Crystalline Cavern: The Brigaders

Chapter 1

Eliza

       I turned to the TI with a smile. "How did I do?" He turned and looked at me straight in the eye but didn't show any sort of emotion. I immediately thought to myself that I had failed, that I had just completely wasted his time with the Pathwa. There was nothing but silence for the next two minutes as he wrote a few notes down on his clipboard until he finally spoke with a smile. "You did well. Congratulations, you have achieved Quartz rank in your training." My eyes welled up as he handed me my new armband with the symbol that represented the Quartz, the cursive letter C that was written in the language of our people, "Cwarts".

       I blinked away the tears and felt a rush run through my head, mainly because the fatigue of that course run was starting to get to me a lot faster than I had hoped. Ruby quickly propped me up from my side to keep me steady. My friends clap and cheer, as did the rest of the students who decided to stay and watch me. I can finally put my worries to rest, but at the same time, I still have the tournament to train for. I guess I can just relax for now though. I mean, Ruby offered to take us to Cánë after I achieved Quartz rank, but she said that even if I didn't, we would still go and say "good job for trying your best," but she knows very well that if I didn't rank up, I would go insane and start training like crazy until I do. 

       The silhouette of a slightly taller and pale physique came up to me and draped their arms around me. "Come on let's go! It's time to celebrate!", she said as she squeezed me tight ridding my body of whatever air that remained in my lungs. Rose's curly hair that stuck to me, thanks to the sweat that I had accumulated, slowly peeled off my skin as she pulled away from the hug. "Although, I suggest maybe a shower first?" A shower sounds great right about now. My stomach started to grumble. Food sounds slightly better though... Ruby nodded in agreement as she held her fingers up to her nose. "I don't smell that bad do I?" I turned toward Rose. She only nodded slowly in agreement. "I felt your aura during the whole thing, it was stronger than ever! I can tell you've been training hard." The low pitched voice was slowly matched with its form, as my eyes came into contact with the same hazel eyes as before. "Well, it was mainly thanks to Rose, she's always been my number one training partner when it comes to keeping me in top form." Rose scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Don't be so modest, you've always been in top form regardless of whether or not you train with me!" Those hazel eyes just seemed to get closer. Forest wasn't really known for keeping in his own personal space when it comes to us anyway. "Well, either way, I think you did awesomely but, I totally did better when I achieved it." I just crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. He probably trains harder than anyone of us here, but sometimes his arrogance can be a little much when it comes to any praise he decides to give out. "Come on I'm starving! Aren't you?" He puts his arm around my shoulders and I immediately froze as a blush began to creep up my face, I tried hiding it, but I noticed Rose smirking at me, so I can tell I failed. I just hope he didn't notice. "I-I could eat." Forest looked at me with a raised brow. "You ok? You look a little flushed. Maybe that run might've worn you out a little more than you think." I shook my head slightly in an attempt to pull myself together. "Yeah, I'm sure that's just it. I think some lunch can fix that issue." I wasn't technically lying at least, but Dark saw it as an opportunity to mess with me. "Sure, that's the excuse." Rose punched Dark's arm as he proceeded to make all sorts of sarcastic noises trying to imitate the feeling of pain. Although, with his upper body physique, I'm sure that he barely felt it at all. I'll have to thank her for the defensive gesture later. He then brushed his long black, side-swept hair out of his eyes. Ruby finally decided to cut in as she came in between me and Forest. "Can we just go to eat now? Just watching all that running made me hungry." I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding in as we started walking out of the Pathwa Centre. I wish I wasn't so captured by him. It's nothing but a sin to think about anyone else romantically besides your Aura Núte. Just the thought of feeling my aura connect with the person that I'm destined to spend my life with send chills down my spine and makes my skin crawl with goosebumps, even though I was covered with sweat.

       Looking past Dark's rather tall form, I saw Ocean looking rather anxious as spaced out looking onto the course I just ran. I could only look at him with empathy, knowing that he had a lot of trouble achieving Feldspar rank last time. "I guess it's my turn then, huh?" Everyone looked back at him with the same empathetic look because all of us know how much he struggled. Around that time, Ocean had his ax weighted, so it's been harder for him to train these days and since it's a different feeling to him now, his aura is having trouble connecting to it as well. It's like the old saying of our people, "Um aura agh zag aren't shal sync, then neither ku your hugi agh turm.", meaning, "if your aura and weapon aren't in sync, then neither is your mind and body." I've totally been there when I got my multi-staff upgraded with blades. Many people get confused as to what my weapon is exactly, and it's basically just a regular staff with a few additions. I can break it in half by using the Shift Activator to turn the two halves into blasters. Each blaster has its own Aura Connector which I can use to control the intensity and strength of each energy bullet. I can also add two types of blades to both ends of the staff. An offensive blade that is sharp and straight mainly used for direct attacks, and a defensive one, which is hooked, mainly used for climbing and deflecting incoming objects.

       "So, what are you guys getting to eat?" Dark asked all of us in general in an attempt to break the slight tension that formed when reminiscing over Ocean's Pathwa. Rose answered him with her usual sarcastic tone. "Well, we all know you're getting a regular old salad." We all laugh at that obvious statement. Dark is a vegetarian, which most of us fail to understand how he manages to keep his rather fit physique without the protein from meat. "I think I'm going to get some fries and a chicken sandwich. What about you, Ruby?" Ruby responded to Rose with excitement as she proudly announced, "I'm going for a burger!"

       "A personal pizza for me!" Forest's usual. "I've really been craving some lasagna these days." Ocean is always craving something new. "I'll just get a tuna sandwich with some chips." I always seem to get the same thing too. Ruby nodded at everyone else's choices and said, "Sounds good! Let's go!" 

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       We had all made our way outside in front of the academy and started heading into town, I looked over my shoulder to see the tall building that was slowly fading away behind me. We all walked further into the underground. The gleaming and shine of the salt crystals that were being reflected by the city lights. The stalagmites with fluorescent moss, flowers, and unique wild plants that grew from them only seemed to make this place just as magical. Although we had no Sun, there were segments of tubing and colored bulbs that radiated a sort of warmth. It was the UV light coming in from the surface, as it extends all throughout the sectors of the underground. The city was slowly still coming to life in the early morning as we continued further down the sidewalk, walking past uniquely shaped buildings and other warriors of different academies and workplaces. Looking onward toward the center of the city was the main tower: Minas Ithil, a spire-like structure with multiple windows and colorful lights that could be seen from each corner and crevice of the city. It was an acting watchtower and also home to the most prestigious warriors and personnel. One day, I'll be one of those personnel.

       All of us continued on towards Cánë as I continued to admire my surroundings as if I was seeing it all for the first time. Crystalline Cavern, Sector 7. Home sweet home.