It's been a while folks! I had to go on a huge hiatus due to school, but I will put in the effort to get the ball rolling! This is an original story that will be released TOMORROW on fictionpress with the name The Members of the Jury, so check it out and follow it if you like this sneak peak!
"Everyone has a destiny," A golden haired girl with pale blue eyes said to the boy next to her. "What do you think ours is, William?"
The boy sighed at the mention of his name, his messy, ebony hair ruffling in the breeze.
"Isn't that up to us? Our lives should be ours to decide."
"But there has to be a reason," The girl insisted, "Some explanation why everything is the way it is."
"That's ridiculous."
"It's really not when you consider what our jobs are," The girl was met with silence. She smiled, knowing she won their little verbal spar. "What do you think it would feel like? Being a Tyrant, I mean."
"I wouldn't want to do it. Why should they get to decide who lives and who dies? Tyrant or Highlander, they're all the same."
"I just hope destiny has something great in store for us." The alarm bells rang throughout the barracks, signifying that it was time for them to head back to their quarters.
"Well, good night, William!"
"Good night….Cygna."
(page break here)
"Hya!" William sliced through a dummy clean with a training sword before knocking it aside with his shield. If he were to impress the higher-ups, his swordsmanship needed to be near, nay, absolutely perfect.
This universe, classified as the AN3 universe by the Members of the Jury, also known as the angelic universe, was one of the only to successfully repel a Tyrant, who specialized in destroying worlds for their own gain. Because of this outstanding achievement, the AN3 universe was a very prideful one, and boasted a well trained army.
Three variations of Angels resided in AN3; the Archangels, the Angels and the Sub-Angels. Angels had small wings compared to their body and could only fly up to 30 minutes depending on their stamina. Archangels had proportional wings to their body and could fly as much as they wanted, and the Sub-Angels, who possessed no wings and was at the bottom of the social chain. William and Cygna were the latter of the three.
"That was great, Will!" Cygna clapped enthusiastically, grinning at her childhood friend. Unlike the others in their platoon, she was the only one he trusted enough to watch him train. The other members would only insult him, be intimidated, or just kick his arse.
"I just hope it'll be enough to compensate for my lacking athletic abilities." He said, panting heavily and cursing his perceived weakness. Despite being very fit, the other sub-angels were simply better than him in every physical way possible due to their biology -if one could even call it that. It felt like he was simply born weaker than the others.
"Strength isn't everything, you know."
Will took another swing. "It is when you're in an army."
"Maybe you could be a strategist." Cygna countered back immediately. In honesty, Cygna never understood why William wanted to be a footsoldier in the army so badly. He had a brilliant mind for military maneuvers, politics, and could even have taken a role as a scholar.
Will shook his head. "For that to happen I need to be accepted into a regiment." Due to their low rank, to be considered for any other position other than a mere soldier, he needed to be a respected member of a regiment.
Cygna considered this for a moment, and then nodded., "That makes sense. Well, you have to start at the bottom before you reach the top. That's what my dad always said anyway."
"How cliché of him."
"Even so, he was right. You know that too."
Will stabbed his sword into the centre of the dummy and twisted it. "That doesn't change the fact that to get into a regiment, physical strength is an important factor."
"Like I said, strength isn't everything," Cygna took one of the training swords and slowly circled around him, "you have to keep your opponent guessing, and that takes brains rather than brawn."
Will knocked her sword away with a simple strike. "...You're right. But it doesn't change the fact that the odds of me getting into the anti-tyrant regiment are slim."
"That's true," she admitted playfully, reaching for the training sword he had knocked out of her hand, "but you can definitely do it. Heck, I bet you'll even be the best, but first…" Taking him by surprise, Cygna swung the sword behind his heels, knocking him over, "...you have to start at the bottom."
William looked at her for a short moment in surprise before sighing heavily. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother." He muttered as he sat up, rubbing his back. His blonde companion, however, just smiled down at him pridefully.
"Will, you've known me for how long? I'm surprised you haven't learned by now." Will groaned and got to his feet, picking up his sword and shield. "I think that's enough training for me…. I need some coffee." The dark brew was well known through the worlds that were connected and had taken their universe by storm.
Cygna helped him put his equipment away in the shed near the training fields. "I don't know how you stand the stuff. It's so bitter." Cygna said disdainfully.
"It keeps my mind sharp. Besides, unlike some people, I happen to have good taste." In response, Cygna punched his right shoulder, making him chuckle as he closed the shed door. "C'mon. I'll get you a glass of water, free of charge." William offered.
"Hmph. Cheapskate."
(line break)
As they walked into the coffee shop, Will caught a glimpse of a color mimicking red dust. He looked and saw something that make him sneer.
"Dammit, Mitch is here." The large, brute-like sub-angel was laid back in a chair, taking a sip out of a cup. Despite his appearance, he was very crafty and has gained a reputation not to mess with. Then again, he was also known for being a likable guy, which Will didn't get at all.
"Maybe he'll ignore us." Cygna hoped out loud.
Just as she said that, Mitch called out to them from afar, "Hey, Will!"
"...Ok, maybe not."
Mitch walked up to the smaller soldier. "Shouldn't you be in the corner, practising your sword skills? If you can call that twig of yours a sword."
"Knock it off, Mitch!" Cygna yelled at him, but instead of having him back off, the brute shot her an icy glare (or maybe a glance, it's hard to tell), causing her to yelp and hide behind Will.
"Oh? And what is a girl like Cygna doing with you, Will?"
"I can hang out with whoever I want, Mitch. Better than a jerk like you." Cygna's muffled voice was heard from behind Will.
Mitch whistled as an amused smirk appeared on his face. "Feisty as usual, Cygna. That's something you and I have in common."
Will felt his friend's hands tighten on his shoulders, and decided to take action.
"Back off Mitch. You're just coming off as creepy."
Mitch's eyes twitched for a split second. "And what are you gonna do about it?"
He was answered by a swift punch to the face.
Every pair of eyes went straight to the two. Time froze for what seemed to be forever when it could have really been a split second. In that time, Mitch took it to recover and hit back, sending him sprawling across the shop, crashing into the tables. Fortunately, before Mitch could do any more damage, Cygna stepped in front of Will and shoved Mitch away from him.
"Don't you dare!" Despite the girl being much smaller, Mitch backed off from Cygna. He can't bring himself to hurt her. He instead sneered at Will.
"I'll make sure to take special care of you in the tryouts."
"You just HAD to punch him, didn't you?" Cygna asked while she dabbed some medicine on Will's black eye, making him wince."
"What was I supposed to do? Let him flirt with you?" Cygna sighed at the statement. "No, but now his platoon is going to target us during the tryouts."
The tryouts was the determining point for the future of the soldiers. They were to prove their worth by taking paralyzing weapons and fighting each other, until only one person is not incapacitated. The top ten fighters are the first allowed to choose their regiment: the anti-tyrant regiment, Patrol, Archangel Guard, Army, or Relief Force. It's a difficult test to pass, but one soldiers had to place good on, especially since spots are finite in each regiment, allowing only sixty of the hundred soldiers to make it in.
"Why are you looking forward to the tryouts anyway? Even if you make it to the Anti-Tyrant regiment, nothing happens there. It's basically for slackers."
"That's true. But at least there's a chance I could explore what's beyond this universe. Everyone here is all about their so called destiny, but I want to see, I want to understand what the world is truly like. And I hope the Anti-Tyrant regiment can give me the answers I need.
Cygna sighed. "Well, if you say so." The bell rang signifying it was time for the tryouts. "C'mon, we should go get ready."
"Right."