Twist of Fate

Extra Chapter: Zulén's Side

A/N: This is Zulén's day(and before) and point of view of how he met Lareria. I'm revealing some details I have no idea how to put in the story...I think...

It was like any other day. I woke up before dawn and trained, practicing my routines for my long sword, Arcadia. After practice, I headed back to my room in the Select's tower, where, thankfully, only the Select were permitted to live. So I didn't have to face the ogling of ordinary students as I pulled off my sweaty clothing as I walked to my room. I took a long hot bath, allowing the mineral filled water relax my muscles, then got out and put on my uniform. Though it was the break, I still had to go to the Academy. For some reason, Headmaster Kaelon had requested I come on that specific day and that did not give me a good feeling. And to top it off, it was nearly time for what I'd been waiting for my whole life.

  What was the Headmaster planning?

  I headed to the Headmaster's office cursing the blasted old man's plans for entertainment. I'd known him five years, ever since Nahuel introduced us when I was twelve, and I still couldn't stand the man. He knew nearly everything about me and accepted me into the Academy despite that, but I just couldn't like him. He was so irritating, almost as irritating as Nahuel, and my adoptive father was insanely irritating.

  I shook my head of the  thoughts as I reached the Headmaster's office. I knocked and waited until I heard the familiar "Come in". I walked in and stood in front of the desk where the old man sat, smiling the usual smile that foretold of future pain. He offered me a seat to the side but I declined, preferring to keep standing so I could leave as soon as possible.

  "How are you, Zulén," he asked, smiling. "The break is nearly over, I thought you would've visited Nahuel. Its been almost two years, hasn't it?"

  "What do you want?" I asked curtly. I wasn't in the mood to listen to his aggravating niceties.

  Headmaster Kaelon chuckled. "Impatient, aren't we?" He muttered, and I opened my mouth to retort but he waved a hand. "I have a mission for you."

  My brows furrowed a fraction. He was cutting to the chase already? That was far too fast to be normal. "What is it that you wish me to do?"

  The Headmaster leaned forward on his hands as he grew serious, a rare sight. "A village has requested the presence of someone from the Academy to take care of a large animal that keeps appearing in a nearby forest."

  I frowned. He called me for such an ordinary request? Any of the others could easily take care of something like that, hell, even one of the lower ranked students could. "Why do you want me?"

  The Headmaster didn't speak for a moment. "You're the only one I can allow to do this," he said slowly, as if he was trying to speak carefully. "The place this request has come from is a place I expect you'll be going to even if I told you not to."

  My eyes narrowed. "Where?"

  "Catíu."

  I felt the air around us grow cold as I unintentionally let my temper get the best of me. The Headmaster watched me silently as I calmed my aura. My emotions roiled beneath me as I fought to keep a blank expression. The mission was in Catíu, the place where the legend foretelling the world's end was to occur. "Why--"