Fernando walked away with a child-like smile. He stared at the exit for a brief moment, his maroon trench coat lay swaying in the breeze. He turned around, the footprints of his black boots now heading towards the opposite direction.
He made sure no eyes were on him, as he jumped the fence without a sound, and made his way into the thick forest. Fernando’s ears adjusted to the sounds of silence and fauna in the forest.
“Why go the long way,”—He slid over a fallen trunk, landing on a patch of grass—“When you can take a shortcut?”
He found a dirt clearing, and made for it, walking past glowing mushrooms, insects, and other flora. On a normal day, he’d be anxious strolling through the forest alone. But the Kelos’ar Academy had booked enough field trips here he knew it like the back of his hand. Besides, he couldn’t sense any carnivorous wildlife. He was safer here than the bio-pit stop.
He trudged his way to a clearing, light shone on the small patch of grass, illuminating the dew drops around the perimeter.
Stepping into the center of this patch, the blades of grass grew weary of his black boots, and parted with every step, as if affected by a magnetic field.
His mind wandered for a moment, down the winding highways of his brain, the countless techniques the Academy taught him flipped through his brain at sonic speed. They all whizzed by, until he found the one.
Fernando took a deep breath, calming both his body and mind.
The dirt below him gave way to his boot as he bent one knee, and lowered all but his middle and index fingers. He felt the thoughts and energies of the magical vantablack symbol on his back, his Lukuma was a curious one. It got both of them in trouble more times than Fernando could count, but this time they were alone, no one here to see them and what they were about to do.
He concentrated. Shutting his eyes, he felt the environment through his mind, every breeze, every falling leaf. A brown fog manifested out of thin air, flowing between his hands and fingers, following his movements as he slowly moved his arms into position.
An earthen pillar made of dirt and stone, shot up from the ground. Fernando flew way above the canopy of the forest, as the wind whistled in his ears.
“WOOOO!! YEAAH!”
He was no mathematician, hell, he failed math, but he made sure he measured the angles correctly, where he’d be soaring several dozen meters across the land in one go.
He was a bird, soaring high above the canopy. He flew past the tiny pit stop, and soared towards tight packs of buildings, the common area. The brown mist disintegrated into the air as the wind flew past his ears.
“Almooost, theere…” As he soared towards the main area, he readied his stance, preparing for his inevitable descent.
Bend the knees, bend the knees…
He landed face first in a puddle of mud, wider than he was tall. His vibrant red cloak, now a revolting brown. His royal apparel, now ruined as it dripped with the chunky gunk.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He cringed, and as soon as the smell drifted to his nostrils, tears almost began to form as he gagged. Rising from the puddle, he tried to shake off the mud with his hands, but to no avail. Completely drenched in mud, both his royal coat, and his curly blonde hair.
“Ugh, not even on this day can I catch a break. Thanks very much, brain. You too, Lukuma.”
Standing near the edge of the forest and the buildings a few meters away, he wondered if he was far away enough for his father to not sense him.
It was using his powers, or showing up with dried mud from his shoes to his hair.
He smirked, still pinching his nose, he came up with an idea. He touched the mud with a clawed hand, every finger, grazing the thick mud. The same brown cloud manifested once more, flowing through his hands.
However, a stream of light-blue joined the dark brown soon after, making a murky turquoise mist as the elements mixed together.
I’ve controlled Water and Earth before, but never like this, is this even going to work..?
Well, only one way to find out!
He raised his hand from the mud and into the air in an instant. A blast of sound came from all around him, he felt his clothes and body vibrate all at once. Standing back up, he opened one eye, looking around to see if his idea worked.
The puddle he was standing in moments ago, disappeared. As if it evaporated away in the blink of an eye. He looked around, the trees and grass were covered in it, a splattered brown mess, almost like a bomb had gone off at the center.
He gazed down at his clothes, and sucked his teeth.
“So you’re gonna get rid of the puddle, but not the actual mud and gunk on my clothes?” He rolled his eyes and groaned, going into his stance once again.
“Sometimes you work, sometimes you don’t, make up your mind Markor.”
He tried the recombination. All fingers grazing the now soft dirt, he thought about exactly what he wanted. He raised his arm again, faster this time.
He was readying his ears for the blast, but it never came. He opened his eyes as he stood up. His eyes went wide, amazed as the brown gunk melted off his body, like wax on a candle. He gawked at his apparel, front then back.
“Woah, it looks like I just got these yesterday! Thanks Academy! You too, Lukuma.”
He froze, he couldn’t see it, but he felt it.
“Aw man, almost forgot about this.”
The growing corruption of %Death on his back. It was miniscule, not even an inch, but it was still very noticeable, the vantablack on his lime skin growing with every moment.
“Well…that’ll be gone by the time I get there, I just need to take my time is all. A little more %Death won’t hurt.”
He reached for the paper in his pocket, but all he felt was the cold, brown mud.
“Are- Are you kidding me? That was my last sheet of paper!”
An enormous sigh left his lungs as he ran his fingers through his irritated face.
He started pacing. He was not going all the way to the race on foot.
That’s when a lightbulb appeared over his head. His mind drifted back to the days in the Academy, where he practiced Frames, magical inscription spells.
Under the cool shade of the canopy, he concentrated with shut eyes.
What Frame to use?
He thought long and hard, even taking a seat next to a tree, but nothing came to mind. Frames were Fernando’s favorite part about The Markor. Although a beginner, he wished to climb the ranks, becoming like his teachers who could summon monstrous beasts, and create intricate illusions that fooled the mind.
But every Kelos’ar knew, it came with a price.
Bodily corruption. %Death.
It coats the victims skin in a vantablack shroud, making them darker than the blackest of shadows. It’s only appearance stems from usage of The Markor, no matter how little.
It could prove fatal if one achieves the maximum, the epitome of one's fitness,
100%Death.
On second thought...maybe going on foot wouldn’t be so bad...
He only had a few chances to show off his true speed outside of practice duels at the Academy. Blink, and you’ll definitely miss it.
Readying for the marathon that was about to ensue, he went into a running stance, and exhaled with a smirk.