[exo] Eclipse 2/?
Title: Eclipse
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: OT12
Word count: 4,061
Genre: fantasy, !MAMA, AU
Summary: A mash-up of sorts of MAMA, Game of Thrones and Avatar. An epic-fantasy tale of twelve people connected by a force beyond their powers and tied by the game of life. When a shadow covers the sun, when the evil raises its head, it's up to the Twelve save the nations.
A/N: This chapter is almost twice the length of the previous one, and you can expect chapters of such length in the future. Let's us enjoy some exciting fantasy, while we all await the glorious comeback of the twelve.
I'm considering adding direwolves in this. I mean, EXO seems to be fond of wolves :D kidding, no wolves probably,
anyway, do leave some feedback!
<<< chapter 1
“Straighten your right leg; bend your left elbow a little. Too much. A little less. Good. Now relax your back. Don’t slump.”
“I’m not slumping,” Tao muttered, a little annoyed.
His new instructor was a prick. Tao doubted he actually knew wushu himself, and yet there he was, chastising Tao for not getting a basic fighting pose right. Tao was sure his stance, which he had been practicing for years now, was flawless.
“Don’t talk back!” The instructor barked, smacking his back; Tao gritted his teeth, clenching his fists with hands still in a fighting position. The instructor circled his stiff form, and when he seemed to find no flaws, let out a grump. “Not bad. But could be better.”
Tao let go of the pose and straightened up, his tall frame towering over the small instructor. For such a young age, Tao was ridiculously tall. He could see his height intimidated his new instructor a lot.
“Take a break, you need it.” The instructor- Tao had actually forgotten to ask his name and he hadn’t introduced himself- rubbed his forehead with his sleeve, wiping away drops of sweat from his forehead. “I’ll go look over the other trainees now. I will be back shortly.”
Tao only nodded, watching the scrawny man hurry off across the dry, dusty yard, into one of the dark buildings on the sides. Tao had a feeling his instructor only wanted to get under the shade. The sun was very intense today, burning bright and strong, and the usual black uniform of the Protectors only made it much, much harder to tolerate. Tao was hot. His hair clung to his forehead, wet with perspiration, like a black headband. He brushed it away, but it fell back again. He closed his eyes for a moment, but in the extensive light, he saw red instead of black.
“You shouldn’t be out in the sun during midday.”
Tao turned around, snapping his eyes open. A man, clad in the usual Protector uniform was approaching him. His round face was smiling as he regarded Tao friendly.
“Chief Xiumin.” Tao bowed hurriedly. Xiumin was the instructor of Tao’s training group, but he also held the rank of Chief officer- a relatively high rank among the Protectors. He was also a Wielder and Tao admired him for that, though he couldn’t understand why a skilled wielder like Xiumin got stuck training the future Protectors.
Xiumin stopped just a few feet away from him and raised his eyebrows. “You’re drenched. The heat is unbearable today, isn’t it?” Xiumin reached out to pat the boy’s back. “Come inside for a bit. You’ll cool down.” He motioned for Tao to follow him; Tao did, and the Chief led the boy away from the training grounds and towards one of the buildings. “You shouldn’t be out training today.”
Tao sighed heavily when they walked under the shade the buildings casted. “My new personal instructor thinks my technique is lacking.” He intended to sound all nonchalant and manly, but it still came out a little whiny.
Xiumin arched his eyebrows, grinning. Even after a year of training, Tao still couldn’t get used to this Chief’s friendly attitude towards his students. ”Oreo is such an ass. You’re unlucky to have gotten him.” Xiumin chuckled when Tao raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t Oreo your new instructor? He’s a new Protector, and he thinks he’s got the right to put the trainees through a hard time.” He clicked his tongue. “You and another kid, Baekhyun I think is his name, were very unfortunate to fall under his command.” They entered the building, and he let out a sign of relief. “Aw, I hate all the heat in this place.”
Tao looked around the nearly empty room- only two other trainees were there, sipping what looked like water, but Tao knew to be a vitamin drink, for the trainees’ bones and muscle, Tao’s trainer’s once said. It was dim; the windows were draped with heavy curtains to block out the sunlight in hopes to keep the temperature lower inside. It was working, because inside it was significantly cooler than the outside. But Xiumin still looked bothered and hot.
“Heavens, is it hot.”
“I’m used to the heat, it’s nothing unusual. I’ve lived like that my entire life,” Tao said. It was true. He had been born on the outskirts of the Ordinars’ Capitol, and he had joined the Protectors’ training group, he had never been to anywhere the north, where the climate was cooler. Most of the Ordinars’ territory was in the south, where boiling hot summers and warm winters were the norm.
Xiumin got a dreamy look in his eyes. “I was born in the north. Well, not far in the north- but sometimes we got to see snow during the winter.” He flashed Tao another smile. “I miss home sometimes. Especially in the summer. I can’t stand the heat,” he repeated, and fetched two glasses of the translucent liquid from a big table near the entrance. He clutched the glasses tight, until frost started creeping up their surface. Tao watched the display of the Chief wielding with wonder, and took the glass Xiumin offered him.
The glass was cool in Tao’s hands, and he clutched it tighter, putting it to his lips to take a short, fresh sip of the tasteless drink. The icy liquid travelled down his body, spreading a pleasant coldness inside.
Xiumin sat down on one of the simple hard wooden chairs situated next to the table, and Tao followed suit. He felt a little more relaxed, and before he knew it, a question he had always wanted to ask Xiumin escaped his lips.
“Why did you leave the Wielders’ territory?”
Xiumin drained his glass, and exhaled. “Someone had to. My social standing wasn't good enough. It was this, or being the lowest among the Elementals. ”
Tao sipped his drink, only to have an excuse not to answer. He knew that the Wielders were obsessed with blood purity and ranks, but it still seemed overly stupid to him. Did it really matter who your parents were? His own were ordinary workers, and it never seemed like a problem. But of course, he was an Ordinar, not a Wielder. He possessed no power, he was just a human. The best he could do, the highest he could go, was become a general Protector. Protectors were the army of Ordinars, that served the Ordinars. That’s why Tao had been practicing material arts since he was a little boy; that’s why he was working his ass off, and putting up with annoying idiots like his instructor.
He couldn’t afford to fail.
Xiumin fidgeted in his seat. “I might have to go away soon, though.”
Tao’s head snapped to the other guy. “What? Why?” He didn't want Xiumin to go. He was one of the few Wielders around the camp and he was definitely the only one Tao liked.
Xiumin looked like he hesitated, but only for a few short moments. “ Didn't you hear the rumours? About Ordinars developing an ability to block the Wielders’ powers?”
Tao frowned. “They’re not true, are they?” Taking away a wielder’s ability was beyond imaginable.
Xiumin shrugged. “I don’t know. Those are only rumours. But my friend in the Capitol- the Wielders’ Capitol, of course- said that the numbers of Elementals have been dropping. I might be drawn out to join them.”
Tao frowned. Everyone knew that lots of Wielder parents had been having Ordinary children lately. When it happened, the children were taken away to the Ordinars’ cities and left to be raised by the Ordinars’ families who either simply wanted kids or had their own offspring with powers taken to the Wielders’ cities. The number of Wielder children born into Ordinary families was a lot smaller than the other way around though and it was becoming an issue for the Wielders.
“Well.” Xiumin stood up, breaking Tao out of his thoughts. Tao pushed himself up too. The Wielder smiled, patting the boy’s shoulder. “I have to go. We’ve got an Elementals General visiting in a day. Lots of boring stuff to do… But you should stay here. I’ll have a word with Oreo. You’re under my supervision, so he better not play bigger than he is.” He smiled and stretched out his arms, dropping them back to his side right after.
Even before it happened, Tao knew Xiumin’s hands would knock over the glass the Chief had left on the table. He didn’t even have time to warn the older man before the glass was already tipping over the edge of the table, about to fall down. Xiumin yelped in surprise, his hand shooting out to catch the little object, but missing it.
Tao reacted fast. Like in slow motion he saw the remains of the contents of the glass spilling out and reached out his hand- which seemed to move a lot faster than the falling object- and grabbed the glass. Then he set it back on the table with a soft clack. “Careful.”
Xiumin gaped at him. “You caught it.”
Tao shrugged. His reflexes had always been exceptionally good. It was part of his success in material arts.
“I didn’t even see your hand moving,” Xiumin murmured, his expression a bit darker than it had been before. “How did you do that?”
Tao scrunched up his nose. “Reached out and caught it.” He gave the Chief a weird look. How else could he have done that?
Xiumin stared at him for a long moment. “Well, that was impressive.” He shook his head as if trying to rid his head of unwanted thoughts. “Now, I truly need to go. See you around.”
“See you.” Tao watched the Chief walk off in a hurry, stumbling a bit on his way out.
As Xiumin opened the door that led out of the building, the smooth glass on the table shimmered in the light, not a scratch on its smooth surface.
Kris huffed in irritation as his bodyguard struggled to keep up with his long strides. And Kris was not going to slow down. When bad mood hit him, he always found himself irrationally annoyed by his guard’s stoic face, which the latter somehow managed to always keep void of any emotion. Kris wasn’t much of a smile-er himself, but he preferred it when others were easy to read. And Sehun wasn’t. So the last thing he wanted right now was to be in his company.
“Kris! Kris!”
Kris came into a halt, and Sehun almost smack walked into him, stopping just inches away from his body. While Kris scoffed, Sehun calmly stepped back, allowing Kris some space, but looking relieved he was going to get a little rest from chasing his Prince.
Kris scrunched his eyebrows as Luhan rounded up the corner, hurrying to him, panting. He had been the one who had called Kris just now.
“Heavens, you walk fast,” Luhan said, an accusing tone to his voice, as he reached Kris and his bodyguard. “Good day, Sehun.” He nodded to the hard-faced Wielder.
Kris’ eyebrows settled low over his eyes, noting the dark bags under his friend’s eyes. “What is it, Luhan?”
Luhan shot a lightning-fast glance at Sehun, before smiling at Kris slightly. “I haven’t seen you in a while. I stayed up waiting for you last night, but you never came.”
Sehun fidgeted, noticeably uncomfortable.
Luhan and Kris’ close friendship had long been fuelling the gossip. Rumours about Luhan staying up late, waiting for Kris, who sneaked out of important Meetings and ditched his bodyguard- all for the other man- were very popular among the female population of the Capitol. It didn’t help that Kris and Luhan really did meet in secret, except not to do anything inappropriate, but to talk without being disturbed or overheard. Luhan had little free time, Kris was very busy too, and it usually was near impossible for them to meet during the day. Besides, the Elders were convinced their friendship was unhealthy for Luhan’s Sight and their disapproval, though having no effect on Kris, bothered Luhan. Kris still couldn’t understand why, but he wasn’t one to pry for information his friend wasn’t willing to give. So it all resulted in secret meetings late at night, and since Kris always had to get rid of Sehun first, he had long started to suspect that Sehun was convinced those rumours were true.
While Kris liked to pretend it didn’t bother him, he didn’t like how Luhan was perking up people’s imagination whenever he got the chance.
One glance at Luhan’s gleaming eyes proved to Kris the former was throwing about misleading words on purpose again.
“We need to talk,” Kris muttered, grasping Luhan’s forearm and tugging him away from Sehun, down the marble corridor. Kris hoped Sehun wouldn’t follow, and he didn’t, probably afraid of seeing something he shouldn’t if he did.
Luhan let Kris drag him until they turned a corner, disappearing from Sehun’s sight. Then he pulled his arm free, and smirked at Kris, smoothing down his shirt. “You always get angry.”
“You ought to stop doing that,” Kris said, regarding Luhan warily. “He’s convinced we sleep together.”
“Don’t we?” Luhan’s lips tugged upwards again at Kris’ expression.
Kris resisted rolling his eyes and took on a different tactic, changing the topic abruptly. “So, what’s the deal? You wanted to talk?”
As if by an invisible hand, Luhan’s smile got torn off his face. “Yes.”
Kris’ face hardened at the note of dread in Luhan’s voice. “You heard about last night’s Meeting?” He didn’t know how Luhan could have, since it was forbidden to talk about what was being said in the Meetings, but he could not think of anything else that could have upset Luhan so much.
Luhan got a suspicious look on his face. “No. But you’re going to tell me all about it now.”
Kris mentally cursed himself, but nodded. He was not going to hide anything from Luhan, the only person he could actually trust. Screw the Protocol and its idiotic rules.
He didn’t want to risk being overheard though, so he motioned for Luhan to follow. “Let’s go to my room.”
His chambers were not too far from where they were, and soon Luhan was seated on a big velvet armchair in Kris’ room, looking at the younger man, listening to a recap of yesterday’s Meeting. Luhan remained silent the whole time Kris talked, but his gaze had hardened noticeably when Kris finished.
“So that’s why.”
Kris arched an eyebrow. “What?”
Luhan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples slowly. Kris knew Luhan usually did that when he wanted to sort out his thoughts, so the Prince waited patiently- though he was anything but patient- until Luhan opened his eyes again, ready to speak.
“I had a vision last night. No, wait.” Luhan raised his hand in protest when Kris opened his mouth, a disapproving look on his face. “Hear me out. It was not abstract this time, and it was not a dream either. It was a vision, and I know exactly what it means.”
“Well, that’s a first,” Kris muttered.
Luhan chose to ignore his words, running a hand through his hair, bracing himself to finally say out loud what had kept him awake all night. “A war is coming.”
Kris set his lips into a firm line, his infamous hard expression falling into place. He had heard about Luhan’s visions, which usually consisted of lots of symbols and signs that could basically be explained into hundreds of different meanings, depending on what one wanted them to mean. Needless to say, Kris was not so quick to believe them.
Luhan frowned. “Stop with that look. I know you have doubts about most of my visions, and even I sometimes don’t understand them, but this time it was different. You don’t know what it felt like.” Luhan’s voice wavered a tiny bit, but enough for Kris to pick up on the change. “It’s real, Kris. I Saw it. The blood, the fire, I felt the pain.” He paused, his ragged breathing the only sound in the room. “It’s real, Kris. If it’s not real yet, then it will be soon. I saw the Twelve, too.”
Kris couldn’t help but snort at this.
Luhan shot him an annoyed look, his earlier glee long gone. “I know you don’t believe in it. But it’s not a fairy tale. It’s real.”
“I think our opinions differ on this matter.” Kris crossed his arms, frowning. The Legend of Twelve was a long, childish tale about a tree and an evil being that nearly killed the tree but resulted in only dividing it in two parts. The tale ended with a prophecy which said that when the two parts met, a war would break out, and only the Twelve could stop it and return the balance to the world.
Quite a fairy tale, if you asked Kris.
Luhan’s face hardened. “You cannot deny a war is about to happen. From what you told me, you understand that the Leading Elder has chosen to break the fundamental Law. If he’s going to start bothering the Ordinars, you know they won’t hold back. They’ll strike back, and then the two sides will start a war. And if the Ordinars really can take away one’s wielding…” Luhan trailed off, looking away from Kris. “My visions are real, Kris. Just because it’s an unusual ability, it doesn’t mean it’s not trustworthy.”
Kris stilled. Luhan and his Talent. They danced around the topic a lot, but had never actually talked about it before. Kris knew Luhan was the Prophesier, that he supposedly Saw visions about the future, but it was all too vague for Kris’ concrete nature.
He stared at Luhan, willing him to turn his head, but the older man didn’t budge. From Luhan’s tense shoulders and his refusal to look straight at Kris, the latter knew Luhan was upset. Upset with him.
Kris felt a need to explain his views, to defend himself against Luhan’s indirect accusation of not believing in his powers; but the truth was, Kris wasn’t sure how much he actually trusted what Luhan Saw. Like many, Kris had always been a little wary of Talents and their abilities, which didn’t fall under the usual categories of fire, wind, water and earth. Kris wielded fire, and it was simple enough. He knew how his inner energy worked, how and why flames responded to his chakra shifting. But no one knew why Talents could do what they did. There was no explanation for how or why Luhan Saw visions.
And Kris liked to understand everything and did not believe in “magic”.
“Look,” Luhan said, and Kris snapped out of his thoughts, focusing on his friend, who had turned to meet his eyes. “Let’s not talk about this. I’ll tell you someday.” Luhan blinked, his expression turning blank. “It doesn’t matter if you believe in what I Saw. Or even in the Twelve. The Elders are doing the wrong thing by angering the Ordinars.”
Kris nodded, a little relieved that Luhan was staying clear of the sensitive subject of Seeing. “Yes,” Kris agreed. “I don’t like where this is going. It could result in a war.” Luhan’s expression turned into one that resembled a silent see, that’s what I’m saying too much, and Kris pushed himself off the wall, suddenly in need of fresh air. “Sehun’s probably worried. We took a long time. Anything else you wanted to talk about?”
Luhan didn’t seem satisfied with their conversation, but took the cue to leave and stood up. “No. Let’s go. I’m already horribly late for the daily Ceremony.”
They both headed for the door, Luhan trailing just behind Kris. The latter was already almost out of the room, when Luhan called him softly.
“Mm?” Kris paused in the doorway, turning to give the other man a questioning look over his shoulder.
Luhan’s expression was once again innocently blank. “Do you believe that Ordinars can take away one’s wielding, though?”
It took Kris a few seconds to answer and all he came up with was a disappointing “I don’t know.”
“The check-up is not due yet.”
“Special orders,” Suho growled, growing impatient.
But the Ordinar behind the glass wall didn’t seem affected. “I have not been informed about any special orders.” He mocked the last two words, giving Suho a sour look. “There are still two months until the annual check-up, therefore, you will not be granted permission to enter.”
Suho did his best to appear calm. “I want to talk to your supervisor.”
The Ordinar’s frown deepened. “My boss. We have no supervisors here.”
“You should,” Suho muttered under his breath, barely containing his annoyance, and added in a louder voice, “All right then, I want to see your boss.”
The Ordinar grunted. “He’s not on duty today.”
Suho could barely contain his temper anymore. He was usually a calm guy, but this was even beyond his patience.
He slapped his hands down on the wooden table separating him and the passive Ordinar, making the latter jump up. “Look,” Suho growled. “Send someone to get him, or let me pass. I have no time to waste and you’re being very unhelpful.”
The Ordinar stumbled to his feet, looking a little shaken, but determined. “You Elementals have no powers here. You cannot order us around.”
“Wrong,” Suho hissed, leaning in a little, annoyed at the glass wall between them. It really took away from his act of intimidation. “I am an Elemental General, and I have the right to order anyone around. Including Ordinars like you. If you don’t want to lose your job, I suggest you do as you’re told,” he snarled, unable to play friendly and polite anymore.
“Damned Wielders.” The Ordinar didn’t even bother to keep his voice down, as he turned his back to Suho. “All right, all right, I’ll get the boss to talk to you.” He left through the small black door at the back of his small office, muttering angry curses all the while.
Suho straightened up, smoothing down his uniform which had ridden up his torso a little during his intimidation show. He knew Ordinars were painfully slow with everything they did, and he cursed his bad luck for the nth time that day for having been stuck with such an unfortunate task. He was a General, a title that was the highest among the Elemental forces, yet there he was, sent on a mission to investigate a bunch of nonsensical rumours about Ordinars who supposedly trained in secret camps and then attacked Wielders who just happened to lose their powers during said attacks.
In his humble opinion, those rumours were the result of someone’s imagination gone wild.
But, as always, the Elders had a different opinion. The Leading Elder had ordered Suho to inspect one of the biggest Protector training camps in the whole country, and it just happened to also be the camp furthest in the south. It was an interesting fact, one Suho had learned through his years as an Elemental soldier, that the further in the south people lived, the slower and lazier they were.
And the Ordinar, who had walked off to fetch his boss, only backed Suho’s theory when he made Suho wait for what seemed like an eternity before he came back.
Alone.
Suho was close to giving up. “Where’s your boss?”
The Ordinar gave him a stinky eye, already plopping down into his chair. “Couldn’t come.” Before Suho could open his mouth to protest, he shoved a paper through the little window in the glass that separated him and Suho. “But here’s your pass. My boss has signed it.”
Suho snatched the paper, and with a dry thanks stormed out of the stuffy office, not even flinching as the doors slammed behind him.
He clutched the paper in his hands, almost crumpling it, as he mentally groaned. The sun was already long past the zenith, and it had been far from it when he had first entered the Ordinar’s office.
He was running late, and it had only been the first of the ten Ordinar checkpoints on his way to the training camp.
It was going to be a long journey.
-----------------
chapter 3 >>>
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: OT12
Word count: 4,061
Genre: fantasy, !MAMA, AU
Summary: A mash-up of sorts of MAMA, Game of Thrones and Avatar. An epic-fantasy tale of twelve people connected by a force beyond their powers and tied by the game of life. When a shadow covers the sun, when the evil raises its head, it's up to the Twelve save the nations.
A/N: This chapter is almost twice the length of the previous one, and you can expect chapters of such length in the future. Let's us enjoy some exciting fantasy, while we all await the glorious comeback of the twelve.
I'm considering adding direwolves in this. I mean, EXO seems to be fond of wolves :D kidding, no wolves probably,
anyway, do leave some feedback!
<<< chapter 1
“Straighten your right leg; bend your left elbow a little. Too much. A little less. Good. Now relax your back. Don’t slump.”
“I’m not slumping,” Tao muttered, a little annoyed.
His new instructor was a prick. Tao doubted he actually knew wushu himself, and yet there he was, chastising Tao for not getting a basic fighting pose right. Tao was sure his stance, which he had been practicing for years now, was flawless.
“Don’t talk back!” The instructor barked, smacking his back; Tao gritted his teeth, clenching his fists with hands still in a fighting position. The instructor circled his stiff form, and when he seemed to find no flaws, let out a grump. “Not bad. But could be better.”
Tao let go of the pose and straightened up, his tall frame towering over the small instructor. For such a young age, Tao was ridiculously tall. He could see his height intimidated his new instructor a lot.
“Take a break, you need it.” The instructor- Tao had actually forgotten to ask his name and he hadn’t introduced himself- rubbed his forehead with his sleeve, wiping away drops of sweat from his forehead. “I’ll go look over the other trainees now. I will be back shortly.”
Tao only nodded, watching the scrawny man hurry off across the dry, dusty yard, into one of the dark buildings on the sides. Tao had a feeling his instructor only wanted to get under the shade. The sun was very intense today, burning bright and strong, and the usual black uniform of the Protectors only made it much, much harder to tolerate. Tao was hot. His hair clung to his forehead, wet with perspiration, like a black headband. He brushed it away, but it fell back again. He closed his eyes for a moment, but in the extensive light, he saw red instead of black.
“You shouldn’t be out in the sun during midday.”
Tao turned around, snapping his eyes open. A man, clad in the usual Protector uniform was approaching him. His round face was smiling as he regarded Tao friendly.
“Chief Xiumin.” Tao bowed hurriedly. Xiumin was the instructor of Tao’s training group, but he also held the rank of Chief officer- a relatively high rank among the Protectors. He was also a Wielder and Tao admired him for that, though he couldn’t understand why a skilled wielder like Xiumin got stuck training the future Protectors.
Xiumin stopped just a few feet away from him and raised his eyebrows. “You’re drenched. The heat is unbearable today, isn’t it?” Xiumin reached out to pat the boy’s back. “Come inside for a bit. You’ll cool down.” He motioned for Tao to follow him; Tao did, and the Chief led the boy away from the training grounds and towards one of the buildings. “You shouldn’t be out training today.”
Tao sighed heavily when they walked under the shade the buildings casted. “My new personal instructor thinks my technique is lacking.” He intended to sound all nonchalant and manly, but it still came out a little whiny.
Xiumin arched his eyebrows, grinning. Even after a year of training, Tao still couldn’t get used to this Chief’s friendly attitude towards his students. ”Oreo is such an ass. You’re unlucky to have gotten him.” Xiumin chuckled when Tao raised his eyebrows. “Isn’t Oreo your new instructor? He’s a new Protector, and he thinks he’s got the right to put the trainees through a hard time.” He clicked his tongue. “You and another kid, Baekhyun I think is his name, were very unfortunate to fall under his command.” They entered the building, and he let out a sign of relief. “Aw, I hate all the heat in this place.”
Tao looked around the nearly empty room- only two other trainees were there, sipping what looked like water, but Tao knew to be a vitamin drink, for the trainees’ bones and muscle, Tao’s trainer’s once said. It was dim; the windows were draped with heavy curtains to block out the sunlight in hopes to keep the temperature lower inside. It was working, because inside it was significantly cooler than the outside. But Xiumin still looked bothered and hot.
“Heavens, is it hot.”
“I’m used to the heat, it’s nothing unusual. I’ve lived like that my entire life,” Tao said. It was true. He had been born on the outskirts of the Ordinars’ Capitol, and he had joined the Protectors’ training group, he had never been to anywhere the north, where the climate was cooler. Most of the Ordinars’ territory was in the south, where boiling hot summers and warm winters were the norm.
Xiumin got a dreamy look in his eyes. “I was born in the north. Well, not far in the north- but sometimes we got to see snow during the winter.” He flashed Tao another smile. “I miss home sometimes. Especially in the summer. I can’t stand the heat,” he repeated, and fetched two glasses of the translucent liquid from a big table near the entrance. He clutched the glasses tight, until frost started creeping up their surface. Tao watched the display of the Chief wielding with wonder, and took the glass Xiumin offered him.
The glass was cool in Tao’s hands, and he clutched it tighter, putting it to his lips to take a short, fresh sip of the tasteless drink. The icy liquid travelled down his body, spreading a pleasant coldness inside.
Xiumin sat down on one of the simple hard wooden chairs situated next to the table, and Tao followed suit. He felt a little more relaxed, and before he knew it, a question he had always wanted to ask Xiumin escaped his lips.
“Why did you leave the Wielders’ territory?”
Xiumin drained his glass, and exhaled. “Someone had to. My social standing wasn't good enough. It was this, or being the lowest among the Elementals. ”
Tao sipped his drink, only to have an excuse not to answer. He knew that the Wielders were obsessed with blood purity and ranks, but it still seemed overly stupid to him. Did it really matter who your parents were? His own were ordinary workers, and it never seemed like a problem. But of course, he was an Ordinar, not a Wielder. He possessed no power, he was just a human. The best he could do, the highest he could go, was become a general Protector. Protectors were the army of Ordinars, that served the Ordinars. That’s why Tao had been practicing material arts since he was a little boy; that’s why he was working his ass off, and putting up with annoying idiots like his instructor.
He couldn’t afford to fail.
Xiumin fidgeted in his seat. “I might have to go away soon, though.”
Tao’s head snapped to the other guy. “What? Why?” He didn't want Xiumin to go. He was one of the few Wielders around the camp and he was definitely the only one Tao liked.
Xiumin looked like he hesitated, but only for a few short moments. “ Didn't you hear the rumours? About Ordinars developing an ability to block the Wielders’ powers?”
Tao frowned. “They’re not true, are they?” Taking away a wielder’s ability was beyond imaginable.
Xiumin shrugged. “I don’t know. Those are only rumours. But my friend in the Capitol- the Wielders’ Capitol, of course- said that the numbers of Elementals have been dropping. I might be drawn out to join them.”
Tao frowned. Everyone knew that lots of Wielder parents had been having Ordinary children lately. When it happened, the children were taken away to the Ordinars’ cities and left to be raised by the Ordinars’ families who either simply wanted kids or had their own offspring with powers taken to the Wielders’ cities. The number of Wielder children born into Ordinary families was a lot smaller than the other way around though and it was becoming an issue for the Wielders.
“Well.” Xiumin stood up, breaking Tao out of his thoughts. Tao pushed himself up too. The Wielder smiled, patting the boy’s shoulder. “I have to go. We’ve got an Elementals General visiting in a day. Lots of boring stuff to do… But you should stay here. I’ll have a word with Oreo. You’re under my supervision, so he better not play bigger than he is.” He smiled and stretched out his arms, dropping them back to his side right after.
Even before it happened, Tao knew Xiumin’s hands would knock over the glass the Chief had left on the table. He didn’t even have time to warn the older man before the glass was already tipping over the edge of the table, about to fall down. Xiumin yelped in surprise, his hand shooting out to catch the little object, but missing it.
Tao reacted fast. Like in slow motion he saw the remains of the contents of the glass spilling out and reached out his hand- which seemed to move a lot faster than the falling object- and grabbed the glass. Then he set it back on the table with a soft clack. “Careful.”
Xiumin gaped at him. “You caught it.”
Tao shrugged. His reflexes had always been exceptionally good. It was part of his success in material arts.
“I didn’t even see your hand moving,” Xiumin murmured, his expression a bit darker than it had been before. “How did you do that?”
Tao scrunched up his nose. “Reached out and caught it.” He gave the Chief a weird look. How else could he have done that?
Xiumin stared at him for a long moment. “Well, that was impressive.” He shook his head as if trying to rid his head of unwanted thoughts. “Now, I truly need to go. See you around.”
“See you.” Tao watched the Chief walk off in a hurry, stumbling a bit on his way out.
As Xiumin opened the door that led out of the building, the smooth glass on the table shimmered in the light, not a scratch on its smooth surface.
Kris huffed in irritation as his bodyguard struggled to keep up with his long strides. And Kris was not going to slow down. When bad mood hit him, he always found himself irrationally annoyed by his guard’s stoic face, which the latter somehow managed to always keep void of any emotion. Kris wasn’t much of a smile-er himself, but he preferred it when others were easy to read. And Sehun wasn’t. So the last thing he wanted right now was to be in his company.
“Kris! Kris!”
Kris came into a halt, and Sehun almost smack walked into him, stopping just inches away from his body. While Kris scoffed, Sehun calmly stepped back, allowing Kris some space, but looking relieved he was going to get a little rest from chasing his Prince.
Kris scrunched his eyebrows as Luhan rounded up the corner, hurrying to him, panting. He had been the one who had called Kris just now.
“Heavens, you walk fast,” Luhan said, an accusing tone to his voice, as he reached Kris and his bodyguard. “Good day, Sehun.” He nodded to the hard-faced Wielder.
Kris’ eyebrows settled low over his eyes, noting the dark bags under his friend’s eyes. “What is it, Luhan?”
Luhan shot a lightning-fast glance at Sehun, before smiling at Kris slightly. “I haven’t seen you in a while. I stayed up waiting for you last night, but you never came.”
Sehun fidgeted, noticeably uncomfortable.
Luhan and Kris’ close friendship had long been fuelling the gossip. Rumours about Luhan staying up late, waiting for Kris, who sneaked out of important Meetings and ditched his bodyguard- all for the other man- were very popular among the female population of the Capitol. It didn’t help that Kris and Luhan really did meet in secret, except not to do anything inappropriate, but to talk without being disturbed or overheard. Luhan had little free time, Kris was very busy too, and it usually was near impossible for them to meet during the day. Besides, the Elders were convinced their friendship was unhealthy for Luhan’s Sight and their disapproval, though having no effect on Kris, bothered Luhan. Kris still couldn’t understand why, but he wasn’t one to pry for information his friend wasn’t willing to give. So it all resulted in secret meetings late at night, and since Kris always had to get rid of Sehun first, he had long started to suspect that Sehun was convinced those rumours were true.
While Kris liked to pretend it didn’t bother him, he didn’t like how Luhan was perking up people’s imagination whenever he got the chance.
One glance at Luhan’s gleaming eyes proved to Kris the former was throwing about misleading words on purpose again.
“We need to talk,” Kris muttered, grasping Luhan’s forearm and tugging him away from Sehun, down the marble corridor. Kris hoped Sehun wouldn’t follow, and he didn’t, probably afraid of seeing something he shouldn’t if he did.
Luhan let Kris drag him until they turned a corner, disappearing from Sehun’s sight. Then he pulled his arm free, and smirked at Kris, smoothing down his shirt. “You always get angry.”
“You ought to stop doing that,” Kris said, regarding Luhan warily. “He’s convinced we sleep together.”
“Don’t we?” Luhan’s lips tugged upwards again at Kris’ expression.
Kris resisted rolling his eyes and took on a different tactic, changing the topic abruptly. “So, what’s the deal? You wanted to talk?”
As if by an invisible hand, Luhan’s smile got torn off his face. “Yes.”
Kris’ face hardened at the note of dread in Luhan’s voice. “You heard about last night’s Meeting?” He didn’t know how Luhan could have, since it was forbidden to talk about what was being said in the Meetings, but he could not think of anything else that could have upset Luhan so much.
Luhan got a suspicious look on his face. “No. But you’re going to tell me all about it now.”
Kris mentally cursed himself, but nodded. He was not going to hide anything from Luhan, the only person he could actually trust. Screw the Protocol and its idiotic rules.
He didn’t want to risk being overheard though, so he motioned for Luhan to follow. “Let’s go to my room.”
His chambers were not too far from where they were, and soon Luhan was seated on a big velvet armchair in Kris’ room, looking at the younger man, listening to a recap of yesterday’s Meeting. Luhan remained silent the whole time Kris talked, but his gaze had hardened noticeably when Kris finished.
“So that’s why.”
Kris arched an eyebrow. “What?”
Luhan closed his eyes and rubbed his temples slowly. Kris knew Luhan usually did that when he wanted to sort out his thoughts, so the Prince waited patiently- though he was anything but patient- until Luhan opened his eyes again, ready to speak.
“I had a vision last night. No, wait.” Luhan raised his hand in protest when Kris opened his mouth, a disapproving look on his face. “Hear me out. It was not abstract this time, and it was not a dream either. It was a vision, and I know exactly what it means.”
“Well, that’s a first,” Kris muttered.
Luhan chose to ignore his words, running a hand through his hair, bracing himself to finally say out loud what had kept him awake all night. “A war is coming.”
Kris set his lips into a firm line, his infamous hard expression falling into place. He had heard about Luhan’s visions, which usually consisted of lots of symbols and signs that could basically be explained into hundreds of different meanings, depending on what one wanted them to mean. Needless to say, Kris was not so quick to believe them.
Luhan frowned. “Stop with that look. I know you have doubts about most of my visions, and even I sometimes don’t understand them, but this time it was different. You don’t know what it felt like.” Luhan’s voice wavered a tiny bit, but enough for Kris to pick up on the change. “It’s real, Kris. I Saw it. The blood, the fire, I felt the pain.” He paused, his ragged breathing the only sound in the room. “It’s real, Kris. If it’s not real yet, then it will be soon. I saw the Twelve, too.”
Kris couldn’t help but snort at this.
Luhan shot him an annoyed look, his earlier glee long gone. “I know you don’t believe in it. But it’s not a fairy tale. It’s real.”
“I think our opinions differ on this matter.” Kris crossed his arms, frowning. The Legend of Twelve was a long, childish tale about a tree and an evil being that nearly killed the tree but resulted in only dividing it in two parts. The tale ended with a prophecy which said that when the two parts met, a war would break out, and only the Twelve could stop it and return the balance to the world.
Quite a fairy tale, if you asked Kris.
Luhan’s face hardened. “You cannot deny a war is about to happen. From what you told me, you understand that the Leading Elder has chosen to break the fundamental Law. If he’s going to start bothering the Ordinars, you know they won’t hold back. They’ll strike back, and then the two sides will start a war. And if the Ordinars really can take away one’s wielding…” Luhan trailed off, looking away from Kris. “My visions are real, Kris. Just because it’s an unusual ability, it doesn’t mean it’s not trustworthy.”
Kris stilled. Luhan and his Talent. They danced around the topic a lot, but had never actually talked about it before. Kris knew Luhan was the Prophesier, that he supposedly Saw visions about the future, but it was all too vague for Kris’ concrete nature.
He stared at Luhan, willing him to turn his head, but the older man didn’t budge. From Luhan’s tense shoulders and his refusal to look straight at Kris, the latter knew Luhan was upset. Upset with him.
Kris felt a need to explain his views, to defend himself against Luhan’s indirect accusation of not believing in his powers; but the truth was, Kris wasn’t sure how much he actually trusted what Luhan Saw. Like many, Kris had always been a little wary of Talents and their abilities, which didn’t fall under the usual categories of fire, wind, water and earth. Kris wielded fire, and it was simple enough. He knew how his inner energy worked, how and why flames responded to his chakra shifting. But no one knew why Talents could do what they did. There was no explanation for how or why Luhan Saw visions.
And Kris liked to understand everything and did not believe in “magic”.
“Look,” Luhan said, and Kris snapped out of his thoughts, focusing on his friend, who had turned to meet his eyes. “Let’s not talk about this. I’ll tell you someday.” Luhan blinked, his expression turning blank. “It doesn’t matter if you believe in what I Saw. Or even in the Twelve. The Elders are doing the wrong thing by angering the Ordinars.”
Kris nodded, a little relieved that Luhan was staying clear of the sensitive subject of Seeing. “Yes,” Kris agreed. “I don’t like where this is going. It could result in a war.” Luhan’s expression turned into one that resembled a silent see, that’s what I’m saying too much, and Kris pushed himself off the wall, suddenly in need of fresh air. “Sehun’s probably worried. We took a long time. Anything else you wanted to talk about?”
Luhan didn’t seem satisfied with their conversation, but took the cue to leave and stood up. “No. Let’s go. I’m already horribly late for the daily Ceremony.”
They both headed for the door, Luhan trailing just behind Kris. The latter was already almost out of the room, when Luhan called him softly.
“Mm?” Kris paused in the doorway, turning to give the other man a questioning look over his shoulder.
Luhan’s expression was once again innocently blank. “Do you believe that Ordinars can take away one’s wielding, though?”
It took Kris a few seconds to answer and all he came up with was a disappointing “I don’t know.”
“The check-up is not due yet.”
“Special orders,” Suho growled, growing impatient.
But the Ordinar behind the glass wall didn’t seem affected. “I have not been informed about any special orders.” He mocked the last two words, giving Suho a sour look. “There are still two months until the annual check-up, therefore, you will not be granted permission to enter.”
Suho did his best to appear calm. “I want to talk to your supervisor.”
The Ordinar’s frown deepened. “My boss. We have no supervisors here.”
“You should,” Suho muttered under his breath, barely containing his annoyance, and added in a louder voice, “All right then, I want to see your boss.”
The Ordinar grunted. “He’s not on duty today.”
Suho could barely contain his temper anymore. He was usually a calm guy, but this was even beyond his patience.
He slapped his hands down on the wooden table separating him and the passive Ordinar, making the latter jump up. “Look,” Suho growled. “Send someone to get him, or let me pass. I have no time to waste and you’re being very unhelpful.”
The Ordinar stumbled to his feet, looking a little shaken, but determined. “You Elementals have no powers here. You cannot order us around.”
“Wrong,” Suho hissed, leaning in a little, annoyed at the glass wall between them. It really took away from his act of intimidation. “I am an Elemental General, and I have the right to order anyone around. Including Ordinars like you. If you don’t want to lose your job, I suggest you do as you’re told,” he snarled, unable to play friendly and polite anymore.
“Damned Wielders.” The Ordinar didn’t even bother to keep his voice down, as he turned his back to Suho. “All right, all right, I’ll get the boss to talk to you.” He left through the small black door at the back of his small office, muttering angry curses all the while.
Suho straightened up, smoothing down his uniform which had ridden up his torso a little during his intimidation show. He knew Ordinars were painfully slow with everything they did, and he cursed his bad luck for the nth time that day for having been stuck with such an unfortunate task. He was a General, a title that was the highest among the Elemental forces, yet there he was, sent on a mission to investigate a bunch of nonsensical rumours about Ordinars who supposedly trained in secret camps and then attacked Wielders who just happened to lose their powers during said attacks.
In his humble opinion, those rumours were the result of someone’s imagination gone wild.
But, as always, the Elders had a different opinion. The Leading Elder had ordered Suho to inspect one of the biggest Protector training camps in the whole country, and it just happened to also be the camp furthest in the south. It was an interesting fact, one Suho had learned through his years as an Elemental soldier, that the further in the south people lived, the slower and lazier they were.
And the Ordinar, who had walked off to fetch his boss, only backed Suho’s theory when he made Suho wait for what seemed like an eternity before he came back.
Alone.
Suho was close to giving up. “Where’s your boss?”
The Ordinar gave him a stinky eye, already plopping down into his chair. “Couldn’t come.” Before Suho could open his mouth to protest, he shoved a paper through the little window in the glass that separated him and Suho. “But here’s your pass. My boss has signed it.”
Suho snatched the paper, and with a dry thanks stormed out of the stuffy office, not even flinching as the doors slammed behind him.
He clutched the paper in his hands, almost crumpling it, as he mentally groaned. The sun was already long past the zenith, and it had been far from it when he had first entered the Ordinar’s office.
He was running late, and it had only been the first of the ten Ordinar checkpoints on his way to the training camp.
It was going to be a long journey.
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chapter 3 >>>