Civilization Beyond the Stars - discontinued

15

A/N I am really really sorry for not updating for such a long time. First my computer crashed, then my procrastinating self couldn't sit down and just write...

I'll try and upload a compensation chapter soon.

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I looked in alarm as Michael heaped a brown sludgy liquid into his bowl with great enthusiasm. Why the hell would he like to eat THAT? looks like it was time for me to learn not to judge a book by a cover... or a dish by its looks.

"At least taste it, its awesome!" pleaded Michael.

"uhm... are you sure its edible?" I was a picky eater, only fruits, bread and Nutella were all I liked to eat.

Nutella is life.

Michael rolled his eyes at me "I'm not stupid, it tastes amazing, trust me!" he insisted. I was aware of 300 pairs of eyes on me. Everybody was curious too see the prince, and they were even more curious to murderously glare at the person who was so freely interacting with him. Which was me.

With reluctance, I took a teeny-tiny bit of it and then proceeded to my table along with Michael. Ferelith followed not far away. I kind of liked her. She was badass and so at ease with herself, so sure of herself. Once at our table, Michael let out a sigh of relief. Maybe he isn't as used to the attention as I first thought. This led me to ask myself, would I also get this type attention once they find out that I am a lord? I'd have to dress up and sit through those boring council meetings.

Except that they wouldn't be boring because I would get to speak up my views on everything and I could be one of the people who took important decisions. But all those people would watch me speak up. The youngest of lords, inexperienced and awkward.

I suppressed a shudder. There was a tough journey ahead, I could either brave it or die trying (ok, that's extreme). Wasn't it me who wished that my life not be a carefully planned road? Wasn't I the one who wished my life to be a roller coaster life with deadly situations and adrenaline spiking encounters with strange people? Hadn't I wished my life to be a fantasy novel?

What I hadn't realized was that when reading a fantasy novel, you were always assured of a satisfying ending, the emotions of the protagonist affected you but didn't impact your life. That when reading a fantasy novel, you are watching from a third person perspective, with no fear on your mind, you know that you don't have to worry in a dire situation, just turn the page and read on what happens.

Hell, I don't even know if I am the protagonist of my book or am I one of those side characters who is dearly hated by all the readers and dies of his own stupidity to make way for more important characters. I don't have the surety that the ending would be good or that the ride would be smooth, I have no idea.

I stared off into space seeing my batchmates laugh and talk but not really processing anything. My mind too occupied in thinking of the future, absorbed in self-doubt.

Well, one thing I know for sure is that nothing ever comes by thinking, you need to get up and do things to find out what comes next in your life. With that somber thought I called my wandering mind back to the dining hall in the basement of the Teras academy of apprenticeship guarded by a dense forest on a planet called Teras which is surrounded by two suns in the middle of nowhere. Or the middle of somewhere I don't know the name of.

After finishing the meal, we were herded along to another huge hall across the corridor with strange walls. The floor was marked with numbers from 1 to 5. They were written in shining silver on the dull brown rock the whole place was made up of. Voices didn't echo here, and the windowless walls were draped with rich silk banners with different symbols.

The children all stood haphazardly unsure of what to do, while some adults glided on to the stage, all dressed smartly, some of them lords with their uniform and medals glinting off the artificial lights. The murmur or the crowd subsided as the eldest and possibly most senior of the adults raised his hand, gesturing us to become quiet.

I and Michael stood close, along with Hillian, Ferelith and for once, silent pansy. Huddled at the front

"dear all, " his gentle voice boomed through the hall as he looked over us, smiling " all of us gathered here have worked hard to achieve this privilege of standing here in the halls of this esteemed institution and have proved ourselves of being worthy to achieve the highest quality of education that exists in this universe. I'm sure you would uphold the legacy that the previous batches have worked so hard to achieve and maintain. Here, talent would be the torch which will light your path and your hard work will help you walk on it, follow it till you achieve your dream"

He paused. I wondered what variety of hard work I did to be worthy of standing here.

"not to bore you with lengthy speeches on moral values which I'm sure you have heard a million times, let me move on to the main purpose of you all assembling here. So, bear this old looking fellow blabbering for a little more while..." he chuckled before continuing "based on the aptitude and skill test you gave for admission, we have determined the strongest field for you. Students with similar strengths are grouped together to facilitate better learning. On the basis of that, you have been divided into 5 groups. One for Stealth, one for Combat, one for Strategic Intelligence, Design and the last one for Diplomacy and Administration. One master would be allotted per group, who would be responsible for your well being as well as your training" he glanced at the five Skill masters lined up behind him.

They stood proudly, two lords among them. Three of the five were women.

"for Stealth, the students selected are... "he began with the list and the called students moved over to the side of the floor marked 1. None of our names came.

We saw one graceful fellow break away from the masters and glide towards the assembled group. I was confused and partly disappointed. For two reasons, one, I hadn't given any exam, two, I was rather hoping that I'd get chosen for Stealth.

One by one the names ticked off. Neither I or Michael or Hillian or Pansy or Ferelith were called.

Call me sexist, but I was rather surprised when I saw the lord – who was a woman – stride off to greet the Combat group. Whereas the muscular master went off to Strategic Intelligence.

The last group came and went by, now, only the 5 of us remained unnamed. I was just dwelling on the possibility that I'd been called here by mistake when the Grand Master himself strolled over to greet us.

Thank You for keeping up with me. 

Due to my recent interest in werewolf stories, I have come up with a werewolf plot too, and have started another story titled 'the lycan prince's erasthai' but my focus won't divert from this one and you can still expect weekly updates.

-Dhriti-