by Katie Pottle
“Actually, I’m not sure. Master Emilio just told me to bring my school arm-guard. Hopefully no toilets involved!”
Gur perked up as they crossed the threshold of Town Hall. Cadin figured he was on the lookout for any threats. When he seemed satisfied the halls were clear, he settled back down on Cadin’s shoulder and went to sleep.
Cadin heard voices from within Master Emilio’s office. He hesitated, not wanting to interrupt Master Emilio talking to a plant he was levitating. It wouldn’t be the first time, but he didn’t want to be late.
He knocked and entered, completely shocked to find a tall, scrawny angel speaking to Master Emilio
“Ah, you are early,” Master Emilio said. “Cadin, this is Eric. He is here from the Central Cloud Engineering University. He is going to help us fix our Thunder Channel.” Master Emilio barely nodded his head.
Message received—public version. He nodded back to Master Emilio before reaching out to shake Eric’s outstretched hand.
“Nice to meet you,” Eric said. “Sorry to have arrived during your scheduled time. Master Emilio was telling me about your apprenticeship.” Eric smiled and nodded his head toward Master Emilio. He appeared to be a bit younger than Cadin’s parents with dark hair and a smile that reached his eyes. “I have to say, Professor Nesta never thought you would take on another apprentice after that last one.”
Master Emilio set his pencil down and grabbed a walking stick with a twisted knot at the top—a new addition, Cadin noted. “Cadin has proven himself quite worthy of my knowledge.” He headed out the door, walking stick swinging in every direction. He waived at them in what Cadin assumed was a summing gesture. Eric seemed to agree as he grabbed several large bags of equipment before following.
“Here, let me help you,” Cadin offered. Eric smiled and handed him a deceptively small bag that weighed more than a dire dragon on a feeding binge. Gur woke up and rushed down Cadin’s arm to inspect the dark sack.
“Whoa, what are you doing with a dragon?” Eric took two quick steps to get in front of Master Emilio. He glanced back to keep a skeptical eye on Gur.
Master Emilio spoke up before Cadin could answer. “Cadin rescued and bonded with him the day he hatched. Don’t worry, he is quite well behaved.”
On cue, Gur let out a belch accompanied by a small ball of fire.
“If you say so. Just please don’t let him too near me. I had a bad experience a couple of years ago when Professor Nesta and I traveled to a fringe cloud-land to check if it produced cloud stones or not. We needed more malatite for one of his experiments. To make a long story short, the cloud was infested with some small, black dragons that were entirely unwelcoming!” He shivered and then hefted one of his bags up on his shoulder.
“Speaking of Nesta,” Master Emilio said as the exited Town Hall. “I was surprised you arrived without him. Do you expect him soon?”
“Nope, sorry. You are gonna have to make do with me.”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that, Eric.” Cadin was surprised to see Master Emilio treat someone so naturally. Usually he was much less pleasant. “Master Sanjen informed me he sent explicit orders for the Thunder Channel expert to get things cleaned up and back in functioning order as soon as possible.”
Eric set his gear down near the town fountain. Cadin did the same and shook feeling back into his arms. “Oh, I’m sure he would have come, but I am covering for him while he is on vacation.”
“Where did he go this time?”
“Condor. He needed some kind of red plant.”
“For another experiment, no doubt.” Master Emilio grabbed the big bag on the ground with surprising ease. Eric raised his eyebrow, but just smiled.
“Point out the flight path, old man.”
“Old man!” Master Emilio took a friendly swipe with his walking stick before unfurling his wings.
“Wait,” Cadin said. Master Emilio paused his takeoff. “Um, where are we going?” He felt he knew, but he needed a moment.
“The Thunder Channel of course,” Master Emilio lowered his wings and walked over to Cadin. “I’m sorry, I simply assumed that you would want to join us.” He lowered his voice. “I wasn’t thinking. You needn’t come. We can find another time to meet.”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind helping, I just needed a second to prepare.” Master Emilio nodded and Cadin took a deep breath. He shook the image of the blood-soaked battle out of his head. He spread his wings and got a better grip on the small bag. “Ready.”
The guards on the landing of the Thunder Channel nodded at Master Emilio as he presented a security pass. Cadin recognized one of the Core solders from the battle and smiled when he winked at him.
Cadin blinked when they exited the swirling hall into the Thunder Channel. The mess of the machines was left the same, however all weapons or other evidence of the fight was gone.
“Whoa! How could this have happened? And what is that?” Eric asked as he cautiously approached the cyclone sucking the elements back into the cloud.
“The cyclone was a temporary solution until we could get you out here,” Master Emilio said as he too surveyed the damage.
“Why didn’t you just turn off the pacivator,” he waived at the big machine, “or the main power?”
“Both were disabled when the elements escaped containment.”
“Crap!” He motioned them to set his equipment down. He began to unpack interesting items from the big pack.
Cadin shivered as he walked over to a small machine laying on its side in a corner. He recognized the shape, though it was now free of the net that the Tlalocs were using to try and haul it away.
“Uh, what’s this one for?”
Eric lowered a wing and glanced over his shoulder. “That is a mini pacivator. It is used as a back-up element converter—which we may have to hook up before the end of the day depending on what kind of real damage is done here.”
Cadin’s mind was racing. What did the Tlalocs need a converter for?
“What can we help you with?” Master Emilio asked as Eric shook one of his tool bags empty.
“Can you cloud-shift a work bench?”
“Of course. Here in the middle?” Master Emilio asked as he rubbed his hands together.
“Perfect. No need to over-do it,” Eric said with an eye-roll.
Master Emilio smiled as clouds migrated towards him as if being sucked into a vacuum. He lifted his hands, and Cadin stepped back as a massive counter began to form. It appeared good to Cadin and he wondered why Master Emilio hadn’t solidified the counter yet until he started to see more details being etched on the front. Cadin cringed at the sound when Master Emilio finally hardened his project.
“Drawers, really?” Eric asked with an exasperated draw. “You are such a show off.”
“If you don’t like my master-piece, shift one yourself,” Master Emilio said easily.
“Yeah, like I could ever cloud-shift anything close to this!” Eric started laughing. “Not all of us find it as easy as you. Now help me unload, will ya? It’s going to take some time to fix everything up in here.”
Cadin brought the small, heavy bag over and set it on top of the counter with a heave. “What is in that thing, a rock?”
“Its extra briomium metal in case parts must be melded.” He reached in and pulled out a rough metallic ball the size of his head. He wiped off some cloud clinging to the dark metal mass. Eric gazed around at the damage. “I may not have brought enough.”
“My dad will have extra if you need it. I know briomium is one of the metals that he works with for his armor.”
“Is your dad’s armory big? I mean, I don’t want to deplete him of his stock.”
Cadin busted out laughing as he imagined the small mountain of scrap metal in their yard. “I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
“Okay, that would be helpful. Can you ask him if I can buy two Cal units of briomium and one of melium if he has it?”
“Sure, I’ll go grab it n
ow.”
“And I will come with and help you carry it,” Master Emilio said, whipping his walking stick through the air.
“Okay. What is your stick for?” Cadin asked dodging a stray swipe. “I mean it’s not like you need a cane to help you walk.”
“I thought I would try it out as a new gin accessory,” Master Emilio explained as they walked towards the hall. “Your gin-blade gave me the idea.” He held out the knot of the walking stick. Cadin saw several gin-size holes near the top.
“Cool, does it do anything special?”
“No, its only function is to hold my gins. I lined the compartment with dragon hide, but there is no zeronium for them to interact with. I’m still not sure if I like it or not.”
Cadin thought Master Emilio liked it just fine as he continued to twirl the gnarled stick around. Master Emilio straightened his back and returned to using his new stick as a staff when the Core guards came into view. The public, serious side to the old angel was fascinating to observe.
He turned to the guard. “Eric will most likely be working in there all day. We will be back soon.”
“Yes, sir,” the guards responded in unison.
He turned to Cadin. “Lead the way.”
Cadin smiled as the wind whipped through his hair and wings. The pure joy of flying was enough to make him forget about his worries. He rose higher than was necessary so he could build enough speed on the decent to practice his mid-air twist. Gur followed with a twist of his own, and to Cadin’s surprise—Master Emilio shot forward with a fast double twist.
“That was awesome!” Cadin said as they landed.
“Yes, I forgot how joyful it is to fly with someone whose wings recently emerged.”
“I thought I heard someone land.” Talvarian dusted off his thick leather work apron and pulled off his right glove to shake Master Emilio’s hand. “Hey, kid,” He said as he gave Cadin a one-armed hug. “What brings you here during your apprenticeship time?”
“We came to see if you can sell Eric some of your scrap metal,” Cadin answered.
“And who is Eric?”
Master Emilio answered as Cadin set Gur down to bathe in the bucket of water propped up near Tal’s work bench.
“He is the engineer who was sent here to fix the Thunder Channel. He underestimated the damage and did not bring enough raw material with him.”
“I see,” Tal said, a sharp glint in his eye. “And you came here from the Thunder Channel?” He asked of Cadin who nodded.
“The Channel has been secured, I assure you,” Master Emilio said, reading the tension between Tal’s shoulders.
“I remember certain assurances for my son’s safety last year,” Tal said, needing to vent to someone.
“Dad, I’m fine. The Tlalocs weren’t here for me this time, anyway.”
Tal seemed to consider that, and relaxed his shoulders a bit as he ruffled his feathers. “I wonder why the Tlalocs seem to be targeting Glade. It’s not like we have as many fringe lands nearby as most other cloud-lands.” Tal seemed to be talking to himself more than anyone else, however, Master Emilio spoke up anyway.
“Actually, they are not only targeting Glade.”
“Oh?”
“The Core is doing a mass inventory now that they know what the Tlalocs are looking for.”
“I see. Well, let’s go check out my bone yard and see if I have what you need.”
Cadin and Master Emilio walked rather than flew back with their heavy load, preferring to utilize his dad’s cart which rolled over the cloudy terrain with ease.
“How do you know Eric?” Cadin asked.
“Why do you ask?” Master Emilio didn’t seem put off by the original question, so Cadin felt confident in answering honestly.
“You seem much more at ease with him than just about anyone else I’ve ever seen you around.”
Master Emilio nodded. “Eric is somewhat like a nephew to me. The closest to family I have still alive is Nesta of Glade. We grew up together and are as close as brothers. Nesta took on Eric as a very young apprentice when he showed an early aptitude for engineering. Since Nesta is the best engineer in the System, Eric’s parents decided to make the move to Central Cloud, where Nesta works now, so Eric could learn from him.
“I have known Eric for most of his life and enjoy his company. It is too bad Nesta didn’t accompany him here, you would have liked to meet him.”
“Is he like you?” Cadin couldn’t help but ask.
Master Emilio smiled at the questions. “Yes and no. He is more light hearted than I am and prone to exploring every crazy whim that pops into his brilliant mind.”
“Nice. Hopefully I can meet him some time soon. Oh, I just remembered something I needed to ask you.”
“What is that, young Cadin?” They approached the edge of the cloud-land.
“Can I still apprentice with you next year?” His voice hitched with hope.
“I think that would be wise. I still have plenty of information you may benefit from.”
Cadin released his breath and smiled at the thought of what lay in store.
“And speaking of your apprenticeship, I have your school badge to meld on.”
“Right, I almost forgot.” Cadin handed over his arm-guard. Gur looked as though he considered jumping over to Master Emilio to inspect it, but kept on Cadin’s arm. “What badge is it?” He craned his neck to peer into the sack Master Emilio pulled out of his pocket.
“Most likely not one you are familiar with. I had to have this one specially milled for you, as the school does not keep this particular badge in stock—though rest assured it is within the recognized curriculum.”
“Really?” Cadin was shaking with excitement.
Master Emilio pulled out a silver badge. And though Cadin couldn’t see the front, he was a little disappointed to see the General Studies color. He had hoped it would be an elusive Warrior Path Badge, or something similarly rare and cool.
The light under Master Emilio’s hands intensified for a moment and Cadin had to turn away. Master Emilio studied the meld and nodded before giving the arm-guard back to Cadin.
He did his best to decipher what he could make out between Gur’s claws. The dragon continued his traditional inspection of the new badge while Cadin tried to push him aside to see the markings.
“Are there three stripes?” Cadin asked.
“Correct. This is a Cloud-Shifting Level 3 badge with an emphasis in gins. Notice the gin-stone etched in the corner.”
“Fantastic! Sun and Lep are going to be so jealous!”
“You worked hard all year and earned this.”
“Uh, why is there a black boarder?” Cadin finally got a better look once Gur released the metal from his claws to better chew on it. “Eh, stop it, Gur. You are getting it all slobbery.”
Master Emilio reached into the cart and grabbed the full load of metal. “The black boarder means this is a transferable badge to any secondary education you may choose. The Academy or a University for instance.”
“No way! Really?”
Master Emilio turned looked Cadin in the eye. “You have put yourself in a position to enable any future you may choose. Badges such as these can help you achieve your goals.” He hefted the bag of metal up his shoulder. “I can take it from here, Cadin of Glade. Go enjoy your last few days of school and the start to your summer.”
Cadin didn’t argue as Master Emilio spread his wings and took off into the sky.
Epilogue
Cadin ruffled his feathers as his team made their way across Yi Field. A week after their victory, Instructor Kade had summoned the four qualified teams. It had been a week unlike any other. The Core had set up a few discrete bases on the outskirts of Glade while Eric repaired the Thunder Channel. The Core brought in a cartload of portable energy chambers for large businesses and Town Hall to use throughout the week. The remainder of their classes and Spring Badge Day were mostly held outside due to lack of light and cool air within the scho
ol. Cadin had earned his target number of badges to proceed into year three of Commons High School, along with the rest of his friends.
Cadin was brought back to the present through Bart’s yell.
“Bad dragon!”
Cadin looked to find Bart’s hat ablaze and Gur flying back to Cadin’s shoulder. Gur had not liked the hat from the moment Cora had given the colorful mess to Bart, and had succeeded in tackling it off his head several times. Apparently, Gur’s new plan to rid the cloud-lands of the gaudy hat was to spit fire at it—fire which had gotten much hotter as the dragon matured.
Bart knocked the hat off his head and was desperately trying to smother the fire with his shirt while Sun and Lep tried to help in between fits of laughter. Cora had run over from her team with a cup of juice to douse the flames.
Bart grimaced at the badly charred mess with such a sad expression that Cadin reprimanded Gur—though secretly he was happy the hat appeared unsalvageable.
“Oh, don’t worry, Bart.” Cora gave him a quick hug. “I can always make you another one.”
There were several groans, but they were forgotten as Instructor Kade approached the group.
“Congratulations again for qualifying. We need to go over some official points concerning the Games. First of all, you all know that the first-place prize for the tournament is a scholarship for the Fast Track of the Warrior Path at the Academy on Central Cloud. What you don’t know is the committee has released the official list of other prizes to be earned at the Games.”
Lep nudged Cadin.
“One of the prizes—you have all already earned by qualifying for the tournament.” Instructor Kade pulled out a small leather bag and poured a handful of green metal badges into his hand. “These are Warrior Path badges only awarded to individuals who have qualified for the Calvarian Commons Games. Notice these badges are not solid green like your other Warrior Path badges. They are outlined in black and transferable to many higher education establishments.”
“Wow! We all have earned an Academy badge?” Lep asked.
“Correct. The Academy, universities and trade schools utilize the same badge system as the Commons Schools. Any transferable badges will give you a big head start—not to mention the possibility of early graduation from high school.” He paused as he took each arm-guard and melded on the new badges. Cadin noticed many of the fourth years’ arm-guards were worn and nearly full of badges.
