Chapter Two

Reme drives through the town of Philomena as he makes his way south of the town. Following the peach-colored coastline for a few miles, he arrives at a military gate check. Gate one. Reme mumbles to himself as he flashes his identification card to the gate guard. Once past gate one, there are military sanctioned fields of many varieties of plant life. In this secured area, the plants are experimented on. The studies range from plant longevity, diversity in climates, genetically modified plants, and more. Several red brick buildings spread out among the acres of fields where scientist perform their studies and collect data. Reme drove for a few miles among the rolling fields before reaching another checkpoint. Beyond this gate, only military personnel and students of the military academy are allowed to enter.

"Captain Reme," two young soldiers saluted.

They were wearing multicolored patterned uniforms with mixes of tans, greens, and browns. The two soldiers dawned buzz-cut hair and matching tan combat boots. The only differences between the two soldiers were their species. One was a human male equipped with one daze gun and a regular semi-automatic rifle. The other soldier was a Tatio, also fitted with a daze gun and a modified sniper. It looks like a specialized weapon. Reme thought to himself as he watches the Tatio's double-pointed ears twitch.

"Special forces at gate two?" Reme questioned with a deep, authoritative tone.

The two soldiers looked at each other, and the human soldier responded. "I am class Octa, Fox. From Marce Island. My senior is class Retim, Oriko. We were both relocated per Admiral Hearth's orders."

"I don't remember being briefed about this yesterday, and I was with the Admiral."

"We were relocated at o'three hundred hours, sir." Responded Retim Oriko.

Reme eyed them both silently. Their ranking in the military tree is quite substantial. It is odd to have them at gate stations.

The Retim Oriko clears his throat, "Admiral Hearth has requested that we advise you to head to his station instead of the mandatory meeting scheduled at twelve hundred hours." Reme nodded his head and continued towards the red and black buildings known as The Core.

There is one predominant military force in Novus that serves as a neutral party among all the world's nations. This military force is called The Core, which contains four military levels: Cerebus, Octa, Retim, and Exor. To become a Cerebus, students are offered to apply for the exam once they turn fifteen. The exam is a mental and physical assessment that lasts two months. If the student succeeds in passing, they can enter into The Core's Military Academy as a Cerebus. From there, students can choose to stay a Cerebus and serve in the lower ranking military outposts or jobs for their entire careers or crawl up the rankings for higher military positions. Why would the Admiral have an Octa and Retim relocated then stationed at the gate. Reme looked at his rear-view mirror with a sinking feeling.

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Matilda happily approaches a sunburnt peach-colored building with a wooden sign that reads Coastal Inn. She enters through the front doors, and the spacious lobby meets her. On her right were the welcome desk and the lounge to the left. The lounge was filled with a few desks and couches, some isolated and some grouped. There are no elevators or stairs in the two-story building. To make the space more open and free, Reme had it designed with soft ascending and descending ramps to get to each floor. Guests and employees intermingle and talk with one another just like long lost friends. Matilda smiles and waves to them as she passes, making her way beach access at the back of the building.

The outdoor bar is located on the beach at the back of the Inn. Matilda peers out towards the island bar and notices Celine talking it up with some guests. Matilda always loved watching Celine's work since she was a child. As a Tatio, Celine's movements are quick, smooth, and somewhat hypnotic. She is the best bartender on the island. Matilda watched her a little longer while she finished making some drinks before whispering Celine's name onto the ocean breezes. The bar is roughly halfway down the beach, and no ordinary person could hear her even if she screamed their name. However, Celine is a Tatio, and one of their many specialties is their sense of sound. Celine's head turns towards Matilda a few seconds after being called. Celine seamlessly jumps over the bar and runs through the sand with powerful grace. The strength and stamina of Tatios almost make them look invincible. Matilda laughed to herself as she trudged through the sand. Although she made her best attempt, Matilda was ten steps in while Celine was only a few feet away.

Before Celine reaches her, Matilda brings her right hand up to her chest. This movement was considered a traditional greeting for Tatios. Matilda keeps her hand on her chest until she and Celine exchange a hug. As the two stands next to each other, their looks catch the eyes of the people walking past. Matilda is a petite young woman with a delicate frame and golden brown skin. Her voice was very soft and lyrical. Celine's physique was quite different, with a very muscular build and a foot or so more in height. Her beautiful dark brown skin was adorned with traditional Tatio tattoos mix with some modern designs. Celine's voice is lower than Matilda's, and her short dark brown hair was highlighted at the tips.

They exchange light conversation as they walked towards the end of the deck behind the Inn. Tables were staged overlooking the beautiful blue-green Pacalis Ocean. Celine waved over a server and asked for two iced coffees before finding a secluded table. Matilda takes out a little notebook and a pen and writes down the activities and any comments Celine has to say about the Inn. After an hour of talking about the Coastal Inn, Celine and Matilda relax in their chairs. Matilda mentions The Soluna Festival, and Celine responds with their plans for the booths and prizes.

"We were thinking of doing a puppet show about The Soluna Festival also," Celine mentions while sipping the rest of her iced coffee.

"That would be great. I think we should have enough funds for that. Which reminds me, could you tell me the story again?" Matilda asks shyly, and Celine smiles.

"I've been telling you that story since you were a kid! Still not tired of it?" Celine lets out a loud sigh.

"Never!" Matilda laughs as Celine playfully shakes her head in defeat.

"Alright, Matilda, one more time."

It is said the Minio God of Creation fled from his old universe. The world he adored and cherished was populated by one species. However, they were a very ignorant and selfish species. They desecrated the world Minio so lovingly built for them. He watched from the skies in horror as they wreaked havoc on their planet until the world itself could no longer sustain itself. The heartbroken God could not stay there any longer and took the seeds of life with him.

Minio began traveling the endless ocean of milky ways, searching for a new world to call home. He found himself lonely, cradling the dimming light of life in his bag. Engulfed in darkness for ages, Minio began to lose hope when he noticed a faint glimmer among the stars. Traveling the twilight alone, Minio followed the flickering light. While aimlessly following, Minio contemplated letting the darkness take him, to have him fall asleep among the stars and wait. While lost in thought, Minio made his final approach to the bright constellation. He finds himself mesmerized by the beautiful stars as they pulsed faster as Minio moves closer. He stretched out his hands and clasped the star cluster together. A huge flash erupted from his actions. It was quick and blinding but faded a few seconds afterward. Minio watched with fascination as the light dimmed down and settled back into his hand. From the palm of his hand, he created a lovely companion. Wisps of ivory fabric and glittering stars scurried around him before coming together in the form of a woman standing before him. She had long sparkling ivory hair and skin as black as night sprinkled with stardust. Her eyes open wide as the colors of grey mixed with blues swirl with each blink. Minio, overjoyed, grabbed her hand and asked this celestial being what her name was. "Nox," She spoke softly and thanked Minio for the gift of a body.

They spent eons getting to know one another among the stars. Together they searched until they found a beautiful but barren world. The lands, rivers, oceans, and air tingled with the potential of life. Minio decided to call this world Novus. For years, they observed as the two moons cascaded through the brilliant bright night and watched in awe at the swirls of blue and maroon skies during the day. The oceans were massive and divided by four equally large continents. There was a continent at the top of the planet and another at the very bottom with one continent on each side. There were two distinct bodies of water. One was a vast blue-green ocean at the center of all the landmasses. At its center were islands that expanded towards the continents. The second body of water covered the rest of the world in a deep dark blue. With the world of Novus slowly dancing around its hot blue star, Minio felt as if he were finally home.

Minio and Nox safely descended from the skies and arrived at the snow-covered last of the west continent. Nox remarked how much she had loved the beautiful crystal white lilies that grew throughout the land. Night befell the couple, just as Nox finishes up on clearing an area for them to start building a home. The beautiful moons of Novus crested the horizon. They were shining brightly and overlapped each other slightly. Minio called the overlap a Soluna because when they overlap, they were as bright as the blue sun. The Soluna event happened once every tenth cycle around the sun. During the moons overlap, the combined pale blue moonlight brings the crystal lilies to bloom. As Nox is caught up in the blooming lilies around her, Minio softly approaches her. He held a small crystal ball in his hands that contained a crystal lily that gave off a soft pink glow. As the Soluna Moons and crystal lilies as his witness, Minio confessed his love for Nox. With tears streaming down Nox's face, she accepted his love. Minio placed the crystal ball into Nox's hands, and the lily's pink glow pulsed slowly. He gently wiped her tears with his sleeve and placed a tender kiss on her lips. The moons were said to have turned red from blushing at the innocent and powerful love between them.

"This is why everyone celebrates The Soluna Festival. We are showing the admiration of the love between the God of Creation Minio and the Goddess of Darkness Nox." Celine shakes the ice cubes in her empty cup in makeshift celebration.

"Isn't it amazing? LOVE IS GREAT!" Matilda mused as she goes on about how love conquers everything.

"It is just one beautiful story, Matilda, nothing more, nothing less," Celine laughs as Matilda tries to convince her otherwise. "Wait," Celine holds up her hand.

"What?" Matilda asks as she finishes off her drink.

"I think Jon is coming?" Celine looks back just as Jon sprints into view.

"Matilda!" Jon huffs in between breaths.

"What? What's wrong?" Matilda stands up and tries to hand him a bottle of water.

"I just thought I would take a nice mid-morning run," Jon responds as he takes a few sips of water.

Celine greets Jon and hurries back to the bar as it begins to fill with more and more people as the day grows hotter. She hugs both Matilda and Jon before bounding down the beach with ease. Jon motions for Matilda to follow him as he walks back into the inn. He finds a small storage closet and pulls Matilda in with him.

"What?!" Matilda half yells at him at the sudden detour.

"Shhhhh," Jon stuffs a towel as the bottom of the door to make sure it's sealed, "Dr. Korup is in town."

Matilda flinches, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, William told me. That's why I rushed over here."

"The last time Dr. Korup came, " Matilda trails off as she looks at Jon with silent concern.

"She's enrolled with us in the academy and about to graduate with the highest honors. There's no way Dad and even Granda will let him take one of the top students in the entire academy, Matilda."

"Maybe you're right, but let's head home for now. I want to be with Ary."