Crouching Shadow, Lurking Light

Elwin put down the Introduction to the Foundations of the Arts in the Grand Library, awakening from his dizzying focus by a single tock from his father's pocket watch.

It read 8 o'clock.

A deluge of knowledge had been flooding his head since that afternoon: an introduction to the Arts of Fire, Water, Earth, and Air, and the fact that they were called the 'Four Mahamastra' in the tongue of antiquity, the tongue of respect; which specific forms and techniques of those Arts were taught in specialized institutions; which suited which occupation; the statistical distribution of people who favored a certain form over the other, and a recounting of the historical periods in which those forms came about. None of the forms in Fire, Water, and Earth were purported to be older than eighteen-hundred years. So what existed before that, then?

All of it was too much to take in. Researching like this won't do, he decided. He needed someone, at least a guide, to recommend where he should begin. Or better yet, he should do as his father advised – climb to that pinnacle called Aeternitas, where he could find answers from the best and brightest of the Republics.

He rubbed his eyes and looked out the tall windows. It was snowing; it was the first snow he'd seen since winter had arrived. The Sun had long ago gone to slumber.

I should go back. Mom and Andre would be worried sick if I didn't.

He tiptoed down the staircases and the grand multiplexed hallways of the Grand Library, which was emptying quickly by the minute. People had to go to work tomorrow, and while boys and girls like him could enjoy their winter holiday, almost no one his age was out alone in the middle of the city this time of hour.

Elwin put a scarf of green around himself as he opened the great gates and the frosty wind hit his face with a refreshing chill. His sneeze mixed with the buffeting snow as he skipped down the steps, unconsciously melting the ice so he wouldn't slip on them.

There were only a dozen people at the tram stop for the orange line, an odd sight from that afternoon, which had more than six dozen. He tapped his foot, trying to stave off the cold, when at last the lights of a tram split the snow-studded air.

When Elwin got off next to the great statue of Kosmogorov, and entered the arched brick roof of the junction stop, there were just three people waiting on the platform for the violet line; all of them were on the opposite platform, far away. Elwin was glad to have protection from the wind and snow on that platform, its considerable length completely empty except him.

It was eight thirty-three by the pocket-watch. The ticker-pole to his left said the next tram would not come for at least 20 minutes. How exactly do I break the news of Aeternitas to mom? He wondered deeply, not aware of moving figures coming up the stairs towards him, when – 

A pair of gloved hands emerged from behind and cupped his mouth, another pair gripped his arms, intending to put them on his back, and another began to wrap a rope around him.

Elwin bit down on the hand hard through the leather, drawing blood, and turned the melting snow on his jacket into minute spikes, screaming as hard as he could. One of the shadowed men drove a punch straight to Elwin, nearly knocking him out had it not been for years of being punched by Lucian and still getting up, and the other started winding the rope even faster, even more tight, as Elwin kicked his legs, but the remaining man got those too and silenced his struggle, it was no use, he was going to be – 

A jet of fire from the opposite platform hit the man cupping Elwin's mouth and tumbled him into the brick wall behind him. 

Before anyone could react, the metal-leg of the ticker-pole to their left swung into the belly of the man that had punched Elwin, and a scythe of frosty wind cleaved the rope in the man's hand, letting Elwin get up again. The three men got up quickly and caught Elwin once more, trying to drag him away and off the platform down the stairs, when he felt the ignition of a mighty flame next to him and a figure with a hair of silver drive a flaming roundhouse-kick onto one of their chests, her Quan blazing, careening them away at least 10 yards. The other man slashed at the silver-haired figure with a scythe of ice, materializing from the moisture in his gloved hands, turning, twisting, driving the blade closer with desperate fury that it almost spliced off the ends of the silver hair, driving the figure away from Elwin, when it was parried mid-swing by the metal ticker-pole, wielded now by a new figure with a hair of gold. The two kidnappers still standing ripped the bricks out from the walls and launched it at the saviors; the figure with gold hair parried it all, crumbling the flying bricks to a cloud of dust. Seizing the cover, the two kidnappers lifted Elwin and broke into a hurried sprint, carrying him away; but another figure with a hair of fading turquoise tackled them sideways, having jumped across the rails, freeing away the kidnappers' grip on Elwin's body with air rising between their fingers against their will. The turquoise-haired figure pried Elwin away from them both, and somersaulted backwards with Elwin in her chest as if he weighed no more than a feather, turning the movements of her body to a gust that blasted the two away, joining the first man on the ground who was getting up to his feet.

The three men, fully intent on Elwin, stood as fast as they could and rushed at the three unexpected guardians with their might once more, blades of ice and fire and shattered brick in their hands – 

When the turquoise-haired figure held Elwin close and roared the following command which Elwin recognized:

"UTUMMION!"

The air above the three kidnappers brought itself down like a piledriver at once, hammering them into the ground.

The kidnappers were knocked clean out.

Elwin pulled himself free and fell to the ground, heaving and sputtering in shock, shuffling himself away. His eye was open wide with fright, his arms shaking, and though he wanted to utter a word, any word – he found it impossible. He didn't know which of the sights he should give his attention – the kidnappers, or his saviors.

"You alright? You hurt?" inquired the silver-haired figure, the faint light on the platform roof revealing the figure to be a young woman, her face a complexion of coffee clay. Her stature and expression made it evident that she was at least a full year older than Elwin – perhaps two. She looked at him with a cool calm as if the skirmish just before was an everyday occurrence, her eyes a fierce and handsome hue of amethyst and violet. She must be – she must be from the Republic of Zahran or Astinel, Elwin thought at a glance. Even though he could think, he found no words leaving his mouth.

"Doesn't look like he's too beaten up," said the gold-haired figure, a young man with handsome features and eyes of deep purple. "Though I'd say he's shocked to the bone," he said, grasping Elwin's fingers. All their warmth had drained in favor of Elwin's core, which fueled his struggle just a moment before. "Here, this ought to warm you up," he comforted, opening a metal flask hanging by his robe jacket and pouring out hot chocolatl in the lid that doubled as a cup.

Elwin, still shaking, received it, and sipped on it cautiously. The taste invigorated him and moistened his parched throat, allowing him to speak at last, enunciating his words amid huffing breaths.

"Ha... thank – thank you... I... I was..."

"It's alright, take your time," said the figure with a hair of faint turquoise, who had commanded the air with the same chant Carl once knew. She looked to be a young woman around the same age as her friends – but there was a look to her that briefly made Elwin think she was a boy. What was the word, Elwin thought – she looked like a mix of both – someone who was not fully one way or the other, or in the journey to strive for the side that matched the shape of their soul. Perhaps she was one of the Blessed of ARTAIA, as he read in stories about the FOUNDER herself. Either way, there was a soft-spoken elegance and grace to her being.

"How is your arm? Wrists? Can you stretch your leg?" she inquired softly.

Elwin cautiously stretched his arms and legs, which were bruised during the fight. He nodded and sighed, rubbing his nose which had become blue again. He let out a loud, chest-wrecking laugh at the strange situations befalling him. When will he ever have a normal day?

"You know how to bounce back quickly. I approve of that spirit," said the silver-haired young woman, helping Elwin to his feet. "Sandora. Sandora Hamilton."

"Thank – thank you."

"Don't thank me. He's the one who noticed you first," she said, gesturing to the gold-haired young man who was no longer there. "Wait, where'd you go?"

"Right here!" he waved, sticking the ticker-pole back on the ground behind them. "Can't leave this broken, can I? Whatever goes through my hands gets fixed," he declared, grinning with bravado. "I'm Leonardo. It was fun to put theory into practice. Though without Hina, the fight would've taken a lot longer, haha," he chuckled, putting his arms around the turquoise-haired figure.

"Thank the FOUNDERS we could help you," she sighed, giving a small sign of a blessing. "I'm Hina. Hina Asakura."

"I'm Elwin. Elwin Eramir."

Hina ruffled his hair. "Hmm, 'Elwin'... a delightful name!" 

All of them were about a head taller than him. 

"Before we sidetrack," interjected Sandora, "we should figure out what to do with them." They all set their sights upon the kidnappers. "We cannot just leave them here – or they will go on to kidnap someone else."

"We're close to one of the Order branches. If we ping them here, they'd come quickly."

"I've already pulled the lever. That's why it took me a while to join the fray," said Hina.

Not five minutes after, three officers of the Order arrived on the scene. They were dressed in armored robes and capes of navy and black; on their hips were black metal chains, and on their wrists, frosty Quans ready to ignite at a moment's notice. On their heads were tall heavy caps that shrouded their faces in shadow, which made their expressions hard to discern; Elwin grimaced, because he was familiar with what those concealed emotions harbored. Two years back when someone called the Order to break up a huge brawl in the Marlin, the enforcers at the time beat the assailants to a pulp, and in the process, broke half of the Marlin's furniture. These were the last kinds of people to mess with – they enforced the law with merciless impunity.

"Explain the sight," commanded one of the enforcers, his eyes appraising the young men and women behind his cap. Hina explained it as succinctly as she could.

"Your Quan licenses?" said another, stepping forward, pointing to their Quans with a baton of ice.

Sandora pulled out what seemed to be a badge with a detailed inscription. A gold star with radiant rays was chiseled into its beams.

"By provision of Aeternitas National Academy. First-year Artens and onwards may carry Quans both on and off the premises, for purposes of work and defense."

A glint of recognition flew across their eyes, and the same in Elwin's. They were students of Aeternitas? What in the world!

"Ah, Aeternitas," replied the enforcer. "Your names?"

"Sandora Hamilton. Leonardo Lavoisier. Hina Asakura," she replied, not wavering an inch.

"Very well. We have you on the records. We appreciate your contribution to the Order and for defending this boy."

"The appreciation is ours."

"Stay safe out there. And you – boy –" he said, pointing to Elwin, "Don't stay out late at night unless you can defend yourself."

The three enforcers clasped the Tenebriton chains upon the kidnappers' hands, hauling their still groaning bodies away on an invisible cushion of air.

"Splendid that it went without a hitch," said Leonardo. "You need help getting home?"

Something about his question reminded him of the Astral Knight the month – no, just a day ago.

"Umm... when the tram comes, I can just ride it all the way."

"You sure?"

Actually, Elwin wasn't so sure. Between the events of yesterday night and the fact that three shrouded men tried to kidnap him just a moment before, he felt like the eyes of the world were watching him, prowling for the right moment to strike. What if he was on the tram and another group of people tried to abduct him? It was there and then that he realized how much he wanted the company of his saviors, and noticed his heart had been wishing for him to stay together a while longer.

"You've got worry written all over your face," said Hina. "There's no shame in asking for help. We'll come with you."

"Not to mention some people tried to kidnap you a moment ago! Who knows if they've got their grubby friends in the dark? I'll vest my power of fire to fight them off if they decide to hurt you again," assured Sandora.

"Really?!" exclaimed Elwin, enthused that students from the most prestigious academy throughout the Republics – not to mention his saviors – were readily coming along with him. "I'll – I'll invite you to our inn!"

"Perfect! We're all a little peckish because of the cold. Hope you've got good food."

"Oh, we've got the best there is."

"What's your place called?"

"The Marlin," he replied, bursting with giddiness. They all boarded the violet tram for the journey home – this time, Elwin was far from alone.