“Progression for a naturalist isn’t always linear. Sometimes a catalyst, big or small, will cause a naturalist to leap far beyond their current ability. Sometimes it’s a special training method, sometimes it’s study, sometimes it’s epiphany. My point is, if you put these students in a box, you’re putting a lid on their potential.”

~ Professor Ligaiya

Daimyon

We hurry to the Grand Council’s chambers to report. The sooner we can hand the relic over to them, the better. That way we can finally start training! That whole situation is worrying for sure but the excitement of training is definitely overwhelming. Doesn’t seem like Bones is feeling that excited but I think he’s ready too. He’s still a mystery to me. He looks back at me as we climb up the stairs.

“Remember, everything went fine. We went to the location, grabbed the relic, and came back. Don’t mention anything else unless I tell you to.” The way he said that tells me that following his instructions will probably be the best thing for both of us so I nod. This reporting thing is obviously more serious than I’d prefer. Professor Ligaiya is standing outside of the chamber as we approach.

“Professor!” I exclaim. She smiles at me with a beautiful grin, that made me feel hopelessly full of joy from seeing her. Unfortunately, that smile turns very serious as her and Bones make eye contact.

“Ligaiya. Will you be present for the report?” His voice doesn’t move up or down, it's completely monotone. There’s definitely some tension.

“Obviously.” She rolls her eyes at his question then turns to enter the chamber. “Don’t keep the lady waiting again please.” He lowers his head at her jab. So far Bones seemed like a pretty on-time person, but Ligaiya knows him better than I do. He signals to me.

“Let’s go.” We enter the chamber one at a time to face the Grand Council. The woman in the highest chair stands up. I assume she’s the Grand Councilwoman, even though I’ve never actually seen her before. She has a powerful no-nonsense aura about her, as if she could drop the moon on our heads at any time if we were out of line. Her tone is irritated as she addresses Bones.

“Please don’t tell me you took this student along with you?” He responds with a subtle nod that makes her roll her eyes with rage. “Why do I even give you choices? Without any knowledge of the level of threat we faced, you willingly took a first-year out of the academy to accompany you? What if a battle ensued? How capable even is this child?” She went off so quickly that my head is spinning from all of the questions. Good thing she’s not yelling at me like this, I don’t think I can take it. Even as a bystander, her presence is so intimidating that I feel like I’m going to crack.

“I assure you, mother, Daimyon was instrumental in the success of this operation.” He responds, causing her to raise an eyebrow. “I knew that he would be an excellent lookout and follow all of my instructions to the letter. As a result, we were able to quickly get in and out without drawing too much attention. We even brought something very interesting back with us.”

He reaches into his jacket to pull out the relic. It emits a faint glow.

“This is what the Shadow Walkers appear to be after.” The relic seems to draw the attention of each of the council members, the Grand Councilwoman especially.

“And this is all that happened, Bones?” He nods, which prompts her to look my way. “Your name is Daimyon? What do you recall of your trip?” She gazes upon me with a stare that would make any liar confess his darkest truths. I look at Bones, who never once takes his eyes off of her but I can see clearly into his eyes from the side, even past his glasses. They were telling me to go along with the story...or else. I turn back to the Grand Councilwoman to give my testament.

“It’s just as Bones said, ma’am. We arrived at the location and found this relic. He picked it up, and we left.” I do my best to be convincing, and since I wasn’t telling her anything that didn’t happen, I felt relaxed. It’s not as though those things didn’t happen, even if perhaps a few other things happened too. She rolls her eyes at me as if she doesn’t believe me but can’t prove that I’m not telling the whole story.

“Fine. Give Orion the relic so that we can study it and then you’re free to go.” Bones hands over the relic to the council member wearing the mask.

“Training field, tomorrow after class.” He says to me in a short breath as we leave the chamber. That’s the most exciting thing said in that entire boring meeting. I gleefully head back to my dorm to get a good night’s sleep. It was going to be a big day of training tomorrow.

The next day flew by as all I could think of was getting out of class and heading to the field. Darting out the door and racing down the stairs I find our designated meetup spot empty.

“Maybe I’m just early. It’s not like he gave me a specific time.” I sit down with my legs crossed to rest. Daigo appears in front of me in spirit form.

“What do you think Bones intends to teach you?” I shrug, not really knowing what to say.

“Even if he just helps me with my basics, that would be a big deal for me. I’m still struggling with drawing and releasing.” Shaking his head.

“I think he has a lot more planned for you than just the basics. He seems very interested in you, after all. I just can’t put my finger on why.”

“This really seems to be eating away at you, huh?” I respond, concerned with his obsession for logic.

“It just doesn’t add up to me. There’s nothing particularly special about you, and you had only just met before he mentioned this to you. I don’t know, there are still too many pieces missing from this puzzle.” As he continues to ponder, I stand up to stretch. He definitely has a point that it was pretty unexpected but as I said before, the reason doesn’t really matter to me. If he wants to teach me, I’m ready to learn. After getting in a good stretch, I begin practicing my draw, closing my eyes to focus.

“You’re trying too hard.” Just as I was ready to start, Bones appears in front of me in a flash of wind. “Your draw feels unnatural, like you’re trying to force the arcana into your spirit.” He looks up to the sky. “Drawing arcana should be as simple as breathing. You just need to practice your breathing technique.” Tilting my head in confusion.

“But how? I’ve never had to learn how to breathe. At least, I don’t think so.” I understand the purpose of the comparison, and it definitely feels bad to know that it’s supposed to be that easy. Even still, I don’t know what to do differently. Bones sighs as he reaches into his jacket and pulls out the box that he got from Harold. Inside there were four bands made of some kind of metal I don’t recognize.

“These bands are made of corenthium. It’s a special metal that absorbs arcana.” With the waving of his hand, the bands floated out of the box, unlocked themselves, and flew onto my wrists and ankles. “Now that they are attached to your limbs, any arcana you draw will be pulled into the bands instead of into your spirit. You will keep drawing until they change color and unlock.”

“That’s all? That seems easy enough.” I say confidently. He raises his finger into the air, indicating one more thing.

“One thing you should know: these bands have already been charged with my fire arcana. If you don’t get them off in time, they will explode.” He looks up at the sky. “The way I see it, you have until nightfall, give or take. I’m not exactly sure, but hey. I have faith that you’ll figure it out before it matters.” Immediately panic sets in. What type of training is this? I clearly said I had no idea how to draw any faster than I already do and now these things are going to explode if I don’t figure it out!

“Give me a hint or something! Please, I don’t know any more than I did before you showed up!”

“Think of drawing like breathing. When your mind is calm and your body is at rest, you can focus your breathing more effectively. Relax yourself, and feel the arcana around you. Pull it into you.” He inhales deeply as waves of wind whip around him sharply, dispelling as he exhales. “Hurry up. We don’t have time to waste on something this basic.” I close my eyes and sit with my legs crossed. Bones is right. This is the most basic of all arcana techniques. I don’t have time to be stuck here. Time passes as I begin a deep meditation in hopes of attuning my senses to the arcana in my surrounding area.

Kiyonna

What to do now…? Classes were pretty easy today, and there isn’t much I want to practice. I haven’t seen my friends since homeroom this morning. I wonder what they’re doing right now. Sitting on my bed I ponder how to pass the time until there’s a knock at my door. Who could it be?

“It’s me, Kiki.” My eyes light up at the realization. There’s only one woman in West Gaia who calls me by that name. I open the door, throwing my arms out to my sister.

“Aurora! It’s you!” Aurora wraps her arms around me and smiles. Her embrace is as warm as always. “I thought you had left already.”

“Without coming to say goodbye? Of course not.” My sister’s so busy all the time, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has to leave already. “It looks like I’ll be here a little longer, at least until we do a little more research.”

“Is it my fault again, Sis? I’m sorry you have to protect me all the time.” Ever since I was a baby, Aurora has been by my side watching over me. Having a sacred naturalist for a sister had to be stressful at times.

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway, what are you doing sitting in here? Don’t you have friends now?” She says, barely containing her excitement. Closing her eyes, I can tell she’s locating someone. “Daimyon is finishing up his training on the field, and Chase appears to be in the library.” Sis is a Spirit Watcher, so she has an exceptionally powerful ability to detect people by their arcana signatures, even from really far away. She told me that arcana signatures are the unique properties in a naturalist’s spirit that allows them to perceive and manipulate arcana in their own unique way. All naturalists have a sixth sense that allows them to “feel” arcana and identify a naturalist by the signature imprinted on it upon release. Arcana feeds our spirits autonomously, so we release it every second the way we release air from our lungs or waste from our bodies. Even the most advanced trackers can’t match my sister, and thanks to that, she always kept us out of danger. Now she’s giving me off to these students, how could she? My face frowns up at the thought.

“Maybe we could train together?” I ask, making my best sad face. She shakes her head then puts her hands on my shoulders.

“Go play, Kiki.” She says to me with a straight tone. I guess there’s no talking her out of it. We went our separate ways, with me heading to the library to meet up with Chase. I discover him reading a stack of books. Respecting his studying I take a seat next to him in silence. He’s definitely serious about reading and I don’t want to break his concentration. Eventually he finishes his page and addresses me.

“Hello, Kiyonna.”

“Whatcha reading?” His answer surprises me.

“Ironically, I was reading about Sacred Six naturalists.” He says, moving his hair. I froze in shock. Is he that interested in me, or is he just trying to learn more about why it’s such a big deal? Either way, the timing is impeccable. I fumble a bit to find something to say back. My sister would tell me stories all the time about the Sacred Six and their awesome power, hoping to encourage me to trust my own. I don’t want to bore him with those, though.

“Cool. Well then, what did you learn?” He gave me a look of confusion that kind of made me feel embarrassed.

“What do you actually know about your power, Kiyonna?” I scratch the back of my head, realizing at that moment how little I can actually do.

“Not much, I guess.” He closes the book and places it back on top of a stack that he had on the table.

“Not even how to transform at will?” Now I was really embarrassed. “Each sacred naturalist has a transformation that calls forth their sacred spirit into the natural realm. It’s the manifestation of their true power.”

“Yeah. I’m still learning how to do that, but it’s really hard. I’ve never met another sacred naturalist who could teach me.”

“It’s okay. It’s supposed to be extremely difficult, even for more advanced sacred naturalists. Give it time. You keep practicing, and I’ll keep studying to help as much as I can.” He gives me a thumbs up and a smile that reassures me. Even though I just met them, my friends are really cool.

“So...have you had dinner yet? I was just thinking of heading up to the cafe now.” He shakes his head.

“You go ahead. I’ll catch up. There’s a few more books I want to grab and it might be a while.” He responds, getting up from his chair. Nodding, I take my leave for the cafe upstairs. I didn’t even realize how hungry I was until I asked. Entering the cafe, however, I ran into something far more interesting than food.

“Oh! Kiyonna, hey!” Daimyon yells from across the cafe.

“Daimyon! You’re here? I thought you were off training with Bones.” I say surprised. He laughs.

“We can’t train forever, you know. Plus, his first step was so intense that we called it a day as soon as I finished. It was super close, but I finally got the hang of drawing and releasing.”

“Oh! That’s really good!” I say, grinning. Knowing that he succeeded makes me so happy for him.

“Yeah. Afterward, we kept drilling it over and over because he wanted me to increase how much arcana I could draw at once. Now I can draw a crazy amount!”

“Like...how much? More than when Professor Ligaiya did it in homeroom?” He grabs my hand.

“Come on, I’ll show you.” He’s grinning ear to ear. For some reason he seems a bit...too excited. We go outside back to the area where he fought Hotman J. Daimyon puts his food down and walks out towards the open grass.

“I think this is enough distance. It’s still a lot of arcana and I’m not very good at controlling it yet.” *gulp* That definitely makes me nervous. I’m sure he won’t hurt me intentionally but if he was trying to make me comfortable with this, he’s off to a bad start. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath then gazes into the sky. His eyes glow with a silver aura. The wind howls then makes a whipping sound as the waves of silver wind form around Daimyon. The intensity grew, and the wind spins rapidly in a circular motion like a small tornado. Slowly it expands as more of the ground cracks, lifts and then breaks down. The whipping sound is now a loud crackling. It's becoming increasingly more difficult to keep myself grounded. Eventually his arcana force started pulling me in, prompting me to scream out in fear. That got Daimyon’s attention. He immediately stops dispersing the arcana and runs over to me in a panic.

“Sorry, sorry! Are you okay, Kiyonna?” He laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head. I got up and brushed myself off.

“I’m okay. That was so intense, my gosh!” I can’t believe he’s capable of such a powerful draw. Just a couple of days ago he didn’t even know how. What did Bones do to him?

Just then, we hear something. The sound of someone clapping nearby. It’s a simple sound, and yet it’s ominous to hear. We look around frantically, but we aren’t able to pinpoint its origin...Until this man steps out from the shadows. A strange looking man that I’ve never seen before.

End ~