The Progression

Chapter 4- Jeremiah

In white we stood side by side in the centre of the crumbling city.  Fire blazed around us as ashes hailed from the sky, the warm brushes kissing our cheeks. The golden lion etched on her crest roared in the light that surrounded us, its orange eyes glowing with rage.

I noticed we weren't alone. All around us soldiers ran through the ruined city, all bearing that golden crest of the General. An army had assembled.

I turned to her and looked deep within her silver eyes, getting lost in the frostiness. My silvery eyes reflected back at me as I searched for answers, swimming deeper and deeper until she whispered,

"It shall all burn"

I woke up in a cold sweat.

‘Well that was new.’

I had never seen her before in my dreams, neither had I seen that city.

I looked at the clock- 5:35am and although I tried, I couldn't get back to sleep. 

I stumbled into the hallway, the corridor looking long and daunting as I crept quietly towards the library.  I ascended the golden staircase, its steps spiralling beautifully upwards. They seemed to go on forever and I found myself slightly out of breath by the time I reached the oak doors of the library.  I tiptoed inside and made my way straight to the books on The Gifted.

My sisters were Gifted, I had definitely been in that dream and so had the girl; I wanted to know more.

The list of abilities was endless so I thought I’d start with learning more about my sisters’ gifts. Louisa could teleport, that I knew, but I didn’t know it was teleportation with invisibility. The two went hand in hand meaning whenever she teleported she became invisible for a brief amount of time.

“That explains a lot” I whispered to myself.

She always seemed to be there one second and gone the next.

Katrina could manipulate people’s thoughts. With practice she could make anyone think anything she wanted and that would be very dangerous.

I knew our mother had been Gifted, but I had hadn’t been told what her powers were before she passed, and well, the twins had found no reason to tell me. I missed her. I missed her rosy smell, her kind voice and her warm hugs. I pushed the thought out of my head and continued to read, trying very hard to hold back tears.

The Gifted were stronger, faster and smarter than the average person. Before the Master had come into power, there were schools for The Gifted where they could learn, train and practice their powers. Now, this was all done in secret.

The more The Gifted practiced magic, the lighter their eyes became, until they were silver pools of ice. There was nothing else like it. They were cold but they were kind, harsh but soft; a juxtaposition of intertwining moods.

The book had told me that magic wasn’t always inherited, and that was what made The Gifted a rare breed. This explained why despite being twins, it was a shock that both Katrina and Louisa had obtained this trait from their mother. It had been Katrina first when I was five and they were nine, then Louisa three years after that.

I had watched from afar as the twins bonded with each other until they were inseparable. I had watched them bo­nd with our mother, sharing a deeper connection, not by blood but because of their gifts. The memories were so vivid. Father was hardly around- of course his job came first. Mother had spent most of her time teaching the twins to harness their powers and conceal their gifts. I had spent my time with Will and his family.  

“What are you reading?”

I looked up to see Katarina staring down at me. She looked at the books scattered around me and scoffed, “The Gifted? Seriously?”

She started to laugh, “Why would you even care? It’s nothing to do with you.”

I glared at her, gritting my teeth “Shut. Up. Kat.”

She continued to laugh, telling me I’d “never understand” before walking out.

I let my mind wander, scoping the possibilities of being Gifted. I wondered if by some miracle my parents had been Gifted or somewhere down the line my blood relatives had been. I hoped for anything to explain the sheer vividness of that dream.

Ysabella hardly practiced. If she had been caught the master would have sent for her. The Gift has skipped many generations so her family couldn’t help her and she had found solace and advice from Old Edna in her region.

Her life seemed dull without Andrew. He was so important now he’d progressed to sector 10 and become the General’s right hand man. Andrew had called for her many times since he had moved but Ysabella couldn’t face him, not after the last time.  She hadn’t been there since two nights before her own wedding when he had wanted to run away with her to another city. She had obviously refused.

***

“AGAIN!” my trainer yelled.

“Can we please take a break Reynard?” I pleaded.

“We stop when I say we stop.  AGAIN!”

We sparred again, and again, and again, till I could take no more. Reynard had been far from merciful and I needed some down time.

The last few days had rolled into one and I had spent the majority of my time training for the Progression, which was in two days’ time. I was beaten and bruised and I ached all over. I felt weak. Although the Progression was a virtual competition, our bodies had to be physically strong for our minds to follow suit. They were trained as one, and at that moment, I couldn’t help but doubt myself.

“What’s on your mind boy? Not stressing out are you?” Will queried looking slightly concerned.

I nodded.

“It’s okay bud, it’d be weird if you weren’t nervous.”

Will patted me on the back as we walked through the bustling square of the White Region. Despite the time, the sun still blazed above, its rays highlighting the grace and elegance of the capital. Just like the Silver Region, which was laced with traces of silver, the White Region lightly shimmered in gold- the colour of our General’s crest.  

Laughter filled the air as neighbours conversed and children played, all seemingly oblivious to the Progression.  The atmosphere was electric. I suddenly felt a lot better; it was nice to be outside amongst people other than soldiers, out of uniform and feeling ’normal’- Valexia had started to feel claustrophobic.

Will and I grabbed a late lunch and headed to our friend Stevie’s house. Like Will, Stevie was a soldier in the Averian Army and technically, I was their superior. This didn’t matter though; we had been friends for years and I’d promised not to make my rank affect our personal lives.

Stevie greeted us at the door and beckoned us straight to the living room.

“You’re just in time, results are in”.

It was the last day of Sector Five’s Progression and we were eager to see who had triumphed. Moving up a Sector was a great achievement; it meant being one step closer to Sector Ten, the sole sector of the White Region. One step closer to becoming soldiers of Averia, the highest honour one could wish for. We were a city of hope, and our idea was that everyone, no matter where they were born, should hope for bigger and better things. 

Sector Five had done well, with only a handful of competitors failing to succeed. We were eventually joined by two other friends who had just returned from that Progression. Sometimes soldiers volunteered to be obstacles for fun whilst others did it to test themselves against people they didn’t know.

“"Damn. That wasn't easy!" Jay said, grabbing a beer as soon as he entered. "They’re getting better for sure".” 

“Yeah! I swear I nearly died about twenty times" Markus piped in.

We talked, we laughed, we drank. I needed that after the intense week I had and it was definitely needed before the intense week I was about to have.