Klasmir Unleashed

Chapter 1

I jolted awake, smacking my head on the ceiling.
"Ow," I groaned. I clambered out of bed and down the ladder of my bunk, past my sister still snoring on the bottom bed. I slipped on a tunic and pants, then tip-toed out of our small bedroom, so as not to wake her. I could smell bacon cooking on the stove. My eyes lit up a brilliant blue as my stomach growled. Klasmir power was all well and good, if you're a soldier. But when you're a regular upper-middle class citizen like me? Well, it just makes you stand out.
I walked down the stairs at a leisurely pace. Just before entering the kitchen, I closed my eyes for a moment, letting them return to their usual hazel brown. I stepped inside, and smiled at my Aunt Rakia, who was cooking up a storm.

Ever since retiring honourably from duty in the army, Aunt Rakia had been living with me, my dad and my sister. She pulled her weight, six years fighting the Materoni. She was a legend within our small city, with over twenty-five kills. She always talked about how she was fuelled by determination to avenge her best friend, who was slaughtered in her very first battle after killing a Materoni with Rakia's assistance. She told the story with sorrow in her voice, even after so many years.
"Yasmine was braver than anyone else," she'd say to me and my sister wistfully. "She was incredible."

"Calecon!" My Aunt greeted me with a smile that could warm twenty rooms. "How did you sleep? Excited for your big day?"
Oh. Right. Somehow I'd forgotten about high school graduation, which proves how slow I can be sometimes. I plastered a grin on my face.
"Yep, thanks Aunt Rakia. Well, that smells delicious but I better get to—"
"Not so fast young man. A growing boy needs his food! You will eat. You have plenty of time before those friends of yours will be expecting you." Her tone was insistent, so I sighed and sat down at the table, thanking her when she set a full plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. I dug in, eager to get to school to meet Dagger and Lapis.
Those weren't their real names, of course, we'd devised nicknames when we were barely ten. I was Blaze, and the raw dumbness of it always seemed to cheer me up, in a weird way.

Twenty minutes later I was arriving on the front lawn of the high school. Dagger and Lapis stood there, packs over their shoulders. They grinned stupidly at me.
"Howdy, Blaze!" Dagger, also known as Sarek, said with his rough Ortensin accent. "Whatcha got there?"
I presented them with a burlap sack stuffed full of blueberry choc chip muffins.
"A gift from Jaybird."
Jaybird was our nickname for Rakia, who often joined in with our antics. She was way cooler than most adults, and often acted like she was our friend, not my Aunt.
"YUM!" Lapis, who's real name was Railan, exclaimed heartily, grabbing two muffins and stuffing one in his mouth. I chuckled, passing one to Dagger.
"Ok, we should probably get to class."
"Ugh," said Dagger. "But we got dumb battle tactics. Our teacher can stick 'em classes up 'em noses for all I care."
"Battle tactics ain't so bad," Lapis said, having finally finished his muffin. "If ya listen, you could be like Jaybird one day."
"A veteran? Nah," I joined in. "Dagger's too wimpy for that."
"Oi!"
We continued our banter as we entered the school for what I realised was the last time.
It could be months before I see these guys again, I realised. Once I got in to cadet school to learn to fight the Materoni, my social time would be extremely limited. I'd be living in the training camp, a hundred miles away from the city. There was no question of me getting in to cadet school. Being related to a famous veteran gained me immediate access, though practically everyone who had to actually take the test got in anyway. The army was desperate, and any fool who could swing a sword was useful. They needed people to put on the front lines, after all.
It was a morbid train of thought, but it was how life was. You become a fighter and go die, or you choose a safer job, and always feel a sense of hopelessness. How could people live with the feeling of not being out there fighting? Instead running their grocery store or working the fields, while others fought and died against Gods? No, I would go where the war was, and I would be a soldier. I had warrior blood, even if sometimes I felt like a kid playing dress up. I wasn't really that brave, just happy to follow my legacy.
But today was about us. Me, Dagger and Lapis. Graduation Day, the day we'd all yearned for after thirteen long years of schooling. And so with that, we stepped into class for the last time.

***

"These graduates," Principal Peyra said, standing on the stage. "Have proven themselves to be independent and ready to take on the world. They have shown leadership and responsibility..."
I let her voice fade away as I stood on the stage behind her in my graduation uniform. I pick out my sister, Aithne and my father, Dryden, in the crowd. Aunt Rakia sits next to them, smiling at me. I stood up a little straighter, I was proud to be here.
"And so, that concludes our formal ceremony. Let the real party begin!"
Everybody clapped, and then the graduates were allowed to jump off the stage and find friends or family. I went straight to my small family group.
"Does this mean you're officially an adult now?" Asked Aithne huffily, crossing her arms. She was fifteen, but acted nine years old sometimes. I grinned at her.
"Don't worry, little Flame," Aunt Rakia said, using a nickname for Aithne that came from her name's meaning; fire. "You'll be an old crusty grown up too before you know it."
This didn't seem to improve Aithne's mood, but she hugged me anyway. My father gave me a hug so tight I felt like I was going to suffocate. He pulled away, hand on my shoulders. I noticed a tear in his eye.
"Don't worry dad," I said. "All it means is I don't have to learn stuff anymore."
"But you're going to cadet school," he whispered. "You're going to learn to fight Gods, son."
"In three months I go to cadet school," I corrected. "And I'll probably wash out anyway. You know me, I'm not brave."
Aithne punched me on the shoulder. "Big bro, you're the wimpiest of your generation."
I ruffled her hair, then stepped over to Aunt Rakia.
"You won't wash out," she said softly in my ear as I hugged her. "You'll go in there and you'll be the best fricking soldier there ever was."
I nodded. I was all for following in her footsteps. What else would I do with my life anyway? In my opinion, there's no point defying the will of your elders just for the sake of it.
I'll fight, I thought. Eventually. In three months. But for now, I can just live my life.

A/N: So, what did you think of the first chapter?
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