Aethelos: The Bastard of Light

(SCENARIO: Extraction point outside the Forest of Noxi. Exhausted survivors gathered. Morning light.) · The group staggered out of the forest, arriving at the extraction point. The atmosphere was one of trauma and silence. Less than half of the initial competitors were there, many injured and shaken. · Eli Cari has short dark-brown hair and golden/amber eyes. He wears a torn grey training suit. · Lygar has longer spiky black hair and dark purple eyes. He wears dark Noxian clothing. · Yana has medium-length dark hair and green or light-brown eyes. She wears modest clothes. · Ninjespeed has lighter brown hair and an agile appearance, still covered in wounds. · Eli Cari looked at the clock: five minutes left. · “Hardly anyone else is going to show up,” Eli Cari whispered to Yana. · Yana, her heart tight at the sight of the survivors, answered: “Maybe many won’t make it in time.” · Lygar rolled his eyes. “Pfff. It’s not because they won’t make it in time. It’s because they’re dead.” · Eli Cari slapped his shoulder: “Seriously, how inconvenient!” · Lygar laughed cynically. “You’re right… There are still two competitors missing: Glinn and Wayne.” · Ninjespeed, serious, said: “Or one of them isn’t coming.” A heavy silence fell. · With only two minutes left, the silence broke. Glinn and Wayne appeared together, walking side by side. They looked exhausted, but they were talking. The situation was strange. · Eli Cari, surprised: “Are they friends now?!” · Ninjespeed answered: “I think it’s way too sinister. Nothing good can come from a friendship like that.” · Lygar commented: “The truth is that many of the people who fought each other will go to the same academy. They’ll be a team.” · Eli Cari stared at him: “Lygar, what do you mean? People are going to become friends after what happened in the forest?!” · Lygar said, impatient: “Keep calm, Eli. Sometimes you sound like a hysterical girl!” · The presenter, irritated, turned to them. “Are you two going to continue, or can I start introducing the Academy directors?” They were talking past the time limit. · The directors stepped onto the stage. · 1. Solaris (Academy of Light) · Eli Cari became emotional seeing the first director. “It’s Joseph Ville Light! He’s a living legend!” · Lygar rolled his eyes with contempt. “I didn’t know he was Vindicari.” · 2. Umbra (Academy of Shadow) · Next came the director of Umbra. Lygar murmured: “Pfff. Jonas Dorp…” · Eli Cari looked at Lygar: “What contempt… He’s Noxian, why that attitude?” · Yana, tired of listening to them, imposed silence. “Shhhhh!” · 3. Éter (Mixed/Neutral Academy) · Finally came the director of the Éter Academy. Eli Cari’s eyes widened: “Ansião Áquila?” · Lygar asked: “You know him?” · “My mother spoke a lot about him,” Eli Cari said. “She thinks he’s the strongest human.” · Other academies were also presented, such as Humanite (the academy Ninjespeed aimed for), but the highlight of the ceremony was the mention of the new school: Ckabemit. No director appeared; it was only announced that the director could not attend. Doubt hung in the air: who would the director be, and why create a new academy? · The results came out. · Eli Cari received an invitation to Solaris. · Lygar received invitations from all the Academies. He smiled at Eli Cari and said: “I have a lot of choice.” · Yana received invitations from Éter and Solaris. · Ninjespeed received an invitation from Humanite. · The presenter began asking for the choices. · “Eli Cari, what is your choice?” · Eli Cari shouted: “Solaris, sir!” · “Lygar, and your choice?” · Lygar took his time, but said: “Solaris, sir!” · “Yana?” · Yana said: “Solaris, sir!” · “Ninjespeed?” · “Humanite, sir!” The audience was scandalized. One of the people who faced Glinn had chosen one of the less prestigious schools. · The shock was even greater when they asked Glinn and Wayne. Both chose the new school without a director, Ckabemit. Eli Cari wondered: “Why did the strongest people choose the least prestigious ones?” · The Selection results ended, and families went to meet the competitors. Yana went looking for the family of the deceased competitor. She saw a family — mother, father and brother — who were still waiting. · Yana approached. “I’m sorry, but I want to give you this.” She handed them the note. The family, upon reading the farewell, began to cry. Yana stepped back, head down, until the mother called her. · “Thank you. Can you at least tell me that he was strong until the end?” · Yana, even without having known him, said: “He was strong until the end, and it was incredible to see him in the Selection.” The family thanked her and left. · Yana joined the group. Eli Cari said: “Now we’re all classmates… well, Ninjespeed, you’re not. And speaking of Ninjespeed…” · Ninjespeed interrupted, showing a clearly fake and handwritten paper with the name “Ninjespeed” written on it. “Look at this! Do you believe me now?!” · Lygar, eyes half-closed: “Are you seriously taking a child’s drawing and saying it’s your document?” · Eli Cari: “Seriously, that can never be real!” · Yana, her mood improved by the group’s unity, smiled: “Family, we’re heading into a new phase of our lives!” · Eli Cari smiled: “Yes, new things are coming!”