Training room, Monsoon Genius Academy, Aries Continent.
Few days before the announcement of the Celestial Qualification Examination
"The best thing to do is to get used to your weapon. Take the one that is just right for your size and one you can handle better. Take one that will adjust to your circumstances well" Lord Velcron, the weaponry class teacher instructed.
The students nodded and picked their weapons. Jason liked spears and Poles so he picked a pole he could wield well. Lord Velcron looked at them and nodded in approval. He clapped and they got into a formation.
"For those who have basic knowledge on using a weapon, go to the left side and for those who don't go to the right" He said, and more than half the class went to the left side. He paired them up with practice dummies. The remaining ten students, including Jason were left on the right side.
Lord Velcron instructed them to stand straight as he started with the ones who chose swords. Out of the ten, five chose swords, two chose bows, two chose spears and only Jason chose a pole.
After an hour, he went to those who chose bows and spent another hour with them. Finally, he got to Jason's group.
"Our little lord has such great insights. Instead of picking a sharp spear that could cut you in pieces during practice, he decided to pick a pole" the two students who chose spears lowered their heads in shame. They dropped their spears and picked wooden poles instead.
He began to instruct them on the proper stances of using a pole and a spear for one hour. Jason gained some insights on using his soul spear better in battle. After teaching them, he made them spar against the moveable dummy specially created by the queens for the academy.
Completely concentrated, Jason sparred against the training dummy. Since it could move, it was programmed to train those who used spears and poles. He lost a few times but he kept learning and finally found a way to manoeuvre his way in the fight. He was so immersed in his training that he didn't notice the whole class had stopped. Only when the training dummy stopped working did he stop.
"Wow my lord, you're a fast learner. Few more classes and you'll be eligible for the imperial spear arts. You even learnt how to coat your weapon with light energy and you didn't break it. That in itself is amazing" Lord Velcron praised. Everyone looked at him in envy.
The imperial arts, created by the ones who reigned supreme in the faery realm, were the most coveted arts in the whole of the realm. The Alpha Queen herself was using them and even created her own set. However they were only for those who had darkness affinity and their full potential could only be realised by those who had pure darkness affinity.
The imperial arts were one of the main goals of the students in the Academy. If they worked hard enough, they would be granted a tailor made set. The fact that Jason could be given freely, made them all green with envy. Luica glared at Jason with hatred.
They were all dismissed soon and went to shower. Josephine led Jason to his special shower in which the temperature was adjusted to his preference. He was given expensive mild soap for his afternoon shower and given a new set of uniform after his shower. His damp her and freshened skin made him look more handsome that he was getting second glances along the way to his next class.
"My Lord, you look absolutely ravishing"
"You're sweet talking me again, ehn Josie?"
"If I am, then why is everyone staring at you twice?"
"hehe, maybe you're right. What am I cooking in the next class?"
"You're baking a cake. I've already asked for the ingredients you want to bake your chocolate cake to be delivered to the school cooking laboratory so you can rest assured that this cake will be of superior quality"
"Hehe, I'm looking foward to baking this cake even more" he said, rubbing his palms together.
"Wow, our Lord is such a foodie"
"When it comes to chocolate, absolutely" he said in a righteous tone. Josephine laughed and he soon joined in. They reached the cooking laboratory in no time.
Various smells hit their nose as they entered the lab to see the ingredients piled on their tables. Jason walked to his table alongside the queen, who acted as his cooking assistant.
"Cooking, like all subject, is a royal art and must be perfected if one wants to reach the greatest height and temper oneself. Cooking is also a form of relaxation and meditation.
Today, you will all be baking cakes of the highest quality, with this ingredients provided by the royal kitchen. Take as long as you want but they must be completed before the end of today. Remember, they would be tried by the royal escorts" The teacher, a robust middle aged dragon, with his horns visible in his neutral form, said. Smoke curled out his nose, drool dripped to his chin and his horned tail wagged in delight as the prospect of food.
"Lord Weager, calm yourself. I didn't make you the head of the cooking department just so you can pig out" A feminine voice called out from the door post. The woman walked in elegantly with another beautiful one at her back. Both were wearing aprons and chef hats.
"But your majesty..."
"No buts. It took a lot if efforts to get the free time I need for this class so start quickly, you pig"
"Why are you calling me a pig?! Don't you forget little girl, I was your teacher!"
Xunia snorted. The class bowed as they saw their queen. They had never seen her without her crowns before so they almost didn't know she was the one.
"You ate all the snacks and food I cooked up during my time at the academy and that's why I banned you from the cooking department when I became queen. Be grateful to Maery, we said you were a great chef and begged for me to restore your position. Don't overstep your boundaries" she retorted, glaring at him.
The man changed into a small red dragon and scurried up the Omega queen's shoulder, hiding from Xunia. Maery gave a soft laugh while Josephine bellowed from where she was.
"It's okay Master, she isn't glaring at you anymore" Maery said tenderly.
"Such a filial disciple. I'm very lucky to have her, unlike someone else who threatened to roast me like a little piggy" the Lord said soberly, putting his hand on his chest as he descended from Maery's shoulder and transformed back to his neutral form.
The two queens giggled at this while Xunia smirked. Jason however was puzzled.
"Can all dragons do that? Transform into smaller sizes?"
"Nope. Only those at the Zenith body and above can do that"
"Okay. More importantly, why is the Alpha Queen in my cooking class?"
"Well, she can do anything she wants and this is her academy"
"Ehn, fair enough" Jason shrugged and the rest of the class did too. Josephine was right.
"This bully of a queen here is our guest chef for today and don't be deceived, she's an excellent chef. If you have any problems regarding your baking today, you can ask the queens or me. Okay kids, the bake off starts now!" Lord Waeger said and the class started immediately.
"I'm making a chocolate ice cream cake. What are you making?"
"A seven tiered wedding cake made from ten different flavors" Xunia replied, shrugging.
"Wow, that's exquisite"
"Sure is. Now, get back to work" Jason nodded happily and went back to baking his cake.
Three hours later, Jason was done with his cake. It was a beautiful chocolate cake designed with a caramel colored fruit Josephine called the Alpado. It was sweet and tasted just like chocolate. Jason almost finished all of the fruit and forgot to design his cake with them. He also added some wafer sticks, strawberries and chocolate chips.
Everyone else made normal cakes and traditional cakes. The lab was full of mouthwatering smells and delectable desserts. Xunia was still busy with her cake and Jason went to help her, along with the two queens. When everyone was finished, they made different types of cocktails and juices, tuning their cooking class into a banquet. Lord Waegar was gobbling down the cakes faster than anyone while the students watched in amusement.
"Jason?"
"Hmmph?"
"Let's have another date tomorrow. I still have more free time tomorrow so I can make it" Jason chocked on his drink when he heard this. She pat his back with a chuckle as he coughed.
"S...sure. Same time as before?"
"Yeah" she nodded and smiled. He gave a cute embarrassed smile and ran off.
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A lazy snore drifted around the space. More came from the creature who was sleeping soundly in it's own pocket dimension. It looked so peaceful and gentle that everyone who stared at it would have the innate desire to pet it and take care of it.
It was a pure white cat, looking seemingly normal except it had a small white sharp horn in the middle of its head. The tail looked normal too but if one observed carefully, one could see that each strand of fur was like needles, sharper than any sword in the universe.
Suddenly, the cat opened its eyes and uncurled itself from it's sleeping position. It stretched cutely and shook its fur. It felt a call to its soul, one that it had never felt before. The cat frowned, its features looking more human-like. It cocked its head and decided to exit its sleeping space.
Coming out of its pocket dimension and landing on a patch of ground in a clearing, inside a forest, it let out a small meow. The slumbering forest instantly came to life as if called by its master. The forest seemed to pay obeisance to the small cat who purred in content. It slowly made its way to a path which was cleared out by the forest and went in search of the one who had called out to its soul.
Not so far away, a certain Queen frowned. She stood up from her office chair and went towards her window, staring into the horizon. She grit her teeth, seemingly angry but eventually sighed. Making her way back to her desk, she pressed a red button on her desk. Instantly, ten figures appeared in her room.
"Emergency meeting, right now" was all she said. The queen and the ten figures disappeared from the office and in a conference room situated in the palace. The queens didn't make a sound and waited for their leader to tell them the purpose of the meeting.
"She's awake" She said, after a few minutes and sighed. The queens looked at themselves in confusion. They didn't know who she was talking about.
"The Sovereign cat is awake. That annoying cat has been woken from her slumber by something, or rather, someone. I don't know what it is, but I hope it doesn't bring that troublesome faery here. She is the last person I want to see" Everyone in the room gasped. If there was one person who Xunia hated for no apparent reason, it was the sovereign of cats, Miwi.
They all sighed and gave their leader a wry smile. They could understand the hatred between them. The both of them couldn't stand each other. Xunia was technically the sovereign of dogs while Miwi was the sovereign of cats. They were always nasty to each other and hated each other's guts. But what was strange was none of them wanted to kill each other. In fact, the both of them protected and helped each other secretly.
"What do we do about her your majesty?" Lorema asked, deciding to settle this matter quickly.
"Nothing. Let's leave her to her devices. Miwi hates seeing me too so she would avoid coming here and making trouble for me"
"Your Majesty, not to spoil the mood but you do know she went into hibernation in her territory in Hell Forest, right?" Josephine pointed out. Xunia sighed again and nodded.
"We know. It's even a shock that no one trespassed into her territory during the CQE. She manages to kill at least 30% of the students we sent into the forest" Seriel said.
"I cordoned off the access to her territory during the CQE so that all the students will have more chance to survive. You know how she manipulates the space in her territory so those protection trinkets wouldn't have worked" Xunia replied them, tapping rhythmically on her desk with her polished nails.
"That's a relief. Imagine what would've happened if Jason managed to wander into her territory" Ganine said innocently but it made the eyes of those present pop out.
"You know, we didn't take one fact into consideration. Every time Miwi wakes up from her hibernation, she always finds Xunia for a spar. What if she discovers Jason? You know she has an eye for shiny things" Maery cited out in horror. Everyone started to panic.
"Okay everyone, calm down. Let's think rationally. Every time Miwi has been woken up by someone, she is always given a mission and she won't stop for play until she completes it. She doesn't take missions pertaining to any council member and their court. She knows if she touches one, the rest will hunt her down and eradicate her, along with the rest of her species, regardless of them being allies or enemies. It's an age-old rule. So, we know she won't come here" Styllaph stated, effectively calming the queens. They nodded as they knew what she said was true.
"So we can do is secretly amp up the security system and one of us could monitor her movements. If she truly heads here, we can be warned in advance and we'll welcome her cordially, while hiding the young lord. We rotate so she doesn't see him and when a week is up, we kick her out. Simple" Styllaph concluded and the queens smiled. Xunia expressed her agreement for the plan and sent their stealth expert, Paerish, to monitor the Sovereign cat. The rest she sent back to their duty post and went back to work.
She had one worry cleared off her mind and so she thought about the other two; Jason and their date.
Jason was sleeping soundly in the library. His head was resting on the head of the couch he was on while he was lying down and an opened book was in his hands. He looked extremely cute as light snores came from his slightly opened mouth. His black golden hair and white shirt made him look like a slumbering angel. His aura burst forth from him and the sunlight converged on his sleeping figure, bathing him like a kind of holy light and not hurting him in any way. It made people confirm he was really an angel.
When Josephine saw him like this, she didn't have the heart to wake him up. He was working to hard to understand his spiritual arts and spent time reading up on it. Till the point of dozing off, he held a volume of [The intricacies of the spiritual arts] which he was studying diligently.
The rest of the queens stumbled on this sight and appreciated his ethereal beauty. Though he was young, he still managed to capture the hearts of everyone, sleeping or awake. Astara, although enraptured in his beauty, went to tap him awake. His lashes fluttered and his eyes opened to see he was surrounded by the queens.
His cheeks turned red when he thought of how he was being watched by the queens while he slept. His red cheeks, along with his still sleeping expression, made them swoon. He was just too much for their fragile hearts.
"Apologies my lord, for waking you up but I have to remind you that you have a date soon with her Majesty" Astara said with a bow. His eyes went wide in panic and he flew from the couch, fleeing to his room. The queens laughed at his reaction while he cursed loudly on his way back to his room.
"Zeze, how long do I have left?"
"You have five more minutes before its 24pm"
"Shit! Didn't I set an alarm?"
"You did and it rang. I guess you were too tired to wake up" Zeze replied in its mechanic voice. He was long used to the AI's unnatural intelligence so he ignored it. He groaned and he dashed into the bathroom to take a light shower. He practically sped around his room to make sure he could make it to his date before it got any darker.
Xunia stared at the Lena's constellation, bored. She was waiting for Jason to come and he was taking his sweet time. It was supposed to be their third study date and he wasn't there yet. She huffed in annoyance. She hated when people were late and delayed her.
"My queen, don't you need to shift? It is the night of the glowing stars" Astara suggested from behind her. She sighed.
"You're right. Just give me a veil" She replied, starting to undress. Usually they didn't have to undress to shift but during the night of the glowing stars, shifting in their clothes is a bit restricting.
"Alright, I'm done. You can't lift the veil" she lifted the veil and Xunia stayed there in her wolf form. She felt free.
"Careful my queen, you'll burn off my garden if you keep letting down your guard like that" Astara commented gesturing to the fire Xunia had started on her daisy patch. Yes, she found a way to plant daisies in the faery realm.
"He's approaching your majesty" She said before vanishing to her home. Jason stumbled into her spot not long after, breathing heavily. She cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I'm so sorry I'm late. I slept off before I remembered I had a study date" he blabbed, and she was tempted to pinch his adorable cheeks. Well, it's not like she could do it in the form she was anyways. She gestured to the blanket with her paw. He sat and stared at the constellation.
"The moon sure looks pretty tonight" he said in awe. She snickered at that.
"We don't have moons Jason. What we have are stars and constellations. What you are staring at is called the Sielena Constellation and when we see it, we know it's the night of the glowing stars. It is the night that affects both weries and Vampires alike. We have a hunt when the glowing stars come out. The animals are much stronger and fatter during these nights, so we hunt them for fun and food" she explained placidly.
"I know, I know. Aren't you supposed to be hunting then? You are queen after all" he inquired, stroking her head. She purred in content, making him chuckle.
"And aren't you supposed to be a Werie? Why did you purr like a cat?" He mocked, grinning. While she was happy he was smiling and relaxed around her, she couldn't let him get away with insulting her.
"First of all, do not compare me to those self-righteous species of faeries, we are nothing alike. That was the lowest insult you've ever thrown at me" she scolded angrily. With he appearance of the Sovereign cat, who was her mortal enemy, she didn't feel settled with the joke.
"Alright, I'm sorry. I won't do it again" he apologised with his head low. In the end she couldn't be mad at him.
"All is forgiven. To answer your initial question, the Lena constellation lasts for a month and comes twice a year. So, I still have 34 more days to hunt since it's the first day of this month" she replied. He gave her a gentle smile.
"Jason, under this constellation, you need to shift. Trust me on this. You also need to undress" and at that moment, his cheeks turned scarlet. She hid her laughter till he stated to unzip his pants. Then she let it out.
"Dear Aries boy, I'll put up a veil for you" she said, still laughing.
"You know, you can stop laughing at me now, it's getting really annoying" he complained, pouting. She fought the urge to coo at his adorable pout and put up the veil. After a minute, she heard his voice.
"I'm done. Wow, I've never tried talking while in wolf form before. How come I sound normal and you sound older than you do when in your neutral form?" he commented, trotting to her side to lie down.
"Well, I am older than you with over 300 years" she replied, taking a look at him. He was a small but beautiful black wolf with golden streaks in his fur coat. His eyes were black with slight traces of gold in them. She gulped discreetly and cursed Aphrodite. She knew Xunia was a sucker for black eyes and shiny black coat.
"Like what you see, Xunia?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She wondered how he could do that in wolf form.
"I should be asking you the same thing Gamileri" he blushed and rest his head on hers.
"What does that mean, Gamileri? You always call me that"
"it means little black wolf"
"Hey! Just because I'm smaller than you by a few feet doesn't mean I'm little" he exclaimed, making her chuckle.
"Tell me about the royals of this realm" he requested.
"As his lordship commands" Jason groaned at that but let her continue.
"We have a lot of species of feary and each of them have their leaders. For the Weries, the highest position is occupied by the Alpha Queen. Then the royal family, which contains her escorts, her generals and finally, her family members. This is also the highest position of authority in the realm as I am the head of the council. Next is the Alpha Emperor and the imperial family. This may seem strange to you but I guess the tour guide in the commercial district already told you about it. In a way, Kove is my distant cousin" Jason nodded at this.
"After the imperial family is the Alpha Chiefs in charge of the Zodiac tribes with their betas. Under them is the various alphas in charge of various packs with their betas.
Next is the Vampire nobility. The Vampire Emperor and Empress are the highest authority alongside the imperial family. They have the Vampire Sovereign, which are the older generation and protectors of the nobility. They have a court of ministers and officials like human nobility.
Next is the Fairy nobility. They have the high priestess, who is the highest authority. Next is the Fairy Sovereigns and then the holy family. After that, you have the Fairy Chiefs in charge of the three main hives. Then the fairy lords with their ministers.
Next is the Druid nobility. First you have the High Druid Queen, in charge of all the hives in every forest in the realm. Then you have the druid queens in charge of each hives.
Next is the Angie Nobility. They have the Grand Judge as the highest nobility. They have their priestess, who has the purest bloodline of Angels and is said to have direct contact with the creator. Angels are ministers of the creator so that's why. After the grand judge is the panel of Judges, the Angie lords and officials.
Next is Siren nobility. They have the Merking and Merqueen as the highest authority along with their royal family. They also have a court of ministers and Lords.
Next is the Elves, Goblins and Dwarves. These set of Faeries are truly different as there are also a lot of species involved but they are all under the jurisdiction of the Prime minister. They have a more democratic setting, so they have a house of parliament and all that jazz. They also have ministers and Lords.
Next is the Cerna. The highest authority is the grand knight and/or the Ice Queen. Next is the Cerna royal family, the lords and officials.
The highest authority for the dark faeries is the dark high priestess, then the holy family. Then they have hive queens too to coven chiefs and leaders.
Next is the beast men tribe. The felines are under this category, along with divine beasts and demonic beasts of every species. They are under the jurisdiction of the court of Elders made up of the Grand Elder, who is basically in charge and beast sovereigns. They have lords and division leaders.
Next is the saduls. The highest authority lies with the king and queen then the royal family. Next is the bloodline chiefs and the ministers. They have lords and officials too.
Finally, we have the demon and dragon nobility. The demon king and queen are the highest authority, alongside the dragon king. The Sovereigns are next and then the royal family. They also have ministers, lords and officials" She finished.
While Jason pondered on this information, Xunia relaxed her body on him. It was a peaceful environment for both until Xunia received a mental message from Paerish.
'Your majesty, she's here and she's headed towards you' she screamed in panic and Xunia jolted up, startling Jason. She spread her Zenith sense around the whole palace and failed to locate the one she was looking for. Before she cold tell Jason to start heading back into the castle, she heard a small unmistakable meow.
Her left eye twitched and her claws elongated. The both of them turned their head to a nearby tree where a white British short hair was lounging in one of the trees, the tail swishing left and right lazily. It stared at the two wolves. One with daggers in her eyes and the other with hearts in his eyes when he saw her. She was puzzled by the reaction of the unknown male since most wolves seemed to hate her but he seemed to adore her. However, she knew the call in her soul came from him.
"Miwi"
"Zunie. Such a long time since I saw you. Why are you being so uptight?" a sophisticated woman's voice drifted into their ears.
"You sneak into my home like that and expect me not to be wary? Why are you even here? Aren't you supposed to be on a mission with the one who woke you up?" Xunia replied coldly. The cat twirled on the branch and slid down. A soft gasp was heard from Jason as the cat fell to the ground.
A white light wrapped the cat and it transformed into a young woman wearing a red kimono like material with dragons depicted on it. Her black hair flowed down to her waist while her blue eyes were full of amusement. She almost looked human except for the white cat ears and tail occasionally twitching. Jason and Xunia transformed too and before he could blink, the two were wearing clothes.
"My dear queen, the one who summoned me is the one beside you" Miwi said, clearly amused. Xunia froze and slowly turned to face Jason with a terrified expression. Jason was freaked out by it but he was more worried by how she was behaving.
"No no no no no! Please don't tell me it's what it think. Please dear creator, why does it have to be her?" Xunia lamented. Jason had never seen her this frazzled before.
"I'm sorry, what is going on?"
"Hello young one. My name is Miwi Karaki, Sovereign of Felines and I am your familiar" Miwi said, smiling.