Elementals: Battle for Armada

Chapter 1: Out From Armada

A couple of weeks have passed into summer and the sun was already casting its intense light upon the lively Armada peninsula. The locals and visitors from different regions would be enjoying their leisure time with friends, sharing drinks at the local pubs, or simply relaxing near the coastline where various beaches could be found. Although the weather was perfect for one's ideal summertime relaxation, the students taking classes at the Crescent Moon Training Centre had no time to slack off on campus. The Crescent Moon was the pinnacle of all training centers in the region, best known for preparing its future warriors for treacherous missions outside of Armada. Getting into the school was not an easy process since the leaders of the training center search vigilantly for only the top candidates - and even then, only a fraction of those selected are lucky enough to be accepted. Not many were selected this year however since most people have moved out of Armada after the most recent foreign invasion upon the peninsula. The Crescent Moon was desperate for new candidates and had to look for people outside the region. Days turned into weeks, but their captains were able to find worthy and unique students to train on campus.

The Crescent Moon was now dominated by outsiders who did not live on the peninsula. Students of different ages came from various outside regions that were not known or familiar to the people of Armada. One of the few students who were fortunate to remain in Armada was 17-year old Aniya Crimson. She had already spent three years at the training center, meaning that a great majority of the new students would look up to those like this honorable red-haired girl. However, unlike the other ambitious and thrilled students, Aniya had no true desire to become a warrior for Armada which became evident in her early training. Outside of training, she spends most of her time alone in the library, often reading books and drawing insignias straight from the pages. Aniya always preferred to isolate herself from her colleagues and she intends to continue doing so. On the other hand, the captains at the Crescent Moon want to break her out of her shell by any means necessary.

Aniya was sitting by herself in the main quad area of the Crescent Moon. Her eyes were skipping through the pages of her book as she finished drinking her strawberry-banana smoothie. As uninterested as she was in the academy, Aniya would sit up once in a while to admire the contrast between the grand marble buildings and technological facilities that made up the campus. The most notable feature that caught her eye was the giant statue that towered over the entrance of the Crescent Moon. The Crescent Warrior Monument, the name which everyone calls it, was built in honor of the campus' most ambitious hero who has yet to return to Armada. Aniya glanced at the hero's statue, paying the most attention to the giant battle axe that rested on its shoulder. Eventually, her focus would break away from the statue and return to the captain who finally arrived to give the students their tasks.

Two students were being called up at a time when Aniya arrived, meaning that the task for today was a teamwork exercise. Aniya detested the idea of being partnered up with an inexperienced fighter like her. Any slip-up outside of the Crescent Moon could be detrimental to a student's position at the academy. Aniya could only hope to get paired up with someone with a higher skill level than her to be safe. At last, the captain called her up to the front of the quad to assign her a partner among the remaining handful of students.

"Aniya Crimson. Let's see..." her captain hesitantly muttered as she looked over the crowd. Aniya's heart raced at the sight of the other students beaming at her. Some were enthusiastically waving at her while others refused to bat an eye.

"You will be paired up with..."

Her captain was frantically skimming through Aniya's records. Of all the days that she spent at the Crescent Moon, Aniya wished she had put more effort during her entry tests. Her partner was assigned after five minutes of fumbling around with papers and she almost collapsed on the stage when recognized who it was.