Geon Leventen: I heard a loud boom go off in the distance and I jerked my head towards the window to see what was going on. No one else seemed to be that threatened by what was happening but it made me uneasy… Maybe it was because I was injured and kind of powerless but everything felt a lot more threatening now—which I didn’t like. I felt Lila come over and lean into me as I looked down into her beautiful golden eyes. She looked at me with concern, “Your hair’s getting a little long,” she smoothed out my bangs while I tried to pull my face away,

“I had a giant hole in my chest a week ago and you’re concerned about my hair?” I smiled and she rolled her eyes,

“I’m sorry for looking at your face more than your chest. I’m trying to be optimistic here.” She finally stopped fixing my hair and I leaned up against her,

“I know, I’m so tired though, Lila. I want to sleep,” I smiled and started to fall into her and she shoved me back in order to keep me standing,

“Stop..stop…stop falling into me—why is it so hard to keep..you..standing.” I laughed softly before noticing a butler in the corner of the room waving to me. I pointed to him and Lila stopped trying to shove me and turned her attention towards him as well. I looked at her and she shrugged, “Better go check it out.” I nodded and grabbed her hand,

“Come with me—you know I get sooooo scared of talking to people.” She laughed softly and followed me as I went up to the butler, “Hello sir, what did you want me for?” He looked at me with cold and impassive eyes before speaking in an extremely boring and monotone voice—one that would put our Literature Professor’s to shame, “The Emperor would like to see you.” My heart dropped and I felt my blood run cold as I looked at Lila—who looked just as shocked.

I took a deep breath and tried my best to speak in a normal and not a, ‘scared absolutely shirtless,’ voice, “Um.. yes sir. Can…can she come in.” Lila’s eyes went wide with panic as she looked at me with anger, fear, betrayal, shock, and panic—all wrapped up in one beautiful face. She started to stammer,

“That won’t really be necessary—you just want him right? I’ll be on my merry way and—“

“Very well, Ms. Fairheart will also join this procession.” Lila gave a small laugh and I looked at her with a nervous smile. She gave me a death stare before smiling at the butler,

“Very well sir.” He opened the door and I stuck by Lila’s side as I tried to take in the whole room. This room was significantly smaller than the others but it was way fancier so it kind of made up for it. Red velvet carpet with gold and purple patterns filled the entire floor and beautiful white cotton curtains with golden embroidery were hung up around the room. Luxurious couches and expensive looking wooden furniture were scattered throughout the room but the thing that really made the room really special was the people in it. Captain Kai was standing beside one of the couches while some other important looking warriors were either talking to him or to each other. In the middle of the room, was the emperor—dressed in his mighty robes. He turned towards me and seemingly stared into my soul through his beautifully embroidered blindfold,

“Geon Leventen, I am pleased to finally meet you, and Ms.Fairheart, I’m glad you could join us. I take it that you and Geon are quite close.” She blushed a little but nodded—which made me feel happy. He pointed to the couch, “Come sit, I wish to talk to you—we have much to discuss.” I took a deep breath and sat down while trying not to look in the emperor's eyes. Lila sat down as well and I gently tugged her closer to me without taking my eyes off of the emperor. She looked at me for a bit before nodding slightly and inching closer to me. The emperor smiled and spoke in a silky smooth but authoritative voice, “Captain, I would like for you to join me—I apologize to your associates but let me borrow you for one second.” Captain Kai nodded and took a seat next to the emperor. Looking at him up close made me way more nervous than when I had seen him up on that stage. His facial features looked a lot more intense and clear, and his overall demeanor and attitude seemed to rub off on me and make me uncomfortable. I didn’t like sitting here…. It was hard to describe but being with these people made me feel so small, so helpless, so fragile. Maybe it was because I was injured too but I didn’t like it—I felt so vulnerable. The emperor smiled and spoke, “I’m sure you are aware of Captain Kai, of house Azure. He will be the highest chain of command that you will answer too in active battle—besides me of course. Why don’t you formally introduce yourself.” I looked at the captain and tried my best to sound like I actually knew what I was doing,

“Hello sir, my name is Geon Leventen. I am a first year student at Eden Academy and also a warrior in training—it’s a pleasure to formally meet you.” I looked at Lila out of the corner of my eye and she looked slightly surprised but also impressed. She did a good job of hiding it but I could tell. I guess I’ve never spoken formally to her before—or really anyone I guess..

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The captain looked at me with cold and impassive eyes before speaking, “Yes, I am aware of who you are. Your father was a renowned butcher who was killed while working and your mother was never quite well known. You were always quite a talented warrior and your name gained a fair deal of fame in your early childhood years. Now you are here, is that right?” I nodded and he crossed his legs and sat back on the chair with a dignified expression, “You are quite a special case for many reasons, Leventen. Firstly, with the ongoing circumstances currently present in the world we need all the help we can get on the front lines. That means students such as you and Ms.Fairheart will be employed as official warriors a little early in your careers. This situation isn’t unheard of but it is the first time in which it will occur on this large of a scale. You are special in the sense that you will be out on the battlefield as a child. Secondly, you are one of Taegan’s most promising perspective warriors ever created in the last 250 years. You are special for many reasons and therefore I would like to make you an offer.” I looked at him and the emperor with attentive eyes before nodding slightly. The captain spoke, “You will be put in the 1st legion, in one of the leading squads under commander Lock. Normally, warriors spend their entire careers trying to make it to the 3rd, 4th, and even 5th legion but you will be given a decent head start compared to them. Do you object?” Lila’s eyes were filled with surprise as she stared out into space for a moment before looking at me with an incredulous expression. She whispered into my ear, “Take it! First legion! You have to!” I nodded and took a deep breath,

“Yes sir, I appreciate your offer—I accept.” The captain and emperor both nodded.

“Good. I hope you understand—even as young as you are—that this military follows a chain of command. You answer to your commander and they answer to their superiors who all ultimately answer to me—and I answer to the emperor. You have been called great by those around you, you have been heralded as Taegan’s hero, but if these things get to your heart and you think they give you and excuse to defy your orders,” a small blue flame flickered in his eyes as the room seemed to burn white hot for a moment, “I will be more than happy to put you back in line.” I nodded and breathed out for the first time in what felt like a million years. The emperor smiled,

“Things seem good then—you are now dismissed. Oh also Geon,” he looked at me with his powerful eyes which seemed to pierce through his blindfold, “do check on your friend Maver for me—I suspect he is getting quite ... .lonely.” I nodded slightly and stood up and walked out of the door with Lila close behind me. The fuzzy and warm vibes of the normal party hit me like a truck as I immediately felt drowsy and tired. I leaned on Lila for support and she looked at me with a pretty serious expression,

“So you’re going to be in the first legion—congratulations.” I smiled and looked at her with warm eyes,

“Thanks, is it that impressive though? All these titles are just words right?” Lila laughed,

“Geon…everything is just words.” I looked at her and felt an epiphany roll into my mind,

“Oh…yeah.” She giggled a little before leading me back into the crowds of people dispersed around the house,

“Most warriors spend their lives trying to rank up through the legions. The twelfth legion is the legion with either the least experienced warriors or the most elderly warriors—most warriors don’t stay in there for long and the ones that do are usually either–like I said–old or the victim of some injury. They’re referred to as the….” I saw a pained expression appear on her face,

“What?” She pursed her lips,

“The Hospital Legion—it’s a derogatory term used to insult the twelfth legion since it’s filled with injured vets or people past their prime. But you should call them that! It’s not nice.” I nodded. Lila looked to make sure I had agreed and kept on speaking, “Usually warriors find their homes in the 8th to 9th legions and those that aren’t the most powerful usually settle around the 10th. Some ambitious warriors get to the 7th and even 6th but for those that get to the top 5 legions—they’ve cemented themselves as truly elite.” I kept listening as Lila kept dragging me around in circles,

“Hey where are we going?” Lila kept her eyes forwards while speaking,

“To find Evay remember—the emperor told us to check on him. I hope he’s okay.” I nodded and kept following her around. “Anyway, like I was saying, the top five legions are filled with the best warriors and this is usually where even the best fighters end up staying. It’s rare for warriors to move up past 5 and because of this the legions always get smaller and smaller the more you go up. Almost 90 percent of the entire military is concentrated in the 8th to 12th legions and so you have to be really, really good to get to the first legion—about as good as you.” She didn’t meet me in the eyes but I could tell she was blushing. I smiled, bent down, and gave her a kiss on the cheek,

“Thanks.” She looked at me with surprise before a small smile appeared on her face,

“No problem—anyways, make sure you keep that head on your shoulders.” I rolled my eyes and looked towards the balcony—where Evay was standing. I pointed towards him and Lila looked over at Evay and waved. He spotted us and smiled before walking over but I could tell something was a little off. He looked tired but also a bit shaken—like something bad had just happened to him. He also had his sleeves rolled up which was weird since I had never seen him do that before. I scanned around the house and saw Aurora’s auburn hair floating around the crowd. I pushed my way through several people before reaching her. She looked up at me and smiled,

“Oh, hey Geon.” I nodded and grabbed her hand. She looked at me with surprise and spoke in a concerned voice,

“What? What happened? Are people dying?” I shook my head and calmed her down,

“No, but Evay is looking a little sad and because I’m such a smarty-pants I noticed that he feels a lot less sad when he’s with you. So go heal him or something—I don’t know.” She laughed and nodded before making her way to Evay. He looked up and his face instantly lit up as he smiled and faced Aurora. I laughed softly while looking at Lila, “It’s almost like magic.” Lila giggled and grabbed my arm,

“Come on, let’s have a bit of fun before the party ends—that’s what parties are for, right?” I nodded and followed her as I took one last look out of the balcony and into the dark night sky.

The sky looks beautiful tonight.