Delta, the Disciple
The land was starved from the view of the starry nights that winter. A great and ancient star belt stretched across the southern horizon that has been appearing over Atlantia for uncounted millennia. However, occasionally, on the coldest days, a thick layer of silver clouds clung around the island and it was sometimes so visually suffocating that it was nigh impossible to see past the edge of the shores and the internal hills. When the sun rose, the mists would transform into brilliant opaque hues of burgundy, orange and gold. Gradually, the mists would disperse, and the forests and human communities could finally be seen.
Delta watched the sun rise from her dorm room veranda. She had forsaken her sleep for the view; not that she could rest even if she had forced herself. At the end of last semester, she had planned on returning to her family's mansion so she could talk with pride to her parents about her acceptance to the Academy. However, it ended up being quite the opposite. Delta remained at the boarding school during the brief break, not wanting to handle another passive aggressive remark from her mother or a disappointed stare from her father. On occasion, they would make contact, asking why she rejected their offer and why she was so insistent on sabotaging herself. Durun and Olanta asked if they could come to visit her at the dorm, but she would always use her studies as an excuse to avoid them. She even avoided Yunn for most of the holidays, only interacting with him out of necessity. When he would inquire on deeper topics, she wouldn't hesitate to walk away from him. She knew that was inconsiderate, but there was nothing she wanted to share – after a while, he stopped bothering too.
Pitach-rhok College was beginning its first day of classes for the semester. Delta gazed across the excited faces of many students leaving their dorms and making way to the central campus. She had developed the habit of attending the sessions. She reluctantly pried open the waist-high fence and stepped down on the rocky path. As she passed the sea of youths, a moment of relief swept over her as she hadn't seen Shandris or any members of her crew. The more mature students separated from the younger ones as they made their way into the great pyramids. Delta pushed her way through the crowd before entering the lecture hall to seek her usual spot, the furthest corner from the podium.
She opened her woollen coat, shook her arms from its sleeves and rested her back into the chair. Students in front of her took out a thin tablet from their satchels, attached a tiny data crystal and sat it on their narrow desks. Those crystals were used for far more than just storing electronic information; they also acted as minor psionic enhancers for their users, which would allow them to absorb greater amounts of data with better efficiency. Delta used them when she was younger, hoping that it would help improve her psionic potential. Sadly, she was just met with constant silence in her mind. She wondered what it would be like to hear the thoughts and emotions of other beings, but her imagination was the closest thing to reality. She once discovered that some species in the Federation made implants to grant psychic sensitivities, but that technology wasn't adapted for human brains yet.
Her thoughts ran amok when she felt someone knock her knee to the side, returning her mind to the class. In her periphery, she saw Shandris' profile settle into the chair beside hers. Nausea bubbled up her throat as she forced herself to stare at the podium below.
“Hello Delta, how was your break?” Shandris sweetly said. Delta could feel her eyes borrowing into her cheeks.
Delta said nothing. She flicked her eyes to the edge to see a long row of Shandris’ friends take seats next to their leader.
“So arrogant, what does she think she is? A mage?” one of the girls loudly whispered.
“I don't know why I bother,” Shandris said as her fist thumped against her temple. This erupted a nasty giggling fit amongst her friends. That was an Atlantean mockery of mundanes and those who had low psionic potential, a cruel reminder that they were dense and utterly useless. Shandris flashed a smirk before her leg moved over her other, roughly scraping her shoe against Delta's shin.
The lecture hall was packed, several faculty members, including Yunn, stood beside the stage. Among them, there were two off-worlders of different races who chatted with them. One was a tall and lean male with dark emerald skin, wearing heavy black clothes gilded with copper. His shaved brows were tattooed in thin, black, delicate lines around his forehead; he was a Zanashj. She had only seen holo-photos and illustrations of them, never in person. The other was a short and slender female, barely reaching shoulder-height with a human. Bright golden skin and completely hairless, her ruby and violet robes were tightly wrapped around her body; she was undeniably Barari. Delta had seen them passing through Capihul before, but they always travelled in groups and rarely interacted with humans.
“If I have to hear about another biology lesson on other races, I will literally walk out of here,” Shandris said pointing at the off-worlders. The group chuckled; some of them dared her to fulfil her promise.
“Good morning everyone,” Yunn called as he stepped onto the stage. He kept on as the hall replied in kind, “today, we're lucky to have two representatives from the Federation Historical Community, to discuss their relationship with humans in the present, and since the dawn of our species.”
There was an excited murmur throughout the audience; even Delta's heart skipped a beat at the news.
“Our first guest speaker, Keeper Gem'hutt, will begin with talking about the history of his people and how our paths once crossed many eons ago and what this means for our future. Please welcome, Keeper Gem'hutt.” Yunn carefully stepped back from the podium, his hands patting against his chest, while the crowd repeated. The Zanashj man glanced around the chamber as he carefully lifted his long and wide trousers to take centre stage. His wide and warm smile accentuated the thick wrinkles on his face. His shoulders stretched back as he found footing. Delta studied his awesome presence; this person was destined for the spotlight, and he bathed in it.
“Gem'hutt’s trying so hard to keep it together,” Shandris whispered.
Delta turned to her and opened her mouth, but Shandris hadn't moved her eyes from the stage. Her mean lips lightly curled as she scanned the speaker below. “Keep silent, some of us want to hear what they have to say.”
Shandris snapped her head towards Delta; her brows rolled up her forehead with amusement on her cheeks. “What did you say to me?”
“You're terrible at following instructions, Shandris,” Delta flipped her head back to the stage. Shandris' mouth opened, but before any words spilt from her mouth, Gem'hutt's voice boomed across the chamber.
“Recording information is Zanashj tradition, from the days where my people etched glyphs into stone and marked the land with melted sands; to the days of now, where we can simply speak our thoughts into a machine. However, one must admit there are some thoughts that never need voicing.”
A deep wave of chuckles came from the crowd; even Delta found her emotions lifted by his words.
“This is what we and humans have in common, the desire to know of one's past; so, one knows their part. However, this isn't the only thing we share. Since the Zanashj came into the interstellar community, we had an obsession – a mission to learn everything everyone else knew and found our peoples may have known of each other in times past. Our scholars linked our architecture and stylistic choices. Take Pitach-rhok for instance, the design of these pyramids are virtually identical to some of ours, including the greatest stepped pyramid on this island, the Academy of Atlantia.”
Delta felt Shandris' body heat as she leant towards her, her cheeks sparking from her closeness. “I'm sorry to hear about that.”
Delta's heart fluttered, she wanted to turn to face Shandris, but her neck muscles clamped into one position.
“It's been all around the school. I know you worked really hard for it, but they just couldn't get past the fact you were mundane,” Shandris' breathy voice felt like steam on her skin, “I think it’s unfair how they treat your kind, but I suppose the board knew what sort of person they wanted.”
Sweat beaded on her brow, her back tensed and her legs were so full of blood that they were ready to burst. Rage unlike any other bubbled in her gut. Gem'hutt's booming voice wasn't enough to sway her from Shandris' evil whispers. Her neck slowly twisted. Shandris' eyes smiled when she did.
Through gritted teeth, she could only utter a single word, “Stop.”
“There must be a place for mundanes,” Shandris pulled away and pressed her back against the chair, her tied hair flopped down her shoulder as she looked to her eager friends, “maybe used as thresher bait.”
Delta couldn't feel her arm launch out and grip the tail of Shandris' hair, as if she were a passenger in her own body. She bashed the girl's temple against the edge of another student's chair in front of her. Shandris spun her body around with shock smeared on her face; even her friends lost the glee from their faces. She tried climbing to her feet, while holding her reddened temple, but Delta wouldn't let her get away. She leapt from her seat, and her tightened fist slammed against Shandris' jaw, which sent her toppling over her friend's legs. They were screaming, some of them even pulled their hands up to make Delta stop, but her conscience had taken a backseat.
Her relentless attack stirred an audience around them. Shandris tried scrambling over the seats to escape, but her head injury was making her sloppy, like wounded prey. Delta was now the predator. Closing in for the kill, she threw herself on top of Shandris and pinned her down on the hall's steps. With iron fists, she pounded into the girl's cheek. The next strike was her eye; in the next Delta's knuckles slipped and struck Shandris' neck. Powerful emerald hands gripped her forearms and pried her body from Shandris. Delta spun around to see Gem'hutt's flat face peering down at her. She could feel she was returning to her body again, her mouth hung open as she glanced back to see Shandris' swollen face while her friends surrounded her, trying to shield her from Delta.
Yunn stood beside Shandris' head, her wails of pain echoed in the chamber. His horror-stricken face turned her stomach.
“She-she said I should be thresher food!” sweat rolled down her skin as she realised, she sounded like a lunatic. Yunn thrust his hands up in front of his face, which had quickly grown into a silent fury. He didn't care for Delta's words.
“Gem'hutt, please release her. Delta Ungbrahe come with me,” he said as his arms crossed over his chest.
She felt the Zanashj's grip ease from her flesh as her feet grounded. Delta skipped past the other students, all of which parted as she passed, and she followed Yunn down the steps of the hall. The weight of all their eyes pressed against her back. Her throbbing head hung so low, she could only see the other teachers and the Barari guest speaker's disgusted glares. The chamber doors slid open of their own accord as they approached them. Yunn's robe danced around his feet as he hastily stepped into the entranceway and took a sharp turn down the pyramid's corridors.
Delta looked up at her headmaster's head. She wanted to explain, she wanted him to understand why. “Headmaster-,”
He said nothing, his speed maintained as they passed through another smaller corridor to the staff section. She held her breath as she tried catching up to him, her fingers grazed against the edge of his sleeve. “Yunn, please-,”
He spun around and twitched his elbow from her hand. “You have no right to do that. You have no right to do anything you did in that hall or anything else you've done. I've tried, but by the light, Delta...” his eyes searched the ceiling as if they held the answers, “we shall talk about this in my office.”
With a single clap of his hands, a head-high wooden door slid into the wall. He stepped into a bedroom sized room with a young man a few years older than Delta sitting behind a perfect rectangular granite and chestnut desk. His eyes flew up to see their arrival and immediately rose to his feet. “You're back early from the presentation headmaster. Fortunately, Mage Goru is already here.”
Yunn pressed his scarred hands against his forehead and sighed. “I hadn't forgotten. Tell the mage that I'll be attending another matter before I see him.”
The young man tensed a little and innocently stared at another door beside his desk. “But the mage is already in there waiting...”
“You let him into my office without waiting for me?” Yunn glared at his secretary.
“Apologies headmaster, but he was very insistent and wanted to see you the moment you came in,” the boy said.
“Mage Goru does not run my office or Pitach-rhok. Next time, make him wait here like other visitors,” Yunn's words melted the boy back into his chair before he turned back to Delta, “wait here, young lady.”
Yunn stepped toward another sliding door and disappeared behind it. A low murmuring of voice rippled through the frame while Delta managed to sit in a leather cushioned seat beside the desk.
“You must be Delta Ungbrahe,” the young man said as he stared over the table.
“How do you know my name?” she said as her arms crossed over her belly.
“Everyone here knows your name, especially after the Academy board left,” he said with a smile on his lips.
Delta rolled her eyes and looked at her crossed knees. She didn't want to say anything to him; she didn't want to have another incident in her headmaster's office.
“What you did was really admirable,” his words caught her off guard; she glanced up to the smile with no hints of malice.
“What are you talking about?”
“When they singled you out about being mundane and all, and how you threw their offer away to make a point. I think that was something special,” he said as his lips widened into a grin.
His words calmed her nerves; it was a momentary pleasant ease from the uncertain situation as she sat in Yunn's office. She didn't thank the boy for the fear of prolonging their discussion; a small awkward nod was all she could muster before the door to the headmaster's main room opened. Yunn stood in the door and beckoned her to enter. She did what she was obliged to without hesitation. The room walls comprised tall shelves, which were cluttered with tomes and scrolls, some neatly wrapped, while others sat open on tables and chairs. A dark metallic cube sat by his desk with various crystals and other strange devices that emitted holographic lights. There was an overwhelming smell of old paper, and dried herbs battling for dominance in the air. The room's chaotic order reflected Yunn's wild mind. Delta was very familiar with this place, as she had been there countless times before when she was in trouble or when she wanted to spend her lunchtimes with the headmaster.
There was one thing that made this office unknown to her: a tall man with dark cocoa skin and polished skull who stood beside Yunn's desk. His eyes were like two shining sapphires in his head. He wore a sharp velvet tunic with matching loose leggings. He was from the continent of Alkhem, but in the deep south into Necropan, a hot and dry land with giant animals that roamed the plains. He didn't say anything when Delta entered. There was not even a show of acknowledgement to her presence and his cool stare drifted as she walked to the stool in front of Yunn's dishevelled desk.
“This is Mage Goru, he'll just be waiting until we clear up some matters,” Yunn said as he found his chair behind his long table.
“That's fine,” she said as she tore her eyes from the stranger back to the headmaster, “what happened in the hall-,”
“Yes, I would very much like to understand what happened in the hall, as you have embarrassed me and the school, Delta Ungbrahe. I've tried to be patient with you, if not for your father's sake, but you don't care about anything that has been given to you,” he said as a vein appeared in his forehead.
“That's not true, headmaster, you know me. I didn't intend for any of this to happen, I didn't intend to be this way! Shandris-,” she said, but Yunn put up his hand dismissing her words.
“I saw you strike first and when she and others pleaded for you to stop, you continued. I know this isn't your first offence, but that was something I had never seen in you before,” he said, his fingers tapping the surface of the wood.
“You don't know what it's like, Yunn! I was fed up with people like her and those snout-nosed Academy fools!” she called as hot tears bubbled underneath her eyes.
“People like Shandris aren't the ones that cause your pain, Delta. Understand this: it doesn't matter what she or anyone said to you, it doesn't give you the right to act in that manner. Sometimes, it's better to keep quiet,” he said.
“If I may,” the mage's deep and soothing voice broke through their discussion, “for what I'm understanding, though it may be limited, this student had been experiencing strife from her peers for quite some time. I wonder, what support has she gained from your staff after the first incidences with her physically attacking other students?”
Delta looked up at the mage with surprise. She glanced back at her headmaster. His mocha skin turned into beetroot red as he glared at Goru. “We have spoken with the other students about their behaviour too, and my staff has continually mentored Delta to keep her anger in check.”
“But those methods didn't work, and the harassment continued, what did you do then?” the mage said as he brushed his thumb on his chin.
“We cannot get too deeply involved with our students, no matter how difficult things may be,” Yunn looked to Delta. The anger in his face had died and was replaced with sorrow. “Delta, you cannot continue like this in Pitach-rhok, you need to be moved somewhere else,”
Delta's chest felt like it was going to explode; she gripped the edges of Yunn's desk and leaned forward. “You can't be serious, I can't go back home, my parents will kill-.”
“This isn't a decision I make lightly, Delta, but it's best you part ways with the school,” he said.
“This is a good decision,” Mage Goru spoke up, his eyes twinkled like he had said something amusing, “Pitach-rhok needs to be at peace again and Delta needs to be surrounded by people who understand her – somewhere where she can receive actual support,”
“What are you saying, Goru?” Yunn said as his eyes narrowed at the mage.
“I'm saying she can remain on the roll at this college but continue her studies abroad in another institute. Specifically, my school,” he said.
“Magi don't have schools,” Delta said as her brow rose up her forehead.
“Officially we don't,” he said with a wink.
“Fine, but it's ultimately up to Delta,” Yunn said with a grimaced look, “are you sure you want to do this?”
She looked up at the mage and smiled. “Let me get my things.”
~
Midday had already struck when she was packed. Her belongings fitted into two airtight bags with thick leather straps sitting on either side of her shoulders. Mage Goru waited inside a large chrome hover disk that was lined with lemon seats around the interior. It took little effort to swing her luggage over the seats and climb the narrow steel steps into the vehicle. Her thighs sunk into the firm cushions of the seats and her slightly heeled shoes grazed against the inner carpets. Mage Goru pressed his fingers on a glass-like panel on the edge of his seat, and in a moment, the disk gently slid away from the school. Delta turned to see Pitach-rhok's red stone gates shrink into the horizon. Her lip curled into a small smile at the thought of never returning to that place, but a part of her wished that things had turned out different.
“When we get to the tower, please keep quiet until you are allowed to speak,” Goru said.
Delta turned to him with a sense of annoyance, but the seriousness in his face broke with a humorous grin. “I jest. Please feel free to speak your mind, our order encourages openness and honesty,”
“From public perception, the magi tend to guard their affairs against outsiders. I didn't even know you had schools,” she said.
“That's true. However, we open our doors to a select few,” he said, his arm rested against the cushioned seat.
“Why did you choose me? I'm not exactly sought after,” she said. The skin on her head started to feel a cool and humid breeze as their vehicle picked up speed.
His eyes twinkled as his lips curled into a smile. “Because you will fit well with us, someone with your talents and mind can flourish with the right guidance. Our order has the best master’s in science, art, psionics to reach the height of their poten-,”
Delta sighed; she knew that this was too good to be true. “Stop this thing, I'll get out now,”
Goru's eyes widened as his hand hovered over the panel beside him, commanding the vehicle to slow down. “What for? Something I said?”
“No, because I don't want to waste your time, I won't be able to attend your school,” she said as her hands gripped around the straps of her bag, her heart fiercely pounding, “I have no psionic potential – I'm mundane.”
Goru moved his arm from the seat's edge and eased back, his thumb rubbing against his chin. “I see. How interesting, I believe we would be a perfect institute for you,”
Delta wondered whether he heard her correctly with the beating wind in their ears. “Forgive my ignorance, Mage, but you are all highly trained psychics. How can I be a perfect fit if I have zero psi potential?”
“No human has zero psionic power, Delta. All are born with varying amounts, but with the right nurturing, it's possible to raise it. I don't know why you haven't come into it at this stage in your life, but we can discover it and then ultimately, overcome it,”
Was that possible? Could she beat this mundane curse that had gripped her since birth? Her mind raced with the possibilities, she thought about what it would feel like to enter another mind, to sense someone's joy, to spot a liar.
“It's peculiar but could be a good sign...” Goru’s voice broke the silence as the wind drifted past their heads.
Delta snapped up. “What is?”
“I know it's rude to listen in to someone's thoughts uninvited, but sometimes psychics cannot totally ignore that ambient hum from the minds around them. Yet, I cannot hear anything from you, may I ask why?”
“I don't know, it’s been that way since I was an infant,” she said. Her eyes drifted to the white city on the horizon. Their vehicle picked up speed once more and skittered above the cobbled path. The buildings had shrunk as they went further into the country. Open fields with smaller homes dotted around the picturesque landscape. Here, green foliage had dominated the man-made structures. The path ended suddenly before a long row of tall trees as their hovering vehicle came to a halt. The leaves above her head clapped as if nature applauded their arrival.
“Why have we stopped?” Delta turned to Goru.
He rose to his feet which, she had not noticed until now, were completely bare, and hopped out of the machine. “We're here of course,”
Delta bit her lip as she picked up her bags and headed to the same edge as Goru. He offered his hand to her, but she placed the straps of her luggage in his open palms as she climbed out of the vehicle. Her feet crunched against the thick grass and gravel as she surveyed the dark forest. “Your school is the forest, Mage?”
Goru laughed as he hauled the bags in both hands. “No, no, it's inside it. Come, please.”
Delta reluctantly followed the odd man into the forest. The more she considered her situation, the more foolish she felt for allowing this stranger to take her into an unknown place. The thigh-high grass parted ways as they entered. The sunlight weakened underneath the canopies of the trees, and the bird calls grew louder the longer they walked. It didn't take long for Delta to spot a violet tiled roof high from the grounds. Her eyes followed down the long sandstone neck of a tower with box windows circled around the structure. Goru stopped at the thick base of the building. There was no door in sight, only broken bricks wherever she looked.
Her focus sharpened as Goru traced his delicate fingers between the cracks of the bricks. It was as if he were trying to draw an image with invisible ink. The wall groaned as the bricks melted away into sand, which scattered on the dirt. Goru strode into the entrance as Delta carefully stepped past the small mounds on the floor. She turned to see that the sand had returned into their original place on the wall. Her mouth hung open as her thoughts raced as to how the magi could create such displays.
“Welcome to the Magi Tower, Delta,” Goru said resting the bags on the marble tiled ground. Her eye turned to the massive interior; it was significantly larger than it appeared on the outside. Perhaps a pocket-dimension of some sort could explain the size. There were more trees inside, but with a pale grey complexion and exotic birds and reptiles living within them. Their roots had grown across the marble floors, even breaking through them. Unnatural lighting came from a dozen floating orb lanterns in the foyer; the wooden ceiling was carved into magnificent depictions of nature and the spirits that the ancient Atlanteans believed to have lived within them. Several spiral staircases ascended to higher levels.
“What do you think?” he said as he gazed across the chamber.
“I've never seen anything like it,” Delta said, her eyes still trying to comprehend the truly magical atmosphere of the place.
“I take that as high praise from you,” Goru said with a twinkle in his eye, “come, I'll introduce you,”
She eyed the room, but there were only the trees and animals with them there.
“Magi, please welcome Delta Ungbrahe,” he said with a song in his voice.
Delta almost leapt out of her boots as several figures appeared around them. Their forms manifested into humans wearing similar uniforms to Goru. All aged from ten to a hundred years, most of them were Atlantean, while others were from different corners of the world. They all nodded and tapped their chests in polite greetings at her presence.
“Thank you and greetings,” she said quietly.
“We were in the middle of phasing through the astral plane, I hope you brought someone interesting,” growled a bald pale man with orange freckled skin.
“Only the best I bring to us, Mage Balgrif,” Goru said as he glanced around the group, “where's Mage Xian?”
“Here, here,” a man stumbled from one of the trees. His black matted hair was filled with twigs and leaves and his muddy and torn robes had several specks of dried bird filth on his shoulders. He swept towards Delta and bowed low, before reaching out for her hand and squeezing it with his dirt-strained palms. She pulled away from his grip and forced herself not to wipe her hand against her jacket.
“Greetings, Mage Xian,” she said, hoping she didn't offend, but he seemed pleased with her.
“Now, I remember you!” called a young girl from the circle. She skipped towards Delta and pressed herself against her chest in a tight embrace. When she pulled away, her face was unmistakably that little girl at her greatfather's funeral. Her platinum-blonde hair was cut above her ears with a long wavy fringe covering the side of her squared face. Her cat-like eyes were wide with glee, and her thin pink-tinted lips stretched into a smile. Small gold-hooped piercings dotted around her thick grey brows and nose.
“Kyirn? You're a mage?” she said as she studied the girl's grown face. Kyirn was much younger when they had met, but her features had the appearance of a fully developed woman. Her height had even surpassed Delta's. Yet, she spoke and smiled as if she had just entered puberty.
“Not quite, but soon! It's great to see you again. It seems the universe had intended for us to meet again,” she said as she pressed her hands against Delta's forearms, “are you still mundane?”
Delta curled her lips as she nervously looked around the other magi. “Not for much longer,”
To her astonishment, they smiled; some even gave nods of approval at this revelation. They didn't scoff or mock her; they didn't judge her as something less than what they were – whatever they were.
“We don't have time to waste here, phase back into the third realm of the astral plane.” Mage Balgrif called as his form distorted and vanished from the chamber.
The others followed suit, Kyirn waved at Delta as her body became translucent, then disappeared. Even Mage Xian hobbled back into the indoor forest, leaving her and Goru in the foyer.
“You'll get used to it.” Goru said as he reached out and pat her on the shoulder.
“I hope so.” she said.
Comments