The Creator's Betrayal

Chapter three - Training

They parked up after arriving at the school, they all exited the car and walked up to the gate which was high and made of black steal with the school emblem built into it, the emblem being the silhouette of a mare raring up on its hind legs.

The school is equipped with a huge track field on the left of the main building while on the right another huge field filled with several obstacle courses on it. They were specified for climbing, running, crawling, jumping, leaping etc…each course equipped for the children to train and learn to control and hone their powers.

The main building was tall, made from smooth black stone giving it a castle look, it looked haunted which was quite intimidating, it scared most people that went there especially some of the children on their first arrival however on the inside it was warm and welcoming with mahogany décor, green diamond printed wallpaper decorated with painted portraits of the founder and all the previous headmasters and headmistresses in the entrance hall, once you passed the entrance hall you will then enter the main foyer with two staircases, one going leading up to the left and one to the right.

The left wing taught children between the age of 13-17 the right 18-20 while ground floor was dedicated to the younger ones which ranged from 7-12 but since the twins had gained their gifts much sooner the age dropped to 5-12.

The walls leading to the three different hallways were all different shades of blue, the corridor leading to the younger children was a light ice blue, the teens were navy blue, and the young adults was royal blue, the colours were to symbolise aging up as well as becoming wiser with age.

Following the theme of age progression, the walls also had silhouettes of many horses slowly growing from energetic foals to challenging colts/fillies to finally becoming strong mature horses to match the school’s emblem, the horses decorated the hall that represented their age group. The uniforms followed the same colour pattern for each age group, youngest would wear comfortable t shirts, jumpers, black trousers, and black shoes. In the summer the boys wore long white shorts, t shirt, white socks and black shoes or sandals depending on how hot it was, girls wore comfortable dresses white socks and black shoes or sandals depending on the weather, both would have cardigans to match the summer uniform.

Winter uniform was snow boots, thick black trousers, long sleeve shirts with jumpers, snow jackets with hats, scarfs, and gloves to match, this applied to all ages as during winter months, they had almost endless amounts of snowfall that would try to bury the land each year making their winter five months long.

The teens would dress slightly less comfortable and bit smarter to help encourage the children to take pride in their appearance, so should they ever need to partake in unique events or even go for job interviews they would know how to always look their best. The boys wore smart button up shirt, black trousers and shoes, the girls wore the same smart button up shirt with either black trousers or black pleated skirts that stopped just below the knees, with black shoes.

The summer uniform was similar to the younger students only it would be smart button up shirt or tank top for the boys and the girls would either wear their shorts, skirts with button up shirts/tank top or a sundress.

As for the young adults the young men would wear smart long sleave button up shirts with a royal blazer, silver and navy tie, black trouser and black shoes, the young women wore the same uniform, or they would wear it with black pencil skirt with black tights and heels if they wished or a silver pencil dress with their navy blazers, with or without tights and heels or smarts shoes.

All the uniforms had their emblem on the left-hand side of their shirts, jumpers, and blazers, it was a silhouette of a horse’s head with its flowing mane. From the teens and under the boys had black horses with silver manes while the girls had silver horses with black manes, the young adults were full colours, silver for the women and black for the men.

Alistair and Zena walked the children to their classroom like they do every day kissed them on the foreheads and wished them a good day at school before heading off to work. The children smiled and waved at their parents and wished them a good day at work then headed into the classroom to get ready for their first lesson.

After they entered the classroom, the twins hung their bags and coats on the peg with my names on it, took out their homework and sat at their desks and greeted their teacher Mrs Sunburst.

As always, they were the first to arrive so during that time Sorren would read his books or write in his idea book or as he calls it his bulb book for his bright ideas while Amethyst would continue with one of her sketches or she would do some puzzle solving to pass the time.

There were fifteen children including the twins in this class due to not many youngsters developing their abilities early this year, last year had two hundred and fifty early bloomers so they had to expand the school to make more space to educate so many children. In the last sixty years or so more and more children have gained their gifts earlier than normal, this worried some, but most put it down to evolution, but the twins knew better.

A few minutes later the class began to fill, the twins were so engrossed in what they were doing that they did not notice that the class was full until Mrs Sunburst cleared her throat and started the school day.

“Good morning class.”

“Good morning, Mrs Sunburst” said the class in unison.

“Did everyone have a good weekends?”

“Yes Miss.”

“I’m glad to hear that, so today everyone we will be discussing elements; each individual has a specific element to them, for example my sister is a fire elemental whereas I am an ice elemental. I will give you a demonstration shortly. We will also be doing some obstacle courses later on in the morning, then after lunch we will be doing telepathic training.” Said Mrs Sunburst with a grin, in response to her pupil’s excitement for today’s planner.

“Now children I will demonstrate what I meant by me being an ice elemental, so everyone behave and do not leave your seats. Is that understood class?” she asked sternly.

“YES MISS.”

She nodded towards the class as she walked to the front where everyone could see. The children waited in anticipation to see what she would do, Mrs Sunburst took a deep cleansing breath and upon exhaling she twisted her hands, so they were facing palm up and in a flash two spirals appeared, spinning like tornadoes made of ice shards swirled around in the air. The children gasped in awe at her ability then suddenly, the ice changed shape into icy beast some flew in the form of birds and rose beetles, some leapt from desk to desk in the form of rabbits and foxes before gathering above the class. The icy creatures chased each other in a circle before exploding into snow that fell quietly onto the students.

The classroom irrupted into applause and praise for their teacher along with a million questions from their excitement.

“MISS THAT WAS SO COOL.”

“I WANT ICE POWERS.”

“HOW DID YOU DO THAT?”

“THAT WAS AMAZING, YOU ARE AMAZING.”

“CAN I CHOOSE MY ELEMENT? IF SO, I WANT THE SAME AS YOURS.”

The twins exchanged looks with open mouths, they could not believe how graceful and effortless their teacher made it look. It was also their first-time seeing ice being manipulated in such a way.

“CHILDREN! Settle down please, settle down. I am able to control ice and snow, that is my element, once you discover your own you will be taught how to master it and then you will all be able to do all kinds of amazing things.” She explained, full of pride with a smile stretching across her face.

Amethyst shot her hand up to ask. “Miss when will we discover our element and how does it happen?” silence befell the classroom as the students waited eagerly for Mrs Sunburst’s response.

“Well Amethyst traditionally as you all know most would obtain their powers from the age of twelve and up. After that each passing year our powers and abilities would grow stronger until we turn eighteen. You see children the night we turn eighteen we get this pulling feeling in our chest that tugs each of us into one of the forests nearby, for me it was Starlight Forest. I walked and walked until I was at the centre of the forest, the moment I stood in the very centre the woods became silent, there was no wind no animal sounds or anything except for mist.”

“Wait, so you walked into the forest and there was only mist?”

“Shwwsh Kai I’m sure Miss Sunburst will explain.”

“Yes, Kai there was only mist that slowly turned into thick fog surrounding me while the snowy leaves started glowing, next thing I knew it started snowing and ice appeared under my feet. Then my body started shaking and all I could feel was an overwhelming amount of power trying to get out, but I couldn’t release it.”

*Gasps*

“So, what did you do Miss?”

“There was nothing I could do Lily. I got really scared because my hair started turning to snow while my skin slowly turned to ice then-.”

“WAIT YOU SLOWLY BECOMING A SNOWMAN!”

“That’s scary I don’t want an element now.”

“Or me like what if we fully turn into the element?”

“NOPE NOT HAPPENING!”

The room erupted into a fearful protest against gaining an element, the children were full of fear while only two of them were curious and somewhat excited more than anything.

“Children calm down, listen to me everyone.” Commanded Miss Sunburst as she clapped her hands to calm them. With their full attention on her she continued the story of her experience, but she could sense the lingering fear emanating from them. “Much better. Now, it was really scary because I didn’t know what was going to happen but yes, I did become a snowman well in my case a snow lady hehe. My hair turned to snow, my skin became ice and every time I breathed snowflakes came out. It was strange I was no longer afraid, and it felt right to become the element fully and I no longer felt the overwhelming power anymore because it wasn’t power, I was feeling it was my element. Just like our abilities and powers grow with us as we get older so does our element, but it can only grow so much inside before it is time for it to be released so we can wield it. But before I could do anything a giant, she wolf appeared before me, she must have been at least nine ft tall, her fur was pure snow white while her nose and claws were ice blue but her eye were the purest silver I have ever seen. I was stunned when I first saw her because she was so beautiful her voice even more, so which shocked me because I didn’t expect a wolf to be able to speak. She told me her name was Isfrid in the softest, graceful voice I have ever heard, and once our introduction was out of the way she explained why I had turned into a snowman. She said that’s how our element reveals itself to us by becoming one with us so that we can understand it better, I know that sounds a little odd but when the time comes you will understand exactly what I mean.” She grinned all giddily, the children now calm clung to her every word waiting for the rest of the story.

“After explaining the basics to me which I am not allowed to tell you because you guardian will be the ones to teach you these thing especially since it is different for everyone, even if you have the same element as another it will still be different due to the individual as will your guardian no one has the same one. This is because each guardian is born when you are, they grow with us, they watch over us until they are ready to make themselves known. This is what Isfrid explained to me before she taught me how to use my element for defence, attack and how to heal either myself or others around me. We trained for what felt like a very long time but once she deemed me ready to wield my power without further training my icy skin and snowy hair began to melt back to its original state. I was a little sad that I was no longer fully one with my element because I got used to it but I could still feel it within and that was enough. I thanked Isfrid for her guidance but before I could say my goodbye the fog started swirling around me, Isfrid retreated slowly into the fog until the only thing visible was her eyes. Then at the blink of an eye I was back at the entrance of the woods with the ability to control ice and snow.” As Miss Sunburst finished her story the students were stunned some with their mouths agape, Miss Sunburst chuckled at her student’s reaction as they reminded her of when she was their age when her teacher told her class about her elemental blessing.

“Miss, does everyone meet an animal and have you seen Isfrid since then?” Sorren asked full of anticipation.

“Yes Sorren, everyone meets their spirit animal who will guide them when they are needed and yes, I have seen Isfrid since that night. Should I ever need her Isfrid would summon me to her domain in my sleep and offer her wisdom and advice. Even if it was something as little as a problem I was having at home Isfrid is there for me.” A small smile kissed the corner of her mouth thinking of her guardian.

“Miss how do you know what your element will be?”

“Well Archer, no one knows exactly, no one has known even from the very first warrior but there is a theory. Some theorise that our elements are reflections of our souls for example, my sister has a fiery personality, strong, aggressive and a temper that can rival a volcano hehe but she is also very passionate, caring and protective of her loved ones, because of that her flames are a reddish pink colour. Whereas I am the complete opposite, I’m more calm, cool, and collected, a little passive, and I’m a bit of a loner, and very independent but I will always do what I can to quell arguments, physical fights and protect all my loved ones. Some think it also ties into what type of animal comes to guide us, for example my element is of a wintery nature where most wolves tend to live in wintery climates if not that then it may be due to our personalities may match that animal’s nature.”

The children pondered over the information Miss Sunburst had given, each of them slowly got excited the more they thought about what element they might have brewing within them and what their animal mentor would be. The next moment the class erupted into excitement chatting to one another as they guessed who would have which element and what animal would greet them. Amethyst secretly hoped it would be the bat companion she always imagined but something deep down told her that wouldn’t be the case, especially since sometimes dark royal blue eyes with strawberry red irises watch her in her dreams from a distance but whenever she tries to approach them, they vanished. Until now she never knew what that meant and thought it best to keep it a secret, but it seems her guardian is already with her, but what did that mean? Did Sorren have the same dreams if not similar ones? Does this mean they will be blessed with their elements sooner than the others? Her mind overflowed with what seemed like never ending questions, questions that no one could answer.

Little did she know that her brother had the exact same thoughts and questions racing through his mind, he two dreamt of watchful eyes only the ones in his dream were dark blood red with sky blue irises. Although they may be frightening to others if they could see them, they brought nothing but safety and comfort to him.

That’s when it hit them there was only one place in the motherland that could possibly answer the mountain of questions they had, a place that all feared to visit second only to the cursed woods, The Phoenix tail temple.

It is a forgotten temple filled with knowledge of the old days and is heavily guarded by the fire birds or so they say. The astralights believe the temple is an old wives’ tale, a myth a legend but the twins knew better.

On the night of their fifth birthday, they shared an identical dream where they walked up to the entrance of the mountain path together as something was calling to them where the phoenix birds reign over, as they entered the path they were greeted by the king and queen of the phoenix birds. The leaders sang their welcoming song to the pair before gracefully taking flight and igniting the sky in black and white flames illuminating the path that would lead Sorren and Amethyst to the temple. The children followed the blazing path that led them up the steep mountain face until they reached the entrance of a cave where the forgotten temple resided. As the two prepared to enter the ominous cave their path was blocked by black and white flames, the king and queen still in their flaming forms spoke to them and instructed that neither shall enter until they had met their guardians only then would they be ready to retrieve the answers they anxiously seek, before they got a chance to ask anything the dream turned to black and twins began falling before bolting up right from their sleep. Since then, the two would discuss what it meant and why nobody else knew of the temple. They asked their grandmother about it since she had a lot of knowledge from the old days but she told the two to keep it a secret for now and that when the time is right she will tell them all she knows.

As the twins pondered over this a question popped into Sorrens head.

“Miss will we be learning about guardian or is it something that we cannot be taught?” asked Sorren, the classroom fell silent as the student waited for their teacher’s response. “As much as I would love to say yes, the answer unfortunately is no. the reason we do not teach anything about guardians in school is because our guardians are the ones who teach us about them themselves. They do this when you meet them, they transport you to their domain where time flows differently. We do not know the exact science behind it but from what we can gather from it is that we entre their domain at the stroke of midnight and return at dawn on our eighteenth birthday. However, while we are in their realm your guardian will train you and educate you on your element for six years which means one hour in our realm is one year in theirs, that is what we assume but it’s different for everybody, some will be there longer some shorter, but no one truly knows why. The longest someone has been in a guardian’s realm is ten hours and should you have any questions about them or something that we do not know they will be able to tell you” Explained Miss Sunburst, and once again the students were stunned to silence their minds full of racing thoughts about their future guardians. While the others grew excited the twins grew hopeful, they had hope that some of their long unanswered questions could finally be answered.