HavenGuarde

Chapter 29 - Overseer

Chapter 29

Overseer

- And he watched over them, from beginning to end -

Without warning, a male, blacked robed figure suddenly materialised in the midst of the clearing. Excited murmurs and whispers filled the air but died down quickly. The figure remained unmoving, hand clasped before him. Then he spoke.

"Assemble before me", he said quietly. At first no one moved. Then, the hooded figured looked up slowly. The effect was astonishing. In a sudden flurry of action, girls and boys rushed to sit in front of the robed-figure.

Thonavar, Lyla and Chaeron moved to sit somewhere at the back. There are so few of us, thought Thonavar, and he counted about fifty or more pupils. Many of them looked grim and tired. Some had dark circles around their eyes and many had reddened eyes. But all had a determined look about them. After the pupils had settled, they lifted their heads and looked expectantly at the figure in black.

"I am Biron Malcus", the figure spoke, introducing himself. His voice was powerful, radiating with purpose. Biron Malcus paused and removed his dark hood. A green-eyed man with black hair stared out at them. He looked young but it was his eyes that told a different story. He had a distant look which made him look sad and melancholic.

"I am an Overseer of the Angerius Order. Indeed, you are all young pupils of the Order now." He paused again for at least a few seconds before speaking.

"Many of you will have questions. They will be answered in due course. As to where this place is, rest assured it is well within the realms of HavenGuarde. Look to the sky", he pointed, and those who sat before him looked up to the skies. Thonavar, Lyla and Chaeron too looked up. "Behold, the Iron Curtain remains." True enough, the Iron Curtain sphere was in place, though this time it was refracting light, bending the sky and clouds above in distorted angles.

"They call this place Ayumah, the land before time. For Ayumah is a large stretch of land located between the city of HavenGuarde and the Cold Mountains which can be seen in the distance. This land, the land of Ayumah, predates the Great Flare, and is an older land, untouched by the ravaging forces that now plague the earth beyond the Iron Curtain. The Cold Mountains mark the end of the Iron Curtain and the beginning of beyond." Biron Malcus paused again before speaking.

"I am pleased to see that almost all of you managed to identify and put on the required clothing. I am also pleased to see that all of you arrived before the sun rose with the dawn. Following instructions will be crucial if you are to make it to Sanctum."

Thonavar's stomach did a flip. He and Chaeron were the last to arrive at this clearing and had just made it in time. He turned to Chaeron who looked back at him sheepishly. Lyla rolled her eyes and hugged her knees, listening closely. And Sanctum? What was Sanctum?

"I congratulate each of you for making it past the Testing. But the next stage will begin shortly. And you will be tested further. This is no virtually-constructed reality. Worry not, for it shall be explained shortly", continued Biron Malcus. His voice was low and smooth. "Then there is Classification, a process by which the Angerius Order will determine which class you shall be sent to for your training. The class that you are sent to will remain your class until you have mastered it completely."

He paced a few steps away before turning back to them. The clearing was strangely silent. There were no bird-songs and no rustling of the wind in the trees. All appeared to be still.

"Few have managed to master their class", said Biron Malcus, and his gaze swept over the young cohort of pupils gathered before him. "Very few indeed. Therefore, consider it the norm for one to stay in their respective class until the very end."