Chapter 7
The Academy to the West
The carriage came to a screeching halt. Khronus stuck his head out the carriage door. “Hey, Poart!” he said, smiling. “It’s just me. Sorry for not calling ahead. We got a bit sidetracked,” he explained.
Poart was surprised. “Oh, Master Khronus! Come right in,” he said as Khronus and Jin got out of the carriage.
Khronus leaned down by Jin’s ear. “Oh yes . . . one thing; do not mention anything of your world here. If anyone asks, you came from a small village in the western province,” he whispered as Jin nodded in agreement.
Khronus thanked and paid the carriage driver as they passed. The two walked to the gate where Poart was waiting for them. “So this is the new apprentice, huh?” Poart asked, bending down to look at Jin. He poked Jin in the chest. Jin was surprised at how giant-like the man was. “Not much to him,” Poart said as he leaned back and grabbed his stomach while beginning to laugh.
“Now Poart, don’t tease him,” Khronus said.
“Aww, I’m just messing with him,” Poart said, smiling and messing Jin’s hair up. “So what’s your name, kid?” he asked.
Jin straightened up and stood tall. “My name is Jin, sir; nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand.
“Well!” Poart bellowed with a smirk. “I may have pegged you wrong, kid.” He reached out and grabbed Jin’s hand—almost engulfing it. Jin gave him a firm handshake and smiled. “My name is Poart. I am the fifth-generation gatekeeper. I have stood guard here for over fifty years now,” he explained.
“Really, but you don’t look that old,” Jin said.
Poart laughed again. “Wow, this one is really wet behind the ears, eeh Khronus?” he said, pointing with his thumb at Jin. “Okay . . . well, the lifespan of an ayos is a lot longer than an ordinary person. The fact that we are able to store and use magick in our bodies greatly increases our vitality,” he explained.
Jin nodded. “Ahh, I see.”
“Well, this is one of many lessons he has yet to learn, but he must be weary from the long trip. So, if we could get past,” Khronus said.
“Yeah, yeah,” Poart said as he opened the gate. He then motioned for them to enter. “Welcome to the Western Academy,” he said sarcastically as they made their way in.
Khronus and Jin continued into the building. There were various people walking around, all of whom were wearing uniforms with a strange symbol on the back. “What does the symbol mean?” Jin asked.
“Oh, yes, each academy has a unique symbol. They are usually worn on their clothes. It’s a way to represent each academy and identify us as ayos to regular people,” Khronus answered as they continued down the hallways and eventually came to a door. Khronus reached out and opened it.
It was a medium-sized room with a bed on each side and a bathroom in the back. “This part of the building is the apprentice’s quarters, and this is your room. You can take the bed on the left. Your roommate doesn’t seem to be here at the moment,” Khronus explained.
“Roommate?” Jin questioned.
“Yes, he’s named Saga, I believe. He’s quite . . . ahh . . . rough around the edges I suppose, but he shouldn’t be a problem, but anyway, I have some things to attend to. You should get some rest,” Khronus explained.
“But what about my core?” Jin asked.
“We’ll take care of that later. Don’t get impatient now. It shouldn’t be much longer,” Khronus said as he left the room, closing the door behind him.
Jin walked to the window and peered out over the court yard. Well, this place seems pretty cool, but it’s huge. I wonder if I’ll get lost, he thought. Jin then walked over to his bed and laid down. Apparently, he was much more tired then he realized because he drifted right off to sleep.
Jin awoke to find his bed being shaken. “Wake up Jin,” a voice said. Jin awoke to see it was dark out. He rubbed his eyes to see it was Khronus standing over him. “It’s time. Get up and follow me,” Khronus said.
Jin got up and looked around the room. His roommate still wasn’t there. Jin followed Khronus outside. The halls were dark except for the lantern that Khronus held as he led the way around the building. The two made their way to a large pair of doors. Khronus opened them and the two walked into a brightly lit room that was empty except for three people who stood inside waiting. It was two men and a woman.
Jin stood in the center as the four stood in front of him. “So this is the one, huh? This will be most interesting,” one of the individuals said. He was a man who appeared to be in his late twenties. His hair was black at the roots but turned white toward the tips. The man wore a pair or glasses and a lab coat bearing the academy’s symbol. He leaned in and pushed up his glasses, studying Jin.
“Leave him alone, Thoth,” the woman said. She also appeared to be in her late twenties. The woman had long, dark purple hair with matching eyes. She wore a white doctor’s uniform with the academy symbol on the back.
“Just doing a preliminary check Isis,” Thoth sneered back. “Can we proceed? I curious to see the results,” he said with excitement.
“Yes, let us begin,” the third person said. He was an old bald man with a thick white beard. He wore a black robe that had a white flame pattern coming up from the bottom and up the arms with the academy symbol in the back.
“Yes, Master Odin,” Khronus said as he pulled the red core from his pocket. “Okay, Jin, please remove your shirt.” Jin felt a bit awkward, but nodded and did as he was asked. Khronus walked over to Jin and handed him the orb. “Here, take it and press it to your chest.”
Jin reached out and grabbed the orb. It was smooth and warm. He could feel an energy much like a heartbeat pulsating inside it. Jin began to pull it toward his chest. He could feel it pulling toward him. As he pressed it against his chest, the core began to pulsate faster and stronger as waves of red energy began to emit from in. Sparks of red energy began to dig into his chest.
Jin’s arms and head flung back as the core began to merge with him. As it dug further in, glowing red veins began to grow on Jin’s chest. The energy was overwhelming, causing Jin to scream. Surges of red energy began to shoot out of his body, damaging the floors and walls. So much power was emitted; he began to lift into the air. All the others stood watching in awe.
The core finally merged with Jin. The energy was absorbed back into the orb. Jin dropped out of the air and plopped down on the floor limp. Thoth walked over and examined him. “Hmm, he’s alive, just knocked out. However, the process seemed to take a heavy toll on his body,” he said as he stood up. “Well, that was interesting. I’ll need to make a log of this, so if you’ll excuse me. Isis, I’ll leave him in your capable hands,” Thoth said before he left the room.
Isis walked over and began examining him. Odin looked over to Khronus. “Come with me, Khronus, we will make preparations for him,” Odin said as the two left the room.
ToC
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