C.1 New Beginnings

9 years, 10 months, and 13 days after the worldwide event of Aòrn escaping his death, the rebels were far stronger and bolder. On a worn down gravel road, trotted two horses occupied by a woman and a child.

The woman had a blue and red embroidered cloak on with all sorts of runes that seemed to pulse and glow with their own power. Long golden hair spilled out over her shoulders and flew in the wind. Lean and muscular legs gripped the sides of the pitch-black stallion she was riding. The woman, with her vibrant red eyes and golden pupils, gazed at the child whose face was sad yet hopeful as it gazed around. Seeing sights of these nearly 30-foot tall trees with transparent blue leaves were awe-inspiring to onlookers.

The boy was riding on a pitch-black horse as well, holding a pair of reins. Short light-blue hair was pushed back to reveal his soft deep-blue eyes and silver pupils. His slightly wide shoulders indicated that he'd be decently stocky in the future.

As they rode down the "trail" there was a lake to the left in the distance. "Hey Kohota, let's give the horses a break. Don't worry, we'll make it to the water district in time for your admission in their monastery" proclaimed the woman. The boy, Kohota, looked towards the two suns high up in the sky and nodded silently in response. After leading the horses to the edge of the lake, they stopped to rest for a short while.

"Charlotte, is there any jerky left" questioned Kohota to the woman. "Yeah bud, there is" replied Charlotte as she handed him some jerky and a waterskin. "EWW what is this, this is NOT water" shouted Kohota as he tossed the waterskin back at Charlotte. "Oops, wrong one" murmured Charlotte as she took out another and gave it to Kohota. "Better" muttered Kohota as he capped the waterskin.

Soon after, they got back on the horses and rode off, continuing on the trail. "It's already noon, I don't think we'll make it in time Charlotte" expressed Kohota. "Then pick up the pace" teased Charlotte as she urged her steed to quicken its pace. Hey, wait up" shouted Kohota, amazed by the already widening distance between the two.

"So when are you going to tell me what happened to my parents? You said I'd get to know when I was 10" questioned Kohota. "And are you 10 yet" retorted Charlotte in a questioning manner. "Close enough, I'll be ten by the morning" grumbled Kohota. "Then I suppose THAT is when you'll know, now stop asking and just ride" shouted Charlotte. "Be careful what you wish for my naive little one..." muttered Charlotte under her breath.

***

After a three-hour-long silent awkwardness between the two of them, they appeared before an imposing wall, 200 meters in height. Patches of moss and dark blue vines that extend out of view on the glossy, ocean-blue wall.

"Charlotte, there's water in the wall" shouted Kohota out of the blue. "Yes, some say that the original ruler of the water sector could mould the walls into different shapes, making it the ultimate shield. Sometimes, even making the wall a weapon against attacks. Now all that's left of this legendary tale is the walls that once shone with a pale blue light. Now quiet while I deal with these lard bellies called guards" informed the now stoic Charlotte. Kohota just nodded, his eyes filled with unbridled excitement.

"Lard bellies? That's some brave talk, I'll have you know I'm the captain of these 'Lard Bellies'" shouted a two-and-a-half meter tall giant of a man. A muscular body underneath some pale blue and gold armor, and a handsome face with deep blue eyes. A long scar across his cheek that quivered whenever he laughs, his eyes are glaring daggers at Charlotte as he walks towards the pair.

"I never knew such a weak man could be in possession of that title" Charlotte said as she slowly got off her horse and walked to meet him halfway. They stood in front of each other not saying a word, releasing their terrifyingly powerful auras. A poor water slime hopping by turned into a pile of mud from their test of power. after 5 minutes of staring each other down, they both laughed and clasped arms. "Charlotte, or the famous 'Char', what brings you here friend" questioned the giant man. "Oh nothing really Ursa, just bringing this kid the water monastery, think of a promise to an old friend. what happened to your guards, I thought you trained them? They wouldn't be able to last five minutes against a magma slime in their condition" bantered Charlotte. "Things have gotten worse since the execution. Resources keep on getting pulled by the capital, leaving us to scrounge up our own. I'll talk to you later at our usual pub old friend, how about you go in now? There's not much time left for registering at the monastery. Don't worry about the toll, think of this as a gift from the 'Lard patrol'" laughed Ursa as he waved them through the gates.

Through the gates galloped two figures on steeds towards the imposing city inside. From the gates, waved Ursa as he laughed at Kohota's excited face. "He really reminds me of his father when we were kids" muttered Ursa as he returned to his men. "Those people never appeared, they were always here, got it lard a*ses" shouted Ursa. "YES SIR" was the reply from the ridiculed guards. "Good, answer, first round's me" responded Ursa. Peopled glared towards the front gate that night, where cheers boomed, waking up their children.

***

Sprinting towards the monastery were Kohota and Charlotte, after they had placed their horses in a moderately priced stable. Reaching the monastery doors, they entered and gazed around. Everywhere the eye looked, there were veins of water moving through walls made of reinforced coral. Walking down a long hallway from the entrance, they reached a reception area with multiple people and clerks coming and going, talking, and sometimes shouting.

Amidst the chaos, there was surprisingly enough, a clerk that wasn't occupied with a customer. She was a slim 30-year-old woman with an attractive face, and light blue hair standing at 5' 3" with sky blue eyes. She saw the two new arrivals and went over to welcome them. Charlotte, seeing this walked over to the side to greet her. "Welcome, tell me your names and objective for coming here so we can see if I can help you or not. My name is Remmy, and I'm actually the reception area manager" Spoke the enthusiastic Remmy as she did a slight bow.

"I'm Charlotte and this is Kohota, we came here to admit him into the monastery as he is of the water element" informed the now respectful Charlotte. "You made it almost too late, hurry follow me. we'll complete your paperwork after the presentation" Said Remmy as she grabbed Kohota's hand and practically dragged him behind her with Charlotte following behind. Kohota just tried to run to not be dragged as he gazed at the beautiful walls. The veins of water from the reception area were now intertwined with seemingly liquid gold. The walls changed from a dark coral to a lighter shade of blue as they ran past.

After what seemed like an hour, they reached a massive Colosseum teeming with chatting students between 10 and 20-year-olds. The youngest being in the back seats, and the eldest in the front, just above the arena in the middle. The arena had 200 feet tall walls in an ovular shape. positioned at the base of the walls were six gates, two on each of the longest sides, and the shortest sides with only one gate. These cast-iron gates were of an impressive size, standing at 150 feet in height, eery darkness shrouding what lay beyond. In the arena stood five water magic users. two men had the aura of a wizard, two of a witch, and the last one a strikingly domineering arch-mage. (AN: don't do a needless comment about rankings please, it's all there in the auxiliary chapter)

"Charlotte, I'll inform you now, due to the nature of students, there are anti-magic charms to negate spells in the audience. So we actually have to walk to the back of the stands, not just fly there" educated Remmy. "That's wonderful, thank you. will you be coming along or will we meet you back at reception" inquired Charlotte. "I'll lead you to your seats, but no, I won't be sitting out the presentation with you. Meet me back in my office at reception to fill out Kohota's paperwork" replied Remmy. Remmy finally let go of the panting Kohota and started walking up the stands towards the back.

On their way there, some students gave looks of inquiry, some nonchalance, while the rest were predatory as they reached the higher stands. Reaching an empty seat, The pair sat down while Remmy left them there. Soon after sitting down, the air above crackled with enormous power. New students were shocked and some panicked, while the rest of the older students looked at them with annoyance. A large "screen" made of ice displayed with clear color and graphics, the face of the man with the aura of an arch-mage. An attractive face with a chiseled jaw, and neon blue eyes that seemed to stare into your bare soul. He had short silver hair and seemed to be in his mid-twenties.

The figure began to speak as the Ice copied everything to broadcast it perfectly to every student. "Oi runts, I'm glad to have you all here and to be your Principle. You may call me Lord Hal. I'll be honest with you all, the world is harsh and the only ones that are able to attempt at keeping the peace are the powerful personas. That's why you lot are here, so we can give you the best that we can in hopes you'll be able to protect yourselves and loved ones. Maybe, just maybe, you might be able to become a somebody and make a change in this horri- I mean LOVELY empire of ours. To be able to even get close to dreaming of that, you first need to be whipped into shape and have magic principals drilled into those rocks of yours that you call brains. Classes will proceed from 7 am until 5 at night. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served in the dining hall, students are required to be present in each class, lest they want to receive punishment. Each student will have a transaction crystal for receiving points. You earn points from professors, and they can be taken away by professors. Sleeping quarters, directions, classes, and all other information will be sent to your crystals where you will have them bound to you with magic and will receive the information and it will be directly stored in your brain. I will randomly pop in and out of classes everywhere in the monastery. my office won't be in the detailed map, teachers will instead create a portal for you to reach my office. That will be all. receive your crystals on the way out, and good luck to you all. I mean it" lectured Hal.

Charlotte picked up Kohota and sprinted with him over her shoulder like a flash of lightning. People that were getting up were startled by her speed but soon continued to head out. Reaching the entryway to the colosseum, Charlotte stopped so Kohota could receive his crystal. He was handed a smooth, deep-blue spherical crystal the size of an eyeball pulsating with white constantly shifting runes. They continued on, and soon enough reached the reception area in just 30 minutes, due to Charlotte's speed.

After asking a clerk, they found Remmy's office and knocked on the door. "Come in" was heard from behind the door. They walked in and sat down in two comfy chairs that were in front of a large desk chiseled out of purple coral. Remmy sat behind the beautiful desk in a chair made out of sealion leather filled with water. "How was Lord Hal? Quite the character, I know. anyways, here's your paperwork, I filled out what I could for you both, just finish the rest, and you're officially a student of the water monastery! I'll take the 250 silver coins as well. Also, I wrote down some inns for you to take a look at if you'll be staying here with Kohota Charlotte" informed the relaxing Remmy. "Thank you Remmy, this is more than we could've asked for" replied Charlotte. After finishing the paperwork, Kohota digested the information from the crystal right there in the office, as he couldn't wait. "This is awesome, how did they make this Remmy" questioned Kohota. "That's a secret only the enchanters know, sorry little lord. I see your unique silver pupils, I'm sure you'll grow up to be even stronger than our dear Lord Hal" replied Remmy.

Kohota laughed and bid her farewell with Charlotte behind him. They walked to Kohota's new room to see if they can meet his new roommate. When they reached the door, Kohota slid the marble into the door, which opened and spit the crystal back out to Kohota. Looking around the room, there were two identical beds, closets, and desks in the room on opposite sides. A door to the right led to their shared bathroom with actual running water! Kohota was so excited, he knew that he'd be able to take a shower for the first time. (AN: Running water is for rich people, as it's made possible from purely magic contraptions. Seeing as Kohota never lived the life of a rich person, he never tried it before.)

Kohota chose the left side of the room and unpacked his things. Just as they were about to leave, a boy came in the door. He stood at 4' 2" with a scrawny build and had dimples paired with an innocent face. Looking at Kohota and charlotte questioningly with his blue eyes, he introduced himself as Latus. "Hello Latus, I'm Kohota. I'd love to talk to you when I get back. This is Charlotte, and we were just about to go and talk about something outside. I hope you don't mind, but I already unpacked my things on the left side of the room. I'll see you tonight Latus" enthusiastically chatted Kohota. "Sure thing Kohota" replied the somewhat now disappointed Latus.

After the two headed outside onto a nearby hill, they sat down. "Happy birthday Kohota. this was your father's" Said Charlotte as she pulled out a blazing crocodile skin necklace that had a locket made of gold on it. Kohota took it from Charlotte with tears in his eyes as he slowly opened the locket. Inside was an enchanted engraving of a beautiful woman and a handsome man dancing in the inside of the locket. "I.. I.. thank you Charlotte.." responded the happily crying Kohota as he watched the figures dance in circles. "Kohota, it's your mother and father on their wedding night. It was made by the most powerful engraver there ever was in the empire of sultac. Never show this to anyone, keep it on you at all times. It won't be detected by any enchantment detector and can save its wearer's life once. Your father had this made for his most prized child. Are you ready to know about your parents now" questioned Charlotte. With a determined gaze, Kohota said yes. "Your father was an amazing man, husband, and brother-in-arms. His name was Aórn Latevale. The man that was almost executed by the emperor. Emperor Kutsiva killed your whole family lineage, he didn't know of you because your mother had just given birth to you and had me take you away. They all died, there isn't anyone left. Your father may still be alive, but I don't want to get your hopes up." informed a morbid Charlotte.

That night, as the last rays from the two suns came down, lit up the face of a crying Kohota as he listened to Charlotte talk about his parents and family. (AN:make sure to always read the author's thought, as I may have information at some points, not just trying to get your powerstones.)