Lester Yong & Rosa Fontelera-Yong

CoESC Book 3-1.1: Unwelcome Thoughts

A chill wind rose from the Veil, the barrier separating the plane of Rumiga from the endless Chaos outside. It swept past the mountains, cutting into the three-tiered city eponymously named Rumiga City. The Radiant Sun rose, casting its powerful light across the land, banishing the trace amounts of harmful Chaos that had seeped in from the outside.

The wind brought with it dark clouds. Lightning danced it its midst, followed closely by thunder, a loud crack that startled the sleeping po...

CoESC Book 2-23.3: Inauspicious Gatherings

Lukas didn’t know what to expect when Aengus led him away from 28 Quartz. He certainly didn’t expect to be brought back down to the Lower Ring, into a tavern’s backroom and have a sack thrown over his head.

“You can’t betray what you don’t know,” Aengus whispered in his ear.

He stumbled after Aengus, led in the dark only by the other boy’s grasp on his hand. They went down some steps and walked on an uneven surface for what felt like an hour or so.

When his f...

CoESC Book 2-23.2: Inauspicious Gatherings

Jiro Finley Segawa, Legate of the Legion Vagaris, groaned as he got out of bed. The Season of Air had started and his bones didn’t appreciate the chill. That or he had been woken up just five minutes from his schedule by incessant knocking on the door.

For a moment, he wondered where in the Burning Moon he was, with an unfamiliar ceiling overhead and the absent swaying deck from when the Green Swan surfed the air currents. The room was spacious and had wall hangings, tapestries and oi...

CoESCBook 2-23.1: Inauspicious Gatherings

Lightning struck the exposed metal tines in the chamber, arcing between each metal rod rather than travelling down to the earth. The chamber was dark, illuminated only by the ebb and flow of the lightning. At the centre of the contraption that drew in power from the Chaos flows above, a glimmering tongue of flame danced. A few paces below was a crumpled heap of discarded flesh, given as little notice as a table or armchair in a living room.

Each lightning strike through the air caused p...

CoESC Book 2-22.3: Secrets

“I think it’ll be easier if I just wear this thing instead of carrying it piecemeal!” Amiri protested while Virgil and the others divided the articulated plate mail pieces and secured them on their backpacks.

“It’s not safe,” Virgil said firmly. “Not all artefacts are benign. Have you forgotten what happened to Marten Branwell when he tried to force a bond with an artefact back when we were in Vagaris?”

“He lost his arm,” Amiri sighed.

“Not just his arm...

CoESC Book 2-22.2: Secrets

Disappointingly, the next few rooms were some kind of barracks instead of more armouries. Virgil supposed that it made some sort of sense. Having the barracks near the weapons locker was a common enough arrangement. He wondered what kind of defensive gear they used though. The armoury had no armour. Just weapons.

The door directly across the armoury led to a small set of chambers, probably for the commanding officer. That it was near the exit to the garden above made sense to him, too. ...

CoESC Book 2-22.1: Secrets

The fields were on fire. Acrid smoke rose from the hornets’ bodies, rising straight up until it pooled just underneath the dome. Some of the trees had caught fire, too, their sap boiled and burst the bark, aiding in the combustion.

Amiri revelled in the flames. It called to her, caressed her skin like a lover’s touch. It whispered to her. Grow us. Burn. Consume. Lightning danced in the smoke clouds, touching down amidst the woods. Amiri’s hands raised, her eyes drinking in the hel...

CoESC Book 2-21.3: Bitter Work

Yuriko barely kept herself awake during History class. It was with the rest of the first-year students of Sharom so there were about one hundred thirteen-year-old boys and girls in a single lecture room with the lone professor whose voice, unforutnately, droned monotonously.

Half of their first class was spent with each student introducing themselves then the instructor started talking about the Empire’s history, specifically the founding days. Normally, this would have been a rather ...

CoESC Book 2-21.2: Bitter Work

Virgil's jaw dropped when he saw what Amiri and Balliol brought back from their scouting trip. His own scouting trip with Sarra had been uneventful; they’d only managed to mark more stone hallways that curved gently enough that he barely noticed when they walked out of sight.

Balliol and Amiri came back to where Craig was, dragging the...carcass...of a huge insect of all things. The thing had scorched spots on its body. Balliol’s expression was strange, too: a mixture of disgust, an...

CoESC Book 2-21.1: Bitter Work

Emyr Kinnock approached Yuriko just as she was about to get up and head out for lunch. He stopped about a pace away from the desk, glanced at Ella-Mai and gave her a friendly nod before he faced Yuriko and gave a small bow of greeting.

“Miss Davar, I understand you are acquainted with my elder brother, Kale Oona Kinnock?”

Yuriko blinked in surprise, though she really shouldn’t have been. They had the same mid and surname after all.

“Yes, I met him briefly during the ...

CoESC Book 2-20.3: Passage

Yuriko slept late that night, reading the ‘Treatise’ in her room. She got halfway through the first chapter which was essentially Amafi rambling about his thoughts, his childhood, and his time growing up, while avoiding any mention of the subject of Animus and ambient Chaos. Still, she was up early before dawn for her morning training.

She wasn’t alone while running around the circumferential road, of course. Just a moment ago she ran past a large group of boys while they jogged i...

CoESC Book 2-20.2: Passage

Lukas woke earlier than usual the next morning, his eyes bleary and a foul taste in his mouth. A quick check when he envisioned his Anima showed his core to be full save for the amount taken up by his Facet, of course. He immediately shoved his hand underneath his pillow, releasing a sigh of relief when he found the glass vial undisturbed.

The pre-dawn light barely gave him any light to see but when he raised the vial to his eyes, the colour shifting motes twinkled bright enough to dazz...

CoESC Book 2-20.1: Passage

That afternoon, Yuriko and the other Elite class students were led to a small lecture room labelled Jade 101, by their class advisor, the cat-eyed woman. There were ten of them in all, six nervous-looking boys and four equally nervous girls. For the first time, Yuriko wasn’t the tallest in class, the distinction belonging to a lanky, silver-haired boy with light brown skin whose facial features reminded her of Kale, the boy from Agaza who spent the Season of Fire in the Watchtower.

Th...

CoESC Book 2-19.3: Discoveries

Today was the 1st Day of the Season of Air and the beginning of Yuriko’s first term in Sharom Academy. The past couple of weeks were relatively uneventful aside from her efforts to adjust to her new living conditions.

She didn’t have a roommate assigned yet so she had the entire suite to herself. It was similar enough to Shepherd’s Cross’ rooms that a couple of times she woke up thinking that she was still back there. The entrance opened into an antechamber with shoe racks, a co...

CoESC Book 2-19.2: Discoveries

Amiri Senaka Cypher tapped her foot impatiently while the boys and Sarra debated on whether they should enter the ominous-looking passageway or not. Balliol wanted to just get it over with, Sarra wanted to remain cautious, while Virgil stared at the wall, lost in thought.

That’s always the problem with Virg, Amiri decided, he thought too much. Or to be more precise, he tended to overthink. Craig on the other hand, like the good scout that he was supposed to be, had already started usi...

CoESC Book 2-19.1: Discoveries

The first time Lukas attended a...meeting, Lukas didn’t know what to think. They went to a tavern in the Lower Ring, in the more prosperous part of town. Lukas dropped off Kiruna’s share of food first then headed over to the 23 Pence Alehouse.

Most of the people inside were workers with the dust of the day’s labour still thick on their sleeves. There was a drunk looking man, maybe a couple of years older than Lukas, on a small platform playing a fiddle. Lukas could almost recogniz...

CoESC Book 2-18.3: Moving In

The cold would have been infinitely worse if there had been a breeze. As it was, the lack of moving air was disquieting. Virgil sat in front of the campfire, the heat was the only thing causing the air to shift. If he hadn’t studied the Ennoia he didn’t think he would have noticed, but given that he had, he was able to notice and watch the tiny dust motes dancing above the flames.

The Radiant Sun rose behind, casting just the faintest light across the flat tundra that had sparse veg...

CoESC Book 2-18.2: Moving In

The next day was Enrollment Day. Yuriko woke up at her usual time. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make use of the Steps of Torment in her regimen by virtue of the fact that it was across the Gap and more than a league away from the Inn. She did manage to drag Krystal, Mikel, and the twins for the easy run.

“What time does the registrar open?” she asked Kato once they returned to the inn.

“Three hours after dawn,” came the laconic reply.

“Are you coming with me?” 2021-04-19 13:31:38 +0000 UTC View Post

CoESC Book 2-18.1: Moving In

The next morning, Yuriko’s training regimen had changed from building up strength and stamina to merely maintaining her current physique. She sprinted most of the route--an entire league--as fast as she could, followed by the flexibility training scheduled she scheduled for the day. The sword dance practice was what she spent more time on but it was coming to a point that she needed to use the technique in a real battle, or at least a spar, to make some progress.

Luckily, Heron showed...

CoESC Book 2-17.3: Converging Roads

Krystal stretched her arms up high as soon as she alighted from the Commuter Tram. Her eyes were gritty and her teeth felt gunky from forcing herself to sleep or read through the annoyingly long trip from Faron’s Crossing to Rumiga City.

Sure, it had been exciting at first, but only for the first couple of hours or so. There were only so many books she could carry without weighing her backpack down. Besides, stealing more than a couple of books from her mum’s bookshelf would have go...

CoESC Book 2-17.2: Converging Roads

“Where are we supposed to go?” Yuriko asked a minute later after they got out of the crowd of disappointed teenagers. A couple were sobbing quietly into their hands while a few were leaping about in joy.

Yuriko noticed that only a couple of kids in Gwendith’s posse looked happy and the rest, crestfallen. Ella-Mai had an odd look on her face while the main girl had a smug smirk.

“Guidance rooms,” Kato hummed, “well, let’s go ask at the registrar.”

“What abou...

CoESC Book 2-17.1: Converging Roads

For some time now, Yuriko felt vaguely dissatisfied with her training regimen. She got up before dawn, alternated sprinting and jogging for at least a league, then proceeded with either body weight, flexibility, or agility training. Afterwards, she would practice her sword dances with five different styles, which took her about an hour and a half. Lately, she hadn’t even broken a sweat while running, she barely felt warm during the next phase, and only had a light sweat by the time she fini...

CoESC Book 2-16.3: Deliberations

Lukas had a lot on his mind after he returned home from the Northern Quay. Aengus’ words echoed in his ear. They had finished their work early enough that he had time to visit the cartridge shop and sell his Animus, though he only got a paltry four copper pennies for his trouble. Still, that was worth about a third of a fresh loaf of bread so every little bit counted.

He returned to his shack an hour past sundown with Kiruna anxiously waiting for him. Her bright smile welcomed him, ma...

CoESC Book 2-16.2: Deliberations

Almost as soon as Yuriko returned to the Shepherd’s Cross after her morning jog, the concierge called for her as she walked past the common room. She looked at the current attendant, a young man barely older than she was, who had a shy smile and a freckled nose.

“Yes?”

“Miss Davar, we received a notice from the post office regarding a packet of letters for you and your companions,” he replied quietly, offering a card just a little bit longer than her palm. There was a st...

CoESC Book 2-16.1: Deliberations

Charlene Dezu Antiga tapped her fingers on the long, u-shaped table while she waited for her colleagues to arrive. She was seated at the lower left side of the U-shape, while her fellow Agazan instructor, Silus Gethen, sat beside her around the corner. The Sharom instructors would be seated on the opposite leg of the U and, as usual, those quirky tea-leaf readers were late.

“It’s ten minutes before the scheduled conference,” Silus Gethen subtly reminded her.

“Hmmph!” Cha...

CoESC Book 2-15.3: Unmoving

The Rose’s Thorn broke past the Chaos waves and stopped just close enough to the barrier for Virgil and the others to get a good look at it. The expanse in front of them was solid, almost too solid. A typical plane’s barrier was still somewhat porous, allowing some of the Chaos into the plane, a tiny tiny fraction, just the amount needed to keep life going.

But from what Virgil could observe, not even that fraction could enter through the barrier in front of them, which was why the ...

CoESC Book 2-15.2: Unmoving

Lukas yawned in the early morning light, trying to keep his jaw from dislocating. He’d been up late last night and had a scant few hours of sleep. Now, just before dawn, he was already on his way to Mazer’s Emporium.

He’d left his sister still sleeping at home with a loaf of bread and slices of hard yellow cheese. Ten HiJin of it cost as much as a fresh loaf of bread but it would be worth it when he imagined her eyes lighting up at the treat.

It had been a week since he star...

CoESC Book 2-15.1: Unmoving

Virgil, Balliol, and Sarra didn’t have to ride the whirlwind to return to the Rose’s Thorn. The Waypoint dissolved on its own. It started from the edges though only Virgil could see it. The barrier between the place and the Chaos beyond slowly dissolved.

The Chaos streams outside forced their way inside and as they touched the winds, the air, they simply unravelled. Virgil keenly observed the process. His visual acuity was enough that he could see it happen from a longstride away, t...

CoESC Book 2-14.3: Sharom, Aneurin, and Lunette

“You didn’t do well?” Kato asked when Yuriko and Orrin arrived at Shepherd’s Cross. He was sitting in one of the lounges for afternoon tea. A platter full of bite-sized snacks, tea sandwiches, mini-pastries, and scones was in front of him.

“Worse,” Orrin snickered. “She thinks she did too well.” He ducked under her arm when she sent a half-hearted swat at his head.

Kato raised an eyebrow. “Did too well? Hmmm, ah, I see. Hey!”

Yuriko sat across from him an...

CoESC Book 2-14.2: Sharom, Aneurin, and Lunette

“Remember, you have two hours. Finish as much as you can,” the cat-eyed proctor said with a smirk. The sheaf of exam papers was an inch thick. Yuriko thought that there was no way to finish all of it even if they were using a regular pen instead of trying to write with their Animus.

Yuriko opened to the first page, scanned the questions and heaved a sigh of relief. It was a multiple-choice question, all of the questions on the first page were, so her answers would only be single let...