Lady of Light #Wattys2016

Chapter 24

Walking into the room was like walking into a smaller version of my dorm room. The similarities were rather comforting actually, though the mattress had bedding, the bed was still that plastic-y too strong dorm-style wooden construction. There was a small sink in one corner, a desk in another, and several other pieces of furniture were scattered around. A heavy bookshelf was nailed to the wall, making me smile. Hopefully, I'd be able to fill it soon.

After washing my face and changing into one of the fancier outfits that Bree had the foresight to suggest I bring, I placed the key to my room around my neck and tucked it into my blouse. Making my way outside and across the grass to the school building, I looked for an unlocked door.

When I looked up to the top floor, I could see that it was well lit compared to the darkness of the rest of the building. I finally found a door, and was lucky enough to get one with an elevator nearby when I got in.

Thanks to the concealing darkness, I hadn't been able to judge the true size of the building. According to the elevator, there were lots of floors in this building. I couldn't imagine what you'd need this many floors for, but if the entire nation's children were trained here then I imagined they needed a lot of room for classrooms.

Arriving at the top, I took a deep breath as the elevator doors opened. I made my way to a closed door with light coming from underneath it and knocked carefully.

"Enter," a masculine voice said.

I opened the door and saw that it was taken up primarily by a large wooden table with nine people seated around it. The unremarkable looking brown haired man from earlier was there, and a vaguely angry looking woman next to him with hair as red as mine in the same grey sleeveless tunic and a red undershirt. A thin woman with dirty blonde hair and a vaguely ditzy expression sat next to the man, and next to her was a strong looking guy with curly brown hair. They both wore white under their grey clothing. Next to him sat a short, dark skinned woman with black curly hair and a cheerful expression, and her neighbor was an Asian man; both wearing green under their grey. The last matching pair were what looked like siblings of Pacific Islander ancestry, with identical expressions of annoyance and disapproval on their faces. On the opposite end, next to the brown haired man from earlier, was a woman with curly brown hair and gold under her grey tunic.

"Welcome, Lady," the brown haired man from earlier said, "I am Emqu Gibil Arthur." The woman next to him tossed her hair a bit as she introduced herself as "Emqu Gibil Mara." The fire users. The next woman informed me that she was a Ninlil named Lila. Her neighbor frowned as he introduced himself as Enlil William, finishing the pair who manipulated air. The dark skinned woman and her Asian companion introduced themselves pleasantly as Damkianna Dawn and Enki Bobby. After a moment of trying to remember the proper words, I remembered that they were earth manipulators. The siblings of disapproval introduced themselves as Nina Marina, and Ninazu Bryan. To my intense surprise, the woman in gold and grey at the other end of the table went last, and introduced herself as Igigi Libby.

"Igigi Aubree is very proud of your progress, Lady," she added with a smile.

"Thank you," I said to her, "And as you all know, I am Ninti Sofia."

"Yes," Gibil Arthur said with a wry smile, "Yes you are. We've called you here to discuss your role here in our community. What do you want to accomplish?" I thought for a moment.

"My very obvious, and eventual purpose, is to help you be victorious against the Sepsu. Obviously, things are getting heated between you, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

"But before I can know the best way to do that, I would like to be able to learn about your society and customs. It is very different from the one I grew up in and I would like to be able to learn more about your people. If I'm going to be fighting for them, shouldn't I get to know them?"