Ayos: The Heir with the Crimson Eyes

by Justin Parks

  Chapter 17

  Back to Training

  Jin, Liz, and Saga continued on the path back home, walking tall with a sense of accomplishment. They had met a situation above their ability and rose to the challenge, but the three were tired from their battle and wished to return home to the academy. “So what’s the White Order?” Jin asked.

  “Are you serious? Do you know anything about us or . . .” Saga began to rant. However, after seeing the pitiful look on Jin’s face, he just sighed and smacked his forehead. “The White Order is an independent force that works for the academy. They are made of some of the best warriors ever assembled. They handle some of the highest ranked and highest priority missions. It is the highest honor an ayos of the west academy can achieve,” Saga explained.

  “So does that mean the other academies have a White Order?” Liz asked.

  “Well, the goings on of the other academies is only known by their members, so I can’t say for certain, but I would assume they do. If not, they probably have something very similar,” Saga said with a shrug. They continued up the road until the academy came into view.

  The group walked up to the academy. As they made their way up to the gate, Poart requested to see their ID cards so they could reenter the academy. To their surprise, each of their ranks were glowing blue. They reported to one of the master scribes for a debriefing. They told the scribe all the details and went to get some rest.

  The next day, the three met with Thoth to see about advancement. “I heard about your assignment. Due to your ability to coop with such a difficult situation, I am going to promote you all,” Thoth explained.

  “Wait, so no test?” Jin asked confused.

  “Yes, your experience on the field was far more challenging than the advancement test. This type of advancement does happen. The tests are designed to rank you for conditions on the field, so if your field experience surpasses that, then there’s no need to test you,” Thoth explained. The three were pleased as they left the lab.

  After a few days of rest, Jin got back to training. He slowly realized that there was a gap in his combat, and he needed to learn some new moves. Jin was walking through the academy when he bumped into Khronus. “Hey, Khronus,” Jin said, catching his attention.

  Khronus turned to see him. “Yes, good to see you. Do you need help with something?” he asked, as the two continued walking.

  “Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. You know that last mission I was on?” Jin asked.

  “Yes, I heard about it. To think you ran into a beckon on your first assignment, you meet Baldr, and got promoted none the less. Sounds exciting,” Khronus said.

  “I realized during that fight that I don’t really know any ranged attacks. Can you help me with that?” Jin asked.

  “Actually, I can. I teach marksmanship,” Khronus explained.

  “Yeah, but I don’t have a special ability that allows me to use projectiles,” Jin replied.

  “While I do work with apprentices who have special abilities, you don’t need one. You can learn to shoot concentrated balls of magick, but it’s not easy. It’s a different training then you’re used to. Hand-to-hand combat relies on power and speed, but projectiles rely on precision and accuracy,” Khronus explained, as he made his way to a door. “You can come to my class tomorrow and I will show you, but for now I want to you to see something,” he said, opening the doors.

  The two walked inside. It was a massive room. The walls were covered with dormant cores of all different colors. Each of them had a small plaque under it. The floors and ceiling were tiled in a beautiful design. The walk path was lined with various statues of fallen ayos. Each of them had a core inside them as well. “What is this place?” Jin asked.

  “This is the final resting place of some of the greatest ayos that ever lived. When an ayos of this academy is laid to rest, their core is placed here as a memorial. You see ayos are not like normal people. When we die, our bodies turn to magick. The only remains we leave are our cores,” Khronus explained. The two continued down the main path. The large hall was lined with separate rooms on each side. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to show you for a long time.” The two made their way to the end of the hall to a large archway that lead into another room. They stepped through the opening. It was a smaller room with a life-size statue of a man. In his chest was an indent where a core used to be. “This is your ancestor. His core is your core,” Khronus explained.

  Jin walked up in awe of the statue. There was something familiar about this man. Jin couldn’t put his finger on it, but he had seen him somewhere before. He looked down at the plaque under the statue. “Hyperi . . .” Jin began.

  “Hyperion,” Khronus said, reading the plaque. “Leader of the Kaizer clan and founder of this institution.”

  Jin turned to Khronus shocked. “Founder . . . what does this mean?”

  “As of now, I have no idea. All I know is there’s a reason you got this power. You may play a key role in days to come,” Khronus said. “But don’t think too much about it. Just focus on your training for now,” He said walking away. “Starting with me . . . tomorrow,” Khronus said, leaving Jin staring at the statue.

  The next day. Jin attended the class Khronus taught. It was a very different from the one Ares taught. Khronus was a lot more patient with the apprentices. The class was in an outdoor area. There were targets set up on the one side of the area. Other apprentices were practicing hitting the targets. Khronus walked over to Jin. “Okay, you remember how to concentrate your magick into a ball right?”

  Jin created a small orb of red energy in his palm. “Yeah, like this,” he said, looking for approval from Khronus.

  “Good,” Khronus said, pointing to a target. “Okay, aim your palm toward the target over there and try to push the orb away from you.”

  Jin did as he said, placing his hand facing the target. He pushed the orb from his palm. The orb pushed off and fell to the ground in front of Jin. When it hit the ground it disappeared. “Hmm, I don’t think that was right,” Jin said.

  “Yes, it will take some practice. For now focus on pushing it with more force. Once you can make the distance, then practice your aim,” Khronus said, aiming his palm at the target. “The end result should be something like this.” A small blue orb formed in his hand and fired at the target, piercing through the center. “See? Now keep up the good work,” he said, patting Jin on the back before continuing to help the other apprentices.

  Over the next few weeks Jin worked hard and improved his technique. It was a different kind of technique than he was used to. Jin wasn’t all the way there yet, but he had begun to at least hit the target. During this time, he had signed up to take part in another mission.

  Jin returned to his room after a day of training to find a black envelope on his bed. He walked over, sat down, and began going through the contents. They were sending two teams. The two teams were to be lead by three-star rank apprentice, Saga Dimyo, and three-star rank apprentice, Sky Keng. The additional members were, two-star rank apprentice, Jin Kaizer, and two-star rank apprentice, Liz Faraoh. The mission was very vague. There were many reports of missing people on a certain stretch of road between two towns. However, there were no reported sightings of the kami responsible. Hmm, so we’re pretty much flying blind, Jin thought to himself.

  Jin made sure to make preparations for his journey the night before. He used the money he gained from his first mission to buy supplies and a travel pack. After making his preparations, Jin went to bed and got some sleep.

  ToC

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