Bray Hyrian by Kivi B. (good books for high schoolers txt) 📖

wasn’t the same day prior to my long sleep. I felt more or less replenished and even managed to sit up.

Despite the pitch black darkness was I able to watch the busy men rushing around from the ajar opened medical tent. Patrols were marching through, doctors and other assistants made haste to their designated destinations.

I supported my arms on the folding cot and got up with a rough push. The smell of ash in the air was still fairly present, likely carried over by the wind from the battlefield.

My curiosity took the better of me. The urge to explore the gathering point and what laid around the camp forced me to take an action.

I cunningly moved between the impressively lined up camp formations, until I stumbled upon a tent which was measured to be slightly larger and taller than the others. I heard voices, all speaking simultaneously in panic. 

“...what is the meaning of this? Kiria has been left behind? How dare you leave my dearly beloved behind, Lieutenant Staeger?”

I froze and started to eavesdrop. My hands were still shaking from the earlier fatigue.

"We were surrounded, my prince. She decided to act as a decoy, giving us the opportunity to succeed our mission", a voice tried to explain which I instantly recognized as the Lieutenant’s.

“She did not give us an opportunity to intervene."
"Do not pester me such petty excuses! She is my future wife! It is unforgivable, that you just left her all alone. I'll have you both hanging from the gallows!"

I felt my pulse rapidly rise.

"My liege, it was due to their effort, that the enemy was forced to retreat from the frontlines”, a fourth voice said, which was unknown to me.

“Do I look like I give a damn? I want my precious Kiria! Assemble your men and march to the Hraygnan outpost. Bring her back, that is an order!”

There was a short silence, before a sigh was heard.

“As you decree, my lord.”
“Failure will not be accepted. Am I clear?”

I suspected a nod in response from the outranked soldiers, since there was nothing to be heard afterwards.

The entrance of the tent roughly fluttered to the side and the prince nearly collided with me. He was tall, wearing a blue silken cape and a silvery garment. His long curly blonde hair reached down to his shoulders.

“Out of my way, scum”, he said and glared at me.

My heart was racing.

I was about to verbally assault him, though I was pulled inside by a hand grabbing my collar. Jeik stared me down and indicated me to shut up. I glared back, though I followed my intuition and remained silent. The prince frowned at the Lieutenant. With a dismissive wave of his hand, he strolled off.

Jeik's face was pale and the sight of his worried expression managed to reduce my rage. His grip around my collar loosened as I shook him off, rolling my shoulders.

"And who might that be, Lieutenant?”, the Head Captain said and frowned.

His hair was snow white, silky and also very long. Only one eye of his pair darted into mine. The other was covered by an eyepatch. A long blue cape hung over his back, almost reaching the ground. A shiny chest guard was attached to his body with the same golden lion’s head as the crest, similar to Jeik Staeger’s sword pummel.

His shoulder plates were large and slanted. It was obvious, that he was an incredibly experienced veteran. Solely judging him by the scars he bore, his posture and his aura in general.

"This is Bray, the only survivor of the fifth Hraygnan execution caravan this year. It was ambushed by our forces during the recent assault at the Gattiken Fields. Unfortunately, we failed to rescue the rest of the prisoners.” Jeik explained.

"The only survivor of what, now?!", I exclaimed.
“Silence."

The highest present officer shot a fearsome look at me.

Before I could ask any more questions, he approached me. There was only half an arm’s length between us when he stopped. Suddenly I felt a strange sensation pulsating from him, while he stared me down with his unblinking, storm cloud colored eye. I blankly met his gaze.

“Intriguing”, he said and struck his chin. "Who are you?"
"I-I don’t know, sir"

All the sudden he drew his adorned sword out of his sheath. I flinched.

“Do not try to deceive me.”
"W-whoa, hold on! I ain’t your enemy. I don’t remember a thing…!”

The Head Captain lunged outward with his sword. I shielded myself with my arms. He feinted a step towards me, before a strong gust of wind blew past me.A razor sharp, thin and cold metallic edge suddenly pressed against at my gullet.

He seemingly disappeared right in front of me and reappeared behind me, all that in a blink of an eye. I gulped and froze on spot.

"Umbradior", Jeik said fearfully to himself, "also known as the Shadowstep."

Awestruck, I raised my hands in front of my face, indicating my defeat. He slowly moved around me until he was back in my line of sight. His blade never left my throat.

“Do not struggle”, he said softly as he lifted the eyepatch. The pupil of his eye abruptly illumed brightly.

I yelped in utter disorientation while my head was tormented by intense pressure from the light shining from his eye. My vision turned blank.

Chapter Two

A long, dark corridor appeared in front of me after the flash.The walls and the floor of the corridor were made out of thick stone bricks. A chill overcame my body, although it felt surreal.

But it couldn’t have been a dream. It felt much too real to be a dream.

A quick glance at the ceiling caused me to raise both of my brows. It was a bright, starlit night and the walls of the hallway were several meters high. I took a step forward, which caused the soundwaves to shallowly bounce off every wall and resound along the corridor.

Along the walls were several wooden doors with a simple metallic nob as handles. I approached the closest door, turning the knob and pushing it open.

My eyes were blinded by a strong radiance of ... sunlight? As my pupils adjusted to the brightness, I couldn’t believe what I saw.

The Head Captain stood on top of a cliff staring down to what laid beneath. I walked up to him and shared his view. Inside the room was an entire landscape, stretching endlessly. In our sight of the panaroma was a village, located on an island in the midst of a lake. Not the largest scale, but still a rather vivid one.

There was just something amiss. No villagers were to be seen anywhere.

The officer crossed his arms as he struck his chin thoughtfully. Without a word, he turned around and strolled out of the room. I followed him.

“Where are we?” My voice echoed hollowly.

“This technique is called Corintroitus in the Sanctan tongue, or Mind Invasion, in the Sensylai language.”

His clanking armor filled the corridor with noise, as I closed the door behind me.

“What? You’re inside my mind?” I gritted my teeth as my body automatically took a threatened pose.
“Get outta’ here!”

My hands clenched into fists. The Head Captain waved me off in a dismissive manner.

“Your mind is scattered, lost and unbalanced. What caused this state of your mind? I’m trying to get to the bottom of this.” He calmly said and stepped off, continuing his hallway wandering.

His from left to right and right to left turning head during our walk clearly indicated, that he was looking for something specific. I blinked at him and followed silently.

All the doors appeared to be the same shade of brown with the same iron knob attached. The corridor seemed never ending.

“Who’re you, anyway?”, I asked with a slight aggressive undertone.
“My name is Nex Buothor. I am the Head Captain of the Ysoldian infantry, reconnaissance and task force divisons.”

Clearly I was amazed and couldn’t help it, even if I wanted to. Nex Buothor smirked slightly, after peeking over his shoulder and seeing my expression.

“T-that ain’t all that impressive, y’know”, I said and tried to sound condescending. Head Captain Buothor didn’t seem bothered by it.

A clank is heard, before the Head Captain stopped moving. He turned to face me. I nearly bumped into him, which made me stumble.

“What you see is the constellation of your memories. They’re all ordered in a rather impressive fashion, although all the ‘rooms’ appear to be void of anything.”

“Huh?” I raised a brow.
“What ‘bout the room we were in just a few seconds ago?”

Nex grunted, seemingly not sure himself.

“It seems that it was the only halfway intact memory which still rests within your mind. I’ve visited the other rooms before you arrived. They’re all blank.”

I felt my eyes widen, as my jaw dropped. Remaining speechless, I simply stared at him.

“Are you sayin’…?"
“Yes. Your memories were erased. The culprit of this phenomenon did not leave any tracks behind. He or she must have been a very skilled Mesmer.”

A sharp “Tch” sound escaped from between my lips, while my arms folded in frustration.

“Mesmer, Corintroitus, Umbradior. What’s all this? I don’t get any of it.”

The Head Captain chuckled in his raspy voice.
“It seems that your amnesia has also robbed some basic knowledge from you. Let me explain.”

He raised his hand to about face height. His palm and his fingers began to gleam in a purplish light. The entire corridor would begin to shape shift, by slipping past us in one quick swoop and fading into the darkness.

Both of us now stood in empty, white space. I turned my head and body into multiple directions, clearly not prepared for the swift change of environment.

“As you may know, we inhabit Thalwyn, the world of the mortals. There are two additional worlds bordering Thalwyn. They are called Eterio and Inanis.”

“Eterio is the afterlife world for all those of pure soul and heart. It’s the sanctuary for the Deities, which rule over the flow of Anima - the Life Force Energy. They supply our mortal world with Anima - the energy that flows in every living and un-living being. Many races learned to adapt and to bend it to their own will. For example the Umbradior - Shadowstep, is an Anima manipulation. I controlled the Anima to move in between those undefined parallels of space and time.”

My frown intensified.

“Wait. Are you sayin’ that you can control space and time the way you want to?” My tone seemed rather skeptical.

Nex shook his head slowly but patiently.

“Not by using the methods which you might imagine. I controlled my own body to move in between space and time. Those two major elements are something, which can only be controlled by the Deities. You see, all elements can be manipulated - to a certain extent.

Some who completely mastered the alterations are able to bend the entire embodiment of an element. On the other hand, there are some who are only able to control the element solely to combine one's willpower with the Anima around you.”

“So … meanin’, that not everyone is equally skilled or even ‘qualified’ in using Anima?” My head tilted to the side.

Head Captain Nex nodded his head and continued.

“Some are gifted to be naturals at Anima Control. While on the other hand, some are not able to bend it at all. The talents vary from masterful to unable-to. Naturally you can hone your skills with Anima usage, although it requires absolute mental and physical capabilities to do so.”

My hand moved to the back of my head, scratching.