[18] Training: Our History (Part 1)

I’d been right. Today was a very hot day out. There was barely any breeze blowing our way, and the sun was scorching. From where we stood on the ground floor, we could see both sides of the academy. We were standing in the training room, completely opposite to the glass doors leading to the main entrance and lobby. We faced the field, and we could see the many different wielders in action from here -not all, of course, but those practicing sports, and elements. Some were simply taking a morning jog.

My mind wandered back to earlier this morning. I had set my alarm for eight o'clock with the fear of being late and undressed when Berry showed up at my door. As it turned out, I was ready by half eight and Berry showed up at nine. Ethan had tricked me... sort of.

I didn't see him at all this morning. Instead I was greeted with a wide-awake Berry, holding a cup of coffee and leading me down to the first floor where we both had breakfast together. He introduced me to his wife who was once of the chefs. She absolutely adored cooking. There were so many other chefs there in the dining room and kitchen, but for breakfast I assumed she was accustomed to him always having the same thing since she already had his order ready.

I just ate a bowl of chunked and sliced fruits -I was quite obsessed with them. It was there that Berry gave me a run-through of the events that would take place today; from the introduction, to the history session, to the overall layout of practical exams.

I was at no point afraid of the challenges to come; instead I embraced them and I pressed on with the willpower to just do it all and do it all as best as I could.

At around half past nine, Berry led me to the training grounds, where the other newcomers were already waiting. A few minutes later Thomas had shown up and that's when the introduction started.

My mind journeyed its way back to the present. We stood casually in our line trying to memorize the new identification numbers we'd just been given. I was pretty glad my number was new, there wasn't much memorizing to do.

Thomas called out to a woman in the distance. She was dark, with memorizing black curls that bounced with each step she made and her eyes glowed like fresh pancake syrup. They were so huge that you would be captivated by their beauty from a mile away. She walked over with a big smile over her thick dark lips.

“Hey, everyone!” She greeted, taking a place beside Thomas. He whispered something to her before she continued. “My name is Amara. I grew up in Valendale, and I'm a graduate of our dearest Academy One, my field is History. Though I love being on the field and doing the Practicals, my major role right now is relating our history to the students here. I was always fascinated by it. If you ever have any questions as we go along the discussion, please do feel free to ask.” She smiled.

I liked this girl already.

Thomas and Berry stepped aside while we introduced ourselves to her. She was quite active during her lecture, constantly pacing and making hand gestures as she went through the History of Guardianship.

“Initially,” she began, “one of our major purposes as a people was -and still is- to carry on the exceptional standard of intelligence we have as beings; hence, the two categories; Logical and Creative.

In the real world back in days of old, experts in various fields of work discovered methods of creating an easier way of life for future generations. In recent times, the standard of intelligence has dropped tremendously with the creation of modern technology. Not to say technology is bad, but it's been a major negative factor contributing to the reduction of the population in our world. Why? Because though technology can be used to create, protect and inspire, it is more frequently used as entertainment and encourages procrastination.”

Jeremy raised his hand and adjusted his glasses, “So the fault of the fall in population was the inability to focus on more extraordinary things by the people? What about how Wielders came about to exist?”

Amara clasped her hands and smiled. “Wielders are almost like an entirely different race of people. It's like this; I'm of African descent. I could grow up with a family of Chinese people, but I'll always be African. Wielders are quite the same. We fit into a society, or we try to, but we'll always naturally be what we are. We’ll always be different, we’ll always be extraordinary. Yes, I know it's possible for any human to become a wielder, but initially, it wasn't like that.”

“So how did it happen?” Josh inquired.

She paused, searching for the right words, before extending her hands, “You're all familiar with Greek and Roman mythology, right?”

We nodded. She squealed in excitement. There it was; the passion for her field overflowing from within her. “Wonderful. Then I have one question for you,” she paused for effect, “How much do you know about the Muses?”

Ashley gasped, and her face went soft with the warmest smile.

What did I know about the Muses? I knew they were goddesses of inspiration... they were daughters of Zeus...

“Ashley,” Amara pointed to her.

Ashley swallowed. “The Muses were the nine goddesses – Zeus’ daughters. They were the ones who poured themselves into arts and sciences, yes?”

Amara smiled widely, “Yes, and they were a source of inspiration.”

Daphne perked up asking, “So basically every wielder is a muse?”

Amara wobbled her head slowly from side to side twice, “Welllll... yesss and nno.”

The seven of us looked among each other, confused.

She explained that just like the Muses in mythology, muses in our world are far more praised than the Esteemed. She said that there aren’t just nine muses anymore because as time passed and more skills were discovered, the population of Muses had significantly increased. She said that in the Guardian culture, there were far more Muses than we were able to count, considering different realms, and the infinite possibilities of skills out there in the multiverse given religion, culture, preferences, fields, et cetera.

Muses in this culture are far more complicated than those in mythology. Here, they symbolize the formation of an entirely new form of magic and skill. Each of them has their very own unique skill -one that cannot be mastered by even the greatest member of the Esteemed; one that they created for themselves or have inherited from the higher powers. Every Muse is the master of their art and there is none that can beat them within it.

Olivar asked a question about specific fields –asking if there were multiple Muses within one field such as Art and all its various aspects. Amara confirmed this, saying that there were core muses, and there were muses after them, fitting together like a family tree; the roots, the branches, the leaves. This was the reason why there were so many muses –too many to count.

I wanted to ask a question, but I didn't know what. I decided against it. I was just going to listen, let the others ask the questions, and if something really bothered me then I would get involved.

Mason asked about flaws. Amara intervened, explaining that because Muses are the first to master their skills, they are flawless. They know their skill inside out, even if they don’t figure it all out right away. They have eternity to do that, anyway. She said that truly, they had inherited their skills from higher powers, and these higher powers would have specially selected these women to do these specific jobs for a reason, so they would tell them all they needed to know and especially do so in due time.

Josh asked if they were really immortal, and Amara nodded. Then, he was confused again. “But if the person who develops the new skill is human, or a man... how does that happen? A man can’t become a muse.”

Amara shrugged, “Honestly, it’s been a mystery from the beginning. Truthfully, I’ve asked that question one too many times myself, and I never got an answer. I'm sorry. It is my theory that they become immortal as they are the creators of something entirely new. They are supposed to watch over the guardians in their field. I think they're supposed to look over those just like them and guide them through the skill. I believe they become immortal because of the capacity of inspiration –and magic- that they summed up within them to be able to form something entirely new. But that's...just my opinion.”

“But if they have the core skills, why did they need Guardians?” Jeremy wondered out loud.

Amara had been waiting for this question. She almost clapped as she grinned when she turned to him to answer it. “Right. So the Muses were the flawless inventors or inheritors of arts and sciences, but in the beginning there were only a few of them. Then something bad happened.”

I stood a little straighter, listening more attentively.

Amara continued. “The Muses have a central Trust. They swore to protect their skill, pass it on and keep it alive in the realm it was born in, and even throughout the multiverse.

Initially, they entrusted their skills to very few humans, those who became famous scientists or artists in mortal history.

They also promised to continue to create new skills, but none of the Muses -as known to man thus far- were able to combine a few core skills together and become more powerful than the others. There are hybrid muses who were once guardians that mended two or three skills into one and created something new... but there’s really not a chance they could master another Muse’s field completely. That’s just how it is –and how it was back then. It was a means of ensuring everyone stayed on the good side, and it was effective against the supreme evil. If their methods of keeping evil away were working, why would they need to change anything, right?

So, they couldn't create an entirely new skill. Instead what they could do was continue to branch off their field into different sections; the best example I can give for this is science. With science, there is one Muse, and she would have sectioned it off into fields, from physics to biology to chemistry. If she were to inspire someone so much that the individual took their science skill, meshed it with something else and turn the two into a combination that was never discovered before, that person would become a Muse.”

“That's wicked cool,” Ashley whisper-yelled, and as I turned to her I observed just how interested she was in this topic.

“But what about us?” Jeremy asked again, “If they choose a selective few people to inspire and they're in control of the fields, why did they need so many Guardians? Something is off about that.”

Amara smiled, “Because one of the Muses betrayed the Trust.”

The seven of us went silent. I felt an eerie wind blow over me. This wasn't the right moment for breeze to pass.

The room had gone tense and I began to wonder.

Who was she?

What did she do?