Raelia (The Medoran Chronicles Book 2) (43 page)

“Recently I had a student come to me and ask an interesting question,” said the enigmatic and uncommonly intelligent History teacher, Doc, during class the following week. “This student asked about the historical development of society,
specific to our advancement in technology. The question posed was, if society is so advanced, why does Akarnae still teach students using such an archaic curriculum?”

Alex resisted the urge to sit up straighter, knowing that she was the student Doc was speaking of, but not wanting to draw attention to herself. She’d approached the History teacher in his Tower office a few days after the events of the overnight SAS trip—specifically, after having witnessed the military outpost and the high-tech Stabiliser weapons. Too caught up in the adrenaline at the time, she hadn’t wondered until later that, if the people of Medora had access to
guns
, why she and her fellow classmates were running around with bows and arrows and learning old-school Combat techniques. That line of thought, which had kept her awake for hours, had also led her to question why they had an entire class devoted to riding horses when, as D.C. had mentioned during their time strolling along the cobblestone streets of Tryllin, most people walked or used Bubbledoors to travel these days. Out of nowhere, Alex had been burning with questions about why some of the classes at Akarnae were so dated when Medora as a world was advanced in so many ways.

Feeling like an idiot for never having questioned it sooner, Alex had only been able to justify herself with the realisation that ever since her first day at the academy, nothing had made sense to her, so she’d just gone with it in order to retain her sanity. Even the academy’s buildings were a juxtaposition of medieval structures alongside futuristic designs. The difference between the Tower and the Gen-Sec building alone was startling, but Alex had simply become used to the idiosyncrasies of Akarnae—and the people inhabiting it.

Or at least, she
had
, until she’d seen the Stabilisers and the military force and realised that her understanding was seriously lacking and she needed to fix that, pronto.

“I didn’t answer the student’s question at the time since I saw it as an opportunity for a refresher that we can all discuss as a class,” Doc went on to say. “So, let’s break this down, shall we? Starting with the history of Akarnae—why you’re all here at the academy. Who knows the answer?”

Both Mel and Connor raised their hands in perfect sync and Alex hid a smile because, as much as they might disagree with her assessment, sometimes she thought they acted more like twins than cousins. Siblings, at the very least.

Doc nodded at Mel, who cleared her throat and recited, “Akarnae is the only school in all of Medora for people who are gifted. Every five years the headmaster goes on a scouting expedition to search for kids who qualify for enrolment—kids who have or eventually will have a gift. When they’re fourteen, the qualifying students leave their normal schools behind and come here to complete the remainder of their education. That’s why we’re here. Because we were discovered through the scouting process.”

“Why come here?” Doc asked. “Aside from it being the only school for those with gifts, of course. But why can’t students such as yourselves continue your tutelage with the rest of the populace?”

“We don’t
have
to come here,” Connor spoke up this time. “But Akarnae is the best place to teach us how to develop our gifts. If we were at a normal school, we’d just be taking normal classes. But at Akarnae, we’re in an environment where we can cultivate our abilities and learn how to control them.”

“Ah ha!” Doc said, sounding pleased. “Control, Mr. O’Malley. A very important point.”

At that, Connor sent a smirk to his cousin, and Alex bit back another smile when Mel responded by pulling a face at him.

“At this point it’s worth mentioning that some scholars believe every human being has a potential gift inside of
them, but not all of us are able to connect with or access these personalised giftings,” continued Doc. “For those of us who
can
, we have a responsibility to nurture the supernatural abilities within us. That means we must learn to develop them, to
control
them, just as Mr. O’Malley said. Tell me though, have any of you ever wondered why Akarnae—a ‘school for the gifted’—only has one class dedicated to actively developing your abilities?”

Alex frowned at the question, mentally adding it to the list of things she should have considered long before now.

“After all,” Doc continued when no one answered, “Professor Marmaduke’s Core Skills class is the only time you have scheduled to learn control. Would you agree?”

Alex nodded her head along with everyone else, even if in the back of her mind a small voice scoffed at the very idea of the Core Skills class which had, for as long as she’d taken it, taught her next to nothing.

“Does anyone perhaps have another opinion?”

Silent shuffles and fidgeting hands met his question.

“Tell me this, then,” Doc said. “Archery, Combat, Equestrian Skills… These are demanding classes—physically and mentally—which is beneficial for your overall fitness, but they are also hundreds of years after their time. What need have we, in this advanced day and age, to learn the art of duelling with blades? Why send arrows into moving targets? What point is there in straddling an animal intended as a means for transportation when we have access to near instant teleportation? What possible reason could there be for us to teach these classes?”

Hearing her own questions come from his mouth, Alex was hit with a sudden realisation and she spoke without thinking. “It’s not about the classes.”

Doc raised his eyebrows. “Do continue, Miss Jennings.”

Feeling the weight of everyone’s eyes on her, Alex tried to rally her thoughts. “It’s just—I wonder if perhaps we’re looking at this wrong. We’re not learning Combat or Archery—I mean, we
are
, but that’s not
all
we’re learning in those classes.”

With an encouraging look, Doc said, “Would you care to extrapolate?”

Trying to be as articulate as possible, Alex replied, “Core Skills is dedicated to us learning how to control our gifts, yes?” At Doc’s nod, she continued. “Well, what if our other classes, particularly Combat, Archery and Equestrian Skills, are also about control? More than control—they’re about discipline. We’re not learning how to fight each other or ride a horse or whatever else to use those skills in the world outside Akarnae, but rather, by taking these classes, we’re growing our characters. That kind of strenuous training requires strength, patience, endurance, fortitude and a range of other traits that can only improve us as human beings. And…”

“And…?” Doc pressed.

“And,” Alex continued, “as you said earlier, sir, people with gifts have a
responsibility
to nurture them, but more than that, I’d like to think we have a responsibility to develop ourselves as human beings as well. That’s what these classes offer us. They provide us with the building blocks of discipline and control—both of which, in turn, help us to develop and utilise our giftings.”

A smile spread across Doc’s face and he raised his hands to applaud her, much to Alex’s embarrassment.

“Bravo, Miss Jennings,” he said. “You are indeed correct— our curriculum isn’t in place on the off-chance that you’ll be transported back in time and have to survive a swordfight on horseback followed by an archery tournament. Rather, it is to prepare your character for the future and to assist in the learning of control and discipline in every aspect of your lives—
including, perhaps
especially
, your giftings. Once you graduate and leave these walls, it will be up to you what you do with your abilities. You may enter the workplace in a field where you can use your gifts, knowing that people such as yourselves are highly sought after, or you may decide to put aside your ability and live a normal life. The choice is yours. We can only offer you the chance to
make
that choice, being well-informed based on what we teach you and how we teach it to you.

“All that said,” Doc continued, deep in teaching mode now, “there is still some modern day relevance for what we learn here, which is especially helpful should you decide to embark into a future where your gift becomes nothing more than an accessory. Equestrian Skills, for example, teaches you how to respect beings much larger, stronger and arguably smarter than yourselves, and if you ever happen upon a situation where you find another creature of mountable size, you’ll have some idea of how to gain control over it. As for Combat and Archery—if after leaving the academy you desire to enter into military service or seek beyond that to become a Warden, your fighting and targeting skills will be required on a daily basis. While more advanced technology is available to those of higher ranks, swords will always be the most accessible means to end a physically aggressive dispute. Or start one, as the case may be. And while bows and arrows aren’t common accoutrements for humans outside of the academy’s walls, none can argue that, if you can hit a moving target from two hundred feet, you can likely shoot any firearm—or simply throw a stone—with above par accuracy.”

Wandering back to the front of the room, Doc finished by saying, “The curriculum at Akarnae may seem dated, but as we have just outlined, its traditions are timeless. It’s all a matter of perspective.”

With plenty to think about, Alex listened as Doc completed the rest of his class by going over some of the points already
raised and expanding on others. She felt better having had some of her questions answered, but there was still one thing she was curious about. Not knowing if it was the kind of enquiry she should make to a class full of students when it might be general knowledge to all Medorans, Alex decided to wait until the end of the day before she sought out the one person who she had a feeling would be able to answer her better than anyone else.

“You’re a hard guy to track down,” Alex said to Kaiden, having finally found him in the stables after asking what felt like every single person on campus for his location.

“Alex,” he said, looking at her in question over the back of the horse he was brushing down. “What’s up?”

She bit her lip and looked away, wondering if she was making a mistake by coming to him. He already knew more about her than he should, but he didn’t know
everything
, and it had to stay that way. However, he
had
told her that she could come to him if she ever needed anything.

“I want to ask you something, but you have to promise not to read into it—and you have to promise not to laugh if you think it’s a stupid question,” she said, reaching for a curry-comb just to have something to do with her hands while she talked. She began grooming the sleek black coat of the horse she knew was named Eclipse, waiting for Kaiden to agree.

“That depends on what you ask,” he said, grinning roguishly. “But I must say, I’m intrigued.”

Alex frowned. So far, their conversation wasn’t going to plan and it had barely begun. But she decided she might as well jump in and see what happened, so she said, “I want to know about the Soori Outpost.”

Kaiden’s entire body jerked, and Alex looked at him in surprise.

“What about it?” he asked, his brush strokes becoming visibly tense to the point that Eclipse pinned his ears back in irritation. Kaiden noticed and relaxed his grip, prompting the horse to relax again too.

Confused by his strong reaction, Alex said, “I want to know why it’s there. Medora is a supercontinent currently run by a single monarchy, so why is there an active military force if there’s no one to go to war against? And do they use other weapons stronger than Stabilisers? Also, I always presumed Wardens were more like glorified guards, but now I’m not so sure. Who has more authority—them or the General?”

Kaiden wasn’t tense anymore; that was for sure. But Alex almost wished he was, since he was now looking at her with a scrutinising expression.

She swallowed and focused on moving her curry along the barrel of Eclipse’s stomach. “No reading into it, remember?”

“Hey, at least I’m not laughing,” Kaiden said. “That’s one out of two. Take what you can get.”

“I’d rather a judgement-free answer,” Alex responded. “With no follow-up questions.”

“I’ll answer you, but I can’t promise there won’t be follow up,” Kaiden said, moving further along to brush the curve of Eclipse’s apple-shaped rump. “Let’s start with the Wardens. Don’t ever let them hear you calling them ‘glorified guards’ or it may be the last thing you ever say. And I mean that, Alex.”

If his serious expression was anything to go by, he really did mean that.

“Now, in a not-reading-into-this kind of way, am I right to guess that you don’t know much about what Akarnae students do after they graduate?”

“Um…” Alex hesitated. “Hypothetically? Let’s go with that. From here on out, just act like I know nothing.”

Kaiden’s lips twitched, drawing Alex’s attention to his mouth before she forced her gaze back up to his eyes. Judging by the humour she found in them, she had a feeling she wasn’t fooling him at all.