Lunaria: Genesis

4- Library

We walk across the tree bridges, I look around to learn my surroundings and Prae points out some landmarks I need to know. As we walked, I could sense someone approaching quickly behind me, but I didn't know who it was. Before I have completely sensed it, I am already in the air, jumping clear over the person's head as they shot under me and collides into Prae's back, toppling overestimated together and rolling on the bridge until they crash into a tree. Prae is furious, throwing the person form on top of her and picking them up by their neck, assumed lay ready to throttle them. The person is a kid, no older than 13, with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes. He looks at Prae with a mischievous gleam and shrugs slyly, and Prae shakes him a bit.

"It's you again Kurren! Why can't you stay out of trouble, or at least keep your hell-raising far away from me!" She says, frustrated. This must not be the first time they have run into each other. His eyes meet with mines briefly, and they flash with curiosity then he gives me a grin.

"My bad, I was in a rush, and I'm pretty excited and full of energy. Isn't that what you wanted me to do, instead of sleeping in your class, Dear Miss Sul, O' Great Leader?" He says innocently in a mocking, deviant tone and then winking at me. Prae scowls at him, shaking him more.

"Why I ought to teach you, but I have more important things to do. Now go, before I change my mind." She says, dropping him to let him run of in the other direction, sighing and rolling her eyes. Prae turns back towards me, at first still frustrated with Kurren, but as she looks at me her face slowly melts to that of concern. My expression must have given me away, despite how minimal it must have been. I didn't take well seeing her hands around the boy's neck, I fear she would do worse to me if I step out of line. I fear nothing has changed since those darkest times before I was brought to the hospital. She looks at me and then tries to reassure me, thinking I was concerned for the boy.

"Don't worry, that kid is just a little scamp. If only someone could get some sense into that thick skull of his, he would be alright." She says, waving her hand as if brushing the thought of him aside. "Anyways, welcome to the temple, Lunaria."

Prae takes me inside the front gates of the temple. The courtyard is large with jade pillars and the ceiling a glass skylight. Lanterns line the walls for when it becomes to dark to see naturally, and the whole place is decorated with elaborate tapestry and bonsai trees in jade and gold pots. Only a few people walk back and forth, adults dressed in a militant official style, carrying books, scrolls, and other errand looking things. Prae walks ahead of me, and where she goes people now respectfully to her, acknowledging her coming and going. They give me strange looks, side glancing me as an oddity. I am used to these responses, but they don't make me feel any better about them. They only see me as I am, something that obviously doesn't fit in with the appearance of the norm. Back through winding halls we walk until we reach the front doors of an office, Prae Sul engraved in the heavy wood in gold. She opens the door and the back wall is glass to show a full view of the Village, houses disguised in the tree branches and bustling people weaving along building on the ground. A large desk is against this wall, cluttered with papers and scrolls and mail. She sighs looking around at the mess, then turning to me.

"This is my office, where I handle most of my work and give out missions. You can most likely find me here if you need me." She says. "Let's go to the library."

Down the hall far to the left is a smaller set of doors leading to a two story high wide room filled with shelves of books. She walks in and points me to a table to sit down. Then she moves around and picks up a book and brings it to me, sitting across from me and opening the book in front of me.

"This is a handbook on how this Village is run, along with most other villages. We are protected by our own people, and those adults who fight for our cause and carry out missions are called Mercenaries. They are the basic level of the military, ones who delivers, retrieves information, protects people, guards the borders, and fights in battles. The superior and expert level of these people are called Elites. They come with years of experience and outstanding abilities. They are never seen or heard but a gather of information and assassinate negative forces. To train adults to be Mercenaries, we start young with the Academy. The Academy is where families send their best youth to be Students that is any children who have intentions of becoming someone who is in the military. When they learn enough skills, they become promoted to Cadet, and they are close to becoming a Mercenary. They are under the direct tutoring of a skilled Teacher and carry out small missions. Teachers are adults any rank of Mercenary or higher. Rarely there is one child who is skilled enough to have the rank of Protégée, and that means that the child has abilities close to that of even an Elite, but typically only myself and the Family are privileged with that information. But to even get in the Academy, a family has to send you. The only families that send in children are those that are wealthy of skilled. The Lady or Lord decides what child stays or goes. A Lady or Lord is the head of a powerful or wealthy family that houses and supports their child as a growing student. They have influence over the economy and mainly consist of past mercenary or wealthy merchants with mercenary background. Some children with enough rank grow to become the Knights of their families. A Knight is the head of the family with the most rank military wise. This person will be the mentor any student if their family seeks the  out. This person is also tasked with protecting the family. All of these people work together to complete this village, families send their children to become Mercenaries, and Mercenaries work protecting the Village and their families. You will soon be a part of a Family and get a chance to go to the Academy, but until then you are free to stay here. That is the basis of all there is to know, but that certainly isn't everything. There is limitless information about this place in these books, I'll leave you to research at your own will until dinner." She says, standing up and leaving the library, leaving me alone surrounded by the old books and scrolls.

I sit blankly at the table, unmoving. I look down at the books he had opened in front of me, the inside looks abstract and unrecognizable, it's hard to tell things apart on its pages. I cannot fathom ever wanting to stay in a place like this, but I don't feel like I have a choice but to sit here and wait until she calls for me. I try and try again, looking at the same pages of the open book, but I give up knowing that I can't read. I sit still and wait patiently for Prae Sul to return, hopefully without asking if I learned anything new.