"Tobe wake up!" Duff! A cold stone-tipped toe kicks the body under the tattered covers on the cold stone floor. Tobe startles awake, holding his empty stomach.
"What the fuck, Geovanny!?" Tobe tries to trip Geovanny. The Raidi's feet are pure obsidian, just like his hands, face and hair.
"I woke you up like you asked, don't be mad at me. Just because you are a soft pigskin." Geovanny's voice is deeper than Tobe's. Even though Geovanny is only seventeen, a whole year younger than Tobe, and already seven-foot tall.
"If I punch in your gut, we will see who is really soft," Tobe getting up and making his bed. He shares this room with Geovanny. They are both adopted by a lovely Aladi who likes to cook food with a lot of chillies.
"Hey! that's not nice. I'm still growing, plus you are going to be late." Geovanny doesn't like that Tobe reminds him of his weakness. If they were richer, he could have a proper full mineral diet. He holds his gut with his massive arms.
"What do you mean? I have more than enough to take the bus?" Tobe doesn't shower today. He has been dry fasting for three days. Last night after the party, he showered and dry press his black robe. He gets his wallet, giving Geovanny an incriminating look.
"NO! No, you were trying to impress that stone hearted bitch from the Calmorie." Geovanny laughs at his adopted brother for getting fleeced without so much as a handhold, let alone a kiss.
"Yeah, Reeva is something else. SHIT! Come on dude, borrow me a couple of credits. I will pay you back, promise."
"Fuck no! you can run to mount Harmony for all I care. I told you I'm saving for Ana's gift. You probably won't be harmonic and won't be inducted as Sachi." Geovanny goes to the kitchen to get something to eat. Tobe doesn't have the time nor the inclination to argue with Geovanny after the boy basically cursed him. Becoming fosters of Harmony is something even the weakest person in the world can do. The rest is hard work and determination.
"Fuck you! You always had rocks for brains. Enjoy that sludge. When I get back, I will be a fucking Archon." Tobe runs the small two-bedroom house. The bus is walking closer and closer and with no credits he will to walk. Mount Harmony's permanently snow-capped top is exactly one hundred kilometers away. The journey is something he has been practising for, for an entire year. His record is thirteen hours. It means he will miss most of the festivities and ceremonies, but the Harmonic Convergence will happen at midnight.
He starts his well practiced run towards mount Harmony. It is still very earlier morning, so the sun isn't out yet. It's just him and the aurora that shines thorough out the night. Tobe knows the stories that the auroras cover every part of Terranuova. It is visible sound, or rather the energy of the world, that will make him a Sachi.
His dream, as far back as he can remember, is to become a Sachi. Join the battalions and buy Ana a delightful house and throw one thousand credits in that ungrateful rascals face. He controls his breathing. He still has a long way, and the sun is only getting hotter.
The morning is always his favourite, as it gives the aurora a brilliant hue that the purple night sky just can't match on its clearest night. He speeds up, following where the aurora is strongest around mount Harmony. He lost a lot of weight, training his body to make this journey.
The streets slowly come to life, the poorest of the kingdom are always first up. Tobe is used to them. He hasn't taken the bus since the ninth grade. It is easier to avoid bullies by walking to school. The Mistah riders, in full dress uniform, rush past him. Like Tobe, they are heading to the mountain.
He wonders if he will ever get a Mistah, the gazelle-sized saddled panther. All their Sachi blades are scabbard. Tobi runs faster. His stamina is on another level, not like his strength. Only the weakest fosters use simple weapons for their Sachi. Tobe run for most of the day. He avoided main roads or ones he thought anybody from school might use.
He can't afford to get injured. Accepting harmonic energy into the body is tough enough. While death has been steadily decreasing since the founding of the Kingdom. Six winged horses pulling nobles through the air. Heading towards the temple at the base of the mountain. Tobe is still running. He has over seven hours to of his thirteen hour journey.
His hunger doesn't bother him. He can almost go an entire week without eating. Living with a Raidi has its downsides. One of them their enormous appetite. Ana's job doesn't pay enough, mainly because Mr Mancini is a greedy piece of Ractar dung. She works very hard for her kids and this man just takes advantage of her because she no other choice. Mixed families are rare and looked down upon, because they believe a stupid theory that says that intermixing led to the birth of the discordant races. Tobe never understood why they are hated so much. She adopted them so they are not related but even the appearance of a mixed family irks this society.
Tobe actually makes it to the base of the mountain after only eleven hours of constant running. He has never seen so many people in one place. He has missed the morning prayers, the army processions, and the various legion parades of Sachi.
He laments missing the king's feast, at least there are some drinks. He would have loved to see the king. It rumored the royal family is the only place where a real Archon lives. Tobe could kick Geovanny in the face right now. "What the hell are you doing?" Tobe regrets it instantly as a familiar tug on his ear twists his head sideways.
Ana is old in her sixties, but still tall and beautiful. She was never a gifted foster. So they all have a low social status. "Is that any way to talk to your little brother? It's no wonder he listens to that F-this, f-that music on the radio." She pulls tighter, making him stand on tippy toes. She, like most Aladi woman is seven feet tall. Ana tightly bound her arms always, hiding the removal of her family's symphony.
"I'm sorry, I had to run here, so I'm just a little light-headed." Ana doesn't tolerate their nonsense. There is nothing but peace in her house when she is around.
"You fucking better." Tobe's mouth is wide open at her words. Even Geovanny is stiff. He has never heard her swear, even when she is mad and they have burnt down half the house at one point. "You an adult now, I can't believe you got so big. I still remember how stinky your pooh's was that no nanny wanted to watch you." Tobe can only try to not be too embarrassed. This is her day as much as it is his. Parents from all over the kingdom gather today around places of harmonic power.
Tobe enjoys it. He doesn't even ask how she got off work. Mr Mancini has never given her a day off before. She has missed every pta meeting, not that he minds, but the other kids make fun of him. She gives him a hug when the drums of spirit play. A high pitch singing voice by the exalted goes all the up the mountain. The song is a ten-hour prayer that will cause the snow to fall off the mountain top opening the Harmonic Halls.
"We will wait right here for you okay!" Geovanny was about to complain but a well placed smack to the back of the head shuts him up and only has him wishing his older brother good luck.
" I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Tobe moving towards the mountain base. There he sees her, the girl of his wildest dreams. Reeva Calmoire, her father, is a merchant which is rare for an Aladi family. Her father has only gotten the best for her. Her robe is probably something from a designer shop. He follows her up the touching each of the 88 keys leading to the temple.
The black crystalline cave with lights like rainbow rock is how one knows they are at the Halls of Harmony, they form an around places of harmony and inside is where he can get a piece of harmony to enter him. This will allow him to use magic and get his Sachi.
Larz, the temple priest, welcomes them, "Praise be, you are all about to join the Harmony. The power you will receive is a responsibility that you must develop. Today I hope you Foster a new power. This is the face of your enemy, at the pinnacle of power. We wear the faces of our enemies, for only by becoming our enemy can we defeat them." He goes round painting all their faces white with eyes of red.
Larz leads them to a large court with many wooden doors. Reeva waves at Tobe to come over...