introductions

"What's a godling" asked Gilbert. This was a question that was on all 10 kids minds. They had heard of gods before, but never a godling. In order to become a god, one needed to cultivate and advance through the cultivation ranks eventually becoming a demigod. The final rank before Ascension.

" why don't you go ahead and take your seats real quick" said instructor washum. The four found seats at the back of the room and sat down. "a godling is essentially a baby God" he said.

"They do give off the aura of infants" said Laura the number 7 rank. "They're so cute"

"how is it possible sir" asked Paxton "I didn't think God's were allowed in the mortal realm."

" you would be absolutely right. However, for every rule, there is a loophole of sorts. This is also true for the universal laws that even the gods must follow. one of these laws states that a God, Whether minor or primordial, must not appear in their true forms in the mortal realms. Of course, being gods, they found a way around this by using the very elements as conduits. this isn't sustainable otherwise their would be gods everywhere.

They are something new. I would not consider myself an expert by any means because nothing like those three have ever existed. there is no research at all so this will be purely speculation. From what I've gathered so far their father is Zhao Yang the god of youth. Their moms are the primordial goddesses themselves. They were able to create some sort of egg type seed and planted them into mortal female hosts. That was the ingredient needed to create their human like flesh. The first 10-12 years of their lives they lived as mortals. They would begin their journey once they met the criteria to awaken their godliness I guess you could call it"

"I guess that clears up a little bit" said Paxton still a little confused.

"How many primordial goddesses are their" asked asked

"The specific number is not known" said the instructor

"I can answer that question" said Owletta as everyone's eyes were on her. "Their are twelve. Mack and Voricks mommy is the primordial goddess of Light. while Alex's mommy is the primordial goddess of darkness. Then you have the 4 prime elementals, earth, wind, Fire and Water. Then theirs the nature goddess and the goddess of all beasts, next is the goddess of war followed by the goddess of death and goddess of life and lastly their is the goddess of medicine." Owletta looked at Landon when she said the word earth. And it wasn't missed by Paxton or instructor washum.

Landon felt like someone was watching him and glanced around until he noticed Owletta staring at him. He quickly looked away.

"And all of them have godlings here in the mortal realm" asked Paxton

"Yes, but not all of them have awakened their powers yet." Owletta responded

"Where are they at?" Asked Hawk

"That's a really good question" she said "unfortunately I'm not at liberty to reveal that information. I will say that some are closer then you think" owletta glanced at Landon one more time.

Paxton looked at Landon. He didn't look that special to him. He was extremely short even by normal standards. He didn't have any muscle tone or definition whatsoever yet he was able to move that rock faster then most and was able to complete the obstacle course with the fastest time but other then that he had nothing else going for him. He most certainly didn't give off any type of godly aura. Not like the other three. So what did the owl mean when she said they were closer then you think? But she also said that their powers weren't active yet. So maybe he is a godling. He just doesn't know it yet.

Little did Paxton know but instructor washum was thinking along the same lines. He was intrigued by the godlings but felt obligated to tell the deputy headmaster about his theory. He could tell that Paxton was thinking along the same lines. He decided to hold Paxton back after class to speak to him on this subject.

"Ok boys and girls let's get back to the introductions. Now that the number one is here you can go first. Tell the class a little about yourself, where your from, what your goals are after completing your studies here at the knights school" said the instructor

Landon blushed a bit at being put on the spot "I'm Landon Brown. I'm from terabithia which is a small town on the east side of the kingdom near the boarder. I'm here on a scholarship that I won by default. Seamed like fate wanted me here for some reason. I'm an orphan, have been my whole life. I love rocks and the earth in general like the dirt and stuff. I find it fascinating. You can do so much with it. That's about it. I haven't really decided what my goals are. I guess we'll see what happens." He said as he rambled a bit.

"Thank you Landon. What about you number 2" he said pointing to Paxton

"I'm Paxton Lott, im 12 years old and I've lived here at the academy my whole life. My dads on the board and a professor. My mom runs the general store in the town square. I'm really into fitness and love to train my body any way I can. After I graduate from the academy I plan to join the army" he said with a smug smile.

"Thank you very much Paxton" said the instructor " how about number 3"

"I'm Jaxon brightflame but you can call me Jax. Don't be fooled by the scowl on my face, I'm not really that mean unless I need to be. I came here from the Yama kingdom. I don't have parents. Ummm…. I'm also 12. Not really a whole lot to tell honestly. My life's been kind of boring. I like to play with fire if thats interesting to you guys."

"Of course that's interesting and thank you. Your next number 4" said instructor washum.

"I'm Yavonka Innu, I'm from the highlands where my father owns over 9000 acres of farm land. My family employs most of the town of kree to run the farm. I'm here so I can learn how to protect our lands and learn to control my affinity"

"I haven't spoken to your father in ages. How is he" asked instructor washum

"He is well instructor. He spoke very highly of you" she responded.

"That's fabulous. He always did know how to stroke one's ego" he chuckled "how about you number 5?"

"My name is Hawkly Ashwood you can call me Hawk. I'm from the lower district. My mom and dad raise and train all manor of beasts for different purposes. I like animals of all sorts. I can even communicate with them. I don't really have an end goal though. I'm here to get stronger. That's pretty much it."

"That's a rare affinity" said instructor washum "and number six"

"My name is Lexie Kendrick. there's not a whole lot to tell honestly. I've lived here at the Academy my whole life with my five brothers. My parents died when I was really young. So we've been on our own for my whole life pretty much. My goal is to become a soldier and get as far away from my overbearing brother as possible. I joined the Academy just so I wouldn't have to stay in that house."

" that's an interesting reason to join the Academy. Most people join to better their family." Said the instructor "your two older brothers said the same thing if I remember correctly"

"you should know who our brother is instructor. You should know exactly why we want away from him." She said

"you wouldn't say that if you knew what your brother had to deal with. I thought he was a prick on a power trip after my first encounter, but then I learned the truth. Now I just kind of feel sorry for him." Said Landon. He instantly regretted his words when Lexie turned around and glared at him.

"you have one encounter with him and you think you can tell me how I should feel. Don't presume to know my situation. You didn't grow up with him, I did. You weren't verbally abused by him on a daily basis. And if you're gonna say that I should feel sorry for him because of his disease then think again." She said with venom in her voice.

"Put yourself in his shoes dear" said owletta. She went on to explain the same thing she explained to Tyler. After she was Finished explaining Lexie had a surprised look on her.

"I never realized it was that bad. It still doesn't excuse his attitude. But I guess I understand a little bit more now. I know you think I should feel sorry for him, but I really don't. Does that make me a bad person?" She asked

"no sweetheart it doesn't" said owletta "his situation will continue to deteriorate. He really needs somebody who can take care of him."

" I couldn't imagine being stuck as a seven-year-old physically and mentally. Having to watch my siblings grow older than me. Only to become their child eventually and watch them have children of their own only to watch those children become older than me as well and eventually become my new parents. That would be a vicious cycle until death. I wonder what God he pissed off in his past life." Said Hawk

"he's not becoming my kid. I'm washing my hands of that situation right now." Said Lexie "I can guarantee you none of my other siblings will want anything to do with him either"

" we are getting off topic. Number seven why don't you introduce yourself?" Said instructor washum

"my name is Shawna Hawkins. My parents are pretty popular merchants around the major cities in the kingdom. I want to be able to protect our goods from bandits and the only way to do that is to come to the Academy."

"Very good. Your parents goods are high-quality. I've purchased a few things from them." Said the instructor "how about you number eight"

"my name is Jeremiah Evans I am 11 years old. My father is a Viscount and he forced me to come to the Academy. He wants me to become a knight because it's family tradition but I don't really want to." He said lazily

"How about you number 9"

"I'm Cory Flint i'm also 11 and I grew up with lazybones here" he said referring to Jeremiah Who giggled. "my dad is a baron and owns most of the farmland that surrounds the capital city. I came here mainly to be with my friend but if I could get a good job out of it, I'm all right with that too"

" What about you number 10"

" my name is Gilbert Hen but you can call Gil. My parents are commoners so we're not anything special. I came here to try and better my family situation."

" that's a very noble reason. The next two really don't need much of an introduction. So we'll go with why you came to the Academy." Said the instructor handing the floor over to the princes.

"we're here for two reasons actually. To learn to control our abilities, if it's possible for mortals to teach gods how to use their power, and finding our other siblings" said Mack. He and the other two had received a new mission stating that they needed to locate their siblings. The rewards were one level up card for each sibling that all of them would get. Plus 1000 life essence points or in Alex's case fear points per sibling. Once they found all their siblings they would also get two skill cards each.

"what do you mean find your other siblings?" Asked Paxton "you don't mean there are more of you here to Academy do you" he said as not to sound suspicious. He suspected that Landon was a godly as well due to the owl looking at him so often.

" according to the powers that be there are" said Vorick "we just have to figure out how to find them."

" I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they have no idea who they actually are" asked Jax

" correct. So that'll be difficult. Basically finding out that your entire life is a lie strung together by your biological parents Who are in fact, immortal gods of the highest order" said Alex

" I sense a little bit of resentment" said Shawna

"couldn't imagine why" said Alex with sarcasm " anyway my name is Alexander. My last name isn't really that important. My mortal parents operated a temple in a village on the outskirts of the Yama kingdom. Unfortunately, they were Killed along with most of the others Who resisted the bandits who raided our village. I spent the next year or two as a slave. I can't really remember how long it was. time kind of blended together after a while. I won't bore you with the gruesome details, but eventually, I will saved by my biological father, The God of youth And here I am."

"that explains why you're so quiet and why your aura is so scary" said yavonka with a shiver

"Nah, That's Just my normal aura" he responded " I'm sure the mist coming from my eyes isn't helping either"

" is that why you're wearing sunglasses inside on a cloudy day" asked Gilbert

"I wear sunglasses to protect you" said Alex "wouldn't want you having nightmares. as much as it would benefit me if you did. I don't feel like upsetting the headmaster again."

" the deputy had masters son made the mistake of looking directly into his eyes during the entrance exam. Let me tell you it was not pretty." Said Shawna

"his eyes can't be that bad…. can they" asked Paxton.

" you're right my eyes aren't that bad. Like it's not an automatic thing. I just can't help it." Said Alex "I feed off of your fear. It makes me stronger. So if you ever get into a situation where you're absolutely terrified, it would be like dangling a juicy piece of meat in front of a griffin."

*********

" all right boys, and girls now that the introductions are out of the way I can go over some basic things that you can expect during your first year here at the Academy." Said the instructor. "this is considered your homeroom, here I will take attendance and make any announcements that need to be made plus anything else that needs to be put out. Most of the courses that you will be taking in your first year, which consists of four three month semesters, are introductory courses meaning the basic of the basics. So if you were expecting to be going out on missions, you will be sorely disappointed. You will not start going out on missions until your second year. Your day will consist of history class, mathematics, potion making, rune identification and creation and physical fitness. Every other day martial arts training and weapons training Will swap. So today you will have martial arts training but tomorrow you will have weapons training instead. You will have a two hour break Halfway through the day for lunch and what not. Are there any questions regarding any of that so far?"

"how late will classes run?" Asked Jeremiah

"you will be here for 8 hours a day in your first year. I know that's a lot for young children, such as yourselves but we have a lot of information to teach you in such a short amount of time"

" so that means we'll be done at about 4:30pm or 5 o'clock" the boy said to himself

"Are there any other questions before we move on?" He asked. When nobody else raised their hand, he decided to continue with his explanation. Eventually though, the allotted time For homeroom had elapsed and the ringing of the bell Signal the end of class. "if you have to use the restroom or you wanna stretch, I suggest you do so now. I just asked that you be back here before class begins."

Landon walked up to the front of the class and approached instructor washum. " I have to use the restroom" he asked "but I'm not supposed to let them out of my site. Do I have to take them to the bathroom with me like a daddy does his children? Because that's gonna be awkward."

"you go ahead and use the restroom. I'll keep an eye on them for for you" said the instructor. With that Landon left the room, Leaving only the three boys and the instructor.