The Order

"Hey Ary, that Order you mentioned earlier, how strong exactly are its members?"

"Can I use your Uua?" Ary asks. I nod and she jumps into me. A moment later I feel the power in me start to move, and I get the feeling that I could stop it if I really wanted to. I don't.

A few moments after I freeze as various scenes begin flashing across my eyes. It didn't feel as though I was watching the scenes, but like I was in them. I watched as various people, each of them sporting similar robes with only the color being different, as they performed feats of magic I could only dream of.

One crossed vast distances in barely a second, another stopped a speeding truck with one hand, some changed the weather, split the ground, warped the very world around them, but only the last one truly awed me.

In the scene, I was one of many beings looking up in the sky as one man challenged what seemed to be the hosts of heaven. He looked like a kindly old man, standing calmly with his hands behind his back, and radiating power like nothing I had felt before. Before him stood myriad beings, each causing various phenomena to appear as they stared fiercely at him, prepared for war. Then following some unseen command, they launched their attacks. For a moment, as the power of the hosts darkened the sky, I feared for the man. But what happened next showed that my fear was baseless.

The man spoke a word, and that changed everything. "BEGONE!"

That single word contained so much power that I was forced to realize that it was more than just a word, it was a command. A command which twisted the very nature of the world so that its purpose might be fulfilled.

First it restrained the hosts and nullified their powers. Then it cracked the sky. Then the host was gone.

As the scenes stopped and I returned to myself, I couldn't help but tremble as I recalled the power of that old man. "Ary, that man in the last scene. Who is he?"

A voice rings in my head. "He is the Eldest. The leader of the Order."

Okay then, that settles things. It would be for the best if I avoided the Order from now on. Still, barring the Eldest, I couldn't help but be excited by some of the things Ary showed me. I wanted to be like those magicians, and I swear to myself, I will. Even if I can't be like them, the process of trying should be fun enough.

"Ary, do you have any way of avoiding the members of the Order."

"They all have a glowing sign on their forehead. Once you see that, move in the opposite direction and you should be safe."

Good to know.

* * * * * *

Glide glide glide. I spent the majority of the school day thinking of one thing, and that was glide. I moved through class like a ghost, barely managed to pull myself together enough to briefly tutor Cassandra, then went back to thinking about it.

Luoi had explained the skill to me yesterday, and the most important thing I got was that it was complicated. But, it also allowed greater maneuverability compared to Burst - which just basically throws me in whatever direction I use it in. Glide is made up of two main parts, the footwork used with it, and the method of manipulating Uua to make it work.

Footwork aside, my main problem would be learning the rhythm for using it. To use Glide you must keep its two constants in mind. Constant change and constant output. From each foot the amount of Uua released follows a sort of rhythm, like a wave. You start low, increase it to a peak, and then reduce the amount to the original low. That was the constant change part. For the constant output, you must ensure that though the amount of Uua released from each foot changes, their total output must remain constant. So if one has high output, the other's output must be low, then as the output of one increases, the output of the other will decrease, making it so that no matter when, the total amount of Uua used remains the same.

Then, pair that with the footwork and you have Glide. I had started trying to learn it yesterday and had come to a simple conclusion at the end. This was not going to be easy to master.

The moment school was over, I went to the Lands to continue my training with Luoi. At the end of the day I came to the conclusion that I might not have mastered this before meeting up with Kane next week.

The next day I remained distracted by Glide but unfortunately I couldn't meet up with Luoi since I had something else to do. Once again the moment school was over I was out the door, but today someone stops me. Cassandra.

She was attending some event this weekend and wanted to invite me to come along. As much as I wanted to come along, the moment I thought of all the training I already had to do, plus what might come today, I had to refuse. Though of course I didn't completely refuse.

"To be honest the way things are looking I might not be free this weekend. But if I am I would love to go."

"When will you know if you'll be free or not?"

"I should find out this evening. Once I do I promise I'll message you."

"Alright, see you later."

I went home and after a half hour period of relaxation, I picked up my phone and called Justin. After a few rings he picks up the call. "Hello, this is Ian Walker."

"Oh, Walker. I guess you're on your way? Don't worry, we'll meet at the entrance." Then he cuts the call.

Is he worried I'll expose the existence of the Metorium over the phone? It's the only explanation I have for why he spoke the way he did. In the end however, I couldn't care less. Since he's on his way, I guess I should start moving too.

I leave the house and go to the bookshop. Hugo is around today so I greet him before moving into the In-between. Within a few minutes I am in the Metorium.

I look around and not too far from the Arch that serves as the entrance, I spot Justin sporting his yellow robes. He smiles once he sees me, and I am once again drawn into his different colored eyes.