Marc Arden and the Siphilon Academy

- Middenheim

Marc rode in silence, he had too much to process in his mind. Dom had just finished explaining how an entire system of elements worked. Marc and Scarlett learned an array of elements they might face in battle. Elements can also be influenced by Siphs to evolve their behavior around their benders.

According to Dom, Anentimos was the mastermind behind the Offbendi Coalition. Even his alias 'Anentimos' means 'Dark Wit' in Lorenzic, Siphilons found him very cunning and hard to deal with, so much so that the Offbendi themselves exiled him. Dom also mentioned that it was Delaneira who struck a blow on Anentimos to seal his isolation, making him too weak to maintain power among the Offbendi ranks. No one knew why Anentimos supported the Offbendi. He was powerful enough himself, able to channel Time and bend it to his will. His powers scared Marc.

Dom added that by k********g Scarlett, he predicts that the Offbendi are desperate more than ever to find their precious Sun bender. Dom made it obvious that if Scarlett was ever captured, he would never have forgiven himself.

On top of all this information, Marc still had Scarlett to deal with. She never looked at him straight in the eye and would only talk to him when necessary.

And to prove her point to Marc, she rode on Paderon, behind Dom, all the way to the outskirts of Middenheim. Not that Marc was complaining, he still hadn't forgotten about his stiff neck.

Marc rubbed his neck in reminiscence. He glanced at Scarlett and she shot him an alarmed look, then pointedly fixed her stare ahead of her.

Marc decided he would talk to her later, after talking to his sister about his girl troubles. He felt it was the best approach, seeing as he put immense thought into the matter. He also decided he can talk to his sister and mother about absolutely anything - his dreams about them giving him an odd sense of familiarity.

They reached the outskirts of Middenheim well past midnight, with the moon out in the open sky, glittered with constellations of stars. The sky was the deepest blue, the exact opposite of Arcane's plumage. Triggering Marc to feel an aching that Arcane wasn't with him.

Dom mentioned it was because he needed to absorb as much heat inside him to survive through the night comfortably.

An eerie whistling of wind soothed everyone from the silence. Marc had an elating inkling Scarlett was up to it.

Dom led their group to the front gates of Middenheim. Even at this hour, there were many lights shining through the gaps in between the gate's metal bars.

Dom had wistfully described to Marc and Scarlett that Middenheim was immensely huge and populated, but because they had arrived at night, they missed out on most of the city's size.

With a loud clang that interrupted the wind, a guard opened a metal trapdoor and droned out in a bored and tired voice.

"Purpose of visit?"

Dom looked confused as he approached the guard at the trapdoor on horseback.

"Just visiting, why?"

"We will now commence a body check, please dismount your horses. Recent troubling events call for security measures." His tone implied that "Recent troubling events" weren't recent anymore.

Dom beckoned Marc and Scarlett to dismount.

A pair of peacekeepers swung open the gates and marched towards them. Dom went closer to the guard.

"Could you brief me on the recent events please?"

"Two fire explosions in the eastern part of the city and a massive pipeline burst here in the northern part of the city."

Dom nodded and thanked the guard, he turned to leave when the guard spoke,

"Why, may I ask, are you visiting the city at this time of the hour?"

Dom thought to himself for a fraction of a second, then turned back around.

"We were delayed by bandits and needed a place for refuge."

The guard nodded, eyeing Dom's forehead cut.

The peacekeepers rummaged around their bags and collected all their weapons, throwing them into a pile beside their horses.

Dom sighed and followed the peacekeepers when they called upon him.

Marc and Scarlett silently watched Dom as he discussed the reasons for their carrying a load of weapons. Scarlett sat on the ground next to Paderon, still in her leather armor.

The air around Marc grew very chilly, so Marc summoned his Fire out of its stupor and warmed himself internally.

Scarlett noticed the almost imperceptible glow of his skin and sighed unhappily. It was then did Marc feel it couldn't wait for later, he had to do it now or he'd go crazy.

Marc made a show of going around closing up all their bags, making sure everything was alright, he purposefully left the bag next to Scarlett for last.

After closing the last bag, he sat down next to Scarlett.

"I'm sorry," Marc said.

Scarlett's eyes flashed dangerously.

"You don't have to be, you've been through so much. Especially from me. I'm the one who has to be sorry."

"Scarlett…-" Marc began but Scarlett interrupted him.

"So I'm really sorry Marc. For all the things I've put you through. But I can't do this right now, I'm so sorry!" Scarlett's voice shook as she stood up to leave.

"No, wait!" Marc said, catching Scarlett's wrist, and rising to his feet.

Scarlett turned around, suddenly confident in facing Marc. He took this opportunity to talk to her finally. Tears formed at the precipice of her eyes.

Marc squeezed her hand.

"I understand Scarlett. But I really mean that apology. You've been through god knows what when you were younger. Losing your parents and what not!" Marc said in a pained voice.

"And when you left us, the hell those men put you through, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, you must've been so terrified!" He continued.

Marc noticed the tiny cuts on her face and the shades of bruises underneath her skin.

"I didn't know what to do, Marc! I don't even understand my own powers and I hurt you so much because of it. I wouldn't help anyone by being with them. I'm too dangerous."

"That's not true" Marc concluded softly.

"But it is," Scarlett whispered in a low dangerous voice. "Don't honestly think you believe that."

Scarlett pried her hands out of his grip and walked a few paces away to get some air.

Just then, Dom returned from his discussion with the peacekeepers.

"All good?" Asked Marc, trying and failing to keep his voice even. It cracked halfway, making him scream internally.

"I guess so. They confiscated our swords. Let us keep Falcata and my bow and quiver though." Replied Dom, getting ready for the ride into Middenheim.

"And your Diochete. They certainly don't know your Diochete is way more dangerous than the swords" Marc chuckled.

"Oh, but they do. Siphs are allowed full rights over their Diochete's." Dom countered.

"Those peacekeepers are Siphs?" Marc exclaimed, perplexed.

"Yes. Middenheim is completely run by Siphs. Syníths - that's the Lorenzic word for humans - usually keep to small villages and towns. When elements are channeled, a Spectre radiates out of the bender. When Syníths look through a Spectre, they would probably see something dangerous, like for example a fire. A war between Siphs would look like a natural disaster. Spectre's don't affect Siphs."

Marc allowed himself a smile at that. They hoist the bags the peacekeepers had pulled out, up onto their horses and they were good to go.

Scarlett sidled up to Paderon - her arms swinging by her side - and swung herself up behind Dom.

Without another word, Dom bounded past the gates and into Middenheim. Marc followed as fast as he could. Conflagre whinnied loudly and raced behind Paderon.

Marc chanced a glance around the city, allowing Conflagre to lead them by his own free will. There were many alleys connected to the main road, leading to many housing complexes. Placed along the road were tall street lamps with electrical wires running along the top of the poles. The main road led to a grand rotary of roads, with a stone sculpture of a star standing in the middle of the rotary circle. Marc squinted at the star and realized it was floating, not standing. He sensed a loop of Wind placed underneath it. The opposite side of the rotary, spaced out as a mess of stalls, was the market. Two other sets of main roads were connected to the left and right sides of the rotary.

Marc took control over Conflagre, steering him behind Dom as they rode through the right side road. This main road was decorated with rows of short torches on either side that streamed towards a large monumental white building that sported a border of pillars and a tall tower with a dome at the center of its body. Turrets of watchtowers and spiked roofs shot upwards. The building alone was designed with many arched corridor entrances and rows upon rows of dark windows. Wooden brackets of torches were placed around every nook and cranny of the building, illuminating it in the night sky.

"The Hall of Elders." Dom enlightened proudly.

Marc took it all in, astounded. He realized he had been gaping and shut his mouth quickly.

They continued all the way down the path to what was best described as the main square with the only sound of the horses' hooves trudging across the cobblestone paving to listen to.

Once they reached the main square, Marc almost missed Dom's signal to stop, as he was blinded by the black spots dancing in his eyes, enkindled by the flaming torches.

Marc carefully headed over to Dom and Scarlett, who had already dismounted. Dom clutched Paderon's reins to steer him into an alley - placed in between two massive stores - as he walked on foot.

Suddenly, Scarlett ran to Dom and hugged him. Tears cascaded down her cheeks from between her closed eyes.

Dom jumped and let go of Paderon's reins, overwhelmed immediately. A second later, he tucked Scarlett under his chin, awkwardly hugging her back, before letting go quickly.

Marc almost laughed at the sight of Dom's face. The man hadn't moved an inch, staring at Scarlett in shock. He cleared his throat and swallowed, before resuming his walk down the alley of houses.

"We'll be heading over on foot from here. The Elbendi sound the alarm when they receive new Siphs. Might as well make ourselves as vulnerable as possible so they don't stay too suspicious of us." Dom spoke hurriedly.

Marc took hold of Conflagre's reins and led him over next to Paderon. Scarlett followed behind him, hastily wiping the last blotches of tears off her face.

"And where will we be going first?" Inquired Marc, the eagerness in his voice was palpable.

Dom winked at Marc and replied,

"Why, we'll be meeting Lady Delaneira. She lives in the same neighborhood as your mother."

Marc felt his heart flutter in excitement. His mind swam with possibilities of how his mother would accept him. If she would be proud or have more expectations of him.

Dom read his expressions so accurately that his next reply was so reassuring.

"Marc, give her a chance, she is your mother. A mother never lets go of her children. For one I know, she is the most accepting woman ever." Dom's eyes shined a small smile on his face made him look so much younger.

If anyone nearby were to look out the window, they'd be so puzzled at the sight of such an eccentric family. Marc had never been in a city this large before. The architecture of Middenheim and the culture of Siphs comprised of many things foreign to Marc.

They walked in silence across a pavement decorated with lush bushes and trees. Dom looked exceptionally alive. Marc smiled at the fact that Dom too was fascinated by the city.

Scarlett skipped in front of the two men, lost in thought.

"Hold it Scarlett! Come here quick." Said Dom. He held out his hand in front of Marc, then proceeded to rummage around his duffel bag fastened on Paderon's back.

He brought out three jackets with hoods that hung low.

"Put these on!" Dom handed a jacket each to Marc and Scarlett, then wore one himself.

The hood covered Marc's entire forehead. Marc walked cautiously behind Dom, annoyed that his view of the sky was obstructed. Scarlett simply didn't acknowledge the presence of a jacket around her.

She continued forward, humming to herself.

A few paces further, the first sign of life in the city came into view for the three travelers.

A young woman was outside her house, in the front garden, lost in the operation of clipping her flower bushes into shape. She had brown hair and fair skin and wore a lavender dress that swept the grass at her feet.

Dom walked at a brisk pace to the front fence of the woman's house, but Marc caught his hand before he could move any closer.

"That's my mother?" Marc whispered furiously. Dom raised an eyebrow, then shook his head. Marc let him go, embarrassed.

Dom reached the front fence, lowering his hood.

"Pardon me, my lady. Could I know where house twenty-nine upon two stands?" Dom asked politely.

The woman looked up and answered in the most inappropriate way possible.

"What might you seek to find there?" She questioned him curtly.

Dom looked taken aback. He cleared his throat and replied,

"Just a friend of mine who lives there."

The woman inclined her head at him, considering. She beckoned him closer. Dom removed the latch on the gate, never moving his eyes away from the woman, and stood on her lawn.

"A friend of yours? I'm afraid I don't recognize you, yet your voice rings a bell." The woman said in a sweetly dangerous tone.

She approached Dom.

"You know, I never thought the day would come for you people to toughen up and fight hand to hand, Offbendi!"

With a cry, the woman leaped at Dom and swiped a punch at his head. Her speed was unbelievable. Dom couldn't have countered more impressively.

He caught her hand and twisted it, causing the woman to drop a tiny white dagger.

The woman spun out of his grasp and responded with a roundhouse kick. Dom blocked it with a firmly held arm. The speed in which they fought made it almost impossible to spectate without anxiety.

They relentlessly traded blows. Every time Marc was sure Dom was going to concede, Dom didn't fail him. The woman tried her last burst of strength, which had no effect whatsoever on Dom, who just parried her attacks away and locked her in his arms.

The woman panted and looked up at Dom, confused.

"Whoever in Lorenzia you are, how come I've never met you? The only two men ever to best me left Middenheim decades ago and never returned. One of them is dead."

The woman pushed out of Dom's hold and brought out a Diochete.

"If you aren't Dominic Paderon's son, then who are you?"

Marc and Scarlett stared at the woman in astonishment. She knew Dom.

Dom bowed his head and kneeled to the ground and announced,

"I have returned, my lady."

The woman widened her bright hazel eyes. She immediately lowered her Diochete and bowed her head too, in deference.

Marc and Scarlett watched them both. Once the moment passed, the woman raised her head, smiling broadly. Dom acknowledged the inclination and rose, looking at the woman.

"Dominic! You've grown unrecognizable! Welcome back!"

"I'm honored to be back, Lady Delaneira."

Lady Delaneira looked past Dom, measuring up Marc and Scarlett, who was still hidden beneath their hoods.

"May I add that you know these two young Siphs?" She asked in a curious tone.

"Yes, you may, My lady. The boy was with me from the start, but the girl was a more recent prospect I came across."

Dom introduced Scarlett in a way to shift Lady Delaneira's attention to her. Marc understood why.

"But before you start your examination, my lady, could I suggest that we take this inside. There's something serious I want to discuss with you."

Lady Delaneira nodded. "I've already cast my examination. Both Siphs of yours yearn to meet someone. Who might they be?" She stared at them thoughtfully.

She nodded again to herself, confirming something, then spun around on her heel, pocketing her Diochete while leading them into the house. Marc motioned Scarlett to follow behind Dom first. Scarlett placed a hand on Marc's shoulder briefly, before making her way down the lawn path. Marc stared at her, visible confusion forming on his face.

He sighed and swept a glance around the alley, noticing that many other houses had their lights turned on. It was approaching dawn, and people were readying to start their day. Breathing in shakily, trying to steady his composure, he followed behind Scarlett, mentally noting that the Lady Delaneira's pearlescent white dagger had disappeared from the ground where it fell.

They all crammed up in the porch until Lady Delaneira worked a unique lock from the front door, bringing her Diochete out again and placing it on a flat surface where a doorknob would usually be. Wheeling her Diochete in a combination of clockwise and anticlockwise twists, till the lock clicked open.

Lady Delaneira ushered them through to the sitting room. Marc didn't know much about furniture styles, but even he'd recognize the famous Victorian anywhere. The sitting room was so rich that Marc felt strangely uncomfortable.

"Lady Delaneira, It's time we proceed," Dom announced.

"You know fully well, Dominic, that you can call me by just my name." Lady Delaneira replied.

"Yes, my lady, but I hope you don't mind if I do so only after we get all this behind us?" Dom said airily. He gestured at Marc and Scarlett.

The woman shrugged and pointed at Scarlett. "I'm guessing you'd like to start with her?"

"Yes. Scarlett, please come with me." Dom looked back at Scarlett, his eyes crinkling as he smiled reassuringly.

Lady Delaneira beckoned Scarlett over, disappearing through a door that was connected to the living room on the right.

Dom steered a nervous Scarlett by her shoulders into the room. He poked his head out of the door and instructed Marc to stay in the sitting room. With that, he disappeared into the room again, closing the door behind him.

Marc sighed and sagged into one of the plush, beige settees. He kept himself occupied by looking around the room.

The walls had many strange ornaments hanging across them, suspended by hooks and shelves. One particular wall was covered entirely with a massive cabinet beholding a variety of plates of different designs and shapes.

A staircase hugging the left side wall led from the sitting room to a higher level in the house. And there was a back door to the sitting room - opposite the main door - that was closed.

Marc sighed, bored, when all of a sudden, someone bounded down the staircase.

Marc jumped and swiftly swiveled his head, scanning the length of the staircase.

Whoever it was, immediately raced back up the stairs, and all Marc saw was someone's foot slink out of view.

Marc sat there, feeling awkward by the minute. He stood up just as the room door opened, breaking the silence.

Marc jumped for a second time. He watched as Dom and Scarlett appear in the doorway. Scarlett came and sat down next to Marc, an amazed expression plastered across her face.

Dom beckoned for Marc to enter the room. Marc tried to read any clues from Scarlett's face, but all he got was that what awaited him was awe-inspiring.

Dom's face was expressionless.

Marc's heart thumped against his chest. He gulped, allowing nervousness to creep into his system. He entered the room and approached Lady Delaneira at a desk in the middle of the room. She wore a white scarf on her head.

Marc heard Dom shutting the room door behind him. Immediately, Marc felt claustrophobic. There weren't any windows in the room to make things easier.

Marc patiently remained standing, waiting for Lady Delaneira to look up from her notes. She read something on her notebook, then repeated them. After that, she scribbled off a sentence, laid her pencil down, and looked up.

Marc hurriedly threw his hood back, standing still with his hands clasped behind his back. Lady Delaneira wordlessly walked around her desk and came to a stop in front of Marc. He was a head taller than her. She placed her hand on his chest and a white glow emanated between her fingers. Her eyes were closed in concentration.

Her eyes flew open and flitted up to Marc's face, alarming him. Slowly she caressed her palm up his neck and cupped his cheek.

"Marc...?" Lady Delaneira uttered, almost inaudible. Marc knitted his brows together in confusion.

"I don't-" Marc stepped back and pulled her hand away by the wrist. He gasped. Lady Delaneira's white scarf was no longer a...scarf at all, but blonde hair. Lady Delaneira was no longer the woman he saw at the front garden, or in the sitting room. It was the exact same woman he saw in a dream he had days ago.

There was her same aura of superiority and grace. Her same silvery eyes, no longer the previous bright hazel.

Marc stood there, motionless and shocked. The woman held out her hands to embrace him, but Marc gulped again and just stood there, his emotions getting the better of him.

He looked away, his eyes finding Dom, vaguely acknowledging Dom's nod of assurance through the haze of his tears. The room seemed to glow in a sudden brightness.

He half-heartedly faced the woman, not wanting her to see him in this state.

"Who- who are you?" Marc croaked.

The woman pulled Marc close and searched his face worriedly, before hugging him tightly. Her palms lit up in bright golden light.

She shared a look with Dom, careful not to reveal her palm to Marc.

In a gentle whisper that sent shivers down Marc's spine, she spoke in his ear,

"I'm Delaneira, your mother."