Reborn: High Strung | ONC2024

Chapter 18

The moon hung over the town of Crater with a beautiful glow. The endless night of Nocturne was a calming sight after everything they had all been through. Meira, Zev, and Simon were all standing in the courtyard of Lavan's estate. It had been a week since the incident. Lavan had told them all to stay put and rest while he dealt with the political aftermath. He used air quotes while describing it. Simon stood with his back leaned against the wall and his draconic arms crossed, thinking through his words carefully as they all relaxed. "It's still too hard to believe."

Zev looks at his older brother, startled, and then his face pales a bit. "How do you think I feel? I've always been the weakest around, working hard just to catch up. Now suddenly I'm..." He trails off, not knowing if he's ready to address it out loud.

Meira looked between them, confused at the back and forth, and she finished Zev's statement. "A Nova, and just like every other ascension to Nova, we don't really know how."

Zev tenses. "Well, Lavan seems to know something, at least, and he still wants to train us both." He looks over at Simon and corrects himself. "All three of us, even."

Meira pushes her glasses up and speaks in her matter-of-fact tone. "Well, of course he does; I trained you up to flame; now you're a nova. So clearly, I'm on the way. And Simon? Come on, Simon is bursting at the seams with sethra."

Zev looked at his best friend, slightly confused. "Is that a..." A smile cracks his expression. "Joke?"

They all began to laugh lightheartedly. It had taken quite a few days, but they could finally feel the safety in Crater. Pretty soon, Lavan would be back, and they could talk about what the future would hold for all of them. It wasn't long after that they all went to their rooms to sleep. Lavan had given them each a full one to themselves. Zev laid in his soft bed while running through his memories. Apparently, having a burnt soul was a rare condition that stunted sethra growth. Previously thought to only be cured by being reborn, It was mainly only known by higher-level soulkindlers on layer three; it was hard to see actual signs of it. Lavan told him of his theory that burnt souls weren't stunted in growth but simply had an extra barrier around their sethra as it grew. Like filling a bowl with water but only having a needle-point-sized hole for the water to escape, to get the sethra out to match others, you had to try much harder. Zev looked at the ascension marks on his hands, and the masks stared back at him. He had proven Lavan's theory correct; he had pushed hard enough past the barrier to break it with his ascension to inferno. He still wasn't sure how he leaped to Nova in the same instance, but that's the only reason everyone survived; he was sure Lavan would, but Simon and Meira? Whatever the reason, he was glad. He had killed two other kindlers, but still had no firm idea why they were attacking. He couldn't help but wonder why the winged Nova was so vicious. Simon had told him a little about the man, his experimenting, and the matter of Simon's unlocked soul link. It was a frightening notion, knowing that Simon would be gone forever if he died again, but he couldn't help but be curious about the ability to travel to any layer. He wouldn't be surprised if Meira tried to grill Simon for research on how to do it to herself. A soft smile rests on Zev as he leans his head back. They are all safe. He closes his eyes; he could rest easily now.

Lavan returned after everyone woke up from a good sleep. The excited teacher gathered his three promising pupils in the courtyard, a fresh, pristine traversal ring behind him already. "Good news, everybody; I've done a lot of talking with the other Nova's." He motions to Zev. "Minus one, and it looks like we've all agreed that for the moment you all are allowed to live under my watch and train for the protection of the top three layers."

Zev lit up, stepping forward. "Does that mean we can all take a trip back to Sanctum, finally?"

Lavan claps his hands with his usual cheery smile. "It does! You will need to stay under my surveillance on King Erez's orders, but you'll find I'm quite lenient when it comes to personal matters."

Zev looked back at Simon and Meira with excitement swelling in his eyes. His close friend and older brother returned his expression with explosive energy, rushing together and discussing how they're going to spend their time. Lavan watches, his face softening more with a kind smile. He spoke after a minute, taking a few steps backwards into the traversal ring. "Are you all coming?"

In a flash of light, Lavan and his pupils appeared in King Oren's Garden, right next to his tree, breaking off some of its bark. Lavan looks over at the damage, then over to Oren, who was standing ten feet away with a stunned expression. Lavan clears his throat. "Oo, so close. I'm sure I'll get it next time."

King Oren's eyes and shoulders dropped; he couldn't stop Lavan from constantly testing the limits of their world. "Hello, Lavan. Please don't make that a habit."

Lavan walks over, patting Oren on the shoulder. "I will do my best, old friend."

Oren's voice dripped with exhaustion. "I'm not your friend."

After a quick greeting the small crew left the castle and made their way into Zev's hometown. Zev and Simon waved goodbye to Meira as her and Lavan went to take a carriage to her town, splitting up.

Meira made it home the next day, showing off her Nova teacher to her parents and explaining everything that had happened and she had seen. Lavan felt the need to comfort them and tell them that he intended to keep all his students safe until they were ready to keep the rest of the layers secure. They were on board fairly quickly, especially her father, who listened to her stories with as much excitement as she had told them.

Zev opens the front door of his home, walking in and calling out. "Mom? Are you home?"

Ruth stumbles into the living room from the kitchen as if she had sprinted at the sound. She stares up at her boys. Simon lifted a draconic clawed hand and waved with a bashful smile. She rushed forward and hugged both of them close, tears forming in her eyes. "I can't believe you're here; you're okay."

Simon squeezes into them both smiling with a similar disbelief, he spoke with pride. "Zev and Meira saved me, I've always known he was strong, but to think he would go so far for me..."

Ruth looks down at Zev and cups his face, squeezing his cheeks with a teary smile. "You're so stubborn." She pauses and pulls him near, hugging him closely and whispering. "Thank you. I'm so sorry."

Zev could hear the tinge of guilt in her voice; he simply pulled away, grabbing her shoulders with a confident smile. "You don't have to worry about anything, mom. As long as me, Simon, and Meira are around, no one's going to hurt our home."

The reunited family took the day to talk about everything that had happened in great detail. They cook together, eat a hot meal, and enjoy the company they have missed for so long now. Many tears and laughs were shared throughout the day, and Zev finally felt true relief. While everyone else was asleep, Zev got up and walked into the forest he always trained in with Simon. He didn't stop until he found the trees that had almost toppled on top of him while he had been frozen in fear, which felt like forever ago. His eyes scanned the clearing; it wasn't perfect, but the grass had grown almost fully back. It was mended better than he imagined. Zev walked into the middle of the clearing, taking a deep breath of the forest air. Being here now, he knew for sure that he wouldn't freeze again. No matter what surprises came next, he would be ready.

[WC: 32,912]