Shadows of Atlantis: Emergence of the Engi (11 page)

Next the submerged frigates began navigating their way through the deep Pluvian Ocean. Eiris was in awe of the beautiful underwater life as the ship passed various marine creatures. Many of the students began pointing out sea creatures and taking notes about some of them. Eiris and the beautiful Darkren girl exchanged brief looks as the frigates began surfacing from the ocean. Landing in forest right in the middle of the beautiful island, the students began pouring out. Eiris was amazed at the animal he saw following Reizen.

“What kind of a lion is that?” asked Eiris, gesturing to the powerful lion with an all-black coat.

“Oh, that’s called a sable lion. It’s a very rare animal found only on the Darkren home world of Eternite.” informed Azonei.

“I didn’t know such a species existed.” said Eiris in awe.

“Oh yes, many rare animals are found exclusively on Undarian planets. But really, being a planet lit by three moons and no sun, Eternite as a whole is pretty rare.” said Dex.

As more students poured out of the ships, Eiris saw that Drozen was followed by a larger than usual snow leopard and Reina was tailed closely by a black panther. Then to Eiris’ surprise, the beautiful Darkren girl began slowly making her way to his group after briefly speaking to Marz.

“This isn’t good.” said Kezzy as she shook her head.

“Hi, my name is Dahlia Arabella. I’ve been assigned to your group.” she said in a soft voice to everyone.

“We don’t need the addition of some stupid void walker.” hissed an evil-looking Atlantian in the group.

Dahlia just ignored him, keeping her focus straight ahead to the forest. Angrily realizing no, one was going to speak up, Eiris decided someone had to say something to him.

“I don’t know who you think you are, but if you make another comment like that, I’ll personally make sure you’re reassigned to another group.” Eiris said boldly.

“Oh, smitten by the Darkren scum are you?” he smirked in obvious joy at Eiris’ reaction.

Infuriated at the hate-filled and racist remarks, Eiris’ eyes glowed purple as he opened his hands to reveal violent blue flames. With glowing blue eyes of his own, the vicious student then opened his water-filled hands with a wicked smile, ready to fight. As other students felt the intense energy they were emitting, some of them began to quickly turn in that direction. Suddenly, a hand gently grasped Eiris’ shoulder from behind, surprising him and instantly calming him down.

“Prince Paseo, I think your time with this group is over. You’ve been reassigned.” smiled Jannis as his cerebral falcon screeched.

“Gladly.” he sneered as he stalked proudly away.

“Thanks. I didn’t realize you were here.” sighed Eiris in relief.

“Of course I am. I told you we’d run into each other.” he smiled. “I’ll be leading this group as an instructor and security guard. That is until you bond with your own beast guardian. Something I am eager to witness, I might add.”

Dahlia nodded in gratitude to Eiris while Marz issued one final reminder.

“Ok, now we will set out with our groups. Remember, use your defensive training. The idea is to evade and bond. May Turanii be with you all.” said Marz as the students began their trek, disappearing deep into the island.

Eiris hiked through the forest with his group but fell behind as he watched students taming animals in trees, water, and small caves. He finally caught up to Jannis and his group, who were waiting for him at the edge of a cliff.

“Does everyone have their bioflex wingsuit attachments?” asked Jannis.

Everyone nodded in agreement and Jannis jumped off the cliff, followed by the group. As they all danced in the sky, Eiris saw clearly from above the special beauty of this breathtaking and yet mysterious island. Soon, flying with them were all kinds of birds and strange feathered creatures. He was surprised to see that Azonei had already bonded with a large gray cerebral falcon that was now soaring beside him. They all followed Jannis as he guided them around the island high above the treetops.

After their brief sojourn in the sky, they descended gently to the earth and worked their way back to the forest. One by one, everyone in the group began finding their beast guardians. Only a few were without one, including Eiris and Dahlia. As sunset neared, he began to worry he would be the only one to fail to bond with a beast guardian.

“Don’t worry. This just means that whatever it is, it’ll be pretty xeno.” reassured Azonei as he punched Eiris playfully on the shoulder.

“Indeed. I’m sure you’ll get one before sunset.” smiled Dex.

“Hopefully.” Eiris said gloomily.

As they continued trekking through the forest, Jannis saw that Eiris was discouraged.

“Don’t worry. Just be patient, it’ll come.” he said gently as he made his way over to him.

“How will I find it?” asked Eiris.

“Therein lies your problem. You don’t find it, it finds you. This isn’t something you can force. Trust me, you’ll know it when it happens.” smiled Jannis.

Eiris smiled and nodded unconvinced, as others in his group continued to find their animal companions. Dahlia occasionally looked Eiris’ way, but only briefly. All of a sudden, Dahlia looked sharply in the direction to her left. Clearing the way, everyone in the group fanned out with her alone in the center.

Slowly climbing down a nearby tree was a beautiful Maltese tiger. As it climbed down, it kept its eyes fixed intently on Dahlia while her eyes began to glow red. The tiger began prowling around her silently, but Dahlia simply waited in a defensive posture. Then, it uttered a low growl and launched at her. She dodged it and rolled out of the way.

Then she did something incredible. Standing up, she blinked her eyes and a shadow copy of herself materialized next to her and confused the tiger. As it stood perplexed and briefly distracted, she then reached out her hand towards the enormous creature. Suddenly, the tiger began shaking its head abruptly as if it was trying to clear its mind. Tense seconds ticked by as the tiger attempted to regain its composure. All of a sudden, it began making low guttural sounds and got ready to pounce again. Quickly making the shadow copy of her disappear, Dahlia stared intensely at the struggling beast until a great calm seemed to overtake it, and its eyes emitted a red glow briefly. Now bonded with the tiger, she called it and it galloped over, purring as she pets its silky fur.

“Exceptional Ms. Arabella. Very well done.” smiled Jannis.

Soon after, the sun fully set and a loud whistle began blowing, cueing the students to return to the frigates. Eiris and his group began running back to the ship. They passed by many other students engaged in various conversations about which beast guardians were the coolest. Walking up the boarding ramp, Eiris saw that Prince Paseo had bonded with a giant crocodile.

He also saw Drozen and other Darkren mocking the fact that Eiris was one of the few who didn’t have one. Jannis pat Eiris on the back and smiled as he walked away, almost as if he knew something good would come out of it. Marz was standing at the observation deck as the frigates began submerging back into the Pluvian Ocean.

Dex and the others tried to reassure Eiris as he made his way over to Marz. Greeting him, they both enjoyed the view of the beautiful underwater seascape. As Eiris peered into the distance, he thought he saw a pair of colossal ocean blue eyes glowing in a distant underwater cave until Marz’s voice broke his stare.

“How was the experience?” asked Marz.

“It was ok. I kind of dropped the ball though.” said Eiris.

“Possibly. Or maybe the best is yet to come.” smiled Marz.

“Did you see that pair of eyes in that cave up ahead?” asked Eiris as the frigate got closer.

“I did not. Although I’m certain it would’ve been quite a sight.” winked Marz before patting Eiris on the shoulder and walking to the command deck.

As the frigates docked in the port, the students all emptied into the academy. Kezzy went to the target range while Azonei went to the flight simulator. Dex went to ride his hoverboard at a local hover park, so Eiris went to the library to do some research on Pluvian sea monsters.

He found a holobook in the
legends
category about a legendary sea creature called the Leviathan that is said to live deep under the Pluvian Sea. There were no official accounts or any real sightings, so he returned it. As he did, he noticed there was another holobook nearby about the legend of the breathless beauty.

He immediately began reading the background information on it and found that according to legend, she would often travel for unknown reasons and was frequently seen swimming in Earth’s large seas. Mistaking her for a mermaid, sailors created this legend in awe of her beauty. As he read the legend, he knew without a doubt that she was the beautiful woman he saw in his dreams. It stated:

The Breathless Beauty

Heart’s beating fast.

But your gaze never moving.

Staring at her beauty

Has got you wondering if it’s an illusion.

A beauty so pure and rarely seen.

You question if it’s reality.

Or just a dream.

You gasp for air.

Every time you glance.

As if under a spell.

Or induced in a trance.

Beauty of this kind.

Is the rarest of finds.

So always remember.

The words on these lines.

You’ve witnessed the legend.

Most men only read.

Of the Breathless Beauty

From under the sea……………

Those glowing blue eyes, the light blue hair, the markings on her arms. Everything he thought were just dreams were actually real. He realized in amazement that he had felt her presence, his mother’s presence, throughout most of his childhood. Waves of relief and joy washed over him, cleansing him of the sorrow and uncertainty that had hidden in his heart for so many years. He knew now that she had never truly left him alone and abandoned. After that brief study session he emerged from the library stronger, more sure of himself and his place than ever. He no longer doubted that his parents had truly loved him.

The next day everyone was full of excitement. After class, he met the others at the conclave room. Everyone was in their bioflex suits and armed with their holographic shock chargers and pulse blades. Today was the first day of martial competition in the gauntlet arena.

“Hey Eiris, you ready?” asked Azonei.

“I guess.” Eiris replied.

“I’m excited to test my Jyndo and bonding on some poor soul.” smirked Kezzy.

“I’m sure you are.” said Dex, resulting in a glare from Kezzy. “Who’s your opponent today Eiris?” he asked.

Eiris checked his smartwatch to see a name that made him tense up in anger.

“Reizen.” said Eiris as the others became silent.

“Well, we all gotta lose some time.” joked Kezzy.

“Aw come on, Eiris has this one.” smiled Azonei.

“Thanks.” said Eiris sarcastically.

“Although I do believe you’re the one person who could end Reizen’s perfect gauntlet record, he’s never lost for a reason. For one, he rarely makes mistakes and he bonds with flawless technique. He also has the added effect of intimidation on his side.” informed Dex.

“I’m not afraid of him.” glared Eiris.

“Maybe not. Nevertheless, that is a factor you must take into account.” said Dex.

As everyone waited in the conclave room, Glover came in and gave everyone a few reminders.

“Remember everyone, the tangible holographic weapons are for your safety. Battle in the gauntlet arena is nothing more than another way to measure our aptitude and advancement. A win will be marked by downing your opponent three times, and a loss is obviously marked by the opposite. Only non-lethal bonding is permitted! It’s a
competitive spar
, not real battle. Our aim should never be to hurt someone. Should any of us intentionally do so, Authore Masterson will personally preside over our disciplinary hearing.” informed Glover.

As Eiris and the others followed their guild to the Gauntlet Arena, Glover walked towards them.

“I hope you four are well prepared, especially you Eiris. Be on your guard, Reizen is very powerful.” warned Glover.

“Thanks.” nodded Eiris trying to stay focused.

As the games got under way, most of the Blue Storm members lost their matches, only a few were victorious. Lars, a friend and teammate of Eiris on the Blue Storm Electroball team got badly hurt in his match and would be unable to play in the upcoming season. Kezzy defeated an Atlantian girl, using her twin shock chargers effectively. Azonei faced a talented Slyph and lost, but barely. Dex was very calculated and skilled, but was defeated by a large Etwilonian. Glover was paired with an intimidating Darkren named Uzor and won a hard fought match.

On the other hand, the Black Horde Guild members didn’t lose any of their matches and Reina and Drozen looked particularly invincible. Reina effortlessly defeated an Areolian student with her silver luridium claws and shadowbonding. Drozen made his Atlantian opponent look like a child with his pulse hammer and burning icebonding. Reizen and Eiris’ names were then announced as they walked down into the primary match sphere.