Book 1- The Ark of Time

Chapter 5

Orange illumination invaded the room, and within its empty haze, sat Brandon. The light accentuated his auburn hair and shone into the depths of his orange eyes that darted across the rough white pages. Each letter twisted into an indecipherable character, and they came together upon his tongue. He drifted his hands down the spine, his gaze unfaltering. The utter silence within the room was torn with a quiet creak, "You came back."
The boy avoided his gaze, the warmth of the room eating him up. "How is she?" Brandon's lips wavered, just before a soft groan filled the silence.
They turned to the girl; her face scrunched up as her eyelids retreated. "Everything hurts..." She sat up, the bed creaking with each move.
The man handed her a cup, containing another strange liquid that oozed an indescribable smell, the girl paused to look at it, "Don't worry, it's not poison." The liquid was already down her throat.

"Now that you've said that I'm more worried than I was." She handed the cup back, her focus wandering around the room, "It's dark out already?!" Horatia began to slip out of bed, "I should head back, my father would be worried."
Ruleum smiled, "Don't worry, everything has been prepared already. Your father has been told where you are."
"Already?"
A smile curled up Brandon's face as he stood up, "Don't push her too far next time." The two walked out, leaving the brunette to rest.

Horatia laid in the bed, her hands running down the smooth stone walls, their cold surface prickling at her skin. A frustration filled her, until she eventually stood up in annoyance and looked around the room, which looked similar to Helios' office, except the bed of course. The brunette sat on a stool, resting her head on the table. Her eyes happened to glaze over a book. "What language is this? I have never seen it before." Horatia flipped through, looking at the words sprawled across it, "It doesn't look like any language I've seen." She placed it back, "Never mind..." The emptiness returned once again. Plopping back onto the bed, her mind began to wander aimlessly through her memories.

That's when she remembered the spell that Ruleum had taught her. Horatia stood up and recalled his instructions step by step. The girl visualised the object she wanted to create, slowly, the image began to materialise in front of her. She flooded everything else out, until the object became stable in front of her. The girl didn't know why she picked this object, or why she was drawn to it, but when she walked towards it, it did not fade or break. Her hand reached for the hilt hesitantly, but as soon as the girl touched it, the sword fell and caught her off guard. Horatia just managed to catch it before it touched the ground, a feeling of accomplishment overwhelming her. She quickly looked for her bag and pulled out a pencil, throwing it up into the air, hoping the sword would do what she wanted it to, Horatia sharply swung at it. The door swung open and Ruleum walked inside, right in the range of Horatia's swing, startled, the girl missed and hit an unexpecting Azar who froze in mid-air.

"I was wondering why I felt time magic from inside the house, turns out you couldn't sleep." The teen shook her head, guilt forming in her throat as the boy surrounded Azar with his flames, "It's fine, there aren't any rules on using non-lethal magic inside the house, and most of the house's structure is fireproof." The bird flew up to his companion and sat on his head, "If you can't sleep, you want to train with me and Brandon?"
Horatia smiled, the already faint outline of her sword dissolving, "Sure!"
Ruleum opened a doorway to the training grounds hallway, in front of an orange door. Horatia walked inside and looked around. The fluorescence of the moon was dim, curling around them with a comforting stance. The boy walked over to the man who seemed to have been waiting for him, "Horatia, you're awake."

She looked up in alarm, "Uh, yeah. I couldn't sleep." Brandon nodded before turning to Ruleum who grinned uncontrollably.
"What?" He closed his cerulean eyes.
Brandon sighed, "What are you up to?"
"Nothing! I was just wondering what would happen if you fought Horatia." The girl blinked in surprise before opening her mouth to protest.
"Alright."
"Huh?"
"If you're fine with it, it'll just be for training, nothing too serious." He looked over at the girl. Feeling obliged to nod, she glanced between the two.
"Sure..."
"Then let us begin."