"Please form a line here if you wish to participate." An announcer shouted at the top of their lungs as the waves of students flowed into the Arena. Nova walked in front of Axel and Ray who were busy making small talk.
Nova led them to the end of the line where they waited for 15 minutes as the other students registered themselves.
"Write your name, age and rank here." The woman on the other side of the table told Ray as he walked up to the registry. She seemed impressed when Ray wrote High Gold in the ranks column. Both Axel and Nova had written Mid Gold.
"The competition will start in three days so you should have enough time to prepare. The match-ups will be displayed outside the Academic building tomorrow morning. Please refrain from crowding around it and hindering your seniors from reaching their classes."
A few students decided to stay back at the Arena for their daily exercising, while the majority scurried away to their dorm rooms.
"Now what?" Axel asked as he sat down on the raised edge of the pavement. He looked up at Ray and Nova who were both equally confused.
"It's only 5 o'clock, we could go out for a walk." Ray suggested. Axel agreed since he had nothing better to do, and Nova reluctantly followed. While gazing at the beautiful countryside of Fothesi sounded like a great plan, she felt as if something was missing. Someone was missing.
"It's okay if I invite one of my friends right?" She asked Ray and he agreed.
While Nova rushed off to the dorm, Axel and Ray slowly began walking towards the main gate.
She returned 5 minutes later with an unexpected guest.
"You didn't tell me he was gonna be here!" the guest said in betrayal as he pointed at Ray.
"Tch!" Ray spat under his breath as he ignored the boy. He couldn't be bothered to deal with him right now.
"Axel," Nova began, ignoring the tension between the two boys. "I'm sure you already know, but this is Desmond."
The two shook hands as they greeted each other.
"What's up Ray? How have you been?" Desmond mocked as the group began moving away from the campus.
Nova was the only one holding the group from falling apart. The spite between Desmond and Ray was trying to tear the peace in half, and Axel's careless nature wasn't helping at all.
Nova had originally wanted to ask Wolfe to join them, but the boy refused upon hearing Ray's name. Desmond entered the dormitory as Nova was leaving, so she took a chance and asked him instead.
Despite the anger and frustration plaguing the air around them, all four of them were able to appreciate the beauty of the countryside.
Fothesi, being the southernmost sector of Zodia, was home to various mountain ranges and boasted various intertwining rivers that converged at sea. Since Fothesi shared its border with both Vilhelm and Gudsnill, its trading routes were well established.
Huge shipments of fish would be periodically exported to various parts of Zodia while crops that couldn't survive the cold climate of Fothesi would be imported from Vilhelm and other warmer sectors.
The group eventually reached the peak of a small hill overlooking a large lake. The water within the lake was frozen, its shiny surface reflecting the warm glow of the setting sun. The trees surrounding the icy lake were a dry, dark green, with patches of bright white snow layered over them.
The cold grass below their feet felt hard and frozen. It made a therapeutic crunching sound as they crushed it with each step. The wind that blew across the hilltop pushed the children back slightly, but they resisted its force by constantly moving forward. The loud rush of the wind rang in their ears as it passed them , making them a little light-headed.
"Let's stop here!" Nova shouted at the top of her voice as she tried to keep her hair from falling into her face. Her voice was drowned out by the gales, but the rest of the group got the message.
They walked downhill for a while until the winds slowed down enough, and sat there as they observed the sun finally sink into the horizon. It was a sight so beautiful that no one spoke until it's light faded.
The red surrounding the sun seeped into the dark blue sky, bleeding into the darkness like an open wound. The lake reflected the sun's dying light directly into the eyes of the children, blinding them as the sun's warm touch faded away.
The horizon lit up, and the large ice-tipped mountains transformed from brightly lit marvels of nature into dark silhouettes that covered the last moments of the sun's glory.
The darkness slowly took over, but the moon's reflected glow still fell upon the lake. Despite the pitch black that had surrounded it, the lake continued to shine because of the moon's help.
There was something profound about this simple sunset, and Nova could see that even as she marvelled at its beauty. The darkness that stole the sun's glorious light foreshadowed Zodia's future. But so did the sun's relentless efforts in lighting up the lake even through the moon's reflection.
The darkness had just begun moving in, and it wouldn't take long to consume the brightly lit world that Zodia's residents lived in. It wouldn't be long before the shadows finally annihilated all the light.