Descendent of the Sky

Coming Home: Ronan POV

Standing on the top of the mountain stage among the other recruits who survived the two-year deployment is surreal. Everything looks different standing up here. The people to my left and right aren't strangers, but they're people who I've spent the last 6 years of my life working closely with. 

I used to be the one standing in the crowd, listening to names of the graduates and the names would pass me by. There were occasional moments where I would experience some recognition from around the faction, but for the most part the names left me as soon as they were said. Now, I remember each name of my fellow cadets- the ones who made it and the ones who didn't.

I never wanted to join the war guild. My family has always been farmers, and I love the work we did. It was rewarding to know that the effort I put to care for the soil, plants and animals could feed families I didn't even know- I reveled in it. The sweat, the muck, the way the air tasted on my tongue. 

Some people in the faction look down on the farmer's guild members because of all the dirty work we have to do- but they don't get to see the fields through the seasons or the animals as they grow. The rest of the faction would change their attitudes, I'm sure, but we- I mean they, don't need the recognition in the farming guild. The reward is in the time you spend with your family, the service you do for your community, and the freedom of living off the land.

On the day of my tenth birthday, my first gift manifested - the power of wind. It wasn't unexpected; both my parents possess wind gifts, and I was thrilled to officially take on my own shifts on the farm. A lot of the tools are wind powered, and so I was able to start sowing fields and spreading fertilizer and take on more responsibilities.

However, the trajectory of my life shifted when my second gift manifested - the rare and formidable power of lightning. At 16, I felt special for having a rare ability that people tend to fawn over. I didn't think about hiding it, I was ready to show it off to my classmates and instructors. Then, the next thing I knew, there were two war guild generals at my family's doorstep.

My father's face had beamed with pride in a way I had never seen before. He had reveled in the prospect of having a war guild member in the family. Their visit turned into their own declaration, stating that it was my duty to the faction to use my gift in the war guild, and anything else would be a waste. In turn, they promised that my family would be taken care of and provided for as long as they resided with me. 

I hardly had a chance to consider the fact that I was throwing away the future I'd already imagined and loved, all I could see was my father beaming at me and so I nodded my head to say yes.

So here I am, standing on the top of the mountain stage, looking at my faction that should be the same but it feels so different. When I left, my mother had been just about to have her baby, and although I know the baby won't remember my absence, I can't help but feel that I've missed out. I've missed the big moments, first steps, words, baby giggles... My family is the most important thing to me and this guild just rips me away without a second thought. 

My only salvation is knowing that for as long as I'm alive and with the guild, my family can have the luxuries that they deserve.

The sounds of the ceremony continue, now the chief is talking but it just sounds like a dull roar with occasional clapping. My ears start to ring and my chest tightens as I see the coffins being carried up the steps. This ceremony is also the official funeral for the cadets who didn't make it through their duty stations. In our graduating class of 76, there were 20 lost. At my station, we only lost one cadet, Thea, but she died in a training accident rather than in any of the raids.

No faction would directly attack an opposing faction's base as it would most certainly mean war. However, that didn't stop them from hiring mercenaries to raid our supplies, stop our trade routes, or just straight up assassinate anyone with gifts that were deemed to be advantageous. I was kept in separate housing, away from the other cadets because of this. We trained together, but at night when the other cadets went to sit by the fire and talk the night away, I was ushered into a separate building with reinforced walls because I was deemed too important to die in any potential bombings. I was to be kept safe- because I am deadly, and a war would call for as much death and destruction as it could. I am no longer a caretaker of life and growth, instead I am death waiting for someone to challenge me.