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“Rumor. Scotlind Mae Rumor,” I heard called as the doors automatically opened in front of me. For Tennebris not favoring excessive electricity, they sure didn’t hold back when constructing this building.
Lux provided the Dark Kingdom with light. Either from their electricity users or from the mimicked, synthetic kind from the mortal world. Tennebris usually looked at electricity with disdain. It reminded the Kingdom of their former enemy, so most buildings were lit by firelight or the sun’s natural rays from the windows. Only the wealthy and the schools received any electricity at all.
I hated using candles, torches, and fireplaces to see. I loved any room that had any resemblance to electricity. Anytime I saw open flames, it brought me back to that day, and I was in that fire again, my leg burning, the screams of my family fading. But right now, I would take the dim light of a candle over this.
The lights were glittering as I walked into the waiting room. It was small. Only a square stool stood in the corner to set your clothes on. I quickly stripped out of my guard uniform and checked my skin, craning my neck to see my back.
Sweat lingered in the palms of my hands, but that was it. Alright. I could work with that. I was thankful for the cool air that seemed to be pumping through the walls. Even though it felt glacial and caused all of the hairs on my body to rise, it calmed me a little, keeping any nervous sweat at bay.
The most amount of time this could be was ten minutes. That was it. Ten minutes of my life. Then things would go back to normal. Well, not really normal, as I had my Guard Trials this afternoon and I would be fighting the strongest males in my class, but I was prepared for that.
Just then, the doors opened on the other side, widening into a larger, much brighter room. I was blinded as I stepped forward into the fluorescent glow. Under this illumination, I was sure the judges could make out every grainy detail of my skin. That they could count every mole and connect every freckle. They could see the various stages of healed bruises I earned from my guard class. Every scar. They could seeeverything.
No. Not everything. My Luxian markings only appeared when they made contact with fluid. I would be fine.
I blew out a breath and attempted to wipe my sweaty palms on my bare thighs. All it did was shift my sweat onto my skin and made me aware of how utterly naked I was.
The five judges were separated from me by a thick, sleek desk. I spotted my name written on the paperwork scattered in front of them. To my surprise, I saw full, detailed pages written. I wanted to lean forward and read them, but I couldn’t get a good look without making it obvious.
I knew what it would say anyway. It was shoved down my throat every time I fought against my counselor as a child. Hector and Elaine Rumor, parents of Scotlind, died in a terrible fire when Scotlind was seven. Elaine, a rank zero, a nix like her daughter. Hector, a rank two. His ability of illusion landed him a job in the psychiatric field like my counselor. He would enter the minds of the disturbed and alter their visions, usually dealing and healing with terrors and traumas.
Lies. All of it was lies. I frowned at the paperwork before shifting my gaze up toward the Advenians who would judge me.
Among my group of judges, there was only one professor from my school. She had been my English teacher in year nine. She gave me a small, encouraging smile and gestured for me to walk toward the center of the room. My legs followed where her eyes led as I finally looked up at the other four judges.
I didn’t recognize any of them, but I knew they were from the High Council based on their uniforms. I wanted to cover myself with my arms and shield my body as best as I could, but I knew that wasn’t allowed. So I held my chin high, met each of them in the eye, and waited.
The male seated at the center of the desk spoke first. His uniform seemed more refined than the rest—more extravagant. He must have been higher up within the Council.
His eyes were so dark I couldn’t pinpoint where his irises met his pupils. His hair was slicked back, exposing a sneer on his oily face as he looked me up and down. Then slowly, his eyes trailed back up. When his lips parted to begin speaking, I noticed two slightly crooked teeth. Otherwise, he possessed an unfittingly straight smile for his face.
“What abilities do you have to present for us today, Miss Rumor? Your school records do not hold anything of significance.” His voice sent chills down my spine. I tried to hide the fact that it caused me to shudder.
The gazes of the other three males were still raking my body as the first one spoke. I unclenched my fists, stretching my fingers out slowly by my sides.I won’t get nervous. I won’t sweat. I can do this.Breathe in and out.
“I don’t have any abilities to show.”
“None?” another judge asked, bewildered. “It says on your paperwork you are trying out to be a guard. A female, nonetheless, yet you have no abilities?” He scoffed at me as if that was the most bizarre thing he had ever heard.
“A female nix as a guard?” another one grumbled under his breath, so soft that I almost missed it. Almost.
“I’ve trained in combat,” I replied.Simple answers, just reply with simple answers.
“And you believe that a female with no abilities has what it takes to get placed as a guard?” the creepy male sitting in the middle asked as he folded his hands out in front of him. I noticed his name tag then as I turned to him.Synder Phillips. I knew they chose this panel for a reason. The High Council was all made up of powerful rank threes and fours. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of them possessed the lie detection ability or had the rare gift to read minds. I struggled to keep my mind void of anything that could destroy me.
“Yes, I have trained very hard for this,” I replied to Synder’s question. I immediately regretted my response after seeing the look of disgust on his face.
It was true. I despised the ranking system. It was cruel and sadistic to measure one’s worth based on a number, and then brand it onto them. I had many reasons for trying out for the guard. The main one being I couldn’t take the risk of having a husband. But some part of me knew I was doing this to prove that rank didn’t matter.
“So why try at all? If you’ve had to train so hard, why not go for being a servant? In the end, that’s probably what will be decided anyway. You could have at least enjoyed your school years. Much more fitting for a rank zero, wouldn’t you say?”
“I believe I can make it as a guard without abilities,” I bristled.
“We will see about that shortly during your Trials.” One of them chuckled. The sound of papers flipping and turning filled my ears as the judges looked through my files.
My teacher spoke quietly, “I don’t see any point in hooking her up to the machine if she has no abilities.” My mouth dried as I followed their gazes to where a large monitor with wires stood in the corner of the room.
Synder responded as if noting my unspoken question on what exactly the machine did. “It’s called Akula. It was developed by Lux to measure someone’s ability reserve. It’s a tool to see how much power an Advenian may use before they drain themselves and need to rest to regenerate their powers. It’s good for someone to know their limits since it will weaken them if they use too much of their ability at once. It also contributes to someone’s ranking. If your reserve is weak, you are more likely to get a lower ranking, and the same can be said about higher rankings for much stronger reserves so everyone is required to get it done.”
