Prologue
John Bearett Kayo New Years, 2 Years until the last New Years
"How can we trust you on a mission like this, Kayo?" an elder on the council demanded,"You've been wrong with your judgement before, which lead to the death of not one, not two, but three fellow waneta!" I ground my teeth together, trying to conceal my anger. I spoke slowly,"There isn't a day I don't regret that decision, Solstice, so don't go around thinking I'm going to make a decision like that again!" Okay, I admit it, I'm not very good at keeping my anger under control. It was disrespectful not to refer to him as Elder Solstice, but I didn't care. "We aren't talking about regret, we're talking about decisions! We, Kayo, are talking about the end of the world!" "Exactly! We need to find them before Chaos gets them!" I tossed last week's newspaper on the table: Girl Attacked by Giant Eagle,"And I have a feeling he already knows where they are." There was silence around the table. "That could mean anything." I laughed,"Anything? How often do you see a eagle the size of a lion attack a girl and her puppy? How often? And we all know Chaos's kid is a waneta. His I.A. is a giant eagle." The Council shifted uneasily. "Well, his is older than he used to be," someone said hotly and I looked up and scowled. Elder Solstice's son, Julius. He's only two years older than me. "Do you think you could stand up to an Alaskan grizzly?" I replied. It was a challenge, and a stupid move, showing disrespect, but I was annoyed and angry. The others of the Council looked around and murmured amongst themselves. "This is exactly what I was talking about," Solstice snarled,"Rash and quick. He forgets to think." "But he passed our training with the best results, higher than Stella, he should be the one to train to the four," an Elder pipped up and was shot down by two quick looks from Solstice and Julius. Stella was still a sore subject, for us all. The arguing went on for hours, my frustration grew. Finally, Lynx stood. He's the Eldest of the Elders, the Circle's Oracle, and over about three hundred years old,"John should be the one to train the four," he said in a quick, yet rough voice,"and he will be. I demand it so. No other is better suited to train the four to save the world. John," he turned to me,"you have two years to find and train the four. And then to help them on their quest. We wish you luck. Report to us weekly. Search, and search, John, for four you must find. All with the Sight and all of our kind. All must be Waneta if you wish to succeed, if you don't, all Earth shall bleed. Fix the Circle, by the New Year, or you will loose all that is dear." I had already lost all that is dear to be, and my rage and determination would help me train and make sure the Circle was mended by January 1st, 2012. I was prepared to fight, to go through as many Jared's as possible. I was ready to start. I was ready to end this.
Chapter 1
Zyanna re-adjusted her messenger bag. Moving had been hard and she'd hated her parents for it. But now she was here and there was anything she could do about it. Erin hurried through the school halls, quickly weaving her way around other students. She had moved here the month before and it was her first day of highschool. Walking through the halls, Zyanna avoided a few flying paper wads. Glancing up, Erin studied the cafeteria, its white painted walls looked boring, and the dark green seats that connected to the tables were worn out and bland. She sighed and turned back to look ahead. Suddenly she collided with another student. Erin snapped, "What do you think yu're doing?" Zyanna observed the cafeteria, not watching where she was going. She collided with another student. Standing up, Erin glared down at the other student, but her gaze lightened when she realized it had been her fault. "Sorry..." she muttered. Zyanna stood, grabbing her stuff, "Sorry". Erin nodded and shrugged, then bent down to gather her books. "New here?" she asked, standing up again. Zyanna grimaced, "Accent give it away?". Erin smiled and nodded, "Yeah...I'm new here too. Are you from Canada?" her voice was calm and soft. "Yeah, I-" Mr. Kayo walked by the two, a cup of steaming coffee in his hand, "Better not be late, class starts in two minutes", he said. "Dingo," Zyanna growled in a tone that would convince anyone that it was a curse word, "Who's homeroom are you in?". "I'm in..." she held out her hand, palm up trying to decode the messy scribbles of her class schedule, "Mr. Kayo.". "Same, I think he's down this hall," Zyanna said as she walked down the hallway. Erin watched for a moment, then hurried after her. Catching up, she matched her pace, "Hey, what's your name? I'm Erin.". "Zyanna", she looked over her shoulder and replied before entering the room. "Nice", Erin whispered before following her into the classroom. The room was on the second floor. It was a small rectangular room. With six rows of five desks. It was stuffy and kinda cold. Although Mr. Kayo had his sleeves rolled under his elbows like it was warm, revealing scars across them, like he spent his time fighting wolves or dragons. Erin glanced around, she studied the room carefully. Walking around the desks, she grabbed a seat in the back before looking up to beckon Zyanna over. Zyanna slid into the empty desk by Erin. Mr. Kati wrote on the white board, "For those of you that are new, we are currently studying the northwestern native Americans.". Bored, Erin pulled out her sketchbook and opened up to a new page. She hurriedly on the top left corner, "You draw?". And shoved it over to Zyanna. Zyanna shrugged and wrote, "Yeah." Mr. Kayo went over the regions, displaying a few pictures on the board, using the projector. There was one picture, obviously hand-drawn, of a grizzly bear fishing. Zyanna looked at it. Erin followed Zyanna's gaze to the board, she caught a glimpse of something from the corner of her eye. Turning towards it, whatever she had seen must have been an illusion, because the only thing there was Mr. Kayo. Mr. Kayo glanced around the classroom. "Erin, what were the basic beliefs of the Native Americans?" he said. Shaking her head, Erin stared at him for a moment before speaking, "That...uh...that each person had a spirit animal?" she answered. Her reply was just something she had read online. "And...?" he urged. Erin looked at Zyanna desperately, then glanced back at Mr. Kayo, that...uhm..."she thought for a moment, "I don't know." Mr. Kayo turned back to the board, and changed the slide. Shrinking down in her seat, Erin glanced up at the board, then Mr. Kayo. She narrowed her eyes, there was something odd about him, she decided. Zyanna doodled on her notes, glancing at Erin. Mr. Kayo pointed to the board and listed a few things about the Native Americans. As he scanned the students, he focused on the sight, moving his eyes to the back of the room, he studied the two new inner animals he saw, a green reindeer and a black tiger with icy blue stripes. He stared for a moment before quickly turning back to the board. Zyanna glanced at Erin when Mr. Kayo looked at them. Erin returned Zyanna's glance then slowly looked back at the board. Mr. Kayo began speaking again, talking about religious beliefs of the Native Americans. Zyanna doodled on her paper. Flicking his glaze towards Zyanna, Mr. Kayo made his way between the desks over to her, he slowly pulled the paper away from her. He studied it while still talking to the class. Doodles of reindeer dotted the paper, some staring at the sky, others grazed at the white paper. Zyanna shrank back in her seat, hands in her lap. She didn't know why she'd been drawing reindeer, she didn't like them. Not that she disliked them, they just weren't her favorite. But after entering the classroom she had felt compelled to. Maybe because the Native Americans hunted them. Mr. Kayo studied the drawings a moment before setting the paper back down on Zyanna's desk. He stood there for a second before walking back to the board. The class murmured amongst themselves. Zyanna glanced at the clock. "I'd like to see you two after class", Mr. Kayo told Erin and Zyanna. Erin looked up quickly, she shot a panicked glance at Zyanna. She tapped the desk nervously with her finger nails. The bell rang and the students filed out. Mr. Kayo took out some supplies, he looked up at them while unscrewing a paint jar, "I'm not going to eat you", he said, "we have free period now so you van go wherever you want." he leaned back in his chair, pausing to paint something on a small canvas. "I'd advise you to steer clear of the gym", he said. "Why?" asked Erin quickly, stealing a glance at the painting. Curiosity pricked at her thoughts, did social studies teachers paint? If he did, then why didn't he become an art teacher? "Because, most idiots go there during free period, and you're the new kids", he said while switching brushes. Zyanna eyed the colors, unable to see the painting. Erin looked at Mr. Kayo, studying him carefully, "Ah..." she looked around the room, no one else was there, do they all go there?" "No, some go to the library or th-" he paused as the door opened. "Sorry I'm late Mr. Kayo, I had-" Sora paused as turned around and saw the girls there, "oh, sorry should I wait outside?" Mr. Kayo shook his head, "No, it's fine." he set his brush down. Zyanna looked at Sora. Erin stared at him curiously, looking him up and down, before focusing on his hair, which had bright blue highlights in it. She turned her gaze to Zyanna then Mr. Kayo. Mr. Kayo was focusing on his painting, painting with short quick strokes. Erin stepped towards Mr. Kayo, "What are you painting?" Mr. Kayo flipped over the canvas. There was a golden grizzly bear standing on a rock, swiping at a leaping salmon. There was a forest behind the river. "Is that the picture from class today?" Erin asked. He shook his head, "I'll be adding to it later." Sora, bored now, looked at them, "Who are you?" he asked suddenly. "Zyanna." "I'm Erin." "Where are you from?" Sora asked. "We're new, I'm from Australia," Erin replied. "And you?" he nodded towards Zyanna. "Canada." "That's what I thought," he said. Mr. Kayo glanced at the three students, "What about you Sora, where are you from?" "New Zealand," Sora answered. Erin rolled her eyes. "I moved here from England when I was seven," Mr. Kayo added. "Really?" Erin stated at Mr. Kayo, "doesn't seem like it..." "Wouldn't," he went on, "It was nineteen years ago..." "Awesome," Erin said. "So Mr. Kayo," Sora started, "can we get on with our lesson?" "Lesson?" Erin looked at Sora, to Mr. Kayo, then back at Sora. "Yes, sorry," Mr. Kayo said and set down his brush. "What lesson?" Zyanna asked. Sora stared at Mr. Kayo, his eyes asking the question, "Should we tell them?" Mr. Kayo waved his hand, "Go ahead." "Mr. Kayo has been giving me...let's just say...emotional lessons." Erin stared at Sora as if he were an idiot. "Are you like emo or something?" Zyanna said. Mr. Kayo laughed, "Oh no, nothing like that, I've simply been teaching him methods to...balance his emotions." "So he's emo", Zyanna said. "By emotional balance, I mean art," Mr. Kayo improvised and tossed Sora a pen. Sora looked a little confused at first, then caught on, "Yes, I draw...the room suddenly went bright blue, standing in front of him was a green reindeer, a black tiger with ice blue stripes, and a golden grizzly bear. Sora looked over to the mirror at the back of the room and saw a falcon with a bright blue stripe looking back at him...animals." "What kind of animals?" Zyanna asked. "Any, whatever really. I get inspiration for random ones when I look around," Sora said. He looked at Mr. Kayo for assurance. "Nice way to put it," his look said. Sora nodded, "Then let's get started." Erin watched carefully, she flinched back, rubbing her eyes. The form of a golden grizzly bear had replaced Mr. Kayo for a second. It was the second time she had seen the same thing. Sora looked up from the falcon he was drawing, noticing Erin looked a little...off...he asked, "You okay?" Zyanna looked up from her sketch. Erin shook her head, "I'm fine," she muttered. "Are you sure," Sora pressed. Mr. Kayo continued to paint. Erin turned to the door as it opened, a tall, dark haired woman poked her head in the door. "Hey you're the new girls right?" she asked. "Welcome to (what here?), and Sora," she said, "can I see you in my office?" "What for?" Sora asked. "I saw you during gym today and I'd like you to join track and field. "Okay," Sora said, "Catcha later!" he called, looking at Erin and Zyanna. "Mr. Kayo?" he asked, "tomorrow?" Mr. Kayo nodded, still painting. Erin picked up her books, "Could we come here too?", she asked. "Of course," Mr. Kayo replied, wiping paint off his hands with a paper towel. He then balled it up, threw it in the air, and swiped at it...it shot into the trash can by the door.
