Aria Blackwood - Entries

Round 1: Runes, Runes, Runes

I walked through the large hallways of the Institute, my hands clenched into fists. This is it, I thought. The first task on my journey to Ascend. My heart was beating erratically in my chest as my palms started to grow slightly damp. This would be my first step towards the defining moment of my life. 

Was I nervous, you ask? Of course I was – I mean, who wouldn't be? If I failed, I'd remain human, a mundane, and be sent back to my parents whom I loathed. I didn't want to disappoint my Nephilim friends either; Mai, Zander and Cabot had been training me vigorously for almost three years in order for these coming weeks. I'd do absolutely everything in my power to not let them down and instead make them proud of me. They were the only ones I cared about, after all.

But I would let no one know that I was nervous. Nervousness was a weakness – and I was done with being weak. All my life I had been bullied for that one reason: showing my weaknesses. Like hell was I going to let that happen here. Instead, I was going to find the best people possible to make friends with. I'd learnt from an early age that having people on your side was perhaps one of the greatest advantages an individual could possess. You could depend on each other, and friends usually brought out the best in you – and I was going to have to bring out the best in me if I was going to actually Ascend and prove everyone wrong.

I wiped any signs of nervousness off of my face and looked down at the letter I had received from the Clave about a week ago. In careful, cursive strokes, it explained how my request for Ascension had been processed and that I had been partly accepted. For my Ascension, I was going up against fifteen other individuals who all wanted the exact same thing – to Ascend. It then explained how each week or so we'd go through various challenges, and the one who performed the weakest would be eliminated.

So here I was, just as the letter had instructed; June 1st 2015, just before 10am, walking towards the training hall of the New York Institute.

I turned the corner that led me to the training hall, still looking down at the letter that had a small map of the Institute attached. However, I was so focussed on the map that I didn't realise I was going to bump into someone until it was too late.

Crashing into the hard back of someone really tall, I gasped and stumbled back a little bit, but caught myself before I could fall. "Sorry, sorry!" I apologised – I definitely didn't want to make enemies here. I looked up to see who I had accidently bumped in to; a boy who was probably a year older than me. His eyes were green, almost emerald-like, and his hair was dark and slightly messy. "Sorry," I said again.

"Don't worry about it," he said quietly, offering me a small smile as his eyes skimmed over my face, reading my expression.

I quickly wiped any signs of nervousness off of my face before smiling back. "I'm Aria Blackwood, and sorry again – that was my fault," I said.

"Aleks Tomoe, and you don't need to be sorry," he replied, hugging a book to his chest. From the looks of it, it was a Codex.

"Are you here for the Ascension?" I asked, crossing my arms over my own chest.

"Yeah. Are you?" he questioned.

"Obviously," I said. "Do you know anyone else here?" I looked past him at the other people who were also waiting outside the doors – there were about seven others who were all standing apart, looking pretty tough.

"Nope," he answered simply.

"Well, now you know me," I smiled, giggling a little at the slight blush that crept across his face. He looked down at the ground. "Anyway, why do you want to Ascend?"

"I want to help those who can't help themselves," Aleks said earnestly, still looking at the ground. "I want to be able to stand up for people who can't do so. And," he faltered. "And I want to help find a cure for my parents. They're both really sick, and I'm certain that a demon made them that way. I want to save them,"