason for why he would have reacted so much differently to the Imbalance.
It was only after the Great Feast when all the graduates were released that it struck him. Leo didn’t know why, but he knew it was the only explanation that made sense.
That child was being targeted by the Corrupted of Yin.