10. Oren
Chapter 10
Oren
I was sitting in my office in the gymnasium, the only modern building on campus. The gym was massive, half of the building was dedicated to conditioning with a fighting ring, climbing walls, workout apparatus, uneven bars, and various other equipment. Separated by a large wall that didn’t quite make it to the ceiling, were insane obstacle courses that would help prepare the Passives for initiation. Even as an instructor, I didn’t know what the academy had planned for the initiates.
I didn’t have to worry about a training regimen. The Academy changed the obstacle courses from year to year, sometimes even day to day. No one knew when Emberhold would take each Passive to initiation. Fortunately, the Academy cared enough to try to prepare them. I usually didn’t give a shit, I had enough on my plate. But this year was different.
Some Passives were ahead of the curve because their families started training them at a young age. The unlucky were the students new to the Aurathion culture. The ones who thought they were completely human until the Council began actively looking for those with Aurathion ancestry. The Council members were patting themselves on the back at the success of their little program. I bet they changed their tune after they were all killed during initiation.
I remembered my initiation. It was amazing. I was thrown into a dimension where even the plants would try to kill you. The extreme heat drained my energy, and I fought creatures I could never have imagined. I loved it when the odds were stacked against me. It was rare I was actually challenged by anything.
I grinned, thinking about the look on my professors’ faces when I appeared back at the Academy. My body had been entirely black from the blood of the creatures I killed, only the whites of my eyes showed. I thought the massive smile on my face probably threw them for a loop. If I were allowed to experience it all again, I would. It wasn’t often that causing death and destruction was allowed.
I still had hope then. I knew that every skill I developed would protect my Faction. I was proud of what I brought to the table and was excited to be part of something bigger than me. A found family because my own was fucked.
I had always been a little unstable. I never cared about friendships or making alliances like the rest of my family. The only friends I’d ever had were the Moon twins. They hid it well, but they were almost as unhinged as me. I had a grin on my face thinking about the shit we got up to when we first started attending Emberhold. Things even I shook my head at now.
I decided to end the friendship when I became aware of the things brewing in my future. I hated it but there were moves I needed to make, and things I needed to keep hidden, until I was ready. I’d noticed in the last year that they were getting desperate. They even tried the ritual with my stepsister, dodging a bullet with that one. I’d attempted the ritual myself early on with several girls who were hungry for my dick. Luckily it didn’t take, or I would have had a life full of regret. That’s a lie, more than likely they would have met with an unfortunate accident. I wasn’t one for sacrificing my happiness because of one little mistake.
Suddenly, my door opened so forcibly that it bounced off the wall. Looking up, I raised my hands, and sparks came to my fingertips. Seeing it was my stepsister, Kristine, I quickly lowered my hands. She was holding an ice pack to her nose and had medical tape on it to hold it straight.
“You need to do something about the bitch that did this,” she dropped into one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“I don’t have to do shit about anything. Your problems aren’t mine.” I yawned in boredom. I was familiar with her dramatics. She was exactly like her mother. When Diane joined my father’s Faction after the loss of my mom in the war, she brought all the drama and none of the substance. I wasn’t sure the Faction had a peaceful day since.
Changing her tactics, she whined, “But she hit me for no reason. I was talking to one of the found Passives, and she took offense.”
“I hate to repeat myself, but I don’t give a shit. So, take your ass wherever it is you’re supposed to go. I don’t have time for your preschool drama.” I twirled around in my chair, demonstrating clearly, I had the time but not the desire.
Kristine smiled slightly, “It was the Hawthorne girl that hit me.”
Well, that changed things. The Hawthorne family had pissed a lot of Aurathions off by not replacing their lost Faction. Aurathions with less power were forced by the Council to replace members lost to the war. I’d heard a lot of grumbling at the different gatherings I had attended, unhappy with this. Even though it was twenty-five years in the past, a lot of the Factions were in turmoil due to the Council’s mandate. So, to say they were pissed that the more powerful Factions refused the mandate, was putting it mildly.
I lost my mother when I was four. The Storm family did their duty and started going through the process of looking for a Passive to fill her place. My father interviewed several Passives until they decided on Diane. She was a daughter of a prominent Faction who had strong abilities. Diane had never found a Nexus and at thirty, hadn’t expected to. She had a daughter and was married to a fellow Passive. She left his ass in the dust when the opportunity arose to become Faction and access her abilities. That says everything about her character, so she fit right in with my father’s Faction. Diane was tied to the Storm Faction when the blood ritual was performed, and she was compatible. Her ability turned out to be fire, so she was an excellent addition. Most of the Storm Faction had developed elemental power in one way or another.
I wasn’t fond of Diane. My childhood was shit because of the conniving bitch, not to mention the conniving bitch she produced. Father dearest loved to talk far and wide about following the rule of the Council, even though his Faction was only surpassed in power by the Hawthorne Faction. He was the one that passed the mandate, so I didn’t find his actions noble.
“I saw her name on the roster. I already have an addition to her first obstacle course planned. Let’s see if she can live up to her mother’s abilities.” I smiled in anticipation.
Kristine was almost bouncing in her seat with excitement. “I think I’m going to hang out here and watch.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you do. I’m not doing any of this for you,” I sneered, standing up to leave the room.
Entering the gym, I leaned against a wall partially hidden in the shadows. I wanted to have a good view as the students started filing in.
The Passive students walked into the gym, most had looks ranging from caution to outright fear. Then, a group strolled in with the Moon twins. My gaze homed in on the raven-haired girl directly in the middle. I was stunned at her beauty. Those eyes looked like polished gold. I saw her laughing at something the guy next to her said. Both dimples were on full display. The guy put his arm around her, looking like your typical boy next door, high school prom king all the way. What a fucking douche.
The twins' eyes were laser-focused on her. I wondered if they were going to attempt the ritual with her—poor, desperate bastards. The guy behind her was a massive motherfucker. His hands were twice the size of mine, and I wasn’t small. Coming in at 6'5", I didn’t look up at many men, but this dude had me by at least a couple of inches. Bouncing behind them was the twins' annoyingly hyper sister, Chloe.
Well, it looks like she didn’t wait long to surround herself with allies; it wouldn’t do her any good. I planned on testing her strength, and none of the bitches surrounding her would be able to do shit about it. Her beauty had left me stunned for a moment, but it wouldn’t change anything. Let’s see what she was made of. Waiting until everyone was seated in the stands. I walked out of the shadows to address the class.
“Hello Passives, my name is Oren Storm, and I’m here to ensure you survive the initiation. Some of you are new to our culture. You have no idea what’s coming for you, and it’s my job to see that you’re prepared. I will do my best to give you a chance, but it’s your job to pay attention and make the most of what I teach you. I won’t repeat myself or hold your hand through any of this. At the end of the day, it’s your life on the line, not mine. Honestly, I don’t expect most of you to make it.” I smiled at the terror on their faces. What a bunch of little bitches.
Looking directly at Reverie, I smirked, “We’ll begin with obstacle courses. I incorporated a few surprises, but Emberhold created them. I have no idea what the Academy will throw at you because it’s different every year. You will perform these alone, just like your initiation.” Damn I loved making this speech every year. There was nothing like the scent of terror in the air.
Was that stupid girl smirking at me? I frowned. That just wouldn’t do, she must be taught a lesson. Her ridiculous family probably put her on a pedestal and never made her train at all. My father had always said the Hawthornes thought they deserved special treatment. I was about to show one member of their family that I didn’t abide by that bullshit. You couldn’t survive in our world without putting in the work.
The Moon twins made their way out of the stands to go to the stations I had assigned them. It was apparent that neither wanted to leave Reverie’s side. Those two fuckwits weren’t doing her any favors by coddling her. Zeke and Zane were known for their ruthlessness, but it looked like it didn’t extend to her. More’s the pity.
Unlike Zeke and Zane, I wouldn’t be coddling anyone. I truly didn’t give a fuck about most of the Passive’s survival. Training to pass initiation was a personal responsibility and if you didn’t have the sense to recognize this, the Aurathions didn’t need you. Staying at the academy was of utmost importance to me, so I had to fake it occasionally. I’m not sure the dean was fooled but, my ruthlessness had saved more Passives than it hurt.
Looking at my roster, I started putting the Passives in groups, little Hawthorne just happened to find her way into mine. I noticed Prom King had a mini breakdown when placed in Zeke’s group. Zeke leaned close to him and said something that had him relaxing his posture and losing his attitude. Very interesting. They looked to be forming a friendship. Some would even say bonding. Hmmm, I wonder why that was.
We had about thirty Passives to a group. There were two classes: Group One trained for the first two hours after lunch, then switched with Group Two and went to conditioning. I was the instructor of both, lucky them.
Looking over my group, I could pick out the newly found Passives. Some looked like they’d been training, some looked like they had never trained a day in their ridiculous lives. I bet most wouldn’t make it through my training, much less initiation.
“OK, let’s get started.”
Behind me stood a course with a series of obstacles. The course started with students scaling up to a narrow beam several feet in the air, where the Passives had to keep their balance until they came to a series of climbing walls that got progressively larger, followed by an extremely tight maze with many twists and turns. Darts were shot out at different points, leaving glowing marks on the students on impact. The course ended with the Passive going through a dark, narrow tunnel that was deceptively simple. Emberhold Academy imbued it with the ability to expose them to their worst fear. Some didn’t make it out of training completely sane. I personally believed you couldn’t be completely sane if you made it through.
Passives from past groups that barely made it through had chosen to leave Emberhold and integrate back into human society, giving up any chance of coming into their abilities. I guess their thought process was, if they couldn’t survive training, they couldn’t survive initiation. Spoiler alert: they were right.
“Aren’t we going to change into workout clothes?” a cocky-looking guy in the back asked. I loved this part.
I smiled, “Do you think the Academy will give you time to change before throwing you into your initiation? I’ve seen Emberhold pull guys standing at a urinal pissing. If it’s important to you to be in workout clothes, I suggest you wear them morning, noon, and night.”
“This first attempt won’t be timed. Starting tomorrow, that will change, and every attempt should get better. Then we’ll move on to the next course.
These courses will get more challenging as soon as you master them. Emberhold makes damn sure of that.”
“What if we still can’t do it?” A tall, extremely slim, blond girl in the back asked. She was biting her nails, and her face was flushed in unattractive red blotches. I would bet my left nut she was going to find out.
Checking my list, I saw her name was Cassandra Silt, “Then you better hope you get the chance to drop out before the Academy decides to start your initiation,” I had no sympathy for her. She should have prepared better. “Those new to our culture will find we like to weed out the unworthy. There’s not enough Nexus to bring out our abilities. We don’t need Passives who are weak blocking the line.” Good riddance, to any Passive that were as pitiful as this girl. We didn’t need Factions made up of weak cowards. Her ability would probably end up being able to tell a person’s name by smelling their ass.
I couldn’t wait to see how Reverie handled the special surprise I had in store for her. If she made it out, nothing was guaranteed. Her last name meant shit to me. Making it through my tests and the Academy’s was going to be based on her ability and nothing else. I wanted to rub my hands together and laugh evilly, like a super villain.
I had brought a little something special back from our home world. My pride and joy, Pantar. His name meant Midnight in the Aurathion language, and I loved the vicious, blood-thirsty Fellat. I’d found him as a cub and brought him back to raise. The beast was more of a friend than a pet. He usually came and went as he pleased, and since he chose to remain invisible most of the time, no one had found out about him yet.
Unfortunately, I could only see Pantar when the big Fellat chose. Fellats only bonded with Nexus. Faction members gained the ability through them. I had looked forward to bonding with my beloved friend, so when it never happened, I assumed that I was destined to be Faction.
I had noticed Pantar hanging around the gym and my office all day. As soon as the Passives filed in, he settled near the stands, becoming invisible. The Fellat were an intelligent species. They had many different abilities, some Pantar had been willing to share. They could be extremely vicious and cunning, sometimes hunting for fun and not just to eat. My Pantar was especially fearsome, and that’s why we made such perfect companions.
Fellats resembled a panther but were the size of a small horse. They ranged in many colors not found in this world. The beautiful animals all had massive, serrated teeth with two large incisors; it was a mix between a shark and a saber-toothed tiger. Two massive fur-covered tentacles were just below the shoulder muscles. Instead of suckers, they had small spikes that they used to kill their prey and hold them while they feasted.
Pantar was solid black except for his two front legs that were covered in fur and shimmered with a dark amber hue. He was beautiful and majestic, and loved nothing more than the taste of fresh blood. Apparently, not being raised in the wild didn’t reduce his violent nature.
Fellats had been a big part of the Factions of old. They would bond with the Nexus first and guard them until their Faction was complete and they could access their power. There was not as much mystery involved with finding out your designation before our world went to shit. One of the many things the Aurathion people lost because of the war. Or so the Council wanted us to think.
No matter, it was time to put the Hawthorne girl to the test. I’m sure that the Academy had some special surprises to go along with what I had planned. Reverie better hope that she inherited her family’s talents because her life might depend on it. This was going to be fun.