“The Shadow Walkers are a scary bunch. They’re naturalists who exist outside of and oppose the Order. The legends say that originally they were naturalists who thought themselves the betters of the spirits and tried to conquer the Spirit realm itself. In response, the king of the Spirits chose six devoted naturalists and fused their spirits with the Six Sacred Dragon spirits who served as his lieutenants. Thus, the Sacred Six were created and defeated the original conquest.”

~ Grandpa Matthews

Daimyon

My hair stands up on my skin as the mysterious man becomes visible, clapping in our direction. My breathing and body are tense. Something about him just screams at me to run away, but I play it cool.

“Who are you? Did you also come to watch the display?” He nods with a smirk.

“Sure, sure. Actually, I came because I sensed a very strong surge of arcana from this direction. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to only find two kids here. What’s your name?” He stares at me intensely as he speaks, as if he's trying to look into me and through me at the same time. I remain silent for a moment. “Oh come on, don’t leave me hanging here.” He points at Kiyonna. “What about the girl? What’s her name?” looking over to her, our eyes meet showing the same level of concern. It’s obvious that we’re getting the same vibe from him. Steeling my voice and my nerves, I respond.

“My name is Daimyon. As for her, she’ll introduce herself if she wants to.” He closes his eyes before chuckling.

“Very well then. Your name is enough, Daimyon.”

“I hoped that it would be since you now owe me an answer in exchange. I asked you a question earlier and I feel like you weren’t being very honest with me.” He looks back up sighing, shrugging to show his indifference to telling me.

“You’re correct. I was looking for someone, and now I’m hoping that you can help me find them. Her name is Kiyonna.” My facial expression immediately changes, but before I can respond he’s disappeared and reappeared in front of Kiyonna. “That would be you, I assume?” asking her directly. She can’t help but nod to his question, his speed nearly causing her to panic.

“Why are you looking for her? Is it for her sacred spirit?” I do my best to stay calm. I’m sure that’s what he wants, I’m also certain that’s not a good thing. It’s bad enough that he knows exactly who she is.

“Maybe. You have something I need, don’t you, Kiyonna?” He calmly reaches out to grab her face. She tenses up even more and reactively moves back from him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She responds, her voice low. I dash over to them and step in front of Kiyonna.

“Now that’s not how you ask for a lady’s attention. Why don’t you come back after you’ve worked a bit more on your manners?” He raises his eyebrow, intrigued at my response.

“I’m shocked that, given your status, you’d actually try to defend her. Surely you must know you can’t really stop me?” I stand my ground.

“No, I don’t know. Actually I don’t know why you think that I’d know, considering we just met. But one thing you should know about me is that I’m not going to back down either way.” Kiyonna grabs my shirt from behind.

“Daimyon, please don’t do this again. Really, it’s okay.” She begs for me not to start another fight over her but there’s no way I was letting him put his hands on her. Daigo speaks up.

“Look kid, I’m not sure where you’re trying to go with this but I think you’re biting off a lot more than you can chew. This person’s demeanor...the very air around him feels evil. Even I can sense it.”

“That’s exactly why we can’t let him take Kiyonna. If he’s really as bad as his aura suggests then he’s going to do something bad to her. Also, I think he could deal with both of us either way so all I’m really doing here is trying to buy time.” I still can’t fully sense arcana, but hopefully someone in the academy can sense this guy. He has to be a naturalist if he’s here in the academy since normal humans can’t get through the barrier. That means that Bones should be able to sense him, or the Grand Councilwoman or...someone!

“Are you finished, Daimyon? Seriously.” The man trudges towards us again, prompting us to back up at the same pace. He then stops, puts his hand on top of his head and sighs. “Fine then. You win.” I tilt my head curiously without ever taking my eyes off of him.

“I find that very difficult to believe.” He throws his hands up and surrenders.

“Seriously. I give up. I won’t take her if she doesn’t want to go.” He smirks then continues. “Not yet, anyway.” He disappears again, reappearing on the top of a nearby tree. “I will return in a year’s time for the girl and her spirit. When I do, I hope that you will be here to try and stop me again.”

“You can count on that. I will be here anytime you’re ready to try.” He grins.

“My name is Sid, and you have piqued my curiosity. Originally I just wanted Kiyonna’s spirit, but now I am very interested to see what you will do about it. I look forward to our next meeting, Daimyon.” With those final words, he disappears again, prompting me to let out a huge sigh. Right on queue, Bones appears behind us in a flash of wind arcana.

“What are the two of you doing here? It’s late.” His tone is strict. I look back at him.

“I was showing Kiyonna how well I was able to draw arcana, and a man named Sid showed up an--” His eyes open wide at the mentioning of his name.

“Stop. What was that name again?”

“He said his name was Sid. And he just disappeared from over there.” I pointed to the tree. His head follows my finger as he asks for confirmation again.

“You are certain you heard him say his name was Sid? Did he say what he wanted?” I nod.

“He said he came to take Kiyonna’s spirit.” His face turned grim as he grabs both of us by our arms.

“We need to go. Now.” suppressing his concern he rushes us back into the building and to the Grand Chambers. I can’t help but wonder what has him so worked up about Sid. He must really be as dangerous as I thought. Bones blows the door open to the chamber, much to the Grand Council’s surprise. The Captain of the Guard jumps out of his seat and yells.

“How dare you! We are in a very important meeting right now!” Bones looks at him, which prompts him to sit back down quietly. Then he turns his attention to the Grand Councilwoman. She’s unfazed by his interruption.

“Mother. We have a serious situation.” She raises an eyebrow, looking just as curious as me.

“To bring you here like this, Bones, and with these kids this late at night…” Bones lightly pushes me forward, prompting me to speak.

“My lady, Kiyonna and I were out after dinner practicing in the field by the cafe when a man showed up out of nowhere. He said that his name was Sid.” Every one of the council members gasp before murmuring quietly amongst themselves. Even the council woman looks visibly disturbed by the news. She calmly asks “And did he mention why he was here?”

“Yes. He said that he wanted Kiyonna’s spirit and that he would return in a year to get her.” At this point, curiosity is eating me alive. “Lady, who is this person? Does everyone know him?”

“Sid is the current leader of the Shadow Walkers. He’s not only the most cunning, but is also the most powerful by far. He’s currently wanted in every quadrant of Gaia for several crimes against the Order.” Kiyonna and I make equally shocked faces. I can’t believe I was face to face with someone so dangerous.

“But how did Sid get into the academy without a single one of us noticing?” Asks Kareasa. The Grand Councilwoman shakes her head.

“I don’t know myself, but Sid has successfully evaded our every attempt to capture him thus far.” She hops out of her chair and into command mode. “Architect, work with Captain Rice to fortify the academy’s defenses right away. I want every entry point under 24/7 double-guarded surveillance. Also, get the arc-tech online and set it to automatic. Kareasa, implement a curfew. Effective immediately, all academy students and order members that are not assigned outside of the academy need to be back on grounds by 7pm. Krista, I need all agents stationed nearby to be aware and actively searching for signs of Shadow Walkers. Engage any members with intent to capture, except Sid. Call for backup immediately if you see him.” She turns back to us. “Daimyon, from this point forward I am officially appointing you as Kiyonna’s guardian. It will be your responsibility to keep her safe more than any of us.” Outbursts Rice

“But Lady, Daimyon is only a first-year student!” She looks at him before rolling her eyes.

“Bones, whatever training you have been doing with Daimyon, speed it up. From now on, you will pick him up immediately from the end of his classes and instruct him personally on combat tactics.” Beneath his shades he rolls his eyes.

“Yes, mother.” I’m pretty sure he intended on doing something like that anyway, but now he has to because the Grand Councilwoman told him to. With that, we’re dismissed. Kiyonna and I meet back up with Chase, just as he’s leaving the library.

“What’d I miss, guys?” He notes all the emotion written on our faces.

“It’s a long story, but we have to do all that we can to get stronger so we can protect Kiyonna. Someone really dangerous is after her and intends to return in a year.”

He looks shocked.

“Well then, I have some things I need to do on my own if that’s the case.” I look at him confused.

“More studying?” I ask. He shakes his head.

“You have your trainer, and I have mine. We’ll see who gets stronger in a year.” That makes me smile.

“You know I’m down for that!” And with that, our year begins.

End ~