SINS OF ASH CHAPTER 2: AN UNLIKELY DUO

People were screaming, banging on windows and doors but nothing would budge. Everything had been barricaded. The manor bathed in black liquid that seeped into all its hidden ridges and surfaces, leaking its way inside, spreading towards the hundreds of people who called the manor home. A single spark from a sword, a sword with black flames on its red translucent surface, and the screams of terror morphed into screams of horror.

This is what they deserve, he would always be told. Years of oppression and they never bothered to help. Even when others tried to rise up to fight for them, they were shunned as well. No more. That was what the man with the flaming sword said. Dark red eyes feeding on the dark red flames that spread along the oil with childlike ignorance, or malicious indifference, as to what they were actually doing.

The roof began to collapse, chunks of flaming wood silencing some of the screams but that only made the others louder. How could such a sound ever be associated with what was right? With what was needed? He didn’t know, and he would never find out.

Leo snapped open his eyes and sprang up into a sitting position, breathing heavy as he waited for the terror to fade. This wasn’t the manor; it was a room inside the Guardian Temple infirmary, and they had checked him in there to care for his injuries. He let out a sigh and pried his hands away from the blankets that he was smothering in his grip so he could rub his eyes, wincing as he accidentally rubbed one of his bruises from yesterday. Once the fight had been stopped, everything had happened so quickly that it was a blur to him. He forced himself to breathe evenly and calm down.

Looking around, his bed lay in the center of the room and next to it was a drawer with some cabinets, a small sitting stool, and a table with two regular sized chairs off to the right. A long wooden shelfing stand with lots of books and other small pieces of food took up the main wall. A fresh uniform was piled neatly on top of it and there was a small red bug with black dots on its wings laying on top of the shirt, bathing in the sunlight streaming from the one window by the table. The bed itself was large enough to fit three of him comfortably but the sheets, along with his back, were damp with sweat and the sheets were no longer tucked neatly into the frame. There were probably dozens of more rooms exactly like this, probably more that were even nicer and would make this one look like nothing in comparison. It was still the nicest one he had ever slept in.

He sighed again. One world for everyone but not everyone gets the same experience. In fact, the differences were so great that it couldn’t even be called the same world. Regardless, they hadn’t kicked him out yet so he might as well enjoy it while he could.

Leo swung his legs off the bed and changed out of his clothes, replacing them with the new ones they left for him. Flowing white pants and shirt that had the word ‘Prospect’ written on the back. This one fit much better than the one he had stolen and most importantly, it was clean.

He found a little laundry basket off to the side where he deposited the dirty clothes and replaced the bed sheets with a clean pair he found in one of the cabinets, trying his best to replicate the even folds that were originally there. Every time he stretched or reached too far, his body demanded him to stop and lie down without ever moving again, but he shoved his body’s demands aside. The bruises were already beginning to fade and nothing had broken during the test. In a day or two, he would be fine. Perks of having divine blood.

Perks or not, the guy that had started a fight with him might not be doing as well. His aura had shattered first and he took a vicious kick to the nose that might have broken it. To make matters worse, thinking about the fight with him only reminded Leo what the instructor had said. He was out. Forever. He would never again get the chance to be selected as an apprentice to a Guardian. All of the time spent working his way here was nearly wasted because of one guy.

Still, as annoying as the guy was, who he thought was called Alex, he was right. Once Leo had heard about the exam, he snuck into the test by ditching his recruiters, stealing a dirty uniform from a laundry pile, and jumping into the crowd of Prospects taking the test by claiming he was late. He had gotten lucky with not being recognized as a proper student for that long as they tried to rush him in, still taking the time to berate him for his tardiness though, and everything had been going well until Alex pieced things together.

He had managed to bump into the one person stubborn enough to hold a grudge and make himself heard. And of course, it didn’t help that Leo had escalated the situation by making a point to get him back, which resulted in Alex retaliating again, and again, and again, until they had both taken it too far and gotten themselves disqualified. He should have taken the hit and kept his head down to avoid undue attention, but he got caught up in the moment. Alex also didn’t help things by being extremely annoying. Seriously, what did he have against his shirt? They were wearing the same uniform.

Then again, what had been a shitty moment for Leo was probably even worse for Alex. Leo had broken into his test, for his class, and if he had been selected then that meant he was stealing someone else’s spot. Maybe even Alex’s. Were the roles reversed, he probably would have gotten mad too. He should have waited his turn, stayed with the recruiters, and did things properly. There wasn’t a rush for him to become a Guardian and if anything, he had hurt Alex more than himself. This was entirely his fault and now they both had to suffer. He didn’t know all the rules of this place, but he imagined breaking them had probably less than pleasant consequences.

His sulking was interrupted by a soft but firm knock on the door. The lock turned a few moments later with a soft click and the door opened. Three people entered the room, one being an instructor he recognized from the exam and another being an elderly woman holding a clipboard with many papers piled on top. The nurse who had cared for him and shown him the room entered behind them and closed the door. The instructor’s face was stern, with brown eyes that had probably never smiled in their lives. He looked down at Leo.

“I believe this is the one who snuck into the exam, Madam Luce. Is that correct, young man?” he asked him. His voice reminded him of the slow build-up leading to a rockslide.

Leo’s insides churned under their stares. Madam Luce at least seemed a little nicer; her face was wrinkled but her glasses drooped down slightly onto her nose in such a way that seemed almost grandmotherly. They both wore the Guardian uniform but theirs were stylized more as robes than cloaks.

“That’s correct, sir,” Leo answered sheepishly. He kept his head down but saw Madam Luce writing something onto her clipboard from the corner of his eye. The instructor eyed him up and down, probably looking to see if he was nothing more than a scoundrel or someone actually worth his time.

“I take it you have already been properly given a speech or tirade about rules, the sanctity of the temple and its people, as well as an ‘informed opinion’ about what your place is here, yes?” the instructor asked.

Leo nodded. That had all come last night from several people proctoring the exam and although he didn’t remember exactly what they said, he understood the general message.

“Good, then we can skip all that now. You can call me Instructor Riez since you’ll be in my class during your time here as a Prospect.” He brought his hand forward for him to shake. Leo took it after a moment’s hesitation, unsure of why this was happening. His grip was firm and although his face was hard, he could not see any bitterness or resentment.

“Sorry, Instructor Riez, but I’m afraid I’m not quite sure what’s happening here. I thought I was in trouble. Like, the worst kind of trouble,” Leo said hesitantly.

“You are, but I would not call it the worst. Nor would I agree with Instructor Gors’s quick judgement yesterday. Myself, along with several others believe that was made with undue emotions clouding his judgement. To permanently forbid you from becoming an apprentice is nonsensical. Normally, Prospects can participate in the apprentice selection exam every few months or whenever Guardians come calling for apprentices, but your punishment will extend to a hiatus of two years. If anything, this makes your chances for when you do participate even better as you’ll have had more time for training. Not that you’ll likely need it. I haven’t seen you dance yet but if yesterday was any indication, you’re already in good shape,” he said plainly, like it was nothing.

Only two years? Leo was dumbstruck. “I thought I was going to get kicked out of the temple! Be forced to leave and never come back.”

He thought Instructor Riez looked serious before but somehow his face became even more rigid and deep-set. “We never kick anyone out. Ever,” he said.

The nurse cleared her throat and she stepped forward, another with a white uniform but this time with red lines and a cross on her chest. Her skirt ended just past her knees and she was pretty when she smiled as the sunlight made her pale figure look like an angel. “We do, however, prevent students from training if they are unable to do so safely,” she said. She gave a pointed look at Instructor Riez when she said the word, ‘safely’. “That being said, how are you feeling? You’re already looking better.”

Leo shrugged, still processing the information given to him. He was actually going to be alright! He felt like he had gotten away with all of the loot from a successful train heist, but even as he was thinking this, he remembered Alex and immediately felt ashamed. Because of him, Alex was delayed two years from participating again. It was a small comfort to know that if they weren’t going to expel Leo then they definitely wouldn’t expel him. He realized though they were waiting for him to answer so he spoke up. “I’m doing fine, just sore. I’ve been worse though so this is nothing. I’m ready for anything.”

The nurse narrowed her eyes, but Madam Luce chuckled, still writing onto her paper. “Certainly fine enough to make your bed. Dreadful activity!” she said, accentuating it with a pen swipe across the page. Her voice sounded like the pages of an old book turning, one that had jovial tales of laughter mixed in with the wisdom of sages. He liked her.

“Madam Luce, I could always have someone come and help-”

“Stay away from me, you old hag,” Madam Luce interrupted. She waved her pen at the nurse menacingly, wiry face set into a no doubt practiced stare.

This time it was Instructor Riez who cleared his throat. “You look fine enough to me. We won’t start any training right away,” he looked to the nurse as he said this and she sighed, “but we’ll get you settled in today and can formally begin everything tomorrow. In the meantime, you have some paperwork to fill out. The exam is still ongoing and will conclude with the Prospects dueling in a tournament bracket to see who the best fighter is. You might as well watch that while filling out everything,” he said. He motioned to Madam Luce who slapped the stack of papers on her clipboard with a hefty thump.

“I’ll accompany you while you do all this,” she said. “I’m the head of the Temple Archives now and it’s my job to oversee all this and make it accessible to those who actually care.” She smiled a toothy grin and Leo couldn’t help but smile back. This was better than he could have hoped for. Way better.

“I’ll be on my way now. I have one more Prospect to talk too, but I’ll rejoin the tournament area later. Once it’s finished, come find me and we’ll secure your room,” Instructor Riez said. He turned to leave, nodding at the nurse and Madam Luce, but Leo stopped him.

He shouldn’t push his luck any further but he needed to do this, regardless of the consequences. “Actually sir, I have one request to make, if I may?” Leo asked. Instructor Riez turned and waited for him to speak.

“Sir, I officially request that any punishment given to Alex be instead given to me and that you revoke the suspension of his participation from the exam. Give me four years if you have to. He only summoned his sword because I goaded him into it, provoking him during the test. He realized that I snuck into the exam and was trying to call me out, but I got too aggressive. There shouldn’t be any blame on him, only me,” he said quickly.

The room was quiet as Leo stared at the floor, waiting for his response. He hoped he would accept his plea. Alex didn’t deserve to suffer because of him, even if he was annoying. If it meant a longer delay on him for being selected as a Guardian Apprentice, then so be it. His actions were the ones that put them in this mess so the least he could do was try and get Alex out of it.

Nobody had spoken yet and Leo swore he could hear the silence stretching, becoming longer and longer until it reached every part of the room, taking up the space and making it hard to breathe. He supposed people couldn’t drown in silence, but he sure was having a hard time breathing. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He looked up, relieving a little of the tension pushing him down and making him small, and saw Instructor Riez staring at him, brown eyes with a new light in them. Madam Luce was smiling to herself as she was writing something and even the nurse was smiling fondly at him.

Instructor Riez spoke, breaking the silence and letting air back into the room. “Unfortunately, that is not something that I have authority over,” he said. “Full jurisdiction of such an outcome belongs with Instructor Gors as he was the one presiding over the test and is the instructor of Alex’s class. I can issue a hearing to have the situation discussed and negotiated, like before, but that is the extent of my powers there. Even if I had the authority to do as you ask, I would not. Perhaps you didn’t notice but the two of you summoned your swords at the exact same time, perfect unison. Combat was allowed up on the Stability Disc and Alexander Scepton certainly knew the rules of what was allowed and what wasn’t. Perhaps you might not have since you arrived recently, but he should have. That includes informing us of any cheating instead of taking matters into his own hands. The verdict stands.”

“Oh,” Leo said weakly. He was able to breathe again but his body felt deflated and weak. “Okay, thank you.” So, he couldn’t do anything for Alex after all. Guilt washed over him, and he wished he could go back, slap himself in the face for sneaking in, and prevent this whole fiasco from ever happening.

Instructor Riez was still looking at him. “That being said, your request is noted and I will take your plea into consideration as we consolidate everything later,” he finished. Leo thought he saw respect in his eyes and was confused as to why. With a final nod, he turned and left the room.

“I’ll mark you as cleared from the infirmary,” the nurse said. “Don’t strain yourself too much.

Madam Luce stepped up towards him. “I’ll take you to the tournament area. We’ll fill these out together in one of the stands. Please, follow me,” she said. She started off at a surprisingly brisk pace and Leo hurried after her, forced to shove down his guilt for the time being. With a wave goodbye at the nurse, Leo exited the infirmary room and headed for the tournament grounds, but instead of fighting he would be filling out papers as he awaited his fate in the Guardian Temple.

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Grunts of exertion and cries of triumph filled the room as the Prospects dueled, slicing away at each other as their swords clashed and auras cracked. They were on the third floor now, inside of a large open sparring room that had a dozen circles spaced throughout in three equal columns of four. Inside each circle were two Prospects dancing together, their blades whirling as they stepped in and out of each other’s reaches, colorful auras flickering whenever one landed a strike. Once the opponent’s aura shattered, the duel would end and the victor would be officially announced by one of the instructors presiding over each duel. Elemental abilities were strictly prohibited due to the unfairness that certain elements had within a closed structure without access to stone or water. Damaging the temple was also a big prohibition so most elemental duels were reserved for special training grounds situated outside. After yesterday’s incident, the instructors kept a close eye on the students as they proceeded forward with the exam.

Off to the side on the bottom row of a set of wooden bleachers, Leo sat with a teetering stack of papers in his lap and Madam Luce, who watched the duels from a few rows up. She told him that he only needed to sign where she indicated and that he didn’t need to read the rest, but he had insisted on reading through all of the papers as they contained information relevant to his stay. That relevant information included procedures for students to follow, places of access according to their rank, rules for everyone to follow with strict punishments for breaking them, a sign of rights for his living here followed by training, service, and adherence to those above his rank, more rules, actions that needed to be taken in the case of certain situations, how to access a copy of all this information, more rules, and with a little bit of more rules on top.

He was beginning to regret not listening to Madam Luce as he flipped another page detailing the prohibitions of Prospects in training including alcohol, coitus, wandering past hours, and psychedelics like dust. She was right in saying that most of this stuff wouldn’t be relevant to him so long as he listened to those around him. Anything that could potentially happen could be avoided with common sense, but he liked knowing the big picture of things and how everything was related. It made him feel better when things made sense. Besides, some strict knowledge wouldn’t hurt as his common sense was already proving to be insufficient.

A sound like glass shattering filled the room and he looked up to see a Prospect in one of the nearer circles lying on the ground, sword lost as she was panting. The one she had been dueling was whooping as he punched his fists into the air, sweat-stained clothes sticking to his skin. The instructor officiating their match raised a hand in the boy’s direction and declared him the victor and that he would be moving onto the final round.

Looking closer, Leo thought that he was one of the ones who had stayed in the circle atop the Stability Disc alongside him and Alex for quite a while. He was strong and light on his feet, but he liked to rush straight in and overwhelm his opponent, which is probably what had happened to her. If you could subvert his momentum and get through the initial attacks, you had a good chance of defeating him.

Glancing around, the last few fights were wrapping up and although most of the ones remaining would be the best in this class, Leo thought he could have defeated all of them. They fought well enough, but he felt like they got tired pretty quickly and that there wasn’t enough fluidity in their movements. Guardians were supposed to be graceful in their movements but powerful enough to unleash explosive attacks without any warning, a sharp knife capable of precision and damage. Perhaps once they became apprentices, they would get to finish their training with their Guardians and work with them to refine their skills.

His thoughts were interrupted when two people walked up to him, drawing his attention away from the competitors. It was Instructor Riez and behind him, looking every bit as uncomfortable as Leo suddenly felt, was Alex Scepton. He had a bandage on his nose and was a little worse for wear but looked to be recovering well enough. They stared awkwardly at each other, the memory of their fight still present and visible in both their minds. Instructor Riez raised a hand.

“Hello again, Leo. This is young Alex. I believe the two of you are already acquainted.”

Was that meant to be a joke? Leo shrugged. “Well enough,” he said.

“Right. I brought him here so that he can watch the remainder of the tournament. These were his classmates after all. I also thought that it would be good for the two of you to formally make amends. Once the test is over, you both will be transferred to my class. I figured it would be good for Alex to tell you what you can expect. Again, find me once the test is over and you finish all of that,” he ordered. Then he turned and walked back the way he came, leaving the two of them together without any further explanation.

Wonderful. They both kind of stared at each other, neither meeting the other’s eyes nor saying anything, not knowing what to say. Well, once you hit rock-bottom, it can’t get any worse than that.

Leo pulled aside a stack of finished papers and offered Alex a seat. He sat down, mumbled a ‘thanks’, and they both kind of just avoided each other, watching the remaining matches unfold. The room was filled with the sound of chatting watchers, instructors in conference, Prospects dueling, but somehow the silence between them sounded the loudest. Eventually, he couldn’t take any more of it.

Leo took a deep breath. “I’ll get this started, I suppose. You were right, I did sneak into your exam. I wasn’t supposed to be there and if I did get chosen, I would have stolen either your spot or someone else’s. You had every right to get angry and it’s my fault that we both got in trouble. I’m sorry.”

Alex nodded. “Thanks for that, but Instructor Riez already told me.” He paused and his thumbs fidgeted within clasped hands as he thought about what to say next. “He also said that you offered to take on any punishment that I would receive and argued that I shouldn’t get suspended from the exam. Is that true?” He turned towards him and this time Leo met his eyes. His dark green eyes were thoughtful.

“Yeah, it’s true. This really is my fault and I tried what I could, but Instructor Riez denied me. You’re not expelled, right?” Leo asked.

Alex’s eyes roamed his face, possibly looking for any hint of deception, but eventually he turned away and sighed. “No, not expelled,” he said. “I was more worried about losing my familial compensation. I couldn’t sleep because of the stress, but then he told me that he would make sure that I would still receive it. Everything else stays. Two year suspension and probably a lot of work. That’s not a big deal though. I’m in no rush to become a Guardian.”

Leo had heard that term before. He thought for a moment then realized it was within his stack of papers. Once a person is recognized as a Prospect and joins the Guardian Temple, their family gets elevated to the Empyrean District within Eternum and the Prospect receives monetary compensation every month that they could have delivered to their family back home. This ‘familial compensation’ was tribute to the families because their kids had to go to the temple. If they didn’t, they would be forcefully brought in and risk losing that guaranteed money and a relocation to the Empyrean District. Even worse, they could get labeled as ‘Forsaken’ and hunted down by other Guardians.

He hadn’t realized that might be a concern for Alex when he was reading that part in the papers and found himself liking Instructor Riez even more than before. He seemed to truly care about the Prospects and while rules had to be enforced, he tried to be fair.

Alex continued. “Honestly, I should apologize too. I knew I probably wasn’t going to win, but I made a stupid show out of it and didn’t quit while I was ahead. I made things worse. Sorry,” he said.

“It’s fine. I’m technically not in any rush either. I just kind of let everything get to my head,” Leo said. Now that he managed to apologize, he immediately felt better. Some of the tension that had built up inside of him diffused and he relaxed a little. He hadn’t hurt Alex too much and they both seemed to have forgiven each other. Perhaps they could make the best of this. “Can we start over? As you noticed already, I’m new here and don’t really know what I’m doing,” he said.

“Hey, ‘new here’. My name’s Alex. Pleasure to meet you!”

Okay. So, this was how it was going to be.

“It’s actually Leonidas Agiad, but just call me Leo,” he said. “What happened to your nose by the way? Looks like it’s seen better days.”

“I participated in a new technological experiment involving revolving doors. Really dangerous stuff. Is there a section somewhere in those papers about proper dress code?”

“There is.”

“Then you should know you don’t need to tuck in your shirt.”

“What is your problem with my shirt?”

Before they could continue, a final call from one of the instructors announced that there were only two competitors left and that they were about to begin their duel. The onlookers and other Prospects began cheering as they raised swords and the instructor called for the duel to begin. Immediately, they both dashed forward and went into a series of rapid exchanges to try and break through their opponent’s defense. One was the boy from earlier and his opponent was another heavyset boy who had been lagging behind yesterday. His size hadn’t helped him yesterday, but he clearly preferred combat as he stood his ground and struck his earthen blade against his opponent’s aura. They disengaged, following the edge of the circle and resetting before they went back in again. This time it was the heavyset boy who had his aura damaged. These exchanges continued until both their auras flashed critical, brown sparks and cracks forming around them as they went in for their last bout.

The crowd was split on who they wanted to win, but they all cheered loudly, filling up the space of the room with a chorus of their cries as blades not fully metallic clashed with the sound of endlessly sharpened glass. They danced in and out of their ranges, dodging as much as they were parrying, until finally the boy from earlier sidestepped a wide overhand, spun on his heel, and cracked the jaw of his opponent before he could bring his guard back up. He swung his sword up underhand, cleaving through the heavyset boy’s aura like it was paper before turning it so that the flat of the blade slammed against his chin, the force strong enough to lift the heavyset boy off his feet and land on his back, unconscious.

The crowd roared their approval and the instructor called the match, raising the victor’s sword hand in the air while others went to go check on his defeated opponent. The boy grinned ear-to-ear and roared back, his chances of being selected near guaranteed.

Through the commotion, Leo saw Alex shaking his head. “Should have thrown his shoe at him,” he said.

Something clicked in Leo’s brain. “You were the one who threw a shoe at him yesterday?” he asked. “On my way back up, I heard him complaining about that and had no idea what he was talking about!”

Alex nodded then grinned. “Poor Mason had no idea what was happening, even as he was falling off the disc.”

“You’re crazy,” Leo said. He laughed then and it felt so good. Like all of the problems he carried were fading away into the background as he simply enjoyed what was happening around him. Alex laughed with him and that made him feel even better. Perhaps they were friends now.

Eventually the noise died down and as everyone returned to their seats, the instructors informed everyone that the Guardians would be writing down their selections and once finished, the chosen would be called out by Instructor Gors.

Together, the Guardians all left into an adjacent room in the hall, white cloaks trailing behind them as they talked quietly to one another. Those who weren’t Prospects chatted quietly to each other while the Prospects all fidgeted nervously wherever they were seated. Even the champion of the tournament bit his lip in anticipation as he drank from a cup of water. From a quick cursory glance, Leo thought there were about sixty Prospects and maybe half as many Guardians who left the room.

He whispered quietly to Alex. “How come they’re so nervous? I get that not all of them are going to be picked but at least half of them will. Besides, there will be more Guardians who show up later and they’ll have even better odds.”

Alex shook his head. “It doesn’t necessarily work like that,” he whispered back. “Not all of the Guardians will select an apprentice. It’s optional for them. If they see someone they like then they’ll take that person. Some of them show up just to watch how the Prospects are doing and move on. Others will decide they don’t like what they see and come back another time. Nothing’s set in stone, unfortunately.”

“Then what happens if they never get selected? How do they become a Guardian?” Leo asked.

“Decided upon by majority instructor vote or by vote of confidence from a Guardian Master of their respective element. Even if they don’t become a Guardian, they could still go out to battle. That’s why everyone wants to be an apprentice. No one wants to go into battle alone,” Alex said.

With that sobering thought, Instructor Gors entered the room and carried a sheet of paper with him. The Prospects all turned their heads towards him and there was a collective intake of air as he began calling out names and the Guardians that would be their masters. Up first was the winner of the tournament, his name being Mason Colcatta, and he was chosen by a Stone Dancer named Jasper. As other names were being called, Alex whispered to him again.

“I forgot to mention,” he said. “Guardians only select apprentices who dance the same element they do. That narrows things even more.”

Each time someone was chosen, that Prospect let out a sigh of relief while another one immediately sucked that air back in as their chances slimmed down. Finally, Instructor Gors called out the last name and rolled up his paper. There was an odd stillness in the room. No one spoke but that was only because people were too busy looking around, trying to find some meaning as to what had happened. Even some of the instructors looked surprised. Others looked uneasy. Every single name from the competing Prospects had been called.

Instructor Gors cleared his throat. All eyes turned towards him. “Those with their names called out will remain here while the Guardians re-enter the room. They will meet with you and discuss the next steps of your future. Not all of them are currently in attendance so if you find yourself without a Guardian, return to your rooms and you will eventually be called forward to meet with them when they arrive. You all are about to begin the next phase of your lives as you work to become a Guardian and defend the Kingdom of Arcadia. I’m proud of each and every one of you and I wish you luck in your futures. Dismissed,” he finished.

Immediately, the room became an uproar of people chatting and talking amongst one another. The Prospects were all grouped together and looking at each other, some of them peeved that they had done those tests for nothing, others anxious as to why this was happening. Alex had his jaw dropped. When he finally found it, he said, “This is totally bizarre. I’ve never heard or seen anything like this before. There’s also no way everyone is qualified to be an apprentice. I wonder why they’ve done this…”

“Who knows,” Leo said. “All I know is that it makes our disqualification sting a little bit more.”

Alex winced. “Yeah, it does.”

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and Leo turned to see Madam Luce smiling down at him, glasses threatening to fall off her bony nose. “Seems like you’ve forgotten the papers, yes?” she asked kindly.

He blushed. “Oh, sorry. I signed everything, but I hadn’t finished reading them yet. I got distracted, sorry.”

“Hi, Madam Luce.” Alex waved at her then turned back to Leo. “Madam Luce is always a big help whenever we have some sort of paper assignment or historical event to research. Without her, I don’t know how we’d survive,” he said to him.

She chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll be just fine. Anyways, don’t you two leave just yet. I have someone to meet just now. Wait just a moment, please. I’ll take these with me too.” She scooped up the remaining papers and Alex had to pull Leo by the arm so that he didn’t try to keep reading them.

With that, she climbed down the bleachers, hunched forward as if the stack of papers was too heavy for her, and shuffled over to Instructor Gors and Instructor Riez, who were having a discussion with another Guardian. The Guardian was tall and blonde, his hair messy and unruly. The emblazoned cloak with his title flared out behind him and Leo couldn’t remember seeing him amongst the other Guardians here. He nudged Alex.

“Do you know what’s going on?” he asked. “Or who that Guardian is talking to Instructor Riez and Gors?”

Alex craned his neck over to see and frowned. “No and no,” he said.

Madam Luce arrived in a few moments and joined their discussion. The Guardian bowed before her and she laughed as if he said something funny. He held up a letter and began speaking. Instructor Gors was shaking his head while Riez remained neutral. Eventually he nodded and Madam Luce said something that made Gors wave his hands around in large sweeps and circles. Whatever they were talking about, he didn’t seem happy. The Guardian offered the letter forward and he took it from his hands, tore it open and began reading it. As he did, his hands began shaking as the others waited for him. Finally, he lowered the letter and said something, grasping the bridge of his nose. Instructor Riez said something, then pointed at the two of them, and all eyes in their group shifted towards them. The Guardian’s eyes in particular were clear blue and sharp as he looked at them, searching for something beyond their general appearance. Leo could see small bags under his eyes, framing his white face in the throes of fatigue despite his powerful frame. They started walking over.

“Is there some sort of special rule we might have broken that you read that could explain what is happening?” Alex asked nervously.

“I didn’t finish reading it,” he reminded him. “Besides, we couldn’t have broken another rule already.”

“Then why are they all approaching us?”

“That is a very good question that is probably going to be answered very soon,” Leo said and despite his demeanor, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as well. He drew back a little as they walked up and although the Guardian wasn’t exactly intimidating, he had a presence to him that made him sit at attention. Madam Luce was still smiling happily and Instructor Riez looked unfazed. Instructor Gors looked like he was trying to chew through his teeth.

Before he could speak, Madam Luce spoke up. “Thank you for waiting boys,” she said cheerfully. “You’ll be happy to hear that despite your violation of the rules yesterday, we have found an extra Guardian looking for an apprentice. Alan actually used to work with me in the Temple Archives until just recently so I’m sad to see him go, but I know for a fact that he will make a good master.”

To say he was lost for words was putting it mildly. Alex looked to be in a similar state, but he managed to find his voice first. “But I thought because of yesterday, we wouldn’t-”

“Ah, don’t worry about that,” the Guardian named Alan said. His voice was surprisingly light and almost cheery. “That just prevents you from being officially selected but I have a little work-around.” He held up the letter and waved it slightly. “Besides, you two seem to have put it behind you it looks like.”

Leo and Alex looked at each other, mirrored expressions of confusion and uncertainty. Then Leo was hit with a burst of disappointment, like someone had developed a bomb and detonated it at just the right time. “You should make Alex your apprentice, sir,” he said. “He was here before me and I’m the one who caused all the trouble.”

Alex quickly glanced over and began to speak but was interrupted by Instructor Riez raising his hand, silencing them both. “None of that,” he said in his steady tone. “It won’t be necessary.”

They both frowned and simultaneously jumped as they heard what sounded like a crack coming from Instructor Gors’s jaw. He unclenched his jaw, relieving his teeth, and spoke slowly, every word lingering with bitterness. “Master Alan has come to us seeking an apprentice. With a decree from the Grandmaster that we do not have the authority to refuse, he has selected you both to be his apprentices.” The word ‘both’ especially seemed to grate on him and even Instructor Riez twitched slightly. Madam Luce remained unbothered, now looking at the other Guardians talking to their new apprentices.

Both Leo and Alex stared at them. The parts of their brain that dictated speech decided they didn’t like things that were confusing so they absconded, leaving them without any rhyme or wit as to respond. Everything Alex knew about Guardians and the Temple said this was unprecedented and Leo knew only what Alex had told him. Perhaps his brain found pity for him because Alex finally managed to trudge up a single word.

“Both?” he asked.

Master Alan smiled at them. “Both,” he confirmed. “Nice to meet you two.”