Chapter Text
A horse drawn cart rolls along a dirt path, a thick white sheet covers the cart. The midday sun beat down on the wide open field. The cart stops next to a tall stone wall, the driver hops down and removes the white sheet.
“Ok time to get off now.” The driver says
A small skeletal girl rises from the cart. She’s wearing nothing but rags,her skin is extremely pale, her hair black, scraggly, and unkempt, her face sunken in and cracked, and her eyes are blood red. The girl falls off the cart and picks herself up, drops of blood leave her nose. The driver looks at her with indifference.
The driver points straight ahead “Just walk that way until you see the black gate.”
The driver hops back onto his seat and makes a complete 180 almost hitting the girl before driving away. The girl starts hobbling in the direction the driver pointed.
The girl with a weak smile thinks to herself “ I knew it, I knew my mother believed in me. ”
She continues her walk until she finally sees a black gate, behind the gate is a massive gothic cathedral-like building.
“ The Continental Academy, the international bastion of friendship and unity. I can’t wait to make friends. ”
She pushes the gate and it doesn’t move, she pushes again it still doesn’t move.
“ That’s weird. ” She thinks to herself.
She grabs the gate with both hands, and pulls with all her strength. The door remains firm. The girl starts shaking the gate.
“Hey! What are you doing.” A voice from the left says.
The girl turns and sees a, glasses wearing teen boy with neck length shiny grayish-green hair, sickly cream-colored skin and heterochromic eyes, the left one gold and the right a dull gray. His outfit consists of a white bastion shirt and a pair of brown pants.
“I,” the girl starts to wobble, “I wa…” the girl falls to the ground unconscious.
The young girl opens her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling she sits up and looks at the room she’s in. The walls are grayish black a single covered window sits next to her, the floors are dark oak planks and the only thing in the room is a desk with multiple drawers on its bottom half it sits adjacent to a door. An unknown source lights up the room. As she moves she notices that she’s lying in a bed underneath some sheets. She grabs the sheets and observes them. She places her hands on the bedding and runs them across it.
“ Is this a bed, ” She thinks to herself, “ it feels amazing. ”
The door opens and the glasses-wearing young man enters the room holding a bowl and a small loaf of bread.
“Ah you're awake, that’s good.” He says, “This is for you.”
He hands her the bowl and she looks inside to see a golden brown liquid. The savory aroma fills her nose as her stomach growls. The young girl gulps it down with reckless abandon, coughing hard after finishing. The young man pats her back until she’s able to breathe again. The black-haired girl looks up at the young man.
“Who… are you, “ she weakly says
“My name, just call me Shard,” He says “I picked you up after you passed out in front of the Continental Academy .”
“Where am I?” She asks
“Oh right you’re inside of the living quarters of the Dogfang Engineering Company.” Shard responds, “So what were you doing at the Academy if you don't mind me asking.”
The young girl sighs, “I was going to my first day of class but I don’t know if I was late or not.”
Shard chuckles
“What’s so funny.” The girl asks
Shard struggling to contain his laughter, “I’m sorry it’s just ‘ pfft ’ I’m sorry,”
Why are you laughing!?” The girl yells
Shard exhales, “Late, try early the Academy doesn’t open until 3 months from now, and besides aren’t you a bit too young for the Academy.”
The young girl sits there in stunned silence. Shard looks away from her with a guilty expression and exhales slightly.
“Ok,” he says, “wait here I’ll be back with someone”
He hands her the bread in his hand and leaves the room.
The girl sits in the bed twiddling her thumbs in silence, minutes pass until Shard enters the room again and behind is an older short portly man with short gray hair, a bushy beard covering his face with his rosy-cheeks visible. He’s wearing a heavy brown apron with a pocket in the front overtop a brown shirt.
“Ok Pops here she is.” Shard says while gesturing in her direction.
The older man reaches into his front pocket, pulls out a cloth, and wipes his brow.
“I see.” His voice gruff with age, “Let me introduce myself, my name is Gine and I’m the owner of this shop. If you would, what's your name, girlie.”
The young girl looks down, “I don’t have one.”
Gine strokes his beard, “Ah I see well that won’t do, would you mind if I were to give you a name.”
The young girl shakes her head
Gine softly smiles at her, “How about Sasuhara?”
“Yeah no we’re going to nix that name.” Shard replies
Gine turns back to Shard, “What’s wrong with that name?”
“What does it mean?” Shard asks.
Gine looks away, “Well I-uh I don’t know.”
“E-xactly.” Shard smugly replies
Gine rubs the back of his head, “Do you have any ideas?”
Shard glances at the girl, “How about Nyx,for her hair.”
“Nyx,” the girl quietly says to herself, “Nyx, Nyx, Nyx.”
She looks at the two by her side with a wide smile.
Gine chuckles to himself, “Well I guess girlie’s got a name she likes, now Nyx I heard that you want to go to the Academy now we’re,” he looks back at Shard and turns back, “I’m willing to help you out but I need to know how old you are, do you know that?”
“15.” Nyx replies
Shard’s eyes widen and his mouth drops, “You’re 15!” he exclaims
The girl nods her head.
“But you’re tiny..” Gine backhands Shard chest.
“I see,” Gine says somberly, “that complicates things. You see to enter the Academy you need to be 15 and to be recommended by someone”
Nyx’s face lights up, “So I can go right, I’m 15 and my mom definitely recommended me right.”
Gine opens his mouth but struggles to find the words only sighing before looking away from Nyx
“No in order for a recommendation to be accepted the recommender must be either a noble or someone well established in the kingdom and a name must be given to the Academy .” Shard says.
Nyx looks downs and shakily says, “W-what if my parents were nobles?”
Shard sighs, “Nyx you need to pay attention to everything being said to you,you need not only a recommendation but also a name. Even if you made it inside the building, there wouldn’t be any way to verify who you are.”
Nyx looks at the bed, tears start to fill her eyes, “Bbbb-but she she he t—old me.” She starts to bawl.
Gine and Shard freeze not knowing what to do, until Nyx looks up to them. At this moment Shard’s eyes widened.
A single word escapes his trembling lips, “Luxia.”
Shard looks deeply into Nyx’s eyes and a feeling of nostalgia washes over him.
He turns to leave the room, Gine exasperated grabs his arm.
“Where are you headed?” The older man inquires
“I’m going to the “Clocktower” if I’m right then I’m going to make sure she makes it into the Academy no matter what.”
Gine sighs, lets go and Shard leaves the room. Gine walks back towards the bed and places a hand on Nyx’s shoulder.
Gine clears his throat, “Well girlie you have a name now next thing on the chopping block is a recommendation.”
Nyx gives a slight smile with tears rolling down her face. Gine pulls the chair from the desk over and takes a seat.
Gine exhales, “So girlie you want to go to the Academy I can only wonder, why?”
Nyx tries to speak but she starts choking on her words.”
Gine places a hand on her back, “Breathe first breathe.”
Nyx takes a breath, “I want to be a Margrave.”
Gine freezes for a moment before collecting himself.
“Nyx,” Gine looks around anxiously, “I don’t think you have a proper idea of the Academy . That place…isn’t really a school. It is a battleground where the weak fall forever into darkness and the strong continuously fight for supremacy.
Nyx interjects, "But the Academy is called the international bastion of friendship and unity.”
“Hogwash,” Gine replies, “Nice words for the people outside to keep them calm. It’s a war zone where nobles fight and commoners try to curry favor. It was… it was Hell”
Gine looks down and sees his hand tightly cleaned, he relaxes and sighs.
“The Academy isn’t a kind place, I just want you to understand that.” Gine looks up to Nyx.
Nyx looks at him with a black expression, “You went to the Academy ”?
Gine strokes his beard, “Aye I did.”
“So that means…” The gears start turning in her head, “you can recommend me.”
Gine sighs, “I do have the ability to recommend a person,” Nyx’s face lights up and a smile appears across her face, “however I cannot recommend you. I…”
“Why not?” Nyx interrupts.
“Nyx let me finish.” Gine clears his throat. “I can only give a recommendation to an Engineer. Besides that I only have one recommendation and I’m giving it to Shard.”
Nyx looks at Gine with a mixture of confusion and sorrow.
Gine smiles at her softly, “I want to help you. So I will.”
Gine stands and moves towards the desk at the side of the room. He riffles through the drawers until he pulls out two items. One of them is an ornately decorated short stick with a glass ball while the other is a short red rope with a reptile skin pattern. Gine hands Nyx the rope and it quickly turns as black as her hair. Gine takes away the rope and hands her the ornate stick. The glass ball starts to light up and it continues to grow brighter, and brighter, and brighter until it illuminates the entire room. Gine covers his eyes for a moment until the light suddenly disappears and he sees the glass ball on the stick has shattered.
“Hohohoho,” Gine laughs, “Nyx I have an idea but please wait for tomorrow it’s getting late and I have work to do.”
Gine moves the chair back to the desk and leaves the room and as he does the light in the room vanishes. Nyx is left in the room in the dark alone. As she lays her head down, the door opens again.
Gine sticks his head in the room, “Good Night Nyx and Welcome to my home.”
He closes the door once again and Nyx smiles as she drifts off to sleep.