Gavrus didn’t get to enjoy flying as much as he thought he would. For a short amazing moment, he got to look out the main window of the cockpit and see an aerial view of his homeland. It was both exuberant and terrifying. However, it was only the view that felt that way. He and Lilion had taken a job once to steal some horses from a farm outside of town. They’d both barely known how to ride the beasts, and it had been a rush to be jerked around, speeding down the dirt roads with the wind blowing through their hair. To his dismay, sky ships felt nothing like that. The ship itself flew so smoothly, that he may as well have been sitting on a bench at a park

Once the city disappeared from view, there was nothing but ocean and sky in all directions. Gavrus leaned forward to ask the pilot if they had to travel across the entire ocean to reach Blackstone. Since it was only the two of them on the ship, he figured he might be able to get some answers out of her. The woman had given him a queer look before laughing at some private joke.

Not but maybe a minute after her laugh, did he understand the humor. A massive thrum of power began emanating from the sky ship, making all the hair on his arms and legs begin to stand up. At some unreadable peak, all the power was released in a forward sweep in front of the ship. Then, a black tear of swirling energy opened in reality.

Gavrus screamed in sudden horror, prompting the pilot to laugh even harder, as the ship sped up to fly into the maw of whatever abyss had opened.

Abyss was the right word to describe their destination. An alien fiery yellow and red sky with black smoky clouds yawned before the ship in all directions. The ground was an infernal blasted landscape, covered in rocky sand. Obsidian colored chasms stretched out in a seemingly endless maze of ravines and canyons. Monstrous creatures with insect or reptilian features could be spotted sparsely throughout the land.

With a severe look, Gavrus looked over to the pilot and said, “Enough fucking with me. Where are we?”

“We are in the hell shard known as Zivaz. It’s where the Blackstone academy is located.” she said.

“What do you mean a hell shard?” Gavrus asked soberly.

“It means, it's a piece of hell that was broken off into its own ether realm during the Godswar. This place used to be part of one of the layers of hell. It was the realm of an Archdemon lord of the same name, if I recall correctly. The empire slaughtered it and took its palace. Turned it into a fancy academy.” She answered.

“And… I’m supposed to what? Live in palace of a demon lord!? In hell!?” Gavrus asked.

The pilot shrugged. “It could be worse. The dark mines of Lornask are way more oppressive and dangerous than this place. And the gravity is much stronger there. Drives some folks mad. Zivaz is just hot and uncomfortable. I mean, I’m not saying you should go for a picnic here or anything-- it still has a fair share of demons roaming about. But the academy itself? Can’t have you might lordling types in too much discomfort.”

Gavrus leaned back in his chair, trying to process the appalling information. He was beginning to have serious doubts about this Archon business. It was one thing to have to go through tough war training, like he’d assumed this would be; and another entirely to be sent to a literal hell.

“Okay, another question… Say I wanted to go back, to uh, visit how would I do that?” Gavrus asked.

The pilot smirked at him then said, “This place is both an opportunity and a test for you. If you fail, you won’t be leaving. If you pass you will have incredible power both politically and literally.”

Well, I always told myself I’d go to hell and back for Lilion. Looks like I’m going to have to live up to that oath, Gavrus thought.

About ten minutes later, the maze-like chasms opened around a single obsidian mountain. Carved out of the open face of the mountain was an enormous Trovian temple, complete with obsidian steps and pillars of demons holding up the roof of the structure. Hints of the previous occupants littered the land with ruins depicting bas relief of demons torturing souls in all the usual ways.

“Check it out, Archon training down there,” the Pilot pointed out to a group of scrambling figures.

Gavrus stared at the group she pointed at. As they flew in closer the scene became clearer. A group of “knights” in full battle armor stood in a circle around a sickening creature. Each of the knights stood around 15 feet tall, carrying massive spears, like what all the Trovian guards used. The nightmare creature looked like a giant red and black flea with a scorpion tail. Its head was a malformed bald shaped human thing, with a way-too-big mouth dripping a nefarious looking liquid. What was most worrisome about it though, was that it was nearly as big as one of the huge knights. Gavrus shuddered in revulsion at the sheer wrongness of the monster.

One knight broke off from the group to intercept the creature in the center. The other knights stepped forward to close the circle. Their intentions were clear: it was a duel.

Gavrus really wanted to see what happened, but the ship moved out of sight of the melee. He looked back to the pilot and asked, “What was that thing?”

“Greater demon, called a Pelesit. Nasty creatures, they love to possess weak-willed folk from origin worlds.” she answered.

“Origin worlds?” Gavrus asked.

“Yeah, like where we just came from. Your kingdom. As opposed to Ether Realms, like where we are now. Ether connects origin worlds through time and space. In between those worlds are the ether realms. Places like heavens, hells and so forth. The former domiciles of the Gods. Her answers provoked more questions, but he wasn’t given another chance to field them. “We are here,” she announced.

The sky ship landed parallel to an open overhang above the temple. Other sky ships were present, connected to power lines like the docks in the Trovian district he had left behind.

Without a word the pilot stood up, opened the hatch for Gavrus to exit, then motioned for him to go. He awkwardly grabbed the sack that Lady Amatia had given him, which included a letter of introduction and several spare changes of clothes, then exited the vehicle.

His first impression of Zivaz, unsurprisingly, was that it sucked balls. Scorching winds blasted sand across his bare skin, and a tyrannical oven-like heat stole his breath away the moment he got outside of the sky ship’s wards. Briefly, he considered running back into the sky ship, but the asshole pilot had already closed the ramp.

Gavrus panicked for a second, wondering where to go in the blinding sand, before he saw a figure in a bright yellow and black robe beckoning him forward from inside a cave like entrance. He didn’t bother hesitating, rushing for all he was worth through the buffeting sandstorm and toward the person.

By the time he arrived at the safety of the entrance he was out of breath, had one cut across his scalp, and welts along all his extremities.

The robed figure laughed at him in a deep masculine voice then said, “Nothing like a good morning jog in Zivaz to get the day started.”

Gavrus looked up into the dark cowl of the man but couldn’t see a face. Conversely, his own face was plain as day with the classic “bitch, you crazy” look.

“Whatcha got for me son?” the large man asked.

"Got?” Gavrus asked. Before the man could clarify he figured out what he’d probably meant. “Ah,” he said, then pulled out his letter of introduction.

After a second of studying the letter, the man looked back down to Gavrus and said, “You are weak boy. You will be physically behind all your peers to a significant degree. I’m not even sure you can survive the ascension ritual at this stage. We’ve got two weeks to get you into shape.”

“No one has explained anything to me yet, sir. I don’t know what the ascension ritual is.” Gavrus responded.

“What you know doesn’t matter. You’ll probably die being a runt like you are, so why waste time explaining it to you? Stay here.” the man commanded and left.

Gavrus looked around the hell world he was stranded, wondering why the man hadn’t let him go inside the academy. Doubt began to nag him, but he smashed it down. I’m coming Li, he thought to himself.

A few minutes later the man returned carrying a similar robe to the one he wore. Instead of yellow and black, it was yellow and red. In his other hand, the man carried a sack not too different than the one Gavrus currently held.

“Alright boy put the robe on. I’m instructor Sarrius, one of the combat instructors here at Blackstone.” with a wave of his hand, the man made the words Instructor Sarrius appear above his head in Gavrus’s imperial codex interface.

Once Gavrus had put on the robe, the man handed him the sack. It was heavy.

“Drink this,” the man said pulling out a waterskin.

Gavrus took a sip then handed it back.

“Drink all of it boy.” the man commanded.

After he emptied the waterskin, he handed it back to the man then said, “So, uh, now what?”

Sarrius leaned forward toward him, white teeth suddenly shining in the dark and said, “Now you run boy. Back out around the landing pads. Twenty times, let’s go!”

Gavrus recoiled in horror, looking back out to the scathing sandstorm. A well-placed boot kicked him down the steps and back into the torrent. He ran.