Empty souls.

Hi, people.

This has been nagging me for quite a while. I think that I have to release it or I won't be motivated for updates of any fiction I'm writing. Excuse my ridiculousness, so this might become another five-chapter-project again before I throw it away, but I need to condense the thoughts and ideas I'm having into something else.

Enough of the fifty-page-introductions.

Introduction: Feelings that have a human attached to them

A stormy day.
The cruel rain was attacking anybody who didn't have a roof above his head. Puddles were building everywhere, and every person with a bit of common sense ran home.
What is home...? Where am I at home...?
A little boy with chin-length brown hair, deep blue eyes, dressed in a light t-shirt and jeans, about eight years old and all wet, was standing in the middle of the street. The rain mercilessly poured down upon him.
"Sis..."
The people ran around him, no one seemed to notice a little kid such as him; especially in a weather like this everyone cared to get their own heads into dry places.
"Where are you, Sis...?"

Eight years later...

"One week left until graduation, huh?"
"It's not really graduation, or is it? We just... reach a new level, I suppose, it's not like we're leaving."
"But the people who don't pass the test?"
"True... but they get another chance next year."
"Attention now!"

A nineteen year old woman with glasses in front of her cyan eyes stood in front of the class. Two streaks from her blonde hair hung down to her chest, the rest was tied up. She was pretty tall for a woman, had a slim, slightly trained figure and seemed rather smart, probably due to her glasses. She smiled at her students.
"Yes, as you've all probably realised by now, we'll have the graduation tests in a week. Whoever passes becomes a senior, therefore being trained to become a mercenary. The next week will be special for every student in this class - you've spent the last six years learning theory over theory, tactics, strategy, first aid, everything except for the battle, which most people are eager to learn.

Many people who weren't patient enough have dropped out due to an important lesson we can't teach everyone: Combat is not the key for all of life's problems. Therefore it is the very last thing you learn here, at the Eagle's Academy.

All over the world we live in, people are surpressed by other people. It is fear that makes people do these things. Fear of being the weaker person, fear of losing power. Our duty is to teach you not to have fear. On the one hand, you could care for yourself, live a happy life, build a family, but it might be fear that could destroy that very happily-ever-after life you were dreaming about. I believe most of you have signed up at the Eagle's to fight for righteousness.
If so, you must understand one thing. Righteousness is not always what you want it to be. Sometimes it's better to make a small mistake that can be fixed, rather than risking making a big mistake.
The six years you've been here were supposed to teach you things that we think are right. Still, while many of you might leave after this year, living their lives as mercenaries or soldiers, the people who stay and work for the Academy will endure bigger problems than the people who will leave.

I hope you will make the right decision. I've come to know you people a lot in the passed two years. I'm proud of every single one of you."

Slowly a female student in the class started clapping for an applause, and the whole class joined in. The instructor smiled.
"You've been well prepared for this week. Now, the last step is to learn how to control a weapon. Recently all of you have gone through tests, and in junction with your wishes and personalities, we have decided on weapons for everyone of you. Please understand that it's not possible to trade weapons with friends, if you are unhappy with the decision we made for you, then please tell me and together we can work out a solution. The weapons will be handed out in the equipment section of the seniors.
The next week, you won't have any classes with me. You will learn to use your weapon in the senior training section - the seniors are banned from that place until the week is over."

After a second, the first few people got up and left the classroom; others chatted happily, the girls and boys left mostly in groups together, trying to anticipate what weapon they would get, what they would do after the test in a week, in general having a good time.
The only person away from all that was a sixteen year old boy with chin-length, bright brown hair. He had dark, deep, blue eyes and was dressed in a black shirt and normal jeans.

The classroom had four rows of benches with five seats in each row, that made twenty people per class, and the room almost emptied. The boy was still sitting there, and the instructor noticed him as she was done packing her things.
"Want to go there with me, Klayton?"
"... Fine."

Your story's got mercenaries, mine's got missionaries. Hahah.

Hmmm, not a bad start. =) Keep it up and we'll see how it goes!

Chapter One: Unexpected Talent

The Eagle's Academy was split into many parts. There was a dormitory, an infirmary, a library, the classroom area, the

training area, a supply area with many different categories of items and the office area.
Klayton left the classroom area together with his instructor, Clea May, and they headed towards the supply section. However,

there was a huge queue in front of the area, and so they had to wait some time. The Academy itself looked like a huge

seashell from the outside and the atrium was round, right now, it was full with students standing in the queue in front of

the supply section.

Every now and then, someone was running out of the supplies, holding a weapon in their hands. Many of them ran towards the

training section, others were heading for the dormitory or showing them off to their friends in the queue.
Instructor May looked at Klayton with a worried expression in her eyes. "Klayton, why don't I ever see you spending time with

friends?"
"Why should I?"
"It's... I... never mind."

She sighed heavily and her eyes showed a sad glare. "You're my best student by far, but I was always worried about your

relationships."
Klayton put his hands into his pockets and looked at her. "Why should-"
"I care. I know what you want to say. But I'm still worried."
"And why are you telling me all this?"
"It's normal to share feelings among friends."
"Friends... friends are weak spots. They make you attackable. Friends can disappoint you."
"What a weird way of thinking, Klayton..."

The queue was getting shorter and shorter. It was almost Klayton's turn.
"Do you already have a training partner?" Instructor May asked.
"Why would I need one?" Klayton answered. He seemed clearly annoyed of the questions.
"Look, if the seniors play some 'funny' jokes again, you might end up fighting against something you're not strong enough

for. It would be a nice idea to have someone back you up."
"And potentially create a weak spot for myself."
"I think the price is worth to pay."

Eventually, it was Klayton's turn. He stood in front of a counter and a person with a baseball cap, a face full of black

stains (probably from oil or something like that) and a sympathetic, smiling face.
"Name?" he asked.
"Klayton Lers."
"Alright, let me check what we got for you."

He walked into the back of the seemingly huge supply area and quickly returned with a sheathed sword. He held it by the tip,

pointing the hilt to Klayton.
"It's a hand and a half sword. Depending on the situation you can use it both single and double handed. It's a bit wider at

the bottom, made for repelling enemy hits rather than juggling with them."

Klayton grabbed the hilt and attached it to his belt. Instructor May next to him was grinning. "You know, I kind of expected

you to get a sword. Happy with it?"
"I wanted something sharp. This is sharp. I can't really whine about it."
"Mhm... what are you planning to do if you pass the exam?"
"I'll go on as a senior. What else?"
"I thought... you're so lonely with your feelings, not sharing them with anyone. I thought that when you got your weapon and

lessons, you would leave us to take care of unfinished business."
"My unfinished business is a bit bigger than a problem a junior level could take."
"You've got to tell me someday."
"If I can ever be bothered..."

Instructor May waved at him. "I suppose you'll go train now. I still have to visit the headmaster and give my reports... I'll

see you around."
"Bye."

Klayton turned around and slid his hands into his trouser pockets again, slowly walking towards the training area. A grey

pathway led him to a grassy, open area. There were a lot of steel doors, closing areas up from each other, some were labeled with skill levels, there was a relief area for people who needed to take a break and a huge number of students gathered around the entrance.
In the middle, there was a person with short brown hair. He held his new axe in his hands and everybody seemed to envy his strength, at least he had many friends around him and showed off as much as possible. Klayton couldn't be bothered with him and tried to walk past. Suddenly he laughed at Klayton.
"Where's your weapon, small guy? Do you think a skinny kid like you can ever pass the exam?"
Klayton didn't turn around, just stopped in his way. He didn't even move an eye. "Certainly do have higher chances than a brain amputee."

Suddenly he heard a battle scream next to him and pulled his sword out, blocking the axe flying at him. A few students screamed, the seniors who were dispatched to help and cure hurt juniors immediately got ready for first aid. The blow of the guy's axe threw Klayton's arm down, but he knew that the weapon wasn't made for blocking attacks. Instead of blocking, his weapon rather tried to push the enemy's weapon to the side. He stood there, his sword in a low position as the muscular student with the axe focused on him.

"What's your name?" he asked.
"Klayton."
"Aha. Mine's Will."
"Do I care?"
"I think you should know the name of the guy who completely humiliates you."

Klayton concentrated as Will prepared to swing his axe vertically. Will's friends were cheering on him, Klayton just let out a sigh of annoyance. Suddenly he saw his opportunity. Will had no idea about how to handle his weapon and held his axe at the very back of its grip. He held the sword blade-up and took a diagonal step forward, causing Will to ram his hilt into the blade. The wood cracked and before Will knew what was happening Klayton pulled his sword out of the way, jumping up to land on Will's shoulder with one foot while ramming the other foot's heel to the back of his head. Will landed face down on the floor as Klayton pulled out his blade, pointing it at Will's neck.

"The name's Klayton."

Nice story, i'm really anticipating the next part to the story. I'm a little distracted because after i read the passage, someone throws a shoe at Bush (in your sig). Ironic isn't it? lmao

Chapter Two: Ifrit

The beginner quarters of the training area were pretty much emptied up. To prevent extinction of monsters, during the week not all of the monsters were running free, which was a routine in the times that juniors prepared to graduate.
As a result, many people were using the beginner's area now as kind of a refugee to avoid meeting up with fight-hungry students such as Will. Apparently after he had left to the infirmary, bringing his friend with him, therefore the entrance was supposed to be empty, but supposedly there was another person already. A blonde haired girl had asked Klayton to help again, but he didn't know whether it was just him not caring or being scared of not winning the fight.

"Hey, Klayton! I've heard what you did there in the entrance... I was busy catching the few last free monsters here for today. Look what I have!" a girl in a yellow uniform, short dark brown hair and brown eyes grinned. She held a double-edged sword in her hand with the hilt in the middle and sharp blades coming out from both sides. The blades were swung in a zig-zag shape with red decorations. Klayton's sword looked pretty shabby compared to it.

The girl was Klayton's roommate, Misa. Dormitorys in the Eagle Academy were always shared with one person, especially since the population in the Academy itself had grown. Seniors, however, had single rooms.
Klayton didn't have any friendly feelings for the students in the Academy. If he would have them, they would probably be strong for Misa, as they had spent the last few years sleeping in rooms that were next to each other and Misa was a very talkative person. While Klayton always acted like he listened, Misa was happy to have someone listening so she pretended that he wasn't ignoring her.

"Honestly I'm scared to visit the Intermediate area already, you know? Attacking with this sword is awesome, but I can't defend myself against anything so far. One of the beginner's monsters almost got me already. How did you learn your weapon so fast?" Misa asked with a smile. She tilted her head to the left, the way she always did when talking to Klayton.
"Just compare our weapons. Mine's easy to learn and pretty self explanatory, and yours is probably hard to control." he answered.
"Yeah, but something like this is what I always wanted. These tests do give us the perfect weapons, eh?"
"Don't know if they're perfect. This Will-guy would have been better off with a boxing glove, at least it's a weapon not so easy to break. I'm pretty sure after he hits the infirmary he'll go visit the supplies."

A young man suddenly entered the training area. He had black, fuzzy hair, brown eyes, a pretty tall, muscular figure, he was dressed into a white robe closed with a black belt and had a trident attached to his back. "Any guy called Klayton here?"
Hearing his name, he instantly looked at him. "What do you want?"
"I'm bringing you a message by that guy you fought earlier. Apparently he wants to meet you here tomorrow, at noon."
"A refight?"
"I guess so. You must have completely humiliated him if he's even scared of getting close to you."

Misa's heart suddenly started pounding heavily. "... Do you think he'll pull some trick?"
"Can't be bothered with it. I guess I have to learn how to handle my weapon... I'll see him tomorrow, eh?"
"I'd feel much better if you didn't go, Klay..."
Klayton looked at the sword. He had instinctively laid his hand on the hilt, remembeing what Instructor May had asked him earlier. He looked at Clea. "Beginner's area is empty. Do you want to go to intermediate with me? Together we can handle it."




The next day...

Sun shone into Klayton's bedroom. He laid awake on his bed. Knowing that soon he would leave for the training area, he wondered whether Will had improved his fighting technique, whether he would actually be a danger this time. However, it was useless to think, and he got up and opened his shelf.
He took out a yellow shirt and long, bright-gray trunks. Clipping his sword to his back, he left his room.
His bedroom was connected to Misa's with one living room. It was spartanically decorated. There was a bathroom and the exit to the general dormitories.
Misa was sitting in the table, drinking hot chocolate for breakfast. She looked at Klayton with dread in her eyes. "You're going, huh?"
Klayton nodded and opened the door when he heard Misa standing up. "I'm going with you."

The Academy's atrium was full of juniors. Apparently the fight between him and Alex was about to become a big event and he sighed. He slowly walked into the training area with Misa by his side, one hand resting in his pocket and the other resting on his weapon.

There he was, short, brown hair, the repaired axe in his hands, students were gathered around him. He sent out a disgusting laugh. "Two on one? What kind of wuss are you?"
Klayton looked at Misa, who nodded and sighed. She took a few steps back into the mass of excited students.
Will's fingers played around on the axe's grip. There was dried blood at the end of the blade, indicating that Will had indeed practiced a lot.

Suddenly Will let out a war cry and ran towards Klayton. He pulled out his sword, getting ready to dodge or block. His eyes were focusing him, not missing a single movement as he charged towards Klayton. His senses were sharpened as he blocked Will's horizontal attack, denying the weapon's momentum and using the time to jump up and land on his weapon, causing Will to drop his weapon because of Klayton's weight, who swung up his weapon, pointing the tip right at his throat.

"I'd have expected you to train a bit before you challenge me."

Suddenly his frown turned into a smile and before he could realize what was going on screams went through the crowd as Klayton saw a dark, three-headed dog slowly walking towards him. "... Got friends to help you, Will?"
"It's a monster."
"No, it's obviously not, or it wouldn't be going for me like that. Which one of the seniors likes you enough to send his guardian spirit against me?"
"... As if I told you."

Klayton gulped. He knew he wasn't experienced with fighting, which this guardian spirit probably was. Guardian spirits were awakened as a reward for becoming a senior in the Eagle's Academy, which obviously meant he was going up against something that really knew how to fight.
The dog charged towards Klayton and he tried to search his luck by attacking it. It dodged, to only jump at him with paws first, nailing him down on the floor. Foul breath wandered into Klayton's nose, making him immobile as Will let out a laugh of victory.
"I just want my revenge on you.", he choked these words out while he kicked Klayton's face. Klayton couldn't react.
"It works..." he muttered as slowly his smile widened. He picked up his axe, lifted it over his head, preparing to swing it down. Then he used all his force to swing down the axe, but something held his axe back. He moved his head, trying to catch a look at what it was. A chain whip was wrapped around the axe, and the whip connected to the hilt Instructor May was holding.
Her eyes locked down on Will through her frameless glasses. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Cerberus backed off Klayton's body when he saw her, preparing for an attack. Clea May rocked her whip, giving it a swing to wrap around the axe a second time, then pulled her hilt to fling Will's weapon towards her on the ground. Then her eyes went to the guardian spirit. She lifted her hand. A white scar showed on it, then it dripped off as if it was made from liquid, and from the silver liquid a four-legged wolf-like shape emerged, slowly changing color to black, showing her guardian spirit.

It had four muscular legs, blue, big horns, a canine head with a red mane and fire came out of its mouth when it breathed out.
"Take the spirit out, Ifrit."

Ifrit sprinted towards Cerberus, who decided to charge back. When they arrived near each other, Ifrit tilted his head down, pointing the blue horn at him, piercing through. Then he threw his head to the side, throwing him down, then jumping up on him and biting right into the neck. Cerberus let out a scream of terror as it slowly disassembled into liquid. May quickly ran up to where the liquid was going as it was going to lead her straight to the person commanding him.

Klayton couldn't hear anything. Was there some kind of poison in Cerberus' breath? Was that the reason why he couldn't move? He saw his instructor grab a senior's collar. It was the guy who had brought the message from Will. Klayton tried to stay awake, but he couldn't. The last thing he saw was Misa's face right above him as he slowly faded into black.

Chapter Three: Preparing for Exams

It was dark around Klayton's head when his mind slowly started to assemble and he realized who he
was, what had happened and why he woke up in a soft bed. He opened his eyes and saw the infirmary around him. He hadn't been in here often, but the nurse, Sister O'Reilly, was taking care of
everyone as if they were her own child. She was in the mid-forties, had ponytailed black hair and
she was probably sitting at a table near the reception, seeing how he was feeling good and didn't
need treatment right now.
He looked down and saw himself in the same clothes that he had passed out with. What day was it...?

He heard Misa's voice outside the little room he was in, but he couldn't exactly make out what she
was saying. She sounded worried. Klayton pulled himself together and stood up, noticing an odd
smell. It was himself. He needed a shower.
He opened the door and saw Sister O'Reilly at the table, solving some puzzles in an old magazine.

She looked at Klayton as he tried to see where Misa was.
"Hey, you're awake!"
"Mhm. What day is it?"
"Friday."

Klayton gulped. "What time is it?"
"Eight o'clock."
"... Excuse me, sister, but I can't stay here."
"You're okay anyway. I have no idea why you got knocked out for so long, but your condition was
perfect. ... hey, where are you?"
Klayton hadn't listened to what she said because he was running through the Academy's atrium. The
exams started in an hour. That's why Misa had been there. He ran into the dormitories. He knew that
he would need a shower, or at least a quick wash, and other clothes.
Entering his living room, he slid past Misa, giving her a quick "Hey." and running into bedroom,
then he took out a black shirt and blue jeans, new underwear and headed into the bathroom quickly.

Twenty minutes later, Klayton was properly dressed, clean and hungry. He took a look at his watch.
Forty minutes until the exams started. More than enough. He could still eat breakfast, so he went
into the living room and opened the fridge. A little kitchen was built into the living room because
one of the Academy's tasks was preparing students for life, which also involved simple things like
this. Misa smiled.
"You're able to take the exam?" she asked.
"Yeah. It's all fine with me, I don't know why I was passed out so long."
"I might have passed out. You know I suck at cooking."
"That's why I make the food and you take care of the other stuff."
"So what's it gonna be today?"

Klayton's eyes wandered around the fridge and he decided to make fried eggs with bacon. After a few minutes, he was sitting at the table with Misa, filling his empty stomach.
"Have you heard what happened to the guys attacking you?" Misa asked with a full mouth. Klayton
shook his head.
"Will got immediately suspended. He's not coming back to the Academy. The guy who commanded
Cerberus apparently was paid to do so, but usually Cerberus has no big effect on the people. I mean
we all were stunned standing around there, but still it was gone after five minutes. Maybe it was
because it was so near to you. Well, the guy apparently had no idea what Will was going to do, so he only got degraded for doing stuff like that for money. May was pretty furious there, I think she even got herself into trouble."

Klayton frowned. "So Will is only suspended for almost murdering me?"
"Well, we can't really prove he wanted to. He might have only wanted to scare you, even when May
claims that Will struggled pretty bad to slash the axe at you."
Klayton looked at the watch. Food always made time pass faster and there were only twenty minutes
left now.
"How's your weapon skills, Misa?" he asked.
"I'm quite good with my double blade now. I just hope you'll be fine as well."
Misa stood up and tilted her head. "Come on, let's go. Better arrive earlier than too late."
Klayton nodded and got up.


Twenty minutes later...

The atrium was filled with people. Three instructors were standing next to May, a male one with
short, black hair and brown eyes with a wooden staff attached to his back spoke to the crowd.
After a long speech about what everyone probably had heard a thousand times ("And you're here
because...") he introduced the mission.
"We're going to depart to a city nearby called Midang with Troup Transport Vehicles. We will have
many different groups, each one will have a different task.
Midang is a city that had been attacked by a certain group, Task A will be to find out as much
about this very group as possible. You have been taught how to gather information and your
experience will be what you have to use.
Task B will be conquering and securing certain parts of the city.
Task C is finding out about certain personalities and securing their lives, escorting them towards
the city exit. These people will be briefed on the journey, as well as people from Task D, who will
attack vital enemy positions.
Once you are done with your task, everyone except for people from Task B will try to find the other
people and support them. Any failure will mean that seniors who are ready for this will immediately
take over the mission.
Miss May will proceed in reading out the groups and captains for each groups. Trust the captain's
judgement above all cost, as these people among you have been chosen carefully, but do not act
blind and try to influence the captain's decision to make it right."

He took a step back and May stepped forward to read out the Groups, Captains and Tasks. Neither him nor Misa were in any of the groups that handled Task A or B.
"Group C3. Irene Lei, Ezekiel Dere, Misa Taylor, Captain: Sean Vila."
Klayton's eyes wandered to Misa. She smiled and danced around, probably being happy for not being
part of a Task D group. Then Klayton listened on to the groups.
"Group D2. Nicholas Yu, Niko Rimo, Leila Cooper, Captain: Klayton Mitas."

Klayton closed his eyes. He was a captain and responsible for others. Who put him in this role? He
raised his hand to give the three others a sign who and where he was as he slowly walked out of the
school's exit.

Nicholas Yu was a pretty intelligent, black haired magician. He was dressed pretty normally, which
was not always what magicians did, many of them preferred fancy robes for some reason. His affinity was dark magic, attacking people with gravity or pure energy. His weapon was a staff that helped him channel his energy.
Niko Rimo had a mix of brown and blond messy short hair. He had a cap on his head and a permanent smile on his face. He held a black, iron shield in his left hand and the shield also served as a sheath for his short, one handed axe. He was pretty short compared to the others. He was dressed in dark clothes.
Leila Cooper had long, black hair, pale skin and she was dressed in a white skirt. She also was
pretty short, still taller than Niko, and her hip held a sheath of a mixture between knife and
sword.

Klayton quickly found out that Nicholas and Niko were straight-forward damage dealers while Leila
was a person who would rather stealthily invade and take everything out from the inside. A pretty
colorful party that had been assigned to him... Was that good or bad? Quickly he introduced himself
and decided that it would be a good idea if everyone knew each other well, since teamwork was one
of the factors that decided the outcome of the exam. After a while, their group was called into a
vehicle and they entered it from the back where everyone had a seat.

A female senior with bright white stood in the back of the car and as the door closed she started to
explain the mission.
"The enemy has invaded the market plaza and is using it as an intel base now. Your task will be to
make sure that no intel can flow through that very base anymore. The way you do it is completely
left to your own creativity. Once you are done, you are obliged to split up and support any groups
you can find. I suggest you look for groups of B and C since these groups do not require you to
catch up with anyone's knowledge and you can help heads-on.

There will be several firework signs of different colors. Blue is a fake and only meant to lure the
enemy into thinking we're pulling back, so ignore any blue firework. A green firework will mean
that we are retreating in thirty minutes. Retreating does not mean we have gotten defeated, a
retreat means that we have fulfilled our tasks and are ready to depart. A yellow firework will take
away ten minutes from the countdown and a red adds ten, so watch for these. No matter how much time we take away from the retreating countdown, there will always be five minutes left, so be sure to be around when we leave. We don't want to ditch anyone in the town, however if it's necessary we will have to.

I want to use the time to give you some personal advice as a senior... Be creative. Don't chime
into the base heads-on since that will leave you in a pinch if you don't manage to break through.
Be smart and outwit the enemy. Don't compromise any civilians. Combine stealth with distractions of
brute force. And... trust the judgement of your captain. And Captain... many before have sacrificed
the certainty of their graduation by putting the group in a better light than themselves. These
captains have always been greatly respected and always have passed the test. Do not think selfishly
in this exam.
Any questions?"

Klayton raised his hand. "Do we have any info on the group yet?"
"They seem to be Nationalists. But we're not sure. It's Task A to find that out."

dis iz a cawmment