Power Quest: The Rebellion of Terrakia - Andrew Koenig (guided reading books txt) 📗

of two clashed blades, engraved into it.  A stout stone chimney rested at the back of the building, grey billows of smoke rising into the air.  Hanging from the roof in streaming waves of slightly rumpled fabric were banners boasting the king’s crest.  The violet nightshade purple faded into black and the raven carrying the crescent moon was colored in bone white.

            As Casimer approached the College of the Arts, he noticed a hoard of guards that had gathered at the college’s entrance.  From behind the heavy, close faced maroon helmets, they glared at passersby, wary of all who entered.  Casimer could feel their eyes drilling into his soul, picking him apart, piece by piece.  Casimer took a gulp and lumbered toward the college’s front door.

            One of the guards pointed his lance at Casimer’s chest, stopping the boy in his tracks.  He poked the basket with the tip of his sharpened lance.  The pole was made of steel and had leather laid upon it near the middle and the end to enhance the soldier’s grip.  The tip was long and sharp, and, like a sword, had a cross-guard separating the pole from the blade.

            “What’s in the basket?”  The soldier demanded, his warm green-yellow eyes contradicting the harsh venom in his voice. 

            “Just a lunch for a friend.”  Casimer mumbled, sweat trickling from the nape of his neck.

            The soldier sneered with callous glee.  “Ah, thanks for bringing me lunch, then, friend.”  The four guards surrounding him roared and guffawed, patting each other on the back.  The guard grabbed the handle of the basket and brought his face down to Casimer’s.

            “Now, let go of the basket, kid.”  Casimer could smell the guard’s breath and he turned his head to his right in time to see a slightly taller boy walk up to him. 

            The strange boy placed his hand on Casimer’s shoulder and gave it a neighborly squeeze, as if they were close friends.  “Ah, there you are,” the boy said, his voice bold and friendly.  Casimer looked up and saw the boy’s eyes, a warm black ash that seemed to absorb the light.  “Come on!  The headmaster needs to see you immediately!” 

            With a persuasive nudge, the boy ushered Casimer past the guards and through the college’s massive cedar door, leaving the guards to squint at each other, stupefied.  Looking down at his clenched fists, Casimer noticed the basket, still in the safety of his rather relentless grip.  Casimer looked up at the boy, incredulous.

            “What… What just happened?”  Casimer stammered, still unsure of who the boy was.

            “I saw you having trouble with those soldiers.”  The boy explained.  His voice had become more cold and monotone and the warmth in his almond shaped eyes was replaced by an alienating, cold black.  “Figured I could at least help you get into the college before you caved into their demands like a coward.”  The boy ran his fingers through his fine, mid-shoulder length soot black hair, straightening it as best he could.

            “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he began, strolling down the corridor to his left.  “I have somewhere to be.”

            Casimer watched the boy leave and scratched the back of his head.  He looked around what appeared to be a common room with three hallways leading away from it.  There were a few scattered groups of chairs and benches around ornate wooden tables.  All around the room hanging banners boasted the college’s emblem over the fiery orange and crimson red fabric.  Casimer noticed a handful of students lounging in the common room, enjoying each other’s company.  Once more, Casimer scratched his head, then headed down the left corridor, meandering through the hallways of the college, searching for the classroom he belonged in.

 

 

 

 

            Casimer opened the door to his class and entered into a large, auditorium like classroom.  The back of the classroom had stairs leading up to the back row of desks, which were all connected together, as one lengthy, curved desk.  There were six rows of desks, each with fifteen wooden chairs resting at them, but only about forty were being used.  Casimer scanned the rows of desks, looking for Amanda.

            Her chestnut brown hair with the one streak of honey blonde was the dead giveaway.  She twisted the locks of blonde in her hand, twirling it between her fingers, curling then straightening it again or braiding it while her mind was clearly preoccupied.  She glanced over at Casimer and shot him a lively grin.  He smiled back at her and made his way to the desk she was sitting at.  The seat to her left was empty, and he sat down next to her, handing her the lunch her father made her.

            “Your dad asked me to give this to you.”  Casimer handed her the basket with a friendly smile.

            Amanda snickered and took the basket from Casimer.  “So, you like to spend time with my dad, huh?  I thought that was my mom’s job.”  She taunted with her bubbly, high-pitched voice.  Casimer blushed a bright pink and Amanda laughed and shook her head.

            “I had to get more bread for the inn…”  Casimer listlessly protested.  He grunted and leaned back in his chair.

            Amanda giggled and leaned forward in hers, resting her cheek on her fist.  “I’m just teasing, Casimer.  How’s Granny Velma doing?”  Her voice was airy and bubbly and paired with an amicable grin.

            “She’s great.  Business has been looking up recently since we began shipping in that Cherry Rose Mead from Frantel.  People love fruity alcohol, apparently.”  Casimer shrugged.  “What about you?  How’ve your parents been?”

            “You’d know better than I would,” Amanda muttered.  “My dad works all day, my mom spends most of her time weaving her baskets and selling them in the market, and I’m so busy working with the sick in the temple that I never get to see them.”  Amanda huffed and played with her hair again.

            “Gee, Amanda, I’m sorry.”  Casimer shook his head.  “At least you get to see them in the evenings, right?”

            Amanda looked to her right and sighed.  “Yeah, I guess.” 

            Casimer frowned, perplexed by her sudden distant and peculiar sigh.  It wasn’t the sigh of somebody who was disheartened.  Rather, it was a longing sigh, a sigh of desire.  Casimer followed the direction of Amanda’s smoky, golden brown eyes and rested his vision upon the same boy who had helped him get past the guards.

            He nudged Amanda’s elbow with his own.  “Who’s that guy?”  He asked, his brow furrowed with intrigue.

            Amanda just shrugged.  “No idea.”

            Casimer glared at her.  “What do you mean you have no idea?  You’ve never seen this guy before and you’re just staring at him all googly-eyed?”  He chided her in a hushed whisper.  His fist was clenched at his side, but he didn’t notice.  He never did.

            Amanda playfully slapped his arm.  “I have too seen him before!”  She ran her fingers through her hair then crossed her arms.  “I’ve seen him around for the past three years or so.  One day he just… Showed up out of nowhere.”  She shrugged and returned to her ogling.

            Casimer nodded insightfully.  “But you have no idea what his name is?  So you’ve been stalking him for the past three years?”

            Amanda slapped his arm again, a little harder.  “No!  I’ve just… Admired him.  From afar.”  She giggled and her fingers returned to her hair.  Casimer rolled his eyes and made a small, irritated grunt.

            The crashing of the classroom’s wooden door jerked the heads of everybody in the room.  A tall man wearing a silver mask that covered the left half of his face entered the room, slamming the door shut behind him.  He took a seat in the chair behind the teacher’s desk and folded his hands together.  His rich, honey amber eyes scanned the room around him.  His fine, shoulder length sable brown hair swirled with each turn of his head.  After an unsettlingly long moment of silence, he stood up and spoke.

            “Welcome, students,” he began, his voice deep and smooth.  “My name is Zak Iliev, and I will be your professor for this class on the history of Terrakia.  We’ll first discuss the significant historical events of the past fifty years, then move on to discussing cultures of ages past.”

            Zak continued his lecture as Casimer leaned towards Amanda.  “Why are we taking this class, again?”  He whispered, his mouth cupping his hand in her direction.

            “It’s interesting,” she whispered back.  “Pay attention, I don’t want to get on the teacher’s bad side.”

            “Well, not on the first day, at least…”  Casimer muttered under his breath.

            “… And does anyone know what event occurred roughly thirty years ago that set all of Terrakia into a new ruling era?”  Casimer’s attention snapped back to Zak’s lecture.

            Amanda tentatively raised her hand in the air.  Zak nodded at her and encouraged her to answer.  “Well, I believe that was when Emperor Zeke began his Conquest.”

            Zak nodded his head slowly.  “Exactly.  Thirty years ago, on the Carny Island nation, Zeke garnered support for a conquest of Terrakia’s nations.  This is the driving force of recent history, so we will focus on the events leading to Conquest, then focus on the war itself before we study anything else.” 

            Casimer yawned and looked past Amanda to the window at his left.  Outside the college, he spied the same guard who had given him trouble earlier.  The guard was squinting at the college and sneering.  For a moment, Casimer could have sworn that they made eye contact, and that the guard’s thin lips had peeled over his teeth in a grisly sneer.  As soon as he did, however, the guard turned on his heel and headed towards the marketplace.  Casimer shook his head and attempted to return his attention to Zak’s lecture, but he couldn’t escape the anxiety the guard had given him.

Home

 

Casimer and Amanda walked through the barren streets of Kaneele, sweat trickling down their necks in slow, lazy rivulets.  The sun had just begun its western descent but the heat remained relentless.  The cobblestone streets glistened with the light of the sun, reflecting the burning beams of light into Casimer’s eyes.  Amanda had just finished telling him a story about a man she had been taking care of at the temple when he turned to her, a drop of sweat running down his cheek.

            “Pretty hot for Sun’s Descent, huh?”  He chuckled, wiping the sweat from his cheek with the back of his hand.

            Amanda nodded and wiped some sweat off her brow.  “Yeah, probably the hottest in years.”  She groaned, straightening the front of her light blue dress.  The sapphire blue surcoat was fastened to her dress with leather strips.  It hugged her chest like a corset.

            Casimer kicked a small rock down the street, watching it skip over the cobblestone with dead, distant eyes.  Amanda studied him, her eyes squinted with concern.  Suddenly, he turned to her, as if sparked to life by an electric shock.

            “Hey, did you have to deal with any guards outside the college earlier?”  He asked, his eyes deep and curious.

            “No, I don’t remember seeing any guards when I got to the