The war rages on, unrelenting, despite the radio silence from Sunstone. Every day, we fight, kill, and die in a ceaseless cycle of violence that brings nothing but pain and loss. We are exhausted, our spirits worn thin, yet whenever the war bells toll, we arm ourselves and draw our swords, driven to spill more blood. It’s maddening and draining, but we can’t stop—I can’t stop—because the price of surrender is death, and I am not yet ready to meet my end.
Second Lieutenant Boyd Sevanthum
Sector 7, Ragnarok.
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The next morning brought with it a fluttering of nerves and sadness. Breakfast was a somber affair, with Synové looking to be on the verge of tears as she frantically filled up their plates with food until Aodhán finally asked her to stop.
"Thanks, mom, but that's enough.” He said to her and gently grabbed her hand. “This is my fifth helping, and my belly feels like it's about to explode.”
“But you need to eat.” She insisted and looked to Unrid for assistance. When none came, she scowled. “They don't feed you boys enough in that academy of yours.”
“We literally eat twice a day, Synové, and we can eat more if we want. The academy feeds us enough.”
“Why then are you so skinny?” Synové pressed, trying to add more food to his plate, but Aodhán resisted her efforts. "Really, mom, it's fine. I'm fine.”
“Are you sure?” Synové asked, relenting, and Aodhán nodded in relief. "Yes, mom, I’m sure. Thank you.”
Synové nodded and moved towards Aldric. One would have thought that his nonchalant brother would have been the one to stop Synové’s excesses this morning, but he seemed even more affected by the somber mood and kept wiping his eyes. When Synové asked if he wanted more food, he just sighed, wiped his eyes again, and handed his plate to her.
Aodhán glanced at Aldric’s bulging stomach and shook his head. He could only imagine how hard this moment was for Aldric, who could sense everyone’s emotions. Dealing with his own alone was hard.
Daruk looked to be the most put together, but that was simply because he was tapping into his seal to keep up a cold exterior. When Synové asked if he wanted more, he pointed at his stomach and said, “Mom, if I eat any more food, my stomach is going to explode and drench this entire table in blood and viscera.”
Daruk’s tone was flat, yet the imagery it produced couldn’t have been any more sickening. Synové, however, wasn’t bothered by the imagery and simply frowned. “If you don’t like my food, young man, just tell me straight. Now do you want more or not?”
“I think the children are okay, Syn.” Unrid finally stepped in and gestured to her own half-eaten plate. “Why not sit down and eat your own food?”
Synové sighed but complied, and everyone let out a sigh of relief. Aodhán forced himself to finish the food left on his plate lest Synové get the idea that he hated her food. After he was done, he tried to escape the somber atmosphere, but Synové spoke up. “Sit down, young man; I have a few things to say.”
Aodhán sighed and sat back down, mentally preparing himself for the outpouring of emotions that was sure to come.
“My little boys,” Synové began. “You guys have absolutely no idea how proud I am of you all. How happy I am to see you all thriving and growing stronger. Perhaps Aldric understands, but I want to make sure that the rest of you do.” She smiled at them, her eyes watery and filled with emotion. “Your father and I are very proud of you and all your achievements, but I cannot let you all go back without promising me that you will be careful and safe and that you will all return to me by the end of the semester without issue.”
Aodhán wanted to mention that they couldn't exactly promise the second, but Daruk beat him to it. Synové didn't care though, and she glared at Daruk. “You will either promise me or stay back home. I will not let you go.”
Aodhán exchanged glances with his brothers, and a moment later, he made his promise. He definitely intended to keep the promise, but then his definition of safety was vastly different from Synové's, and what she would consider dangerous would most likely be a walk in the park for him at his tier. Aldric went next, and after Daruk made his own promise, Unrid spoke. “Okay, that's enough sentimentality for one day. Synové, stop pestering the kids before they all start crying.”
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Synové let them go after that, and Aodhán quickly moved to the living room, took out his inscriber and began filling it with runes. He wanted to cover the entire house in as many runes as he could before they left for the academy in a few hours. If for nothing else than the fact that he would feel more relaxed knowing that Unrid and Synové were a little more protected than they were before. When he finished with the living room, he moved to the dressing room and then the kitchen. He considered placing anti-inflammatory runes in the kitchen, but he hadn’t quite learned how to do that yet, and he didn't have the time to start researching or learning it now.
Hours passed in this manner, and by the time he finished with the kitchen, it was already noon, and it was finally time to return to the academy. Aodhán went up to his room, packed his things, and placed them all in his spatial storage. He had barely spent a week here in this house, but it already felt more like home to him than their house in The Warren ever did. His touch was all over this one with the runes he’d drawn, and Aodhán couldn’t wait for the end of the semester when he could come back to draw more runes.
After a very long and emotional goodbye at their front door, Aodhán pulled away from Synové arms and released Varéc from his spatial space. Varéc, as usual, emerged with a roar that drew the attention of their neighbors, but Aodhán didn’t mind at all; in fact, he grinned when he heard the familiar rattling of shutters as they were hurriedly pushed open. He created a saddle construct large enough to fit him and Daruk, but when Daruk approached, Varéc growled threateningly, and Aodhán sighed. Varéc still hadn’t forgiven Daruk for almost freezing them to death all those weeks ago, and although he played nice around everyone, he adamantly refused to let Daruk anywhere near him.
It took several minutes of petting and cajoling before Varéc reluctantly agreed, but Daruk suddenly changed his mind and sneered. “You know what, nevermind. I’ll just create my own Fury. I wouldn’t want Varéc to feel as if he’s doing me some grand favor by letting me ride on him.”
Varéc huffed in condensation, but fifteen minutes later, when the ice construct Daruk had been working on suddenly jerked awake and spread its translucent wings, Varéc roared in anger.
“No, no, do not destroy it.” Aodhán shouted, but it was too late, and the next instant, a torrent of red lightning smashed into Daruk’s construct and simply eviscerated it.
“Oh boy," Aodhán muttered as Daruk gaped at the scorched patch where his construct had been just moments before. His shock quickly twisted into fury as he turned to Varéc, growling, "I’ve had enough of your antics, Varéc. I swear, the next time you pull something like this, I’ll freeze you to death.”
“I seriously doubt that’s going to endear him to you, Daruk; I mean, you almost killed him.” Aldric grinned from the doorway and shook his head. “Varec wants you to apologize.”
“I have apologized!” Daruk spat and turned to glare at Varéc, who was staring down at him with an arrogant expression. “I will not apologize again.”
“I’m sorry, Daruk.” Aodhán sighed, both in amusement and understanding. “I promise that Varéc won’t destroy the next construct you create.”
Daruk glared at both of them before turning to recreate the ice Fury. This time, it was even larger than the last, nearly 12 feet in length, which was almost Varéc’s size. The fury was completely translucent, although its eyes shimmered with a slight blue hue. Rather than two, it had four wings. The extra wings served no obvious functions other than to piss Varéc off even more, but Aodhán restrained Varéc when he reared his neck back in anger. Varéc paused when he noticed Aodhán’s expression and instead sniffed, as if saying he couldn’t care less about the construct anyway.
Synové and Unrid spent the next few minutes gushing over the construct while Aldric cursed his fate for not having awakened an elemental concept or gained the construct skill. After a few more minutes of gushing, Daruk was finally ready to go. He climbed unto his construct and smirked at Varéc. “Let's see how superior you’ll feel when you get bested by a simple construct.”
Aodhán’s competitive spirit reared its head at Daruk’s words, and Varéc growled in annoyance at being compared to a mere construct. Their emotions fed off each other, and Aldric shook his head. “You have no idea what you’ve done, Daruk.”
Aodhán ignored his elder brother and narrowed his eyes at Daruk. “Prepare to eat the dust of my victory, brother!”
Daruk tightened the reins on his construct and turned to Aldric. “Start the count.”
“One. Two. Thr—
Varéc shot into the sky faster than he’d ever done before, and the force of his movement turned the wind against Daruk’s construct, causing it to spin out of control. The construct fell out of the sky, and Daruk closed his eyes tightly as he shouted commands to the construct. Fortunately, he managed to exert full control over the construct before it crashed to the ground, even if such a fall wouldn’t have injured him in the least.
Aodhán hooted, and Varéc roared in excitement as they soared into the clouds, leaving Daruk struggling to catch up. However, as they progressed towards the academy, the gap between them began to lessen as Daruk got used to controlling the construct. Laughing, Aodhán slowed Varéc down until Daruk caught up and said. “I did say you would eat the dust of my victory, didn’t I? Ah, it feels good to be right. Doesn’t it, Varéc?
Varéc growled in amusement, and Daruk muttered. “As much as I want to banter and reply to you right now, I’m using all of my brain cells to control this thing. If I lose concentration, I’ll literally fall out of the sky and eat dust.”
Varéc let out a roar of amusement, which caused Daruk’s construct to wobble slightly. Daruk gritted his teeth and pleaded. “Fine, Varéc, I’m sorry for challenging you. Now please, stop trying to make me fall to my death.”
Varéc snorted, and after one last prank that caused Daruk to tumble and spin uncontrollably, he forgave Daruk, and they finally flew together in peace. They arrived at the academy about an hour later, and with grins of excitement, they both descended to the courtyard outside the walls of the academy, filled with several other returning students, their guardians, and, of course, reporters.