章節 1: One: The Day Of Descent
Standing at the edge of the city, MorDrigin peered into the vastness of clouds below as he dreaded what was to come. Removing his sights from the clouds, Mordrigin turned to his right and then to his left, searching for his younger sister SaiDrigin. He did not find her, but only found crowds of children, gathering at the edge of the city just like him.
Each and every one of the children at the edge was peering down into the vastness just as MorDrigin was doing.
The children present were young. Much younger than MorDrigin. While he was going to turn 15 in a week or two, these children on the other hand were no older than 10. The Peak Age as the people of Nova had come to call it.
The Peak Age for Bonding with an Ethos, so they could go from being Seedlings to Amyntors, protectors of the city.
As the seconds went by, more and more children were coming toward the edge of the city by the hundreds. As far as MorDrigin could tell, there were already more than seven thousand of them, but it would seem that the number would reach an even ten thousand by the time the Whispers rang into the air.
Staring at the children, MorDrigin felt annoyed and out of place. As he had been for the past four years. Once he was just like these children, at the Peak Age, and ready to delve into the world below the floating city to Bond with his own Ethos, so he would become an Amyntor.
Though being an Amyntor was never his dream, he had forced himself to buy into it due to his bloodline. But it would seem that was never his destiny.
A good thing to come out of this was that he would get to live his dream after this year. Because once he reached the age of 15, he would be unable to Bond with any Ethos.
But the bad thing that resulted from this was that he would be a disgrace to his family's name, and he would never get his father's approval.
"What a shame." MorDrigin thought as he stroked his arms. It would seem the mighty winds blowing in from every corner finally began to eat into his skin through his clothing.
As he continued to stand and peer into the vastness, whispers began to rise into the air. And these whispers were not the ones he was waiting for. These were coming out of the mouths of people, not of newly hatched Ethoses.
Turning around, MorDrigin found the crowd behind him parting for the people that were approaching. Looking ahead, MorDrigin's eyes widened when he saw his younger sister and...his mother TayDrigin.
She was walking with a soft smile on her face as the multitudes of children surrounded her, all but blocking her way as they reached out to touch her and even hug her.
Looking at his mother from this distance, she resembled an angel. Albeit an archangel, but an angel nonetheless.
She wore a red blazer which bore the Drigin family crest on both her shoulders and her back. Her blonde hair flew in the wind and her green eyes shimmered like emeralds.
Holding SaiDrigin's hand as they made their way toward MorDrigin, Sai looked like a miniature version of her mother, except her eyes were deep blue as opposed to being green.
Looking at them, MorDrigin even wondered if he was a part of the Drigin family. Not only was he a failure of an Amyntor, but he even lacked the grace and beauty of the Drigin family.
Even though his mother was married into the family, she still bore characteristics of their grace and elegance. Most people married into the Drigin family did.
But Mor on the other hand, who was born from the Drigin family, did not resemble them in the slightest. His hair was a plain brown. And his eyes were a deep black, as opposed to the usual variety of colors his family bloodline or those married into it were supposed to have.
Whenever he was in the midst of the Drigin family, he always looked like an anomaly, even before he failed his first Venture.
"It's Lady Tay."
"She's the goddess of Nebula city."
"I heard Lady TayDrigin is the seventh strongest Amyntor in the World."
Likewise whispers rang into the air, which made Mor feel uneasy, naked even.
He was afraid the presence of his sister would draw attention to him, to who he was. But now there was no hiding it.
"Brother Mor!" SaiDrigin screamed with an enthusiastic wave when she saw her brother in the distance.
Upon hearing this, Mor froze in place, especially when all eyes were turned toward him, making him see the world go dark so that the only light present was the spotlight shining on him.
"That's MorDrigin?"
"He's the one who always failed his Venture."
"I don't want to be like him."
"God forbid I disappoint my family name."
Upon hearing these whispers, Mor clenched his fist as an array of emotions began stirring within him.
But he did not get to stay in his head for too long before his mother and sister approached him.
"Brother?" Sai had called out to him, looking up at him with something in her hands.
It was an animal that looked like a red dog crossbred with a cheetah. Its name was Helai, and it was TayDrigin's Ethos.
"Hey Sai." Mor had said with a smile before lifting his head and meeting his mother's gaze. "Hi Mom."
Looking at his mother, Mor noticed her brows risen and the look in her eyes.
"I came here today to..."
"You don't have to explain Mom. I'm glad you're here." Mor said before turning his sights to his sister. "Are you excited Sai?"
"Well, I am. But I'm mostly nervous." Sai said, lowering her head and cuddling Helai.
Mor placed a hand on her shoulder, and then said, "You shouldn't be nervous. You'll do great out there. Those Unformed Ethoses would be so annoyed by you, they'll have no choice but to Bond with you." He added with a chuckle
"Haha." SaiDrigin retorted with a frown.
Smiling, Mor ruffled his sister's hair, making her frown even more and pull her head back before Mor had turned his sights to his mother and spoke.
"So Mom, will you be joining us down there?" MorDrigin had asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't jumping to conclusions.
He did not exactly know why she would come here, but a journey all the way to the edge of the city was not something one would make unless they had some kind of business here. And saying farewell and good luck was not one of them.
Children at the Peak Age ready to Venture were never sent off by their parents or loved ones. It was just too impractical unless they lived near the edge of the city.
"I will actually, I just wanted to be one of the Watchers today." TayDrigin said with a gentle smile.
"Is that the reason, or perhaps you just want to make sure Sai and I won't fail?" MorDrigin said with a chuckle.
"No, of course not." Tay said, a little flustered.
"Whatever the reason, I'm glad to have you here Mom." Mor said, genuinely telling the truth.
He didn't know what would happen today, but one thing he did know was that he was not going to be Bonding with any Ethoses. His sister, on the other hand, was undoubtedly going to. And in turn, a target would be put on her back.
"The Watchers are here!" A voice rang out, pulling Mor's and everyone's attention. Looking ahead, MorDrigin saw a group of Amyntors approaching the edge.
As he saw them making their way through the crowd of children, Mor felt dread and shame overcome him because the group of Watchers approaching were all 15-year-olds, his set of Amyntors.
Every year, a new set of young Amyntors would come to the Venture to Watch over the Seedlings. And this year, it was MorDrigin's set. Those of his peers who succeeded when he and they were 10 years old.
'It just had to be today.' MorDrigin said with an ironic grin.
"They're coming! They're coming!" A child closer to them screamed.
Then suddenly a multitude of the children began to gather TayDrigin once more.
"Please let me be part of your watch." One child said.
"And me too!" Another screamed.
"Please pick me pick me." Another cried out.
Likewise words rose, making Tay smile.
The children were scrambling to be part of Tay's watch because they knew she already had two children under her watch. That being Sai and Mor, which meant she only had room for three more.
"Please calm down." She said with a smile, then she turned to Mor. "Why don't you pick them for me Mor?"
Upon hearing this, the cheers died down as all eyes turned to Mor. Eyes filled with disdain.
With a bit of hesitance, Mor agreed to be the decider, most especially to rub it into some children who were badmouthing him.
'Yeah, real mature Mor.' Mor said to himself before shrugging in his mind.
He scanned the crowd of many many children, searching for nothing in particular. Presumably just wasting time till his mother decided to take matters into her own hands. But as he scanned, he found something that intrigued him.
In the distance, he saw a boy with with blue hair, gloomy eyes and a broken demeanor. The look in his eyes screamed of fear. Not fear from the world below, but from something else, something Mor knew all too well.
"I pick him." MorDrigin said with a point.
At once all eyes traced his finger, till the blue haired boy was singled out. Looking up, he wondered if he had committed some kind of mistake. He wasn't given the chance to find out before the crowd pushed him toward TayDrigin, where he felt his world about to collapse.
"If I did..."
"Hello there young one. Thanks to my son, you now get to be part of my watch." TayDrigin said to the boy, whose eyes widened upon hearing this. "Now tell me, what's your name?"
He hesitated for a while, his gaze now on Mor as he contemplated on what was even going on. Then he finally spoke up, "CalisVon."
"CalisVon. What a cute name." Sai said to the boy, but just then MorDrigin pulled on his sister and stood between her and the boy CalisVon.
"Well son, two more to go." Tay said with her usual smile. And at once Mor got to work.
He once again scanned the crowd, for much longer this time. But he found no one in particular to catch his eye. So he just settled on two of the children gawking at his mother. Two of which never disrespected him or gave him a condescending eye. At least, not that he knew of.
His choice was two girls of very high spirits and looks in their eyes that screamed "I can conquer the world" or something to that degree.
"Oh wow, twins I see." Tay said, pulling Mor's attention. He hadn't even realized the two girls he selected were both twins. How could he have missed that?
Probably because both had two different colors of hair.
"What are your names?" Tay had asked the twins.
"I'm LoriHaden." The twin with red hair had said.
"And I'm MayHaden." The twin with purple hair said.
"Very beautiful names." Tay was the one to compliment their names this time around.
Now full on children to Watch over, an aura of sadness and disappointment permeated the air as the rest of the thousands of unselected children began to feel gloomy.
Which Mor couldn't help but revel in. Unfortunately, he did not get to revel for long, because the Watchers — his set of Amyntors — had reached the edge of the city.
While others began to pick out their Seedlings, a few came over to greet Mor's mother and sister, while adding him as an afterthought.
Mor at this point wished he could just disappear, as the shame he felt seeing those of his peers who actually succeeded where he had failed was painful in a way Mor could not describe.
Several Watchers came over to greet Tay and Sai, before turning to Mor and greeting him with shallow words. Whereas their eyes hid mockery.
Their greetings didn't seem to end until something changed for Mor. Two Watchers he knew all too well came to greet his mother.
One was UmenHowiss, who was once his friend. And the other was InzoGen, his self proclaimed rival and enemy.
They both had greeted TayDrigin. And this time, instead of greeting his sister first, they actually greeted him first.
Though Umen greeted Mor with a genuine modesty, Inzo greeted Mor with the same spite he always had for him even when they were children.
After greeting his sister and heading off, Mor was left with a mix of emotions he still did not know how to describe. All he knew was that it was not pleasant...it hurt even.
Turning away, Mor kept his gaze on the edge and the world below. He wanted to be over with this now, so he would never have to face this hurt again. This was his last chance, and he knew he wasn't going to make it. But for formality's sake, he wanted to get it over with.
An hour went by before all the watchers had picked out their sets of five Seedlings each. More than Ten thousand Seedlings was no easy feet to gather. But they had done it, and just like a timely orchestrated musical number, the Whispers finally rose into the air.
It was time.
No one had to be told before they all lined up at the edge. One Seedling in front of the other.
Mor and his group were the closest to the edge. Peering at Eden, Mor felt strange sensations going through him. Fear, anxiety, anger, disappointment, self loathing. All the negative emotions one could have.
But to his surprise, hidden deep within him...was hope.
Not wanting to linger on this, he turned to his sister.
"Are you ready Sai?" He asked and she shook her head, which made him smile.
Taking her free hand, he held it tight and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't be, I promise you'll do great." Mor said, and almost immediately her fear became alleviated.
Returning his smile, Sai found a renewed vigor, as she held her mother's Ethos tight. Then, Mor turned to his mother and asked.
"Are you ready mom?"
Responding, Tay nodded with a gentle smile.
Then lastly, Mor turned to the remainder of his group.
"If you guys aren't ready. You better be right now, because this is the moment of your life. So you'd either grab the belwerk by the horns, or let it knock you out." Mor said with a smile. Then he let go of his sister and fell backwards.
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