Of Heroes And Villains (Book 4) (18 page)

“That’s what we’re going to find out.”

“So how do we proceed?”

“We divide them. Just follow my lead, and when you get your groups, just do what you will with them. Speak from the heart.”

Before Talia could inquire further, James leapt off the roof and floated down to the ground. Landing gracefully on his feet, the students backed away to give him space. Talia and Zhou landed right behind him in the same manner.

“Welcome,” James shouted for all to hear. He used a small portion of the Langoran abilities to make his voice louder and more pronounced. “I’m sure all of you are eager to enter the Academy and begin exploring your new home for the next four years. During those four years, we will be training you to become the best Sage possible. This is not the Infantry. No matter what happens, as long as you stick with us, you will be viewed as a Sage, and you will participate in any conflict we have in the future. You will become a warrior. That is a given.

“But for some of you, you will transcend even beyond that. Talia, Zhou, and myself, are all deemed Master Sages because we have gone beyond unleashing eidolons. We can transform ourselves, we can manifest, and we know tactics and techniques that few others know. Some of you will become Master Sages, and sooner than you think. It all depends on you how fast you are willing to learn and embody the lessons we teach. But I must also say this, there is a level even beyond that of a Master Sage.”

Talia gave James an inquisitive look, but he didn’t register her motion. It had to be said.

“There have been Sages regarded as legends in our history. One such Sage is Lakrymos—the warrior who died in the Siege. He gave up his life for the safety of our King and Queen. Notice that I didn’t say he was killed. I said he gave up his life. There is a difference. No one could kill this man. The enemy had to subdue him by other means. That’s how great his power was. For some of you, and hopefully myself one day, that’s how great our power will be. Do not settle on just weapons. Open your mind and learn to become more than what you have been told.

“With that being said, we will now be dividing everyone into three groups. Group 1 will be Zhou’s. He will be taking all of the students that we have deemed ready for battle. He will be focusing on refining your technique and learning transformation if you don’t know it already. Talia will be taking those who are more adept to manifesting and tactical prowess. That doesn’t mean her class will be any less rigorous, it just means there is a different approach. Lastly, my group will be for those who need extra help in coping with their new eidolons. We don’t want anyone’s eidolon breaking unnecessarily. Understood? Okay, now we will begin going through the crowd and telling you to which group you belong. Just stay still until you are called, and then you may join your teacher.

“Zhou will be heading for the center of the school where the Master Sage facilities are. Talia will be going east, and I will be going west. You’ll soon discover that each part of the school has been altered according to each group’s specific needs. Thank you for your patience.”

The three Master Sages began examining the students one by one, looking into their eyes and then telling them who to go with. As they traveled throughout the crowd, the groups behind the Master Sages got bigger.

Bastion bit his lip and waited, wondering why he didn’t push his way to the front of the crowd just so he could get his selection over with. When James came to him and his friends, he looked at the three of them, and then he pointed at Daisy.

“Zhou,” he said to her. “Talia,” he said to Kent, and then he cast his eyes down upon Bastion. “You’re with me.”

Bastion was taken aback, and he was sure his feelings were transparent.
James’ group?
What could he possibly learn from him? How to trip over your own feet? Bastion looked past James to the group that had assembled behind him. A misfit band of the crying, the homesick, and the terrified. No, there had to be a mistake.

“Something wrong?” James asked, seeing the look on Bastion’s face. Bastion’s eyebrows twitched, but that was all that he gave away before he spoke.

“I’m not sure why I’m not in Zhou’s group. Or at least Talia’s.”

“Hold on,” James replied, turning to his colleagues. “You can take your groups inside now,” he said to them. Talia and Zhou nodded and then began barking orders, ushering the students inside. Daisy gave Bastion a shrug of her shoulders as she disappeared beyond the doors.

“You were saying?” James said, his eyes bored and emotionless.

“Why am in your group? I know how to release my eidolon.”

“Then release it,” he said. Bastion looked around him at his classmates, studying their faces.

“Right here?”

“Right now. Release it.”

“I…I really don’t want to right now.” What if his eidolon got out of control and he accidentally attacked one of the students? If they were having trouble releasing their own eidolons, there was no guarantee that they would block it in time. He would have been a lot more comfortable with Zhou’s group. At least then, he could fight harder without worrying as much about his classmates’ welfare.

“Why not? Still having trouble releasing it? That’s what I thought,” James said. Bastion tried not to sneer at him. Why was he acting so high and mighty? “Come on, students, let’s go.”

Bastion took up the rear, his head bowed down as they made their way inside the school. How long would it take before James realized he was ready for the battle group? And how could he show James without hurting the others? He would probably have to make it a private session with the Master Sage, but even then, he was apprehensive. He already looked down on James, and his words had irked him. It would be way too easy to put him in place, to give in to the urge to…

No.

He just had to accept his fate for now.

The moment he lifted his head inside the building, his jaw dropped. It was magnificent. The foyer was furnished with light blue and gold colored carpets that were stretched out over hardwood floors. One carpeted path led to the middle, up a small set of stairs and through a set of steel doors. The steel doors were currently open, and Bastion could see Zhou’s group inside. It was the part of the school that had been fashioned like the old Sage Academy.

He couldn’t see the sea of water from where he stood, but he could hear the lapping of the waves, and the giggling of the students as they leapt from the platform to the glass floors in the distance. There were ten floors, each of them designed for a different purpose. He watched in awe as the students began engaging one another in battle on floor seven.

James waved a hand forward, and a hard gust of wind shut the steel doors, obstructing their view.

“Sorry, I’m sure Zhou would want privacy,” he said. “Now, down to the east is where Talia’s group is currently.” He pointed the way as if they were unaware of their sense of direction. “The libraries, dining halls and dorms are down that way. We are currently heading to the west, where the more spacious training rooms lie. The walls have also been reinforced with a foot of steel. We’ll be able to train to our heart’s content in there.”

Bastion gave out a heavy sigh as they proceeded forward along the carpet, heading west and walking along the curve of the school. As they traveled, they passed by paintings and renditions of fallen Sages throughout the school’s history. He had seen them in his tome, so he didn’t pay them much attention, but one in particular caught his attention. It was of a couple. A young girl with dark hair and a dirty face, and a muscular boy. The names underneath were “Leidy and Jennings.” Who were they? They weren’t any Sages that he had ever heard of. He would ask James about it once he had the chance.

They reached a turn off point. They could keep following the carpet forward and into a gigantic, empty hall, or take a left and head toward a number of other mysterious rooms. They entered the hall.

The floor was of cobblestone, and nothing was clean and polished. The walls were unpainted and bare, revealing the steel barriers that James had spoken of. There was a gigantic sun roof, so light poured in from above. Bastion looked around him. It was nearly as large as the new courtyard. It was definitely a training room.

“We’re going to be engaging in some training exercises for today. Not too long, since I want all of you to become acquainted with your other classmates. I want all of you to meet me here tomorrow morning at dawn though, so we can really get started.”

One of the boys raised a hand. James pointed to him. “Master James, what is our group’s focus exactly? I know that we’re going to get help with our eidolons, but then what happens? Do we just move on to Talia’s group or something?”

“No, you’re stuck with me,” James replied, to which Bastion shut his eyes. “But I promise you, you won’t regret it. By no means is any group better than another. As a matter of fact, a few months from now, we plan on having groups battle each other to further hone your teamwork. But like all things, there has to be some training first. All of you have trouble releasing your eidolons. I’ll start with explaining how they work first.”

Bastion kept his eyes closed as James spoke. He was just rehashing the same material they all should have read in the standard issued tome. How the eidolon was actually your soul, and that one needed to will it out of their body and into the form of a weapon. He talked about how everyone was given that ability because of the stones of power, but because they were destroyed, eventually…there would be no one with powers, no more Sages. The stones of power had to be destroyed, in order to ease the minds of all the Kingdoms and promote the unity. No weapons meant no unrest…no more war.

“Divide into pairs, and we’ll get started,” James said to the group, before resting his eyes upon Bastion. “I think I’ve found my partner.”

Bastion opened his eyes and stared at James curiously.

“Why me?” he asked, and James remained straight-faced.

“You know why,” he said to him, and then he turned to the rest of the group. “You know what, hold off for now. Bastion and I are going to show you something. I want you to watch our movements as carefully as you can. Excuse us for a moment.”

James threw an arm around Bastion and pulled him aside. Bastion glared at the hand dangling off his shoulder.

“I can sense what you have inside of you,” James whispered, to which Bastion squirmed out of the Master Sage’s hold. “And I need you to release that now. Don’t worry. You won’t do anything that will jeopardize the lives of these students. I will make sure of that.”

“Are you sure?” Bastion said, not mocking, but out of genuine concern. “I can’t control myself once I hit a certain point. I’m not used to pain. I—“

“You need to have more confident in yourself,” James said, looking down at him. “You’re going to be the beacon of this school one day. Everyone will look up to you.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Bastion replied. “I’m no leader.”

“No one is born a leader, but anyone, with the proper guidance can become one. Of course some are better at it than others, but you, you have a gift inside of you. A gift that people will be drawn to. You have to let that light shine.”

“And what if it isn’t light? Did Catherine tell you about me?”

“A little. I don’t see how that matters. If anything, you should be the least affected out of all of the survivors. Not with what lies inside you.”

“No, it’s worse, because I couldn’t share in their pain. I couldn’t understand what they were feeling, and it didn’t draw them to me. It cast them away. They envied me and hated me because they knew that I would go on living, and they were already sucking on their last breaths. I can’t be a leader. A weapon, with the proper guidance…yes. But in charge of people? No. I can’t even sympathize with them.”

“That’s when you get out of your shell,” James said, looking back at the students. They were all waiting patiently, but they were also concerned over the tension in their fellow classmate’s voice. James turned back to Bastion. “If you can’t experience their agony, then focus on relieving it. Forget about yourself. It will get you nowhere. It wasn’t until I actually started fighting for others that I grew. If all you’re all you think about, you’ll find yourself dwelling on your fears and weaknesses, and that will never be fruitful.”

“So you want me to fight you?”

“With all you’ve got.”

“And what will that accomplish?”

“You’re not used to unleashing your power because you’re scared of what you’ll do. But what you don’t realize is that the more you face your fears, the more you’ll be able to overcome it. With enough sessions between us, I think you’ll be able to control yourself, and then you’ll slowly become even stronger than you are now. I have some experience myself in losing control, so I might be able to help you with your dilemma.”

“Being part Quietus is different. It’s a part of you that was put there by outside forces. This…these urges that I have to hurt people sometimes…that’s me. No one put that in me.”

“How can you say that after what you witnessed as a child?”

“I don’t know…but I do know that I am still afraid. If you’re serious about this, I hope you really can do what you say.”

“I can,” James said, but Bastion detected a waver in the declaration. “Come on. This way, you will gain the admiration of this group. They’ll look up to you. They’ll fight harder. Show them what a true Sage can really do.”

Bastion gave him a wary look, but then he sighed in relief. Perhaps James was being truthful. Maybe he could hold him back. If so, he really would gain more control. If not…then it was bad for everyone, not to mention that if he beat the strongest Sage on the first day, the Academy didn’t have much to teach him.

“Are you ready?” James asked him.

Bastion nodded, and then he placed a hand to his chest. James placed a fist onto his left rib. The students took a step back, and then a shockwave of light rippled throughout the room.

Chapter 13 – Equals?

Bastion’s Gladius met James’ scimitar, and for once, no eidolons broke or cracked upon first impact. They both jumped back. James stuck his white sword out in front of him, pointing his tip toward Bastion’s head. Bastion did the same, his Gladius vibrating with so much power that if it wasn’t an extension of himself, he would have dropped it.