Hey everyone, here's the third chapter of the novel I am currently working on. You can read chapter 1 and chapter 2 if you're behind. It's the last chapter I'm going to post on my blog - if you want to read more, you'll have to get a copy from me! Enjoy :)
Chapter 3: Determination
Pointy Face, who was apparently named Danielson, took out what looked like an iPad. “I will call you forward individually,” he explained with a bored expression. “You will come to this table, where I will scan you and the Determination of House will be made.”
House? Ayden wondered. Maybe this is more like Hogwarts. She examined the iPad, wondering just how it scanned you.
“Devin Aphelion,” Danielson called. The boy sitting at the front left of the room stood up shakily. . He walked forward to Danielson, looking anywhere but at the strange man. Danielson roughly grabbed Devin’s right arm and held out the iPad, as if to take a picture of it.
A cry erupted from Devin’s mouth as a light shone from the iPad. He seemed to be in pain. After a second, he fell to his knees. A few girls screamed. Several people jumped to their feet. Others stared, uncomprehending. Ayden felt frozen. “Sit down!” Danielson commanded. His voice was so full of power that everyone did. Einstein (who had never introduced himself, which was starting to drive Ayden crazy), watched with interest from a large chair on the dais.
Danielson lifted Devin to his feet and looked at his right arm. “Welcome, Devin Aphelion, Initiate of the Eleventh House.”
Everyone stared. From her vantage point in the front row, Ayden could see that a black symbol had appeared on Devin’s right forearm. She realized that was how the non-dream-state of this situation would be made clear - through pain. She wondered if it hurt really badly or if Devin was a bit of a wimp. Then she felt bad for thinking that.
Devin returned to his seat, clutching his arm. He slumped into his seat, looking pale and like he might be sick.
Danielson called the next name. “Nuri Asim,” he said, and a small Indian boy sitting next to Devin came forward. He walked with a surprising amount of confidence, though Ayden suspected it was feigned. The same process was repeated with Nuri.
Nuri whimpered slightly during the scan, but did not cry out. A red symbol appeared on his right forearm. “Welcome, Nuri Asim, Initiate of the Fourth House.”
Ayden still didn’t know what these “houses” were, but apparently there were at least eleven of them and they had their own symbols. Maybe it depended on what kind of element you could control?
She was surprised at how easily her brain was actually accepting all of this. By any rules of psychology that she had heard of, she should be in complete denial and panicking right now. But everything seemed so … right. It seemed to her that she was meant to be in this place at this time. Everything seemed pre-ordained. For Ayden to think of something being pre-ordained was a surprising thing, as previously she firmly believed that nothing was pre-ordained.
The Determination ceremony continued. It looked like they were seated in alphabetical order, and were being called forward that way..
Two more people were sorted - no, Determined - Ayden corrected herself - this wasn’t Hogwarts - both into the First House. The big Eastern European guy on Ayden’s left was called next.
“Damien Boran,” called Danielson. The massive man stepped around the table and stuck out his arm, looking determined to show no sign of pain. He was successful.
“Welcome Damien Boran, Initiate of the Eighth House.”
Ayden felt her mouth go dry and her palms start to sweat. She was next.
“Ayden Hestia Brand,” Danielson called, looking right at her.
She shakily got to her feet and stumbled She was determined not to look at the crowd, who were undoubtedly laughing at her. She stared straight at Danielson as she walked towards him.
Usually, Ayden had an effective glare. She didn’t like the company of other people, and her stare was usually enough to discourage anyone . Small children had begun to cry if she looked at them wrong. Danielson, however, stared back, bored.
She held out her arm and Danielson held up his iPad scanner. A searing pain shot through her arm right up to the base of her skull. She bit the inside of her cheek, tasting blood. It felt as though something were being burned into her skin.
Finally the pain ebbed. Dimly, she heard Danielson say, “Welcome, Ayden Hestia Brand, Initiate of the Fourth House.” In a daze, she made her way back to her seat, staring at the red symbol burnt into her arm. It was a simple triangle, pointing towards her palm. She would have wondered about it if she wasn’t so distracted by t the pain.
The ceremony continued until the last Initiate (Asayo Yonagi) was determined to be in the Fifth House. When Asayo had returned to her seat, Knock-Off Einstein stood up from his big chair.
“Well, Initiates, you are all Determined. You will now make your way to your dorms and meet your fellows and your instructors. Off with you now, follow Danielson.” He swept out of the room without another word.
Ayden was starting to consider practicalities now, probably a coping mechanism. She had no clothes, no supplies, and her dads had no idea where she was. Could she get word to them? How would they react? Would she be able to see them again?
She thought back to how her dads had been acting that morning. Did they already know about this? she wondered. Be safe, they had said. Well, she was doing great so far, getting a tattoo and hanging out with a bunch of strangers.
Wordlessly she followed the group out of the large room. They went back to the elevator. Somehow they all fit - the elevator seemed much larger now than it had when they’d first arrived. Instead of buttons, it seemed to be voice controlled.
“Initiate quarters,” Danielson commanded.
The elevator doors closed and they started moving down. Still no one spoke.
After what seemed like an interminable silence, the pleasant female voice said “Initiate quarters,” and the doors dinged open.
A large, round room with twelve doors greeted them. Each door was made of oak, and was engraved with the same symbols that had been seared onto their skin.
They filed in nervously, staying a little closer together than was strictly necessary.
Danielson turned to face them. “Please proceed through the door of your House. The symbol on your arm will match the symbol on the door. Please wait within for further instructions.” He shouldered his way back to the elevator and got in, the doors closing silently
All the teenagers looked at each other nervously. Ayden avoided everyone’s eyes. “Well, I guess we should head off to our new homes, eh?” said a stocky African-American girl. Ayden recognized her as the person who had just about gotten beaten to a pulp by Damien Boran in the elevator.
mumbles of agreement greeted this suggestion. Ayden didn’t know how the girl could be so … perky. She seemed genuinely pleased to be there. Ayden shrugged inwardly and headed for the door with the red triangle on it.
Inside, was a comfortable looking room adorned with red banners featuring the triangle symbol. Squishy couches, beanbags, and armchairs were dotted around the spacious room, with a fire place on the wall directly across from them. To the left and right, two corridors stretched away, and other doors lining each one.
Ayden, the African-American girl, one boy who Ayden recognized as Nuri Asim, and two other girls filed into the room. The African-American girl walked in and made herself at home right away, dropping into an armchair draping one leg over the side. “Nice place,” she commented, looking around. “So, who are you people?”
Ayden felt the corner of her mouth twitch. This girl was very direct. Sheappreciated that.
A red-haired girl spoke up in a small voice. “My name’s Kiki,” she said, with a faint Irish accent. “Well, actually it’s not, but it’s an Irish name and it’s really confusing so everyone calls me Kiki.”
“Well hey there, Kiki,” said the African-American girl warmly, “I’m Ildri. Pleased to meet you. How about the rest of you?”
She stared pointedly at Ayden. Ayden had no idea why she had been singled out for introduction.
“I’m Ayden,” she mumbled, turning around as if to examine the room. She made her way to a beanbag chair in the far corner.
“And very sociable you are too, Ayden,” commented Ildri. After extracting names from the other two, Nuri and Tanwyn, the four other initiates sat close to each other and started sharing stories of where they came from and how they got there.
They had all arrived, it seemed, by the same method. They had been in school, when they felt the same strange pulling sensation Ayden had noticed, and then found themselves in the magic elevator. They seemed to come from everywhere - Ireland, India, the US, Wales. Ayden wondered if there were people from all over the world in this place while she surreptitiously eavesdropped on the others.
Ildri showed signs of wanting to include Ayden in the conversation, but after asking her where she was from and being ignored, she gave up. Ayden could feel the other initiates eyeing her, probably wondering why she was so rude. Ayden didn’t care. She was used to it. She had given up on having friends since she’d been thirteen.
Ever since Meg.
Ayden tried to shake that thought out of her head. Luckily, her reminiscences were interrupted by a door, she hadn’t noticed, opening at the opposite end of the room. A tall, dark man wearing robes similar to Knock-Off Einstein’s entered the room. He walked with a confidence and grace that Ayden found fascinating. He looked strong enough to fight a bull, but as graceful as a dancer. She stared at him unabashedly.
“Hello, initiates,” he said in a velvety, baritone voice. “Please, come sit with me.” He sat on the floor in front of the fireplace.
Normally in such a situation, Ayden would have remained where she was and tried to blend in with the scenery. But this man’s face was so kind and alluring, she found herself drawn forward. She and the other four initiates sat on the floor in a circle with the man.
“Five initiates for the Fourth House this year,” he said. “Excellent. Now, let me introduce myself and explain things. I am Adish Gow. I will be your instructor.”
Ayden still mesmerized by his voice, barely registered his words. He had a slight accent that she couldn’t place. She shook herself mentally. Pay attention, idiot, she told herself. You want to figure out what’s going on, right? This guy has answers.
Adish looked around at them. “Please tell me your names. I do not know them.”
They went around the circle and said their names like it was kindergarten. Adish nodded. “Noble names all,” he intoned. “Now, I will give you an explanation of what it is that is happening and where you are. When I am finished, you may ask me any question and expect an honest answer, unless I have a very good reason not to answer. Agreed?”
They nodded.
“Very well. You will need to process a lot of information in a short amount of time, so please try to be open-minded.” He readjusted himself and sat cross-legged, as though meditating. “You are what are called morphlings. You have powers over certain elements of nature. Those who have power over fire belong here, in the Fourth House. The other houses are similarly divided - those with powers over air, water, light, and so on. But that is not important right now. What is important is that you understand your heritage.”
They all looked at him blankly. Ildri spoke up. “What do you mean, heritage? I know where I came from and who my folks are, so what other kind of heritage are you talkin’ about?”
Adish gave a small smile. “To be blunt, Miss Ildri, you are not fully human. The DNA from your parents is not all that makes up your own DNA.”
Ildri stared at him, and then burst out laughing. “That’s ridiculous!” she snorted. “That’s impossible!”
“Is it?” Adish asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ildri’s laughter died away. Looking around the circle, Ayden could see all of the initiates thinking back to their previous lives, searching for evidence that this extraordinary claim could be real. Ayden could remember, when she was small, asking her dads where she came from.
Her papa had reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “You were a gift from the universe, Addie. Don’t ever doubt that.”
As she grew up, Ayden had wondered about that comment, but had never pursued it. She was perfectly happy with her dads and didn’t feel the need to find her biological parents.
A gift from the universe…
“Well if we’re not human, what are we?” Ayden found herself asking.
“There are forces outside of this world,” Adish explained, speaking softly, as he would to a frightened animal, “that we do not fully understand. We call them cosmic beings. Every so often, they take an interest in an individual mortal or a mortal couple and bless them with a morphling child.”
Ayden’s brain started trying to work this conceptout. How exactly did the being… no, never mind. She didn’t want to think about it.
From the expressions on the faces of her peers, they were having similar thoughts.
Adish smiled knowingly. “The mechanics of the process are not important. What is important is that morphling children are gifted with control over the forces of nature. This place, the Imperium, is where morphling children come to train when they reach the age of sixteen.”
Tanwyn raised her hand. “Excuse me, sir, but why sixteen? In the U.K. we don’t come of age until we’re eighteen.”
Adish nodded. “A good question, Miss Tanwyn. Through much observation and scholarship over millennia that the Imperium has existed, it has been found that the body of a morphling starts to realize its power most strongly at age sixteen. Exactly why this is, we are not certain. What is clear is that this power, if not carefully controlled, can be extremely disruptive and even disastrous. Have you heard of a place called Pompeii?”
“Is that the place that got, like, buried by lava or something?” Ildri asked.
“Yes, that is the place. The eruption of , Mount Vesuvius was caused by an out-of-control morphling of our own house.”
This astounding fact was greeted with silence. Though it sounded impossible and, completely insane, it made sense to Ayden. Like so much she was hearing today, it just seemed…right.
“Because of that and other incidents, the Imperium was formed to help train morphlings and keep them safe. The Imperium has changed little over the years. We have adopted symbols of the Roman Empire, admiring their longevity and organization, as well as symbols of classical alchemy, which was performed mainly by morphlings, and of the Norsemen, who were in touch with the elements. We are a - how would you say this - a hodge-podge of many different cultures and traditions.”
“As the newest members of the Imperium, you are known as Initiates. You will train with me and other instructors this year to learn to control your powers, master combative and defensive skills, and use rune magic. At the end of the year, next February, you will be tested. If you have sufficient control of the basics, you will be promoted to Novice.”
Nuri raised his hand this time. “Please, sir, what happens when we are promoted?”
“You will be sent out into the mortal world,” Adish explained. “There are forces at work in the world which threaten mortals. We, as morphlings, are needed to protect the population.”
“Oh,” Nuri squeaked. Ayden wondered what kind of “forces” Adish was talking about. She decided not to ask. “Now,” Adish continued, “are there any questions before I show you to your rooms?”
Ayden wanted to ask about her dads, but she didn’t want to draw attention to herself. Lucky for her, Kiki asked the question instead.
“What about our families, sir? Our belongings? School? Friends? All that we’ve left behind?” she asked, looking pleadingly at Adish.
Adish gave her a small, sympathetic smile. “I’m afraid you cannot return to them just yet. Your families are aware of what is happening. They have known since you were born that you were different, and the Imperium has explained what must happen when you turn sixteen. They know you are safe. As for your belongings, you will find any of your treasured possessions already in your rooms . There are clothes there for you as well, and the necessary toiletries. As for f school, you are in it. True, you will learn different things, but you will be learning necessary skills. Friends - you will make new ones. Your parents will inform your schools that you have transferred.”
Kiki seemed shocked and rather devastated by this information. Ayden thought she must have a lot of friends she didn’t want to leave behind.
Too bad for her, Ayden thought. No friends, no pain. Easy.
“I am sure you will think of more questions in the coming days,” Adish said, standing up. “For now, let us get you to your rooms. You will have one hour to accustom yourself to your surroundings and get to know your roommate. Then we will begin.”