Realm of the Sun

Chapter 7

Gwendolyn Ng was an archer.

It was what her name meant- Archer. Atleast, her Ardish name. Her Cainese name was Xifeng. West wind. Fitting, for the way her arrows soared through the air, landing true every time. Roza had attempted translating her name into Nebesan, but it didn't end very well and she was left with no Nebesan-appropriate name.

House Ng, the scions of Arachnos, god of the hunt. The blessings of Arachnos varied, some children blessed with simple gifts like perfect vision, or eerily quiet footsteps.

Gwen had it all.

She had advanced vision, nightvision, the quiet footsteps, the self-regeneration, enhanced healing, the excellent health and disease resistance, and the uncanny ability to track things nobody else could.

But best of all, she had perfect aim.

House Ng was famous for producing regular super-soldiers. That's why they were a high house. They were perfect hunters, predators looking for some poor prey to kill.

A long while ago, her father recognized her gifts and taught her everything she needed to know to rise through the ranks of the Elite Army. While she naturally had wider and farther vision that was clearer, her father taught her how to exploit every bit of it. In the periphery of her line of sight, she was told to find different objects and targets, usually fruits from the kitchen that had gone bad. In the forest, they played games like hide-and-seek, where Gwen would do her best to use all of her skills to track her father down.

Nobody liked playing hide-and-seek with her.

Her favourite lessons were the archery lessons, because she knew that no matter where she aimed, the arrow would always land true. She once aimed it at the sky, but telling the arrow where to go meant it struck bullseye every time. Li Ng, her father's Cainese name, was the one who had given her everything.

A proper name.

Proper work habits.

True aim.

Once, she had been brought out to the archery range. She had thought that it was a simple lesson, where she would shoot a moving target and then laugh along with her father. She was wrong- she was very wrong.

It was a sunny day. The sun glowered onto them, the breeze just enough to keep them cool and satisfied. The archery range was in perfect condition, and the grass was a bright, fresh green. Gwen had turned fourteen the other day.

"Xifeng, have you met these two before?" Her father gestured to the two girls holding his hand. Both looked identical- jet black hair tied up in space buns, brown eyes that kissed in the corners, a petite nose, and thin lips. They both wore red and gold qipaos. Gwen couldn't remember which house they were from.

"No, father." She replied. Gwen did not care about the two girls. She was very excited for archery, not socializing.

Li smiled. "I will introduce you. These girls are Aiko and Mariko Arigato, from House Duchy. Does that ring a bell?"

As soon as she heard the last name, she knew who they were. Aiko and Mariko, the twins who were born deaf and used their hands to communicate. She knew a bit of the language of signs they used, but there were so many gestures it was hard to keep up. Aiko and Mariko were from an infamous house- House Duchy had the powers of conduction, the power to manipulate the energy within an Elite's body. If she remembered correctly, Aiko absorbed energy- Mariko redirected it.

She glanced towards the girls once again. Gwen could still not decipher who was who. "I recognize them now."

Both girls looked toward another, gesticulating and somehow communicating with each other. After a brief period of silence one of them spoke up. "It's nice to meet you," she said with a smile.