A seemingly normal start to the week as Apollo shines brightly over the Arcania skyline. After the scheduled sleep times, the city awakens, resuming its routine. For the ordinary citizens of Elysia, this is simply another day, a mundane and forgettable chapter in their lives.

However, for a select few young Elysians, and for others all across the interlunar system, the events deciding their futures commence today. Many aspirations will be shattered and left to rust, and from those remains, a select few will rise to shine above the decay. The success of the top few will shine with thriving life, blindgin to the death of the majority.

Today, Cassiopeia, Laniakea 19th, 463, at 9:00, marks the beginning of this year’s rounds of exams for AVA admissions. Over this grueling two-week period, the incoming freshmen class will be determined. Over 50,000 young prospects will compete for a mere 100 places.

As the thick stream of students come flowing into the open gates of AVA. Observing that flow like a bird of prey, lies a pair of eyes 15 stories above. Those eyes belong to one of those young Elysian prospects. As he contemplates his observations, he calmly mutters, with a deep tired resonant voice, “Aw shit I overslept”. Right after, his phone starts ringing. He picks up the small rod device and has it fold out to a screen as he takes the call. As soon as he hits the answer button, an intimidating, gruff and concerned voice rings out, “Treyvon! Where the fuck are you!?” Annoyed, he simply responds, “I overslept, what else you want me to say, Luca? Besides, the opening announcements don’t start until 9:30 anyway.”

The voice quickly retorts, “You’ve been working your entire life for this day! You don’t simply ‘oversleep’!”

Now more irritated, Treyvon responds, “Okay fine, I’ll be down soon. Calm down.” He then hangs up and puts the phone down. He quickly dresses and steps to the mirror to brush his teeth and groom himself. He stares at his reflection for a moment, introspective. He sees his face, skin like tree bark complemented with a strong build and black, thick hair like a cluster of tree leaves, and bright, lush green eyes the color of spring. His appearance mirrors the wisdom he possesses as he realizes the beginning of his ultimate goal is finally here. As he splashes water on his face, he whispers to himself, “You got this.” He leaves the bathroom, grabs his bag, and runs out of the apartment.

Treyvon darted through the bustling streets of Arcania, weaving through the morning crowd with practiced agility. He slipped through the closing doors of a train and quickly took a nearby seat. As he sat in the ambient noise of the track and overlapping conversations, he slipped into an introspective state.

“It’s about time, my life’s work standing right here,” he thought to himself. “All I need is to take the final step. And I don’t even have a reason for all of this. I remember nothing before my 12th birthday. I just remember waking up in a room one day and seeing Luca standing across from me. He told me who he was, where we were, and that I would be trained to become a soldier.”

Treyvon continued his internal musings, realizing something. “But even without Luca on my ass about the training, something inside of me wants this, needs this. That voice, it never shuts up. Even when I sleep, I still hear it. It’s annoying that I can’t figure out why it is there or why it screams to me so much. But I listen to it. It has meaning for me. What other reason would I have to live if I didn’t have this? Welp, I guess that’s why I am here. If only I knew why—”

“The train is now at stop E. If this is your stop, please exit the train,” the automated voice announced over the speakers, snapping Treyvon back to reality. He stood up, shouldered his bag, and stepped off the train.

The AVA gates loomed ahead, a fortress of modern architecture and tradition. As he approached the entrance, the sheer scale of the academy struck him. Its imposing towers reached towards the sky, gleaming under Apollo’s light. Treyvon merged into the still-flowing stream of students but was interrupted by a familiar gruff voice calling out to him.

“Treyvon, dammit, why did you have to oversleep!? Well, all that matters is that you’re here now. Look, I’m just going to go over some things I found,” Luca said, his tone a mix of frustration and concern. Treyvon listened calmly as Luca explained his findings about the entrance exams.

“So first, there will be a written portion with eight different sections. Not sure how the sections are organized, but you’re good. Then there’s the physical portion, which will cover your abilities in various exercises and include a lengthy obstacle course. There will also be a practical portion specific to your track. Since you chose to be on the frontlines as an enforcer, you’ll be tested with certain weapons, devices, and scenarios. After this, 30,000 people will be eliminated. Then there will be an escape room portion where you’ll be paired with two others to get through within a set time, but you’ll still be scored individually. This will cut the pool down to 500 people. Finally, there’s one last aspect to finalize the incoming class. I don’t know what it is, but expect it to be brutal—if you even make it that far.”

Treyvon laughed, saying, “What do you mean ‘if’? You mean ‘when’ I make it to that point.”

Luca let out a soft chuckle. “That’s the Treyvon I know. The opening announcements will start in a few minutes. Now go kick some ass!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Treyvon nodded, laughing, and started running. He eventually merged with the throng of students, feeling nervous but determined and confident. As he looked around, he saw other Elysians, but also many students from the other moons, mostly Janusi and Vulcanish. He noticed some Feronians as well, who stood out with their respirators, giving them a mysterious and almost intimidating presence. Having never been out of Elysia before, it was a bit of a shock for Treyvon to see these different groups of people and cultures. He hoped to expand his knowledge of the other moons and step out of his bubble as he interacted with these new peers.

Everyone was then funneled through lines for identification purposes, and Treyvon eventually reached the front, where he saw a woman in a secretary outfit.

“Name and birthdate?”

“Treyvon Edavane, Ghidorah 17th, 445.”

“Okay, I got you. Your testing location will be in room 2050 after the opening announcements,” the woman stated in a monotonous, disconnected voice. Treyvon was cleared and made his way to the conference hall, where the opening announcements would soon begin. The hall was enormous, mostly made of marble. At the front was a giant stage with smooth, white pillars on either side. The back was shaped like a half hemisphere, the surface wavy, almost like a clamshell. White lights decorated the space, illuminating the main stage, while the audience lights dimmed and then shut off.

A very tall woman with a green top, a long dress, and a giant white afro stepped onto the stage. The sound of her heels hitting the floor was resonant, reverberating clearly to the audience. She took the microphone and raised it to her mouth, then began to speak.

“Good morning, everyone. I am Juniper Hammock, the Dean of Students at Vanguard Military Academy. I first want to congratulate all of you for reaching this point. Being considered for this academy is a great honor, and I greatly appreciate your interest in our academy and for taking the time to attend our entrance exams. The first stage of the entrance exams will be the written exam, which will take place right after I finish this speech. The sections of the exam will be, in chronological order: Literature, Math, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Politics, History, and Geography. You will have until 20:00 to complete the test, with around one hour for each section. Now, you will be guided to your assigned rooms, which were determined randomly, where you will begin your exams. I wish the best of luck to all of you.”

Treyvon made his way to room 2050, cutting through the bustling hallways, finding the room equally active. Rows of desks filled the space, each with a student preparing for the exam. As he scanned the room, he noticed an empty seat at a table near the window. He headed over and set his bag down, thinking to himself, “Damn, so close I can feel myself trembling. The test can’t begin soon enough, but I also want it to stall. This could be a case where I’ve either overprepared or underprepared, the latter being the much more likely option, of course. Now there is s—”

“You seem tense.”

The cheerful, melodic voice of a girl broke Treyvon’s introspective musings. He turned to see a girl with bright eyes and a wide smile. Her auburn hair fell in loose waves, and she had an air of effortless confidence. He was silent for a moment, slightly startled by the girl’s bluntness, and all he could muster as a reply was, “...okay.”

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, giving her expression a teasing edge. “Oh, so you’re in bits then.”

Now slightly annoyed, Treyvon gave her a blank stare. The girl responded by giggling loudly before clearing up the situation. “Relax, I’m just codding you. Name’s Aoife Varian. What’s your name?”

“Treyvon Edavane. Nice to see you’re having fun under all the pressure.” Treyvon felt his mood lightening as his paranoid thoughts, once deafening, were now silenced by the lighthearted conversation.

Aoife giggled and responded, “Well, how else could I handle the pressure, sure?”

Her tone became more rapid as she continued, “Also, I must say, this place is a bit of a maze. I got lost, and I almost thought I’d be late now,” she said with a laugh, her eyes twinkling.

“Yeah, it’s massive. First time seeing so many people from different moons,” Treyvon admitted, glancing around the room. He continued, “Speaking of moons, which one are you from?”

“Elysia. I live in outer Arcania,” Aoife chimed, her mirthful expression never wavering.

Treyvon, noting her expressions and accent, responded, “You sure?”

“I am! But I moved there recently. Originally, I’m from Regaurem, Janus. As for you, I take it you’re a local, sure?”

“Yes, I live here—pretty close, actually.”

The calming atmosphere of their conversation was ruptured as the proctor in the room started handing out the booklets containing the first portion of the exam. Treyvon, in an attempt to finish the conversation, awkwardly said, “Welp, uh, looks like we’re about to start soon.”

Aoife, her confidence unfaltering, reassured him, “Yeah, don’t worry, we got this now. I’d say good luck, but you don’t need it.”

Treyvon, with a half-smile, chimed back, “Yeah, you definitely don’t with how happy you seem. Godspeed.”

Aoife giggled, and they both turned away from each other to look at their exam booklets and wait.

The proctor reached the front of the room and began his monologue. “This is the first portion of the written exam, the Literature section. Based on which moon you’re from, the exams were customized to reflect the literature of your moon. This portion consists of 30 multiple-choice questions and three essay portions. You will have one hour to complete the exam and must stop when instructed to do so. First, open the booklet to the first page and fill in the blanks with your personal information.”

Treyvon did as instructed, amid the ambience of rustling clothing, shifting paper, and scribbling pens. Once done, he looked ahead, feeling a wave of determination wash over him, thinking, "Time to fucking ace this thing!"

The proctor then stepped back up and, with his final words, opened the gates to the trial. “Turn to the second page, and you may now begin.”