Local Time: 8:48 AM | Earth Year 3244 | Planet: Earth | City: Belfast | Imperial Soul Center
A confident Rory walked down the pristine, white-walled hall with the rest of his classmates. As with all the other ten-year-olds, he scanned the facility around him, curious what went on beyond all the reflective M-steel doors. Although many had translumin windows, the group of youngsters was escorted past too quickly and the windows were too small to see anything of substance. Rory was curious which of the rooms his da had used when he was Soul Tested. In his mind, his father was very talented and everyone knew it was passed down to children so Rory was confident he would be at least compatibility level 2 when he was tested, maybe even a level 3 or 4.
Seeing some of his charges slowing and getting distracted, the tall brown-haired adult in a gray one-piece Soul Center uniform called back in his standard Britannian accent, “No messin about, you dossers. Let’s crack on.”
The boy next to Rory – Killean Walsh, and Rory’s best friend for years – whispered in the more familiar Irish brogue, “You got so lucky. You almost didn’t make it.”
Rory nodded fervently. He had only just turned ten. It would have been brutal if he and Killean had not been together. Moving on in an instant as something came to his mind, Killean asked, “Did you hear about what happened in class three?”
Rory blinked at him, curious. He hadn’t and said so while shaking his head. “No. Didn’t class three have a bunch of thick kids? Wasn’t it mostly girls too?”
All the boys in his class knew girls were annoying. And what’s worse, they didn’t inherit Soul Compatibility as often as boys. At least that’s what all the boys in class said. Girls were obviously just not as good as boys. Rory’s da just shook his head and laughed without answering whenever he asked about it.
Killean and Rory were both unusually tall for ten-year-olds, so trying to hide in the crowd by whispering was pointless. Not that they noticed or stopped huddling together. They were both about one hundred fifty-five centimeters tall, or five feet in the Britannian measurement, which was a good tenish cm taller than their fellows.
But that was where their similarities ended. Killean had broader shoulders, bigger muscles, black hair, and brown eyes. Rory, on the other hand, was more wiry than bulky, had dark red hair he kept short like his da, pale and slightly freckled skin, and eyes so green they almost shimmered like crystals.
Rory was self-conscious about how thin he was, especially compared to Killean. Thankfully, he had been told by his now-passed morai, his father’s mother, that he looked the same as his talented father had when he was ten and being tested, except Rory’s hair was a pure red and his da’s bright orange.
“Don’t worry, boyo,” she had said as she had tried to comfort him with a pat on the head. “You’ll fill out just like your da did.”
Still on the topic of class three, Killean’s neatly combed short black hair moved only slightly as he nodded emphatically with a giddy look on his face. “Aye. And all but one had to go home. Didn’t even make it to the elements!” Rory’s friend was gleeful at the misfortune of his competitor class. Rory joined him in their joy for the bad luck of a class behind them.
The private school they were attending, Belfast’s Independent Institute of Soul Learning and Growth, went out of its way to ensure that the different classes competed with each other under the principle that through competition their students would thrive and go on to become great and fight for Britannia and her Majesty Queen Lizabetha IV. That or fail and be released to become one of the trillions of weak normal humans in the galaxy ruled over by the strong. As it should be in Rory’s and Killean’s opinions.
The Institute was an expensive school for those who were the children of the well-to-do adults of their country, mostly Soul Wielders themselves. According to what Rory learned in the boring classes that didn't have anything to do with fighting, Ireland had a bajillion years ago become part of the Great Galactic Britannian Empire, as had most of what had been at the time European-ruled countries and planets. Killean was the youngest of the scions of a big important family that developed and created some of the tools their class was going to use that day.
Rory knew that Killean was under a lot of pressure to be top of the class and school by his family, who had been going to that school for however-many generations before him. Unfortunately for Killean, Rory was in the same grade and almost always came in above him (and everyone else) in the knowledge, skill, and especially soul tests. The only time Rory wasn’t first was when the exercise was solely on physical strength. That was the primary reason Rory was so confident today. He was sure he was going to wow everyone and poor Killean would be overshadowed yet again.
They were best friends, and Rory hoped he would succeed. But Rory also wanted to be amazing for his da, and that came before anything else, even his best friend.
Killean told him about the outcomes of a few of the other classes’ test results. Without a doubt, none of them would be as impressive as theirs, class one. “I heard in class two there were two level 2’s and a level 4 along with all the level 1’s.” He grabbed Rory’s sleeve and said excitedly, “And get this! The level 4 was a girl!”
Rory’s eyes were wide showing how impressed he was. “Woooooah. They get elements?”
Killean nodded. “One of the level 2’s was Fire and you’re not gonna believe what the girl got.”
“Tell me!” Rory exclaimed as he punched Killean on the shoulder. “Don’t be an ass ya maggot.”
The pair always spoke like proper gentlemen around the women of their families, especially their mothers; but when it was just the two of them, the more rude slang tended to come out. Often times it was on purpose – and even a little extra – just to rebel a bit against the adults and their stupid rules.
Rubbing his shoulder and laughing, Killean said, “All right, all right. Don’t be that way. The level 4 was…” and he dragged it on even longer. Rory raised his hand as if to punch his friend in the arm again and Killean said quickly, “Lightning.”
Rory’s jaw dropped with his fist. “Lightning? You’re not codding me, are ya?”
“No,” Killean said while shaking his head. “It’s going around. Her parents are already being scouted. You wouldn’t believe the offers of support. If they don’t make right bags of it, they’ll be set for life.”
Rory knew his friend was right. A high potential at level 4 plus a rare element like lightning together meant unless they screwed up completely, that girl and her family would be provided for.
“I bet your parents are in on it too,” Rory said with a sly smile.
Killean blushed and nodded. Nudging his friend, Rory said, “You won’t forget me, right? Just because I’m joining my da doesn’t mean I won’t need a partner on the way.”
“Of course not!” Killean looked at his friend fiercely. “My family definitely won’t forget about you.”
It was at that point that their guide stopped in front of a M-steel door with no window. “In ya go!” he called. “Follow the lights in the floor and line up nice n’ orderly-like.”
The man twiddled with the commo on his wrist. The force barrier fell with a barely-audible shoomp sound and the door slid to the right, allowing their class to slowly wander in. Rory and Killean were in the middle of the group of boys and girls ready to be tested for their Soul Compatibility.
Rory felt a mix of nervousness and excitement as he followed Killean, who managed to shove his way in first after a quick tussle. Scanning the room as best he could in the chaos of a large group of ten-year-olds, Rory noticed the room had five walls shaped in a perfectly equal pentagon formation. The class followed the lights on the floor so they wrapped around the outer edge of the room until the last student, a tiny girl named Jules with bright, curly orange hair stepped through, and the door slid shut behind her.
Once he was still and everyone was mostly settled down, Rory gave the room a better look. The first thing he saw was a large projected image of the Queen above the projected waving Union Jack. Queen Lizabetha was a woman in her fifties but looked in her thirties in the image, with not a single wrinkle or blemish to be seen, and not a hair out of place. She looked fierce to Rory but Killean said to him she looked old.
“All adults are old,” was always Rory’s response. Then he added with a nod at the projection, “But not everyone is that scary.”
Killean shrugged, seemingly unimpressed by their monarch and Rory moved on. As he turned his head, he saw that the four other walls each had projections containing images and descriptions of the four types of Soul Constructs that could be awakened in a human. In the middle of the room were four people and two large machines made primarily of M-steel polished to show almost perfect reflection and translumin so clear it was nearly invisible. The two normals – Rory could tell because they did not have inscriptions on their hands – were in the bland gray uniform of facility staff. The third person, this one familiar, had an Institute uniform, and the fourth was a military officer wearing a Britannia Empire’s navy or army or whatever uniform. Rory didn’t understand the military beyond the basics. The navy was the force that fought in space and the army fought on planets. Everything else was over Rory’s head and he’d never be joining so he didn’t care. He’d be part of his father’s guild and get hired to do lots of jobs that involved fighting the Cursed for lots of money.
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Returning his focus to the present, Rory saw the two large machines in the middle of the four humans and realized he easily recognized their purpose. Killean’s family’s company, Spectara Industries, made them and as they were best friends, he had been taken on tours of the construction facilities and told all about the different devices they created.
His thoughts were interrupted when the instructor called out loudly, “Silence!” The room quieted besides the young girls and boys shifting and shuffling. They were all excited and nervous, Rory included.
Everyone had heard the stories by now. When the Empire’s ten-year-olds were tested for compatibility, they sometimes shared what they could recall of how it had gone. Some said they felt like they had been in a nightmare remembering horrific things, others pleasant dreams of fun times. And others shared that they had remembered nothing of what it was like. Nobody knew for sure, but everyone wanted to avoid reliving nightmares.
The woman who called the children to silence, and the only adult in the room Rory knew, was Vice-Principal Macmillan. She had been at the institute for forever as far as Rory knew. She didn’t look that old though, as she was likely making enough to afford the Soul Enhancement treatments which slowed aging and various other things. And Soul Wielders tended to look younger than their age anyway, although Rory didn’t really understand why.
She called out in a strong voice that had a Scottish, not Irish, accent which intimidated all the students. Everyone in the Empire knew the Scotts made vicious Soul Warriors. “You, boys and girls, are here to be tested for Soul Compatibility. Next to me here is Rear Admiral Sutherland who will be speaking to you later in regards to joining Her Majesty’s military service.”
Rory might have been only ten, but even he could tell his vice-principal didn’t think too highly of the navy lady or the idea of joining the military. Rory couldn’t blame her.
“Some of you understand what will happen, and some not, so I will explain,” she continued. “Behind me are two devices critical to our Empire. The first,” and she pointed to the machine that looked like a cylinder with two rods a meterish tall with handles sticking up inside, “is called a Soul Compatibility Tester. It will identify your soul compatibility, should you have a sufficient amount to materialize a Soul Construct. More specifically, it will identify your level of compatibility, and the type of Soul Construct that you would be wielding.”
She then pointed at the other contraption, which looked similar at the bottom, but instead of two short rods with handles, it had two long pipes that were more than two meters tall holding uphoop of M-steel at the top. The inside of the hoop had clear translumin tubes spread vertically all around it.
“This other machine, the Body Element Tester, identifies if your body can offer your Soul Construct any type of elemental enhancement. It is capable of identifying any of the standard four – those being Fire, Wind, Water, and Terra – as well as any advanced element that combines two.”
Rory couldn’t stop himself and started hopping on his toes.
I can’t wait to find out!
Apparently, he wasn’t the only one because he heard an increase in shuffling and some muttering and whispers around him from his fellow students. This caused Vice-Principal Macmillan to react harshly. A snapped “Quiet!” echoed through the room and the students silenced. A few jumped. Not Rory though. Nope.
“Thank you. On the walls around you, you will find the four different types of constructs you have the ability to awaken. On this wall…” Rory stopped paying attention to her at that point.
She’s so boring. I already know all this stuff.
Instead of listening, he scanned each projection, wondering which type of construct he would receive.
The wall to the right of the Queen showed the most common of constructs, Soul Weapons that were specific to melee combat. These were the most diverse and varied from swords and daggers to staves and clubs and anything in between. The wall to the right of that showed ranged weapons, which were usually guns of some sort, but rarely bows, crossbows, or even slings and the like. The third wall behind Rory showed the pictures of a shield and gave examples of defensive Soul Constructs. Those were pretty rare and usually only differed in the size, shape, and strength of the protection they provided. They sometimes came with an additional weak weapon, but not that often. And finally, the fourth wall held the rarest type, support constructs. These specialized individuals either become Soul Crafters or Soul Supporters. Crafters made specialized enhancements for Soul Constructs as well as armor and other useful things that enhanced a Soul Warrior’s ability to fight. Soul Supporters used their constructs to temporarily provide enhanced capabilities to other Soul Construct Wielders.
Rory knew the vice-principal wouldn’t talk about this, but very rarely there were overlaps. For example, a defensive warrior with a strong attack or a supporter who had an offensive weapon.
Rory’s da was one such example. He was a strong Soul Warrior with the Fire element wielding a maul, a hammer as tall as an adult and immensely heavy. What made if different was that it also granted both himself and his nearby guildmates a boost to their attacks causing their strikes to explode with burning flames resulting in massive damage. It was the primary reason his guild was growing so fast and he became wealthy enough to send Rory to the Institute. They weren’t rich like Killean’s family, or even close – Killean’s family pretty much owned Ireland according to his parents – but Rory always had good food and clothes and his da had good equipment too. At least that’s what he said whenever Rory asked.
Having concluded her long and boring lecture on a subject that everyone already knew, the vice-principle changed topics onto something few of them were aware of. “The process of awakening and identifying your Soul Construct and element are very taxing on your young souls and bodies, and thus you cannot be imprinted for five days after.
“Tomorrow, those of you who awaken a construct will return to the Institute, but instead of your homerooms, go to Arena B. There you will be provided a lesson on the Growth of Soul System Technology, often referred to as G-o-S-S--T. But everyone just calls it the ghost. You will learn how the Soul Construct works so that when you are imprinted, you will know how to manifest, use, and grow it well. Now, let’s go in order of how you are lined up. Once I call your name, step forward to the two helpful men here who will assist you into the evaluators.”
At that point, the lights dimmed to a fraction of what they were. The room was just bright enough to see and not fall over the kid next to you, but not much beyond that. The only lights that did not dim were those in the floor, revealing pathways for the students to follow.
Looking over at the front of the line, the vice-principal cleared her throat and called, “Ms. Alison Mcarthy.”
A girl with bouncy blond hair to her ears walked forward shakily and the two gray-dressed normal human helpers smiled kindly at her while assisting her up the set of stairs into the raised platform of the Soul Compatibility Tester. They guided her to stand at a particular spot and she placed her hands on the horizontal M-steel handles at the top of the two rods. A clear translumin cylinder rose from below to end just above her head.
At that point, each of the two men pressed their hands to the pads on opposite sides of the machine and a light humming started to sound throughout the room. A dim off-white light began to emit from below Alison’s feet and Rory could see her look down, back up, and then gulp. The light grew brighter until it was about half as bright as the lit room was before and the handles the girl was holding also lit up. They started glowing brighter and brighter, equaling the light of the floor beneath her until an image faded into view on the inside of the clear translumin tube. A single gray empty circle about the size of two of her fists put together appeared in front of her face. Then it slowly filled in from the bottom up as if a gray liquid was being emptied into it. A moment later another empty circle appeared beneath that one and the students around Rory started whispering. That circle did not fill in, however. Instead, both full and empty circles started rotating around her on the inside of the tube. The images sped up and kept speeding up until all Rory could see was a gray blur.
All of a sudden, another image began to take shape inside of the blur, like the light was slowly solidifying. It was that of a rifle with a very long barrel and stock.
More muttering ensued and Killean whispered next to him, “Sniper.”
Rory nodded. That was a great Soul Weapon. She would need to have special training, although Rory had no idea what that really meant, but it sounded banging. He imagined what sort of supporting firepower he could provide his father’s guild as a sniper. That would be brilliant!
Slowly the image faded along with the blurring and lights beneath her feet dimmed. Rory could just barely see the girl had wet eyes and cheeks but was wearing a relieved smile as the tube lowered and she was helped down. Clearly, she was weak. Rory wondered if she was smiling because it was over or because she had seen something pleasant.
Vice-Principal Macmillan spoke happily, “Congratulations, Ms. Mcarthy. You awoke at level 3 and have received a ranged Soul Weapon. Snipers are rare and level 3 has excellent potential so even if you do not receive an element, you will almost certainly be recruited with excellent support. Let’s see if you have an element though, shall we?”
Rory knew that by “support” the vice-principal meant sponsorship for training, equipment, and Soul Enhancement treatments that would bring her potential to its maximum. Rory would get the little he could from his da and, hopefully, more from his friend’s family. Killean and he had been best friends since they could remember and had promised they would support each other.
“Go ahead. She’s recovered enough.” Vice-Principal Macmillan ordered with a nod at the two normals.
This resulted in the pair helping Alison into the next machine. She was strong enough to support herself by then and was able to stand in the center of the Body Element Tester. It was said that the soul identified the weapon and the body identified the element, but Rory had no idea why – or if that was even true. He didn’t particularly care either.
This process differed from the Soul Compatibility Tester’s as the tube of translumin rose all the way up to the top of the two-meter-tall machine. At that point, the inside of the steel hoop at the tip of the two rods started flashing different colors and gave off a slight hum as it slowly lowered until it went all the way down to the girl’s feet making her eyes blink and eventually forcing her to close them. It was a weird kaleidoscope of colors in the dark room that made Rory feel like his eyes and brain were going bonkers.
The rising and lowering of the flashing circle repeated, but one of the colors stopped being in the cycle with each pass. First purple was gone, then a blue so bright it was almost white. After that, the forest green and boring orange both ceased being in the rotation. That meant she would not be granted any of the advanced elements which combined two. Then red stopped being in the rotation, so no fire. Then deep blue, water, and finally brown, terra. The yellow stayed lit, however. The lights in the hoop glowed yellow as it rose to the top and then the floor beneath her lit up yellow.
The students clapped and whispered. A very excited Ms. Macmillan clapped as well and called, “Wind! Congratulations Ms. Mcarthy. A level 3 wind sniper. You will be in very high demand indeed.” Alison nearly collapsed into the arms of the helpers when she took her first step out. They carried her to a floating mag-bed where someone took her to a room so she could rest and recover under the supervision of automated medical drones.
Coughing, Vice-Principal Macmillan said loudly. “Quiet, please. Next, is Mr. Finn Kenny.”