I do not own Chaotic nor anything related to it. It belongs to TCDigital.
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The Young Royals
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I am eighty-six solans old. My daughter Hera is thirty-five, and my son Jupiter is twenty-four.
Hera's last growth spurt is starting. She'll be getting taller faster over the next few solans, and judging by how tall she currently is, a little below my shoulder, she's likely to end up as tall as Isis, a couple inches taller than I am.
Jupiter, however, is very quickly living up to his namesake. He stands up to my chin, and he still has a decade of normal-speed growth left in him before he reaches his last growth spurt.
"We're going to run out of wall to measure me on," Jupiter jokes as he looks at the column of lines measuring his height over time.
I look at the wall as well. There's a distinct possibility that he's right.
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Hera has gone on to taking advanced courses in mugic on top of her normal classes, learning alongside a half-dozen other Mipedians with exceptional talent. She's the only woman in the class.
I'm watching one of these advanced lessons. It's all completely over my head, but I'd like to show my support for her. I think what's going on now is an attempt by the students to channel mugical energy without the use of a mugisphere, but I have no way of knowing if I'm right. What I do know is that they're supposed to teleport at the end of it.
Sparks of light are dancing around Hera's outstretched hands. Her eyes are squeezed shut in concentration. Her classmates hold the same pose, some looking more strained, others looking calm and collected.
There's a blast of energy to Hera's right, and one of the other muges-in-training tumbles through the air, landing on his back several feet away from where he started. Hera and the others don't even flinch. The teacher of the class pulls the hapless Mipedian to his feet and growls, "All of your concentration, not a stray thought!"
The Mipedian mumbles an apology and returns to his spot.
A few moments later, Hera opens her eyes. She claps her hands together-
Bip!
And now she's on the other side of the room.
"Very good, Your Highness," the teacher applauds.
Hera catches her breath, looking quite proud of herself. She looks up at me, and though I'm not allowed to make a sound, I silently clap for her.
Hera returns to her spot and closes her eyes again. She has to do this two more times to pass.
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Every once in a while, the soldiers in training are paired off to spar with each other. Those taking private lessons aren't exempt from this, so Jupiter is joining the rest of Mudeenu's students today. Mudeenu had been hinting that one would be coming up ever since he came back from chasing Kaizeph a month ago.
Each combatant is allowed one low-charge battlegear and a mundane piece of equipment, blunted if it's a weapon. The fight takes place in a ten foot deep pit dug into the ground.
Jupiter's opponent is a Mipedian nearly finished with basic training, a large, burly male named Kuzudo. In his right hand is a scimitar, and in his left is a liquilizer, a pistol-like battlegear that treats water as ammunition. Jupiter has a longsword in his own right hand, and strapped to his left arm is an aqua shield.
Kuzudo turns to Mudeenu when he sees who his opponent is. "Captain, I'm twice this child's age."
Mudeenu sends the Mipedian a sharp glare. "And your problem is?"
Kuzudo pauses, then shrugs. He florishes his scimitar and steps forward. "No crying to Daddy when we're done here," he taunts.
"You're right, you shouldn't," Jupiter grins as he hops from foot to foot.
Mudeenu glances at me, as if asking if I taught him how to turn a taunt around like that. I smile wide, and Mudeenu rolls his eyes.
Kuzudo blinks, then growls. "Okay then, kid, if you think you're old enough to play with the big boys, then I'm not taking it easy on you." He leaps down into the pit and stands at his end. Jupiter climbs down the wall of the pit and stands at his own end.
Mudeenu steps to the edge of the wall and raises an arm. "Combatants ready?"
Kuzudo flips his scimitar in the air and catches it again. Jupiter double-checks his aqua shield. "Ready!" they both call out.
As Mudeenu swings his arm down, he shouts, "Fight!"
Kuzudo whips his liquilizer up and pulls the trigger, and a blast of steam rockets from its barrel. Jupiter raises his aqua shield and catches the blast with it. Kuzudo leaps forward and swings his scimitar down, and Jupiter jumps forward and rolls between his legs. Kuzudo's weapon smashes the ground where Jupiter had been standing, while Jupiter pivots on the ground and strikes at his opponent's legs with his sword.
Kuzudo cries out in pain, and his legs buckle. As his knees hit the ground, Jupiter stands up and puts the tip of his sword against the base of the larger Mipedian's skull.
"Kill strike," Jupiter declares, pressing the sword against Kuzudo's head for emphasis.
"Round goes to Jupiter!" Mudeenu roars.
Kuzudo growls, gets to his feet, and returns to his side. Jupiter returns to his area, glancing up at me and grinning as he does so. I shake a fist triumphantly in return.
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It's late one night. Isis and I are standing on a balcony, watching our daughter. Hera is standing on a city wall, the same one she was born on so many solans ago. She hasn't heard all the details, but she at least knows about that one spot.
Hera looks at the place Isis had laid, the place where I had helped deliver her. Then she looks outward, away from the city and toward the desert.
"What's Hera doing out there so late?" I ask.
"I have no idea," Isis shrugs.
Hera spreads her arms. Stars start to wink out as clouds collect high in the sky. Wind starts to blow, and I can see sandstorms begin to pick up in the distance.
My heart is pounding. Those clouds, the wind, it happened too fast to be natural. I can feel Isis holding tightly to my arm.
Hera raises her arms higher, and rain begins to fall from the sky. The clouds begin to spiral above her. The rain goes from light shower to raging torrent in a matter of seconds. But the rain is only falling around Hera. Anywhere more than a few feet away from her is bone dry.
I feel the hair on my head stand on end.
Hera stretches her arms straight up, and the sky fills with light as a bolt of lightning strikes down. The stream of electricity hits Hera's hands and collects in a ball there. Hera holds the ball of light close to her chest, and then hurls it in front of her.
The bolt of lightning flies across the ground for many miles, until somewhere near the horizon it collides with a sand dune.
My heart is beating a mile a minute. Did I just see what I think I saw?
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Up next: The Birthday Revelation
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