Wing Weaver (Aviara Academy #1)

1. Aviara Academy

H e was going to make it here, or he was going to die trying.

That was Aeden’s initial thought as he stepped through the large Gothic doors to Aviara Academy.

At least twenty feet tall, the doors were made of dark wood with intricate carvings of the very creatures that the academy taught its students how to tame: Aer-Kin.

The outside of the door had a studded metal frame, with rivets that were bigger than Aeden’s fist, and he found himself getting lost in the sheer size of his new setting.

This was going to be his home for the foreseeable future, and that alone filled Aeden with a level of dread that would consume him if he allowed it.

He had a plan. He had applied and been accepted here just like all the other students. The difference was he had needed to do all the work himself – he didn’t have the backing of a large coin purse to get him his ticket. He had earned his place up to now; the hard work would only start from here.

Aeden took in a deep breath of air as he stood in the doorway to the academy, feeling like a fish out of water. His hands were clammy as he clutched his worn leather bag, which his grandfather had passed on to him. It contained what few belongings he possessed, including a change of clothes.

“Suppose I best get started,” he said to himself.

Scores of people were all gathered in the entrance hall, and there was a buzz of excitement as students hugged their loved ones goodbye while dropping them off along with their large pristine leather bags and fancy wooden trunks.

Large ornate trollies were placed all over, each filled with students’ bags, ready to be taken to their dorm rooms. Academy porters were busy, distinguishable by a gold broach that was pinned to their matching black clothing.

They piled more bags onto the trollies before shipping them away into a different room beyond the main hall.

The main hall itself was huge. The floor was a chequerboard of black and white polished stone, and directly ahead was the main stairwell, which loomed at the back of the hall, splitting off into the left and right wings of the main building.

The walls were clad in dark wood that went high up into the room above, where scores of intricately carved Aer-Kin were perched on ledges as if watching over anyone that entered.

Aeden pushed through the crowded space towards a section where people seemed to be gathering.

“Sorry,” he said as he knocked into a tall, slender man. His hair was slicked back, and he was wearing finery that Aeden could only dream of affording. The man gave him an unimpressed look before continuing to lecture a young woman who Aeden presumed was his daughter.

“Now remember, Isolde, work hard and the academy will reward you. I have seen to that.” He turned, giving Aeden a judgemental look.

Everything about his stature told Aeden this was a wealthy, powerful man, one who Aeden thought he wouldn’t like to be on the wrong side of.

He had a look of authority about him, possibly because of the way he carried himself, or perhaps due to the black cane that he walked with, which Aeden found odd given that he didn’t appear to need it.

He had a large, greying handlebar moustache and a pair of glasses that sat on the end of his nose, behind which sat a pair of dark, untrusting eyes.

“And goodness, whatever you do, be careful who you mix with. Be sure to focus on those from the Offence Aer-Kin bloodline.”

“Yes, Father,” the girl replied with a sigh and shake of her head. Her blond hair was perfectly placed, tied into a plait that ran neatly down the small of her back.

“Can I help you?” a softly spoken voice garnered Aeden’s attention as he was getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the academy entrance.

He turned to see a young woman standing behind a makeshift table that had been placed out.

It would seem that Aeden had made his way to the front of registration.

A whole host of desks were lined up next to each other, spanning from one side of the hall to the other in front of the main stairs.

Each had what Aeden assumed was a student behind it given they were all wearing the same uniform: a dark-blue jacket with a white shirt underneath and an emblem of the academy – an Aer-Kin sitting on a mountain embroidered in gold thread – stitched into the upper righthand side of the jacket .

The student made a polite coughing noise. She seemed friendly enough as she smiled at Aeden, waiting.

“Oh, sorry.” Aeden laughed nervously as he reached inside his jacket pocket to remove his acceptance letter and invitation. He passed the girl the card, which served as his ticket to the academy.

“Thank you,” she said with another polite smile. “Name?”

“Aeden Harrington,” he said, trying to speak above the noise of the hall. It was difficult to hear himself think, let alone talk.

“Harrington, why does that name ring a bell?” the girl said as she started searching over an unrolled parchment in front of her.

“Harrington is quite a common name,” Aeden said with a feigned smile, raising his hand to the back of his head.

“Hmm. Here you are.” The girl passed a tag to Aeden. “Attach this to your bag and place it over there on one of the trollies. The porters will move your bag to your bunkhouse while the director is addressing the cohort.”

“I’d rather carry it,” Aeden said, pulling his bag closer to him.

“The main hall is going to be full to the brim with all the new students. The director has insisted that all bags are left in the entranceway to be transported to the student bunkhouses.”

Sensing that he didn’t have any room to push back, Aeden simply smiled and accepted the tag from the student.

“Once you have placed your bag on a trolly, please follow the corridor all the way down until you reach the main hall. You can’t miss it, as all the other students are already gathering there.”

“Thank you,” Aeden said. “Can I ask you your name?”

The girl’s cheeks reddened slightly. “Kiara,” she said with a coy smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aeden Harrington.”

“You too,” he said before spinning on his heels and placing his solitary bag in one of the trollies as instructed. His nerves spiked with him leaving it there, but he couldn’t afford to push boundaries. Not yet.

He made his way down the bustling hall alongside scores and scores of other fresh-faced students.

Behind them in the entrance hall, Aeden could hear parents saying goodbye and crying.

He had asked his grandparents not to escort him; he would only have worried about them travelling home.

Instead he had hitched a ride on a travelling caravan with what little coin he had to his name.

He could understand the upset; his grandparents had both been the same when he had said his goodbyes to them given what the death rate was for students here. What they were about to do was dangerous.

But Aeden had been preparing his entire life for this.

To become an Aer-Kin rider.

He cast one final look at the entrance hall where he could see parents hugging their children goodbye. It was a sentiment he wished he had the opportunity to share, but that had been taken away from him a long time ago. It was part of the reason why he was here.

He fixed himself up and focused on the main hall.

The hallway itself was decorated with a whole host of portraits on the wall.

It didn’t take long for Aeden to realise that they were all portrait paintings of the former directors of the academy, dating back hundreds of years.

They all held the same self-righteous pose that academics felt they needed to hold.

Head up, like they had caught a bad smell, one hand leaning on a desk or something similar, the other holding a scroll as if it granted them some kind of power.

There was understandably a nervousness in the air – after all, learning to ride an Aer-Kin was no small feat – but overall, the other students seemed excited to be there as they began introducing themselves to each other, already forming cliques as if some of their meetings were premeditated.

It contrasted sharply with how Aeden was feeling; he didn’t feel like he was like anyone else here.

He was here out of necessity, not for honour or fame that came with becoming a reputable rider.

Aeden had his own reasons for applying to the academy.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t nervous or excited.

Only indifferent.

When Aeden reached the main hall, the noise of hundreds of students gathered like cattle immediately threatened to overwhelm him as the students stood around talking to one another while making introductions.

His head vibrated violently, like an earthquake shook the very ground where he stood.

Some students hugged one another and shook hands like they were already familiar with each other, which made Aeden feel like even more of an outsider.

He didn’t belong here. He had been raised on a farm in the eastern territories of Nevaria; that wasn’t where Aer-Kin riders lived.

They lived with prestige, they came from prestige, and although his parents’ names did carry an element of this, Aeden had been orphaned at a young age and had no clear recollection of them.

His memories of them were shattered fragments, like a broken mirror .

“Want to stand with us?” a voice said. The speaker was a young man who was well dressed in fineries, a smart shirt, and a jacket.

He had a thick head of dirty blond hair and a glint in his eye that told Aeden he was all about mischief.

Beside him was a young woman with light brown hair that was tied up into a neat bun.

She was petite in frame and wore equally fine clothes as the man.

Both of them had a nervous energy around them.