Among the Magnificence

Armored Scavenger's fan-fiction. 
Welcome to the first story of the third scavenger series! I hope you enjoy "Among the Magnificence, The Scavenger Series #3, The Age of the Animus.
 The story takes place around the time of Escaping Peril, and there may be references to the Wings of Fire series written and created by Tui T. Sutherland, so there may be canon characters. 
This story also takes place about three months after my previous story, The Noble War. I hope anyone and everyone reading this will enjoy it,and please comment down below if you would like to, it really does help. :)
Sequel: Behind the Majesty
Comments contain spoilers! Be wary.
== Prologue ==
Small talons gripped the hard, brown roof tiles tightly as the bright lights of the glowing metropolis sprawled underneath the highest tower and the perfect perch. Cold wind brushed the wings of a small dragonet lightly, enough to cause him to shiver from the frosty and tingly sensation. The dragonet's young eyes had an entire world to see and to experience, but right there, on the gritty texture of the cover of the small building, he saw a great wonder, and beyond that, the most magnificent achievement of all time. 
Mother had always told him that what could only have been done in multiple generations began and was completed in less than three mere months. The little dragonet had raised and widened his big eyes up to his massive, but elegant mother, but he was still too little to form words to express his feelings at that time. From that moment on up to this night, his mind had been filled with words, ideas, dreams, and worries. He could form words and sentences for his every need, and each day his abilities expanded, but he had not even scratched the surface of his world of Pyrrhia. Mother said that he was going to know more than most dragonets his age, and her smooth and loving voice praised him for already being so far ahead of her expectations. 
The small lights still flickered strongly against the pitch-black night sky, supported immensely by the help of two of the crescent-shaped moons. One of the little dragonet's dreams was to fly all the way up to and land on one of the three moons all by himself, but his Mother just chuckled quietly and brought him in closer to her warm scales. She said that it could not be done, and she strengthened her claim by stating that never in her years had anyone ever come close to one of the bright orbs in the sky. He was disappointed at first, but Mother was there to help him find a new and more worthwhile dream. 
But Mother wasn't there tonight, like she was supposed to be. It was his first night without her, and the darkness really did seem more frightening and overwhelming without the loving and protective force to hug him with mighty and seemingly immortal wings and arms. It was not like him to cry, but what more could he do? He didn't know this world well enough to perform any endeavors to search for her.
His eyes began to tear up as the city before him shined like gold under a candle. But such beauty could not replace his mother. It might have been bright and looked jubilant, but it could not hold him close, encourage him, nor could he sleep with it, even if he wanted to. Not even Father could perform such a delicate task.
As the city continued to defy the shadows of the night, the little dragonet's thoughts fell upon his father. Father was strange to him, but there was no doubt, according to Mother, that he was the male figure who had helped give him life and brought him into the world. He hatched from an egg, like all dragonets, but whenever he saw his dad he could not believe his eyes, though his heart did.
A loud sound of wing-beats were captured by the dragonet's ears. His dark body might have hidden him in the shadows from the rest of the world, but Mother had never once lost him, even if he had lost her. 
She hovered over the roof, and from her expression of dismay it was clear that she knew that the building would not be able to support the both of them. Mother looked around and squinted as her amber eyes feasted upon the lights of the mass number of homes and streets in the city. The giant dragoness peered at something in the distance, and her son followed his mother's gaze.
Mother pointed to a spot all the way at the back of all of the dazzle, and she waited for the little dragonet to lift off of the rooftop. They flew over the metropolis, where the illumination made the streets look like day, but it was where tiny little creatures scurried about with their lives, even though it was the middle of the night. 
"Mother, how do the little critters sleep with so much light. It's like day time. Do they sleep at all?" the dragonet asked as his wings carried him over to a very large structure resting on the side of a mountain. 
He turned his head over to his mother, and then gasped as her entire appearance seemed to shine like the moons and the golden city below. Her white body glittered like snow off of sunlight or moonlight, except for her underbelly which was more of a mix of solid amber and salmon colors. Her talons, her whip-like tail, and even her tongue, which was flickering in and out of her mouth, were icy shades of blue. Mother saw him watching her, she took a look at herself, and then she burst into joyful laughter.
The two landed on a smooth platform that was outside of Father's palace. It was beautiful marble, slippery under the little dragonet's talons. He slipped and fell face-first on the floor, and his mother helped straighten him up with a soft giggle. 
"Oh, little Cosmic, haven't I told you enough about the humans already. Of course they don't sleep with all that light, who could?" Mother answered gently, nuzzling her snout against her son's. They smiled at each other and then they turned to gaze at the beautiful palace that towered over them. 
It was a grand structure, but it sprouted a sad thought in Cosmic's mind. 
"Mother, why can't I see Father again?" he asked, sighing as he already knew the answer her mother was going to give him. Cosmic looked at the palace, at every tiny little window, and even at the tiny little guards with their glowing heads. 
"Darling, you know your father is very busy, especially now. You will have time to see him and spend time with him later, when he gets everything organized and under control in the world. You know, he is a very important person," she replied.
"Yeah, I know. He made me, he created my egg," Cosmic said quickly, gazing back at the city of light. 
"And more. You know, he does have to take care of this city, and much, much more. But he still has room for you and for me. He will be so happy to see you when he finally gets the chance," Mother said, but even those words seemed to have a slight sour taste in her mouth that Cosmic was unable to notice. 
Instead, he again looked at the dim palace where his father lived. It was quiet and dark, except for the platform outside and the light from the city that reflected off of it. The little guards looked like little candles against the huge structure.
"When will Claw-see-is be home, Mother?" Cosmic wanted to know. "He's been away for so long."
Mother wrapped her wing around her son and pulled him close to her.
"Soon, Cosmic, soon, and then we will all be one happy family," sighed Mother. 
I don't want soon, Cosmic thought, I want Father to be with us now. 
=== Chapter 1: School Bells ===
Deep in the Claw of the Clouds Mountains, where the sun was beginning to rise and the grass was wet with dew, school bells rang to announce the opening of the new educational facility for the small village of Mortendale. Mortendale, a close-knit, family-friendly and diverse settlement, a proud success story of the most glorious and most magnificent Revolution in all of Pyrrhia's known history. 
The school was a beacon of hope and opportunity for the troubled and uneducated masses of Glorious Pyrrhia, and soon everyone would know how to read, how to write, and how to start a life worth living for the common good of all men and women, boys and girls, humans and dragons. From every level, from the poorest villages to the grandest cities, everyone would finally be free to do as they pleased, and they would no longer have to worry about the dangers that plagued them from the times before the Liberation. 
The homes of Mortendale exploded in a sea of joy and enthusiasm as the sun's first rays brightened up the dark world and the birds sang along with the giant bell that rang on top of the enormous building that sat in the middle of the village. Crowds of children pulled their parents along with them as they bounced their way to the center of the town, and boys and girls of every age and ethnicity gathered around the patch of grass that lay before the entrance of the large red structure.
There was a sign in front of the school which read, "Mortendale School, Eastland," in bold, clear white letters. Underneath it was a bulletin board, which had posts about the latest headlines and job offerings. The local blacksmith was looking for a new apprentice, and there were plumbers looking for a new partner to go with them to the capitol. There were addresses, pictures, and all sorts of clippings from papers, but the message that stood out the most was "School Begins Today! All Are Welcome. Adults and Children!"
There were gigantic amounts of both children and adults waiting to attend their first day of school. Before the Revolution, only the rich and privileged could hope to receive an education, but in today's better world, everyone had the right to learn for free! People who used to be serfs or peasants could now work on their own terms, and maybe with a diploma to be proud of and hang up on a wall. The sun was fully up in the sky, but the mess had not yet been sorted out on the ground.
Children hugged and kissed their parents farewell as teachers handed each student a small card with their name on them and with a blank back side with eight neat lines creating seven equal spaces. One by one, the students entered the school, and before long there were only a few people left standing outdoors as the parents went back home or to their jobs throughout Mortendale. The teachers began to call out the names of the remaining students who had still not received their cards.
They called out name after name until they were down to one card per teacher. 
"Katrina?" called out one teacher, a tall man with fluffy black hair, a large nose, who was extremely thin, and wore a dark green shirt that fell down to his knees. He looked around the school for a short while, but he could not find the student he had called out for. The other teachers, a fat man with a bald head and a dark mustache, and a woman who had her blonde hair braided back, gave out their cards and went inside. 
There was one student left, a dark-haired, pale-skinned girl who held her arms together tightly. She looked shy, nervous, and maybe even a bit hesitant to walk up to the teacher. She wore black clothing, which made her skin really stick out more than anything else. She approached the teacher, keeping her eyes down to the ground. The teacher made a friendly move towards her, kneeling down before her and handing her the small paper card with her name on it in big black lettering. 
"Welcome, Katrina, I am glad to see you! I hope you will have a pleasant time at Mortendale School, where you will make lots of new friends and learn so much about our great world. I am Mr. Stentson, the school's physical education teacher. If you want to play football or run around in the great open fields, sign up for gym class, or join an after-school sport! You are always welcome to compete!" welcomed the teacher with a radiant smile.
Katrina looked up at him with big, bright green-emerald eyes, and her pale lips tried to form the words she wanted to say. She grabbed the card quickly away from his hand, and Mr. Stentson ushered Katrina in quietly. The final bell had began to ring. School had begun. 
Inside, Katrina was introduced to a whole new world.
The building was huge, larger than any other building in the village and even it appeared even bigger on the inside. There were stairs rising up to three other levels, each with long hallways leading up and down to classrooms on either sides of the corridor. The building was all made up of brick and tile, so the open flames of the candles posed no threat, which would not have been the case if the school had been built like the wooden houses that stood around the campus. 
Even on the first level, Katrina could see lots of doors, each with signs marking what was inside the rooms. She saw signs labeled "Principal" and "Front Office" and "Nurse," among many others. However, it was difficult to tell what was where with all of the people running around, trying to do exactly the same thing Katrina was doing. Katrina didn't know what to do or where to start, until she saw a line forming around a table. There was another pointer on a wooden stand, which indicated that this was some sort of station. There were two teachers sitting behind the desk, calling people over and for them to bring their cards with them. 
"Class assignments!" they called out, and other teachers pointed confused students in the right direction. Katrina went to the back of the line, waiting to see what the next year would bring for her. 
What classes will I take? What teachers will I get? Will I make friends? Or will I be alone, ignored, and tossed aside like always? Will they all be afraid of me, again? This school might be the only thing going for me. I wish Mom and Dad were still here. Argh! This is too noisy and SO CROWDED! Sigh...
"Next!" barked one of the teachers. Katrina was next in line, so she went over to an elderly woman in a purple flowery dress. 
"Katrina, is it? Hello, darling. So what classes do you want to take this semester?" the woman asked, sliding over a list of classes and activities across from her side of the table to Katrina's. "Or would you rather discuss this with one of our counselors? It is the first day and things are going to be very busy," she offered as another option.
Katrina went down the list. Chemistry, history, reading, writing, politics, gym...magic?
Katrina looked over at the teacher with surprised eyes, and as she did the woman had produced another piece of paper from a file of many blank copies. The woman handed it over to Katrina, along with a feather and inkwell. The paper was a schedule planner, with seven empty spots for seven different subjects. 
The list was long, but Katrina was able to pick the top seven classes she wanted to have for the next few months. She threw out some of the options immediately because she already had studied them, but others caught her attention like a necklace studded with diamonds.
=== Chapter 2: The First Day ===
The warning bell for the beginning of the first class had rang, but it was a long time until the second official bell had been sounded. No one really knew where to go, even with the room numbers written clearly next to the subject they had chosen on their pieces of paper. Everyone had picked seven classes and the teachers made copies of their choices to save for the records. All of the papers were stored at the front office, which was run and guarded by a mean-looking, small, short woman who might have been somebody's grandmother. Children and adults were hurrying to their classes, walking into one room and then rushing out when they realized they had made a mistake. 
Katrina, meanwhile, peacefully and quietly walked over to her first classroom, where she was going to have her first class, Classical Literature. The room number on her schedule indicated to her that the classroom was on the first floor, inside the library where two other classes were being organized. Katrina had no trouble finding the room labeled "Library," and when she entered she found a massive array of books sitting on shelves standing against each of the four walls. Inside, there was a desk where the librarian sat, another tall man who wore a thick sweater and spectacles. He smiled at every student when they entered, but he felt a little nervous about loaning his precious books to them in the future. On the ceiling of the room was a giant circular window that let in all the sunlight that it could, and Katrina could see the beautiful blue sky looking down upon her. There were a few candles here and there, but only at night would they be necessary. 
Katrina immediately made out the three classes that had gathered in for the first period. Three teachers stood at different parts of the library, each of them holding a small sign that told Katrina what they were teaching. A young woman, who looked to be a little bit older than Katrina, who was twelve, held up a sign that was labeled "Reading." With her was a group of little children and a few who were about the same age as Katrina was. They stood and sat on a colorful round rug near some of the shorter bookshelves that were filled with beginner books, such as a guide to the alphabet and common bedtime stories. There was the occasional poster of a butterfly or some other cute cartoon animal, with an inspirational and simple quote hanging on the wall.
In the middle of the room was the poetry class, taught by an old man who looked more like a composer or a musician. His class was a mix of teenagers and adults, with one or two smaller children who now may have been regretting their choice of class. Finally, at the far right of the room where there were a number of tables and chairs, was Katrina's class, Classical Literature. It was in the shady part of the library where the sun didn't reach, and everyone there was an adult, all led by a woman who could have passed by as a student if not for the slate that she held. Katrina was the only child in her first class. The final bell finally sounded off, and class began.
Half an hour later, the first class ended, and Katrina could not have been more relieved. The entire time, Mrs. Way read out the titles of the books that the class was going to read, including the "Walk in the Garden," and "Ghost Water." For most of the class-time, Katrina just had her eyes wander off to gaze at the other classes, where the children seemed to be having more fun. She was content that Classical Literature was over. The students in her class didn't even introduce themselves, and some of them only looked curiously at the little girl who joined them in the swarm of aging men and women. 
The next three classes Katrina had were no better, some worse. The next class for her was General Mathematics, but it was terribly boring. 
We are starting...all the way from the beginning? 
There were children in this class, and some of them were only four or five years old. Katrina had already mastered the basics of addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and fractions, but her teacher, Ms. Kent, began with two-plus-two! 
After that very seemingly long and dry lesson, Katrina went to Art class, and then to lunch. Art class was taught by a very intelligent woman named Mrs. Brittatolli, who was very kind and generous with her art supplies. Katrina thought it was going to be a good class, but she had to settle for decent when her instructor began to spend all of her time helping the little children with their finger painting and messy gluing. Lunch was alright for Katrina, but she sat with other children who had no idea who they were sitting with either. It was an awkward lunch, but at least she wasn't sitting and eating alone. Her hopes for the next three classes were brighter, however.
The next class she had chosen was Magic, which she was surprised had been offered at this school. She didn't know what to expect. Were the students going to learn how to perform magic? Was that how you became an animus?
Mr. Urgov taught the class, and he clearly was an animus as far as Katrina could tell. He was a feisty man, who was very serious and had a thick accent. The class was made up of some adults, but Katrina could see that a lot of them were young teenage boys, who looked more like tricksters or pranksters to her. The teacher obviously saw through their innocent grins and sitting positions.
"Class, I know that many of you joined this class to learn how to create some spells. Well, you who think that you will be able to rain frogs down from the sky or make your siblings disappear forever are sorely mistaken. You do NOT learn how to become an animus, you are BORN an animus! So some of you will be very disappointed to learn that you do not have a single SHRED of magic in you. Next week will be the test to see who really does have some kind of power. Those who pass will stay here with me, those who fail...I hope you will enjoy Writing class," he said with a relishing grin. Mr. Urgov never smiled ever since, and his loud voice made Katrina pay attention at all times. 
If I make one wrong move or answer one wrong question, I am doomed. I've been yelled at too many times in my life, but I don't think I can ignore them with him. He doesn't look like the type of teacher who would just allow me to walk out of class when I want to. 
The second to last class for Katrina was History class, and she was relieved that all of the students there were her age. 
They are also much more active and friendly, but it will take another day or so for any of them to start making friends and forming relationships. At first Katrina thought that, but the busy first day did not stop anyone from talking and joking around. The teacher, Mrs. Horiksdottir, was a large and mighty-looking woman who came from the icy northwest. On her chalkboard was her name written in white sloppy handwriting, and she made everyone write their names up on it as well. Some of them had difficulty spelling their names, but they received help from their peers and even Katrina was offered some help by a girl in a blue dress. Katrina wrote her name on the board just fine by herself, and the class was impressed with her handwriting. Apparently it was very fine and exquisite. 
How hard was that? 
Mrs. Horiksdottir explained that her class was going to start studying about the Revolution, and then they would make their way back to the so called "Dark Ages." The teacher wasn't thrilled that her class was cut short because the first period had to take up much more time than planned, but she promised everyone that this was going to be the best year ever. Katrina thought so, too. She really wanted to know more about what happened before she was alive, especially about events such as the Scorching, the Great Animus Massacre, and the War of 5012. She tried to ask Mrs. Horiksdottir about them, but the warning bell cut her off as well and she ran out of the classroom in a hurry. Katrina had picked the best class for last.
Katrina hurriedly ran down the stairs, back to the first floor where she had not been in since lunchtime. At a room at the back of the school, opposite the door from the cafeteria, was the room she was looking for. There was a carving of a legendary creature in the wood, not a sign or marker like the other classrooms. She knocked and walked in, and two or three other people walked in with her from behind. Katrina went into the room, which was perhaps the most unorganized and messiest place in the entire school, even more than the cafeteria. At the front desk sat a man with grey hair, a mustache, and he wore a brown and tan square-patterned woolen sweater. He was reading a book with an interesting red and black cover instead of trying to tidy up the room. He didn't even looked up as the students came in, who then proceeded with finding places to sit in the rows of desks and chairs. Katrina was already loving what she was seeing, even if she found them in every corner of the room.
There were drawing of dragons everywhere. All of the different kinds of tribes. There was a dragon to human size comparison chart, names of all of the tribes written on small note cards that were hung upon the walls, a few models on some of the tables, and yet there was still so much to explore! There were opened and unopened boxes, filled with things only Katrina could guess were there. 
I'm in heaven, Katrina thought, one of the few positive and dreamy thoughts she had all day. She sat down in one of the new wooden desks, but it had already been used by the previous students. There were some crumbs on the ground, and Katrina knew someone had been snacking beforehand. Nevertheless, she was happy that she was there. When she saw it on the list of possible class choices, Katrina knew she had to have this one. 
Dragon Studies. 
Once all of the students came in, the teacher closed his book and then the door. Katrina looked around, disappointed to see that this was her smallest class. There were only eight students sitting in the desks. They were all sitting together at the back, while they left the dark-haired girl all alone at the front. 
I am not surprised. They think that I'm sad and lonely and that I have no friends, but I don't care. I came here to learn.
"Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Mr. Sidurgu and I will be your Dragon Studies teacher this semester. We have a lot to cover, everybody, but let me assure you, this is the most fun class you will ever have and the most memorable. No one else has ever been given such an opportunity but you," introduced the teacher to the eight. 
"As you know, class, today is the busiest day of the school year, but tomorrow you will all get to know each other better, and I am sure that you will all be close very soon. In fact, I see many of you already know each other."
Katrina felt a stab in her heart. The teacher droned on with his speech.
"This is a very special class, and I do mean it. History, math, writing, that is all normal, but this class is far different. There has never been a dragon-related course before, just ask Mrs. Horiksdottir about that, for I know most of you have her," he pointed out thoughtfully.
Katrina looked around and saw that most of her class was actually in her previous History class!
"Thanks to our great Rex-animus and our thoughtful Dux-animi, this school has been given the chance of a lifetime to teach you about dragons. Only a few schools have been selected for such an honor, and I am one of the very few people qualified to teach you. We will learn all about the different tribes to begin with, then we will go in depth with their society," Mr. Sidurgu went on.
For the rest of the class, Katrina absorbed every single word that her teacher said with her ears. His rasp throat made it a little difficult to understand him, but her interest was so great that she made double the effort to figure it all out. At the end of class sounded the dismissal bell, and Katrina's spirit faded.
As her class left, she stayed in her seat. Mr. Sidurgu went over to her, concerned about why she wasn't moving and giving him a very sad and hopeless expression.
"What is wrong, child?" he asked her, bending down to meet her eyes. 
"I have nowhere to go, Mister. My parents are dead. I have no home to go to tonight...or any other night," she explained quickly and quietly, putting her head down onto her desk.
Mr. Sidurgu stood up and looked out the window. It wasn't sunset yet because school ended early enough to allow the students to finish the work at home they had missed during the day. Mr. Sidurgu thought for a moment and he closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath.
Mr. Sidurgu felt terrible for Katrina and his heart wrenched with pity. Her story may not have been common in Mortendale, but the Revolution had taken the lives of many mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, all because the vile nobles insisted that their ways were not wrong. The teacher led Katrina to the front office, where a small crowd of teachers stayed late to clean up after the first day. He explained the entire situation, and the librarian offered Katrina a place to spend the night in the library. The teachers led her to the sea of books and scrolls. The Football coach found some blankets and spread them across the floor. The other teachers looked around and found a single pillow and set it down for her under the circular window. They each wished Katrina a good night and they blew out all of the candles and closed the library door. 
A few hours later the school was empty, except for the two night guards who patrolled the hallways. However, they left her alone to sleep in peace. Katrina closed her eyes and dreamed under the moonlight that shined through the window above her.
I wish I could feel the warm touch of mother and father sleeping with me again, but I know that cannot be so anymore...
=== Chapter 3: Lessons ===
The sound of thunder and the flash of lighting startled Katrina early the next morning. The rain had been soothing and helped her sleep in peace, but one loud boom and her eyes shot open. Her eyes first landed on the giant window above her, her gateway to the world outside the school. She saw that the glass was wet with rain, and drops of precipitation pattered down, but despite the blur there was a dark grey hue to the sky. Heavy grey clouds had gathered over Mortendale and the rest of the mountain chain, bringing with it a thunderstorm. 
There goes outside gym class... Katrina thought lazily as she got her bearings together. Good riddance, no more sweaty, bumbling oafs sitting all around me in math class. Katrina stood up and stretched her body, then she ran to the washroom like she did every morning, except today she was inside a building. She washed her hair in the school sink and then waited for the school day to begin.
Is there school today with this heavy rain? This was the first such school to be functioning in Glorious Pyrrhia, so she didn't know what type of weather would prevent students from attending. When she heard quick footsteps running towards the entrance and the door being unlocked, she knew it wasn't rain. The first teachers entered the school, drenching wet from the storm but brave in their watery endeavors. The librarian was one of the first people to arrive, and he went straight to the library after carefully drying off. He remembered Katrina had been staying in the library overnight, but she guessed if that was not the case she would have gotten expelled for being in his beloved room without permission.
He doesn't look like he likes me being here, even with his permission. Hello, this is a public place, not your own weird hiding place to waste your time with!
Katrina got ready for her classes which were set to begin in about an hour. She figured that since her first class would be in the library, there would be no reason to leave. However, she quickly learned that the cafeteria served breakfast to any students who arrived before the first bell, so she hungrily went there to dine. It was empty except for the chef.
I guess no one wants to be here early, even for free food. Or maybe the school didn't announce this yet.
Katrina looked down at the wooden table as she ate her small bowl of oats, nuts, and milk. She had also sprinkled some powdered sugar on a piece of sweet bread to give her some energy for the morning. She gulped down her last pieces of food and walked back over to the library, having nothing else to do. Her teacher, Ms. Way, was surprised to see Katrina there so early, but nonetheless she was happy.
She probably thinks I love this class and that is why I am early. I won't tell her the real reason.
Katrina grunted disapprovingly when she was handed a copy of the book "Walk in the Garden." It was a very lengthy book, about three-hundred pages when Katrina looked at the number on the last page. Ms. Way told her that for the next few weeks the class would read the book and do work on it. Every other day there would be time to read silently, then the next day would be discussion day. Today's assignment was to read chapters one through three and think about the setting. Katrina began to read the book, and she was already finished with one chapter when the class began to arrive. For the entire period the class silently read, and Katrina had to reread because she finished her assignment early and didn't want to read ahead or let anyone know she was finished. 
Like yesterday, Ms. Kent continued to teach her basic math to all of the students. Katrina did not pay attention even once, and was scolded by her teacher and forced to pay attention and repeat saying times tables out loud. 
Ms. Brittatoli's art class went better than the day before, especially since she had received an aide for the smaller children. Mrs. Turhok watched the smaller students draw self-portraits in pencil and then with colored chalks, while Ms. Brittatoli began to lecture about different brushes and art utensils. They would begin learning how to draw landscapes, and when the weather got better the class would go outside to sketch the mountains. Meanwhile, for that day, they drew a bowl of fruit that was placed on a table in the middle of the room. 
Lunchtime came quickly, and Katrina was never more hungry for food. Today's special were sandwiches with fresh cheese, turkey, and vegetables, with a side of a salad and water. Other options were fish salads, fruit on a stick, and potatoes with chicken. Katrina took a sandwich and went to the seat she sat in yesterday, but it was already occupied by a group of friends. 
They look...happy and totally not alone. I don't need anyone! I want to eat my food in peace!
Katrina sat down close to where the food was being served, and also where the smaller children sat. Katrina sat among them, receiving amused looks from the older students and confused, but happy ones from the children. Katrina ate her food, embarrassed, and she thought she might have hear snickers as her pale face became red.
Magic class with Mr. Urgov began afterwards, and so did some of the trouble. Some of the students had tried to switch classes before the magic exam next week, but they were all turned down. Mr. Urgov looked at the names on the list, and every student on it were treated to boring readings and answering all kinds of questions. 
Ha! Take that, troublemakers! Got what you deserved, didn't you!
Mr. Urgov didn't assign any homework for the students who were not on the list, including Katrina. Normally, none of the teachers assigned homework, as students had work to do at home already, but the young pranksters wouldn't know that until later. 
History with Mrs. Horiksdottir was next, and in this class Katrina began to actually greet her peers that sat and stood around her. She had not made any friends before, nor did she even bother to memorize any names besides her teachers', but this class was different. It was not mixed like the others, with adults and children, but everyone was about Katrina's age. There were both loud and quiet children, friendly and quiet, and all of them began to befriend one another. Some even went to Katrina.
"Hello there! My name is Hannah! What's yours?" asked a girl with blonde hair, wearing a beautiful, simple blue dress. 
"Hey, I like your black hair. It's just like the night!" beamed a young boy with a missing tooth and curly hair. 
"I-f I..um, remember correctly, you were the, um, the girl w-wh-who wrote the neatest name on the board? K-ka-katrina was it?" stuttered a young teenage boy, who also wore a black shirt, black spectacles, and brown trousers. He wore a bracelet on his arm, and he looked around nervously. 
There was a lot noise and Katrina felt very uncomfortable. Gah! So many weirdos!
Katrina worried that she was going to lose her mind as practically the entire class went over to her desk to greet her, and she tried to ignore each and every one of them. She gritted her teeth and eyed each of them angrily, but she became absolutely shocked when that didn't deter anyone away from her. 
"Hey, aren't you in my Dragon Studies class?" 
"How were the sandwiches at lunch? They were made with cheeses from my mom's farm!" 
"I never saw you in the village before. Are you new to Mortendale?" 
"We are going to win the Eastern Front by next week!" 
"Quiet silly, let the girl talk. Besides, the front is said to last at least a month longer." 
STOP! Katrina's mind boomed. She wanted to scream that word out loud, and she almost did, until Mrs. Horiksdottir slammed her pointing stick against the side of her desk, silencing everybody. All of the students went into their seats and sat like angels as the lesson began. 
Mrs. Horiksdottir felt it would be proper for everyone to introduce themselves to the class, and they would go around the classroom, telling everyone their names, favorite thing, and something about themselves. The teacher, naturally, went first. 
"As you already know, I am Mrs. Horiksdottir, the school's history teacher. My favorite thing is a good lesson, and my husband, Mr. Horiksdottir, is the assistant principal. If you ever need help, he will always be touring around the school, so find him in the hallways. You are bound to track him down, eventually." 
Mrs. Horiksdottir looked at each of her students pleasingly with her blue eyes as she told her story. She was wearing a blue and white dress, which went well with her blonde hair in a bun. She was a little portly, but her movements were quick and her eyesight quicker. She spotted Katrina among the crowd, obviously trying to remained as small and quiet as possible. When she thought she would go last, Katrina was called upon to go first. 
"Please introduce yourself," smiled Mrs. Horiksdottir at Katrina, though her first thoughts about her were not as bright as her grin. 
Oh brother... 
Katrina painstakingly said her name, that her favorite thing was the night, and she was an orphan who had lost her parents about a month ago from an illness that they had caught while traveling. She had been alone ever since, and she then found her way to Mortendale. 
The class was mixed in reaction. The little girl named Hannah, with the simple blue dress, became pale. The young boy with the missing tooth, who was named Orson, looked down at his desk sadly. The nervous boy with the spectacles stared at Katrina sympathetically, but when their eyes met he gasped and looked in some other direction. A boy with a ring in his ear didn't seem to care at all, while another one in a woolen sweater was fascinated. A girl who looked more like a boy was a little unsettled by Katrina's appearance, but her story did seem to touch her. 
After everyone introduced themselves, the history lesson began. Mrs. Horiksdottir went over the beginnings of the Glorious Revolution. 
"As you know class, the world was once in a state which we know as the "Dark Ages." Everyone close their eyes. Now, imagine being chained together with the person sitting next to you on your right, and on your left. Now imagine a field of wheat, the hot sun blazing down on your face and your back. You are all together, every day, planting, feeding, watering, and harvesting the plant. Together you eat scraps of food, and your master comes along and yells at you with a bloodied whip. Really imagine the blood on the ground as he hits you a hundred times. Can you feel the whip?" 
The class began to flinch as they imagined being flogged by a stinging whip. Some of the boys and girls screamed out in pretend pain, but it felt really real to them in their imagination. Katrina felt that as well as she saw her make-believe master, a dark tall figure with a scruffy face. 
The teacher began another part of her lesson. "Now, imagine a man sitting in a chair." The class altered their minds to fit the description. "Make his chair turn into a throne, his tunic into a robe of golden silk, and his head covered with a golden, bejeweled crown. He points at someone and they are taken away. He drinks from his goblet of wine in one sip, throwing it away and reaching for another golden cup. Then he points at you." 
The class gasped. 
"He laughs at you and two guards take you away. One of them is your brother or sister, in chains. They cannot do anything but follow the man's demands. No one dares to do anything, even though they know it is wrong. The other person dragging you is an angel, wearing shiny armor, golden boots, and two wings on his back. He is an angel...an angel of death," the teacher cried out dramatically. 
A girl screamed. However, it turned out it was actually a boy and the class began laughing, including the teacher. 
"Ahhh, class, I am very glad that you are enjoying this lesson. You have nothing to fear, because of the Glorious Revolution we are free to think and live as we want to. No chains, no angels of death, no kings. Now, can someone tell me who was behind the revolution?" Mrs. Horiksdottir asked the class. 
The girl named Hannah raised her hand quickly, drawing the teacher's attention. 
"It was our Rex-Animus, wasn't it, Mrs. Horiksdottir?" she answered. 
The teacher beamed at her and congratulated her on Hannah's correct answer. Hannah smiled with pride, making Katrina feel both jealous and sick. 
I don't know any of this... 
"Our Rex fought against the chains of slavery. He was the only man to speak out, the only man who was both brave enough and the only person who could look past the nobles' lies. The nobles are dastardly creatures, horrid and greedy and they don't care about anyone but themselves. They lock themselves in their castles whenever trouble arrives. They fight each other, and they send their slaves out to fight their battles. Hell, sometimes they don't even win and the wars are for nothing, and our families died and bled for them in vain!" the teacher riled up the class. 
The class began to talk bad about the nobles and royalty, cursing them and saying mean things. The teacher felt very pleased, even Katrina took part in the bad-mouthing. May they all rest in a pool of lava, with skies of sulfur burning up their lungs. I would LOVE to see that! 
"Our Rex saved us all, and that is why he is our Rex in the first place," explained the teacher. 
"Ma'am?" asked one student, a boy with long arms but short body, whose head was brown and his eyes were beady. "What does "Rex" mean?" 
The teacher gladly answered his question. "Rex simply means 'king'," she explained. 
The student looked a little confused. "But...didn't the Rex fight to get rid of all kings and queens, all royalty? Why is he sitting on a throne like one of them?" 
The teacher's grin disappeared, and she looked seriously and curiously at the student. She folded her hands on her desk, ripping at the edge of a small piece of paper. "Well, dear, the Rex is not a man, he is an animus, and the animi are greater than all of us put together. People had no right to rule over one another, because we are all equal. But the Rex is greater than us. He knows all, sees all, and can do all, but he not a god or an immortal. He is still one of us, and he wants to be with us. He is our Rex, our king, because that is the natural order of things." 
The boy thought for a moment, then remembered something he had once heard. "I once heard that an angel pushed the Rex off of a mountain, and everyone thought that he had died. The angel had something magical, and he and his friends went there to stop Clause-" 
"What is your name, young man?" the teacher suddenly interrupted him. 
The boy opened and closed his mouth a few times, then he replied, "My name is Connor, Mrs. Horikssdottir, from Solnichi in Zelengorod." 
The teacher had been writing a note while the boy talked, and she told him to come to her. 
"Take this note to the principal's office and hurry back, Connor. I don't want you to miss anything important," she said with a small smile. 
When Connor left, Katrina asked a question. "What is...Zelengorod?" 
The teacher looked at Katrina, but she couldn't find an answer. She thought for a moment, or looked like she did, and then shrugged. "I honestly have no idea..." 
The class ended with some more "imaginative flashbacks" to the Dark Ages, where they were soldiers in a war, peasants being whipped again, and then being prisoners in a cell for speaking to a noble too softly. 
Class ended and Katrina went to her next class, Dragons Studies. Mr. Sidurgu called out names to take attendance, but when he called out Connor's name there was no answer. 
Connor had not returned from the principal's office. 
=== Chapter 4: Passages ===
A few days later...
"RUDOLPH, CASSIE, and HUGHES, STOP talking and PAY attention to the lesson!" roared Mr. Urgov for the third time during his extra informative lesson. The balding gentleman was seething with fury, his hands gripping at his wooden desk with profound might and his teeth gritting like metal against grindstone. "And put your hand down, Justin, FOR REX'S SAKE!"
After a short moment of staring everyone in the eye with his own blazing sight, Mr. Urgov went back to his agenda, writing notes in chalk on the giant green board that hung on the back wall. He scribbled down important information that might be on the animus exam later that day. When school ended, everyone who was interested in seeing whether or not they had any magic would gather in the small courtyard at the center of the school. From above, the school looked like a rectangle with a smaller green rectangle right in the middle of it. It was a small area, with a few hanging bushes, some patches of grass, and beds of flowers. It was a calm place where both students and teachers went to if they were stressed or just wanted to do nothing. 
"As I was saying BEFORE I was RUDELY interrupted, the concept of the soul within the art of magic is extremely vital and should not be taken lightly," Mr. Urgov continued as he wrote on the chalkboard.
What is so important about souls? Souls, souls, souls! I can't even see mine, does it even exist? What does my soul have to do with magic?
"As you know, the soul makes up part of who you are, and animi need to be extra cautious with their powers. Let me see...ah, yes, Katrina! Would you please turn to page thirty-two of the textbook and start reading to us the first section?" ordered Mr. Urgov, handing Katrina a relatively light book with a black letter cover and yellowing, aging, dull pages. She flipped through it to the page she was asked to read and looked over the section quickly.
Zyphen the Martyr? Who was he......ooooohhh.
"Following the Great War, the nations, in their thirst for blood and a scapegoat for their failures, wanted to destroy the magical world of the animi. Many animi were slaughtered during the Innocents' Massacre, and the first innocent martyr was Zyphen, a servant to a nobleman. The noble forced Zyphen to use his magic to gain him wealth, power, and to strike fear into his rivals. Zyphen begged his master not to make him use his magic, but the ignorant noble foolishly did not want a word of it. Zyphen warned his master of the danger of using his powers, but his master paid no heed. Zyphen performed spell after spell until, one day, he lost his soul and his mind. Zyphen unwillingly turned on his master, and killed three other people before he himself was killed." 
Katrina paused at the end of the paragraph, which would then lead to a detailed summary of the Innocents' Massacre. 
"Thank you, Katrina, and you are quite right about the loss of the soul. Class, I know some of you may be animi and some of you are not, but this information is important for everyone. Pay attention," Mr. Urgov addressed as he straightened himself and began to pace around the classroom, lecturing. 
"Everyone's soul is part bad and part good, but hopefully the good outweighs the bad, no matter how many pranks or tricks you play on your classmates," the teacher said as he caught the young boy named Rudolph red-handed right before he pulled Cassie's hair, the hair of the girl sitting in front of him. 
"If any of you are animus, or if any of you ever run into an animus, you have to be careful. You or they CANNOT use their powers as if they are nothing. THEY ARE SOMETHING! You all have to understand that magic is not something you can play around with. Every time an animus uses their magic, they lose a part of their soul to the darkness. Especially if they are not trained to limit the power needed for their spells. Slowly, an animus will lose more and more of his or her soul, and eventually, if they do not stop, they will lose their soul, the good and evil will not be in balance. You already heard what happened to Zyphen. He KNEW, but he was forced to use his powers by the nobles. They did not care about him or how special and sacred his magic was, and they paid the ultimate price," Mr. Urgov said sternly. 
The bell rang and the fifth period had ended.
That was...spooky and unsettling. Thankfully it is now time for history!
"Remember, the animus exam is right after school in the courtyard!" reminded the teacher. 
Katrina gathered her belongings and she headed out towards the door, but on her way there she heard a quick movement of feet and she soon found herself on the floor a moment later. 
"Hey, wait for me!" cried out a boy as he bolted out of the classroom, knocking Katrina down as he flew by. 
Some people...
Katrina looked around, expecting Mr. Urgov to respond by throwing the boy into a pit of hissing vipers, but when she gazed at him the teacher merely sat at his desk, going through a few documents. Katrina sighed, annoyed and outraged, but she got up on her own two feet and headed towards her next class. 
History class was beginning to become Katrina's favorite class of the day. It was not boring like the others, nor was it too wild like Magic class, and the students in Mrs. Horiksdottir's room were extremely diverse in both appearance and mindset. Right as she walked in, Hannah, who today wore a black dress that had glittery star patterns, greeted her pale, black-haired friend. 
"Don't you just love it?! My parents went to the capitol and found me this awesome dress! It is supposed to resemble the Night Dragons, and it was so great that they went back today to buy the entire collection. A white Ice Dragon dress, a red Sky Dragon dress, oh, and the catalogue they brought back had this awesome multi-colored one that represented the Rainforest Dragons!" Hannah leaned her back against the wall, sighing as she held her books to her chest. "Isn't the world just so great. The Revolution was the best thing that ever happened. The dragons don't hate us anymore." 
They don't? Weren't we all locked in an ancient war between humans and dragons? How did it just...end? I need to pay more attention in class.
 A boy with black spectacles walked into the classroom, and the first thing he did was look around for someone. When he did, he walked up to Hannah and Katrina. 
"H-hi Katrina and Hannah," greeted Gunther with a wave of his hand. Gunther was a rather...big fellow, but not in the sense of height or build. 
Too many vanilla cakes.
" I. Am. Here!" announced another boy, or who looked to be an almost full-grown man. It was Horace, the muscular, hairy, ape-like superhero who could not help but advertise himself wherever he went. Horace was greeted by a small swarm of female students, but Katrina almost laughed out loud when she saw a whole group of really young girls stare at him in disgust. Katrina looked at the other side of the room, finding a boy named Raphael gazing dreamily at Horace. Then there was another boy, a boy who was quiet most of the time, but when he wasn't, that particular individual was fiery. His named was Konrad. 
At the warning bell, everyone in the class took their seats, but the lesson had not begun. Everyone looked around, but they could not find any sign of their teacher. 
"Hey, w-where is Mrs. Horiksdottir?" asked Gunther after a moment of complete and awkward silence. 
She is nowhere to be found. Katrina waited another few minutes. Where is she?
The class waited patiently for their instructor, but she did not walk in through the door. Instead, before the entire class began to stand up to leave the classroom, someone else walked in. 
Who is he? It's not the principal...it's not a teacher I have seen before. I swear if this is Hannah's father...wait, her father went to the capitol. Gah! Maybe it's Gunther's! 
The man who had entered the room brought in a brown leather briefcase and set it on top of Mrs. Horiksdottir's desk, which was cluttered with papers, books, tiny cheap trinkets, and lots of pens and inkwells. The man considered for a moment, then he transferred his briefcase onto the small wooden stool next to the desk. He then went to the chalkboard, looked for a piece of chalk, grew frustrated that there was not one to be found, then he turned around and stared at the class. 
The man wore a dark, olive-green tunic, a black vest, a belt that held up his brown trousers, and black boots that fell down heavily upon the wooden floor. He was young, had brown hair, brown eyes, light skin, and a goatee on his chin. The man looked around the room, gazing at the little decorations and signs that displayed important historical events and class rules. He held a short staring contest with the little yellow wooden duck on Mrs. Horiksdottir's desk, then he finally addressed the class. His voice, too, gave away his youth, and in fact even Horace's was deeper. But Horace's voice was even deeper than the principal's, who was well over thirty years old. 
"As you can see today, Mrs. Horiksdottir is not here. I am sure you are all wondering where she is. Your teacher had to step out early today to help prepare for the animus test after school. I am your substitute teacher. My name is Mr. Meckleburg, I am from the capitol, and your teacher has left me some notes for you on today's lesson." The man went over to his briefcase to pull out a short piece of white paper. 
"Hey, Katrina, who is this guy?" whispered Hannah, leaning over to Katrina from her seat. Mr. Meckleburg gazed up from his reading to find the culprit of the noise, and Hannah quickly returned to sitting in her seat properly. 
"Now, your teacher has written here that you are studying about the Revolution. For the first week you have been imagining how life must have been like before the people of Pyrrhia rose up against the chains of oppression. She had noted that today you are supposed to start off from the beginning of the Revolution, when the Rex appeared to us once again. All right, well, your teacher gave me some articles for you to analyze." 
Mr. Meckleburg handed out copies of three documents, one of them about the Rex's return, another about the War of 5012 (Or known as the War of Year 1, since the new calendar began when the Revolution started), and another about the nobles and the layout of Pyrrhia on the eve of the revolution. They were all written by the same author, the Dux-Animus Bartolek. 
"Please read them quietly and carefully, and when you are all finished we shall discuss them for the rest of the period," explained Mr. Meckleburg, sitting down in Mrs. Horiksdottir's chair behind her desk. He folded his hand together, and as the students read the papers, he examined all of them closely. Katrina felt uncomfortable as his sharp eyes fell down upon her. 
This guy is creepy. He better stop looking at me like that.
 The man averted his gaze to Hannah. 
I am going to sock him.
Then he looked at Gunther. 
Meh.
After about fifteen minutes of reading, Konrad was the last person to finish analyzing his three papers. Everyone else was done a few minutes before him, and everyone waited impatiently for him during that time. Hannah and Katrina whispered to each other about Konrad, who they felt was really strange and had something to hide. However, as Hannah looked at Konrad and grinned, Katrina was deep in her own thoughts. 
Katrina had never had a friend before. Her parents used to worry about her loneliness. Katrina tried as a little girl to be friendly and kind to other children, but they only pointed at her and laughed and insulted. Katrina was born ill, her sickness leaving her weak in her early years of life. The other children laughed when she coughed, when her eyes were filled with tears, and at the simple dresses she wore that were made by her mother. Katrina's parents were poor, and everyone laughed at them for being poor. Katrina stayed close to her parents until their final breath, while isolating herself from the rest of the world. 
"He's mysterious...and a little cute," Hannah said. 
Never did Katrina think she would ever make friends. She wanted to be alone, to have people avoid her like a plague she thought she was, to think she was evil, no-good, and haunting. But one week into the school year and already her personality had changed. Some of it, at least. No one here laughed at her for being poor, or rather having nothing to possess. In this class, so many people actually wanted to know Katrina and actually like and care about her. Katrina wanted to continue her solitude, but it was difficult when four or five students were in her face the entire time. No one in this room was alone, everyone had a friend, even the shy boy who Katrina regretfully couldn't name. Only Konrad seemed out of place, but he didn't seem to care too much about forming friendships. 
When Konrad finished reading and he raised his eyes to look at the substitute teacher, Mr. Meckleburg clapped his hands together once and stood up from the large wooden seat. He felt as if he were watching ice melt before his eyes, but the ice was now a pool of cold water. 
"I hope you found those articles interesting and superb. They were written by Bartolek, one of the best writers in the history of Pyrrhia, who was brought back to use his gifts, thanks to the Rex," the teacher noted. "Now, for the rest of class we will discuss these three papers. Whoever wants to speak may speak, I am leaving it up to you." 
Gunther was the first person to speak. He had stood up from his desk respectfully, looked around at his audience, and cleared his throat. He began to talk, but his voice cracked embarrassingly and he paused for a moment with a face as red as a beet. However, he continued, despite the sweat pouring down from his forehead. 
"Well, um, for starters, um, well, you see..." Gunther began, but perhaps nerves got the better of him. The entire class stared at the young man, who was fiddling around with his hands and fingers, looking down at his desk with frightened and worried eyes that showed that he was not comfortable talking to the entire class, even though it was his choice to volunteer in the first place. No one said a word, and Katrina was extremely surprised that no one snickered or chuckled to themselves or to their friends because of this embarrassing moment. In fact, Katrina was amazed when Gunther built up his courage and started over again. 
"S-sorry. As I was saying, the Rex returned after preparing his plan to save the world. He desperately wanted to bring peace to the nobles, even though they didn't deserve it. The Rex knew it was wrong, but his heart was too big for his people. He tried to settle the differences between old rivals, and it seemed like everything was going according to plan. But the Rex was betrayed, an obvious trick by the nobles. The Rex saw it coming, of course, even though he didn't want to believe it. The nobles had a plot to destroy each other and take over the world, and the Rex warned the innocent peasants, servants, and serfs. That was the start of the Glorious Revolution, and why we are all free today." 
Mr. Meckleburg nodded approvingly and Gunther sat down as if he had aced yet another easy test. Katrina had thought up of what she was going to say. The whole war during the Revolution was very successful, with hardly any casualties for the revolt. The nations, however, were crushed. It was all thanks to the Mask of Simeon, which summoned an invincible army that protects and serves us today. 
Katrina began to stand up, but someone suddenly beat her to it. It was Horace. 
The large, muscular giant stood up from his seat, raising his hand for approval. Mr. Meckleburg motioned his hand to give permission to Horace to speak. 
"Well, I really liked the second document, with the war and all," Horace began. 
That was MY topic! Katrina pouted in her seat. 
"Um, a student named Connor asked this question last week and I really thought it over last night." 
Connor...hey, what happened to that guy? He just...disappeared. 
Mr. Meckleburg sat up in his chair, keeping his hands folded and on top of the desk. "Go on, even though this was all supposed to be a discussion for the class only. Oh, well, what is your question?" 
"Connor said that he heard that an angel pushed the Rex off of a mountain, and everyone thought he was dead. I don't know if the "he" was the angel or the Rex, but I found it interesting, especially after our imagination courses about the Dark Ages. Is this true, sir?" Horace asked, smiling at what he thought was an intellectual question. 
Mr. Meckleburg thought for a moment, then he began to chuckle, his pale cheeks becoming rosy and his eyes looking amusingly at Horace. Horace felt a singe of anger rise up in his throat, and he looked hard at the teacher, his head raised and his teeth showing, bracing for the answer. 
"That is just ridiculous. An angel? Huh. Well, let me assure you, the Rex never went up a mountain and then was pushed off by an angel. It would be more likely that the devil would be the one to push the Rex off, but the Rex would turn the tide anyways!" Mr. Meckleburg chuckled some more. "Your friend, Connor, isn't on my list, but he must have heard some wild stories." Horace sat down, his face reddening. 
Mr. Meckleburg sighed. "All right, let's try with reading out our favorite passages to the rest of the class. Anyone?" 
Katrina skimmed through the articles, looking for a part that she really liked and found interesting. This one. She looked around and saw Horace sitting lazily in his seat, not planning on talking anymore during this class, which was almost over. Katrina stood up and held her paper close enough to her eyes to read it. The letters were small, but full of information. 
"Sir, my favorite quote was from the second article, sixth paragraph. It is only a few sentences long, but it is nothing that I have ever read before," Katrina said, and the substitute quickly flipped through the pages to read along as Katrina spoke. 
Katrina cleared her throat. 
Here goes nothing. 
" 'The Rex made many friends during the war, friends who would later betray his trust and friendship for gold and power. One of them was a military leader who pledged his life to the Rex, but he was corrupted from the start with a lust for control and blood. The Rex had visions, but he went far enough to deny them until the very last moment for his friend. His friend's name was Wladyslaw Nowak, a terrible man who wanted to divide and then conquer Pyrrhia. Nowak wanted to destroy the dragons the same way he planned on destroying the Rex, exterminating each and every one of them, especially their eggs. The saddened Rex remorsefully killed Nowak when he was about to be stabbed in the back. The Rex tried everything to reason with his friend, but nothing could change the mind of the noble. The Rex cried for days afterwards, mourning the loss of his friend and his enemy, like every good person should.' " 
Katrina felt satisfied and she looked up at her teacher. She expected him to applaud her, or at least give her a small smile, but instead he strangely held the paper tightly in both hands and had his face right in the article. He looked at what Katrina had read, examined every word, and repeated it to himself to make sure he had heard correctly. A flash of confused anger was in his eyes, and his eyebrows arched menacingly. It looked as if he was going to shred the paper into millions of pieces. 
"N-n-nowa..." he muttered, then he suddenly stopped. He shook his head and looked at Katrina, grinning as she hoped he would. "Very interesting article...um," he looked at the seating chart, "Katrina. You may sit down." 
Katrina sat down, and Hannah was the last person to talk before the bell rang. Katrina gathered her materials and began to walk out the door, but before that she took one last look at Mr. Meckleburg. 
He was staring at the article again, forcefully holding it in front of his face. 
What is with him and my favorite passage? It was cool, wasn't it? 
=== Chapter 5: The Test ===
The final bells of the day rang and most of the school had packed up and left for home, where farm work and other labor awaited them. When some of her friends heard that Katrina was in Magic class and that she was going to take the animus exam after school, they all managed to convince their parents to let them stay a little longer in the courtyard. 
Katrina walked to the lush garden in the middle of the school, where many other people had gathered. This was the first time she had ever been in the garden, and it was absolutely beautiful, even though it was small and a little cramped with all the people and flowerbeds everywhere. There were plants hanging down from the roof and ivy growing from the brick walls of the school. There was a small fountain in the shape of a blue dolphin, producing calm, peaceful noises as it poured water into a round pond. There was a wide range of different flowers in the beds, from yellow to purple to red to pink to orange and to white. At one section of the garden was a patch of dark soil with small signs that indicated that the Gardening class was growing food there.
"Look at all the people," gasped Hannah as she make her way through the crowd. "And none of them are noticing my dress!"
Following her was Gunther and Raphael, who looked around curiously at all the sights and sounds. It was not long, however, before there was silence and a sense of order in the courtyard. Gunther marched over to Katrina's side, leaning into her to show her something. He pointed over to a woman standing in the crowd, talking to some of her colleagues. It was Mrs. Horiksdottir! 
"Hey, let's go over to her!" suggested a red-haired, gleaming, overly-friendly girl whom Katrina was shocked to see. It was Lyra, a fiery girl whose spirit matched the color of her hair. Along with her was her younger brother, Liam, who also had red hair, but whose personality was far more timid. 
Katrina felt that she and Lyra were complete opposites. Lyra did not have many friends, despite her friendly personality. She was too nice to everyone, and she made many students feel awkward as she generally encroached on their personal space or listened upon their private conversations. Meanwhile, Katrina was shy, and she only had a handful of close friends whom she could trust, or at least she hoped she could. Katrina hated herself for having doubt in her head. 
They both like me, Gunther and Hannah, and the others in the class. I can trust them, and they can trust me! But why can I tell myself that but still not fully believe it? 
Nevertheless, they all left her behind to head over to their history teacher, who had been busy preparing the different sections of the animus test. 
That isn't what I meant, world! They won't ever leave me forever. It's just that we haven't seen our teacher today! That's all. 
However, as Gunther, Hannah, and Lyra, dragging along Liam, walked closer to meet Mrs. Horiksdottir, who stood on the other side of the fountain in the middle of the garden, there was the sound of heavy footsteps marching from inside the school, coming closer to the courtyard. There was a murmur in the crowd, but it ended the moment the Guardians entered. 
Katrina had never seen the Guardians before in her life, but it meant that someone important was coming or something important was going to happen. 
Here they come...
The Guardians walked right into the garden in pairs of two, and when they reached the fountain, one went to the left and the other went to the right. They moved down along the walkway so that there was enough room for sixteen of them to stand around the dolphin squirting water out of its nose. It was truly a sight to behold. 
The Guardians were the "Guards of Freedom", the "Police of Justice", and the "Holders of Peace". It was their duty to protect Glorious Pyrrhia from any internal threat and they served as bodyguards or as a policing force for anyone who deemed it necessary to call them up. Katrina stared at the Guardians, and the mere sight of them sent waves of awe and fear through her body. 
They're...beautiful... she thought as she looked at one of the Guardians in great detail. She started from the bottom up, realizing how motionless the Guardian stood and how it didn't even seem to be breathing. Its feet were heavily planted down on the pebbled ground, with white plated boots that glistened in the afternoon sun shining down through the vines and trees of the garden's miniature canopy. Farther up, Katrina saw the silvery body armor the Guardian wore, ornate with golden designs of swirls and two, bold, ancient letters. The lines of gold weaved their way to the Guardian's silver gauntlets, and to its black gloves. It had shoulder plates and a chest plate that provided greater maneuverability, and above it was the most well-known characteristic of the Guardian: its mask. 
The mask of the Guardian reminded Katrina of the porcelain theater masks she had seen in the library one day. The mask of this particular Guardian, identical to the ones around it, was oval-shaped, covered from behind and above with a white hood that formed the shape of the back of the head. On its white, glassy, and decorated mask were two dark eyes, or at least holes of the mask, both round and dark. They seemed to bore in Katrina's skull just because she was looking at them, though they were not looking directly at her. No, they were watching someone else enter the courtyard, just before the exam was supposed to begin. 
A hushed crowd stared at a figure who was slowly making its way down the stone walkway. It was a figure who appeared similar to the Guardians, but only in a limited aspect. This individual also had a mask and body armor, but it had glowing blue stripes along its arms and legs. Its mask was black with the same glowing blue color creating an outline of the figure's head. Its eyes were glowing blue in an eerie and haunting way. Its armor did not look heavy like the Guardians, but more like black mail armor with a leather belt around its waist, carrying a sword. On its feet were light black boots. The patterns, the stripes, and the mask could only have meant one thing: this was a Dux-Animus! 
The Dux-Animi were the provincial governors of Glorious Pyrrhia, ruling over a part of the continent, protecting and serving the people and also making sure that all the important tasks were carried out. Katrina had wondered how this breakup of the land was not the same as the nobles dividing up Pyrrhia during the Dark Ages, but the difference was that the Dux were animi, and had a right to rule over regular people. The school was located in one of the provinces, which was named Eastland. Eastland's Dux-Animus was called Bartolek, and the figure with the blue glowing stripes must have been him. He was presiding over the animus test! 
Katrina thought back to her history book and the pamphlet she had received on the fourth day of school, a small booklet that everyone received, printed and shipped over right from the capitol. Bartolek was an animus who had died over four thousand years ago, but his spirit was resurrected by the Rex after the Revolution began. Bartolek was a famous author, and he had written the book "Us and Them," a piece of literature which realistically and bluntly told of life in the world after the Scorching. 
There was no nonsense from this point on. The teachers ordered all of the students who wished to participate to stand in front of a large table brought in earlier that day. Five students walked to the table and they all stood before it, wondering what they were going to have to do. Katrina looked at the other four. One of them was Lyra, two of them were boys she did not know, and surprisingly there was a little girl waiting for the exam to begin as well. Lyra seemed excited, the boys were ready to prove themselves, but the little girl look emotionless and did not do anything other than stare at the table. 
The teachers counted the number of students, and they went to bring in five watermelons. They placed them on the table, one in front of each of the test-takers. The Dux-Animus stepped forward, and it was the first time anyone at this school had heard a word come out of such a powerful person. Katrina expected a booming, dramatic, and fear-inducing voice, but she was sorely disappointed. Bartolek's voice was authoritative, and clearly audible, but it seemed like his mouth were stuffed with nuts or bread. His voice was muffled, as if something were preventing him from talking clearly. 
If that is really his voice, I can understand why he became a writer and not a bard.
 "Greetings, possible animi," welcomed the Dux in a monotone voice, only referring to the five students in front of him and completely ignoring everyone else as if they didn't even exist. "If you have magic, please enchant these fruits to rise up into the air at whatever height you wish or can manage to muster." 
He went straight into the test, with no warm welcome or encouragement. Katrina began to think up a spell. 
Watermelon, rise up from the table!
 The watermelon did not move an inch. 
Watermelon! I order you to levitate above the table now! I enchant you to rise at my command!
 The watermelon stayed on the table, soaking up the sun. 
Watermelon, I enchant you to move, please?
 Katrina's watermelon did not seem to be under any spell nor obeyed any command. Dreaded thoughts of not having magic filled her mind, but she realized that no one else's melons had done anything. Not even the little girl's. Lyra seemed disappointed, but the Dux was not finished yet. 
"Possible animi, if you have magic, enchant these vines to move as a snake moves, coiling itself or lashing out," the Dux commanded. 
Vine, move! I enchant you to wrap yourself around the tree like a snake. No, wait, I command you to coil yourself into a round pile.
 Katrina looked closely at her selected vine, a long, thin green one hanging up from the wall of the school, surrounded by little white flowers. Had it moved, even a little bit? Katrina swore she saw it at least flinch from her spell, but it was impossible to prove and if she did have magic, it was quite useless. Katrina felt better, however, when no one else managed to follow the Dux's directions. 
It seemed that the Dux would continue to ask the five to enchant more things to move, such as a tomato or a flower, or maybe even the little caterpillar inching its way to eat leaves. Unfortunately, it seemed the exam had been a failure, and no one at this school was an animus. 
"If you are animus, you will survive the sword," the Dux spoke. Two Guardians grabbed a hold of Lyra, pushing her over to the school. Lyra kicked her feet and flailed her arms around madly, trying to break free from the grip of the Guardians. She was screaming, crying out loud for her mother and father, and to anyone to save her. Her pink, happy face was white with terror as she was forced inside the building. No one said or did anything. 
A pair of cold, hard hands seized Katrina, and she tried to fight back as well. She had at least a second of warning, unlike Lyra, but as she thought up of graceful moves and dodging techniques in her mind, her actions were clumsy and she ended up on the stone pathway. The Guardians grasped her and pulled her into the school. They steered her over into the hallway, and they shoved her into one of the classrooms. It was dark in the classroom as the shades were shut, and Katrina tried to crawl away from the Guardians. They were no longer beautiful, they were terrifying. One of them had drawn out a glowing white sword and the other restrained Katrina. Both of their eyes were glowing like candles. 
Katrina could not move as the Guardian held her tightly. The other one edged closer, sword in hand. 
Please, magic, please protect me from the sword!
The Guardian grabbed a hold of Katrina's shirt with one hand and pointed the sword at her stomach with the other. 
I enchant the air around me to form a shield to protect me from that sword! 
The Guardian pulled back the sword, readying to stab it right through Katrina's abdomen.
I don't want to die....
The Guardian thrust the sword forward. 
"I ENCHANT THE AIR AROUND ME TO SHIELD ME FROM THE SWORD LIKE A SHIELD!" Katrina screamed out, tears in her eyes and her voice shrieking like a mouse. 
A second passed, then another. I'm not dead?!
Katrina stared at the Guardian, and it stared at her. The sword did not make contact with her at all. When the Guardian attempted to strike again, at a different angle, it bounced off as if it had hit a wall. The spell had worked! 
I'm....I'm an animus?
The two Guardians pulled Katrina up to her feet and walked her back outside, where the Dux awaited her with the news. Lyra and the two boys were standing away from the table, but the little girl was in the same place she had been before. Katrina made it back to her spot. 
The Dux stared at the two of them, then he spoke out to the crowd. 
"These two are animi!" he proclaimed. Katrina expected an uproar from the crowd, but no one said a thing. They stared at each other in disbelief, and Katrina also saw another emotion, fear. The school was afraid of Katrina and the little girl. The Guardians began to leave their positions by the fountain and they headed towards the crowd. 
The teachers grew nervous. 
"Uh, hooray! We have two animi in our midst!" one of the teachers exclaimed, and soon everyone else chanted and cheered in favor of the two young magicians. It was as if they never felt that fear before. 
A little while later, the Dux and his Guardians left the school to head back to the capitol, leaving Katrina alone in the garden. 
"Hey, Hannah, wait up for me!" Katrina called out to her friend. To her surprise and great shock, Hannah walked away without even acknowledging her. 
"Gunther!" she cried out after the boy. Gunther took one terrified look at Katrina and fled from the courtyard, whimpering. 
"Lyra?" she begged desperately. "You won't leave me, will you?" 
Lyra hesitated for a second. "Please, don't hurt me or Liam, please, animus?" Lyra fled in tears, pulling along with her Liam, who had no idea of what was going on. 
Katrina stood, dazed, and her insides felt sick. Before she could bawl her eyes out, a cold, small hand tugged on the sleeve of her shirt. 
"I won't leave you," promised the little animus girl. 
=== Chapter 6: Two Worlds ===
Ambrosia.
"Katrina, would you please pay attention to the lesson," boomed Mr. Meckleburg on his second day of substitute teaching. "And Hannah, stop staring at Katrina. You too, Gunther! What is up with this class today?" The teacher shook his head and returned to writing notes on the chalkboard.
I'm an animus. I'm an...animus....
The words did not sit comfortably in the girl's mind as she forced herself to take notes on the structure of the human nations before the Revolution. Meanwhile, the teacher spoke as he wrote, but no one appeared to be paying any attention to him at all. Word traveled fast that Katrina had performed magic during yesterday's animus exam, and in the same amount of time Katrina had lost all of her friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. Everyone avoided her, like a plague, and either they fled in terror or stayed long enough to watch her every move. It was if they expected her to perform a spell to turn them into frogs, or worse, become mad and kill the entire school. 
"As you can see, the kingdoms of Pyrrhia had very basic structures and this system was found in every nation. There was no diversity in rule, though we know that different people adapted to different geographical regions. Culture was bland and hardly even existed, but some peasants managed to form communities of their own..." the teacher droned on.
Animus...
The word tasted terrible in her mouth, as if it were an acid burning through her mouth and onto the floor, eating it as well. She hated that word, and everything associated with it. No one liked her anymore. She had everything she wanted and more before the exam. Friends. Katrina wished she never had taken the exam, and she wished she never found out about her magical powers.
"The nations were ruled by an autocratic king or queen, who sat on a throne of gold and overlooked the suffering of their people. They appointed nobles to go to war, rule part of the land, and enslave the peasantry. It is known as the "feudal" system, one ruled by lies and false beliefs of royalty. Only animi may claim such an honor."
Katrina felt a hundred eyes bore into her at once. She covered her face with her hands and covered her ears from the teacher's voice. This isn't fair, I didn't ask for this! Why me? Why me?
Ambrosia... There was only one girl who did not treat Katrina so specially, so fearfully, or as if she were different. The teachers tried to hold back their awe or their worries, and Mr. Meckleburg was one of the only ones who could, but Ambrosia was the only person who treated Katrina like a friend. It was unfortunate that the only period they had together was lunch, but it had helped Katrina get through the day.
It had been only one day and the two had bonded tightly...somewhat. It still felt uncomfortable for Katrina to talk to a girl who was only about seven years old when she was fifteen. Ambrosia wasn't really the warmest person in the school, either. The young girl spoke her mind and seemed to blot out everything that she could care less about, such as the other students who made fun of her. It was remarkable how Ambrosia remained calm even under intense verbal fire. 
"The tyranny ended when-" the teacher began, but he halted his lesson unexpectedly. Mr. Meckleburg had heard something, but the class seemed to be confused. The substitute stood motionlessly, even keeping his hand in the air completely still, and his ears twitched as if picking up a sound, or trying to hear it again.
"What?" asked Gunther, but Mr. Meckleburg shushed him aggressively, appearing paranoid. 
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
The school bell was ringing! However, it wasn't the beginning or the end of the period, and the tempo of the bells seemed to be double than that of normal.
Ding-dong, ding-dong. 
Mr. Meckleburg headed over to the window and lifted the white curtains to see what was outside. He tried to angle himself for the best view, as if he had seen something but it had moved somewhere where it was more difficult to see. Then Katrina heard something as well, something not as loud as the bell, but audible enough to hear. It sounded like a horn, and it was coming from outside.
"For Rex's sake..." the teacher mumbled as he caught a glimpse of something from behind the window. Suddenly, Katrina heard footsteps moving quickly up and down the school above and below her, and the sound of loud chattering coming from outside the classroom door. 
The door flung wide open! It was Mr. Getrudsson, the school principal.
"Mr. Meckleburg, evacuate your students immediately!" he ordered frantically.
The teacher stumbled over to his desk, looking at the principal with wide eyes. "What is going on, sir!?"
"We are under attack!"
Mr. Meckleburg was astonished and shocked, but he quickly calmed himself down and ordered his students to walk out of the classroom and down the stairway in a single file line. The students did as he said, and the teacher gave anyone who was lagging behind a cold stare. Katrina speedily left the classroom, but she stayed near Mr. Meckleburg as she had no one else to follow. She didn't trust herself enough to walk out without a leader, especially if someone or something was attacking the school and her life was on the line. It took a while for the class to make it to the ground level, as everyone was panicking, crowding the halls and stairways, and there had not been any escape drills so far in the year. Finally, however, Katrina was at the exit that led to the outside world. 
It was utter chaos. 
"Run!" shrieked a teacher, huddling with her children and rushing them in the direction of the forest. 
"They're going to kill us all!" screamed a young boy in a white shirt covered in paint.
"Katrina, over here!"
Katrina turned her head and saw Mr. Meckleburg waving frantically at her to follow him.
"Let's go!" shouted a squeakier, younger voice. Katrina saw a blur ran past her and realized it was Ambrosia! Katrina sped towards her teacher. When he saw that, Mr. Meckleburg turned and continued to run towards one of the barns. He began to open the large wooden door of the building, and with help from tiny Ambrosia and then Katrina, they opened it enough to squeeze inside.
The smell was terrible, it was damp, warm, and dark inside, but it was safe for the time being. Katrina watched from behind the door at the scene that was unfolding. She still didn't exactly know what was going on, but there was clearly something that was causing the entire village to run wild like chickens with their heads cut off. 
One of the teachers, the gym teacher that Katrina had first met on the very first day of school, was running towards the barn as well. He had figured that his fellow colleague had the right idea. He was very quick, being the fittest man in the entire village, perhaps in all of Pyrrhia with his strong leg muscles pumping as they slammed onto the ground, step by step.
He's going to make it. Katrina thought, but then she heard an unsettling, piercing cry. A war cry! 
"For the Kaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiisser!" 
Before the gym teacher could reach the barn, a rider on a horse hammered a club at him, slamming him in his side. The teacher crumpled to the ground, clutching his rib cage, not daring to move for fear of hurting himself even further.
Katrina edged out of the barn a little bit, but Mr. Meckleburg pulled her back inside. Katrina looked right at the road which led to the village, down a hill towards the valley. She saw a deluge of people in all sorts of colors swarming down on the town, wielding clubs and some sort of strange weapon that Katrina could only imagine was a short pole. At the top of the hill, slowly making their way down, following the swarm, were horsemen.
Before long, the giant mob of warriors fully descended down upon the townspeople, and Katrina was close enough to hear the jeers the barbarians were saying. Barbarian and nobility went hand in hand, and there was no doubt that these soldiers were enslaved peasants of the remaining royalty. She flinched as the soldiers beat down their clubs and blunt weapons on the villagers.
"Beat them!"
"Knock some sense into these traitors!"
"You made my family leave me!"
"Don't kill, just club'em!"
"For the Kaiser!"
"For the Tsarina!"
"For the Hetman!"
It was the most savage thing that Katrina had ever seen in her life. Soldiers with red garments, steel breastplates and helmets, knocked the teachers, villagers, and older students down as if they were ignorant animals. With them were soldiers with grey chain mail and helmets that looked like bowls on their heads, and they each carried a large, wooden square shield. Lastly, there were warriors wearing blue uniform-like robes and light blue caps, with some sort of sash around their shoulders. 
Katrina saw the soldiers beat families, friends, and many innocent people, and some were even dragged away towards the hill where the more spectacular people waited for them.
Mr. Meckleburg was mumbling something to himself. "Dzhentri kavaleriya, Husaria, Ritter..."
Katrina's eyes followed his, and they met on the three distinct groups of cavalry that were sitting on the hill. One group consisted of horsemen with bladed polearms, mail shirts, and padded caps. One of them was holding a large banner, with the image of three white mountains and a golden two-headed eagle on it. 
The other group had cavalry wearing plate armor and what looked to be wings. 
Angels? They had extremely long lances, and their banner was red with a white mace on it. The last group were mounted warriors wearing white robes over their mail coasts, full-faced helmets with horns, and their banner was a black falcon.
"RUN!" Katrina heard someone scream. As she watched the soldiers slow down to slam people with their weapons, she also saw that it had given many the time necessary to escape. The three of them looked as a crowd of perhaps twenty men, women, and children rush to the forest, where they had a chance to hide from the attackers and lose them in the vegetation. The number rose to twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five people. The forest was theirs.
Her hopes and dreams were crushed, as if the barn roof had suddenly collapsed and squished her underneath its heavy weight. 
"For the Emperor! For Justinian!" she heard from the bushes and behind the trees. Then, slithering out from the forest where they had hidden, Katrina saw a wall as long as the forest was wide slowly makes its way towards the villagers. It was a wall that began to close and trap its victims, a line of shields that soon would form a circle. 
 "Legionarii," mumbled Mr. Meckleburg. 
 "Huh?" blurted out Ambrosia, her curiosity getting the better of her. 
"Lorica segmentata armor, scutum shields, army standards, gladius swords. Cecurians..." he said, but neither Katrina nor Ambrosia understood a word. 
Instead, the two watched in horror as the line of shields and the swarm of soldiers pushed forward. The two groups closed in on the helpless villagers, who had seen the wall, tried to turn back, but realized it was too late. The two barbaric armies closed in slowly, but then the wall broke and the legionnaires stormed on the townspeople, clobbering them with clubs. Katrina had seen the glint of their knives and swords on their belts, and she realized it could have been much worse.
"Boy, get over hear!" hollered Mr. Meckleburg unexpectedly. 
It's, it's Konrad!
A young boy was crouched right in front of the barn door, attempting to pass by the soldiers unnoticed and waiting for his chance to bolt off into the forest. He had a sense of fear in his eyes, but a cunning plan was trying to be formed in his mind. He watched the enemy nervously, as if he could not believe the evil nobles were right in front of him.
Katrina took her eyes off of Konrad just in time to see the enemies' cavalry charge down the hill, all of them in close ranked formation. There were two lines of lances, and the other of bladed polearms and clubs. Katrina flinched as she saw the winged knights, knights, and noble horsemen smash into her people, jabbing them with long wooden sticks with a rubber end to it, designed to make the blows nonlethal. 
It is a show of force.
Running almost right in front of the barn was Katrina's art teacher, Mrs. Brittatolli, and she was shrieking as she ran away from something following her. Then one of the horsemen drove his lance into the back of Katrina's Art teacher, sending her sprawling down to the floor. The knight looked around, as if trying to find a new target to hit, and he did. 
Uh-oh.
For a second, Katrina thought the knight was looking at her, but when the man opened his bascinet helmet upwards, revealing a pale, bearded face, she realized he was looking at the boy. The knight was studying Konrad, as if he had seen him from somewhere before. Meanwhile, Konrad stared back, terrified, but he did not know who this man was. 
A soldier with red garments, a steel breastplate, and a steel helmet made her way over to the knight, looking to see what was the matter.
"Sire, who is this boy you are looking at?" the soldier asked. She looked at Konrad, puzzled, and she too didn't seem to notice Katrina. Ambrosia and Mr. Meckleburg apparently had backed away from the door, out of sight. 
The knight breathed in heavily, his eyes widening as realization caught his eye. Pockets of sun were shining against his thick plate armor, covering his entire body as if he were made of steel. From his helmet, to his gauntlets, to his boots, to his chest, to his legs, to his gauntlets, and even to his fingers, metal protected him. He moved uncomfortably and slowly on his mount, a black horse with black and white garments and face armor.
"It's the cultist! It's the cultist that killed King Jan!" the knight bellowed in a deep voice that boomed like thunder, meanwhile his eyes were like lightning.
The knight pointed one armored hand at Konrad. "Kill him, shoot him!" he ordered.
"But...Grand Duke, we were given orders not to kill..." the soldier began to explain, but the knight cut her off.
"This is an exception, soldier. Shoot him dead now!"
The soldier held the strange long weapon in her hands, pointed the end of it at Konrad, and aimed it with her eyes at the top of the weapon. Her finger was on something, something that felt wrong to Katrina. There was a small hole at the end of the weapon. The knight watched from behind, holding a sword in his hand. If whatever happened next failed, it would be he who would try to take Konrad's life.
Konrad did not move. He was paralyzed with fear.
The soldier in red tensed, and that was when Katrina knew instinctively she had to do something. 
=== Chapter 7: Animi ===
Katrina held out her hands the moment a puff of smoke emitted out of the barrel of the musket, igniting a flame and producing a loud, booming sound in the process. A gust of wind smacked into the soldier and the Grand Duke, sending them flying a few feet back through the air and into the ground.
My...magic...
Katrina heard the whinny of a horse as it carried its rider with it into the dirt, and she also heard an agonizing shriek of pain coming from the soldier in red and with the breastplate. Katrina had seen the piece of metal that fired from the gun, but the gust changed its course back, right into the leg of the woman who had fired it. Katrina winced as she saw a splatter of blood discharge from her leg when the lead hit, looking as the woman's face scrunched up in pain.
The Grand Duke had collapsed onto the ground, and Katrina watched, horrified, when she saw the horse fall on top of him and then bounce off his body. The horse righted itself up, but limped away as if a leg had been broken or sprained. The Grand Duke groaned in pain as he felt for his chest, and when he tried to get up his armor pulled him down.
What have I done? I...I didn't mean to hurt them...I...
"Now is our chance!"
Katrina watched without comprehension for a second as Mr. Meckleburg rushed out of the barn. He looked around, and both he and Katrina saw that the attack was nearly over. The groups of soldiers, of savages, had done what they had came to do. They had beaten, crippled, and maimed practically the entire village, but it was hard to tell if anyone had died. If anyone did, however, it would not be a loss to the attackers. The legionnaires combined their forces with the various small groups of warriors, walking and running to the hill where their commanders sat waiting on horses. 
"Come on, ladies!" Mr. Meckleburg encouraged as he helped Konrad to his feet. Katrina stepped forward and through the doorway of the barn, but a small hand tugged at her sleeve. Ambrosia stood in the dim light of the barn, her eyes wide and wet looking up to meet those of Katrina's. She held onto the older girl's sleeve, and trembled every moment of it. Her mouth seemed to be wavering, as if it were on the edge of bursting out loud in a cry, but the little girl did not say a single word.
"Come on, Ambrosia, it's safe," Katrina whispered, lowering herself to meet the eyes of Ambrosia. Ambrosia, however, did not seem convinced and stayed put in the place she thought was safe. The little girl pulled Katrina back. 
"Please, Ambrosia..." Katrina begged. She had never thought her voice could sound so sweet and caring, but she did not hate herself for acting more maternal than tough.
Mr. Meckleburg and Konrad stood waiting, with the boy leaning into the supporting arms of the teacher. They would not wait for long, especially since the armies would realize one of their leaders was missing and they would search the village grounds for him. 
"Ambrosia, listen to me. I am your friend, right?" Katrina asked of the little girl. The girl nodded, and Katrina felt a twinge of guilt as a result. The girl was her friend, and Katrina wished she could feel the same way with Ambrosia. But it might have been the only plan Katrina could think of to tap into the emotions of the girl and force her to leave the barn.
"I'm sorry if this sounds mean, but, I am leaving. Your friend is leaving and she is going now," Katrina stated in the most compassionate and heart-felt voice she could muster. 
Ambrosia gasped and more tears filled her shocked eyes. The little girl leaped at Katrina and hugged her tightly as if she were her own mother or father.
Woah...
Katrina had not remembered how it felt to be hugged by someone who cared about her, but all of the fond memories of warmth struck her like a falcon snatching meat from a trainer's gloved arm. Her insides softened and the same teary substance filled Katrina's own eyes.
"You can always go with me..." she suggested, and what she said she had said because she wanted it to be. Katrina had known this girl for a few days and already she was very attached. Katrina didn't understand how that was possible, or how her entire plan of hating everyone and appearing to be a terrible and lonely person had gone down the drain so quickly. How had her heart of ice thaw? Katrina had been read many stories by her parents about villains who turn good at the end, but she was neither a villain nor was this the end!
Katrina held Ambrosia's hand and the two walked out of the barn together and towards the two male figures waiting for them. Mr. Meckleburg and Konrad were nearly ready to spring like rabbits into the forest, but they had waited long enough to add two new members to their duo. They met in the middle of the field, and once together they bolted for the forest, where they could escape to safety. 
"We have to go to the capitol! Terchen is closer than the Dux's palace, and easier to get to! We have to tell the Rex of the events that have unraveled here today! He must know that the nobles are attacking again, and deep in our glorious territory!" the teacher said as he ran with the other three to the green trees and shrubs.
Following him was Konrad, Ambrosia, and Katrina, who slowed down to match the pace and speed of the little girl's. The green forest welcomed them with green plants and wonderful piny smells, and the mountains overhead would guide them to the ones who would protect the natural order of the world.
A few hours later...
The night had fallen upon the world, and sleep entered those who inhabited it. Katrina, Ambrosia, and Mr. Meckleburg had trekked through the forests, along ancient dirt paths that were still not fully covered in foliage and grass. Along the way, the three had ran into an unexpected sign, a small wooden post that had an arrow pointing straight ahead, with the name of the capitol written in big bold letters. It would be the best place to rest.
"Good night, you two," yawned Mr. Meckleburg as he laid down against a tree, crossing his arms together and closing his eyes. He had taken the two girls a little ways off of the path, but still close enough that the sign was still visible from where they were staying. The ground was cold like frozen ice, and hard like a steel shield's metallic surface. 
"Ugh, this ground..." complained Katrina as she attempted to sit and then lay down on a grassy patch of ground. Katrina tried every possible way to find a comfortable position to sleep in, but nothing worked to keep her still for more than a few seconds.
"Do you smell that?" asked Ambrosia softly, sniffing the air around her. She perked her head up and began to follow whatever she had found.
Huh? Katrina used her nose as well, her nostrils flaring open and closed as she tried to pick up any irregular stench. Her entire body shook and her face scrunched up as a strong, definitely repulsive odor was caught with her sense of smell. She covered her nose with her hand, burying it in her palm, and she began to follow Ambrosia, who was running away from their teacher and deeper into the forest. The smell grew stronger and stronger until Katrina could definitely make out what sort of odor it was. It smelled like rotting meat, and it was disgusting. 
The two had walked carefully through the bushes and around boulders, and Katrina's ears picked up an increasingly louder buzzing sound. It sounded like a swarm of flies, and once they walked down a declining level of land, it was confirmed to their horror that there were indeed flies and rotting flesh.
There was a dark figure laying on the grass, lifeless as a doll. Ambrosia stood over it, inspecting the body closely. Meanwhile, Katrina stayed back a few feet, looking on in horror at the twisted decaying body of a man. Laying on the grass, its body crumpled like paper, it's features completely disfigured to the point of not knowing how this person looked when he was alive. Shock rang through Katrina's body, but not at the figure, rather at the absence of fear on Ambrosia's face and calm response.
"Who do you think this was?" the little girl asked plainly, as if the death was just another mere event in the timeline of the universe, which it was, but it still chilled Katrina to the bone.
"He...he looks like one of the nobles who attacked the village..." Katrina suggested. Despite the decayed body, Katrina could still clearly see the body armor: the red garments and steel breastplate, together with dark boots, gloves, and a helmet off next to the man's side. It looked like one of the soldiers who had yelled, "For the Tsarina," whatever that meant. Mr. Meckleburg had muttered some strange words when he had seen the barbarian army, but he was asleep so Katrina would not be able to ask until morning about those words or phrases.
"What do you think happened to him?" Katrina asked, holding her arms close to her body. It was chilly in the night, and the wind crept through her and in her being as it made contact with any exposed skin. 
"It does not matter! All that matters is that this noble is dead!" boomed a voice, startling both Katrina and Ambrosia.
"Konrad!" yelped Katrina as she saw the familiar boy emerge from behind a tree. He walked over to the body and bent down to look at it, though flies buzzed angrily and flew at his face. 
"Bloody noble deserved it..." the boy hissed. 
Ambrosia walked forward and stood up in front of Konrad, her chin held up high in defiance. "Take that back!" she cried. 
Konrad's anger grew deep within him. "Stupid girl, you don't even know what you are talking about!" 
"Oh yeah! Well, he's human, your human, I'm human-" Ambrosia tried to explain. 
"No! You are an animus! And so is she!" Konrad nodded his head towards Katrina. "You are better than a human, you are greater than me! So you should start acting like that and stop moping about soulless murderers who do nothing more than kill, take treasure, kill, kill, er...kill, and care about nobody but themselves!" Konrad roared with a strong charge to his voice. 
Ambrosia looked as if she were about to cry. 
She's so young and so innocent...how dare he say things like that! 
"Konrad, shut your mouth!" Katrina ordered. Katrina ran up fiercely to Ambrosia, then held the little girl in her arms in a protective hug. Her eyes looked sharply at the boy. 
"See, little girl, that is how you should act towards people," Konrad advised. 
What!? 
There was a cold silence as Katrina and Ambrosia stood still to see what Konrad would do next. However, the boy turned to face the two girls and smiled as if he were not just standing over the body of a rotting, deceased human being. 
"Don't let the scavenger bother you, let's go back to Mr. Meckleburg," he reassured the two, and Katrina followed him away from the body, and then Ambrosia finally did the same. 
They had reached the place where their teacher was sleeping, still in the same spot when Katrina checked last. Konrad went over to some grass and laid on his back, placing his hands behind his head as a sort of pillow. Katrina sat down by another tree, a great silvery oak, and she sighed. 
There is nothing strange about finding a dead body out in the middle of the forest. Finding the dead body of the noble should make me feel happy, relieved. But I cannot help but see his face, so disfigured that I cannot even tell how he had looked like. But why can I not just accept the fact that he was bad and his death was good? He was hardly human at all. Even Konrad called him a "scavenger."
"Did he have a family?" asked a soft, young voice. Ambrosia had laid down right next to Katrina, looking at her with glowing eyes, reflecting the light from the moon and the stars right into Katrina's. 
"I don't know, Ambrosia, I don't know..." Katrina muttered as her eyes closed. 
How dare Konrad! What does he know? What is it with him and the two of us? Why does he yell and screech at us, then he says we are doing the right thing? He is so strange... 
Sleep came to Katrina, as sleep came to everyone else, whether they be human, animus, or dragon. 
=== Chapter 8: Glass Swans ===
Katrina had slept for a long time before she awoke to something odd. At first she felt something soft touch against her arms and legs, and something hard against her back, but it was not the ground. There was also something warm at her side, breathing in and out as it hugged her tightly, despite being limp from falling asleep. Lastly, there were the sounds of horse hooves and the turning of wooden wheels. 
Katrina opened her eyes and sat up as they adjusted to the light. It was no longer pitch black in the outdoors, but rather a grey, with rays of light seeping in. It was morning and there was a grey overcast covering the entire sky like a blanket. Birds chirped and flew, animals ran through the bushes, and trees swayed in the wind. The air was cold, but it was dry for now. 
Oh!
Katrina heard snoring coming from the area around her right side. She stretched her neck and twisted her body enough to see who it was that was making those noises, but Katrina had already figured it all out before she saw a small creature sleeping. Ambrosia was curled up next to Katrina in a ball, her arms tightly grabbing at Katrina's body and her face buried in her shoulder. She was covered in a dark blanket, separate from the one that was around Katrina. Katrina felt her covers, which were soft and had an orange-white pattern on one side and plain grey on the other. It covered her, but it was far too big for one person... 
Katrina felt movement coming from her left side. She turned her body, now untwisting it, to find that a certain boy was dreaming happily as he rested. He was not touching her, rather he gave her plenty of room and most of the blanket. She saw something preventing him from falling off, and Katrina began to think of where she was. 
She sat up again, and this time she felt herself bounce up and down ever so slightly at times, and at others it caused her to nearly fly up into the grey sky. She was in a cart, rolling across a path on its four wooden wheels. Katrina positioned her body so that she could see behind her, and as she gathered in her surroundings she saw two men sitting down, one of them holding reins in his hands. The other looked around contently, and his lack of enthusiasm made her believe the man was daydreaming, or on the verge of falling asleep. 
Katrina wished to disturb no one, and she did not want anyone to know that she was awake or had ever awoken. Katrina laid down under the covers, pulling them over herself for more satisfaction. She laid on her back, her head up and her eyes staring into the sky. She did not want to go to sleep again, so the only option she had was to think or look mindlessly up towards the heavens. Katrina chose the latter. 
For who knew how long, Katrina watched the sky. Since it was an overcast, there were no wonderful clouds forming images to try to imagine, nor did the chilly wind help as it brushed her face. Eventually, Katrina pulled the blanket over her head, up to her nostrils, so that it covered her mouth and her neck. Soon afterwards, Katrina feel asleep again, but when she heard the two men begin to talk, her eyes shot open and an excitement filled her spirit. 
"Are you awake, Katrina?" asked Mr. Meckleburg, looking back from his seat to gaze at Katrina. The wagon was going up an incline, a hill. The entire area around them was shrouded in mist. 
"If yes, then let me tell you that we are nearly at the capitol. I will explain everything later, but first I must go to the Dux to explain the situation at Mortendale. Just promise me that you will take care of Ambrosia while I'm away, and don't let her out of your sight." 
It was a little while later when Katrina finally went to sleep in an actual, comfortable bed. Her sore body welcomed the change in setting, a small room all to herself, rented by the teacher. The white-plastered room had a bed, a small table, and a large mirror on the wall which Katrina used to see her reflection. Her skin was dirty and her hair was a mess, so she decided to go downstairs to bathe herself. It was a quick bath, but enough to make her feel extremely refreshed. She went to bed, but since she had already slept that night, her slumber lasted only a short while. Before long, Katrina was awake again, and she decided to do something. Mr. Meckleburg had not returned to her, and his words resounded in her thoughts. 
Perhaps I should check up on Ambrosia.
Ambrosia was staying in a room two doors down from Katrina's. They were unable to share one space because of the small size of the rooms, and they were not able to have rooms next to each other because someone was already occupying the bedroom in between them. Anyways, Katrina walked over to Ambrosia's door and knocked. 
Knock. Knock. 
There was no response, not even a shuffling of tiny feet. 
"Ambrosia?" asked Katrina worriedly. She hurriedly knocked again, a total of six times this time, but she was met with silence yet again. The door, she realized, was unlocked. She turned the knob and rushed inside. Ambrosia's room was identical to Katrina's, except the little girl had a small window that showed her the city below and above. 
But there was no one inside the room. Katrina looked around, going through the bed, looking underneath it, checking the closet, the drawers, but she came to the conclusion that this room was definitely empty. There was no sign that anyone was ever here in the first place. It was impossible to tell otherwise, however, due to the lack of luggage. Still, Katrina clearly remembered Mr. Meckleburg lock the door from the outside, and giving the keys to the owner of this building complex. Ambrosia could not have gone out. The window was close, but the room was high up so jumping out would have been a terrible idea. 
Katrina went to the window, and she looked glumly outside at the city, still covered in fog. She had failed to follow her teacher's instructions, but worst of all she had not been able to do such an easy task as look over someone for a little while. Anger grew inside of Katrina, hate towards herself and pity for the little girl. Why had she left? 
Did she hate us? Did she hate me?
 For all she knew, Ambrosia might have been in some other room, or downstairs playing around. Nothing bad might have happened, but Katrina couldn't bring herself to have such hope come across her mind. She slumped against the windowsill, having given up her search before she even tried to investigate the town. She watched people move about in the city, walking to and fro, selling items at market stands, and leaning against walls, talking to each other. There was also a sound of wings flapping in the distance, which caused Katrina to wonder what they were from. 
A group of children laughed and ran giddily across the streets. They had blonde hair, brown hair, black hair, there were boys and girls, and they were all having fun. The large group chased each other around, and soon they were out of sight, running behind a house. Katrina stared for a moment at the spot where they had vanished, and then another child ran past that spot. 
Katrina ran immediately out of the room, down the stairs and out the door of the building. Her feet touched down on cobblestone as she sprang outside, wrapping a purple shawl around her shoulders. She made her way to the house where the children had ran behind, but no one was there anymore. The children must have moved. 
There was a loud sound, followed by a scream and a yell. It came from down the street, towards a row of tall buildings piercing into the sky. There was a very loud voice, a gruff man was hollering at someone. As Katrina ran closer to a crowd that had gathered near a stall, the curses became more audible. 
"Look at what you did! You're gonna pay for that!" 
Fear filled Katrina's heart and she prayed this wasn't what she thought it was. She brushed past the crowd until she saw with her own eyes the scene that was unfolding. 
"How do you suppose you are going to pay for this?!" bellowed a short, fiery young man who wore a white shirt, dark green trousers, and a light purple cap. His face was bright red as he screamed at a little girl, who looked back at him, pale and deep with guilt. 
"I'm sorry, mister..." Ambrosia apologized quietly. She was fiddling with her hands nervously, trying to slowly back away from the man. Katrina looked closely and saw that something made out of glass had shattered and was on the ground. 
"Sorry ain't gonna fix that broken glass swan, now is it?" the man said as he stood menacingly. 
"I just...I just..." Ambrosia pleaded. 
"I just, I just, oh quit it! I will make sure you never break anything ever again. You children are all trouble and nothing more. Someone has to teach you some respect, little lady, and that is going to be me," the man stated angrily, and Katrina saw him roll up his sleeves. 
"I...I won't do it again, pinky promise!" Ambrosia begged, her eyes watering and her mouth trembling. 
The man did not even come close to halting his advance on the little girl. The crowd stood motionless and silent as they watched this man approach Ambrosia with hate and fury. He lifted one of his large arms against Ambrosia, and Katrina knew that this was wrong and too much for her. It was enough. 
"Hey, stop it!" 
The man paused, confused, and looked around into the crowd for the voice. Ambrosia stood, her hands defending herself from a slap or heavy blow to her face. She had closed her eyes, but when the blow never came they were open again, wide with worry and fear. They immediately fell upon Katrina, and when they did the tears began to drop onto the cobblestone. 
Snickers came from the crowd, and Katrina also felt that there were tiny movements coming from behind her, moving towards the scene. The children she had seen before, who had disappeared behind the house, had appeared. 
"Look everyone, it's Princess Pout!" a little boy chuckled and pointed at Ambrosia. The other children started laughing, and even some of the adults in the crowd had small grins. Ambrosia hid her face with her hands, hot with shame and embarrassment. The only person besides Katrina who was enraged at the children was the man who had just been about ready to discipline Ambrosia. He looked coldly at the boy, remembering past pranks and tricks. 
"Stop it, all of you!" yelled Katrina to the children. But the children did not stop. Some even fell onto the floor. 
"Look, she's pouting, too! Ha ha ha!" one of the girls sputtered. 
"BE QUIET!" screamed Katrina in their faces. The children paused, but then they once again burst out into a frenzy giggles. The adults began to leave, some of them whispering to each other and chuckling. 
Katrina was fed up more than ever before. Ambrosia had done nothing, nothing at all to deserve such ridicule. And even if she had something bad, there was no need to take on any physical punishment against Ambrosia. She was just a little girl who didn't know better. Katrina did not care that anyone was laughing at her, she was used to that, but Ambrosia was clearly suffering. 
The laughs were getting to Katrina's head, but Ambrosia's tears were far more powerful. 
"How dare you insult an animus!" Katrina bellowed. 
Everyone froze. The laughter was cut off. The children stared in disbelief. 
"Katrina, Ambrosia!" called out someone. A man was running down the street towards them. It was Mr. Meckleburg. 
He had finally reached them. "Good to see you together. The Rex is ready to see you now," he explained. 
"The Rex?" asked the man who owned the stall, bewildered. 
The teacher looked up at him. "Why yes. I went to the Dux, and he said that this matter was so grave it would be best if the Rex heard this, too. Now let's go..." he said as he began to leave. 
Mr. Meckleburg looked down at the shattered glass swan. 
The man looked as well, but then he immediately waved the teacher off. "Oh! Don't worry about this!" he referred to the mess. "No worries, little girl, just go, all of you!" he pushed them all gently away, smiling a wide and forced smile. "Sorry for yelling. Forgive me. Children will be children, now will they, sir?" 
"Alright then...well, let's go. The palace awaits us, and it's a long walk." 
Mr. Meckleburg led Katrina and Ambrosia deeper into town, and then on a path that led out of Terchen. In this distance, on a mountaintop, rested a palace made out of beautiful marble. 
=== Chapter 9: Friends ===
"Come on, come on," urged Mr. Meckleburg hurriedly and excitedly. 
"Um..." Katrina began, "how do we get up there?"
The Palace of the Magnificent laid on top of a mountain, a large structure that was impossible to reach on foot alone. There were no stairs, no roads; there was no way of walking up to the peak. Katrina looked around for a natural, rocky path, but there was none to be found. Grass and wild plants grew at the sides of the cliffs, while the dark earth and rock shot up towards the heavens, towering over the city, but not the other mountains around it. Jade Mountain still was taller, but more dangerous despite being able to climb it.
Suddenly, Katrina heard the sound of wing-beats. As she stood at the foot of the mountain, overlooking the hill that held Terchen, Katrina heard two loud thuds coming from behind her. She, Mr. Meckleburg, and Ambrosia all turned around to find a pair of dragons looking at them curiously. They looked almost identical. Both were large, muscular, and with brown, armor-like scales. Their heads were flat, and their eyes were big.
"Hey, need a lift to the palace?" asked the dragon to Katrina's left. Katrina flinched, but she did not run away or hide.
Understanding and responding back to the dragons was a gift only granted to those personally selected by the Dux, as in the case of being an animus, a war hero, or an ambassador. When Katrina discovered her animus powers, the Dux had given Katrina the Gift of Speech, a split-second ceremony following her animus exam. After being given the Dux's blessing, Katrina was free to use her magic so long as she became educated in an animus school and that she met with the Rex first. Luckily, or rather unfortunately, the raid on Mortendale had brought her to Terchen ever earlier than anticipated. 
The other mud dragon leaned forward and lowered himself to look at the three humans. His large amber eyes made Katrina shudder, but they were friendly and without a hint of malice. 
"We would really appreciate it," explained Mr. Meckleburg. "Take these two to the palace safely."
Katrina stared at her teacher with surprise shock. Hey, I thought he was coming along, too!
"Why aren't you going, mister?" asked Ambrosia first.
Mr. Meckleburg smiled and knelt in front of the little girl, taking one of her small hands in his larger palm. His eyes were warm and welcoming, and he gave Ambrosia a strong hug. It was not a farewell hug, however, or at least he hoped it wouldn't be. 
"Because the Rex wants to see you two, not me," he explained. "Don't worry, you will be fine. I will be waiting for you somewhere in Terchen. Just ask anyone about how to get to a shop called "Alexei's Books and Scrolls," and you will find me there. Good luck!" he said as he stood up.
He went over to Katrina and placed one hand on her shoulder. "I knew you could take care of her. You two are like sisters, ever since you met. You're both good people who will do a lot of good for Pyrrhia."
After a small hug, Mr. Meckleburg walked down the mountain, back to the metropolis sprawled below. A single tear dripped from Katrina's eyes and she wiped it away. Meanwhile, the courteous dragons continued to be welcoming, helpful, and entirely harmless to the girls. 
"Hi, little scavenger, I mean HUMANS! Boy, "humans" sure does sound a lot cooler than "scavengers," doesn't it, sis? Hu-man," smiled one of the large, burly dragons.
"Yeah, these humans don't even scavenge. Hey, you two," the other dragon referred to Katrina and Ambrosia. "Everyone thought I was totally wrong, but I always thought you, um, people were smart. Ooo, another cool word, bro!" The dragon brushed her wings lightly with her brother's, and they both laughed. 
"So you probably want to get to the palace, don't you?" asked the brother. Katrina and Ambrosia both nodded. "Of course you do! Your friend just told us! That guy is soooo nice. Casimir was the one who showed us how amazing it would be if dragons did not kill scavenger...I mean humans! I had no idea your kind could talk to us and hear us! But you can! Double-wow!"
"Anyways..." the sister started. "One of you can get on my back, and the other on mine. I think a storm might be arriving," she mentioned as she looked worriedly at the western sky. "Totally going to be lightning," she hypothesized.
There was a flash of light coming from the distant clouds.
"I knew it!" she cheered. The dragon lowered herself to the ground, laying nearly flat on her stomach for either Katrina or Ambrosia to get on. "Okay, get on my back and hold on tight!"
Katrina hesitated, and so did Ambrosia. However, the little girl marched over to her mount, tried to climb onto the dragon's back, and when she couldn't the dragon wrapped her tail around Ambrosia's body and lifted the girl onto her back. 
"There you go," the brother said, satisfied. "Now you," he pointed at Katrina with a talon, and lowering himself like his sister. This time, the dragon immediately wrapped his long and large tail around Katrina, and she was on his back in seconds.
"Hold on, here we go!" announced the brother happily for take-off. 
The dragons opened their wings and lifted up into the sky, up towards the palace. Katrina held onto the dragon's back scales for dear life. She had her eyes closed the entire time, so she was unable to fully experience the thrill of flight. Or rather for her, the horror of it. Thankfully for her, the flight only lasted a couple of long seconds. 
"We have arrived at your destination! Time to get off, little guys!" the sister announced their landing. She helped Ambrosia off, and the brother did likewise for Katrina. The two girls set foot on a smooth, slick marble surface, which laid down in front of the most impressive building they had ever feasted their eyes on. 
The Palace of the Magnificent was stunning, with beautiful columns, designs carved in marble, and ornate spots for torches to light up at night. It was a long building, as long as the peak was wide from one side to the other. However, it felt completely devoid of life and empty and cold. The grey sky made this building seem stunning, but also gloomy. 
Katrina and Ambrosia then saw three figures approach them. One looked like Dux Bartolek, but with orange coloring instead of blue, and he was accompanied by two Guardians. It was another Dux, the Dux of Terchen. They walked a short distance towards them, but once halfway between the door and the edge of the platform, the three halted. 
"I think they are waiting for us," thought Katrina out loud, and she took Ambrosia's hand with one of hers and led them towards the Dux. Once they were a few feet away from the Dux, the orange-striped man raised one of his hand straight into the air, silently ordering the two girls to stop in their tracks. The Dux inspected them, his orange eyes gazing at them as if they were flames or embers, and finally the Dux motioned his hand towards the door. 
Katrina took Ambrosia with her as she obeyed the Dux, quickly scurrying over to the entrance, which led them to a pitch black darkness. Katrina looked back for a second, seeing the Dux look at the clouds above as if they were about to rain. When the Dux returned his eyes back to the girls, Katrina immediately shot her own eyes forward in the direction she was heading. The three figures then walked with them, surrounding them so that the palace was their only destination. There was no turning back now. 
Katrina entered the palace, hoping to be amazed and astounded. She felt surges of disappointment fill her as she saw a long dark room around her. It was a fairly large room, filled with cushioned chairs, sofas, a large low table, a fireplace, and potted plants. This was not what she expected would be the first thing she would see inside this magnificent looking bastion of the Rex. 
The Dux gently beckoned the girls to sit down on the chairs or the sofa, and the girls did not dare to disobey. They plopped themselves down on the purple fuzzy couch, and they watched as the Dux walked down the hallway with his Guardians. No one was guarding the door. The Dux had given them a chance to change their minds. 
"Katrina...?" a small voice whispered. 
Katrina looked to see Ambrosia leaning into her tightly. The little girl was hugging her, and she was trembling as well. The very comfortable couch shook as they both held each other in the very dark room. 
"Don't be afraid, Ambrosia, I am here for you. I always will be," Katrina reassured Ambrosia. 
Ambrosia did not change her position, nor look at the larger girl, but she continued to talk in a muffled tone. "Promise?" 
"I promise," Katrina pledged. 
"Pinky promise?" 
"Yeah," Katrina said, hooking her little finger with Ambrosia's. 
"Katrina?" 
"Yeah?" 
"Why are you the only one who cares about me?" 
Katrina sat, silent. She hugged Ambrosia some more, but an answer had not been able to form for this little girl's question. 
"Mr. Meckleburg does," she tried to answer, or dodge the question. 
Ambrosia did not seem satisfied. 
"Not like you. He has to because he is a teacher, because I am an animus," she argued. 
Katrina began to cry. "If I didn't learn that I was an animus, then I wouldn't have ever met you. I didn't even know you before the exam, let alone care." 
Ambrosia now fell silent for a moment, but she spoke again. 
"Fate brought us together and you excepted it. Katrina, you defended me from others, other who hurt me for being who I am. Konrad treated me as if we were goddesses, but you never even thought of being greater than someone else. You always were kind to everyone, even when your friends all left you. I've never had a friend before, Katrina," Ambrosia admitted. "You always treated me like a friend, even if it was only after you were forced to know me. No one pays attention to me, a little naive girl, a girl who doesn't say anything because she is shy and afraid. But you were the only true one who did." 
"But..." 
"When everyone else left, you were still there. And you are still here, we together." 
"Oh Ambrosia..." Katrina cried out loud. Tears splattered on the couch in drops. "I've had so many friends, and they all left me because I am an animus. But you are also an animus, only you understand what this is like. I have always thought that I needed lots and lots of friends. Because I grew up with none." 
"Sometimes one is enough." 
"Friends?" asked Katrina. 
Ambrosia lifted her head to look into Katrina's eyes. "Friends..." 
They heard footsteps coming from the hallway. They saw an orange glow growing brighter and brighter. The Dux was returning. 
=== Chapter 10: Rex ===
It was time to meet the Rex, face to face for the first time. The Dux silently ordered the two girls to stand up from their seats and walk with him down the hallway that he had just appeared from. The two girls held each others hands with great strength, as if they were glued together with the strongest sticky material. They followed the Dux, the tall glowing figure whose every movement seemed to be unsettling and unpredictable. 
Katrina did know who this Dux was, as everyone in Glorious Pyrrhia knew. Though the Rex himself resided near Terchen, the very king of the world of animi and humans, the Dux was entrusted with the grand city and the province it laid in. This Dux was by far the strangest choice the Rex had made when he chose who he would resurrect during the Revolution's infancy. The man walking in front of Katrina and Ambrosia was the Great Prophet Yularen, the man who took in the Rex as a child, and the mastermind behind the plot to destroy the Rex as an adult. He was the author of the Topaz Gem Prophecy, one of the greatest betrayals in history, but for some reason the Rex reconciled with him and brought him back to life. The Rex's mind was unlike anyone else, and his wisdom was at a level higher than any living creature. Perhaps only spirits could outmatch him.
Katrina did not know why Yularen was one of the Rex's choices, especially since there were more than a handful of prophets to choose from from the past. Was it personal, and was that the reason? 
The Dux was at the other end of the hallway, standing next to the purple door that separated this room from another. Katrina and Ambrosia made their way to the Dux, who suddenly opened the door. The change in atmosphere was so intense that even the brightness of the room relative to the entrance nearly blinded them both. 
This was the throne room of the Rex, the most beautiful and famous space in all of the Palace of the Magnificent. It was a large, wide and long hall, filled mostly with empty space save for special locations. The entire room was made entirely out of marble and gold, with banners hanging on the walls and hard tiles on the floor. Along one of the walls of the hall were seven statues of dragons, each one with different features and colors. On the other side were six sculptures of people, five of them similar to the image of the Dux. In fact, two of them looked like Dux Bartolek and Dux Yularen. The sixth piece of art had a great mask, golden and silver robes, and equal in size of the other statues. As her eyes wandered around, she began to look forward at the other filled spot of the great hall. 
At the far back was the throne, raised high up on a platform with staircases on either side of it. So tall was the throne that one could hardly see the person sitting in it. There were no torches nor lanterns near the seat, allowing Katrina to only barely see the feet of the Rex. She noticed that the lighting was set up in such a way that the further one walked inside, the dimmer the room became. The far wall was almost dark as night, while she was standing in blinding light. 
There was a spot between the two staircases where there stood a man. The Dux pushed Katrina and Ambrosia inside, then he quickly left them by themselves to face the Rex and this peculiar stranger. 
The strange man walked forward to greet the two girls. As he did, Katrina could not help but try to see the Rex sitting upon the Throne of the Animi Rex. She wished she could see his mask, or his body, or anything besides the faint look of the boots he wore. They were grey, barely visible in the little light that reached them. They were still. There was not a flicker of movement in those feet. 
The man had raised his hands, as if he were about to preach. They went as far up as his eyes, which in the light made Katrina gasp in surprise. His eyes lacked any colored pupils. She stared into completely white eyes, like a snowstorm covering the world. This man wore white robes, plain fabric with not a thread of special design or marking. He was light-skinned, bald, and clean-shaven. The only kind of person Katrina could compare him to would be a monk. 
"Your arrival is most welcome, sister animi," the man greeted in a most clear and booming voice. That voice seemed to fill the entire room, so that not one part of it wouldn't be able to hear. "It is always a joy." 
Katrina bowed her head, as she had seen Ambrosia do for the sake of respect. One thing was bothering Katrina, and that was that the person who was talking was not the Rex. Had they not come all this way to talk and listen to him, not this man? 
"Please, tell me your stories, young ones." 
Katrina took a step forward rebelliously. "Who are you? Why are you speaking to us instead of the Rex? We came to see him, not you." She stepped past the man and stopped in front of the staircase. She looked up, but the darkness still dimmed the image of the Rex. Katrina did notice one thing. No one had tried to stop her. 
She turned to the man, and she saw a flicker in his white eyes which made her unsettled. He spoke again in his thunderous voice, talking with his hands as well. He swayed them in the air, as if to give more life to his words. 
"I am Agalthex. I am the Voice of the Rex, little one. Through me Our Magnificence speaks." Agalthex had another flicker in his eyes, and Katrina saw him return to speaking in an abnormal fashion. It had seemed he was two people, himself, and if so, the Rex, too. 
"How can you talk for the Rex? He is all the way up there, and you are down here. He isn't whispering to you," Katrina pointed out as she made her observation. There was no dialogue between the two, so how could either of them know what the other was thinking to say? How did this man speak for the Rex? 
Her questions were answered in the man's response, or perhaps it was the Rex speaking. "One does not need words to communicate. The Rex's mind and mine are one. I hear his mind and I speak accordingly." 
He can read the Rex's mind, and then say what the Rex is thinking. No, he said their minds are one. Is the Rex controlling this man? Can magic control another living being!? That's...that's...that is so wrong...I...no... 
Katrina walked silently and worriedly back before Agalthex and next to Ambrosia. They watched her every move, drilling their eyes deep into her thick skull, probably criticizing her actions. She felt hot and red with embarrassment. That was not the proper way to act before the King of all of Pyrrhia. Where was her respect? Her humility? Her brain? 
Though they all watched her, they soon lost interest in the manner she had acted in. Instead, Agalthex turned to Katrina with an emotionless expression, which did not match his tone of voice. Though monologue and unchanging in tempo or attitude, it was clear as crystal and loud enough to break it. 
"How is the school in the village of Mortendale? Dux Bartolek spoke highly of both of you, especially you, young one," he referred to Katrina. A sense of pride rushed through her. However, thoughts of losing her friends pounded her like a club. Then, though, her mind had almost completely changed. 
Ever since she had discovered her powers and lost all of her friends, save for Ambrosia, the idea of having power filled her mind. Did she really need friends if she could have whatever she desired? Isn't that what happens when you are an animus? If she wished for something, couldn't she just grant it herself? Who could stop her, except for the Rex, the Dux, and the other animi of course. But why not become friends with the other animi? Katrina had magic, so wasn't she on a higher level than the other normal people? She could mingle with her own kind and not the humans she thought she had once belonged to. 
Finally, Ambrosia's words ran clear as a bell. Hadn't she not said that sometimes one friend was enough? It could just be them two, just like sisters. They could raise each other, learn together, and serve the Rex faithfully for all time. All time? Certainly they could one day create a spell of immortality and invulnerability. 
Words did come out of Katrina's mouth. "The school was enjoyable. I met a lot of interesting people and I had learned many new things. I was happy that I joined the school; I will never forget it." 
I won't forget, but it will be but a footnote in my head. Bigger, more important things are going to happen to me. I am magic. I am animus. The world needs us to guide it, to rule it, to bring balance and order. To help those in need, to do things normal people cannot hope to do. We have been given gifts to use. We must use them. 
Katrina smiled at Agalthex, looking into his blank eyes. Thoughts of a new future blinded Katrina, made her sense of awareness dull, and her pride was broken when the man spoke to Ambrosia, instead of replying to her comments instead. 
"See? Didn't I tell you that this project was perfect in design, infallible in action?" 
The words sent crushing boulders into Katrina's thought bubbles. What does he mean when he says, 'Didn't I tell you...' 
Katrina turned to her right side to look at Ambrosia, and her immediate natural instincts forced her to fall back onto the floor. Her eyes were wide enough that her eyeballs may have had space to fall out of her sockets. Her mouth was ajar, unable to close and open again. Her breathing was quick, her heart rate was as fast as a falcon chasing prey, and the shock paralyzed her from her speech to her movements. 
"Ambrosia?!" she yelped in outright horror! 
"I suppose you were right, like always. The school was satisfactory, but the students...ugh..." 
"What in the great skies are you!" shrieked Katrina. 
No longer was the little girl Katrina knew and loved in front of her. The young girl who had spoken about friendship, about getting hurt and bullied at school, and who had admitted to spilling her milk at lunch. No. Whoever Ambrosia had once been had changed, had disappeared, had vanished in the seconds Katrina was not looking at her. Now a great beast stood in her place instead. A great white dragon, with amber eyes, a flat head, blue tail and talons, and a salmon-colored underbelly stretched herself out. 
"Being a female human, especially a child, is really cramp and uncomfortable. Especially when it has been a long time since my last transformation," the dragon spoke in a voice even more booming than the man's. "You found your animus, your school has been a success. No doubt more of them will find an army of brothers and sisters of magic. He-he, well, considering this one had been destroyed," she continued to speak. 
The man in the white robes exclaimed, "I did tell you this would all work out. I said there was no reason for you to see it for yourself. You should have trusted me." 
The dragon sighed and waved off the man. "Yeah, yeah, I should have. From now on I will, master," she said apologetically, bowing her massive head towards the throne. 
"What?!" squeaked Katrina. 
"Oh darling, don't worry about all of this. We can still be friends. I know just who can...where is my son..." 
The white dragon raised her head to stare at the Rex, who sat in the dark, on the throne. 
The man spoke again for him. "Our son went looking for you. You were gone for a long time. I said you shouldn't have left." 
The dragon huffed and puffed at those words. "And you LET him!" 
In seconds the dragon flew up to the rooftop, where there was a large circular window that Katrina hadn't noticed before. It was painted in with a dim marble color, visible enough to see what was in the sky, but dark enough to blot out the sunlight from entering. The dragon flew to it, lifted up the window as it apparently was on a hinge, and bolted into the sky, cursing. The door then closed shut on its own, leaving Katrina, the man, and the Rex together in the room. 
"We will begin the Process of Learning," the man said. 
There was a pause. The Dux walked into the room and grabbed at Katrina by the hand. 
"But for now, I am expecting a special visitor." 
=== Epilogue ===
The thunder could still be heard, the lightning still flashed, and the rain continued to patter down upon the Palace, but in the great hall it was quiet, dark, and dry. Every once in a while, a bright white flash of light illuminated the great hall, just for a second at a time. The thunder shook the mountain, causing the earth to tremble at its cry. 
"Thou may speak," Agalthex's voice resounded off of the walls and the high ceiling, where a silver chandelier swayed back and forth, causing the light to manipulate the shadows and vary the illumination of the room until it had finally settled down in one spot once again. 
For a long moment, only the gust of wind, the sound of thunder, and the pelting of rain from outside prevented total silence from existing in that room. Agalthex was watching the Rex's visitor closely, but there was no need to be on guard. The visitor had come here to ask the Rex for something, and if it were not the case then there would not have been any business between them. 
"The Rex already knows the nature of your visit, but to have you speak to us would render it official. The spoken word has more power among men and women than the thought," Agalthex commented. 
There was another man standing in front of the white-robed servant of the Rex, a tired, but excited, restless, but calm individual whose head had been kept down and whose movements were slight. As if rehearsed, the man knelt down at the knees of Agalthex. For the first time, their eyes met. Black hair, mustache, and stubble covered the pale-skinned face of the man, whose dark brown eyes stared into the white blank eyes of the servant. 
"You know, and I know you know," the man retorted. 
"The Rex knows," Agalthex corrected. "I am Agalthex, only the mere Voice of the Rex. What do you wish of the Rex? Speak." 
The man wished his wish immediately. "Make me one of them! Let me live among the beasts that soar in the sky! My lord, my Rex, my heart yearns for change. My life has no worth anymore, no meaning to it because I am not one of them! Understand, my Rex, that there is nothing left for me in this form. I am tired of this, tired of everything that comes with this," the man was indicating his body, which was garbed in a red cloak and chain mail. 
"Answer my plea, my Rex. Oh, how I wish I could sprout wings, scales, fire, and to be with the one whom I care about and who cares for me. I would journey the ends of this world for that someone, but it can only be done in the form of another. Without it, my life has no reason to continue." 
Agalthex did not hesitate in his reply. He spoke as clear as water from a spring, as clear and crisp as an autumn's air. 
"The Rex has been awaiting your arrival. Your wish has already been granted; you may receive it if you will it." 
The man bowed his head respectfully. "Yes, I will it so." 
Agalthex produced from under his robes a small, square wooden box. The man looked at it, excitedly and pleadingly. The Voice of the Rex waited to hand it over to the man. 
"You have committed many serious and heinous crimes against our Rex in the near past. You do understand that you had committed those offenses with full knowledge and it was done deliberately. You had attempted to overthrow the Rex twice. You had wanted for Pyrrhia to halt it's majestic and magnificent progression, and you harbored the enemies of the Rex and collaborated with them for a considerable amount of time. Do you acknowledge these deeds?" 
The man shook his head solemnly. "I do. I have committed them with my full consent. I ask for your forgiveness." 
Agalthex hesitated. 
The man who wished for something to change him completely gritted his teeth and stared down at the floor, hard. 
"I pledge myself to you, my Rex," he stated. 
Agalthex walked up to the man, box in hand. "Who are you? Utter to us who you are." 
The man took in a deep breathe and spoke. "I am Aleksander Koniecpolski, nobleman and traitor. I swear that I have been wrong in my past actions, but please allow me to change in the only way I can. I swear to you my full obedience and devotion. Just please, allow me to have this one desired want." 
Agalthex offered Aleksander the box, but the man did not grab it right away. The air seemed to become more stale, and when Aleksander looked up to see the mask of the Rex, a bolt of lightning flashed brightly. It was bright enough to seep into the hall, and for a brief moment the man saw a glimpse of the Rex's head. 
Aleksander turned his attention back to Agalthex. He grabbed the box cautiously, studying it's composition and proportions. Finally, he felt its weight. 
"I swear with all my being that this is what I want. This must be the way things need to be. Without this I am nothing, without you, I am nothing. Now I can finally be free, to find the one I love. The only one I have left...I swear to you. Thank you for letting me be who I want to be, to give me this chance to change." 
Agalthex said one more thing before he allowed Aleksander to open the contents of the wooden box. 
"Men should not swear oaths." 
To Be Continued... 
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Fanon)
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Content (Armored Scavenger)