Bustling sounds outside my room roused me from my sleep the next morning. After my bath I put on the plain tunic trousers and blouse Phaeora had given me the night before. Recalling where Phaeora’s study was I made my way there. The Academy was much busier than it had been when I came yesterday, several boys and girls that looked my age and maybe younger were scurrying around with boxes and suitcases in tow. There even seemed to be families as well. Arriving at Phaeora’s study, I knocked and heard her say I could come in, she was in the same spot I saw her when we first met but she was wearing a light blue silk dress this time.
“What’s going on?” I asked. Phaeora looked up from her book and smiled at me.
“Good morning. Hope your night was well.”
My cheeks grew warm and I glanced down, grasping how rude I was to just start asking questions straight away.
“It was good thanks, hope yours was too.”
“Wonderful. As for what is going on, the other members of the Academy are either returning or arriving here for the first time.”
“Right.”
I hesitated for a second before I asked her the question that had been on my mind since I crossed over to this world. Far-fetched as it was, if I never asked I would never know.
“Do you know of someone called Willow Qadriyeh? Is there anyone here at the Academy or in Eithreal by that name?”
“Your sister.” She said it as a statement, not a question, when I didn’t respond she continued. “No I am afraid I have not heard of anyone that goes by that name. What happened to her?”
I didn’t answer, instead I changed the subject. It was a long shot anyway, Alec said that black cloaks were popular here so maybe not that much of a stretch. Even though he wasn’t the guy that took Willow, somehow I was sure the man that did was here. And where he was, Willow would be too.
“So this place is a school?”
Phaeora must have noticed my obvious evasion of her question but she didn’t comment on it.
“Not exactly, at least we do not think of it in that way. It is just a place for us and the people that come here to discover more about their powers. We test and experiment with them to discover the extent of their abilities. We also teach them how to use their powers if they are so inclined.”326Please respect copyright.PENANAdT5NXIPi7W
“So it’s a school.” I stated.
Phaeora smiled softly. “If you wish to think of it that way I suppose you can. Today you learn more about Aldonia and you meet your mentor. Follow me.”326Please respect copyright.PENANAxdj5ySyYS6
She walked out of her study and down the halls of the Academy, her heels making light clicking noises and her hair swaying about her waist while she walked. I was led into another room; this one was similar to hers except bookcases nearly as tall as the ceiling itself covered every part of the room, each bookcase was filled to the brim. In front of one of the bookcases was a ladder, on that ladder was a man who faced us when we came in.
“Phaeora! Hello, ah, this must be the young humana we’ve all been dying to meet!”
The man scuttled down the ladder, and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, he rushed to greet me and shook my hand vigorously. I was taken aback by his energy.
“Please, come in, come in! I’m very pleased to meet you.” He signaled for me to sit on the chair across from his desk.
“Anya, this is Kaii Zafirah he is a spirit wizard and one of the mentors at this Academy.”
“Nice to meet you.” I said as I sat down on the chair.
“And you. It’s amazing, you really do look so much like Amara.” He said as he sat down in front of his desk facing me.
“So I’ve heard.”
Phaeora didn’t join us, rather she told us that she’d come and check on us later then left us to it. As soon as she left Kaii got ready to work, he grabbed several books from different parts of the room and set them on the large table to the side of the room. He gestured for me to join him.
“Let me tell you about the Academy.”
We spent the next few hours going through books about the Academy and how it was formed, why it was formed and what it does. It had been created after the reign of the Gods, when the reign of the magicians had been well under way. Originally, its sole purpose had been to observe the reincarnations, if one was born in Mortalis the following destruction would raise too many questions so the Academy would find a way to make it look like natural disasters. Not to mention the deaths of reincarnations in Mortalis had to be explained, each one was sixteen years old meaning that they must have had families who worried about them and would wonder if they were to suddenly disappear. The Academy was also there to give explanations to the families, what they told them was a different matter entirely.
“Why don’t people in Mortalis know more about Eithreal and the other realms?” I questioned.
“It seems mixing regular humans with the paranormal situations of the rest of Aldonia did nothing for either side. During the reign of the Gods this was proven, dissent rose between humans and the supernatural, which seems to have passed down over generations. Now if the humans come across anything out of the ordinary they treat us like parasites.”
I nodded. “That explains why I was so out of place in Mortalis. Humans are unkind.”
“It is not just them, we too have harboured ill feelings towards humans. Conflict is never one sided Anya.”
I let that sink in as Kaii continued informing me of the Academy’s history. He told me about Phaeora, her ancestors founded the Academy and ownership had been passed down from generation to generation. Eventually it was passed down to her.
Kaii also told me more about Aldonia, it was made up of four realms wherein several different magical beings lived in. There were three different types of magical beings apparently, awake, ignorant and nulla. Awake magical beings were people who knew of the other realms and how to get there, they were aware of their power and background so anyone born in Eithreal or the other two realms were awake. Not everyone had to be born awake, you could also become awake if you learned about your magical abilities. This was called an awakening, which is what Kaii explained is happening to me.
Ignorants were people who were magical beings and had a magical background but were not aware of it, they were also not aware of the other three realms within Aldonia, most of those people lived in Mortalis and I was one of them before I came here. Lastly nullas, they were people with no magical abilities and no knowledge of the other realms, true mortals.
Mortalis and Eithreal were two of the four realms in Aldonia; the other two were Canaiyas and Animus.
“Now even though most people in Aldonia are magicians, there are different types. They can actually be ranked by power. Starting from the Goddess, then it’s the Ceteri, then humana. After that are psychics, spirit wizards, and sorcerers who are all ranked about the same. Underneath them are the elemental magicians and lastly reincarnations.”
“If the magicians are so low down the rankings why do the rule everything?”
“What makes you think they rule?”
“This century is called the reign of the magicians right?”
“Well yes but like I said, that refers to all of us. However the magic council does rule us all in a way. This is a group of seven members from each faction of magician; they make the major decisions and act as the kind of government of Aldonia.”
Kaii continued to explain more about magicians.
“Humana are quite rare. They have a wide range of powers, all of which have yet to be fully discovered. Psychics were said to have been wiped out during the war of the Gods, as far as we know there are hardly any psychics in Aldonia. But they have control over the mind. Spirit wizards true to their name have limited control of the spirit and since we are also wizards, we are apt at spell casting and potion making. Next are the sorcerers, there are two types: bloodstone and moonstone sorcerers. Bloodstone sorcerers have quite frightening powers, also true to their name they control blood in their own body, in others and free flowing blood. Moonstone sorcerers harness the power of the moon, but their disadvantage is that they are practically useless during the day.”
“Is Phaeora one of the ones you just mentioned?” I asked.
“Yes, Phaeora is a moonstone sorcerer, the most powerful of her kind I believe. Next on the list are the magicians. There are four types of those, according to the elements: fire, earth, water and air magicians. Each having control of their element and immunity from any attack from that element. The reincarnations are the weakest because they have no control of their powers and unfortunately die as soon as their powers begin to manifest.”326Please respect copyright.PENANARGBDllb3C8
“Do you travel between realms the same way Alec and I got here? Using a diamond crystal?”
“Well yes, each realm has a slightly different crystal however. Eithreal has diamonds, Mortalis amber crystals, Canaiyas ruby crystals and Animus opal crystals. Different magicians live in different realms; Eithreal mainly consists of the element magicians, although since it is the capital of Aldonia it is the most diverse realm. Mortalis is where the ignorants and nullas live; Canaiyas is for the bloodstone clan and Animus for the moonstone clan and most spirit wizards.”
“Anything else I need to know?” Kaii walked over to the bookcases and pulled out one more book, it was a deep emerald and in gold cursive writing was my name embossed on the front cover. “Is that about me?” I asked.
“Indeed. We knew you were different from the moment you were born, we had to start researching and recording everything we knew from that moment.”326Please respect copyright.PENANAk4SeCf75YH
“How did you know I was different?”
“Each reincarnation appears roughly ten years after the last one, so when the time is near we make sure we are ready to find the newest one when they are born. Though we found that you were actually a humana.”
“How could you be sure?”
“Humanas have a certain magical energy that we’re able to sense. Convincing us even more was your appearance, the likeness you had to Amara was apparent even at such a young age. Blinding white hair, warm honey toned skin and the most prominent, your glowing green eyes.”
Doubts about whether I was this humana I was said to be were slipping away rapidly, though I still wanted to clutch at them. I marveled at how these people were able to find me in Mortalis, confirm my identity and slip away unnoticed. Of course, they were magicians after all so my wonder was futile.
Kaii opened the book he’d retrieved and flipped through pages until he came to the one he was evidently looking for.
“So there are theories as to why you may have lived past sixteen. They are all in here, have a look.”
He handed the book over to me and I read about the theories listed on the page. One of the theories claimed that somewhere along the way the power of the Goddess had somehow weakened as it passed through each reincarnation, therefore allowing a human to be able to have complete control over the powers. Another of the theories suggested that someone may have somehow altered the way the reincarnations work, though not affecting the people themselves but rather giving them more control over their powers.
“This second theory, is it possible to actually give a reincarnation more access to Amara’s powers?”
“It is but only a humana spirit wizard can do so, even at that it would have to be a very powerful one.”
“A humana spirit wizard?”326Please respect copyright.PENANA0SQoZ2Wh07
“The physical reincarnation of the original spirit wizard. Theories say that one does exist or will exist but we have no idea if he has been born, will be born or is alive right now.”
I continued looking through the book finding events in my life that had happened. They had even recorded the disappearance of my sister, but clearly didn’t know much because that part didn’t even fill up half a page. They didn’t know what happened to her either. Near the back of the page I came across a new section of the book, there was a black cover page with the word Gemini written in the middle.
“What’s Gemini?”
Suddenly Kaii slammed the book closed nearly catching my fingers in between, he held the book close to his chest and had a slightly panicked look in his eyes. He didn’t answer my question, instead stared at me with the same flustered look for several minutes; I was starting to feel awkward when, thankfully, Phaeora came in with Alec.
“How are you both doing? Have you learned everything you need to know Anya?”
Kaii still didn’t say a word, holding the book like a lifeline, after glancing at him a few more times I refocused my attention to Phaeora.
“I think so.”
“Good. I asked Alec to take you to the market to buy some clothes and other essentials you may need. Something has come up so I will not be able to come with you.”
I looked at Alec who still had the same grimace on his face since I got here and sighed.
“Great.”
“Come on, I don’t have all day.” Alec said and walked out of the study; I rolled my eyes and then followed him. About half way down the hall I realised that there was something else I had wanted to ask Kaii, I made Alec wait for me and headed back to his study. When I got there the door was slightly open and I could hear low voices coming from the inside. I creeped closer and strained to hear what they were saying.
“She saw the section about Gemini.” A voice I recognised as Kaii’s said.
“How much did she see?” that was the soft twinkle of Phaeora’s voice.
“Only the title page, she does not know anything about it but the name.”
“Even so, make sure she does not mention it to anyone. Let us just hope she does not get too curious, I am not sure what knowing that information would do to her. She is already reluctant as it is.”
Backing away slowly, question completely forgotten I rushed to where I left Alec. My face must have been a sight because when Alec saw me he immediately rushed to my side.
“What’s wrong?” he said. I muttered that nothing was wrong, he didn’t seem to completely believe me but led me out of the castle anyway. Meanwhile I was trying to figure out what to make of the conversation I’d overheard, I didn’t like the idea of not trusting Phaeora but why would there be something that she wouldn’t tell me? Deciding to put it to the back of my mind for now I concentrated on the task at hand, getting myself some clothes.
We reached the market quite quickly and went about looking at the various stalls set up all around the town, I saw colourful fabrics that people had worn when I first got here, but I also saw clothes that I would have seen in Mortalis. It suddenly occurred to me that I had no idea how to pay for all of this.
“I don’t have any money.” I said to Alec.
“You’re part of the Academy now, they pay for your wellbeing. Just pick whatever you want they know who you are. Normally you would have received a card to show the market traders but clearly your situation is not normal.”
“Right.” I guess that was a lot easier for me though I wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. My need for my own clothes outweighed by dislike of everything being paid for me, however. I picked out simple clothes from the market, mainly stuff that seemed to be from Mortalis: jeans and t-shirts, I didn’t think I’d have much use for dresses here.
“Are some of this stuff from Mortalis?” I asked Alec who had been walking silently beside me, a stony look on his face.
“Mortalis is a pragmatic realm, much more advanced than the others. So you will find some things here and the other realms that are from Mortalis, they are used for practical reasons. Though most people here are stuck in there ways, not willing to adopt the way the humans in Mortalis live regardless of the practicality.”
I merely nodded and moved on. Hatred due to differences between people didn’t strike me as odd, I had dealt with it my entire lie growing up in Mortalis. Someone of my appearance there was met with hostility and fear. Brushing away the unpleasant memories I took in the products at the market. A stall that was selling jewellery, which was not something I wore too often, but I noticed a beautiful necklace. It was a simple oval cut emerald diamond that matched the colour of my eyes, it was encased in tiny white gold diamonds that surrounded the shape of the emerald and it all hung from a simple thin silver chain, I fell in love with it at once. Even so, I assumed it would be expensive and even though the Academy paid for everything, I wouldn’t feel right to let them pay for something like this.
“Are you going to get that or not, I’d like to leave sometime today.”
I glared at Alec before walking away from the lovely necklace; he swiftly caught up to me and glided past. Somewhere along the way, I must have been caught up in the lively atmosphere of the market because the next thing I knew, Alec had disappeared. Searching for him through the crowd proved difficult, people were walking every which way and didn’t bother to stop for my needs. In the end I found myself walking down a narrow cobbled street between two brick buildings. The street was uninhabited so I had a chance to catch my breath and regain my bearings. A lot of good that did me when I didn’t know where I was going. Suddenly I was overcome with another of my hunches, I glanced around me worriedly.
“Alec?” I called into the empty street, I had the uncanny feeling that someone was there. Where they hid, I couldn’t fathom, there weren’t many places to hide on this street. Abruptly, I was slammed against the hard brick wall, a rough hand had a tight grip on my throat. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I fought against the death grip with all my willpower. The stranger continued strangling me and I could feel my feet being lifted off the ground. Furiously, I kicked my legs and grabbed at the hands choking the life out of me.
My vision blurred, my chest constricted. I wanted to scream for help but the hand around my throat was silencing my voice. Alec! Even that sounded pathetic in my head. It was useless anyway, I knew no one would hear me. Whoever this person was would kill me. The longer I was being deprived of air the less I began to struggle, I couldn’t keep it up and my vision was darkening. Before I slipped away the hand was ripped from my throat, I collapsed onto the ground and drew in ragged gulps of air. Coughing and choking was better than not breathing at all. I gently rubbed my neck and looked up to see Alec confronting the person that had tried to kill me.
It was a woman I was surprised to see, I could tell by the glimpse of auburn hair under the hood of her sand coloured cloak. Most of her face was wrapped in a beige scarf. Her and Alec fought and it seemed he was getting the upper hand until she kicked him in the chest causing him to slam into the wall, then she backed up until she was pressed against the other brick building. She morphed herself into the wall disappearing into the bricks as I watched with eyes wide.
My muscles trembled with fright and adrenaline. Shivers racked my body and my eyes were stung with unshed tears. Alec crouched down so his eyes were level with mine.
“Are you okay?” he asked. I wasn’t sure I could answer that question, I had to wait till the fear had passed and the shivers dulled to a mild tremble. Once I felt I was calm enough I responded. Still finding it a little difficult to speak I only nodded; I glanced back at the wall the woman had literally been absorbed into. Standing up, I made my way over to it whilst I massage my neck. Almost expecting it to be pliable I placed my other hand against it only to find solid brick. My attacker had disappeared so easily into it.
“We should go, it’s not safe here anymore and Phaeora is going to want to know about this.”
As we made our way back to the Academy Alec kept one hand at the small of my back guiding me and was constantly on the lookout for any more threats, it was clearly unconscious, regardless I appreciated his efforts. We made it back to the Academy without any more attempts on my life and headed straight to Phaeora’s study, Kaii was with her and they had the book about me in between them opened on the pages about Gemini. When they saw me come in they closed the book and Kaii took it with him out of the room, scurrying past Alec and I. Watching him go I was even more curious as to what Gemini was, my attention quickly shifted back to Phaeora though when I heard her loud gasp.
“Oh my goodness, whatever happened to you?” she hurried to my side and held my chin up studying my neck which I assumed was probably swelling up and bruising by now.
“Someone attacked her in the market, I suspect it was an earth magician. She disappeared into the wall.” Alec responded.
“Oh dear. They must know she is here.”
“Most likely, I can’t think of anyone else it could be.”
“Who knows I’m here?” I asked and winced as talking was still a struggle, and my neck felt like someone had shoved hot coals down into it.
“Let’s just say that there are people who don’t like you very much.” Alec answered.
“Better not to worry her about it now, take her to her room and make sure she settles in alright, I shall send a medic to check that you are okay.”
“I’m fine.” I replied, the sound of my voice didn’t inspire confidence in either of them though.
“Sure you are, let’s go.” Alec said.
He led me out of Phaeora’s study and back to my room; the medic came in shortly, checked on my neck, gave me a few little vials and instructed me to take them before bed and in the morning to help with my breathing and the pain in my throat. Then she left Alec and I alone, I sat up in bed and looked at Alec.
“Can I ask you something?” I croaked.
“Sure.”
“What is Gemini?”
Phaeora and Kaii didn’t want me talking about this to anyone, but neither of them had succeeded in warning me yet so I let curiosity get the better of me. Alec, who had been putting the things I had bought from the market into the closet stiffened. His back was turned to me so I couldn’t see his face but I could imagine the look that was on it. He didn’t answer for a very long time and I almost thought he would completely ignore my question. Regretting ever asking in the first place I figured I wouldn’t get an answer and relaxed back into my bed when he finally spoke.
“Not sure how you know but I wouldn’t mention it to anyone else.”
His answer was as cryptic as ever and he clearly wasn’t going to say anything more on the matter because he quickly finished putting away my stuff and was heading back to his room, before I let him leave though I asked him another question.
“How did you find me?”
“I heard you screaming. It was rather loud and intolerable; I couldn’t ignore that even if I wanted to.”
With that snide remark he walked out of my room, I didn’t bother to get upset about it because another thought had pervaded my mind.
I hadn’t been screaming aloud, so how did he hear me?326Please respect copyright.PENANAqIEbWHqpnQ