SOVEREIGN:SONS

Chapter II - Somnus - Licht Ritter

"Wake up!" Licht was startled awake opening his eyes wide, immediately closing them as an intense light blinded him. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he looked around. His room. Well, what he could make of his room as his vision was obstructed by several people all wearing the same uniform he was dressed in, but with noticeably fewer medals on all of their chests except from one. Before Licht could speak, he was sharply interrupted by a feminine voice.
"Heyyyyyy, Licht! Are you okay?" He looked to see who had spoken and at the foot of his bed, she stood. Sasha Castiel. Licht's childhood friend since before either of them could walk let alone talk. Her face was unchanged and still as kind as ever as if none of the world's harshness had worn her down. Her hair was styled the same as when she was younger, short and brown with a small red clip that held nothing in place. Her azure eyes gleamed as she waited for a response.
"Yeah, I'm fine," responded Licht. "Just a bad dream."
"A bad dream?!" screeched Sasha. "You were rolling and crying out in pain after talking to yourself for hours!"
"I was?" Muttered Licht placing his hand against his forehead which was drenched in sweat. Gross. Licht said to himself wiping the moisture from his brow. He retracted his hand back and looked at it. Was I really doing all of that? Being stabbed must have sent my brain and body into shock.
"You're lucky Seig and Valencia found you!" She pointed at two boys around the same age as Licht. They were both dressed in the same uniform as he was, but Seig had noticeably fewer medals than Licht, only holding a singular crystal medal. Seig Ritter, Licht's older brother, was shorter than Licht and more slender than he was. Freckles were scattered across his face and he shared the same piercing amber eyes that everyone in the Ritter family possessed and while most of the Ritter family had dark hair, Seig's hair was a light blonde bordering on pale white. No matter what situation he found himself in, like Sasha, he always had a cheesy grin plastered across his face.

Valencia was much taller than Seig and much bigger in build too. His face was always serious no matter the situation, rain or shine, unlike the others with his hazel eyes staring through whoever he was talking to as if more interested in a far distant horizon. Long flowing black hair framed his face, which he often wore down due to the insecurity of his unnaturally pointy ears.
"And Ryuji helped too! Although he got pulled away by Simmone not too long ago."
"Your sister is still around here? I thought she had been promoted for the head of the research division?" Questioned Licht.
"Yeah she did, but she is not sure if that's what she wants or not."
"Office job must be a boring prospect for her." Commented Seig. "I personally would not be able to handle a job that required me to sit inside all day."
"Or maybe she feels that her talents would be wasted in a cupboard locked away from the world." Interrupted Valencia. "Her Geburtssegen is all about defence, so she must feel it'd be wasted away from people who need her."
"I guess," Groaned Sasha, who for a split second allowed her smile to waver. "Well, either way, Licht I'm glad you're okay!"
"Thank you, Sasha." Responded Licht ruffling his hair.
"Oh, by the way, Licht," began Sieg. "I asked ahead about you obtaining your Schwerter alongside Sasha and Valencia."
"And?"
"They said you have been granted permission to begin today," spoke Seig moving towards the door.
"Today!?" exclaimed Licht bouncing to his feet. Before Licht could reach his brother or utter a word to him he had escaped from the room.

In his place entered another man. A taller, stockier man. His skin was a soft, light brown just like his eyes. His hair was short and curly, unkempt and unstyled despite the lack of hair to style. His entrance was as unceremonious as his appearance. However, Licht could feel the strong impression his presence created on arrival. He was dressed in a uniform similar to the uniform of the others, but it had been altered to have gold chains. Holding a small wooden clipboard and sorting through the paper attached, the man shut the door behind him. CLICK. He peered down at it before looking back up at the youth. Scratching the back of his head and clearing his throat, he then spoke.
"So," He began, his words being held onto by the youth, especially by Sasha who had moved closer towards him. "I've been just told that you guys are going to take your exam for your Schwerter today. Good job." He observed the faces of everyone stopping at Sasha, who smiled softly at him who smiled softly back before continuing. "You guys will need to report to the Wardens' Office to find out who will be accompanying you today."
The room fell silent. Remaining that way for a while. Licht stared at the floor, taken aback by the prospect of his task coming by so soon. Valencia stirred on the information, muttering to himself. Licht looked back towards the man seeing Sasha still staring at the visitor. A few minutes passed before the silence was broken.
"Okay, erm...?" spoke Licht, gesturing towards the man.
"Jayde," responded the man. "Jayde Carmine, sorry I've only recently been placed in this position."
"Okay, Jayde. So we report to the Wardens' Office and a Warden will be assigned to us."
"Right. One of us senior members of the Demon Hunting Association will accompany you for your safety while you attempt to slay the Damonen and in turn, obtain your weapon and your abilities."
"Our Schwerter and our Geburtssegen!?" Cut in Sasha, slightly butchering the pronunciation.
"Yes, once you kill the high-ranking Damonen, you will be granted an Eidolon by the D.H.A and we will go through the forging process for you Schwerter. Then you will take lessons on controlling your Geburtssegen and applying other techniques." Trailing on with disinterest.
"What a headache," muttered Valencia.
"Don't have to tell me twice. It will all be reiterated again once you're debriefed. You've been here a while but I know they don't teach you this stuff in depth. It will all make sense later after your lessons, so don't worry if you don't get it all right now. "
"Okay!" Shone Sasha.
"Okay then," Sighed Jayde. "Okay, okay! Report to the Wardens' Office in five minutes! Understand?"
"Yeah!" The group responded back in unison.
"Great." Mumbled Jayde moving to leave the room. "Don't respect me enough to say, sir. If I was like Sebastion or someone else then it'd be a different story." Before he left, he turns to Sasha who waited in awe. Jayde moves over towards her and hands her two letters. Licht, despite Jayde's best attempts to hide it, could make out the letter beneath another. One a rose colour with a heart keeping the envelope shut which lay beneath the other that was a normal white colour, but across its front was 'URGENT' printed in bold red. The two stood in silence for a moment, before Sasha gave Jayde a gentle kiss on the cheek as she took the letters from his hand. Jayde turned away from the group, before speaking again.
"One's from a student, he was adamant about me giving it to you, and the other is from Simmone. Her letter isn't as urgent as it may imply, so read it now or after your exam. Her words."
"Simmone." Mumbled Sasha, looking down at the letters. Her happy face seemed to again crumble for a moment before she regained her composure. "Thank you, Jayde!"
Jayde looked back towards her and smiled. "No problem." Opened the door and left the room without saying another word, leaving the group to ponder. CLICK.