Cough cough

  Damon ignored the obvious call for help and continued making his way down the bustling street. After already bumping into three people this morning on their way to the Governors Manor on the north side of the city, Damon was focused on making sure a fourth wouldn’t appear. He already felt a bruise forming after the third bump from a young man in his late teens who appeared to be running late for whatever appointment he made for the morning.

  This was a regular occurrence for the City of Sparks and many other cities. As the day before, to celebrate the Day of Awakening most people were given the day off. So those who had nothing to do with the Day of the awakening would take this chance to celebrate with more than a few drinks leading to the sight in front of Damon. People running to and from. Others with bags under their eyes dragging their feet whilst letting out a yawn every now and then.

  Damon frowned at the sight. He never understood the allure of those adult drinks. When he became an adult he would keep clear of any alcohol. Damon cringed inwardly after imagining himself in their shoes.

  Cough cough

  “ I’m not carrying him Rodrick” Damon looked at his friend carrying his baby brother in his arms as the baby smiled at Damon and Damon sent a smile of his own while pinching the chubby cheeks of Randy.

  “ Just for a few minutes, Dame. ” Rodrick begged

  “ No just carry him, he’s your brother after all.” Damon used the family card as an excuse so couldn’t carry the year old baby that fussed in Rodricks arms. Damon reminisced about his times with Riley and shuddered.

  “But my arms are killing me.” Rodrick continued his attempts.

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t have taken him from your mom just so you can get the attention from those ladies we were passing by earlier.” Damon smirked before it was wiped off quickly after dodging another fellow who probably should have made better decisions the night before.

  “I know. And it didn’t even work” Rodrick let out a sigh of regret as he followed Damon in front of him and also did a sidestep to dodge the man.

  “I guess you’re just not as much of a ladies man as your big brother eh Randy.”

  “ He just turned one.” Damon said with a deadpan before taking a glance behind him. Rodrick held his baby brother in his arms and looked down at him with a small smile that spread to a full blown one after hearing the giggles Randy let out. Damon shook his head with a smile at the scene before turning back only for his eyes to widen at the sight.

  “We’re here” Damon announced to his friend who quickly looked up with the same excitement as his best friend.

  “Remember- behave.” Rodrick’s mom suddenly appeared beside the boys to remind them. Both boys nodded their heads after hearing this. Right in front of the Beaumont and Margrave family stood a silver gate with the sigil of the Republic in the center guarded by two soldiers on either side of the gate. With their full body iron plated armor and spear in hands they were strikingly different from that of the city guard who only wore armor for the key areas of the body. The difference demanded a different type of respect.

  Damon witnessed his father and Uncle Kaden walk up to the soldiers with a gait that seemed less relaxed and more disciplined. Both fathers seemed to embody their former selves in the military. The guards scrutinized the two men approaching them. Watching the confidence in both men led to the guards tightening their grips on their spears and the leading guard behind the gate to place his hand on his sword by his waist.

  Robert witnessing this gave a side glance to his friend who did the same before they reached the gate. Saluting the guards, their actions were mirrored by the guards. Leading the guards was a man that had armor that was different from the others around him. With a closer look the armor had little dents and scratches that were absent on the armors of those around them.

  “Sgt. Beaumont” “Lt. Margrave”

  “Sgt. Rider” The leading man hearing the rank of Kade directed his salute to Kade. The rest of the guards quickly did the same.

  “At ease. We’re here on the invitation of the Governor.” Kade signaled behind him where the rest of the family stood. The remaining members of the family made their way to the gate after being called over.

  Damon scanned the guards with envy and awe at their shiny and intimidating armor. Damon wondered if he would ever be given armor like theirs.

  “We greet the Awakeners” All the guards bow their heads at Damon and Rodrick. Rodrick quickly bowed his head as well, Damon still staring at the armor bowed his head a few seconds later.

  After scanning the guards, Damon turned his attention to the gate behind the guards. The gate matched the color of the men guarding it and towered over them at a dozen feet. The gate glimmered under the sun, especially the center of the gate where the sigil of the Republic was embedded. The sigil shined as if it was screaming for everyone to notice it.

  “Wow. So pretty” Damon turned to Riley at his side holding his hand and staring at the sigil of the republic with her mouth open. Chuckling at the sight he nodded as he joined his little sister staring at the sigil. Damon for some reason felt glad that someone else noticed its majesty.

  “What are we waiting for?” Rodricks excitement was obvious in his voice. “We should be allowed in. We’re one of the awakeners.”

  “Patience. A few minutes shouldn’t be hard for you Rodrick.” Uncle Kade shook his head at his son’s impatience. Rodrick didn’t have to wait that long as the gate opened inwards separating the sigil.

  “Welcome Awakeners. I am the Head butler of this Manor. You can call me Mr. Ham.” A tall lanky middle aged man welcomed them with a slight bow showing the sparse hair on his head showing his age. Lifting his head up he swiftly turned around and led the way.

  “Follow me” Damon felt that the old man was disrespectful and Rodrick seemed to be the only one with the same sentiment as no one else wore a frown on their face. Damon believed as awakeners they should be given the respect of an Awakener even if they hadn’t learned how to control the elements they are bound to learn it anyway.

  Damon glared at the back of the head of the butler as he thought that in the future he would come back here when he learns how to control his lightning and see if he would be given the same treatment. Smiling at the thought, Damon straightened his shoulders and continued following the butler with a more expanded ego than when he was outside on the other side of the gate.

  After walking down the gravel road they then took a turn down another road. The road didn’t seem to lead to the manor so Damon asked “Are we not going to the manor?” Robert turned to his son with a crease in his eyebrows before shifting his attention back to Mr. Ham who answered

  “No, I am leading you to the air docks.”

  Damon, although disappointed at the missed opportunity of entering a Governor’s manor, it was quickly morphed into excitement at the thought of his dream becoming much closer. The excitement made him feel like he was flying and his excitement was shared with his best friend who was forcing himself not to skip his way to the air docks.

  The air docks soon came into view and awe could be found in the eyes of everyone in the group including Robert and Kade only it wasn’t as much as their children with stars in their eyes. The object of awe was not the giant stairway leading to a platform that could fit over a hundred carriages, instead it was what laid upon the raised platform.

  Atop the platform was a ship as tall as the Grace Bank that Damon’s mother worked at which had four floors. The ship extended as far as around twenty meters in length. The ship was made entirely of wood just like the Lyle ship only it was not colored in black, instead choosing to keep its original earthly color. The ship also carried flags bearing the sigil of the Academy.

  The flags decorating the ship were white with an eye placed in the center. The eye was outlined in black and the pupil carried the colors of all five elements Blue, red, green, and earthly yellow. But right in the center of the pupil, as the flags waved a flicker of gold would appear.

  After a few moments Mr. Ham led them to a group of people that appeared to be waiting by the ship. As they got closer Damon recognized the group as their fellow Awakeners. Immediately he spotted Amelia in red robes standing beside a man in similar robes as hers. Damon gave a quick scan of the man and came to the conclusion that he must be her father if he was to go off their similar looks and hair. Damon sent a small smile her way which she reciprocated after making sure the man beside her wasn’t looking.

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  After that Damon observed the rest of the group and found Kira with the same old man from the market. Kira catching his eye gave a nod of acknowledgment before going back to listening to the old man. Shifting his attention he found the boy who was the cause of his “talk” from last night following a man in his sixties making their way towards their group.

  “Robert. How are you?” The man in his sixties shook hands with his employee with a big smile.

  “I’m fine sir. How about you?”

  Damon watched as his father put on a forced smile and pretended to care about the man’s struggles with his wife who couldn’t make it due to a fever. Shaking his head, Damon turned his head to face the giant ship hoping Miles wouldn’t talk to him.

  Standing right below the ship allowed Damon to get a more detailed observation of the ship. The airship was of the similar type of build as the airship owned by the Lyle family. But the similarities ended there. The Lyle ship focused more on a more somber yet extravagant design whilst the Academy ship leaned towards simplicity. The entire ship beside the flags and the side of the ship where an academy sigil was bare of decorations or designs. It looked like any ordinary ship sailing at sea, only this ship sailed through the air.

  “How many people do you think can fit on this giant thing?” Turning to Rodrick who appeared by his side, he thought to himself that Rodrick must be thinking the same thing as him as Damon heard that he was given the “talk” by his father as well.

  “I don’t know. Maybe a few hundred. Or more. I mean look at the thing.” A look of wonder graced Damon as he stared up at the ship that he had only seen from afar. Throughout the years he was never given the chance to to set his gaze upon an airship from this up close until today. And very soon he would get to ride this legendary behemoth across the Republic.

  “This ship is going to take us through the Republic. Not by sea but by air. This is an opportunity given to very few.” Damon scanned the entire ship as the thoughts of himself owning an airship of his own crossed his mind. “ We should work hard so we could own one and then we can set sail on our own-”

  “Hahaha” A mocking laugh cut off their daydreaming. Miles carried his disdainful smile their way leading to a frown to be found on both boys.

  “Own one? You want to own an airship?” His tone was filled with ridicule as he looked up and down at the two friends.

  “ A ship like this can only be owned by the most powerful forces of the Republic. Powers like the Ancestral Houses, the Great Houses, the Grace Bank, the Windy Pavillon and of course the Academy. There are a few other powers that might own an airship but they wouldn’t own more than one or two.” Miles sent a look of derision at the boy’s fantasy.

  By the time Miles finished explaining Rodrick and Damon’s dreams of owning an airship vanished. The powers he named all had connections to former Lords or Divine Generals. And such titles were given out to only two hundred people over the nearly three thousand year reign of the Republic.

  Although annoyed at the rich merchant teenager, both boys ignored Miles hoping he wouldn’t talk to them if they gave him the silent treatment. A plan that quickly failed after hearing the words that left Miles' mouth.

  “Ah, that's right you need permission to speak to someone of higher status-”

  “You’re not of higher status. You're a commoner just like us. Only a bit richer.” Damon retorted with a glare.

  “A bit richer?" Miles scoffed at the words of choice to describe his family. "My family owns the majority of the mines here in this city. We even have an Elemental working for us.” Wearing a proud look Miles continued “ We-”

  “Greetings Governor.” The voice from behind them caught the three boy’s attention.

  Heading their way with an entourage in tow was the Governor and the remaining Awakener from their group, Drayven Lyle. Mr. Ham quickly made his way over to the group to talk about whatever he needed to talk about and Damon took the time to scan the Governor’s group and found no sign of the old man who was at the Awakening Ceremony. Damon assumed he left since the air dock had no trace of the black airship from yesterday.

  Miles' grandfather made his way to the Governor to greet him before waving over Miles. Miles obliged but not before sending a smirk towards the duo. His pride swelling at the fact that he could meet the Governor while the two could only look from afar.

  Damon and Rodrick could only glare at the cocky kid. As Miles walked away their glares continued to follow him secretly hoping the boy would trip and fall on his face on the way there. Sadly their hopes were dashed once he got there without any bruises.

  “ I wished he fell. You?” Rodrick brought his thoughts out to the world hoping his friend was of like mind.

  “ On his face. Leave a couple bruises maybe.” Both boys nodded, satisfied with their shared thoughts. Side eyeing each for a second they suddenly bursted into laughter before telling each other the tales of what they will do in the future.

  After a few moments of chatter, the Governor made his way to the ship and stopped right beside it.

  “ Where are you? Hurry up and lower the ramp.” The Governor yelled at whoever was in charge of the ship.

  A loud laugh came from the top of the ship in response. “What’s wrong old man? Old age getting to you? You seem more grumpy than the last time I saw you.” Damon and everyone else on the ship raised their eyebrows in shock after hearing the mocking tone from the person on the ship. To mock a silver rank official and not just any silver rank but a Governor. A Governor with a military background at that. The man must have guts to spare.

  The Governor responded with silence, a trick he must have known would work as the man on the ship quickly followed the Governor’s request

  “Alright, alright.”A few seconds later with no reaction from the Governor, the courageous voice was once again heard from the ship followed by a ramp being lowered from the deck. “ So boring” The man on the ship continued before revealing himself to be a tanned man that seemed to be growing taller the closer he got to the group as he made his way down the ramp. Each step was followed by a creak as if the ramp could not hold the man.

  Damon observed the seven foot tall man that made him think the giant race from legends still existed, making his way down the ramp towards the governor with a big welcoming smile. The giant man spread out his arms that were corded with muscle the size of an adult man’s thigh for a hug only for the Governor to send a deadpan expression to him.

  “Commander, why the long face?” Witnessing his positive attitude not being reciprocated he questioned. Damon saw the giant man frown before looking behind the governor to scan the Awakeners one by one. The moment the giant man’s eyes found his, Damon felt his entire body freeze for a second before the feeling quickly left him and Damon let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

  “Six awakeners? Based on last year's reports you had four…”

  Damon no longer paid attention to the two men as he knew what would come once they were done talking. Damon headed to his family only to be greeted by little arms wrapping around his waist tightly. Damon looked down to see his sister grasping his robe.

  “Don’t go.” A muffled plea entered Damon’s ears. The plea caused a wave of sorrow throughout his body.

  “Don’t worry Riles, I’ll be back. I won’t be gone for long.” Hugging Riley, Damon attempted to ease his little sister’s sadness. Her reply to his attempts was to tighten her hold on him.

  Witnessing their children with fond smiles, Robert and Laura attempted to help their eldest ease their youngest worries.

  “Don’t worry Riles, you can just write to your brother when you miss him. And he can do the same.” Laura said.

  “ I don’t know how to write.” Riley pointed out her lack of abilities.“ And I don’t how to read”

  Lisa became flustered at the reminder that her youngest was still six years old. Although she goes to school, her skills at writing and reading were still at the level that needed supervising. Witnessing no other actions from her youngest as her eldest looked at her pleading with his eyes.

  Lisa turned to her husband who gave her a nod.

  “Damon won’t be gone for long, sweetie. He will come back for the new year and when he does he will show you all the magical things he learned at the Academy.” Robert used his youngest love for the elements that she adopted from her big brother.

  “That’s right Riles. Remember those stories I told you about. Lord of Storms or the Golden General?” Riley slowly lifted her head from her brother’s chest to look up at him with her ocean blue eyes filled with tears. Damon seeing that he got her attention continued “ I was lucky enough to get their power. And the only way for me to know how to use magic like them, I have to go to the academy to learn. Ok?”

  Damon said this but even he knew that such a statement could be considered to be only a dream. To use the power of Elements like a Divine General or one of the stronger Elemental lords was mere fantasy. But she didn’t know that so Damon raised his brows at Riley waiting for her answer. After a few moments Riley slowly let go of her big brother. Damon smiled gently “When I come back I will show you all the things I learned.” Riley glanced up at her brother before holding her pinky ring up to him.

  “I promise” Damon smiled before wrapping his finger with hers.

  With a nod Damon held Riley’s hand and they made their way to their parents. Their parents greeted them with smiles and tears. Mainly their mother who couldn’t stop wiping the never-ending tears rolling down her face. Damon witnessing this, Damon had tears of his own making their way down his face similar to his mother. Damon walked right into his parents arms where they held him tightly. Damon didn’t know how long he stayed in their arms, but he continued to stay there.

  Their moment was quickly interrupted by a shout from Mr. Ham.

  “ Alright. All Awakeners please board the ship. I repeat all Awakeners please board the ship”

  Hesitation filled Damon after hearing the announcements. Now bearing an unsure look on his face, he turned to his parents who both gave him nods of encouragement.

  “Don’t skip any meals. Go to bed early and study hard. Show respect to your teachers. And stay away from troublemakers. Okay?” Damon chuckled at his mothers nagging before giving her a nod. Damon then stared at his father who now bore a serious expression.

  “Don’t forget our talk. Okay?” Damon nodded, bearing a similar serious expression.

  “Both” Damon watched his father’s serious expression morph into a smirk before turning into a full blown laugh as Damon quickly turned around with an embarrassed look and made his way to the ship. Rodrick was walking in front of him and Damon couldn’t resist smacking the back of his head as he ran past him laughing.

  “Get back here, dwarf.” Rodrick shouted after him while clutching the back of his head.

  Passing Mr. Ham, both boys stopped in the middle of the ramp to turn their heads to the side and wave to their families. Rodrick waved at his smiling parents and his cute baby brother who was waving back with the help of their mother. Damon waved at his parents who were holding each other watching their eldest leave the nest. Damon let out a laugh seeing Riley using her stuffed toy to wave goodbye. Both boys let their tears fall as they engraved the precious sight into memory.

  “Alright boys come on” The giant man called out from the top of the ramp with the same smile he had earlier.

  “Your journey has just begun”