The claps slowly receded; what followed was complete silence.
"Now, as per the annual tradition, we come to the Acceptance. The head of Elites shall put forward his motivations and ideals, following which the other members shall bow or continue to stand as a sign of accepting or refusing the head as the leader. Whichever be in majority shall decide whether or not to keep Natria as the head. If indeed he fails to win the majority, you all shall hold a vote to decide over the next leader." the Colonel said.
"Given you are the recommended head, it shouldn't be a problem just to say a few words, right Natria?" the Colonel continued.
"Y-Yes, sir." Natria replied.
"That would be Colonel Vod, young man. I don't like titles like sir. Very well, you may come here and start." the Colonel said with a smile, stepping away from the podium.
Baquet raised his hand.
"If the leader is not fixed from the start, why hold this Acceptance ceremony at all? Why not have us vote from the very start to choose the leader?" Baquet asked.
"I'm glad that you asked. You see, human beings make mistakes. Sometimes it's the higher-ups of the institute other times it could be you guys. To prevent us from wrongly appointing the lead of Elites, we give both you and the institute to elect the lead through this ceremony." the Colonel explained.
"So if he fails, I can be the leader, right?" Xander barged into the conversation.
"Theoretically, yes." the Colonel replied.
"But it's highly unlikely. Over the sixteen years of the institute's existence, there has never been a time when the school appointed leader was dethroned." the Colonel added.
"Maybe that could be today. I don't think this plebe could even say anything more than a single word." Xander mocked.
"No, you are wrong. You don't know a single thing ab-" Leon object but was interrupted when Natria raised his hand, signalling him to stop.
The other four watched in silence.
"You wanted to say something? C'mon, let's see what you got." Xander mocked Leon.
Leon drank his anger, keeping quiet to respect his friend's wish.
"Xander if you are so sure, then let Natria give his speech. If he fails to prove his worth, I'll appoint you the head of the Elites." the Colonel said in a stern voice.
Xander gave an arrogant smirk and remained quiet for the rest of the ceremony.
Natria walked towards the podium. His face bore the same nonchalant look, but inside it was chaos.
'What? Was this part of the plan? Why didn't Vod tell me there was going to be a speech. Can't he see Michelle is here! What if I completely mess up? She'll forever think of me as an oaf like for the rest of my life. I will never get another chance to impress her. Damn you, Vod! You know very well that I can't perform well in front of her.'
Suddenly, his eyes sparkled in realisation, his nonchalant expression grew into a slight smile. His footsteps reverberated through the auditorium. Coming to the podium, he raised the mic, look straight forward, he narrowed his eyes, bring his lips together and softly spoke, "Sadness."
The whole auditorium exclaimed in confusion. Their faces puzzled by the single word.
"Keh." Xander let out a soft, inaudible laugh.
Natria looked around the auditorium. He took a deep breath and began again.
"Sadness, death, decay, betrayal, lies and what not could our world be plagued by. I just wonder, how different would our world be if they didn't exist. Perhaps people would then fail to value the good memories they make, the good value taught to them by their parents, and finally words like happy, good, life and truth would be meaningless and a new conflict might rise. Humans, by nature, are beings of destruction; we are full of lies and deception. It's only natural we might make something completely different to start a war. How does it affect me? Why, of all things, am I giving a lecture about human nature? Ignorance. Ignorance is a bliss they say. I don't think so. Indeed, it is better to die happy than to cry around living to change the world, but what difference does it make? If I were to die in a bubble of ignorance and the accumulation of greed and selfishness, what people call as happiness." Natria said at the top of his lungs.
The students and the teachers held their breath in anticipation.
"It would be better if I hadn't been born at all." Natria said in a monotonous, low voice.
"The world is a rotten place, but I refuse to die in ignorance, behind the thin curtain of safety and contentment. I will bring give my best to make it beautiful; no, I will make it a better place to live in because.." Natria was almost out of his breath.
"..because I was born in this world!" Natria shouted at the top of his lungs.
The audience erupted into cheers, tears ran down various faces. Zia, Perkov, Casious, Leon, Baquet took a step forward, bowing down, heads tilted, slamming the left side of their chest with their right hand, announcing, "We accept Natria! May the mercy of Ra be forever be on him!" in complete synchronisation.
Natria! Natria! Natria!" the crowd cheered.
Xander was the only one the remained standing, his face bearing the expression of shock.
Natria turned around, seeing the six members bowing in front of him, an expression of pride appeared on his face. His eyes glimmered with joy. He wanted to shout; he wanted to cheer, but seeing the Colonel, he kept his cool. Nodding to him turned back to face the audience; Michelle, along with her father, the Mayor, was clapping with a pleasant smile. A big grin came up on his face. He raised his fist in the air, signalling his victory. He was the head of the Elites!
"Thank you, everyone, for your support. As the head of the Elites, I promise to make Shidan, no, Karsen, no, the whole country a better place to live!" Natria concluded as he walked away from the podium.
The other members returned to their respective podiums.
The Colonel returned to take over.
"Okay everyone, with Natria's wonderful speech, the Acceptance ceremony comes to an end. I feel proud to announce that Natria Av' Hamil stands as the head of the Elites." the Colonel announced.
"Principal Sivilingheard shall take over from here. The Elites shall follow me to the Instructor's office where they'll wait till the preparations for the Investiture Ceremony are done." the Colonel concluded as he waked away from the podium.
Principal Sivilingheard took over, informing the students about their classes as the Elites and the Colonel left.
As they walked through the corridor of the institute, the Colonel spoke, "ELITES!"
"YES, COLONEL VOD!" the replied in complete synchronisation.
"I want each of you to give me your addresses. Your parents will be invited for the Investiture Ceremony." the Colonel in a surprisingly calm voice.
The group nodded.
"Now let's hit the ground for a sparing session." the Colonel said in an energetic voice.
"Aren't we supposed to go to the Instructor's Office?" Leon asked.
"Ah, certainly, but I'll need to have you introduce yourselves to the others and nothing is better than a good old fist fight." the Colonel said, rolling the sleeves of his uniform.
"But-" Leon tried to object.
"No buts, I am your instructor, so you all should better listen to every word I say." the Colonel said in a stern voice.
A few minutes later, the group arrived at the school playground. Spanning over 20 acres of land, school's playground was enormous. It would be full of children most of the time, but today, due to the Ceremony, it was empty as a broken water jar.
"Vohoo! Quite a playground, you guys have." the Colonel commented.
"Now, listen carefully. Here are the rules for sparring. Whoever gets to hit the opponent three times wins. You are restricted from using fatal moves. If found using one, I'll make sure to punish you myself. And lastly, you are free to choose whichever way you want to fight. Winner gets to have any of their wishes fulfilled." the Colonel said.
"Any wish?" Xander said with a twisted smile.
"Yes, anything you may ask." the Colonel replied.
"Say, if I want to become the leader, would that come true." Xander said.
"You're still stuck on that, Xander? Stop acting like a child and grow up." Leon said.
"Shut up, twat! I'm talking to the Colonel. Say, Colonel Vod, would my wish come true." Xander asked, his impatience clearly visible on his face.
"Yes!" the Colonel replied.
"What!" Leon exclaimed in disbelief.
"Wouldn't that make the whole Acceptance Ceremony pointless?" Leon objected.
"I'll see about that, but regarding Xander's query, yes, he can become the leader of Elites if he wins." the Colonel said.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Leon said in despair.
"OKay, anyone else has any questions?" the Colonel asked.
Zia raised her hand.
"Yes, Zia." the Colonel said.
"I won't be fighting. Not because I'm scared of getting hurt, but it's pointless to waste energy on something that will result in nothing." Zia said.
"Well, you are the only girl here. Plus, your pretty face could come in handy in a lot of other situations. Okay, you don't need to fight." the Colonel said.
"I hope you boys won't chicken out." the Colonel said in a mocking voice.
"So, for the first round, we'll have Xander Vs. Natria." the Colonel announced.
Xander let off an arrogant smirk while Natria stood in silence.
"You can just walk out, you know? I'll make sure not even you mother likes you face after I make a mash out of it. Oh, wait, she took off way before this. She must have known giving birth to a plebe like you makes her a piece of trash!" Xander mocked as he clashed his palm and fist against one another.
"Xander you-" Leon said but stopped as he felt someone grabbing his hand; it was Natria.
Pure anger took physical form before his very eyes. The once calm Natria had eyes filled with rage.
"Natria?" Leon asked in a hesitant voice.
Natria walked past Leon; to stand straight in front of Xander.
"Let's go, jackass." Natria said with spite.
"It's going to be a massacre." the Colonel commented.
"No, Natria also knows Judo. He can put up a very good fight." Leon objected.
"Not just Judo. He knows Aikido, Karte and Muay Thai too." the Colonel replied.
"Wait, you mean?" Leon said as realisation came over his face.
"You're going to die, plebe!" Xander raged, as he punched Natria straight in his face.
The punch connected perfectly, but his opponent stood still, no budging even an inch.
"Is that all you got?" Natria hissed.
Dread came all over Xander as he realised his mistake. He tried to throw another punch, but Natria grabbed his fist as if it were from a toddler.
Slowly, he began to crush it.
"Ah! My fist!" Xander cried in pain.
"Not enough." Natria said as he strengthen his crush even more.
Xander fell to the ground, crying and begging for Natria to leave his hand.
"Colonel Vod?" Natria asked in a sassy voice as he savoured every moment of his opponent's pain.
"Yes, Natria?" the Colonel replied.
"Say, does crushing someone's fist violate any of the sparring's rules?" he asked with delight.
Xander looked at the Colonel, his eyes begging for forgiveness.
Looking at Xander, Colonel said, "No."
Xander's heart dropped as he felt the bones in his fist succumbing to Natria's grip.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Xander cried, his cries echoing all over the field.
As the sun drowned below the horizon, the last of its light cast a godly glow on Natria's body. Xander eyes were filled with terror, as he grabbed on to his broken fist, the only words he could muster were, "Who are you?"
"And that was the point of this sparring." the Colonel said.
"Natria, I think it's time you give them a proper introduction about yourself." the Colonel said.
"Okay, Vod." Natria said in a casual tone.
The Colonel slapped him on the back of his head.
"I told you to call me Colonel Vod in front of others."the Colonel scolded.
"And I said, I won't." Natria argued.
Amidst this, Leon interfered and asked, " Natria, who are you?"
Turning to face his friend, he said with a laugh," I guess I should properly introduce myself to you."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Natria Av' Hamil, son of Frohen Av' Hamil. I am Shidan's Cardinal assassin. And you all are going to become one, too." Natria said with a smile as the swift winds softly wavered his uniform and hair.